Lleydrin is a far-future fantasy world where good people with different objectives and beliefs have been separated through historical events so that they have become increasingly tribal and antagonistic towards each other. The novel explores what happens when these disparate groups are required to cooperate to face a common enemy. Shades of 2020 America. The […]
“America: Dr. Wiley’s Construct – Episode 1” by Jackson Wilder
This is a short book comprising 69 pages, a single episode in a longer serial, an old-style Steampunk story with echoes of modern social and political problems, deftly merged. While the publicity calls this book a novella, it really isn’t. It is the first episode of a series, and as such has a different structure […]
“Twisted Cow Tales” by Debby Schoeningh
This book is not a novel. It’s a compilation of a set of newspaper articles. As such, it’s meant to be enjoyed in small batches, not read through at one go. As we expect with this sort of book, its success is mostly because of the author’s low-key sense of humour and imaginative wit. She […]
“The Night and the Land” by Matt Spencer
This is a standard Paranormal plotline with an otherworldly Romeo and Juliet situation to sweeten the plot. Rob is a teenager who begins to realize that there is something other than the everyday world going on. Also that he’s one of the people participating. Then he meets Sally, who seems to know more of the […]
“Note to Boy” by Sue Clark
The best book I’ve reviewed in several years. Once I’ve said that, what more can I add? This has got to be the wackiest plotline going, a complete inside-out-and-backwards on Pygmalion and My Fair Lady. It features two of the most unlikely characters that were ever jammed together in a book: a rough-and-tumble street urchin […]
“The German Client” by Bruno Morchio
This novel has a complex format. In intertwines two timelines: the present day, written in normal past tense, and the WWII era, set in present tense. That part actually works, because it makes it clear where readers are in the story. The novel starts out really well. The intimate details of the main character’s feelings […]
“Homeworld of the Heart” by S.P. Somtow
“Homeworld” is the last book in an epic series that was written decades ago. Thus it has the advantage of a ready-made universe, built over many years and through many stories. What better background could you have for a futuristic Fantasy novel with roots deep in the convoluted mysteries of the East and the elaborate […]
“The Mummy of Monte Cristo” by J Trevor Robinson
Before you start this book, you have to know what you’re getting into. As the title indicates, it’s a rewriting of Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo with an occult slant. As such, it needs to be reviewed in two parts. As a Historical Work of Art This is a pretty impressive homage to Alexandre Dumas and the […]
“Neanderthal King” by Matt Ward
Apparently James Cameron had trouble selling the idea of a movie about the Titanic. “Where’s the suspense? We all know that in the end the ship sinks and everybody dies.” Well, this story is about the Neanderthals’ last stand against Homo Sapiens from the POV of the losers. So, if you read this book, I […]
“Unfettered Journey” by Gary F. Bengier
This is a story about one man’s journey to discover whether he has free will. Also to find a meaning for his life, which pretty much amounts to the same thing. The author is a philosopher, the main character is a university prof and he searches at a university, so strap yourself in for an […]