Looking for Your Next Book

I don't know that I've ever read anything by Joyce Carol Oates, though the name is very familiar. But I also don't think I knew that Ms Oates  wrote such dark, psychological pulp fiction. This book collects two complete novels and two short stories written by Oates years ago and originally published under the name Rosamond Smith. The first novel here, STARR BRIGHT WILL BE WITH YOU SOON, is a hard look at a female serial killer, Starr Bright - aka Sharon, and her twin sister, Lily. Our killer finds it easy to justify her actions killing the 'pigs' who've made her life miserable. Looking to get as far away from the murders as she can, she shows up at her sister's home. Sharon hasn't seen her sister since she left home to be a successful model in the city. Lily, now married and with a daughter, isn't sure why her sister has shown up after being gone so long, but, being her twin, can't just turn the sister away. But will her family be safe? I thought...

Wow. I found this to be an extremely powerful book, dealing with hard subjects, written uniquely and creatively and in a way that young adults will likely truly understand. Four teenagers are looking to escape reality because reality hasn't done much for them and in their own, unique worlds, they can do and be and achieve anything they want. Take Gustav, for instance ... he's building an invisible helicopter. 'Stanzi' can only see it on Tuesdays, but she has every intention of flying away with him when he is done. Stanzi - not her real name, it's the name of Mozart's wife, but one she's adopted to avoid being herself. China has her own issues - when we first meet her she refers to herself as 'the girl who swallowed herself' and later refers to her self as different body parts ("I am China - the gallbladder walking to school"). She also writes poetry. My favorite being: Your Cat Has More Self-Esteem Than I Do   There are no billboards for ca...

Oliver Lewis spends his days running his family ranch with his sister, Lulu, on the planet known as New Sonora. The operation of the ranch consists largely of maintaining a series of old bots - one of which has been charged with educating Oliver and Lulu and can only be turned off by their father, who died years ago. Oliver also plays in a band - The Rhythm Mafia. They haven't place a real gig, but he has dreams of doing so. Lulu also has a side gig, besides working the ranch ... she's a cam girl. And not just any cam girl, but one of the top 100 cam girls in the galaxy. Her income is tied up in banks on Earth, and because Earth and New Sonora don't exactly get along, she can't access it. In the meantime, Lulu will let that money grow and wait for the time when Earth will re-establish a positive relationship. Life on New Sonora changes dramatically when the planet is invaded and unarmed citizens are slaughtered.  A mega corporation on Earth wants the New Sonora resource...

I first reviewed this book back in September of 2025. You can read that abbreviated review here:  https://lookingforagoodbook.com/2025/09/15/lost-marvels-no-3/  I enjoyed what I'd read, but admitted that I'd only read a portion of the actual book because that was all that was available. Within days of that review going live I received an email from the publisher offering me a complete digital copy, which I accepted.It took awhile for the book to get back into my reading queue, and at 500+ pages it was not a light read, but I am so very glad to have had a chance to read the complete book because it's really remarkable. This book collects the first eight issues of Savage Tales magazine - an anthology format,  larger sized, black & white comic. I was initially surprised that I didn't recognize any of the stories, but the first issue was published in late 1985 which was a time I didn't read any comics. For me, this makes this book even more appealing as it gives me...

It is 1914 and Sam Carter is a young American with a taste for adventure, but also a strong sense of self-preservation.  He'd joined the Foreign Legion but has now, somewhat impulsively, abandoned his unit and is on the Orient Express headed to Constantinople. Also on the train, among the French and German businessmen, is British diplomat, Lucas Avery. Avery is resentful of his assignment to deep in the Ottoman Empire and is well into his drink and cigar when Carter joins the train. A scream one night brings both men to investigate and what they see defies common sense. Is there really a vampire riding the train? The more the pair look into it, the more this seems to be the case. Now, as the train screams through the countryside, Carter and Avery rush to uncover the identity of the mysterious vampire and protect the unsuspecting riders. Author Shane Carrow does a really fine job of keeping this story moving at locomotive speed from the moment of the scream through to the end of the...

Larissa Kenders lives in a dystopian future where the real world and the AI world co-mingle in such as way that it's often difficult to know what is real and what isn't. When her partner ("husband" is such an archaic term) disappears, Larissa escapes her depression into an AI world called Nirvana where she can continue to connect with him and live a fulfilling life. But it is here that she learns some dark secrets about Hexagon - the agency that controls Nirvana. Andrew - Larissa's partner - was apparently onto something that could hurt Hexagon. Now, with the help of some friends and unexpected allies, Larissa will fight a battle with this mega corporation - her greatest challenge will be in trying to determine what is real and what is generated by the corporation. I do admit that I was, in part, suckered into this book by the gorgeous cover. The ethereal, brooding nature of the cover suggested the story that this does attempt to be (don't get me started on th...