Memory of Flame by Stephen Deas
reviewed by Dominic Cilli
If you are one of those people obsessed with dragons, you'll not want to miss this series, unless of course you only like
your dragons depicted as loyal, lovable, honorable and dutiful. If that is the case, you'll probably want to
look elsewhere. However, if you like your
dragons vicious, arrogant, telepathic and hell-bent on plucking your limbs off for an appetizer before moving
on to your torso as the entrée, you'll definitely want to check out this trilogy.
The Janus Tree and Other Stories by Glen Hirshberg
reviewed by Christopher DeFilippis
For those in the know, a new horror collection from Glen Hirshberg is cause for hopeful anticipation. And
this one delivers with a striking and enjoyable mix of stories that showcases
his uniquely personable brand of horror, in which external menaces are eclipsed by the inner demons
that drive our deepest fears.
The unifying theme for all the stories is death: thwarting it, defying it, accepting
it, transcending it -- a black narrative thread that he weaves in some unusual ways.
Wave of Mutilation by Douglas Lain
reviewed by Trent Walters
In the present day, Christian is an architect whose father has died and phoned him to say that, due to a nuclear
experiment gone awry, unreality is leaking from the world. Meanwhile, back during the confusion of the 2000
elections, his pregnant wife, a woman who feels empty both literally and figuratively (her chest holds an
empty cabinet), begins spewing eggs from her mouth. Christian and his wife are then forced at gunpoint to
exchange their clothes at neighborhood block party.
The Vault, Issue 1 of 3 by Sam Sarker
reviewed by Sandra Scholes
Gabrielle and Michael, two scientists, are investigating the Oak Island Treasure Pit, a haven for treasure-hunters,
scientists and plunderers around. There is a lot spoken of what treasures may lay at the bottom of its vault, but
so far no one has dared to plunge so far down due to the oxygen problems divers have found.
Somewhere far from the original site, the two of them have found something else, another site that boasts of
great treasures no one has ever seen before, but is it all hearsay, or the truth?
The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag by Robert A. Heinlein
an audiobook review by Dale Darlage
Multiple Hugo Award-winning author Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) changes his tone with the
novella The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag. This audiobook seems much more like a Philip K. Dick
story than a Heinlein story since it features none of the themes for which Heinlein is well-known, like space
travel, alien contact or time travel. Instead, we get an extra helping of creepy with a surprise ending that truly
demonstrates his ability to master a variety of styles.
Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold
an audiobook review by Nicki Gerlach
Miles finds himself on Kibou-daini, a planet
with a highly unique political organization. The entire planet is controlled by competing cryonics
corporations. Kibou-daini culture encourages people to be frozen prior to death, in hopes of a future in which
their various illnesses and accidents and ravages of age can be cured. However, since the cryocorp then controls
the votes of its patrons -- who are not, after all, technically dead -- cryo-preservation is much
more common than cryo-revival.
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The Adventures of Tintin
a movie review by Seamus Sweeney
Santa Claus, one magical Christmas in the mid-1980s, brought Seamus a stash of Tintin books. "Comics" or "graphic novels"
they aren't; they were and always will be "Tintin books." bandes dessinées,
as the French call them, are a sort
of hybrid form, don't seem to fit easily into either the American or Japanese comics/manga tradition,
influential as they have been. Anyway, the haul of Tintiniana cemented his belief in Santa for a good few years,
aided by a peculiar note (in writing completely unlike his parents) from the great man. Seamus also remembers it as
shifting the focus of his attention from toys to books.
Down to the Bone by Justina Robson
reviewed by David Soyka
Let's give credit where credit is due. Others may be content to churn out endless series of medieval quests of
good versus evil, vampires in love, zombies in suits, young wizards, elves and dragons, pirate stories, cyberpunk
or faerie folklore. Justina Robson's ambition is to mash together an amalgamation of all these, while
throwing in some thoughts about quantum mechanics and alternate universes, rock and roll, self-empowerment
and probably a half dozen or so other things.
Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper by Robert Bloch
reviewed by Richard A. Lupoff
So many authors are known for a single work or even a single character that it practically becomes part of
their names: "Mary-Shelley-author-of-Frankenstein," "Harriet-Beecher-Stowe-author-of-Uncle-Tom's-Cabin,
Arthur-Conan-Doyle-creator-of-Sherlock-Holmes," "Bram-Stoker-author-of-Dracula."
It's a rarity that this kind of lightning strikes the same author twice, but it happened to Robert
Bloch. He became famous for his short story, "Yours Truly – Jack the Ripper," that appeared in Weird Tales in 1943.
For a good many years he was known as "Robert-Bloch-author-of-'Yours-Truly-Jack-the-Ripper.'"
But then one of his short novels was published by Simon & Shuster with little fanfare titled Psycho.
And the author would be known for the rest of his days as "Robert-Bloch-author-of-Psycho."
The Secret of Wilhelm Storitz by Jules Verne
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
In a way, the story of this book is far more interesting than the story in the book. It
was one of the last novels that Verne wrote before his death in 1905, and in 1904 he was writing to his
publisher to say that he hoped to see the book in print before he died. It was not to be: the novel, indeed, was
not quite finished at the time of his death as a couple of minor points in this text show. The novel went on to
be one of the works published posthumously under the aegis of his son, Michel, but when Verne's manuscripts
were made available in the 1980s it became obvious how extensively Michel had tampered with his father's work.
New Arrivals
compiled by Neil Walsh
Books featured here include the latest from Naomi Novik, Jacqueline Carey, Paula Brandon, Kylie Chan, Elizabeth Moon, Christopher Paolini, Janny Wurts, and many others.
Divine: The Series
a TV series review by Kay Hawthorne
Online projects have been improving rapidly over recent years and we're relentlessly advancing towards a new era
of entertainment. More and more of us are reading online, playing online and discovering exciting new TV series online.
Finding that decent TV content can be tough but Divine: The Series had the advantage that actor Misha
Collins was involved and he shared the news about his latest acting project to his dedicated minions on Twitter. Word
of the new horror/fantasy series quickly went viral.
Nexus Graphica
a column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams
After the surprisingly entertaining first Austin Comic Con, Rick Klaw eagerly looked forward to
this event. He arrived roughly 30 minutes before the con started to a line of some
400 people waiting to enter.
The hall itself was smaller than last year which was actually a good thing. Not as much
open space and easier to look around.
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