The Raven Boys
I don’t get as much time to read books these days as I’d like to, so I’ve widened my available reading time by opening up to the wonderful world of audiobooks. I found myself with a long drive ahead of me and nothing picked out to read, so I went to my library and checked out a digital audiobook. Time was short, so I didn’t have much of a chance to research what I wanted to read.
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The Lazarus Machine
I recently re-watched Back to the Future. A good movie, if I do say so myself. (And I do.) Though when it came time for Doc Brown’s monologue about how he’d measured the distance from the “starting line” to the hanging wire he’d previously strung that Marty would need to start from at exactly the right time, so that at the precise moment that Marty’s car reached 88 miles per hour, the lightning bolt would hit the clock tower, travel down the electrical line the doc had hung, through the long hook extending from Marty’s car, and directly into the flux capacitor to send Marty back to the future… I had to take a moment to ask myself if I honestly cared that so much of the plot was based on ridiculously stupid timing and outright luck. And you know what I found?
I didn’t care. Not a lick.
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The Far West
I first met Eff Rothmer in THIRTEENTH CHILD (Amazon), where she lives in the frontier border town of Mill City with her family. She’s the thirteenth child of a seventh son, and her twin brother Lan is the seventh son of a seventh son, making him a naturally strong magician. Some consider a thirteenth child as unlucky. Stir those expectations around and the result is that poor Eff has trouble learning the magic that comes naturally to her family. But despite her rocky start, Eff discovers that how you use your magic is often more important than how strong your magic is.
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Shattered Pillars
I was blown away by RANGE OF GHOSTS (EBR Review) last year, and was so excited to receive SHATTERED PILLARS (Amazon) in the mail, the second installment of Elizabeth Bear’s The Eternal Sky trilogy. But before I start the review, if you haven’t read GHOSTS, stop and read it before you continue. PILLARS will not make sense if you read them out of order.
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In Thunder Forged
IN THUNDER FORGED (Amazon) is the first novel set in the Warmachine world, which is known for tabletop war games, and several RPG releases. Created by Privateer Press, and published by Pyr SF&F, the novel takes place in a war-torn, steam-powered fantasy world, and IN THUNDER FORGED is a strange breed of Military Thriller, Espionage and Heroic Fantasy. I’ve been playing the tabletop game for several years now, and I’m (what I consider) pretty familiar with the world and setting. A series of tie in novels was not something I approached without trepidation. I’ve never read an Ari Marmell book before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
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The Doctor and the Rough Rider
Sometimes it’s difficult to keep up in the reviewing world. It seems like no matter how many books you read, there are always three more that show up for every one you get through. As such, there are times when I go to reach for that next book and my hand gravitates toward those that are the thinnest. I can’t help myself. It’s a choice of simple economics. This was one of those choices.
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Skarlet
Jake Lawton is a bouncer at a London club’s goth night where nearly thirty people die of a drug overdose–one of them his ex-girlfriend. Not long later they all rise from the dead and begin a killing rampage, draining the blood from everyone they come in contact with. People refuse to believe it, but many call them vampires.
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A Natural History of Dragons
Have you ever wondered what a fantasy version of DOWNTON ABBEY would be like? I’m not gonna lie, I’ve watched every episode of the show. I like it quite bit. And yet every time I watch an episode I can’t help but wonder what it would be like in a fantasy setting. It wouldn’t be too different, which would allow it to retain the charm while still imparting that fantastical sense of wonder.
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Third Grave Dead Ahead
Charley Davidson is the grim reaper–but it’s not like you think. She’s more a portal to heaven than someone who actively reaps souls. But she’s still mortal, and a girl’s gotta have a day job. Hers is as a private detective in New Mexico, with her dad as a business partner and her best friend Cookie as the receptionist.
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2013 Hugo Awards Voting
This is it everyone. If you can vote for the Hugo Awards, you have have until July 31st to do so. Honestly, vote for who you feel is best and most deserving, but most of all, JUST VOTE!
So who are we voting for? Well, that’s a bit complicated in some aspects. It’s a very odd field this time around, especially in short fiction. I know we usually review the short fiction, but there doesn’t seem to be any point to it. We just end up saying, “Hey we really liked this one. But we can’t discuss it without major spoilers because of how short the pieces of fiction are.
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