Scarlet (2012) A. C. Gaughen “I don’t think I’m in the mood for this book.” A couple days later, “I don’t think this is the book I want to read right now.” Several days later, “This isn’t the book I want to read right now.” A few days pass, “I don’t want to read this […]
Aloha from Hell (2011) Richard Kadrey James Stark–better known in Hell as Sandman Slim–enjoys not being in Hell. He enjoys not having to fight for his life, or assassinate other Hellions on the orders of the Hellion who owned him. He’s gotten revenge on most of the people who sent him to Hell and murdered […]
Magic Dreams (2011) Ilona Andrews Huh. This is a reread, but I can’t find my original review. Apparently, I didn’t read all the stories in the anthology this was originally in, and so I never wrote a review. So, this first appeared in the anthology, Hexed, which I have but seemingly only read one story […]
Have Stakes Will Travel (2012) Faith Hunter This is a collection of four Jane Yellowrock stories, ranging from the time when Jane and Beast ran wild to the time past the end of the last book. “We Sa and the Lumber King” is set during the time when Beast was in control, probably the late […]
Vulture Peak (2012) John Burdett Sonchai is in over his head now. Colonel Vikorn has decided (was ordered?) to run for governor of Bangkok. Because General Zinna controls the local trade in body parts, Vikorn has decided that wiping out selling of illegal body parts is the way to make his name and propel himself […]
Ashes of Honor (2012) Seanan McGuire Toby has, in theory, been putting her life back in order. But mostly she is still grieving the loss of her lover and her daughter. When she is asked to find a lost Changeling child–a child who has powers that may well turn out to be a threat to […]
Kilts & Kraken (2012) Cindy Spencer Pape I must admit I’ve been enjoying this series of novellas. The lovely steampunk and strong female characters offset the boinking (which, there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just not my thing.) Dr. Geneva MacKay (Genny to her family) has worked very hard to establish herself as a rare […]
Starcrossed (2011) Josephine Angelini Helen Hamilton lives on Nantucket and feels like the biggest freak on the island. She’s tall. She lives with her Dad because her mom abandoned them when she was a baby, And she can do things that other girls her age can’t do. She tries very hard to fit in but […]
Sandman Vol 3: Dream Country (1990) Neil Gaiman, Kelley Jones, Colleen Doran, Charles Vess, Malcolm Jones III I’m particularly fond of this volume–I quite like the Shakespeare story, as well as the dream of a thousand cats. Rating: 8/10 Published by Vertigo
Hex Appeal (2012) edited by P.N. Elrod; Stories by P.N. Elrod, Carrie Vaughn, Ilona Andrews, Jim Butcher, Simon R Green, Rachel Caine (and others) As I was expecting, this collection was a mixed bag. Luckily, the good stories were very good, and worth the price of the anthology. I bought the anthology first and foremost […]
One Grave at a Time (2011) Jeaniene Frost Here’s what I don’t get. That horrific cover? Same author. Same publisher, but the covers for this series are pretty damned awesome. And this doesn’t even merit something Jim Hines could mock for unrealistic/uncomfortable body poses! Plus, it’s a great book! I love how there’s still story […]
Eternal Kiss of Darkness (2010) Jeaniene Frost I really liked this book. However. HOLY TOMATOES! THAT IS A HORRIBLE COVER! Seriously, her Cat and Bones series has decent covers–good covers even. But this? This makes me want to cringe. Perhaps even rip the cover off and burn it so I don’t ever have to see […]
Dark Frost (2012) Jennifer Estep Gwen Frost is finishing up one last assignment before winter break ends: she and her friends Daphne and Carson are touring a museum looking at magical artifacts important from the wars against Loki and his Reapers of Chaos, as are lots of other kids in her class. But Gwen is […]
Beastly Things (2012) Donna Leon I love this series. I love spending time in Venice with Commissario Brunetti and has family, I love all the characters he deals with, and I love the complexity of his family and co-workers. It’s funny, but for the most part, the mysteries take a back seat to everything else […]
Akitada and the Way of Justice (2011) I. J. Parker This is a collection of eleven short stories featuring the 11th century Japanese “detective” (there wasn’t such a term at the time) Akitada, over the span of his career, from the first mystery he was involved in to one towards the end of his career. […]
Fables 17: Inherit the Wind (2012) Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Shawn McManus The North Wind is dead! Long live the North Wind! That’s right, someone has to become the new North Wind, and the best candidates are the cubs. Meanwhile, in the Land of Oz, Bufkin and several others are on the run […]
Of Swine and Roses (2011) Ilona Andrews Alena’s family is forcing her to go on a date with Chad Thurman, a thug, but a member of a family in a position to do Alena’s family a favor. Things go worse than anyone could have expected. This is a short story by Ilona Andrews–I have to […]
Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History (2011) Bill Laws I like to read non-fiction books. First, I like learning stuff, and second, non-fiction is generally good to read before bed, since it tends to lack suspense and surprises. Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History cover a lot of plants, focusing on […]
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) (2012) Jenny Lawson As readers of my twitter stream and blog already know, I love The Bloggess. I fully admit she isn’t for every. After all, this is the woman whose tag line could (and should) be “knock knock motherfucker” But if she does amuse you […]
The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland–for a Little While (2011) Catherynne M. Valente Mallow is content to live with her cast iron ducks doing the occasional magic for those in need, but mostly she prefers to be left alone. But then the King of Fairy calls a for a Foul in the capital of Pandemonium and […]
Exit Music (2007) Ian Rankin I’d put off reading Exit Music, the last Rebus book, for several months. Because it is the last Rebus book, and I wasn’t ready for it yet. Rebus, of course, ends his story the way he began it: stubborn, contrary, and in trouble. A Russian poet is found dead, and […]
Rules for Virgins (2011) Amy Tan This is a short story by Amy Tan, set in Shanghai in 1912. Violet is a new courtesan and Magic Gourd is the older courtesan who is to both train Violet and prepare for for the life she has chosen. The story is comprised entirely of the advice that […]
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling (2009) Maryrose Wood and Illustrated by Jon Klassen Penelope Lumpey has just graduated from the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females and now, at the age of 15 must make her way forth in the world. Luckily for her, a governess position was found by her […]
Ghost Hedgehog (2011) Nina Kiriki Hoffman Jack is in fifth grade and can see ghosts. Unfortunately for him, when his fifth-grade teacher dies, he discovers that ghosts can also see him, and attach themselves to him. I love Nina Kiriki Hoffman’s writing and stories. I love even better that eBooks can make these stories available […]
Raven Cursed (2012) Faith Hunter Jane Yellowrock is back in Asheville, NC, providing security for a vampire meeting. Lincoln Shaddock wants to lead his own clan, and has petitioned Leo Pellisser for that right. Shaddock’s ability to shorten the time of devoveo has made him a power, and so Lincoln must decide if he deserves […]
Madhouse (2008) Rob Thurman I have a huge To Be Read pile, yet I can’t stop rereading this series. This book starts off with Cal and Niko working on a kidnapping case. Cal–who is still pretty high strung (justifiably)–hates kidnapping cases, so there probably isn’t much chance things are going to go well. So of […]
Magic Gifts (2011) Ilona Andrews I actually finished this a couple weeks ago, but somehow forgot to write about it. For Christmas, the husband and wife team of Ilona Andrews made a novella, Magic Gifts, available for download from the website for a limited time. I of course downloaded it and once I figured out […]
Naked City (2011) edited by Ellen Datlow This collection of urban fantasy stories has several of my favorite authors, so it was a no-brainer to get. The bad thing is that I’ve been reading this collection for several months, so I now have no idea what the stories at the start of the anthology were […]
The White City (2010) Elizabeth Bear Abigail Irene, Sebastian,and Phoebe have traveled to Moscow, as they attempt to get over their loss of Jack. However, Sebastian spent time here with Jack, before he met Irene and Phoebe, and his memories of the place include Jack. And murder–past and present–inserts itself into their lives, both causing […]
Eight Skilled Gentlemen (1991) Barry Hughart This is the third and final book in the Master Li and Number Ten Ox trilogy. I’m a little sad to see it end, but it was quite enjoyable. Oddly, the passages that caught my attention in this book weren’t the funny ones, but the ones that related to […]
The Story of the Stone (1988) Barry Hughart Master Li has taken Number Ten Ox on as his assistant. The Abbot of the monastery of the Valley of Sorrows comes to Master Li asking for help resolving the unexpected death of his librarian, and the strange dead spots in the Valley. Along the way they […]
The Naming of the Dead (2006) Ian Rankin This is the penultimate Rebus novel. I have Exit Music left, and then I’m done. The G8 has come to Edinburgh, and almost every cop in Britain has descended upon the city, to help provide security for the heads of state that are coming. Except, of course, […]
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer (2010) Lish McBride Sam can’t decide what to do with himself, which means that by default he has fallen to the painful default of food service. His life is going nowhere, he’s job is crap, but he has friends, and friends can make anything easier. Even drawing the attention of a […]
Instead of Three Wishes (2006) Megan Whalen Turner This is an absolutely wonderful collection of fantasy short stories for the pre-teen set. Although some of the stories are dark, they are still fabulous, and far less dark than real life. The story “A Plague of Leprechaun” had a feel reminiscent of Charles de Lint. Someone […]
Resurrection Men (2002) Ian Rankin Rebus has done it this time. He’s finally put himself in limbo of sorts–a last chance “retraining” course for cops who can’t keep themselves out of trouble. This “last chance” group is referred to as the “Resurrection Men”–a group who are being given once last chance to revive their careers. […]
The Falls (2000) Ian Rankin The daughter of a wealthy banker disappears, and all the police are placed on high alert to help in the search. Her boyfriend–with whom she had a fight the afternoon before disappearing–expects he’s the prime suspect, but a search of her email turns up a mysterious webmaster with whom she […]
Vampires: The Recent Undead (2011) edited by Paula Guran As with many anthologies, this one has some stories I especially liked, and others I didn’t care for at all. I believe I’ll focus on the ones I liked. The anthology opens with Holly Black‘s story, “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.” This was an unusual take […]
Kill the Dead (2010) Richard Kadrey If you read Sandman Slim, you’re familiar with James Stark, who escaped from Hell to seek revenge for his imprisonment there and the murder of his girlfriend. Now he’s at loose ends, drinking himself into oblivion, living with a disembodied head for a roommate, and trying to make ends […]
Madame Xanadu Vol 4: Extra-Sensory (2011) Matt Wagner, Marley Zarcone, Laurenn McCubbin, Chrissie Zullo, Celia Calle, Marian Churchland I really like the layout for this volume. We see slices from several years in the 1960s in which Madame Xanadu took part. The first several stories only have Madame Xanadu in the periphery–she steps in to […]
Quatrain (2009) Sharon Shinn Four novellas set in four different worlds: Samaria (Archangel), the land of Gold Mountain, Alora (Summers at Castle Auburn), and Gillengaria (the Twelve Houses). I have purchased the first book in the Archangel series, but had not read it, so I saw this as a nice introduction to that world. In […]
Girl Genius Vol 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse (2011) Phil & Kaja Foglio It was reading Agatha H and the Airship City that made me realize it had been awhile since I read a new Girl Genius comic. (Yes, I know you can read them online, but I just like having the bound […]
The Hanging Garden (1998) Ian Rankin The story starts in the middle, moves back to the beginning, and then moves forward again. So we discover quite quickly that Rebus is in the middle of an investigation of a possible WWII war crime, a war is breaking out between the organized crime groups, and Rebus’ daughter […]
Magic Slays (2011) Ilona Andrews I’m starting to get nervous. We’re reaching the part of the series where it feels as if we are beginning to build to the final confrontation. Which often means cliff hanger endings. And I hate cliff hanger endings. But so far so good. Kate and Curran are (sort of) luxuriating […]
The Secret History of Fantasy (2010) edited by Peter S. Beagle This is an interesting collection of short stories, by some very good authors. I can’t say all the stories were to my taste, but they were all very good. The anthology opens with “Ancestor Money” by Maureen F. McHugh which is a story of […]
Folk Tales from the Russian (1903) Verra Xenophontovna Kalamatiano de Blumenthal I love folk tales. I have two shelves of them, and discovered when I got my Kindle there are lots of collections available out there FOR FREE. Free, of course, means the books are from the public domain, and were scanned and formatted by […]
The Iron Khan (2010) Liz Williams I stumbled across The Snake Agent in 2007, and since then have eagerly bought books in the Detective Inspector Chen series whenever they came out. However, at some point finding those books was getting to be more and more difficult. Scuttlebutt has it that Night Share Books (the original […]
Let it Bleed (1996) Ian Rankin The book starts with a car chase–a chase Rebus wants no part of–that leads to the death by suicide of the two teenagers they were chasing. This is followed by the death of an ex-con who just got out of prison. Neither suicide makes any sense to Rebus, and […]
Fables Vol 15: Rose Red (2011) Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Inaki Miranda, Andrew Pepoy, Dan Green Last we saw Rose Red she was slowly destroying herself after losing Boy Blue. Her lack of presence on The Farm means that things with Geppetto are spiraling out of control, while the Fables from Fabletown fight […]
Full Moon City (2010) edited by Darrell Schweitzer and Martin H Greenberg I love anthologies. Though I have to admit that with the way paranormal romance has taken off, the ratio of wheat to chaff has been unfavorable for me. However, Carrie Vaughn and Peter S. Beagle were pretty compelling reasons to get this anthology. […]
The First Rule (2010) Robert Crais Frank Meyer, his family, and their au pair are brutally murdered by a gang of burglars. Except that this looks far more like an execution than a burglary gone wrong, and Frank was not just ex-military but was also a mercenary (now retired) with Joe Pike. When Joe finds […]