Dog Eat Dog by Jerry Jay Carroll
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
It's a bizarre blending of themes and styles, combining over-the-top parody,
thriller-like suspense, and some pretty trenchant observations
about God, the universe, the nature of evil, and the psychology of
dogs. It's a delicate balancing act that constantly runs the
danger of descending into mere silliness.
Top Dog by Jerry Jay Carroll
reviewed by David Soyka
This is a funny, entertaining jaunt that even manages to raise the Big
Metaphysical Questions of the Meaning of Life and why Evil exists without
falling into banalities. But on the other hand, don't expect any deeply
satisfying answers...
Inhuman Beings by Jerry Jay Carroll
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
There is absolutely no reason why this dizzy blend of pulp SF and hardboiled mystery should work, but it
does -- wonderfully. The narrative blazes, the reader doesn't have time to question what's happening.
Carroll invests even his most impossible situations with a crazily consistent logic. The book's
punch is aided by a tight, lean prose style.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
an audiobook review by Sarah Trowbridge
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland makes for great listening, and
a reader's understanding of Lewis Carroll's language and humor can be greatly enhanced by hearing it interpreted
by a talented performer. In this new audiobook edition, the wonderfully talented
Jim Dale renders a memorable performance that gloriously delivers Alice to a new generation of reader-listeners.
Eternity's End by Jeffrey A. Carver
reviewed by Hank Luttrell
This novel is set in the same universe as the epic Star Rigger
series, although it is not closely related to the other books. Readers may
wonder if they should read them in the order published or in the order of
the story chronology. This really doesn't make any difference; the
important thing is just to read these books. They're great.
Dreaming Pigs by Lynne Carver
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
All of this concern over xenotransplantation would seem to make pigs cloned for xenobiotics a hot topic. What do such creatures have to do with
this book? In the end, very little. A cloned pig's heart is used in a transplant operation, but
the young girl recipient does not survive, suffering heart failure -- and thus largely
eliminating the consequences of any pathogen transfer, and any controversy that might drive the the story's plot.
The Winter Queen by Devin Cary
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
With his dying breath, King Ethelred of Albor designates his young
wife Elissa as regent for his son, Prince Edgar. In a land where
women are regarded as inferior creatures and a long-standing law prohibits a woman from ever
ascending to the throne, this is a shocking choice. The lords of
the Privy Council, outraged, begin immediately to plot how to
prevent the king's decree from coming to pass.
Brotherly Love by David Case
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
This collection will stay with you not so much for the frights or laughs it
may generate, but for the questions it raises about good and evil, intolerance, and the nature of humanity. It's
no dry philosophical treatise, but a set of stories with lots of action, interesting
characters, and plenty of murder and mayhem in, as Ramsey Campbell puts it, "impeccable taste."
The Meq by Steve Cash
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
It's the 4th of May, 1881 -- Zianno Zezen's 12th birthday.
He and his parents are on a train, traveling to Colorado. To while away the time, Zianno's mother starts to tell a
story. Zianno's 12th birthday is different, she says, just as he and she and his father are different -- not only because
they're Basque, but because they're older than ordinary people. But before she can elaborate, the
train derails on a washed-out track, and both Zianno's parents are killed.
Without Absolution by Amy Sterling Casil
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
This author's first collection of stories and poems is the work of a good
writer who is slowly but surely learning to be a good science fiction
writer. As such, it is a solid example of what Greg believes to be a truism:
that writing quality science fiction requires more skill on the part of the
author than writing traditional mainstream fiction, not less.
Gurahl by Jackie Cassada and Nicky Rea
gaming module review by Don Bassingthwaite
The Gurahl are the werebears of the World of Darkness. In the mythology of
the Changing Breeds, they are Gaia's Healers, just as the Garou are Gaia's
Warriors. This book looks at the Gurahls' sense of healing and peaceful
tradition, which is not to say that it presents a rosy picture of werebears
with tea-cosies. There is darkness and there is violence.
Elphame's Choice by P.C. Cast
reviewed by Alisa McCune
Elphame, the great-granddaughter of Rhiannon and the daughter of Etain, the current Goddess Incarnate is struggling to find her
way. Born part-human and part-centaur, she is worshiped by the people of Partholon and she hates it. Elphame is a woman -- not
a goddess. Epona, the Goddess, has never directly spoken to Elphame. As a matter of fact, Elphame has never experienced anything
magical except her hybrid looks.
The Burning Heart of Night by Ivan Cat
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
Pilot Lindal Karr is one of the few humans able to withstand fugue, the immune system of the vast living entities called
fugueships. Instead of falling into a coma-like sleep, as most humans do, Karr simply slows down. Passing a subjective day for
every real-time year, he travels the universe in symbiosis with his ship, seeding human colonies among the stars.
Sometimes, though, the seeded colonies don't thrive -- as on the ocean planet of New Ascension, where the small human community lives
in constant peril. Initially judged a paradise, New Ascension hides a terrible secret...
Casting Shadows by Jeanne Cavelos
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
As the book begins Galen, an apprentice techno-mage, and his mentor Elric are awaiting the gathering
of the community of techno-mages for the Convocation. Should he successfully pass his initiation, Galen will be a
full-fledged techno-mage when the celebrations conclude. It's enough to make a young student fraught with anxiety;
Galen has no idea just how dangerous it will be. If he did, he might run in the opposite direction.
But, the ceremony is about to be dwarfed by an infinitely greater threat: the Shadows are about to return.
The Science of Star Wars by Jeanne Cavelos
reviewed by Jonathan Fesmire
The scientific aspects of Star Wars may be fantastic and far-fetched. Or so Jonathan
thought before reading this book. When Star Wars: A New Hope came out in 1977, concepts like faster
than light travel, alien life, and even planets around distant stars, seemed highly
unlikely. Now it's 1999, and scientists have changed their minds. Science
is finally catching up to George Lucas and Star Wars.
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The Science of the X-Files by Jeanne Cavelos
reviewed by Todd Richmond
Todd enjoys The X-Files as much as anyone. But as a scientist,
he finds some of the science speculative and some, utter fiction.
Unfortunately, the author's unwillingness to dismiss the fictitious
pseudo-science results in a disorganized, meandering book that superficially
treats certain subjects while overemphasizing others.
Paper Bodies by Margaret Cavendish
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
While a few other editions of Cavendish's works have appeared in the last 10 years, this
edition has done a good job of selecting and introducing a number of texts by her and placing them in the
context of the social mores and science of her time. While her literary contributions as an early feminist, scientist
and science commentator were substantial and are well represented here, it is the inclusion of her 1666 science
fiction novel The Description of a New World, Called the Blazing-World that makes this book relevant.
Godzilla 2000 by Marc Cerasini
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Lisa has seen the Godzilla movies but who could resist the chance to read an actual novel
about giant monsters? She couldn't, but she wishes she had. You see, to read a young
adult book, it would be extremely helpful to be... well... young. It hurts
her to say it, but she was NEVER this young.
McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales edited by Michael Chabon
reviewed by Hank Luttrell
The introduction, which the editor calls a rant, suggests that the modern short story is dominated by the "...contemporary quotidian,
plotless, moment-of-truth revelatory story." In fact, there are few popular or commercial venues for short stories, and many publications
that do use short stories, such as little magazines, tend toward these everyday plotless narratives he describes.
The editor is, of course, the successful author of the novel Kavalier & Clay, which clearly reflects his interest in
American popular culture and commercial story telling, as his protagonists are the creators of a popular comic book during the
formative years of comic book publishing.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
reviewed by David Maddox
Right from the beginning it's clear that this book is something special. The magnificent paperback cover design by
Henry Sene Yee resembling a well-worn, over-read pulp novel of the 40s helps to
transport the reader back to a different era, a time when heroes were born.
As the story opens, young Josef Kavalier, with the help of his magical mentor Bernard Kornblum, is
escaping Nazi-occupied Europe while trying to conceal an ancient golem from inquisitive Gestapo.
Robota by Doug Chiang & Orson Scott Card
reviewed by Steven H Silver
Many art books take an artist's vision and then have an author write text describing the individual paintings or the artist's
work. Similarly, many stories are written and then illustrated by an artist with a sparse assemblage of paintings which
may, or may not depict the characters and places the author's text describes. Here, the artist and the author avoid both of these
pitfalls.
The Yellow Sign and Other Stories by Robert W. Chambers
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
The book that made Chambers and remains the apex of his work was The King in Yellow. While derived from
some Ambrose Bierce tales, Chambers created, so to speak, the Carcosa mythos, its central figure a king in yellow
tatters, the talisman of the Yellow Sign, and the mind-corrupting second act of the play "The King in Yellow." As
much as Lovecraft expert S.T.
Joshi states that H.P.L. developed his Cthulhu Mythos and associated paraphernalia independently, Chambers' creation
differs little from it.
Chronicle Of The Seven Sorrows by Patrick Chamoiseau
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
In Martinique there was a time when its people still listened to the voices of ghosts, dorlis,
zombis. The undead were as much a part of their lives as the buyers in the marketplace, and sometimes, the only
verbal link to their past. Painful memories of slavery, brutality, and stolen moments of joy, remained only beneath
grave soil. And, while not everyone stayed to hear the song of their history, there were some who were unable to
tear themselves away.
Dossier by Stepan Chapman
reviewed by Rich Horton
The stories in this collection are all good reading. Many of them resemble fables, Native American legends,
or fairy stories. (Indeed, one story is an over-the-top admixture of "Sleeping Beauty" and Gothic
fiction.) The stories are often funny, and usually pointed.
Sometimes there is a neat twist at the end, at other times the whole story is a wild ride through a
bizarre imaginative landscape.
Touch the Dark by Karen Chance
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
Cassandra Palmer is a virginal young woman who talks to dead people, and
following the murder of her parents, was brought up in a vampire mafia family. Then
she ran away. Tony, the undead godfather of the bloodsucking mob, is looking for her,
along with other interested parties. The only advantage Cassie has to begin with is her ability to interact with ghosts,
and to some extent make use of their ectoplasmic powers.
The Troika by Stepan Chapman
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
The author plays with words like trick cards. He surrounds each character with infinite layers of
disguise and dares you to "find the lady." Getting too close to the truth? He simply sheds another onion
skin and allows the story to twist away.
Mothership by Tony Chandler
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
The end has come for the Earth and for all humanity. The T'kaan, a
single-minded race that seeks only to wipe out other species wherever they
find them, has come for the final battle. But not every human being is
killed; an intelligent and unstoppable starship has become Mother to the
last three orphan children of humanity. Now, the question is whether a
sentient ship can truly perform all the duties of a mother to her charges.
The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Sometimes a title is a perfect illustration of a book's contents. "Tapestry" so aptly describes the story
in this horror novel that it is only three-quarters of the way through that the relevance becomes
clear. The tale of Edward Weyland is a weaving of disparate strands that comes together
to make a meaningful whole. The fleeting glimpse we catch of the vampire's life epitomizes what a
tiny portion of the full composition we have been allowed to see.
The Kingdom of Kevin Malone by Suzy McKee Charnas
reviewed by Margo MacDonald
The story is fast-paced and seductive. The main characters are engaging
and tough. Charnas uses familiar fantasy elements to her advantage
in managing to make them seem familiar but not boring.
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