Sunday, May 13, 2018

SCI-FI SUMMER! (and Space Out With Sci-Fi June

SCI FI SUMMER READATHON is June 1-14 at Seasons of Reading!

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SCI FI READATHON:

Robert Silverberg:

THE PLANET KILLERS: THREE NOVELS OF THE SPACEWAYS.

THE CHALICE OF DEATH: THREE NOVELS OF MYSTERY IN SPACE.

THE BOOK OF SKULLS.

Harlan Ellison: A BOY AND HIS DOG.

Pamela Sargent:

THE SHORE OF WOMEN. (Reread, decades later).

ALIEN CHILD.

Laura DiSilverio: INCUBATION (THE INCUBATION TRILOGY #1). Dystopiana.

NEW YORK 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson {added June 1} (This will be my "long" SCI FI excursion.)

June is also my personal "Space Out With Sci Fi Month," so any not read during the Readathon I will read during the remaining 16 days. I also want to read Pamela Sargent' s short fiction, Marjorie Kellogg' s LEAR' S DAUGHTERS, Andre Norton, Peter F. Hamilton. {I hoped to receive his September release, SALVATION, from NetGalley, but not yet, even though the publisher's publicist for this novel suggested I request it--which of course I already had.}

Books Read:

{May 31. LIFEII by Scott Spotson. Time Travel.

May 31. CHILD OF FIRE CHILD OF ICE by J. B. Trepagnier. SCI Fantasy.}

THE LAST OUTPOST by Hannah Ross. June 1. SCI Fantasy Thriller.

ORIGIN PHASE (Origin Phase Cycle #1) by R. T. W. Lipkin Sci Fi, time travel, nature of consciousness. June 1

THE HUNT FOR KOMODO CRACKER by Michel Cloutier. June 1-2 . SCI Fantasy/Thriller

GENOME VALLEY by SK. Speculative. Short Story. June 2.

SLEEP STATE INTERRUPT by T. C. Webber. Sci Fi (near-future). June 2.

THE BOOGEYMAN'S INTERN by Matt Betts. Fantasy. June 2-3.

THE WORKERS OF INIQUITY by Tom Fowler. Mystery/Thriller. June 1-2.

AS THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE CRUMBLES by Leslie Budewitz. Cozy Mystery. June 4-5.

SAVING PALUDIS by Clayton Graham. June 6-7. Hard SCI-Fi. (Clarkeian)

SPOOK IN THE STACKS by Eva Gates (Lighthouse Library Mystery #4). Cozy. June 7-8.

GHOST STORY by Peter Straub. Horror/Supernatural. 3? Read. Audio + Kindle. June 2-8.

ANGELA by Adam M. Booth. Audio. Horror/Gothic. Novella. June 10.

BOY IN THE MIRROR by Robert J. Duperre. Occult/Contemporary Sci Fantasy. June 8-9.

ROADTRIP AMERICA'S ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO: 25 SCENIC SIDE TRIPS by Rick Quinn. NF. June 11.

JAR OF HEARTS by Jennifer Hillier. Mystery/Psychological Horror. June 10-11.

THE PHARAOH KEY by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. SCI Fantasy. June 10-11.

MIND OF A CHILD (SENTIENT SERPENTS) by Dean C. Moore Sci SCI-Fi. June 10-11.

DIGGING INTO CYDONIA. SCI FI-Futuristic-Post-Apocalyptic. June 12.

SHADOW DANCING by Julie Mulhern. Cozy Mystery. June 12.

BEHIND THE DOOR by Mary SanGiovanni. June 11-12. Lovecraft Mythos--Sci FI-Cosmic Horror. (ARC).

BLACK GOD'S DRUMS by P. Djeli Clark. June 13. Alternate History/Steampunk/Sci Fi. (ARC)

SHADOW OF THE DAY by Nick Younker. SCI FI-futuristic. June 14.

ELTHEA' S REALM by John Murzycki. Contemporary Sci Fantasy. June 13-14.

< p> NEST by Terry Goodkind. Thriller with Sci-fi Overtones.

SCI FI SUMMER READATHON is in its third year, and inspired by it and by my devotion to Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction, I am declaring

SPACE OUT WITH SCI FI personal Readathon
for the entire month of June!

Follow my progress on My Goodreads SPACE OUT WITH SCI FI JUNE Shelf

Friday, May 11, 2018

ALTERNATE ROUTES by Tim Powers_Review

Alternate RoutesAlternate Routes by Tim Powers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: ALTERNATE ROUTES by Tim Powers

There is no author equivalent to Tim Powers. Mr. Powers and John Connolly are the two authors I consistently count on to "take me away," to transport me to a realm at first seemingly like ours, but a realm undergirded and overtoned by a truly magical realism (surrealism) in which anything can happen and rules never apply.

In ALTERNATE ROUTES (the subtitle reads "The Ghosts of the Freeway are Rising"), L.A. exists side by side with a bizarre form of Afterlife, and both dimensions increasingly bleed through. Twisting the natural laws of physics, ghosts in the Afterlife can communicate, and a secret Federal agency, the Transportation Utility Agency, has charge of those communications. It's L.A. head has a specific agenda, and if he succeeds, the Other dimension will expand and consume L.A...and beyond.

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Friday, May 4, 2018

SAILOR RAY AND THE DARKEST NIGHT by Alex Villavasso_Review

Sailor Ray and the Darkest Night (The Pact #1)Sailor Ray and the Darkest Night by Alex Villavasso
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review: SAILOR RAY AND THE DARKEST NIGHT by Alex Villavasso

Sailor Ray, a young woman currently living in Chicago, hunts demons. In her perspective, it's strictly for revenge. She hunts to avenge the death of her father. She has a sort of supernatural edge, because she harbors a demon, not out of choice, but by Pact, in order to achieve her revenge. The demon inside, whom she nicknamed Alphonse, hides his time, healing and waiting to claim her soul.

This is Book 1 of the Urban Fantasy series THE PACT. 18+ for violence and language.

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FAMILY REUNION by Jaxon Reed_Review

Family Reunion - a short storyFamily Reunion - a short story by Jaxon Reed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

FAMILY REUNION by Jaxon Reed

Writing a short story is not always easy, especially when the author intends to include character depth and evolution, plotting, setting, and theme. Jaxon Reed delivers excellently in FAMILY REUNION, a tautly compelling and unforgettable science fiction short story about-- yes, really--time travel. My overweening reaction is "Wow!! Awesome!" {and I use that term in its original sense} Days since I read FAMILY REUNION, and I am still pondering, turning the story over and over in my mind, looking at all the angles and possibilities. 12 stars at least!

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Sunday, April 1, 2018

THE ATROCITIES by Jeremy C. Shipp

The AtrocitiesThe Atrocities by Jeremy C. Shipp
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE ATROCITIES by Jeremy C. Shipp

A Gallery of Grotesqueries, a House of Possession and Utter Madness, a Merging of Twin Realities. If Agatha Christie had fallen through a Lovecraftian Portal, and then penned a locked room mystery, with illustrations by William Blake, the result might resemble the vast estate, "The Atrocities," and its family, in this stunning Gothic panorama. (Or consider "The Fall of the House of Usher," if a collaboration by Lovecraft and Mary Shelley.

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Saturday, March 24, 2018

2018_CAN YOU READ A SERIES?_Challenge

April Challenge

My choice is the quartet, WITCHING SAVANNAH, by J. D. Horn. I own the first three, and I will get the fourth via Kindle Unlimited. In fact, #1-3 will be checkoffs on 2 other challenges: 2018 Blogger Shame, and 2018 Bookish Resolutions.

THE LINE #1

THE SOURCE #2

THE VOID #3

JILO #4

GOODREADS Shelf

Changing in midstream, I am instead reading Books 1-6 of the Liv Bergen Mystery Series By Sandra Brannan.

Book 1: IN THE BELLY OF JONAH, read April 20-21 See my review HERE

Book 2: LOT'S RETURN TO SODOM, read April 22 See my review HERE

Book 3: WIDOWS MIGHT see my review HERE

Book 4: NOAH'S RAINY DAY

see my review HERE

Book 5: SOLOMON'S WHISPER

See my review HERE

Book 6: JACOB'S DESCENT See my review HERE

Challenge COMPLETED April 21-29

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Review: A PLACE FOR PLUTO

A Place for PlutoA Place for Pluto by Stef Wade
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: A PLACE FOR PLUTO

Totally delightful, with lovely, friendly, illustrations, and gentle text guiding children as Pluto is first stripped of his planetary status and then wanders the galaxy, accompanied by his five moons, as he determines his new identity. Is Pluto a comet? An asteroid? A meteoroid? Follow along as this former planet finds a home. (As a Pluto purist, I really enjoyed this story.)

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