Heartsong is a Sci-Fi novel of the subgenre that might be called “Initial contact with alien race.” If you’re willing to buy the rather questionable premise that sets off the problem – the decision by earth authorities not to contact the alien race they are intruding upon – the rest of the plotline is very […]
“The Storyteller’s Throne” by Jocelyn Bates
This is a book of gentle fantasy dealing with terrible situations. It disguises the horrors of life with allegory and poetry, allowing the characters to recognize their vulnerabilities and become whole again in the loving, supportive environment of a fantasy world. The main character, Grace, spends the first part of the tale remembering and dealing […]
“A Distant View of Everything” by Alexander McCall Smith
This is the eleventh book in the Isabel Dalhousie series, which involves a lady who is both a philosopher and a solver of the nagging problems people can’t cope with. At their best, these books are a beautiful portrayal of small lives. McCall Smith balances the miniscule (and incidentally spices up the lack of serious […]
“Stormy Weather” by Glen Ebisch
Stormy Weather is the story of – wait for it – a television weather reporter whose name is Stormy. Not her fault; it seems her mother was a bit of a flake. How much the name had to do with her choice of occupation is the subject for a subplot involving Stormy’s family background and […]
“The Enemy Within” by Scott Burn
What is the essence of humanity? When we meet something strange, do we try to understand it, or do we whack it with a stick? In “The Enemy Within,” seventeen-year-old Max gets all sorts of chances to find out. He has always felt separate from his fellow humans, and as the story progresses he finds […]
“The Chronicles of Henry Harper” by Jacen Aster
This book is not quite a novel, but it’s close enough to be treated as one. It is a series of short stories closely knit together by the main character and many of the supporting cast. It is a standard Space Opera: slightly melodramatic, often humorous, not overly realistic. For example, alien species are mammalian enough […]
“Once Lost Lords” by Stephan Morse
If length and complexity are any criteria, “Once Lost Lords” is certainly an epic work. Stephan Morse has created highly involved society of humans, wolves, elves and vampires, with each race having a distinct set of rules, often in conflict with those of the others. The power of the story resides in our sympathy for the main […]
“Mutation” by Nerys Wheatley
I’m always interested when someone takes a standard format and uses it in a new way. I mean, I read far too many zombie stories. But what about a tale of recovered zombies, who have become the latest visible minority to be trampled upon? And just to make it more interesting, drop the main character, […]
Capture the Cover Contest: “Zoysana’s Choice”
Coming Soon: Zoysana’s Choice In September, Airborn Press will be releasing “Zoysana’s Choice,” a new book by Gordon A. Long. This is the first in a new series called the “Petrellan Saga,” which is planned to be a 7-book series of mostly stand-alone novels using a rotating cast of characters. Book 4 is the book […]
“A Hunt by Moonlight” by Shawna Reppert
When an author sets out to write a detective mystery that is set in Victorian England, she is joining an illustrious circle with such authors as Arthur Conan Doyle and Wilkie Collins, who lived during the period, thus giving them a leg up in the veracity of their world-building. One of my favourites is Anne Perry, […]