Dystopia by Richard Christian Matheson
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
No one matches him in the art of the truly short story. Maybe it's the brutal economy with
which he chooses and uses words, as if they cost thousands apiece. Throughout this
collection, there is not an unnecessary word to be found. Pick the stories apart. You won't find a better way to say
what he has already said. And you won't find a better spokesman for him than this book.
Nocturne for a Dangerous Man by Marc Matz
reviewed by Todd Richmond
It takes place sometime in the not-so-distant future, in a world not so different from our own.
Gavilan Robie, once a member of the Clandestine Action Rescue Committee, is a freelance
art recovery expert. When rich people or corporations lose a valuable piece of art,
Robie is hired to retrieve it. He's very good at his job.
Occasionally he retrieves other more valuable objects -- people.
Nobody Gets the Girl by James Maxey
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
Richard Rogers was a person with a very normal life. He had a clean-freak wife, he would go to open mic nights and use
his comedic talents to poke fun at current events. True, the world was going a bit mad around him, but he was going along
with it. Until one day, he wakes up to find his house is furnished completely different and he's sharing his bed, not
with his wife, but with strangers. It doesn't bother the strangers. They can't see him.
Ironcrown Moon by Julian May
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
In this second book of The Boreal Moon Tale, Snudge, spy, wild talent, and trusted friend of King Conrig Windcantor
continues to reveal the secrets of what really happened, risking his own life and the security of the Blenholme Sovereignty.
In the last book Conrig's wife, Queen Maudrayne, forced into a divorce from her husband, calmly signs the papers, then
leaps off the castle walls and to her death. But now Conrig knows she did not die, and that she may have born a child.
Conqueror's Moon by Julian May
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
When we first meet him, he calls himself by his given name, Deveron Austrey, but soon he will tell us how he earned another name, and
a title. When we first speak to him, he is an old man, bored, realizing that his exile from his homeland will soon be ended by an
assassin sent to make sure his blood is what is spilled, not the royal secrets to which he is witness. So, he has
decided to take another option. He has decided to write about all he knows, beginning with Prince Heritor Conrig Wincantor
and his desire to re-conquer the four island provinces once ruled by his own line. Conrig is willing to do anything to reach this
goal.
Falling Into Heaven by L.H. Maynard and M.P.N. Sims
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
The world is more inhabited with hopeless, lonely people than we care to admit
most of the time. Every other person who passes us on the street is trying desperately to forget something too painful to
carry around all their lives, someone they can never replace, some peace that cannot be theirs. In this collection
there are ways around this suffering, but they seldom lead where we and the characters hope. And pain has many more forms
than we imagine.
The Hidden Language of Demons by L.H. Maynard and M.P.N. Sims
reviewed by Trent Walters
The U.S. government is at it again. This time, they've tapped into human
paranormal powers -- only they don't know what they've tapped into. A power
greater and darker than any paranormal has ever experienced has awakened in
the mind of Michael Moreland, the evil third of three paranormal brothers
who haven't spoken in years. As the paranormals and their loved ones fall
like flies to the insecticide mind of Michael, brothers Robert and Frank
Moreland have to grapple with this demonic presence and banish it before it
destroys them.
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Darkness Rising edited by L.H. Maynard and M.P.N. Sims
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Fans of horror fiction have come to trust the judgement of the editors, and with good
reason. This team has been editing some of the best anthologies and novellas in the genre for several
years now. If we're very lucky, they'll continue to bring us this quality work for many years to
come. This anthology is an excellent example of the kind of work the duo is famous for.
Gods of Manhattan by Scott Mebus
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
Gods of Manhattan was not at all what Nathan expected. As a former MTV producer and author of two
BlokeLit novels, Nathan was anticipating this author's venture into Harry Potter territory would be loaded with modern cultural
references, and techno clever-dickery. Instead, what he found was a quaintly old-fashioned work, brimming with quirky
invention and subtle charm.
The Johnson Amulet by William Meikle
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
This is just the type of Lovecraftian collection it is easy to envision
unfolding in one of the dark mansions that dot the Scottish countryside.
With wide expanses of misty moors and craggy highlands, who knows how many
tentacled, slimy beasties might hide in the shadows? The rough seas stir up
the very fears that breed a story like "The Colour of the Deep" and the
graphic violence of "In the Coils of the Serpent."
Singularity's Ring by Paul Melko
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
The post-human universe isn't just for grown-ups anymore. In his first novel, Paul Melko brings the classic style of young adult
science fiction headlong into a future where the singularity has come and gone, leaving old-fashioned human beings and a new kind
of humanity, the pods, reeling and attempting to recover in its wake. It's a fast-moving story full of adventure, angst, and the
growing pains of a young being known as Apollo Papadopulos.
Rhetorics of Fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn and Feminist Narrative and the Supernatural by Katherine J. Weese
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
As a preface, it is worth pointing out that these titles are written by academics, largely for academics in the field
of English literature, so even if you are an academic like Georges, but in the field of agriculture, some of this is difficult
to wade through if one isn't knowledgeable in the field's jargon. He admits he had to take notes to sort it all out. This
isn't to say the material isn't interesting or the approach valid, just that these aren't the sort of books one takes to the beach.
The Metal Monster by A. Merritt
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Fans of classic, pulp science fiction along the lines of E.E. "Doc" Smith are no doubt going
to be swooning at the prospect of Hippocampus Press' new Lovecraft's Library series. The chance to
read novels such as this one in their original form will be irresistible. Others may long for the savagely slashed version
the author struggled to produce. Chances are, you're going to fall solidly on one or the other side of the debate.
The Moon Pool by A. Merritt
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
Are characters like the scientist-skeptic, the hulking blonde Norse
berserker, the slightly fey heroic Irishman, and the nefarious
double-crossing Russian clichéd? Completely. Are plot devices like lost
races, male characters enraptured by incredibly beautiful virginally pure or
malevolently evil priestesses (or possibly both combined), alien
super-science, and vampiric transdimensional life-forms as ancient as the
hills? Absolutely. Except that the author is one of those who created these
clichés. Besides which, his breadth of imagination and sense and ability to
depict completely alien surroundings and atmospheres far outweigh the
aspects of his work which tie it to his time.
Picoverse by Robert A. Metzger
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
For those of us who haven't quite mastered all the principles of quantum mechanics, particles
physics, and other such demanding theoretical disciplines of science, this book is one ride
where we're just going to have to hold on and hope everything comes out okay. For you physicists out
there, here is the roller coaster of your dreams. Regardless of your left- or right-brain orientations,
keep the safety bar pulled down and your hands inside the car, because the story takes off at
well past light-speed.
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