Title: The Empress of Mars Author: Kage Baker Publisher: Tor Format: Print Rating: 4 out of 5 Life on Mars is hard. Although the British Arean Company promised wealth, growth, and a new life to all Martian settlers, once it found out that it couldn’t terraform (and profit from) the planet quickly enough, it pulled… Continue Reading
Title: Westlake Soul Author: Rio Youers Publisher: ChiZine Publications Format: Print Rating: 5 out of 5 Note: This review contains ruminations about Life, the Universe, and Everything. Before I read a book, I tend to have an idea of what it’s about, because I like spoilers. Every so often, though, I’ll read a book “blind”.… Continue Reading
Title: The High Road Author: Terry Fallis Publisher: McLelland and Stewart Format: Print Rating: 4 out of 5 I read a lot of speculative fiction, as my past reviews clearly show – books about space zombies, ghosts, Russian mythological figures, and more. However, The High Road is speculative fiction of an entirely different sort. It’s… Continue Reading
Title: You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop: Scalzi on Writing Author: John Scalzi Publisher: Subterranean Press Format: eBook Rating: 4 out of 5 I read a lot of books about writing in 2012. Take a look for yourselves in the archives. Although the authors I read occupy different niches… Continue Reading
Title: The Universe Within: From Quantum to Cosmos Author: Neil Turok Publisher: House of Anansi Format: eBook Rating: 3 out of 5 I have a hard time understanding the universe. Not in the figurative “why don’t things work the way I want them to” sense, but in the literal “why do things even exist” sense.… Continue Reading
Title: Every House is Haunted Author: Ian Rogers Publisher: ChiZine Publications Format: Print Rating: 3 out of 5 Full disclosure: I’m friends with the author through Goodreads and Facebook, and am familiar with some of ChiZine’s staff; although I have tried to remain neutral in this review, these circumstances have probably informed my opinion of… Continue Reading
Title: The Hum and the Shiver Author: Alex Bledsoe Publisher: Tor Books Rating: 3 out of 5 Format: eBook Warning: this review contains spoilers. The Tufa are a community of people who have lived in what is now east Tennessee for hundreds of years – they were there before the arrival of Europeans to North America, yet they… Continue Reading
Title: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking Author: Susan Cain Publisher: Crown Publishers Rating: 4 out of 5 Format: eBook It probably won’t surprise you to know that I’m an introvert. Hell, I work in editing and content management, and I write lots of book reviews online. My life… Continue Reading
Title: Who Fears Death Author: Nnedi Okorafor Publisher: DAW Rating: 2 out of 5 Format: Print Who Fears Death is the story of Onyesonwu, a girl growing up in Africa – Sudan is implied – after an unnamed apocalyptic event. Onyesonwu is not just any girl, though – she is an Ewu, a child born… Continue Reading
Title: Deathless Author: Catherynne M. Valente Publisher: Tor Rating: 4 out of 5 Format: eBook Russian folklore is not an aspect of Western/European mythology you come across much in modern fantasy – the only other example I can think of is a side story in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman – so it’s nice to see Baba… Continue Reading
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