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Ashley Perrin has only just graduated from college and started a civil servant job working as a community liaison for the Third District. It's challenging for human Ashley as the Third District has a large alien population. More aliens, in fact, than humans. There's nothing wrong with a large alien population, but it does mean more of a challenge for Ashley as she has to field complaints and solve a wide variety of neighborhood conflicts - including an unusual, alien hornet that threatens every living thing in the entire city. It's only her first day and she hasn't even checked out the drawers in her assigned desk, but the most terrifying thing facing Ashley is her turn in the office karaoke. This is a short book - maybe more short story than novella even - but it's got all the hallmarks of a 'typical' John Scalzi book: smart and sassy leading characters, oddball situations, and supporting characters designed to be outrageous (usually to get a chuckle). Ther...

I have a shelf full of 'Black Company' books that I have;t read yet, but because I've read and really enjoyed some shorter works by author Glen Cook I knew it was just a matter of time before I got to reading them. When I received the opportunity to read this - the first book in a new 'Black Company' series, I decided this would be a good place to start. Perhaps I was wrong. The Black Company has retreated to Hsien - once the Company's most secure haven but now not quite the relaxing space it once was. The annals of the company are being recorded by Arkana and Shukrat - two of the younger, female members of the group. At first there isn't much to report and the teens write, diary-like, of the personal problems they have with others (and specifically each other). But slowly, judging by how it's noted in the annals, an evil is creeping its way into Hsien and the Black Company. Arkana and Shukrat comment on fellow company member, Tobo, who's been groome...

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...