DEAD TO ME rests firmly in a genre that is somewhere between
Harry Potter and noir. Harry Potter for the slightly
whimsical sensibility and the magical world populated by
oblivious mundanes. Noir for the hard-nosed detective,
following a trail of clues into a dark underworld. Rests
firmly because, while Read more...
The end of Frank Herbert's Chapterhouse: Dune is one of the
most notorious cliffhangers in science fiction, leaving plot
threads developed over the course of 4 books hanging
unresolved, and in many cases only hinted at. Nearly twenty
years after his death, Frank Herbert's Dune series is
finished Read more...
Somewhere between a skewering of the religious right, and a
profound statement of faith, THE MESSIAH OF MORRIS AVENUE is
a funny, heartfelt, twisted and insightful account of the
Second Coming.
Written as a memoir by one his followers, the book is the
story of José Francisco Lorcan Kennedy - who Read more...
A new take on a familiar theme, GIFT FROM THE STARS recounts
what happens when a signal is received from deep space.
From the same premise that served as the starting point for
Carl Sagan's Contact, Gunn develops a story very
different from those that have gone Read more...
LORD VISHNU'S LOVE HANDLES tells the tale of a Dallas
dot-com millionaire who is on the edge of complete
financial, marital and mental collapse. This particular
millionaire also happens to be a gifted psychic - and maybe
even an incarnation of Vishnu - which only adds to his
misery. When Read more...
Picking up soon after the events of WAR OF HONOR, AT ALL
COSTS covers the next moves in the Manticore-Haven war,
taking the scale of the action yet another level higher.
More importantly, the book is laying the ground work for
what will come next for the Star Kingdom Read more...
I never would have thought it possible, but it can in fact
be done - you can write a book about the Iraq War (II) and
remain politically neutral. Chris Ayres manages this
remarkable feat in his autobiographical account, WAR
REPORTING FOR COWARDS, by staying focused on his own
experiences both Read more...
THE OCCULI INCIDENT has as it's central focus an alleged
miracle in an old Catholic church somewhere in New England.
Water drips from the eyes of Christ on the main crucifix in
the church, causing much excitement. Some, including the
parish priest, suspect that the miracle isn't enitrely Read more...
The follow up to his previous work, Guns, Germs &
Steel, Diamond focuses in COLLAPSE not on how and why
societies develop, but how they fall apart. His thesis
being that environmental change is primary cause of societal
collapse, and often times those changes are caused by the
society Read more...
GUNS, GERMS & STEEL is an ambitious - if not audacious -
work that explains why human civilizations have succeeded
and failed throughout history. Diamond's primary assertion
is that the development of human societies is predominantly
determined by environmental and geographic factors. The
book is an exploration of his thesis, and explanations Read more...
Effortlessly straddling any number of genres CITIZEN VINCE
is a book that is easier to read than describe. If pressed
to assign it a genre I'd have to put in the
"philosophical-political-comedy-crime-thriller"
section. Or maybe the
"mystery-morality-tale-slash-black-comedy"
section...I'm Read more...
The third book in the Conclave of Shadows takes a dramatic
turn, shifting its narrative focus from the lead of the
first two books TALON OF THE SILVER HAWK; KING OF FOXES, to
the that of the erstwhile villain, and expanding the scope
from a personal tale of revenge to Read more...
KING OF FOXES picks up the story begun in TALON OF THE
SILVER HAWK as the main character, now styling himself
Talwin Hawkins, continues his work for the Conclave of
Shadows, and seeks vengeance for his destroyed society.
Feist's minimal prose continues, and the weaknesses of the
style becomes Read more...
Launching into another epic series, TALON OF THE SILVER HAWK
marks the beginning of Raymond E. Feist's latest Midkemia
series, Conclave of Shadows. Other Midekemia series include
the Serpentwar series, and the Krondor books. Before going
to far into this review, you should be warned that this
reviewer has Read more...
THE BOOK OF RENFIELD is, ostensibly, the collected records
of Dr. Jack Seward, the head of the Carfax Asylum in Bram
Stoker's DRACULA. It recounts Dr. Seward's interviews with
Renfield prior to, and during, events described in the
famous book.
THE BOOK OF RENFIELD is what you get Read more...
Ed Pichon
Ed started reading Asimov when he was eight, and hasn't looked back
since. While not working his engineering day job, he typically has
his nose in three or four books. Ed's interests run to SF/fantasy,
with a dose of history and (real) science to keep things interesting.
When not reading, Ed spends his time playing games (computer, board,
strategy or role-playing), serving at his church, and working puzzles.
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