Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Ascension by Christie Golden
reviewed by David Maddox
Things seem to finally be going well for the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance. With the appointment of an interim
Chief, the removal of Natasi Daala, the return of Luke Skywalker and the apparent disappearance of the Lost Tribe
of the Sith, events seem to be favoring the Light Side of the Force. Or so you might
believe with the eighth book in the Fate of the Jedi Expanded Universe series.
Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Allies by Christie Golden
reviewed by David Maddox
The uneasy alliance Luke Skywalker formed with the mysterious Lost Sith Tribe persists, albeit tenuously, as our heroes
continue to track down the dark presence that is driving Jedi across the galaxy insane. But the evil entity that
has now become known as Abeloth is ready for the confrontation, and Luke is finding it increasingly disturbing that
he may recognize something about this monster.
Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Omen by Christie Golden
reviewed by David Maddox
In the scant few years that have passed between Jedi Jacen Solo's decent into the Dark Side as Darth Caedus,
the newly formed Galactic Alliance attempts to lick its wounds and return the galaxy to some semblance of peace
and order. However, with Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker now in exile and a strange psychological plague
attacking the remaining Jedis, can anyone survive? And what of the secret Sith sect hidden away for thousands
of years on planet Kesh…?
In Stone's Clasp by Christie Golden
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
Five Dancers guard the world: one for each of the elements, and a fifth for the realm of spirit. Each is accompanied by a mythic
Companion beast, and by a Lorekeeper, whose duty it is to preserve the memories of the Dancers' earlier incarnations, and teach the
Dancers to know themselves -- and to know their destiny. For it's the Dancers' task to oppose the Shadow, a fearsome force of
destruction that has menaced the world four times before.
On Fire's Wings by Christie Golden
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
In the desert land of Arukan, Kevla is a Bai-sha: a girl born fatherless, without caste in a society where caste defines all
social interaction. She spends her days in the marketplace, calling the services of her mother Keishla, a prostitute. Then one
day a kashim, a clan leader, comes to carry her off to his lush estate, to be a servant in his house. Unbeknownst to Kevla,
this man, Tahmu, is her father, and Kevla's mother was the great love of his life. But the rigid rules of caste decreed they could not wed.
Invasion America: On the Run by Christie Golden
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Biogenetics and big slavering monsters. Mental powers and heavy arms. Trust
and betrayal. What more could you ask for? Keep it to yourself. The story
lines start out impossibly far-flung and pull together naturally, bypassing miraculous coincidence.
The Secret Back of Things by Christopher Golden
reviewed by Mario Guslandi
The present volume assembles eighteen tales quite various in genre, content and style. For instance
there are: a historical piece ("One"), a vampire story full of graphic violence ("Venus and Mars"), a yarn
in the shape of a comic book story ("Lament for Gunwitch"), a funny tale about the human race going
crazy ("The Urge"), and a horrific novella running on the edge of plausibility, where a monster
destroys the peace of a small sea town ("The Shell Collector").
Justice League of America: Exterminators by Christopher Golden
an audiobook review by Gil T. Wilson
Based on a novelization of DC Comics' series, this audio adaptation begins when a surprisingly
large number of people begin popping up with super-powers. These "meta-humans" come under close scrutiny by the
Justice League because the newcomers can use their powers for either good or bad. While some mutants want to help
the world's renowned superheroes, others seek to use their powers for ill will, creating new problems for the heroes to overcome.
The Map of Moments by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon
reviewed by Michael M Jones
Ten weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Max Corbett, a history professor who left the city never
to return, is drawn back nonetheless, for the funeral of the girl he once loved. It doesn't take him long at all
to realize that he hadn't truly known her. A chance encounter
with a mysterious old man following the sparsely-attended funeral is Max's first step along what will prove to
be the strangest, deadliest journey of his life.
Mind the Gap by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon
reviewed by Michael M Jones
For as long as she can remember, 17-year-old Jazz and her mother have been taken care of by the enigmatic dark-suited men
known as the Uncles, equally relying on and fearing them. For that same length of time, Jazz's mother has drilled into her
a sense of paranoia and distrust, to be wary of everyone, no matter what their outward appearance. There's the feeling that
they're all waiting for something to happen, and one day, it does. Jazz comes home to find her mother murdered by the
Uncles, and a last message written in her own blood: Jazz hide forever.
The New Dead edited by Christopher Golden
reviewed by Mario Guslandi
In his Introduction, the editor acknowledges the fact that while the fascination with
vampires is understandable, that's hardly the case with zombies. So the fact that he set out to assemble an
anthology of zombie stories is a sign of the man's audacity.
Truth be told, he has been seeking tales which would go beyond the usual, rather narrow limits of the classical
clichés of zombie fiction.
British Invasion edited by Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon and James A. Moore
reviewed by Mario Guslandi
British writers currently dominate the horror fiction scene, so much so that the American publisher Cemetery
Dance acknowledges the fact by releasing an anthology of twenty-one stories by UK-based contributors.
Supposedly, the volume collects work by the best british horror writers, but several distinguished
authors (L.H. Maynard and M.P.N. Sims, Graham Masterton, Mark Samuels, to mention a few) are unfortunately
absent. At any rate, the book does include a number of top-notch tales.
The Eternity Brigade by Stephen Goldin
reviewed by Steve Lazarowitz
Jerry Hawker, known to his friends as Hawk, is a soldier in the U.S. Army. He has just returned from the African Wars, but Hawker is
one of those men who knows nothing but the army. So, when he's invited to join a program called Project Bank Note, he's not doing
it for the money. The experimental program involves freezing soldiers that have combat experience and thawing them out the next time they're
needed.
Star Trek: Trek To Madworld by Stephen Goldin
reviewed by Leon Olszewski
Goldin poses the question: what is it we need in life and what do we miss if it is not there? Of
the answers that are given, many are expected. Others show a deeper understanding of
human nature. And it is human nature, not alien cultures which we explore through Star Trek.
The Silent Gondoliers by William Goldman
reviewed by Steven H Silver
Best known as the screenwriter of All the President's Men and
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, he is also the author of both the
novel and film The Princess Bride. His
attribution of The Princess Bride to his fictitious persona
"S. Morgenstern" still seems to cause confusion among some readers.
This time he adopts the same persona to tell the story of Luigi and his
variety of compatriots, explaining why the gondoliers of Venice no longer
sing when they ply their trade.
The Princess Bride, 25th Anniversary Edition by William Goldman
reviewed by David Soyka
If you've only seen the movie, read the book. But
if you haven't done either, read the book first. Except for the fact that it
replaces the original ambiguous ending with the kind you'd expect in a
Hollywood production, the movie is quite faithful to the text -- not too
surprising, since Goldman was the screenwriter.
The Alchemist's Door by Lisa Goldstein
reviewed by William Thompson
Using an imagined meeting between the famous English alchemist, John Dee, and his contemporary in the hermetic sciences, Rabbi Judah Loew
as its basis, the author weaves a tale incorporating various historical incidents
and recorded arcane investigations, as well as drawing from the culture and folklore of Eastern Europe and Jewish tradition.
Dee, with the connivance of his assistant, the somewhat shadowy Edward Kelly, in an attempt to commune with angels, has
instead accidentally raised a demon, whose threatening presence forces Dee to flee England along with his family in hope that the
spirit will be unable to follow.
Dark Cities Underground & Reading List of Lisa Goldstein
reviewed and compiled by Margo MacDonald
Lisa Goldstein is one of fantasy's best kept secrets. In spite of having won
the American Book award for her first published novel in 1983 and being
nominated for Hugo and Nebula awards for her work since, not many people can
claim to have read all 9 of her books and many more have never heard of her
at all. Well, Margo would like to set about changing that...
Walking the Labyrinth by Lisa Goldstein
reviewed by Katharine Mills
An enjoyable read, the novel's two mysteries, Molly Travers' modern one and Emily Wethers'
turn-of-the-century one, are beautifully linked together. Goldstein has a quaint and amusing
touch with her characters, making them eccentric without sacrificing details, and her
quiet humour catches the reader by surprise.
Clickers by J.F. Gonzalez and Mark Williams
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Sometimes, the chilling possibilities of dark realism get just a touch too frightening. The vampires, werewolves,
and black magic in the shadows of dark fantasy multiply too rapidly to keep pace with. Don't you just feel like a
good, old-fashioned, mutant monster story? One of those Saturday afternoon creature features that got you interested
in this genre in the first place? Here's your ticket...
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Singing The Dogstar Blues by Alison Goodman
reviewed by Dan Shade
This book is a seamless mixture of high adventure, humor, mystery and science fiction. Alison Goodman does this with a deft
hand and still gives us enough science upon which to base the story. As in all good science fiction, that meat of
the story is found in the relationships between the characters.
Angels and You Dogs by Kathleen Ann Goonan
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
It maybe that the author would like to live very far away from the rest of us, in a remote cabin
somewhere, preferably where it snows a lot. This is not necessarily a place to escape the present, but rather a place where
one might encounter, understand, and perhaps even embrace the future.
Such, at least, is the setting and the circumstance that keeps cropping up in these stories. They are full of characters
recalling, in isolation, some great catastrophe in which they were complicit; very often they know, also, what is necessary
to put things right, but this withdrawal from society is needed before they can take that next step.
In War Times by Kathleen Ann Goonan
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
Physics, jazz, and a world gone bad. The author's latest novel is sub-titled "An
Alternate-Universe Novel of A Different Present." It's a story of people caught up in war, and their growing feeling that the
world they live in is not what it should and could be. But if changing history means losing the people you love, can you afford
the price to be paid for setting things right?
Crescent City Rhapsody by Kathleen Ann Goonan
reviewed by Jean-Louis Trudel
A prequel of sorts to Queen City Jazz, its story takes
place several years earlier. The novel opens with the murder of Marie Laveau in New Orleans. However,
Marie, a central figure of the local underworld, had already contracted for her resurrection.
Meanwhile, Zeb, up in Virginia, is on the ground floor when Earth receives its first real greetings from outer
space.
Journey Into Dandelion Wine Country by Alan Ira Gordon
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
There are as many theories about what makes Ray Bradbury's work exceptional as there are Bradbury
fans. One aspect of his fiction that shines out is his insight into human nature and his endless fascination
with every day people in sometimes extraordinary circumstances. It is this priceless quality that Gordon shares with one of the great
masters of speculative fiction. How appropriate that he should pay homage to Bradbury with this collection.
The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 1 by Joseph Gordon-Levitt
reviewed by Seamus Sweeney
Virginia Woolf famously said that throughout history, the author "Anonymous" was usually a woman. An equal if not
greater case could be made that Anonymous was usually more than one person. While the pendulum of scholarly
opinion as to whether there really was a historical individual called Homer who wrote the epics now attributed
to that name goes back and forth, there can be little doubt that many of the classics we enjoy were collaborative efforts.
Daughter of Darkness by Ed Gorman
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
Neither noir nor occult, as the title might suggest, this is a sort of updated
hard-boiled detective with nutty heiress novel. It's a quick and moderately
entertaining light read.
Kalpa Imperial by Angélica Gorodischer
reviewed by David Soyka
Originally published in the author's native Argentina in 1983 as two separate volumes, this collection of loosely related
stories translated from the original Spanish by Ursula K. Le Guin marks the author's first appearance in English,
though she has 17 novels to her credit and evidently a considerable literary reputation. If this book is at all
representative of her work, Gorodischer is a fabulist in the tradition of fellow Latin American Jorge Luis Borges.
The Rose in Twelve Petals and other Stories by Theodora Goss
reviewed by Charlene Brusso
The author's stories and poems are a haunting mix of cobwebby fairy tale elegance and tough-as-concrete contemporary
sensibility. The mood and setting frequently evoke turn-of-the-century (19th to 20th century) eastern Europe, all skinny Gothic
arches and Art Nouveau curliqueues, baroque music and staticky radios, Goethe and Faust, and the occasional dish of paprikas.
The Rose in Twelve Petals and other Stories by Theodora Goss
reviewed by Sherwood Smith
How to characterize Goss's writing? There is not a single weak or wasted word here, no labored or trite image. Her prose
calls to mind the Chinese feng shui, a state of harmony, of balance, between life and art. The prose evokes
feng shui, but the stories themselves knock the mind and spirit askew. It's precisely that tension between balance and
imbalance, the mental kinetics that send one's mind running, that makes the writer so interesting.
Mindworlds by Phyllis Gotlieb
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Dipping into one of this author's novels is like the first dive into a dark, icy lake; it takes some getting used
to, and every now and then you might feel in over your head, but if you relax, you can let the current wash through
and absorb you. This book is her latest plunge into that territory you may not know already, but you
could very well end up wanting to remain. If you missed the first two volumes in this series: Flesh and Gold
and Violent Stars you might experience more of those moments of deep water, it is far too pleasurable to
climb out before the end.
Violent Stars by Phyllis Gotlieb
reviewed by A.L. Sirois
Verona Bullivant is the bewildered target of a series of kidnapping
attempts. Her father, who has been estranged from her mother and has not
seen Vronni until her mother's recent death, hustles her off to the distant
world Khagodis, which is inhabited by a race of intelligent and generally
peace-loving saurians. He thinks she'll be safe there. But as Vronni learns
more of the secrets surrounding her mother, she and her father come to
understand that the fate in store for her is awful beyond description, part
of a cycle of betrayal and vengeance that has been playing out for hundreds of years.
Flesh and Gold by Phyllis Gotlieb
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
If you've ever studied a museum-quality tapestry, then you know the true meaning of intricacy,
been amazed that single threads could mesh to form a complex and mesmerizing whole. If you
missed the beauty and complexity, the awe-inspiring impact of painstaking artistry, shame on you.
If you miss the rich weave of Gotlieb's writing, you are beyond redemption.
Hopeful Monsters by Hiromi Goto
reviewed by Rich Horton
This collection of short stories are not quite SF rather they fit comfortably in "the mainstream."
They feature mythological creatures like kappas, or men with functional breasts, or ghosts, or mutated humans. What this means
is that, these days, "the mainstream" encompasses stories with quite overt fantastical elements.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer's Weekly Calendar 2004 edited by Karen J. Gould
reviewed by Charlene Brusso
Even if the first month is gone, you just might consider getting yourself -- or an aspiring writer you know -- one
of these calendars. Granted, like many other wirebound weekly calendars out there, it has got the basic 2 page/week format
in a 5x8 package: days of the week on the right, with US, Canadian, and UK holidays marked, and thematic material on the
left -- but it's the thematic material, of course, which makes this calendar worth considering.
Jumper: Griffin's Story by Steven Gould
reviewed by Jayme Lynn Blaschke
Jumper: Griffin's Story is, to say the least, an odd bird. Another book like it may not exist. It is
a tie-in to the David Liman-directed science fiction action film, Jumper, starring Hayden Christensen and
Samuel L. Jackson. The movie itself is loosely based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Steven Gould, taking the core
premise from the book and essentially re-inventing everything else.
Reflex by Steven Gould
reviewed by Jayme Lynn Blaschke
A decade has passed in Davy's world, and the world's only teleporter has settled into a comfortable routine:
he and his wife, Millie, use his gifts to explore the world at will -- the only disruption to this idyllic life comes
during Davy's occasional mission for the National Security Agency. It's during one of these missions that things go horribly
wrong for Davy. Ambushed, drugged and his NSA contact murdered before his eyes, Davy finds himself held prisoner and tortured
beyond human endurance.
Blind Waves by Steven Gould
reviewed by Donna McMahon
It is the mid-21st century and the beaches of America are a distant memory.
Patricia Beenan lives on the floating city of New Galveston, and makes her living doing underwater salvage in the ruined
city 200 feet below. When she stumbles across a sunken freighter with a hold full of fresh bodies and finds clear evidence
that it was sunk by US authorities, she has unleashed a world of trouble.
Helm by Steven Gould
reviewed by Donna McMahon
Centuries after leaving Earth and only one glass helm (helmets that can "imprint" Earth's knowledge) remains,
fiercely guarded by the ruler of the city-state of Laal. Dulan is grooming his eldest son to wear the helm
and eventually govern Laal, but his plans are wrecked when his youngest son dons the helmet instead, little
realizing that it is potentially the most dangerous weapon on his world.
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