Waiting on Wednesday - Torchwood: Exodus Code by John & Carol Barrowman

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:Torchwood: Exodus Code by John & Carol BarrowmanSept 13, 2013 (BBC Digital)It starts with a series of unexplained events. Earth tremors across the globe. Women being driven insane by their heightened and scrambled senses. And the world...

Read More

Four Stars for Three by Jay Posey (#bookreview #scifi)

What would happen if Mad Max were to step into the world of The Dark Tower, aided and abetted on his journey by the likes of William Gibson and Richard Matheson? Well, you'd get something very much like Jay Posey's post-apocalyptic cyberpunk thriller, simply titled Three.This is a book that demands a lot of the reader - a lot of patience, a lot of imagination, and a lot of faith that Posey knows where he's going with it all. He simply...

Read More

Exploring the Conjure House with Gary Fry (#horror #bookreview)

In what feels like a much older novel than it is, Conjure House offers up a solid, old-fashioned horror novel story, the kind where the real horror always seems to be just off the margins of the page. Gary Fry establishes each scene beautifully, engaging the reader's imagination so well that it's often a surprise to look back and realize just how sparse the details are upon the page, when they're so vivid and vibrant in the...

Read More

Captivated and Enthralled by Blood Makes Noise (#bookreview)

There are some books you read where the prose is so crisp, where the story flows so well, you immediately wonder what else the author has written. Blood Makes Noise is one of those books. Even if one were to have absolutely no idea who Gregory Widen is, it wouldn't take more than a few chapters to send you scrambling for Wikipedia to confirm that not only is he a writer, but an accomplished one at that.Yes, this is the man who...

Read More

A Miracle of Rare Design . . . and good reading (#bookreview)

A Miracle of Rare Design by Mike ResnickHardcover, 196 pagesPublished July 19 2013 by Dog Star BooksSynopsis:How far would you go to unlock the mysteries of an alien culture? Journalist and adventurer Xavier William Lennox becomes obsessed with the rituals of the Fireflies, an alien culture of gold-skinned inhabitants living on the planet Medina. When he gets too close to their mysterious society, he's captured, tortured, and banished for defying...

Read More

Big Damn Heroines - Women Kicking Ass (#guestpost)

Hello, everyone! My name is K. Piet, and I'm the Marketing Director of Storm Moon Press, here today to tell you about our latest anthology release, which packs a proverbial punch.Big Damn Heroines is an anthology that was very important to us at Storm Moon Press. When we were thinking up new anthology calls, the concept of a size-friendly anthology focusing on women kicking ass immediately came to mind. You see a lot of female protagonists in the...

Read More

Cheering on Chapel versus the Chimera (#bookreview)

David Wellington is one of those authors who have been on my radar for a while. I've picked up copies of Monster Island, 13 Bullets, and Frostbite, and I remain excited about all of them, but they've yet to make their way to the top of my TBR pile.When I saw Chimera: A Jim Chapel Mission come available for review, I knew I had to seize the opportunity to finally make David a priority read . . . and I'm glad I did. Less of a straight-forward...

Read More

Talking Vanishers or Dangerous Latitudes with James Ullrich (#interview)

Good morning, all! Today we have the good fortune to welcome James Ullrich to the ruins, here to talk his work, his travels, and his writing.Thanks for taking the time to stop by today, James. For those who haven't yet had a chance to give The Vanishers or Dangerous Latitudes a read, please tell us a little about yourself.Hi Bob, thanks so much for having me. Happy to be here. I’m a freelance writer, editor and author. In terms of my travel...

Read More

Stacking The Shelves & What I'm Reading

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme being hosted by Tynga's Reviews, while Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Book Obsessed 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.With...

Read More

Talking Time Travel & Magic with Scott Spotson (#interview)

We have the good fortune today to welcome Scott Spotson to the ruins. An author, artist, and fellow Canuck, Scott currently has three titles in print, with a fourth - the creepy and unsettling thriller, Delusional - soon to come.Thanks for taking the time to stop by today, Scott. For those who haven't yet had a chance to give Seeking Dr. Magic or Life II a read, please tell us a little about yourself.Hi, thank you as well for having me here!...

Read More

Waiting on Wednesday: On the Steel Breeze by Alastair Reynolds

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:On the Steel Breeze by Alastair ReynoldsSept 12, 2013 (Gollancz)It is a thousand years in the future. Mankind is making its way out into the universe on massive generation ships.On the Steel Breeze is the follow-up to Blue Remembered Earth....

Read More

Sharing a Sense of Desolation with Travis Simmons (#bookreview #giveaway)

While it wasn't necessarily a bad book, there were so many little issues with Desolation that I really had trouble enjoying it.On the plus side, Travis Simmons has definitely done something interesting with zombies here, adding a little fresh blood and brains to a genre that's become very tapped out. Rather than limit himself to a choice between the classic shuffling zombie and the contemporary speedy one, he incorporates both into his story, and...

Read More

Conflicted (and excited) about King of Thorns (#bookreview)

I opened my review of Prince of Thorns, book 1 of The Broken Empire saga, by saying:"Damn, but this was one hell of a book!"I would like to begin this review in a similar spirit, by saying:"Damn, but this was one hell of a book to review."I've let it settle and digest for a few days, but I'm still very conflicted in my thoughts regarding King of Thorns. Mark Lawrence has improved upon many aspects of that first book, particularly in...

Read More

Call for Submissions - Midian Unmade: Tales of Clive Barker's Nightbreed

Stoker Award-winning anthologist Del Howison (Dark Delicacies 1-3, The Book of Lists: Horror) and internationally bestselling urban fantasy author Joseph Nassise (Eyes To See, By the Blood of Heroes) have joined forces with horror Grand Master Clive Barker to bring you back to the city of Midian and the creatures of the darkness known as the Nightbreed!Tor Books will be publishing MIDIAN UNMADE: TALES OF CLIVE BARKER’S NIGHTBREED in simultaneous hardcover and trade paperback editions in the fall of 2014 and we’re looking for original...

Read More