Archive for May, 2008
Friday, May 30th, 2008
Poison Study (Study, book 1), by Maria V. Snyder
I first read this book some years ago, right after it first came out. Then, of course, I forgot it existed for a couple years, so I didn’t notice that a sequel was published . . . and then the third book. Consequently, I’m rereading the first book. Ms. Snyder is a meteorologist-turned-writer who has [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in book reviews, fantasy by Stephanie
Thursday, May 29th, 2008
Touch of Evil, by C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp
C. T. Adams and Cathy Clamp are a two-woman writing team; from the bio, it seems that Adams does the majority of the idea work and Clamp does the majority of the writing work. I’m guessing it isn’t clear-cut, but in general, each is embracing her strength. I do enjoy the idea of being able [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in book reviews, fantasy by Stephanie
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
Moby Dick: the screenplay, by Ray Bradbury
I have never read Melville’s novel of Moby-Dick, although I did read excerpts in 11th-grade English class. I found the writing style surprisingly readable, but was put off by the length. Never mind that I’ve read books that are longer by now; it never seemed important enough for me to sit down and actually read [...]
No Comments » - Posted in book reviews by Stephanie
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
The Game, by Diana Wynne Jones
Diana Wynne Jones is one of the grand masters of English children’s/YA fantasy, and I generally love her works. I’ve reviewed a couple of her books here before, and I’m sure I’ve mentioned that in many ways, her books form the template for the Harry Potter books. (Also, they’re better written. But I digress.) She [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in book reviews, children's lit, fantasy by Stephanie
Monday, May 26th, 2008
Black and White, by Lewis Shiner
Subterranean Press, purveyors of such novels as this one, this one, and this one, made an announcement last week that Lewis Shiner’s new novel, Black and White, was to start shipping last weekend, so I thought a Monday review would be good timing. The Subterranean Press edition is the only edition of this book, as [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in book reviews, contemporary by Stephanie
Friday, May 23rd, 2008
Feast of Fools (Morganville Vampires, book 4) by Rachel Caine
[Happy birthday, Miss Em!]
Hard on the heels of Wednesday’s review, here’s another Rachel Caine book. As I’m sure one might guess by the title, this is the newest entry in the Morganville Vampires series. As a matter of fact, it’s so new that it doesn’t come out until June 3rd. (Oh, the perks of having [...]
4 Comments » - Posted in book reviews, children's lit, fantasy by Stephanie
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008
The Conjurer Princess, by Vivian Vande Velde
On Tuesday of this week, I reviewed The Changeling Prince, a YA novel VVV published in the mid-1990s. Today’s review subject is the sequel — or perhaps The Changeling Prince is the prequel, as it was written later but chronologically comes before. There’s even a short story, entitled, “Just Another Dragon-Slaying”, from the Xanadu 2 [...]
No Comments » - Posted in book reviews, children's lit, fantasy by Stephanie
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
Chill Factor (Weather Wardens, book 3), by Rachel Caine
It’s no secret by now, since this will be the sixth book of hers that I have reviewed, that I enjoy reading Rachel Caine’s books. (The other reviews are here, here, and here, for the Morganville Vampires books, and here and here for the two previous Weather Wardens books.) I also enjoy reading her blog, [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in book reviews, fantasy by Stephanie
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
The Changeling Prince, by Vivian Vande Velde
A little web research told me that Vivian Vande Velde IS her real/legal name. I’m impressed; many writers are not lucky enough to marry into such a euphonious — and writerly — name. Anyway, VVV has written about thirty books, if I can count correctly, including the previously-reviewed Heir Apparent. They range from a picture [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in book reviews, children's lit, fantasy by Stephanie
Monday, May 19th, 2008
The Phoenix Dance, by Dia Calhoun
I have read two other of Ms. Calhoun’s books: Firegold and Aria of the Sea. This volume, The Phoenix Dance, was a companion volume to the latter, but unfortunately I read Aria of the Sea quite a while ago, so all I could remember was that there was a dancer who wanted to be a [...]