Accompanying collages by Liz Gamberg I can’t say I enjoyed reading this poetry, but I certainly had fun reviewing it. If you are the type of reader who enjoys poetry for its lyric qualities — rhythm, rhyme, and evocative images and emotions — this review is for you. The poetry is not. All art treads […]
“Not My Best Idea” by James S. Krieger
This is an Action Comedy that takes readers from the ridiculous to the more ridiculous without pausing to catch our breaths. It is smoothly written, creatively conceived, and thoroughly enjoyable. At the beginning the humour takes the stage, with most of it concentrated on the characters. It’s the style of story that starts with several […]
“Eclipse” by Herman Steuernagel
“Eclipse” starts out like a standard Space Opera, in the middle of a thrilling escape from an exploding spaceship. Once the story starts, though, it is light on the science end, with the setting element concentrated on visual descriptions of the vessels, living spaces and clothing styles of this future environment. The emotional content of […]
“Pacific Dash: From Asia Vagabond to Casino King ” by Chet Nairene
This story is presented as Adventure Travel. It lives up to the billing, but there is an overtone of Fantasy that mirrors how a certain level of the population lives. A world of riches and influence, where everything comes easy, and the troubles of ordinary people don’t intrude. On the positive side, this gives the […]
“The Fate of the Universe: Pawn” by Rumour Lee
This novel is Romance Sci-Fi, with a definite accent on the romantic side. Too much so, unfortunately. There is a reason why novels usually have multiple conflict levels. Sci-Fi books usually have a romantic plot thread. Then there is often inter-personal conflict, always some kind of technical conflict, and usually both physical and political external […]
“The Retribution, Gallows Gold Book 2” by James Thomson
I reviewed the first book in the series, “The Agreement,” last summer, and while the second book stands alone pretty well, I suggest you read the first book first. The second book is more of the same, so then you’ll know whether you want to pick it up as well. I recommended “The Agreement,” and I […]
“The String Conspiracy” by Candace Freilich
This is a difficult book to review, because its greatest asset is also its main weakness, and I run the risk of damning it with faint praise. Allow me to explain. It is advertised as Science Fiction, but believe me, it resides in that narrow band where Sci-Fi and Fantasy overlap. The technical wizardry is […]
“Sliding Off,” by Alejandro dell Mar
A standard format for many novels is to create a few individual characters set apart from each other, and then use the plotlines of the book to draw them closer and closer together until they clash at the climax. The danger in this sort of writing is to take too much time with the setup, […]
“Wren and the Tarnished Tiger” by E. M. Leander
This novel has a great Epic Fantasy battle-filled prologue, full of action, gore, wonderful description and people we don’t need to know for the rest of the story. Then the main character, Wren, appears, and the tale takes on the genial tone of her personality. Also, the plotline appears, and we realize that we are […]
“Coolman and the Evil Drug Lord,” by Sam Guydude
This doesn’t have to be a long review, because the name of the book and the name of the author tell it all. We’re talking a massive takeoff on every superhero movie, video game and graphic novel ever written for teenage guys. Nothing but fighting, sex, destruction, blood and bad language. The action is pretty […]