Posts

Showing posts from August, 2016

UPDATE: NEW PAGE - THE MIDNIGHT LAKE

Image
Every now and then, a weird or wacky idea pops into my head. A lot of these are fun to think about for a little while, but never go anywhere. Others, I actually find a way to bring to life. Such is the case with a short little work of multi-media fiction that I call " The Midnight Lake ." If you want to check it out, you can head over to the brand new page that I've made to showcase this project. 

REVIEW: PATIENT DARKNESS

Image
Death has come to Odols... INTRODUCTION  Shutt follows up his supernatural mystery novel,  BROODING CITY  with a sequel set a few months after the events of this series' debut. I thought the original was a fun, interesting story that did a nice job of introducing the world of the Sleepers, people with supernatural gifts whose moral compass seems to be ambiguous. The story followed Arthur Brennan, a police detective and former member of the shady organization of Sleepers run by a mysterious man named Benjamin, as well as the young Jeremy, whose powers were only just beginning to manifest. The story took a long time to tget going which was one of my main criticisms. It wasn't until the last quarter or so of the book that all the pieces came together and I could feel myself getting into things. I also felt like the parts featuring Jeremy came off as being much stronger than those featuring Arthur and the people in his corner of the world. I just didn't really like t

REVIEW: ENDER'S GAME

Image
Heroes robbed from the cradle... INTRODUCTION  Few books are as widely revered as Orson Scott Card's ENDER'S GAME.  It's widely referenced and I always had an idea of what the basic plot points were but never actually experienced the cultural phenomenon for myself. I went in with some pretty lofty expectations, hoping this piece of classic science fiction would live up to it's sterling reputation. MY RATING  5/5   ENDER'S GAME is not only a brilliant scifi ensemble, but also a deep and occasionally harrowing examination of what it means to be both a part of and apart from humanity. CHARACTERS One of the toughest aspects of this story is that nearly all of the key characters are young children. Ender, Petra, Bean, Alai, Valentine, and Peter are some of the more notable members of the cast, but there are a host of others who play an important part in Ender's journey towards saving humanity. All of them are children who never really get to hav

UPDATE: CELEBRATING MY 50TH REVIEW

Image
I've had a lot of fun since starting the blog. While I don't read as much as some, I've been pretty pleased with the number of books, stories, and graphic novels that I've read through since I began. As of today, I've written forty-nine reviews on this blog, accounting for over fifty different pieces of fiction (this includes my review roundup posts). As I approach the arrival of my fiftieth review, I wanted to look back on those that I have done so far and link to them here. An Unexpected Bonding The Stonegate Sword Klubbe the Turkle and the Golden Star Coracle Bypass Gemini (Big Sigma Book 1) Your First 1000 Copies Napism.info The Devil's Playthings Injustice Gods Among Us Vol. 1 Hollow Towns Fade to Black Everyone Dies at the End The Devil's Child Injustice Gods Among Us Vol. 2 Stormdancer (The Lotus War Book 1) Mini Review: Sinking Whispers of the World that Was The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games Book 1) Catching Fire (The Hunger Game

TWINS TO THE THRONE: AN EPISODE OF BIRTH

Image
*.* Twins to the Throne *.* ================= | An episode of birth | ================= The emperor trails his slave girl through the dim corridors of his palace. She makes haste, shuffling her sandaled feet as quick as she can while remaining ladylike. This is a situation that would surely justify running, but his majesty has not given her permission to do so. The emperor takes long, deliberate strides behind her. He too feels this is an occasion for more than just hasty walking, but he will not suffer to be seen doing so in front of his barbarian captive. A maroon cape falls over his right shoulder and sways with each step. His breastplate glitters in the muted light and a wreath sits securely over his curly hair. This is the way an emperor ought to look, with a dignified swing of his shoulders and a chin held high.  At last, they come upon the bedchamber where the girl opens door and steps aside. The emperor shoots her a coy grin as he passes. Better for her to th