Looking for Your Next Book

Back in 1980, as I was finishing my freshman year of college, I changed my college major to Theatre Arts. I note this because the biggest topic of discussion among my peers at this time was the very unusual, dark musical that had very recently opened on Broadway, called Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street . It is quite possible that the Original Cast album for the show was among my first Original Cast album purchases (I own well over 200 now). I mention this because Sweeny Todd (as it is generally referred to) holds a special place in my theatre-loving heart. And so this book held a great deal of interest to me. The book is ... exhaustively comprehensive. I definitely appreciated the history and background of the story and how Sondheim came to it and how he collaborated to make it happen. That Sondheim also gives credit to the person who wrote the play that prompted this musical is pretty impressive. I'd read up on the history behind the story before,  but that was many...

I am always happy to see a new Christina Henry book! There's a street in Chicago that seems otherwise pretty ordinary, except for the fact that there's an old, abandoned, run-down house. Parents tell their children to stay away, but children find the fun in daring one another to go into the house. But people who go in, don't come out. Many of them, anyway, and those who do, aren't the same. Jessie Campanelli is one of those who survived, but her little brother, whom she dared to go into the house, didn't. At the time, his two friends said that the house ate Paul, but of course no one believed that. Paul was missing, at best, most likely kidnapped by someone who was staying in the house. But years later, Jessie now an adult with a child, living in her parents' home on the same street, having watched others disappear in the house, and workers sent to bulldoze the place, run away in fear, knows better. The house is evil. Pure, simple, evil. And Jessie is now a watc...

I am the person for whom this book is intended.  I have been a fan of Roy Krenkel's art work since the 1970's. As a high school student, I thought I was destined for a career in art and my preferred medium was pen and ink and while I loved Frank Frazetta's work, it was Roy Krenkel's art that really spoke to me.  For the most part, this is a coffee-table style art book. It reprints a number of Krenkel's work, letting the reader/viewer enjoy the style of his B&W fantasy art. There's nothing explosive here.  There's nothing that will really 'wow' or awe the general reader, but fans of Krenkel's work (we're aging out, but we're still around) will love getting their hands on this. More importantly, however, this book will hopefully find its way into the hands of new fans - those who aren't familiar with the great fanzine Amra (for which Krenkel did a lot of illustrations) or Krenkel's work and come to realize what an amazing talen...

I'm a very big fan of Philip K Dick, his novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep , and the two feature-length  Blade Runner movies (the original would probably make my top five favorite films of all time). I've not read any of the sequel novels by K. W. Jeter, nor, prior to this, have I read any of the comics or graphic novels. But given the expanding universe, I was very curious and wanted to give this a shot. The story follows Aahna ‘Ash’ Ashina, the first female Blade Runner. It's been 20 years since Ash helped a young girl and her replicant mother escape off-world. But now the new leader of the Tyrell Corporation, Niander Wallace, is trying to bring Cleo back because he believes her DNA holds the secret to Replicant fertility - something that could completely change the course of Replicant evolution. Ash has to stay vigilant in protecting Cleo, warding off Wallace and his hired thugs and, perhaps most challenging, Wallace's personal assistant, LUV, the Replicant ...

 It is the late 1920's in an alternate universe where magic is banned alongside booze during Prohibition. Eleanora 'Nora' Cleary has dreams of performing her magical tap dance on the stage but Prohibition has meant that she has to keep her magic ability a secret. Fear of those with magic powers has pervaded the general consciousness in no small part because of Nora's mother, Fiona, whose talent was unrivaled but whose fire ability literally brought the house down. But for all her desire to dance, Nora also fears the stage. She was a child and watched as hordes of fearful people nearly killed her mother over their fear and hatred for Fiona's ability to create fire through her dance. Nora struggles with her debilitating panic whenever she takes the stage, and yet she desire's nothing more. She works as a dishwasher in a rundown club where magic dance is performed and booze served illegally.  There is one stage that challenges Prohibition and performs magic dance p...

Chili Palmer is a Miami-based, mob-connected loan shark. He's getting a little tired of the Florida scene and so, after chasing a deadbeat who's trying to avoid paying his dues, all the way out to Hollywood, Chili finds that the Hollywood lifestyle suits him just fine and he might as well stay. Chili is a man of opportunity and when he sees how Hollywood works - how you can talk people into giving money for the chance to produce a movie, he sees an opportunity and becomes a movie producer, with all the expected gains and consequences for a man who is much more used to taking than actually doing. Yes, this is the book upon which the movie (starring John Travolta and Danny Devito) was based. No, I never saw the movie so I wasn't tainted by any possible differences. As much as I love old pulp-style fiction, I've not read any Elmore Leonard (except maybe a couple of westerns many years ago), which is why I was interested in reading this reissued book. The book really hinges...

Corey is a young woman with dreams of a life in the theatre. Maxine is the respected, award-winning dramatist currently leading a workshop where she encourages Corey. But when Maxine destroys Corey's hopes at a collaboration, the young mentee seeks revenge. That revenge comes by way of a curse, drawn on dark powers, that will change more than one life. As a (retired) theatre professional I am always interested in reading any book - especially one with a darker theme - taking place in theatres or featuring people working in the theatre (not just actors!), so this definitely appealed to me.  What I really liked here was the mentor/mentee relationship between Corey and her professor Maxine. What I recognized was that author Caroline Macon Fleischer clearly has a background in the theatre arts as nearly all theatre professionals I've met have a mentor that encouraged them and really fostered their interest. I know I certainly did. Maxine's talent, beyond teaching, is well prese...

Lizbeth (Lizzie) Borden is working with Boston investigator Simon Wolf to combat certain dark entities. When a friend of Simon's is killed in Birmingham, Alabama the pair head south. There appears to be more at work than just an angry murderer. With no obvious motive, something more sinister may be behind the killing spree. There are cultists to deal with and they are followers or supporters of creatures from the Cthulhu mythos. But this is right up Lizzie Borden's alley - which is not to say it won't be a challenge, but both Borden and Simon are ready. Once again I managed to select a book that that is part of a series, this the second of two books. I definitely felt a little lost right from the start as I wasn't understanding who this Lizzie Borden was or how she was different from the Borden of history.  Presumably the first book would have set this up much better. This was only my first problem with the book, unfortunately. After getting acquainted with the characte...

Collecting the first four issues of the comic book by the same name, Jumpscare is a new sort of superhero. A young woman who happens to be a huge fan of horror/slasher/grindhouse films is bestowed with a unique power - she can call up (and use) any movie weapon from any horror film she's ever seen and 'jump' to and from locations. This will come in handy as Empire City where she lives is being invaded by a collection of baddies the could be right out of any of the horror films she enjoys.  When her sister is taken captive by one of these monsters, Jumpscare goes into lethal action to rescue her her, even though her ultra conservative, Christian family has denounced her and seems to want nothing to do with her. This was really a lot of fun and very clever. Jumpscare's 'power' is a bit like Green Lantern ('if you can think of it, it'll be there') but relies on an impressive knowledge of horror films. I definitely don't have that background, but I s...

Elín S. Jónsdóttir is a bestselling, popular crime fiction author. When no one hears from her for days she is reported missing and Detective Helgi Reykdal is assigned to the case. But Helgi is in for more than he bargained for as his investigation introduces him to a number of people who knew the reclusive woman. During his time on the case, Helgi is going through some personal trials. He is trying to put an abusive relationship behind him (and he recognizes that it's unusual for the man to be the victim in an abusive relationship) while looking ahead to a potentially new relationship. While I have a fondness for Nordic mysteries and 'Nordic Noir' fiction I've come to realize that I'm just not a big fan of Ragnar Jónasson. This is my third time reader a Jónasson book and the third time I was left just slightly unsatisfied. The book jumps around and it took a lot of effort to focus and to follow along. And that doesn't always pay off. We expect the two stories wi...

 This is five short story/novelettes by five leading authors writing in the horror/dark fantasy genre. It seems like every decade or so, publishers try to find a way to capitalize on short fiction. I can recall working in a bookstore (the 90's?) when some of the big publishers tried marketing short stories and novellas in paperback. I believe they had some big name authors and hoped that with the lower cover price, readers would buy them. It didn't last long. Now, however, as self-pub authors seem to be doing well with short fiction sold at lower prices, the big publishers want to get in on it. So here Amazon is publishing five short horror novellas by big name authors, and just as self publishers do, then bundling the shorts together to sell the collection as well. If they can keep the prices reasonable, it should work. Greed, however, and raising prices will be its downfall. This collections contains the following: "Jackknife" by Joe Hill A college professor is kick...

**Right out of the gate I want to make one thing clear... I was approved for a "Preview Copy" ARC of Bug Wars . Apparently a "Preview Copy" is not a complete copy of the book but a sample of the book. In this case, it appears to be issue #1 of the Bug Wars comic book and the graphic novel collects the first three or four issues.** Slade Slaymaker and his family are returning to their rural home after a dozen years away. Slade's deceased father had a passion for entomology and the young Slade is now interested in insects as well. Slade's older brother, Sydney, couldn't care less. What the family doesn't know is that down at the insect level of the yard, life and death struggles are occurring with fierce bug wars being fought. There are barbarian bug riders, spell-casting witches, and true armies of ants at war. Insects caused Slade's father's death and Sydney wants nothing more than to get rid of all bugs. Slade on the other hand, wants to un...