Posts from 2014 :: Page 4

Teenage Rain Cacique lives in the Prospero Keys (known to locals as The Ghosts), a series of islands between Florida and the Bermuda Triangle. To her dismay, she’s pretty sure she’s going to spend the rest of her life there, catering to the tourists who come to enjoy the tropical weather and scenery. Her and her friend Charlie spend their last free days before school begins having as much fun as they can.
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I’m not entirely sure when I last read a Western. Probably TRUE GRIT. Before that? Who knows? See, I grew up on Westerns. Louis L’Amour was my go-to author for the longest time. I loved the sense of adventure and the roughness of the world L’Amour’s characters inhabited. I watched John Wayne movies and loved every last one of them. From there came Tombstone and Unforgiven, and I realized how much I loved a darker Western story. I count NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN in that camp. But really, finding good Westerns is tough sledding these days. For me, I know within the first page of a novel or the opening minutes of a movie if I’m going to like it or not.
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Kestrel is the teenage daughter of a general in the Valoria army, the equivalent of the ancient Roman Empire. He helps the provincial governor in the Herrani territory, where they have enslaved the invaded locals. As a Valorian she must soon decide to join the military or be married. But despite a knack for strategy her combat skills are lacking–her true talent lies in the piano.
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I harp a lot about how infrequently I find good Science Fiction.  I know it. Give me a megaphone and let me crow it from the rooftops.  I have no shame. Give no quarter, I say.  That is my opinion and I stand by it absolutely.

Still… it’s nice to occasionally find that someone out there is listening.
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It’s the year 1877, but not like we would recognize. Egypt’s capital Memphis is the center of civilization, its Pharaoh the lord over Europe, Africa, and much of Asia. Scott Oken and Mikel Mabruke are agents of the Pharaoh, even though they have royal titles of their own (like the Pharaoh, they are descended from Cesar and Cleopatra). They travel the world to secure intelligence for the empire, to keep it safe and strong.
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Stranded on an alien space station when she’s left behind by her colony ship, Tula is never able to contact them again. She must now learn to survive as a lone human among less than friendly aliens. Tula prepares for the day when she can have her revenge on Brother Blue, the man who left her behind, and who was responsible for the disappearance of the colony ship.
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It took me a while to catch on to this series by Elizabeth Bear.  I’d seen reviews when the first book, RANGE OF GHOSTS, came out, including here at EBR (EBR Review).  I even saw the second book in the series, SHATTERED PILLARS, come out and also reviewed here (EBR Review).  The books started to sit in my mind a bit.  It took a while, but they sounded like something I needed to be a part of.  So late last year I finally got RANGE OF GHOSTS (loved it), and for Christmas I received SHATTERED PILLARS (fantastic) so that I could be ready to go when the last volume STELES OF THE SKY (Amazon) came out.
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Silver and her mate Andrew are the alphas of the Roanoke werewolf pack, the largest in North America. But they’re more than just that, they’ve been sworn fealty by the alphas in all the other packs in North America, as well. There’s a benefit to having two alphas–they can  divide and conquer, which comes in handy when there’s an entire continent to manage.
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I was in the mood for some Horror short fiction the other day. Fortunately, Cemetery Dance sent me over a small collection from one of their regular authors, Brian James Freeman, that seemed like just the ticket.

WEAK AND WOUNDED (Amazon) is the name of the collection, and in it are five horror stories.
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When I read PRINCE OF THORNS (EBR Review), I was blown away. I know, I know. I’ve said this a time or two. Or twenty. It’s no secret that Mark Lawrence has become one of my favorite authors. His novels are a breath of fresh air, and are an absolute pleasure to read. And so now we come to the start of a new series set in the same world as Lawrence’s other novels. PRINCE OF FOOLS (Amazon).
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