Well, here we are, perched upon the brink of yet another new year. 2012 was certainly a strange one, a busy year that had its shares of ups and downs.The death of my Sony Reader (after almost 3 years) made for a rough last few months, putting me further behind in my reviews than I would have liked, but it did give me a reason to upgrade . . . even if other circumstances conspired to delay that replacement longer than I anticipated. In the end, though, I'm quite happy to have made the change to my Kobo Glo. It's faster in almost every respect (turning...
Monday, 31 December 2012
Sunday, 30 December 2012
Jack King seems like a normal guy. He works at a bookstore, has a beautiful girlfriend, and loves photography. But he isn’t normal. Not by a long stretch. He could blow up half this city in the blink of an eye.It was with this simple tease, just a few short lines, that Raymond M. Rose first captured his attention.Without knowing anything more about it, The Fire Inside immediately slipped into the depths of my towering review pile, just waiting...
Shades of Souls Passed by Teresa R. Andrews is a slim little volume, with my original plan having been to pair a review with an author interview, but for some reason we never reconnected on that front. Halloween came and went, the seasonality of it kind of slipped from my focus . . . and, well, here we are playing catch up.This was quite an entertaining read, offering up some real-life ghost stories that were well-told. The stories were straightforward,...
Friday, 28 December 2012
Greatshadow, the first book of The Dragon Apocalypse by James Maxey, reminds me in so may ways of the TSR quest-driven novels I cut my fantasy teeth on so many years ago. More specifically, it reminds of Forgotten Realms adventures by the likes of R.A. Salvatore, Ed Greenwood, Troy Denning, and Douglas Niles. Before anybody takes that the wrong way, let me assure you that's absolutely not a criticism or a complaint - I have fond memories of those...
Like most short story collections in the Bizarro genre, Tall Tales with Short Cocks Vol. 2 is uneven, but always original. There are tales that are bizarrely told, which are generally my least favourite, and those that are more traditionally told, but about bizarre things, which is where I find the appeal.The 'hits' for me in this collection included:The Ballad of Billy the Squid by Eirik Gumeny merges two individually bizarre ideas - a boy with...
Tuesday, 25 December 2012
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. Instead of highlighting a single "can't-wait-to-read" selection this week, I thought I'd take the opportunity to highlight my 10 Most Anticipated Reads of 2013:A Memory of Light by Jordan and SandersonJanuary 8thWith the hardcover release only weeks away, I'm anxious to see how Sanderson will lead...
Monday, 24 December 2012
Welcome to a bonus edition of Twisted Tinsel Tales!Earlier this month we put a horrific / humorous twist on the season, featuring book reviews, interviews, top 13 lists, guest posts, and odd facts about the holiday. It was all very twisted and terrible, and definitely not traditional, but all in good fun. If you enjoyed our daily antidote to the sugary spiritual sweetness of the season, then I hope you'll enjoy one last guilty pleasure.To help wrap...
Sunday, 23 December 2012
Kimberly Richardson's The Decembrists is a Gothic tale in the contemporary tradition (or spirit, if you'll pardon the pun) of Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches and Clive Barker's Galilee. The former had the potential for a fascinating story, but buried it deep within a tedious romance, while the latter was a gorgeous tale of magic and mystery.Richardson falls somewhere in the middle.I'm not sure what it is about Gothic romances, but it seems as if there's...
Saturday, 22 December 2012
It's hard to describe Darkside without making comparisons to other works. It is a story that immediately stuck me as having a Blade Runner type feel to it, but which ultimately put me in mind of a dark, sci-fi twist on something like The Fast and the Furious . . . complete with the alternative sensibilities of a Nicola Griffith and Melissa Scott.T.A. Miles has done a superb job here, crafting a tale that stands on its own, despite drawing those comparisons....
Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme being hosted by Tynga's Reviews, while Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Suko’s Notebook this month (see Mailbox Monday for each month's host). Both memes are all about sharing the books you've added to your shelves - physical and virtual, borrowed and bought. It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey, and it's focused on what's in your hands, as opposed to what's on your shelf.The...
Friday, 21 December 2012
A quick, darkly humorous read, Stalkers Drink Free puts a contemporary spin on a familiar tale . . . one that I won't mention for fear of spoiling the story. Fortunately, even looking back, it's easy to see where Mike Ronny strayed from the source material, turning the story back on itself to make it his own.In Ronny's version, we experience the sinister plot through the eyes of the victim, giving the whole scenario an edgy, paranoid feel. In fact,...
We survived! Let's celebrate! (courtesy of Night Shade Books)Well, we can add the Myan end of the world prophecy to the long list of things that didn't happen. And while it's probably no surprise to most of us that we woke up as per usual, we think it's still worth celebrating! Plus, its the Winter Solstice! Double trouble! So let's nestle into the longest night of the year with some free reading, shall we?Here is how it works:Email StillHere@nightshadebooks.com...
Thursday, 20 December 2012
Well, it's just about that time again . . . time to be inundated with obligatory end-of-year lists. :)For my year-end wrap, I thought I'd take a few moments to talk about both the best and the worst books to grace my shelves (digital and physical) over the course of 2012. While the introduction of a baby boy into the household and the death of my e-reader did conspire to curtain my reading a little bit this year, I still managed to consume my fair...
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