In Blackbirds, Chuck Wendig tells the story of a modern day Cassandra. Miriam has had the visions for years. All it takes is the touch of another person’s skin on her own, and she sees their death. When she meets a trucker named Louis, she sees him call her name before he dies. Can […]
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Signet (April 3, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 045123636X Official Description: When young women start dying, Boston cop Samantha Ryan is the perfect person to investigate, for only she knows what the archais symbol carved into their flesh means. The last in a long line of ruthless witches, she grew […]
It’s the early 17th century. Elizabethan England. The scene is London, a diverse and eclectic metropolis. Maliverny Catlyn is a skilled but down on his luck swordsman and gentleman who is trying to scrape together a living on the hard streets of London, manage his relationship with his lover Ned, and keep his tortured […]
I listen to a lot of audiobooks (nine last month; 70 last year), but recently I was having one of those “I have 400 books on my to read list and still can’t pick what to read” bouts of choice paralysis. Then I stumbled across my copy of Howl’s Moving Castle, bought on sale a year or two ago, […]
Many of us not only do our socializing online, but we also work online as well. Whether we’re employed in the creative arts as artists, writers, or musicians, or we’re self-employed (plumbers, landscapers, babysitters) there’s a Internet site to promote our services. While web-savvy businesses have been working online for years, even more traditional companies […]
The magic returns (or comes into being) to our technological modern day world is not a new idea in fantasy. Rachel Pollack’s Unquestionable Fire. The novels of Alyx Dellamonica. The roleplaying games Shadowrun and GURPS: Technomancer hypothesize what would happen if magic erupted into the modern world. Other novels and stories ponder a return […]
Welcome to All Things From My Brain. eBooks. Ugh. Recently paid $13 for an eBook. I know, I know – you’re thinking, “What the Hell?” Me too. I did it because I was curious about the author, Elmore Leonard, whose stories about a U.S. Marshall named Raylan Givens, served as inspiration for the FX TV […]
When last we left Liam Kelly, the slow revelation of who and what he was had left him if not in a happy place, at least a relatively stable place. True, he had lost much in discovering his true heritage, lost his wife, lost friends, lost (or should we say, walked away) from his […]
Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated Publication date: 4/24/2012 ISBN-10: 1937007502 Official Description: Sylvie Lightner is a P.I. specializing in the unusual—in a world where magic is real, and Hell is just around the corner. After escaping secret government cells and destroying a Miami landmark, Sylvie’s trying to lay low—something that […]
Book Review: Songs of the Earth by Elspeth Cooper. Gair has been keeping a secret. Although he a good warrior for the Church, he has a talent for magic that the Church decries as witchcraft. It comes as a terrible song that he cannot stop hearing, and when it manifests too strongly, the magic […]
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Roc; Original edition (April 3, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 0451464486 Official Description: Allison Beckstrom’s talent for tracking spells has put her up against some of the darkest elements in the world of magic. But she’s never faced anything like this. Magic itself has been poisoned, and Allie’s undead father […]
“The work is challenging, the public is hostile, and the monsters are hungry, but the MMD crew has science, teamwork … and a secret weapon on their side. Together, they can save Japan, and the universe!” – from the back cover Hiroshi Yamamoto’s novel, about an alternate history where all of those rubber suit monster […]
Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Roc; Original edition (April 3, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 0451464494 Official Description: The power swelled inside me, burning, hurting, but I let it center me. Pain means I’m still here, fighting. I envisioned it swelling in my hand in a seething rush, gathering, gathering, and then I sent it […]
Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Ace; Original edition (March 27, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1937007383 Official Description: For three years, Miranda Grey-Solomon has kept her role as Vampire Queen of the South separate from her Grammy-winning music career. But now, her dual lives are starting to collide, threatening everything Miranda and David, her Prime, […]
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: Roc; Original edition (March 6, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 0451464443 Official Description: Half-human/half-monster Cal Leandros knows that family is a pain. But now that pain belongs to his half-brother, Niko. Niko’s shady father is in town, and he needs a big favor. Even worse is the reunion being held […]
When I picked up American Gods by Neil Gaiman, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew only two things: 1.) It was cited as a genre classic and 2.) the podcast, Writing Excuses, mentioned a scene from the book where a god burned his fingers on a hot apple pie. And while I admit […]
A few years ago, Matt Dukes Jordan compiled Wierdo Deluxe to showcase today’s leading lowbrow and pop surrealist artists. With Weirdo Noir, he crawls into the cracks of the lowbrow genre to harvest some of the darker Gothic* works contained therein. Jordan’s introductory essay is a glimpse into the human obsession with what goes bump […]
I am going to start this review off on a note and structure rather different than other book reviews of mine you’ve read of mine at the Functional Nerds and say this right up front: Prince of Thorns, a debut fantasy novel by Mark Lawrence, is a contentious novel with a mostly unsympathetic sociopathic […]
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Ace; Original edition (February 28, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1937007294 Official Description: Alex Verus is part of a world hidden in plain sight, running a magic shop in London. And while Alex’s own powers aren’t as showy as some mages, he does have the advantage of foreseeing the possible […]
Thomas Marcinko’s new anthology, Astronauts and Heretics, treats the reader to seven highly entertaining and imaginative stories. The first story, Faith in a Higher Power, tells of a world where super powers are strictly regulated and many treat their ‘gifts’ as an addiction. Despite this, the tale is playful and upbeat. Next comes Whiter Teeth, […]
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Ace; Original edition (February 28, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1937007286 Official Description: All Calliope Reaper-Jones ever wanted out of life was a fabulous job in New York City and a really hot boyfriend. But now, she’s the brand-new President of Death, Inc. With the Board of Death breathing down […]
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