Matt

How to Sell a Haunted House is another great novel from Grady Hendrix. Exploring grief, loss, guilt, family, sibling rivalry, and generational trauma...with a house haunted by dolls and puppets. There are tons of images and scenes that are really horrifying in the best possible way. The book is also often very funny. Hendrix returns to Charleston for this one, and it also effectively blends horror and humor much like his prior South Carolina stories My Best Friend's Exorcism and The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. There was also one section that, which to reveal a minor spoiler, included a radical puppet collective...and I thought it was one of the greatest things I've ever read in a horror novel. Granted as someone who trained in more than a little bit of devised and experimental theatre, I'm probably biased. The book wasn't necessarily a perfect home run though. Despite the introduction of several dolls and puppets in this book, only one* really seemed particularly meaningful. In fact, I might even say that the involvement of the other puppets came perilously close to not being adequately explained and was certainly underutilized. Still, the way Hendrix explored challenging subjects concerning  family and loss was really moving. In some ways I think this might be his most mature work, despite being so funny. The audiobook was read by Jay Aaseng and Mikhaila Aaseng, and they did a great job! Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

*Except for an early scene that was really spectacularly horrifying, and reminiscent of another scene in Southern Book Club's Guide.

Homefront is another great installment to the excellent Expeditionary Force series despite changing the format up. Unlike the rest of the series, this one is an audio drama with a full cast rather than novel. While RC Bray is hard to top, I did enjoy hearing some other voices alongside his...especially women's voices reading the women. Most of the narrators really added a lot of value to their roles, and although I'm happy to listen to Bray read all the characters, I'd also be thrilled to listen to these actors read these characters again. That said, I have to admit I'm glad the next few books in the series are regular books, because the format of this audio drama was kind of funky. And not funky like “let's dance to this funky music all night”, no it was much more like “does this milk smell funky to you?” Here's the thing, it sounded over-produced. There were background sounds and musical sections that didn't seem to fit the rest of the recording, and the levels were sometimes odd. Additionally, the whole thing sounded like there was a bit of reverb, not the crisp simple sound we have come to expect from the series. I also prefer the flow of Alanson's usual writing over the audio drama structure. This wasn't bad, I just was much more cognizant of it being composed of “scenes” than I usually am. Admittedly as an actor myself I may be trained to recognize them, but nevertheless I prefer to simply get lost in the story rather than clearly hearing one scene end and another begin.

Overall, this is a solid story and is an interesting listening experience. Great performances and so-so production. This listener would love to hear a regular Expeditionary Force NOVEL read by this cast some day. Sadly, this is probably not economically plausible, but hey - with Skippy the Magnificent, who knows?

P.S. Listen through the credits. I loved hearing the outtakes and funny things some of the actors said.

The Diver's Game is a novella length book of short stories forming a mosaic novel. In the world of the book certain people (descendants of immigrants) have been deemed subhuman and it is considered legal for full citizens to kill them. A fine premise for a dystopian novel, but Jesse Bell constructed this book in a way that just didn't work for this reader. The book consists of a series of stories featuring different characters looking at different aspects of the world with few instances of direct overlap. Furthermore many of these stories just didn't develop enough or have a clear enough sense of resolution for my taste.

I don't know if they were well or poorly written, the first story was loaded with exposition (a teacher explaining the world to a class, and thus the reader), but it seemed that the author enjoyed setting up a story only to deny the reader an opportunity to find out what happens. Perhaps this was Ball's way of putting the reader in the shoes of the subhuman residents who could be gassed at any moment? If so, it's a bit clever, but I still didn't care for it.

That's another thing, the means by which pats (full citizens) killed non-pats was by opening canisters of gas. Seems implausible. Too many ways that could go wrong or have unintended victims.

Overall, the dystopian world was clearly a thinly veiled metaphor for many contemporary issues, and perhaps this book is Ball's grim prediction for what our world might look like in a few generations. As interesting as that is, it doesn't excuse the lackluster means by which he told the story...or more precisely, the lack of story. That's actually the whole problem, the book is much more concept than story.

Also, the formatting is very odd. He puts frequent line breaks and even page breaks in the book, resulting in lots of blank space throughout. That's why I said it was novella length, I bet if it was formatted like a normal book it would be numerous pages shorter.

In brief, I think it was an interesting concept and would have been interested in reading one of these stories written as an actual novel with a clear sense of resolution, but this book just didn't work for me.

P.S. If anyone would like to read a mosaic novel where the structure works more effectively, check out Coyote Songs by Gambino Iglesias. It's a horror book and also explores themes of xenophobia.

Dread Nation is an excellent horror/dystopian novel! Imagine a world where the American Civil War ended when the dead rose up as zombies. Justina Ireland has written a compelling book with strong characters, an interesting plot, and an original premise. 5 stars.

Dennis E Taylor has done it again! While this book might not have been my favorite in the series, it was nevertheless a five star experience to return to the Bobiverse and accompany the replicants on a new adventure. Heaven's River focuses on two main plot lines, and I found both compelling. The ending of the book suggests there will be more installments in the series to come, which is GREAT news as far as I'm concerned. I would love to listen to hundreds of hours of Ray Porter reading this series.

God is My Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom is a different kind of book than what I normally read and review. This is a non-fiction Christian devotional book that combines scriptures, prayers, and the stories and reflections of Corrie ten Boom - a Dutch clockmaker and concentration camp survivor - into a 40 day devotional reading on many topics related to living with God. During World War II the ten Boom family hid Jewish people in their home to help them evade the Nazis. The ten Boom's were betrayed, arrested, and imprisoned. Corrie and her sister Betsie were sent to concentration camps, but despite the horrors and darkness around them they discovered that God was their hiding place. They put their focus on Him and ministered to others imprisoned with them. They clung to God during the trials and tribulations they endured. Betsie went to be with the Lord during this time, but Corrie survived and spent the rest of her life traveling, preaching, ministering, and sharing the Gospel throughout the world. This book tells stories from before her imprisonment, during it, and after. It is divided into 40 short daily readings that begin with a scripture and end with a prayer. I read multiple days at a time because I was reading this title to review, but I think the length and contents of each daily reading would be excellent for day by day reading, meditation, prayer, and reflection. What struck me was how encouraging and uplifting this devotional book is. Despite everything ten Boom had been through, she remained steadfast in her faith and found joy, hope, strength, forgiveness, gratitude, and peace in Jesus. In many ways this book seeks to help each of us find this in our lives too, whatever our own circumstances may be. I found reading this devotional book to be a blessing. I haven't read many devotionals before, but I now hope to read others in the future. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone at any point in their faith journey (as well as to those who do not consider themselves to be on a “faith journey.”) I got a lot out of this book, and I hope and pray you will too. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Many thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary ARC of this title.

Ira Levin is a renowned author of horror and thrillers. Despite his acclaim, I had up to this point managed to avoid reading both Rosemary's Baby and this work. I'm grateful that The Howl Society book club selected this novella and inspired me to finally check it off my comically long TBR. Although I had never read any of Levin's books or seen their film adaptations, I was, however, familiar with Levin from my experience directing a community theatre production of his play Deathtrap. Based on Deathtrap, a thriller about writers, marketable ideas, love, a psychic, and more, I expected The Stepford Wives be thrilling, twisty, and perhaps even violent. In a way, it was. Without giving away too much of the plot, let it suffice to say that a family moves to the suburban town of Stepford, and the novel's protagonist Joanna begins to suspect that something odd is happening that transforms all the women into their husband's idea of an ideal house wife. Beautiful and devoted to housework. Throughout the book clues are dropped, some red herrings too, and dread begins to build toward the book's conclusion. While I felt it took a little bit to get started, once it got going it was a thrilling ride. Though this book isn't characterized by the overt violence of Deathtrap, the reader witnesses other types of violence including gaslighting, oppressive gender roles, and perhaps even something more sinister still. As much fun as it was to try to figure out what was going on in Stepford, I found the book's conclusion to not be totally satisfying. There was too much ambiguity in the book for my taste. Still, a great book that still feels frighteningly relevant today, despite having been written in the 1970s. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells is another great Murderbot Diaries book! This book was published after but set before the Murderbot novel, Network Effect, and is seemingly a self-contained story. Murderbot works with Preservation Station security to investigate a murder (you can imagine how thrilled it is with that arrangement). This novella has all the elements readers have come to know and love in the previous volumes, Murderbot's snark and wit, some action, etc. In some ways I found this book to be a bit less exciting than some of the previous five, especially Network Effect. Something about the plot just didn't feel as high stakes and exciting as the last. It might be the first book I didn't enjoy more than the previous, which is kind of lame, but since we're talking about Murderbot books it was still really good. Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

5/5/2023 Update
After re-listening I disagree with my earlier assessment that the plot didn't feel high stakes. It's a great book and I really enjoyed it. 

Freefall by Craig Alanson is a great follow-up in the Mavericks spin-off series of the Expeditionary Force universe. The Mavericks and Alien Legion get involved in trying to aid a disgraced band of lizard assassins take over a planet controlled by the squids (one of the effects of listening to audiobooks is that I have no idea how to spell any of the unique proper nouns in this series

Wow! Fourth Wing is an absolutely incredible new adult romantasy novel. The first in a series, I can't wait to start Iron Flame. Combining spicy romance with dragons and dystopia, I loved this book! Reminiscent of Divergent, but not derivative. Such a fun read!  

Another good book in the Convergence series. 

First Dangle and Other Stories is a great addition to the Iron Druid universe! This book is a collection of short stories exploring a Holy Grail story, the return of SloMo the sloth, and more. There's also a really great sci-fi story tacked onto the end that isn't part of the Iron Druid universe. I'd highly recommend this collection to those who've read The Iron Druid Chronicles. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another great book!

Failure Mode by Craig Alanson is book 15 of Expeditionary Force. Although there is (at least) one more ExForce book forthcoming, book 15 was originally billed as the end of the series. I've loved this comedic military sci-fi saga, and Failure Mode was no exception. I feel the need to clarify that neither this book nor this series are particularly well-written. No offense to Mr. Alanson, but these books are often repetitive and would benefit from some good editing. Failure Mode, and some of the prior books, have relied on deus ex machina to overcome obstacles. Failure Mode featured some scenes should of been emotionally moving, but just didn't totally stick the landing for me. With that said, what Alanson has done delightfully well throughout the series is write fantastically funny dialogue and vignettes, as well as flesh out a really compelling sci-fi world and develop some really loveable characters. I enjoyed getting to spend more time with Joe and Skippy, and see a fantastic climax for the series come to fulfillment. I'm also glad this isn't really the end. Criticism not withstanding, Alanson knows how to write FUN fiction, and I'll read anything he publishes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Fables Vol 5 is another great installment in the series!

Fables Vol 3 Storybook Love is another great installment in the Fables series. This volume felt a bit more like a topical anthology than a single story arc, with the first and last issues standing apart from the main story. Nevertheless, a great collected edition! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fables Volume 2 “Animal Farm” is a great second story arc in the Fables series. Snow White and Rose Red head upstate to the Farm, but all is not well. Introducing characters from many well know stories, this arc is great expansion of the series. I can't wait to read the next! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells is the thrilling fourth book in the Murderbot Diaries series. I feel like each book has been better than the last. Wells has written another very exciting story, possibly some of the best action so far, while also revealing so much humanity in both the humans and Murderbot. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/3/2023 Update
I re-listened to this along with the prior three novellas. I love it! This book continues the story of Murderbot and its relationship with Dr. Mensah and the Preservation crew. This one has some high stakes and great action, but didn't include any awesome new loveable characters like A.R.T. and Miki.

Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone is a fun satirical Aussie murder mystery. Perfect for fans of the genre, particularly those who delight in the works of the Golden Age. This story is told from the prospective of Ernest Cunningham, an author of how-to guides for mystery writers (despite not having written a mystery himself), begrudgingly attending a family reunion in the mountains. As you can imagine...a body appears and the locked room mystery commences. What distinguishes this novel from the many others like it is how self-referential and meta it is throughout. Ern constantly refers to Knox's rules, mystery classics, and even earlier and future passages in the book to continually remind the reader that they are, in fact, reading a mystery. While I can see how some readers might get annoyed by the frequent winks, nudges, and explanations; I marveled at the author's command of the style and form to be able to deconstruct it in a subversion of the normal mystery style, without sacrificing too much suspense. With that said, the middle dragged a bit and the plot got a little confusing in my opinion. Overall, I enjoyed this one and would likely listen to other books from this author, though I don't think it quite reached the standard of the golden age mysteries it frequently alludes to. 

Just finished Dragonslayer, book 2 in the Convergence series by Craig Alanson. Picking up immediately after the conclusion of the first book, I enjoyed this one immensely. Kaz and company are hunting a dragon and continuing to learn about magic, the Nether, and the Order. 

Divine Rivals was my first book by Rebecca Ross, but it certainly won't be my last. This enemies-to-lovers new adult romantasy novel combines love, magic, and lore in a highly compelling story.  Iris and Roman are rival journalists in the city of Oath, competing for a columnist position while hundreds of kilometers away the gods war in the east. Iris' brother has joined the cause of the goddess Enva, yet by some magic her letters to him end up in the hands of the mysterious Carver. Through a combination of third person narrative and epistles Ross weaves the first half a duology that is equally exciting in its romance and fantasy world building. Featuring outstanding character development and very little spice, I highly recommend Divine Rivals to both romantasy fans and newcomers to the genre alike. 

Disappearance at Devil's Rock by @paulgtremblay was the last of Tremblay's current horror novels I hadn't read...so now I've completed the set sans the crime fiction. Perhaps it's fitting that the book about a missing child should be the last to disappear from my TBR. Of course, I do not mean to make light of the subject, and Tremblay certainly does not. With the “is it or isn't it” ambiguity readers have enjoyed in Cabin, Head Full of Ghosts, and Pallbearer's Club, Tremblay challenges the reader to confront one of life's most tragic and terrifying situation and wrestle with the intrinsic drive to find a narrative, meaning, as extraordinary as the catastrophic circumstances. I don't mind admitting I flipped through the P.S. pages at the end because I felt like there were parts of the book I didn't sufficiently comprehend, but overall this novel kept me guessing and held my interest throughout. I also loved seeing the original story a couple of Survivor Song characters originated from. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In space no one can hear you scream...from frustration and subpar audiobook narration. Dead Space by S.A. Barnes was billed as The Shining meets The Titanic in space, and I had very high hopes for this story. Claire is a space ship team lead on a mission that accidentally discovers a luxury (space) cruise ship that has been missing for decades. Motivated by the lucrative claim they can make by recovering the vessel Claire and her crew board the ship, but soon creepy stuff starts happening. The reader is left to wonder: is the ship haunted? Has the crew gone insane? Is something else at work?

Cool concept, but ultimately I didn't love how it turned out. This was a fun book (especially for the first 2/3rds of so), but I just found it a bit disappointing overall. Some elements seemed unbelievable or just kinda lame. Additionally the audiobook is marred by a performance that at times borders on melodrama, and features some character voices I didn't care for.

Overall I think this book was just ok. If you really like space horror you might be into it, but there's probably better books out there. This might be one that's better to read visually than to listen to though.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Critical Mass by Craig Alanson is an exciting installment in the Expeditionary Force series. Picking up from the cliffhanger ending at the conclusion of book 9, Critical Mass is filled with twists and turns and has a major plot twist for the series. Can't wait to start book 11. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#convergence by Craig Alanson is the beginning of Alanson #urbanfantasy series following Kaz Wolfe, wizard. Wolfe, an inept and untrained wizard, is a fugitive trying to evade both the authorities and shadowy enemies. Weird stuff gets weirder, and in typical Alanson fashion the hero has to find a way to save the world. Fans of Alanson's Expeditionary Force may find a lot of familiar elements here, and even at least one direct Easter Egg. It's hard for me not say it's a little formulaic, but it was also extremely entertaining and I plan to listen to Dragonslayer. R.C. Bray does an amazing job, as always. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫#bookstagram #bookreview