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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...