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Middle-aged Drew returns to his British home after receiving a call that his childhood friend, Scotty, has been hospitalized in a mental institute. Drew knows that it must be connected to an event when the boys were 15, back in the mid-1980s. Visiting now coughs up the memories when a group of boys were excited at the idea of having the carnival (funfair) in town. In order to spend some time at the carnival, the friends need to make some money so they go around town doing odd jobs. At the home of one of the town's creepier citizens, one young lad returns a 'changed' individual. The town itself has an edge to it (the boys want to catch Old Man Harrison, who has over 100 cats in his home, dumping dead cats somewhere) and once you toss in a carnival you get the perfect setting for a dark, foreboding horror story, not unlike something Stephen King or Peter Straub might write. Here, author Steven Savile captures the youth of 1985 quite well. Though many of the British pop refere...

Kahless II is the emperor of the Klingon empire and the power has completely corrupted him. He has raided ancient tombs, stolen the Bajoran Orb of Destruction, and taken the power of gods unto himself. He's begun a genocide campaign across the galaxies but other races aren't just lying around waiting to be slaughtered. Some of the Federation's elite come together to challenge Kahless. But Kahless has his own strong army (willing or not) including Alexander, Worf's son.  There are many different 'fronts' to the war with Kahless and the elite Federation forces need careful coordination, and each squad must achieve their individual goal if there's any possible chance of success. For the most part, I really liked this graphic novel. First, it's an all-star cast of characters. Spock and Scotty, Data and Lore, Sela and Ro, Worf and Sisko, B'Elanaa and Tom, and more. The story cuts back and forth between the different groups (they've teamed up to do spe...

Valentino, a UCLA film archivist and occasional detective is helping out a friend who recently bought an old drive-in movie venue. Leo brings in his friend Leo Kalishnikov who is a top-notch theater designer.  But Leo's mind isn't on the job - he's being blackmailed in regards to something from his past. Valentino offers to help Leo but at just about the same time, Valentino is contacted by a stranger who claims to have two reels of the silent film  Cleopatra  (1917) starring Theda Bara. Finding a film thought to be lost is a film archivist's dream. But getting ahold of the film would require that Valentino navigates in the dark, underbelly of Los Angeles. Meanwhile, time is running out for his friend Leo. Can Valentino accomplish both missions, successfully?  Can he even stay alive? Maybe it's not a surprise, given my interest in films, but I've read a surprising number of books (ie: within the last year) about rare/lost films recently. One of these was a book ...

An alien artifact, likely some 12,000 years old, is found on Native American land controlled by the Sioux. The artifact appears to be a gateway that allows those who pass through to travel to other worlds - all very much like Earth, some with intelligent beings. No one knows why it's on Earth. When the Sioux leader dissembles the gateway and hies the various pieces, it sends the world leaders into a tizzy as they can only see advantages and the opportunities to study other beings. But the Sioux leader (James Walker) is trying to protect the people of Earth from a danger uncovered by travelers. First, let's address that this is not a novel.  It is barely a novella in length. However, the scope of the story and characters is enough to fill a multi-book series. I come to a Jack McDevitt book because I have listened to all of his Alex Benedict series (my wife have found it to be something we can both enjoy on our long drives). This is NOT part of that series, but I've come to l...

Who knew that inheriting a house could lead to so much change? It is 1847 and Merritt Fernsby inherited the family Whimbrel House - a structure that had been terrifyingly haunted when he first moved in.  But thanks to the help of Hulda Larkin of BIKER (The Boston Institute for the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms) it was discovered that the house had been inhabited by Owein - Merritt's great, great, many generations removed uncle who was once a boy, then a house, and now, with BIKER's help, inhabits the body of a dog. Merritt, meanwhile, has become engaged to Hulda. [These are the events of the previous two books in the series.] Now Merritt receives communication from the Queen of England, Alexandrina Victoria. She knows of Owein and is interested in the dog. As queen, it is her duty to oversee British wizardry and to make sure it grows and thrives. Owein holds special interest, being hundreds of years old (thanks to being a house for most of those years). The queen makes an offer - ...

From the creator of the hugely popular Sookie Stackhouse series (aka True Blood ) is the Gunnie Rose series. All the Dead Shall Weep is the 5th book in this series, but author Charlaine Harris gives us everything we need to know about the characters within the pages of the book - reading this will only whet the appetite to go back and read the earlier entries in the series. Lizbeth Rose Savarova meets her (half)sister Felicia Karkarova and her husband’s brother (Peter Savarova) at the train station. Felicia's magical powers have grown and she's become the target of multiple assassination attempts and kidnapping attempts. But there are also men coming to make their acquaintance ... Felicia is perhaps the most eligible young woman in the magic world. The sisters have a strong bond and they definitely look after each other and Lizbeth is suspicious of everyone who approaches. And for good reason as she discovers when someone kills her. There's a reason that some authors find ...

Tybalt, King of Cats, has a perfect life.  Respected by his clan, Tybalt is married to the love of his life - October Daye - a hero of her own time - and they are expecting their first child. A perfect life, that is, until it is ripped away by Titania. The Mother of Illusions and Queen of Faeries has not been happy with the way things have been going and she does hold a grudge against anyone she feels has wronged her. She has taken control of the Kingdom and altered it to suit her desires. Most in this new reality aren't aware that a change has been made - most, including October - the new reality is as it has always been, as far as they are concerned. But because Titania has no love for Tybalt, she has banished him, and his Court of Cats, from the new reality altogether. Unlike others, for whom reality has simply changed, Tybalt is painfully aware of what he has lost and is determined to get it back. In my review of the previous October Daye book I noted that the story had taken o...

 Death is inevitable, but that doesn't make it any easy to accept, and when Ray loses his grandmother Ray examines the meaning of life.  ... Not because he's typically philosophical, but because his grandmother instructed him to do so in her will.   Ray stands to inherit his grandmother's $1Million estate - a success trailer park inhabited by a number of ... unique ... people.  Perhaps misfits and oddballs would better describe the residents.  But to inherit this property, Ray must discover the meaning of life within the next 30 days.  If he doesn't do so, the estate will go to his estranged family. How will Ray know if he's found the answer of not? Grandmother has left the answer in an envelope. Ray will experience a lifetime's worth of encounters in the next month, from nutjobs to nature, from the sullen to the sanguine, which will only help him to potentially achieving his goal. I would classify this book as existential humor - sort of the same cate...

The world becomes a smaller place in this apocalyptic future.  There are two factions (ie controlling countries) now - the Pacific League of Nations and the Atlantic Division of Nations. Each side is nervously expecting the other side to initiate some kind of aggression. But it may not be either of the two nations that starts something ....  Three young scientists from the Pacific League of Nations learn that a very advanced, highly intelligent alien species has been sending messages, trying to make contact. The trio look to be the ones to make first contact as they aren't convinced the extraterrestrials are a threat, but their counterparts in the Atlantic Division may take a more aggressive first contact step, which would likely bring the whole world into a losing conflict. I don't read enough fiction from a different global perspective and when this appeared as an ARC I was eager to give it a read. I had not heard of author Hao Jingfang or read any of her work prior to ...

Tempest Raj works in her family business, Secret Staircase Construction, which specializes in hidden rooms and hidden access to spaces in a home.  At the home of a former client, the Rhodes', a woman was killed and her husband, Julian, is blaming the construction company for faulty work. Now the company is struggling to overcome the bad press. When Julian calls and asks to meet Tempest she agrees, hoping that they can come to some kind of terms. But when Tempest arrives at a historic old theater, she finds Rhodes dead, a sword through his chest. Swords that appear out of thin air are just the kind of magic that Secret Staircase Construction is known for. Tempest knows her family company will be the prime suspect(s) but she also knows they're being framed so she sets out to uncover the real killer before she or anyone in her family can be railroaded for the crime. It's no secret I'm a fan of Gigi Pandian's work. These are really nicely written mysteries - not quite ...

Retired Special Forces operative, Sam Dryden, is looking to live a quiet retirement in his seaside Southern California town, but when he sees a young woman being chased by armed men down near the boardwalk, his instincts and skill kick in. The men with the weapons, bent on killing the young woman, are highly skilled and clearly trained, but Dryden, with his background in Special Forces, Delta Ops, and off-record special ops missions, is more than up to the task of getting the girl away. But it quickly becomes clear that the young woman, Rachel, is no ordinary girl when she reveals her ability to read Dryden's mind. But other than this ability, Rachel doesn't remember much about her past - only that she is trying to get away. Sam Dryden will need to use all his skills to keep the two of them safe while also trying to learn more about Rachel's background - which may be the only way to help her get truly free. This was an absolute thrill ride! Author Patrick Lee wastes no time...

Richard Elauved, 14, moves to Ballantyne to live with an aunt and an uncle after the terrifying house fire that took the life of his parents. Richard isn't the friendliest of boys and he quickly gets a reputation at school and within the community as being a loner, a bully, and a trouble-maker. One day Richard convinces another boy to join him and make a prank telephone call to a random number in the phone book. Using a phone booth at the edge of town (and dating the story) Richard pushes the boy (Tom) to make the call but is then horrified as Tom is slowly sucked into the phone, bloody and screaming. Richard traces the number that was called to an old, abandoned house in the woods and, along with another frightened school boy, go off to investigate. But that boy is transformed into an insect and burrows into the dirt at Richard's feet. Being the last person known to be with the missing boys, Richard is suspected of foul play by the police. But telling the truth does no good be...

I'm a huge fan of the American National Parks (and Monuments) and I've found that books and other merchandise for and about the Parks system is generally quite attractive and engaging.  This is no exception. The book is primarily a journal for logging and tracking the parks that you've been to.  Each park (the book contains all of the parks in the National Parks system) is a two-page spread. the first page has a gorgeous retro-styled art for the park along with a quick debrief (location; size; established; etc) and a one paragraph description of the park. There is also a highlighted 'tips' section that are a bit more personal from the author (ie: "Don't miss the northern lights! For my Gates of the Arctic trip, I had dinner at ... and made friends with folks who promised me a northern lights wake-up call. The knock came at 2am..."). The second page of the spread is the journaling page (it is the same for all the parks). It's nicely made and manages...