Looking for Your Next Book

I’m a big fan of fairy tales, particularly the kind where you’re never quite sure whether the magical world you’ve discovered is going to be wonderful, dangerous, or both. And that's definitely the sort of treasure you'll find when you open a Seanan McGuire book. McGuire's A Song of Sugar Sparrows happens to be part of the Wayward Children series - probably my favorite McGuire series - although when I started reading it I really wasn't sure if it was. The tone is noticeably lighter and more playful than some of the other books in the series. Sumiko is a twelve-year-old girl who has learned to be quiet, polite, and largely invisible, especially when compared with her older brother. Then, on her birthday, she encounters an impossible door and falls through it into Confection, a bizarre world made up of candy, sweets, and completely nonsensical rules. What initially looks like a wonderful escape turns out to have its own dangers, and Sumiko has to figure out where she bel...

I’ve written before about how important it is for me to “like” the characters in a book. That doesn’t necessarily mean they have to be nice people, but I usually need to find something about them that makes me want to spend time with them. Bust , by Ken Bruen and Jason Starr, puts that idea to the test because there are a whole lot of people in this book that I absolutely would not want to spend any time with. In fact, Bust is filled with some of the most filthy, dirty, slimy people you’re likely to find in a book. They lie, cheat, steal, plot, scheme and generally do some pretty awful things. The language and conversations can be just as dirty as the characters. And yet, I really enjoyed this book. The story is a classic noir setup: Max Fisher wants his wife dead and, with the help of his mistress, sets about finding someone to do the job. Of course, things don’t go according to plan. Actually, they go wrong in so many different ways that watching the characters try to recover from o...

Felix Gomez isn't your ordinary detective.  He's a vampire. His vampire 'id' battles with his human 'ego' to maintain some sense self and what he clings to with his human portion, he tries to do what's morally right. He's currently charged with uncovering who is behind the creation of a horde of zombies in Colorado and put a stop to it. Not an easy task when he has to ward of the zombies when he gets close. Gomez can't turn them - they're zombies! - and they have numbers on their side. The task isn't made any easier when Felix picks up a teenage psychic along the way, and she's begging for Felix to 'turn' her. I have a physical copy of this book and nowhere on the cover, back cover, or series title page does it indicate that this is the fourth book in a series.  In fact, in bold letters on the back cover it reads: "Vampires versus Zombies, Round One..." which I (errantly) assumed indicated it was the first book. Fortunat...

Anyone who has followed my reviews, even for a short time, is likely to have noticed that I enjoy short stories, I enjoy a good Western tale now and again, and I find that I do enjoy a good mystery. One of the few authors who fits into all three of these categories is Craig Johnson with his Walt Longmire series. It's not the classic Western style, set in the 1800's, but the setting in Wyoming and the cowboy-like attitude of Sheriff Longmire definitely give off the western vibe. Have Courage is a collection of short Longmire stories, most of them set around the Christmas season. And while the stories are considerably shorter than the usual Longmire novel, Johnson doesn't skimp on the things that make these books work. We get Walt, Henry Standing Bear, Vic, Lucian, Ruby, the Ferg, Dog and the rest of the familiar characters, along with the humor, mystery, violence and occasional strangeness that we've come to expect. Seriously ... could anything be stranger than our cent...

I'm a long-time reader of science fiction (since the 1970's) and a moderately recent devotee of classic pulp fiction of the 40's, 50's, and 60's and as such it would be nigh impossible to not be familiar with the name Robert Silverberg. However, I haven't really read much Silverberg. There's no particular reason other than 'so many books, so little time' and his books just never found their way to the top of my TBR pile. Hard Case Crime books has pulled some classic Silverberg pulp fiction out of retirement and presented it again.  Thanks, Hard Case Crime! The Hot Beat , originally published in 1960 under the pseudonym Stan Vincent, is a hardboiled crime novel set in the seedy world of postwar Los Angeles nightlife (I think hardboiled crime novels are always set in a seedy world). Bob McKay, once a successful and celebrated bandleader, has lost his career, reputation, and relationship with a beautiful aspiring actress because of his increasingly dest...

Nora Pacetti is happy to be a stay-at-home mom to her sweet new baby girl, Olivia. One day Olivia begins to wail in pain and Nora notices odd growths sprouting out of her baby.  Nora's mother, Giulia, who tends to believe in every crazy conspiracy theory, is confident that the growths are pinfeathers - that Olivia is growing feathers. Nora isn't convinced in her mother's theory, but she does know that something unusual is happening. Her husband, Adam, encourages a doctor visit but when the physician shows unusual curiosity and wants to run further tests, Nora fears that her baby will taken away and poked and prodded like a lab rat. Life gets dicier when their home is invaded and Nora accidentally kills an intruder. Her mother's crazy theories start to hold more weight and the family heads west before authorities come to investigate the dead man in their home. Olivia becomes more and more bird-like, and Giulia proves resourceful as she's horded cash, purchased cars, ...