Matt
On the Slayed Page by Jasmine Webb is the third book in the Poppy Perkins mysteries series. This is another fun cozy mystery following up-and-coming author Poppy Perkins solve crimes in San Francisco. If you liked the last two books you'll probably like this one too. Sometimes Webb writes monologues for her characters, which sort of stick out and almost sound a bit preach-y in my opinion...but then again a similar criticism could be made about The Thursday Murder Club, and any author being compared to Richard Osman is in excellent company. There is a fourth book slated for release soon, and I'm really looking forward to it!
Soul Fraud by Andrew Givler is a great start to an urban fantasy series, perfect for fans of The Iron Druid Chronicles, The Eric Carter series, The Frugal Wizard's Handbook to Surviving Medieval England, etc. A funny and youthful protagonist is thrust into the hidden supernatural world when his soul is stolen by a demon (and you thought internet scams were bad!) This story features a colorful cast of characters pulled from various myths and faiths, including some I've never seen in an urban fantasy series before. It's a delightful audiobook, wonderfully narrated, and is sure to delight genre readers.
I received an eARC of the ebook version of this title from Subterranean Press via NetGalley. The Hermit Next Door is a hopeful sci-fi story about grief. Also a meditation about our relationship with our environment, this novella was a thought provoking short listen.
Finished up the first story arc of THAT TEXAS BLOOD by Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips. This series is set in a fictional West Texas county and follows the story of a brother return home in the wake of a tragedy. I'm really torn on this series. On one hand, I really like the atmosphere. I'm not from West Texas, but as a Texan I nevertheless feel like this series has captured a real sense of place. The art is beautiful. I enjoy being immersed in the world of this comic. On the other hand, I felt like the characters and narrative weren't that great. Particularly beginning with issue 5 I didn't understand why some of the events that were occurring were occurring. Beginning in issue 1 the pacing was very slow, and then as the series continued it seemed to suddenly escalate very quickly. The catalyst seemed pretty stereotypical to me too.I also felt like several characters weren't really fleshed out. With the way issue 6 ended I'm not sure where the series is headed next. I reckon I'll read on, but so far I'd say this series is ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Murder in Bermuda is a fun episodic series of legal thrillers. Following American lawyer Beth Heller on the island of Bermuda as she becomes increasingly entangled in a series of mysteries and legal cases with far-reaching consequences. More of an audio drama and less of a traditional book, Murder in Bermuda is well-written and superbly performed.
I read The Giver as a possible candidate for an educational production. It is an adaptation of Lois Lowery's novel adapted by Eric Coble. I read the source material as a kid and then recently re-read it with my book club. It's a great dystopian book and I think Coble did a remarkable job adapting it for the stage. The play is filled with technical challenges that offer lots of opportunities for creative theatre magic, and resounds with thought-provoking imagery that inspires the audience to consider choice, collective responsibility, individuality, and memory. I don't know if I'm going to direct this show yet, but it's one I'm definitely going to keep in mind. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dade County Death Cruise is a fantastic sequel to Alexander C Kane's Orlando People. Gretch is back, now as an agent of the newly created DEC, and the story continues. This book largely takes the form of a locked room mystery and, while maybe not as strong as the first book, is very enjoyable. Great characters, humor, action, and narration.
Meh
This is an interesting concept that might be better suited to a longer format. The novelette length of this story, and if I'm being honest the mediocre prose, didn't really get me invested in the characters or their experiences. There were some cool moments, but sadly they felt like punctuation in a stream of boredom. This short book just didn't really resonate with me.
“Brother, Sister, Madness, Sin, Now the Terror Will Begin...” Probably the most accurate tag line I've ever read on a book. This is a 5 star read in terms of compelling storytelling, but be warned that this “paperback from hell” is filled with total depravity. If you're someone who wouldn't read a book due to something you read in a content warning, skip this one. This isn't gatekeeping, seriously, it's got every kind of immoral, objectionable, inappropriate, and triggering content I can think of. It's weird and gross, but also kind of good...? About this book penned in 1981 by Andrew Neiderman (an author who also wrote numerous books under the pseudonym V.C. Andrews), Grady Hendrix says: “If you're a completely insane lunatic shut-in with ice water in your veins and screaming bats inside your skull, this would be paradise” (Paperbacks from Hell 143). I can't put it any better than that. While I might recommend readers pick up one of Hendrix's books instead of this revolting story, those who are determined to read PIN may find it expertly paced and even delightfully suspenseful toward the end. Frankly I enjoyed this book, even if I'm ashamed of the fact that I did. Although my initial impulse was to rate this 3/5 due to the content, after discussing this book with others in a book club with the Howl Society I decided to elevate my rating to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. While much of the content made me uncomfortable and was genuinely disturbing and gross, this was likely the author's intention and I don't want to poorly rate a book for effectively doing what it set out to do. The protagonist is an interesting character, even if the choices he makes in this horror novel are, well...horrifying. I had fun reading this book, even if it's not the kind of thing I usually read and wouldn't readily recommend it to others unless I knew they were into paperbacks from hell.
This book should only be read by readers 18 years of age or older.
I started reading this book after reading Ramsey Campbell's The Kind Folk. I was on a bit of a fairy kick and wanted to read another horror book about the fae. Sadly this book proved less than excellent. The novel is structured such that each of its four parts are told from the POV of a different character. I enjoyed the first couple of sections immensely, but by the time the book for the last one things really started to go off the rails. I had a tough time following the plot toward the end. Additionally I felt like the author really wrapped up the main mystery of the book and then didn't really have much else to do for the remaining pages.
The publisher's description comparing this book is Gaiman is nonsense. Levy's writing, while not poor, is nothing like the masterful prose of The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
Overall the first 3 sections were a 4/4.5 star read, and the last was 2.5/3. Overall I'd call this a 3 star book.
I finished the FORWARD collection on Audible and I really enjoyed it. This anthology collects novelette/novella length stories of tomorrow, exploring the impact of emerging technology through the lens of speculative fiction. Featuring six excellent authors: N.K. Jemisin, Veronica Roth, Andy Weir, Amor Towles, Paul Tremblay, and Blake Crouch (who also curated the collection), each of stories was well-written, superbly performed, and presented interesting ideas. My favorites were Emergency Skin (Jemisin), You Have Arrived at Your Destination (Towles), and Summer Frost (Crouch). Overall this is a great anthology and I highly recommend it for sci-fi fans.
Earthside by Dennis E Taylor is a great follow-up to Outland. The second book in the Quantum Earth series, what I suspect will be at least a trilogy, this novel adds great character and plot development even if it does sometimes seem a bit repetitive. Overall I think this book will be enjoyable to fans of the first book, but absolutely does not stand alone.
The Deep is a great historical fiction horror novel combining elements of gothic fiction with history to produce a chilling and compelling book. Alma Katsu (The Hunger) demonstrates her prowess as a researcher in this book, as well as her ability to write the supernatural. Unfortunately this latter element was somewhat diminished by the book's pacing. I think this novel could have been 50-100 pages shorter and been even more effective. I wanted more dread. More fear. It wasn't really scary. Still, The Deep was a great book with winning prose and a historical feel that's sure to delight readers interested in a gothic tale on the sinking of the Titanic.
The Big Sheep by Robert Kroese and read by Fred Berman is a fun soft sci-fi procedural thriller. Blake Fowler, partner to PI - that's Phenomenological Inquisitor - Erasmus Keane, takes the cases of a missing sheep and a possible conspiracy involving a starlet that take him all across a future dystopian Los Angeles. Kroese generally found success blending humor and plot to craft a story that I found compelling. Some characters felt somewhat underdeveloped, and perhaps the plot dragged or became a little bit lost in some places, but overall I thought it was a lot of fun. I think fans of authors like John Scalzi (The Android's Dream), G.S. Denning (Warlock Holmes), and David Brin (Kiln People) might enjoy this book. I look forward to checking out the sequel, The Last Iota, and continuing the story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Death in the Dark Woods, sequel to A Death in Door County, is another cryptid-inspired mystery. Morgan is called upon to investigate a suspicious death, and Bigfoot may be the culprit. This is another fun mystery that is perfect for fans of lighter mysteries and cryptozoology.
Aftermath by Craig Alanson picks up several years after the end of Failure Mode. A new story arc for familiar characters. A must-listen for fans of he first 15 audiobooks.
Storyteller: How to be an Audiobook Narrator by Lorelei King and Ali Muirden is pretty much exactly what the title says, a guide to narrating audiobooks. I purchased this audiobook (and I do want to commend these authors on creating an audiobook, it's a bit ironic to see other guidebooks about audiobook narration only available in non-audio formats...) because I'm interested in trying to combine my interests (reading and performance) to use my acting skills in another medium. In the age of COVID when theatres and film sets have been closed, slowed, or subject to increased risk it seems like a perfect pivot...or at least another opportunity to perform and perhaps earn a bit of cash. I wasn't familiar with King (who is a narrator) or Muirden (who is a producer) before listening, but they both seemed to be experts in the field and to be warm and encouraging for the listener. They describe the demands and challenges of this career and then go into some detail about a variety of subjects such as preparation, character voices, recording in studio, troubleshooting, etc. I really enjoyed the section on character voices and King's breakdown of the different layers or elements she uses to build a character voice. I also thought it was really cool to hear from both the performer and the producer on all these topics. There were a couple of weaknesses in the book. For one, they don't really discuss setting up a home studio in detail. I thought that was kind of a shame since I think a lot of folks get their start by recording themselves at home and auditioning on sites like ACX. I'm sure that some people, especially those who have voice/other acting experience and possibly an agent, are able to get their start with audiobooks recording in studio, but I do wonder if it's more of the norm for less established narrators to begin as performers/producers recording, editing, and mastering all at home on their own? So I think the lack of a chapter really going into detail about that is a weakness in this title. Additionally, though King spent some time talking about creating character voices and research/prep, she spent less time discussing how she decides on a delivery or what kind of acting techniques she applies to her work as a narrator. As a trained actor I have a variety of tools I can use, and normally I don't even like to think in terms of how I want a line to sound, instead focusing on my objective (what I want) or the intention (why I'm saying these words) behind the line. King sometimes used language that suggested she gives some thought to where to place the emphasis or otherwise “how” to read the text, and I might have enjoyed more discussion about her at-home rehearsal process. These quibbles not withstanding, I think this is an excellent introduction to narrating audiobooks. Hopefully you will be able to hear me put some of this information into practice soon! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Behold the Void by Philip Fracassi is a short story collection of horror tales, largely featuring the cosmic sub-genre. Themes of parents, children, loneliness, toxic masculinity and misogyny, and fear of loss recurred throughout many of the stories in the collection. and For me, this collection was a mixed bag. A few stories really stood out to me as four and five star stories including Fail-Safe, Mandela, Baby Farmer, and Horse Thief (especially part 2). I also mostly enjoyed Coffin and Mother, but sadly the other three stories were disappointments to me. I noticed that Fracassi writes beautiful prose, but I found many of the stories to be long, slow, and loaded with detail that did not directly advance the plot. Perhaps it's simply my preference as a read, but I think I enjoy stories that are plot driven more than character or world-building driven, and that made reading some of this stories a tad tedious. This collection was published prior to Fracassi's Beneath a Pale Sky, which I have previously reviewed. I think I preferred Beneath a Pale Sky a bit more, although my comments about meandering detail holds true in both collections. Still, fans of literary horror may find this an enjoyable read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bloodthirsty children, personal transmogrification, cursed objects, mad teachers, evil clowns, and shadowy cults...middle school, am I right? 😂 The Emaciated Man by Evan Baughfman is a really great book of middle grade horror. Set in Edgar Allen Poe Middle School, this collection of stories tells a linear narrative set in a shared world about the terrors of the middle years. Baughfman is a middle school teacher and these stories really ring with authenticity. The way the students and teachers talk and behave is often highly believable, however fantastic the story might be. And indeed, these stories are darkly fantastical. Baughfman does not shy away from twisted, gory, dark details which place this work firmly in the horror genre. Frankly, this volume might even be too scary for some of its target audience. Yet, for mature and brave middle schoolers - and older readers - this volume is a fantastic collection that examines important themes like bullying, education, and coming of age. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Roadkill is another great book by Dennis E Taylor read by Ray Porter. In some ways this book is reminiscent of Taylor's Outland, but with elements of space sci-fi. Overall I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable book and I look forward to hopefully listening to many more Taylor and Porter collaborations in the future. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Far From Home edited by Samantha Kolesnik is an anthology of adventure horror. I previously read Worst Laid Plans, an anthology of vacation horror from the same editor, which I found largely unimpressive albeit with a few stand outs. This anthology is largely the same, although it might be a bit stronger as a whole. After averaging my ratings for all the stories I came to 3.4. Stories ranged from mediocre to good, with a few approaching what I might consider excellence. This is a light, easy, and (despite my criticism) fun reading which immerses the reader in many different locations. My favorite stories in the collection are: Crepuscular by Hailey Piper, The Thing at the Top of the Mountain by Vaughn A. Jackson, The Apostle by Mitch Sebourn, Hell of a Ride by Villimey Mist, and Those Who Wander by A.K. Dennis. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Unwind by Neal Shusterman is the beginning of a dystopian series that explores the question of what the world might be like if abortion debate was resolved by banning the termination of pregnancy, but replacing it with “unwinding” or a retroactive abortion where parents may have a child aged 13-17 surgically taken apart and redistributed to various organ recipients. Let me start out by saying that I think the premise is unrealistic to the point of absurdity. No one, neither Pro-Life nor Pro-Choice, would think this was an acceptable situation. Nor would anyone reasonably consider a person taken apart like this to still be alive. The foundational concept for the book doesn't work for me. Additionally, as I read the book I was reminded that I really don't read a lot of YA and maybe there's a reason for that. The plot and characters developed rapidly, relationships escalating to intimate friendships at a pace that seemed totally unbelievable to me. Also the way the book is written, the prose itself, seemed very simple at times. I'm not this book's primary audience, and maybe when I was a teenager I would have loved it, but I think this book is unrealistic and mostly mediocre. Yet, there were a couple of things Shusterman managed to do well though. I thought the book did a good job of including the importance of life AND choice. I never felt like this book exclusively sided with the Pro-Life or Pro-Choice crowd, even if the scenario presented in the book was unambiguously monstrous. Perhaps the author's main message is that political hatred can drive us all to abandon our principles out of spite, blind us to our own evil, and even reach the point of absurdity. Reading this book in 2021 in Texas, something about that rang a little bit true to me. Overall I didn't love this book, and I don't know if I'll read the next book in the series, but I did get something out of it. For that reason ⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Knowing and accepting the truth are two different things, and they're getting closer all the time.” Singing All the Way Up by Stephanie Sanders-Jacob is a genre-defying novel of science fiction, horror, and coming-of-age. Young protagonist Laura was abducted by aliens, singing all the way up the tractor beam...or was she? She recalls nothing of The Incident, but that doesn't stop her parents, folks at UFO conventions, and others from believing. In many ways this short book is about relationships, disclosure of truth, and the complex multifaceted and mysterious nature of reality that can make both survivors and monsters of us all. Written in a fast-paced highly compelling plot - interspersed with stories of real alien abductions, UFO sighting, and Cryptid encounters - I found this book extremely readable and enjoyable. Toward the end my empathy for Laura began to diminish, but I think the author poses some interesting ethical questions for the reader and gives us a lot to think about. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Great horror comic about what might happen if, in an apocalyptic near future, a group of Indigenous folks tried to go back in time and stop the creation of America to save not only their civilizations, but the world from environmental destruction. While this concept will no doubt offend some patriots, I think it's good food for thought about the complex history and mixed impacts of the US in both North America and the globe. In typical Stephen Graham Jones fashion, sometimes the story is a little hard to follow, but it's wildly creative and beautifully drawn and colored. I highly recommend and look forward to the next story arc.