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 […]
“Hinterland” by L M Brown
This is a psychological novel giving an in-depth presentation of what goes on in the minds and emotions of injured people. The main conflict is about the mental illness, but most of the action takes place in the lives of the mostly-sane people affected. Usually in books of this sort we find out from the […]
“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 […]
“Watch Her Vanish” by Ellery Kane
My sister-in-law, who taught high school for far too long, typified Country music as “People make poor life choices and then whining about the results.” A certain level of Police Procedural novel goes about the same way. The detective mystery takes a back seat to the soap opera. Personally, I don’t know why anyone would […]
“The Stark Divide” by J. Scott Coatsworth
This book is in three parts, each a novella on its own, connected together by the characters involved. The first one is a pretty standard spaceship-oriented Hard- Sci-Fi action story. It is structured for the first few chapters with perhaps a bit too many flashbacks: a legitimate was to get backstory in, but it can […]
“Common Source” by Bryan Thomas Schmidt
This book is a police procedural in a Sci-Fi near-future setting, where androids are just starting to be introduced to the general public. Sort of a down-to-earth remake of Asimov’s “I, Robot” Series. It’s a good plotline, with plenty of tension and just enough tech talk to keep us in the picture. However, the story […]