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Every night, when she goes to sleep, a young woman dreams of erotic encounters with the various men she meets or sees during the day - maybe the mailman, maybe the museum guard, the baker, the tailor. maybe even the priest, and so on. Each unique, imagined encounter is specific to the specialized talents of the man visiting.  No one is named, not even the dreaming woman. The anonymity of the dreams would appear to be part of the excitement. That's it. There's no gigantic story arc or plot. This is more thematic flash fiction, almost poetry, than short stories. And it works. Of course I really like surrealist fiction and this fits the label, though I suspect this might be hard to categorize beyond that. Poetry? Yes ... but no. Flash fiction? Yes ... but no. Erotica? Yes ... but no. Although the dreams are of erotic encounters, the writing is suggestive rather than obvious. The more direct sexual references might be The Aviator ("His cockpit convulses. His fuselage rattles. ...

Nym is a healer who has used her craftlock (specialized magic) ability to heal the young, very sick prince of her region (see the first book in the duology). The healing process, which is not quick, especially for someone as damaged as Prince Renn was, is quite personal - requiring physical touch to work. Through the course of her work with Prince Renn, Nym and Renn developed romantic feelings for one another. Just as they began to recognize and accept these feelings the kingdom was attacked and Nym's older brother, who was meant to be king, was killed. Renn and Nym escaped, though not together, and Nym was captured by King Nicosia - who also had strong craftlock abilities to rival Nym's. This book picks up right where the previous left off, with Nym held prisoner by King Nicosia and, by default, she learns new methods of using her craftlock ability to heal herself but also to cause damage to others who come in skin-to-skin contact with her. A new bond between Nym and Renn was ...

I find it difficult and sad to write this review.  I can't generally answer the question "What's your favorite book" because the answer might depend on what I'm currently reading, what my current mood is, or some other outside factors. And so usually I would say "The Alice in Wonderland" books. Because, really, they remain a constant for me: interesting characters, great conflict, and an incredible imagination. I love absurd fiction and the Alice books strike me as an epitome of absurdist fiction - impossible situations made to seem ordinary. Along with my interest in Lewis Carroll's stories, I've sought out Alice-related fiction. Sometimes that works out really well (as with Christina Henry's very dark Chronicles of Alice series) and sometimes, as with this, it's a dud. The concept for this book, according to the book's Goodreads page, is:  The (re)Visions series seeks to bring classic works of speculative fiction back into the moder...

This is one of the older books in my ARC queue, but I've seen Neil Young in the news recently and it reminded me that I had this book to read. Author/biographer Sharry Wilson looks back at the formative years of Neil Young's youth.  The book title is not just a pun on the musician's name, Wilson's biography is focused on Neil Young's youth and upbringing - from his birth in 1945, through the years of education and to the very beginnings of his musical career. The very earliest years, as Wilson reports, seemed to be happy ones. Idyllic even. Though things change when his parents divorce and Neil is raised by an alcoholic mother and his father lives some distance away (Toronto). And, not surprisingly, his later school years are turbulent as he discovers the joy of music and song writing and performing and his school work suffers as his musical talent excels. It would be the very rare family that would be happy to have a child pursue an art form while falling behind in...

I was a little bit torn about whether or not to read this. I was not really in a mood to read a romance (though I'm not opposed to reading romance), but I was in the mood for a fantasy and a Robin Hood theme sounded really good. Mariah Clinton works as a sous-chef in modern London. When not cooking or running a kitchen, Mariah's passion is archery. She likes the idea of medieval life and plans to attend a re-enactment (ala a Ren-Faire). Of course a good costume is essential for being in a re-enactment and Mariah goes to McQuivey's Costume Shop to get her period outfit. But the strangest thing happens - with her costume on, Mariah doesn't step out of McQuivey's into modern London - instead she finds herself in Nottingham, circa 1100's. Being a woman her options are limited yet she knows she needs to find a way to survive and she finds work helping in a kitchen. Being with 'the help,' she learns about all the drama in this town and to her surprise, she le...

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...