Justin Bowers
Well, I finally caved in and read the dragon book everyone has been raving about for the past year. I fought picking it up because I find a large portion of what is pitched as “romantasy” just awful to read. This book was so hyped by my reader friends who fawn over Sarah J. Maas’ stuff, so it was...
Justin Bowers
** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review ** I’ve been waiting for this book for a long while. No Gods, No Monsters took up a lot of my headspace, and I really needed Mr. Turnbull to move some of these characters along for the sake of my...
Abhinav Bhatt
There was always an ongoing joke when I was growing up that if the weather forecast says it would rain, it definitely won’t rain. If they say, the day will be sunny, high chance that it will rain cats and dogs. Fortunately, the accuracy of weather prediction has come a long way and it is indeed...
Justin Bowers
** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review ** I wanted to love this book so much. The City of Dusk was an amazing read that really set the scene and executed superbly. The Midnight Kingdom, though, not so much. The world building continued to be...
Jennifer Lang
I’ve just published my annual reading list for 2023 here, as I’ve done for over a decade. Do check out the whole thing, but here are a few of my particular favourites from this year’s list, which, as always, is a bit of an eclectic mixture. Curlews on Vulture Street: Cities, Birds, People and me...
Justin Bowers
Our favorite mercenary orc is back! In this prequel to Legends & Lattes we find Viv fighting for Rackam’s Ravens and hunting a powerful necromancer. When she is injured, Rackam leaves Viv in Murk to recuperate. Naturally, Viv gets bored, and finds a good diversion in the form of a local...
Justin Bowers
Holy crap, it’s a new book in the A Darker Shade of Magic universe! To say that I had great expectations for this novel is an understatement. There was definitely the expectation that we would encounter Lila, Kell, Rhy, and Alucard; but what new shenanigans would be introduced to keep us...
Gary Schroeder
The Philosopher of Palo Alto is a strange little book that covers the life of Mark Weiser, a man who the author seems to believe occupies a pivotal role in the history of personal computing. Whether the author’s belief is warranted—or if indeed the entire book is warranted—is something I couldn’t...
Justin Bowers
It’s very rare that I read a book that I know absolutely nothing about and turns out to be so incredibly life changing. This is one of those books. I cannot say enough about the worldbuilding that Ms. Chambers spins into this incredibly wholesome tale. Dex is a monk unhappy with their role in...
Justin Bowers
Howler #1 (Mr. Brown) is a sadistic psychopath, an emotional puppet master, and a genius storyteller. Once again we have been thrown into the tumultuous world of the Society and, boy oh boy, this is one hell of a ride. If you haven’t read the previous five books, don’t even think about starting...
Gary Schroeder
This is a review of the book X-Risk: How Humanity Discovered Its Own Extinction by Thomas Moynihan. I was expecting this book to be an exploration of how human beings seem to be continually drawn to creating the mechanisms of our own destruction. Whether it be be nuclear weaponry, machines which...
Aguas' Points
“Everything that takes place on the screen — a Mutant attack, a powerpack munch, an asteroid cluster, plus noises, colour, maneuvering — is simply the machine’s response to information”. – Amis, Invasion of the Space Invaders, pg. 112 In 1982 director Steven Spielberg diagnosed enfant...
Gary Schroeder
Elon Musk “long ago decided that for humanity to have a future, it must expand to other worlds”…a premise which is kind of nuts if one thinks about it for more than a few seconds but there seems to be no doubt that Musk believes it. This belief was his prime motivation for founding a company that...
Justin Bowers
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again right here: folks don’t read enough short fiction. There is something so fulfilling about being able to knock out a great little tidbit in less than a half an hour that has me coming back for more and more. Enhanced: A Hollywood Murder Mystery is just...
Justin Bowers
For those who have read my reviews previously, it’s no secret that I am a big fan of Mr. Chapman’s work. There is a certain way he approaches a story that evolves the absolute normal aspects of everyday life into a spiral of fascinating terror, and What Kind of Mother does exactly this. Deeply...
Justin Bowers
Here’s the setup: in the far future of Earth, two factions battle each other for supreme control of the world, the timeline, and, well, everything. Two factions — Commandment and Garden — have their elite agents working clandestine operations throughout the various time threads. Our two...
Justin Bowers
Since it came on the scene, I have been an unapologetic shoegaze fan. When I discovered Lush in 1990, I knew I had a band that could very easily soundtrack my life. Through the years, I watched the band thrive, break up, deal with crisis, and then excel at other projects. At the core of all of...
Justin Bowers
Ahhh carefree and fun books just for the sake of having something original to read. Minimum Wage Magic has some heavy themes, but, at the end of the day, it’s just a very fun romp through an awesome world of magic and vice. The basic gist is the that the Detroit Free Zone is a lawless city...
Justin Bowers
Erin is haunted, and it is by choice. If that seems rather innocuous to you, then you have yet to dive into Clay McLeod Chapman’s latest gem: Ghost Eaters. Stripping the romanticism and fantastical glamour out of the concept of interactions with the supernatural, and, instead, diving right...
Justin Bowers
After three books and much experimentation, I believe I have figured out the secret to full comprehension of The Locked Tomb series: just let it flow over you. Enjoy the ride and do be sure to keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. OK, here we go with the story of Nona....
Justin Bowers
** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review ** I feel like I have to preface this review by saying that I really really really liked this book, and cannot wait for it to get into other peoples’ hands. I’m worried this review might sound more...
Justin Bowers
Typically I meander about a review before letting you know that it’s a good read or something worth passing. With Legends & Lattes, however, I’m just going to come straight out and tell you to put down whatever you are reading and pick this one up. Yes, you heard me, and do so immediately....
Vili
A review of Akira Kurosawa and Modern Japan, a book by David A. Conrad that looks at the historical and social contexts in which Kurosawa made his films.
Justin Bowers
** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review ** Oh how I wanted to DNF this thing. The start was riveting: all action, mystery, and a smattering of arcane magic, but then that ended. What came next was an attempt at a science fiction-oriented...
Justin Bowers
Dragonlance is back! Yes, after about a dozen years with no adventures in Krynn, the OG authors, Ms. Weis and Mr. Hickman are back at it with the original cast of characters that made so many fantasy fans fall in love with this massive series. The book opens with young Destina Rosethorn living...
Justin Bowers
Apparently, I’ve been very drawn to witchy historical fiction over the past couple of years, and The Witch Haven has been an absolute treat to read. Set in 1911 New York City, this is the tale of Frances Hollowell; a young girl mourning the recent loss of her brother while trying to scrape by a...
Justin Bowers
** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review ** When it comes to high fantasy, I find myself attracted to those with oodles and oodles of political intrigue, and that is exactly what House of Bastiion provides. Here’s where we start. Bastiion is...
Justin Bowers
There is just something about Mr. Herzog that is just wildly appealing. I have watched his films, read his commentaries, and attended lectures where he talks about his process. His demeanor, poise, and language is uniquely him, and unmatched by anyone else out there. When I read that Mr. Herzog...
Justin Bowers
** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review ** Claiming de Wayke is not a normal science fiction novel. There, I got that out of the way. A hodge-podge of Fight Club, The Matrix, Neuromancer and Trainspotting; Mr. O’Shea has created a marvelous...
Justin Bowers
Oh Mr. Maxwell, I really really tried to get into this one. A Girl From Nowhere had such great potential, and the battle scenes were masterfully choreographed, but what we got in A World of Secrets is the story-bridge equivalent of Back to the Future Part II. Yes, we did get to see a bit more...
Justin Bowers
Murder and the multiverse. Yeah, that just about boils it down. This seems like a pretty simple premise, but the elegant word- and world-smithing of Mr. Barry are what make The 22 Murders of Madison May such an enjoyable read. The novel opens with New York real estate agent Madison May getting...
Justin Bowers
** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review ** I’m just going to put it out there right off the bat that I’m a total sucker for anything remotely related to kaiju. For those of you not in the know, the easiest way to approach the...
Justin Bowers
When the synopsis for this novel came across my field of vision, it was damn near love at first sight. Here is a story that deals in very familiar tropes, pivoting the usual angles on their proverbial ears and taking a swipe at the entire concept of good vs bad, right vs wrong, and holy vs evil....
Justin Bowers
I’ll be very up-front and let you know that I do not read a lot of non-fiction. My reading habits focus largely on escapism, so I rarely find it necessary to dwell on aspects of “real life” while I am trying to relax from said “real life.” Chuck Klosterman is one of the rare exceptions. In...
Justin Bowers
Here’s the thing, a while back Mr. Hyatt approached me via this very website to ask if I wanted to read his novel The Psychic’s Memoirs. I did, and that was my initial introduction into the Terrifide world. Boy howdy it’s been a wild ride since then, and Psycho Therapy falls perfectly in step...
Justin Bowers
** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review ** It may be a very simple stance, but, in my humblest of opinion, any book that prefaces with a map is bound to be interesting. Provide me multiple maps, and I’m liable to put on a helmet before tackling...
Justin Bowers
** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review ** Ahhhh, Dystopian Fiction. Oh how I love thee. When I was far younger and beginning my journey into the twisting disillusionment of how society could potentially crumble upon itself, the general...
Justin Bowers
If you grew up in the 1980’s, there is a chance that the “Satanic Panic” affected your life in some way. For myself, a nerdy, Dungeons & Dragons playing kid growing up in semi-rural New Mexico, the “Panic” glanced off of a lot of our community. There were always whispers of rituals and...
Justin Bowers
** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review ** Sometimes you stumble on a book that hits all the right buttons at just the right time. Boy howdy, The City of Dusk sure did. Set in the realm of Nexus (a very telling name, no?) in the city of...
Justin Bowers
Ms. Kaufman and Mr. Kristoff are deities at creating perfect YA science fiction trilogies. The Illuminae Files was just an incredible experience of whirlwind storytelling piled on with some crazy space action, and The Aurora Cycle follows suit without even being the least bit derivative. It’s...
Justin Bowers
** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review ** Here’s the setup. Our protagonist, Jes, is a “fugitive” on the lam from a sinister institute that was basically torturing him as a method of studying his gravitational powers. At the start of The...
Justin Bowers
** This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review ** It’s funny how one doesn’t realize how much they miss a solid slab of cyberpunk until they have one under their nose. Mr. Price absolutely owns the genre with Reality Testing. It’s got everything a...
Justin Bowers
Here’s the setting. A young daemon gets inhabited and taken over by his father and proceeds to go on a Duke Nukem-style bloodbath to help raise power for and spread the corruption of his father. His sole driving force was to just ambush and kill and kill and kill. Then the oddest of things...
Justin Bowers
James Stark can seriously not catch a break. Good ol’ Sandman Slim is freshly back from Hell thanks to making a deal with Wormwood, but — because it’s Wormwood — there’s a catch. Stark has to do some errands for the horrible organization and he only gets brought back at half-strength to do them....
Justin Bowers
** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review ** Rosalind Featherstone is a badass. Yeah, she might not always make the best decisions; she’s a little impulsive, and she probably drinks too much, but, nonetheless, Roz is a badass. When we first meet...
Justin Bowers
One of my absolute favorite fictional characters is James “Sandman Slim” Stark. The just amazingly insane escapades that Mr. Kadrey has put ol’ Jimmy through over the years is just gargantuan. I’m not sure how I messed up and missed the release of four books, but now I get the opportunity to...
Justin Bowers
** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review ** I’ve been a big fan of Mr. Kristoff for quite some time, but this one really knocks it out of the park. Empire of the Vampire has received a ton of hype over the past year, and sometimes that can...
Justin Bowers
** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review ** The story of how this novel came to be is almost as good as how it ended up. Many, many moons ago — back in 1987 to be precise — William Gibson was tapped to be the first of what turned out to be ten...
Justin Bowers
Holy crap, I really didn’t expect a read like this one. The premise was very intriguing and right up my alley, so I decided to take the dive. The Alexandrian Society, a secretive group tasked with maintaining the lost/forgotten knowledge of previous civilizations, and library to the most...
Justin Bowers
There is something completely magical, and utterly frustrating about serialized short fiction. That being said, Mr. Hopkins has been quite adept at tapping into the cliff-hanger aspect of it that I seriously admire. When we last left our intrepid heroes, Gydan and Yurig, children of the...