4 stars – Page 45 – Looking For a Good Book

December 13, 2018

THE NINJA’S ILLUSION – Gigi Pandian

I am late to the party when it comes to Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt mysteries. I’ve only read one other before this, but I had enjoyed it quite a bit. In The Ninja’s Illusion a stage magician claims to have real super-natural powers and will be performing, not as a trick but as real magic,… Continue reading

MYSTERY, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Reviews

December 10, 2018

SPARROW HILL ROAD – Seanan McGuire

Is there anything that Seanan McGuire can’t write, and write well? Sparrow Hill Road begins McGuire’s take on ghosts. There are legends of ghosts all over the country: The Girl in the Diner; The Phantom Prom Date; The Girl in the Green Silk Gown. Though the stories have deviated and changed from the original tellings,… Continue reading

Dark Fantasy/Horror, SF/FANTASY

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Horror/Dark Fantasy, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

December 7, 2018

HEROINE’S JOURNEY – Sarah Kuhn

With this book I have now read the Heroine’s Complex trilogy. I’ve had real mixed feelings about the previous two books (you can search for my reviews on my blog) but I am so happy to note that this is the strongest book of the series (and it will be a continuing series, according to… Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Young Adult

December 6, 2018

SHAKESPEARE SAVED MY LIFE – Laura Bates

Dr. Laura Bates had been told that maximum-security prisoner are beyond rehabilitation and Bates, an English professor and believer in the power of Shakespeare’s plays, took that as a challenge. Bates holds classes in Shakespeare’s plays with prisoners who sign up to take the classes. She begins regular meetings in a detention ward with maximum… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, non-fiction, Reviews, Theatre

December 3, 2018

EARTHRISE – James Gladstone & Christy Lundy

If I still had children of picture-book age, this is most definitely a book I would have and that I would read to them as often as I could. In thirty-two keenly illustrated pages, author James Gladstone and illustrator Christy Lundy manage to not only tell the story of Apollo 8 and the famous, iconic… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, NON-FICTION

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, non-fiction, Picture books, Reviews

November 26, 2018

THE BLASTED LANDS – James A. Moore

The Blasted Lands by James A. Moore is the second book in his ‘Seven Forges’ series. I haven’t read the first book but I have become acquainted with Moore’s work and I’ve been impressed. There are a number of characters here and it took me some time to feel as though I had gotten caught… Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

November 12, 2018

LOUIS L’AMOUR’S LOST TREASURES VOLUME 1 – Beau L’Amour, editor

I was trying to find a way to describe my relationship with the works of Louis L’Amour. At one point in my life I believe I owned a copy of everything L’Amour had published. But owning and reading are two very different things. I have not read everything Louis L’Amour has written. In fact I’ve… Continue reading

SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized, WESTERN

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, Short Stories, Western

November 8, 2018

THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER – Harlan Ellison

If you don’t know Harlan Ellison then you should correct that immediately by going out and reading some of his work. He’s an under-recognized, under-appreciated author – though certainly not for a lack of trying, as Harlan was often pretty vocal about his talent. One of Ellison’s biggest claim to fame was for writing the… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Star Trek, Television

November 5, 2018

CHILDREN OF THE DIVIDE – Patrick S. Tomlinson

This series, ‘Children of a Dead Earth,’ by Patrick S. Tomlinson, continues to surprise and impress me. Each book manages to be different, each surprises me, and together they tell a continuing story. It is now eighteen years after humans, who have traveled in the ‘ark’ from Earth, have settled on Gaia. Humans and the… Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

October 29, 2018

A STRANGE SCOTTISH SHORE – Juliana Gray

***WARNING – THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!*** Emmeline Truelove is a very modern woman – modern for 1906 that is. Emmeline is a researcher and works with Maximillian Haywood, currently along the Scottish shore. They are researching an unusual discovery made recently along the Orkney Islands…a suit of clothing, which, according to family legend, belonged… Continue reading

HISTORICAL FICTION, MYSTERY, ROMANCE, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

October 22, 2018

DARLINGS OF DRESS – Norma Shephard

This is not what I would consider a ‘typical’ book for me (though I’m not sure I have such a thing as a ‘typical’ book), but there was a reason that I was interested enough to request this book … theatre. Because I write and direct for the theatre I do sometimes look for books… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, History, non-fiction, Reviews, Theatre

October 19, 2018

BOURBON JUSTICE – Brian F. Haara

Although I’ve been drinking bourbon for a few decades (as the primary alcohol in my Manhattans) I admit to knowing very little about it other than I prefer bourbon to most other whiskeys. Brian F. Haara’s Bourbon Justice shares not just a little history of bourbon, but shows us how this distinctly American alcohol laid… Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Entertainment, History, non-fiction, Reviews