This was a charming, if melancholy read. Set in a sort of steampunk Britain, very Victorian, with odd new countries, like Americanada and Neo-Gaul. Ben Braddock is a young man returned from the Great War and heralded as a hero for doing nothing more than surviving the final battle. He was impoverished before the draft and really has nothing to… Read more
Usually, when you stand in line at the ramen shop, you eventually open the door and you are greeted by the sounds and smells of the restaurant. You sit down at your table and you get your bowl of noodles. But sometimes – only sometimes – a patron opens the door of the ramen shop and instead finds themselves somewhere… Read more
I don’t think I’ve ever read a sequel that made me like the previous book less, but that’s what happened with Holmes is Missing by James Patterson. The first book, Holmes, Marple, and Poe had its flaws, but it was a decent mystery. I found it odd, as I was reading the second book, that its flaws made me see… Read more
If you laughed at that description, you should definitely pick up Starter Villain by John Scalzi. He’s kind of hit or miss for me, but this was a lot of fun. Charlie Fitzer is in a bad place. A former business reporter for the Chicago Tribune who found himself out of a job when the newspaper industry tanked, Charlie is… Read more
You know I love my detectives, and this series is going to give me three new detectives to devote myself to: Brendan Holmes, Margaret Marple, and Auguste Poe. Now, what are the chances that three descendants of the most famous detectives of all time are opening their own detective agency in New York City? Well, since Miss Marple was a… Read more
The thing about reading on a Kindle is that you always know precisely where you are. That’s how I know that it took 83% of the book before the author GOT TO THE POINT. By then, I was pretty irritated. To be fair, the last 20% of the book is very engaging, but the build-up, the first 80%, was a… Read more
According to the Acknowledgements, author Elizabeth Hand was approached by Shirley Jackson’s estate and asked to write a novel that revisited Hill House. After reading A Haunting on the Hill, I have the urge to go back and re-read the source material. It’s been years since I read the original, but I’m sure the local library has a copy. In… Read more
So, a little background on this before I get to the 5-star review: I recently started a new job and I knew from our very first team meeting that I was in the right place. We spent half the meeting trading book recommendations! And this was one of the recommendations and I am very, very grateful for it: Devolution: A… Read more
I went to a lot of trouble to get this book. It showed up on my Kindle Daily Deals page for $3.99, but clicking on the link only showed it at full price. I spent way too long chatting with customer service and I ended up having to buy it at full price and then Amazon refunded me the difference.… Read more
Hopefully, you took my advice and gave yourself a rest before digging in to this one. It is every bit as good as The Price You Pay (and this review has spoilers for that book, so beware) and you’ll need to rest up and hydrate. When we last saw Jack Price, the Seven Demons had destroyed his artisan cocaine empire.… Read more