Friday, December 26, 2008
Currently Reading
Dragon Strike, Book 4 of the Age of Fire series by E. E. Knight. It's good! This is one of those series of books that I eagerly await the next installment.
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Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Supernatural Investigations Series
I received an email from author Justin Gustainis letting me know the new book in his series of Quincey Morris Supernatural Investigations is due out soon, and available on Amazon.
The first book is called Black Magic Woman, and the new book is Evil Ways. Fantasy Bookspot has an excerpt available of Evil Ways.
The series title sounds intriguing. I'll be taking a look at it!
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The first book is called Black Magic Woman, and the new book is Evil Ways. Fantasy Bookspot has an excerpt available of Evil Ways.
The series title sounds intriguing. I'll be taking a look at it!
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Friday, December 19, 2008
Free Gift Card For Books
Check it out. The book blogger at In the Shadow of Mt. TBR is hosting a contest to give away gift cards for books!
Visit the blog, but don't sign up, because that lowers my chances! Just kidding! Definitely sign up!
I like his reason for hosting this contest: authors generally don't make much money anyway and websites like PaperBackSwap (which I love) lowers their income even more because people are trading books instead of purchasing them new so the author gets his due royalties. I love PBS, but I always feel a little guilty swapping books.
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Monday, December 15, 2008
Book Review: The Devil's Eye
The Devil's Eye
by Jack McDevitt
Published by Ace Books (HC) ISBN 9780441016358
Another Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath novel. In the far future of Human civilization, Alex aquires antiquities. Chase is his assistant and pilot. She narrates the story.
Alex receives an all-too-brief message from a horror writer he's never met asking for his help. But the message doesn't elaborate. When Alex finally catches up with her, she's had her mind wiped and is living a new life as someone else. Alex and Chase decide to find out why she needed help by retracing her last known steps in her previous life. That path takes them to the most distant human colony, a month away from the nearest planet - and a war could be brewing between the humans and the Mutes.
McDevitt spins a good mystery, good action and adventure - and he doesn't miss out with the personal element. Chase and Alex are real people. We feel Chase's anger and frustration as she deals with politicians, we feel her self-consciousness as her boss catches her sunbathing topless. Through her narration, we feel Alex's desire to know why. We feel his resignation as he realizes he might be stuck on a planet away from his home and business for three years. We are the Mutes overhearing all of her thoughts.
Eye is a mystery at heart, as are most of the Alex Benedict novels. All of the McDevitt books I've read have been good books. This one meanders down a path of mystery retracing the horror writer's last known locations on that far flung world. As it meanders, it keeps us interested with hints and tidbits of the paranormal, of what is transpiring elsewhere in the galaxy, and glimpses into the ongoing lives of our characters as they seek to find out why someone asked for their help and then had her mind wiped. I had no idea what the solution to the mystery was, and it took a wild turn from just being a reason why that writer needed help, to a major interstellar/interspecies event.
There are some authors whose new books I eagerly anticipate and always seem to enjoy. McDevitt is one of them and hasn't failed me yet.
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by Jack McDevitt
Published by Ace Books (HC) ISBN 9780441016358
Another Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath novel. In the far future of Human civilization, Alex aquires antiquities. Chase is his assistant and pilot. She narrates the story.
Alex receives an all-too-brief message from a horror writer he's never met asking for his help. But the message doesn't elaborate. When Alex finally catches up with her, she's had her mind wiped and is living a new life as someone else. Alex and Chase decide to find out why she needed help by retracing her last known steps in her previous life. That path takes them to the most distant human colony, a month away from the nearest planet - and a war could be brewing between the humans and the Mutes.
McDevitt spins a good mystery, good action and adventure - and he doesn't miss out with the personal element. Chase and Alex are real people. We feel Chase's anger and frustration as she deals with politicians, we feel her self-consciousness as her boss catches her sunbathing topless. Through her narration, we feel Alex's desire to know why. We feel his resignation as he realizes he might be stuck on a planet away from his home and business for three years. We are the Mutes overhearing all of her thoughts.
Eye is a mystery at heart, as are most of the Alex Benedict novels. All of the McDevitt books I've read have been good books. This one meanders down a path of mystery retracing the horror writer's last known locations on that far flung world. As it meanders, it keeps us interested with hints and tidbits of the paranormal, of what is transpiring elsewhere in the galaxy, and glimpses into the ongoing lives of our characters as they seek to find out why someone asked for their help and then had her mind wiped. I had no idea what the solution to the mystery was, and it took a wild turn from just being a reason why that writer needed help, to a major interstellar/interspecies event.
There are some authors whose new books I eagerly anticipate and always seem to enjoy. McDevitt is one of them and hasn't failed me yet.
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Thursday, December 11, 2008
Genre Book Review Blogs Meme
I took a class in high school called "Genres of Literature: Sci-fi and Fantasy". I think the best thing about the class, beyond the reading material, was the teacher - who at one point sent one of the kids in the class to a nearby barbecue restaurant to bring him back some ribs. That teacher pronounced "Genres" as "Jen Rays". Good times, good times!
Grasping for the Wind is wanting to compile a list of blogs that review "genre" books - in his case: Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Here's the current list, with mine added in.
A Dribble Of Ink
Bookspotcentral
The Book Swede
Dark Wolf Fantasy Reviews
The Galaxy Express
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
Grasping for the Wind
Fantasy Book Critic
Fantasy Debut
Fantasy and Sci-fi Lovin' Blog
Jumpdrives and Cantrips
Neth Space
NextRead
OF Blog of the Fallen
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Realms of Speculative Fiction
Rob's Blog o' Stuff
ScifiChick
Severian's Fantastic Worlds
SF Signal
Sporadic Book Review
Vast and Cool and Unsympathetic
Walker of Worlds
WJ Fantasy Reviews
The World in a Satin Bag
The idea here is to post the list in your own book review blog and add your link to the list.
Grasping for the Wind is wanting to compile a list of blogs that review "genre" books - in his case: Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Here's the current list, with mine added in.
A Dribble Of Ink
Bookspotcentral
The Book Swede
Dark Wolf Fantasy Reviews
The Galaxy Express
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
Grasping for the Wind
Fantasy Book Critic
Fantasy Debut
Fantasy and Sci-fi Lovin' Blog
Jumpdrives and Cantrips
Neth Space
NextRead
OF Blog of the Fallen
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Realms of Speculative Fiction
Rob's Blog o' Stuff
ScifiChick
Severian's Fantastic Worlds
SF Signal
Sporadic Book Review
Vast and Cool and Unsympathetic
Walker of Worlds
WJ Fantasy Reviews
The World in a Satin Bag
The idea here is to post the list in your own book review blog and add your link to the list.
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