Lian Hearn

Heat, Vol. 0
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
This is a collection of short tales, in a number of genres, which have graphic sexual relations between married heterosexual couples as a common thread, along with a smidgen of romance. The sex, while not always well-integrated into the story, is not flagrantly gratuitous. As for whether it is hard- or soft-core, erotic or pornographic, that all really depends on your point of view.

The Psycho Ward edited by Victor Heck
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
If you like your horror dark and disturbing, this is going to be a book after your own heart (and the inmates will be wanting a piece of it, too). These short stories and poems offer a taste of the best of the new blood infusing the genre. And it isn't called The Psycho Ward for nothing: in many of the selections it's difficult to be certain of what is reality and what is delusion...

Beyond the Wall of Sleep by R. Andrew Heidel
reviewed by Chris Donner
This short collection of prose and poetry makes for an interesting if enigmatic mixture. There is something tantalizing about the writing itself, its honest portrayal of what soon becomes a common theme: searching. The stories are short and to the point, and they are also quite addictive.

Robert A. Heinlein

Vader, Voldemort and Other Villains edited by Jamey Heit
reviewed by Sandra Scholes
While other books on this subject matter are made for fans of such series as Star Wars, Harry Potter and Twilight, this book is a refreshing change as it has essays based on the characters in the movies that are popular at the moment. This volume gives the reader a deeper understanding of what evil is when it is applied to villains in popular culture, and how it affects us in turn.

The Veil of Snows by Mark Helprin and Chris Van Allsburg
reviewed by Chris & Jennifer Goheen
The third handsome volume in the fantasy series that began with Swan Lake and A City in Winter arrives, just in time for the snowy season. Father-and-daughter team Chris and Jennifer take a look at this fine collaborative effort.

The Poisoned Crown by Amanda Hemingway
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
Fifteen-year-old Nathan Ward, a human boy whose alien genetic heritage gives him the power to dream himself through the Gates between worlds, has already visited many realities in his quest for three ancient relics, part of a Great Spell crafted thousands of years ago to save a dying universe. The Cup and the Sword are safe in the keeping of Nathan's adopted uncle, the wizard Bartlemy; it remains only to find the final relic, the Crown.

The Greenstone Grail by Amanda Hemingway
reviewed by Lise Murphy
Nathan Ward, a young boy of approximately 13 years and his mother Annie are the central characters. The circumstances surrounding Nathan's conception have given him the power to dream himself into other worlds. The grail, in this adaptation of the grail saga, is actually a holy and mythical relic from one of these other worlds. Nathan and his mother, with the help of some friends (from this world and beyond), must uncover the mystery of the grail before someone gets killed.

Judas Payne: A Weird Western by Michael Hemmingson / Webb's Weird Wild West: Tales of Western Horror by Don Webb
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
This is very much a book of two halves, being two books in one connected only by basic theme. When one title is read, flip it over and start a whole new story from the other side. Halves come into play with the lead character of Judas Payne who is the product of rape by the Devil, and is half-white half-native American, who is in love with his half-sister, Evangeline. Flip the book over, and there's Webb's Weird Western Tales of Horror by Don Webb. This is a small collection of twelve unconnected tales, all with weird twists.

Burden of Proof by John G. Hemry
reviewed by Michael M Jones
It has been over a year since Paul Sinclair, legal officer for the Space Navy's USS Michaelson, testified in the court-martial of his first commanding officer. Since then, he's settled down to a life in space, serving to the best of his abilities and faithfully. With a new promotion to Lieutenant, and an ongoing relationship with fellow officer Jen Shen, everything seems to be going smoothly. Then, things go horribly wrong.

Stark's Crusade by John G. Hemry
reviewed by Rich Horton
This 3rd volume continues the adventures of Ethan Stark, a Sergeant in the U. S. Army, fighting on the Moon. Stark and his people were betrayed by their superiors, and by the corporations who have bought the United States Government, and they were pushed to mutiny. They are defending the United States Lunar Colony, which has similarly been betrayed by the Government and the corporations. As the book opens, the United States has apparently hired mercenaries to attack Stark's people and to try to conquer the independence-minded Lunar Colony.

Sister of the Dead by Barb & J.C. Hendee
reviewed by Alisa McCune
Leesil, half-elf and half-human, has just found out that his elvish mother, Nein'a, is still alive. He believed his parents were executed after he deserted employment as an assassin to a powerful lord. He has vowed to find her. Magiere seeks to find out why she was created. Her mother, Magelia was impregnated by a Noble Dead and died shortly after Magiere's birth.

Thief of Lives by Barb & J.C. Hendee
reviewed by Alisa McCune
Magiere is manipulated into leaving the Sea Lion, her and Leesil's new comfy tavern to save the village of Miiska. Along with Leesil and Chap, the sail to Bela to rid the city of its undead and collect a hefty bounty. This time each of the three will discover how hard killing the undead can be. Myths and folklore don't hold the truths necessary to accomplish the task.

Thief of Lives by Barb & J.C. Hendee
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
It is a mystery that only begins to unfold in this sequel to Dhampir. Here, the real concern is a murder that has taken place in the land's capital city, Bela. A councilman's daughter has been left murdered on her doorstep, the savagery looking like a vampire murder. Her father, Lanjov, like many people, has heard about the village of Miiska and how the village was freed from the grip of a trio of vampires, even though the price, including a burned warehouse, was great. He has sent to Miiska for the vampire hunter with an offer she can't refuse.

Star Wars: The Magic of Myth by Mary Henderson
reviewed by Thomas F. Cunningham
When you first saw Star Wars, did you get the feeling you were watching an old western in the future? As you think about it, do you see the Empire as a metaphor for Nazi Germany? This companion volume to an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution, explains why you might have these thoughts.

The Messiah of Morris Avenue by Tony Hendra
reviewed by David Soyka
The thesis here is essentially that of Woody Guthrie's revisionist folkie socialist take on the Gospels -- that Jesus was some sort of ahead-of-his-time Marxist revolutionary threat to the ruling class that resorted to crucifixion to retain the status quo. In this version, Jesus is an Hispanic named José Francisco Kennedy. Yeah, that's right, JFK...

Visions of Mars edited by Howard V. Hendrix, George Slusser and Eric S. Rabkin
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
Our visions of Mars are subtle and complex, and have changed repeatedly over the years. It is, after all, not just a close neighbour but also the planet about which we have been able to learn most, there is a familiarity to Mars that cannot really be said about anywhere else in the solar system other than the moon. There is also something tantalizing about the place.

Empty Cities of the Moon by Howard V. Hendrix
reviewed by Donna McMahon
This novel is bursting with ideas about biotech, nanotech, artificial intelligence, shamanism, disurbanism, and the nature of consciousness, just to name a few. A new prion disease throws the planet into sudden apocalypse. One of the major players is Cameron Spires, a billionaire whose bioengineering researchers may have inadvertently unleashed this incurable insanity plague.

Lightpaths by Howard V. Hendrix
reviewed by Donna McMahon
You could drive nails with this hard SF novel crammed tight with information on space habitats, artificial intelligence, molecular biology, Utopian fiction, mycology and a dozen other topics. An artificial intelligence is taking over the habitat's computer network in the pursuit of mysterious goals of its own. And Roger Cortland is trying to bioengineer a pheremone to suppress human reproduction, and release it secretly on Earth.

Road Trip of the Living Dead by Mark Henry
reviewed by Michael M Jones
The author has successfully subverted the sexiness of the supernatural, by plugging into the profane and earthy viewpoint of zombie party girl, Amanda Feral. Once again, our flesh-eating socialite is up to her undead ears in trouble, but this time, she's hitting the road in search of a little adventure and some new scenery. Her motivations are multiple. 1) Go see her mother, currently dying in a hospice... and help speed up the process. 2) Keep one step ahead of the angry porn king-turned-vampire and his werewolf minions. 3) See a few sights, have a few laughs, devour a few K-Mart shoppers.

Dreamer of Dune by Brian Herbert
reviewed by David Maddox
How does anyone approach the study of their father? It's a tough question, but even tougher if that father is the creator of the science-fiction classic Dune, Frank Herbert. He was a man who lived a life of adventure, traveled the North American continent, worked his hands in politics, but never abandoned a dream of. But how many know Frank Herbert, the man? None better than his own son. This is his testament to Frank Herbert, father, activist and writer.

Dune: House Harkonnen by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
an audiobook review by Gil T. Wilson
This book takes place approximately 20 years after House Atreides and about 30 years prior to the original Dune series.  Shaddam Corrino IV is the emperor and wants a son, yet his Bene Gesserit wife produces only daughters, leaving him without an heir to the throne. The emperor is aware of the Bene Gesserit's ability to determine the sex of their children and grows annoyed at Anirul for not giving him a son.

Dune: House Atreides by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
an audiobook review by Gil T. Wilson
Back in 1999, Brian Herbert discovered some manuscripts written by his father, Frank Herbert, containing additional information on the Dune universe. Teaming up with Kevin J. Anderson, the two began a quest to add more stories to the "Duneverse" based on these manuscripts and their own talents in writing science fiction. The first series they wrote was Prelude to Dune and this title is the first book in that series.

The Winds of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
an audiobook review by Gil T. Wilson
The authors continue to explore the Dune Universe which is filled with opportunities to discover side stories or fill in gaps between the original novels, and they have done a fine job without taking anything away from the original stories. In fact, they have added more depth to the series, creating adventures that seem as though they were there from the beginning. The Winds of Dune begins after the events of Dune Messiah, jumping back and forth in time from before Paul Atreides came to Dune to the events during Paul Maud'dib's Jihad.

Dune: The Battle of Corrin by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
reviewed by Kilian Melloy
In the third book of Legends of Dune, the war against Omnius is all but won -- with a heavy emphasis on that "all but." Humanity has managed to pin Omnius down on Corrin, the last remaining Synchronized World, and has established a heavy military presence to guard over the last copy of Omnius' "evermind." Also on Corrin with Omnius is Erasmus, an independent thinking machine whose studies of humanity include analyses of mortality, disease, pain, and suffering -- but also explorations of art, music, and even family.

Dune: House Atreides by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
Instead of exploring the new universe opened at the end of Chapterhouse: Dune, the authors have stepped back a generation to tell the story of what preceded the events detailed in the original Dune. This approach works best when the narrative focuses on characters who at the time of Dune are either legendary, or background power figures.

The Dosadi Experiment by Frank Herbert
an audiobook review by Steven Brandt
In a far-distant future, the human race is part of a civilization known as the ConSentiency, which covers many far-flung galaxies and multiple species of sentient beings. It is two of these races that make the ConSentiency possible: the Taprisiots, who can make it possible for any two minds within the ConSentiency to connect and communicate, and the Caleban, who can create jump-doors, providing instantaneous travel between any two points in the universe. But these conveniences have their downside, the most glaring of which is the ability to abduct a person, or persons, and remove them to any spot in the universe, completely against their will.

Chapterhouse Dune by Frank Herbert
an audiobook review by Gil T. Wilson
Chapterhouse Dune takes place ten years after the events in Heretics of Dune, which left the planet Dune completely destroyed by the mysterious enemy from the scattering, the Honored Matres. Threatened with their own destruction at the hands of the Honored Matres, the Bene Gesserit must defend themselves.

Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert
an audiobook review by Gil T. Wilson
What makes the original Dune series a science fiction classic is the way that Frank Herbert creates not only a story, but a framework to explore the power of religion, culture and conflict in civilization. Every book in the series works around the political intrigue and cultural influences within the Dune universe, yet still has something to say about today's society, no matter when that "today" happens to be.

Close To My Heart: Dune by Frank Herbert
a review by Alma A. Hromic
"The original Dune was published in 1965; its two sequels, completing the original trilogy, followed over the next decade, with Children of Dune making an appearance in 1979. I was two when the first book was published, thirteen by the time the third one came out, and fourteen when I first crossed paths with Herbert's world."

The Collected Strange Papers of Christopher Blayre by Edward Heron-Allen
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
In the 19th century, few authors skated as close to the thin ice of what was then questionable material. Heron-Allen also knew the foibles of polite society. Throughout this entertaining collection, he seems to take every opportunity to let the hot air out of the Victorians. It's not, however, very scary to the contemporary audience. In fact, it's the kind of book you could read by candlelight, whiling away the hours listening to bulletins about escaped homicidal maniacs.

Eternal Romance Comics by Janet L. Hetherington
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
These are a blend of the best of true confession comics and the romantic notions that persist about vampires, werewolves, etc.  And no need to worry about Eternal Romance taking itself too seriously. This is a far cry from the sloppy sentimentality of other romance comics.

The Winter Oak by James A. Hetley
reviewed by Alisa McCune
This sequel to The Summer Country starts with Jo and David's return to the real world and all its troubles. Time has elapsed and Jo and David cannot just return to their lives as if nothing has happened. Too much has happened for all to be as it was. David and Jo must find a way to face all the changes and to decide if they do indeed love each other.

The Summer Country by James A. Hetley
reviewed by Alisa McCune
Maureen Pierce is a very troubled young woman. She was sexually abused as a child and as a result feels damaged. She feels like she wears a psychic chastity belt after the years of abuse. Maureen is unable to trust any man and has allowed her fears to push her into an existence that she loathes. Her sister, Jo has just stolen the man Maureen has spent the past two months allowing to get close to her. One fateful evening, Maureen is attacked in an alley by a very strange being -- it almost looks like a troll.

The Summer Country by James A. Hetley
reviewed by William Thompson
Naskeag Falls, Maine, a run-down mill town, is experiencing a typical winter: not of snow but sleet and ice. Maureen Pierce, a convenience clerk at the local Quick Shop, finds she is being followed home through slushy, midnight streets. Forced to duck into an alleyway to confront her stalker, Maureen finds herself faced with a drama that defies all logic and threatens what may already be a slim hold on reality.

A Point of Honor by Dorothy J. Heydt
reviewed by Wayne MacLaurin
This is a fast-paced mystery novel set against the backdrop of a VR world. Wayne was a bit disappointed that the author spent more time wandering through the various VR worlds than she did on the mystery itself. Nevertheless, he found it to be a pretty good novel as it kept him reading.