The nitty-gritty: A short but emotional story about life and death, with ghosts and witches and cats. And rats. We talk about the knives in her kitchen. She agrees to lock them in the closet for the night. Too readily: she’s not a knife girl, not Vicky. I listen to the despair and weariness in […]
The nitty-gritty: An fantastic, action-packed follow-up to Time Salvager, full of complex characters and relationships, and yes, some time travel! I’m always happy to read a Wesley Chu book, especially since he’s the author of one of my favorite science fiction series, the Tao books. And I always love when a favorite author ventures out and […]
The nitty-gritty: A strong concept that should have worked, but for this reader, there just wasn’t enough emotional connection for me to enjoy the story. Alex was a survivor. Alex wanted the fix, and that was the deal, the box of Turkish delight to sweeten the work of professional betrayal: half a century. Standard offer […]
The nitty-gritty: Weird and wild, this is one alien invasion story you don’t want to miss. “Give him a change of clothes,” says Oyin Da. She code-switches into Yoruba where her speech is not so devoid of emotion. “I’m not going to see potential adversaries smelling of meat.” “Touch these clothes and you die,” I […]
The nitty-gritty: A strange, sometimes violent and unexpectedly emotional thriller about a family unable to cope with tragedy. I have to admit the blurb on the dust jacket of this book initially grabbed my attention because a) it’s by Stephen King and b) he mentions one of my favorite books EVER—The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. […]
The nitty-gritty: Another page turner from Emma Newman, an addictive mystery full of twists and turns, set in a future full of scary possibilities. I enjoyed Planetfall last year, which I read during Sci-Fi Month 2015, but I was stunned by how much more I loved After Atlas, a “companion” novel which takes place in […]
Translated by Deborah Boliver Boehm The nitty-gritty: An atmospheric and creepy ghost story that kept me turning the pages, but ultimately suffered from awkward writing and plotting. I thought it would be nice to close out the month with a ghost story, especially since today is Halloween! I was initially drawn to The Graveyard Apartment […]
The nitty-gritty: Dark and deliciously dangerous, with a unique take on vampires that will make jaded readers sit up and take notice. Atl looked at him, and her face was not really human, it was a bird’s face, though it lacked a beak. Instead of hair she had lustrous feathers. She shook her hand and […]
The nitty-gritty: A fast-paced adventure, back in the exciting world of the quasing, with some new characters, old friends, and plenty of cons, deals and double-crosses. “I’m surprised a man of your qualities managed to find a woman to produce an offspring.” “For every ugly and desperate man, there is an equally ugly and desperate […]
The nitty-gritty: An odd and magical story based on the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, set in modern times. This is my second Keith Donohue book, and I loved it just as much as The Boy Who Drew Monsters. I have to admit when I first read the blurb for The Motion of Puppets, I […]