The Fourth Wall by Walter Jon Williams

 

This may be a perfectly good book but I will never know because I can’t read it due to the use of run on words illustrating the blog of one of the characters.  I’mnotsureifwilliamsactullyreadsanyblogsbutihaveneverreadoneorwroteonethatlookedlikethis.

I gave up, it seemed to have a good plot but the run on stuff just ruined it for me.   I have read and enjoyed his previous books, I just couldn’t get through this one.

Body of work of <a type="amzn"> Walter Jon Williams </a>

Web Site:  http://www.walterjonwilliams.net/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Deadly Descendant by Jenna Black

Nikki Glass is a former private eye who suddenly became a Liberi, a quasi-immortal.  Her change to more than human has required more sacrifices than she expected.   He acclimation to the side she has chosen in a millennium long conflict and her conflicted emotions about being part of a team are the focus of this second book in a very good series.

I mentioned in my review of Dark Descendant, Niki is a likeable character.   She is not some invulnerable super hero, she is a volatile, insecure semi-normal person you might know.   She deals with her changed life with frustration and fear.

As in Dark Descendant, there is plenty of action and emotion with just a hint of sensuality.   This provides a touch of romanticism that doesn’t deter from a good urban fantasy.  This is the second of Ms. Black’s work I have read and I am looking forward to reading the next in this series.  Warning, it may have a little too much romanticism if you are a flannel shirt, insecure manly man.    I, of course, am typing this while holding my bowie knife in my teeth, a loaded Judge on my side and kneeling on the throat of a thrashing swamp gator, I ain’t intimidated by any romantic stuff. 

I recommend it.

Body of work of <a type="amzn"> Jenna Black </a>

Web Site: http://www.jennablack.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Star Corpsman: BloodStar by Ian Douglas

 
In a not too distant future, a well off young man decides to join the navy and become a corpsman.  He hopes that he will get a free education and be able to return to help the family business.  Much to his surprise, his choices lead him to off world adventures and a complete re-evaluation of his personal goals.

I enjoyed the book and the action was top notch.   It is apparent that Ian Douglas (aka William H. Keith, Jr.) has more than the average knowledge of medicine.   I felt that he became a bit too detailed on some of the medical aspects of the story.   It created some drag when the story wanted to soar high.

Douglas did a nice job crafting his characters.  The main protagonist is the only one that has any depth or enough detail to capture you though.  I very much liked his soul searching and his choices.  

The stage was well constructed and the situations were thought provoking.   The power of religion was examined even as action tore the sky with plasma beams.   This is the first of a series.  I look forward to reading the rest.

I did enjoy the book and I recommend it.

Body of work of <a type="amzn"> Ian Douglas </a>

Web site: www.whkeith.com

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Haunting Obsession Trailer Unveiled!

Here is a link to Haunting Obsession Trailer. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Existence by David Brin

This novel is a very complex and very involved story about the future.

Brin has postulated a great deal of doomsday scenarios.  A galactic plague attempts to infect earth.  This intelligent plague finds itself stymied by the incredible diversity and energy of earth's population.
There are so many characters that it's really difficult to describe any single character as being primary consequently it was difficult to like any of them.  

The individual vignettes were entertaining and interesting but the overall scope of the book sometimes made it daunting.  I really didn't find any particular character of great interest. 

Brin was obviously trying to tell a tale, to teach a story, to make us think about our future.   Somehow it came across as if he was trying too hard to tell us his story.  I really enjoyed some of his other works sadly I found this one a bit tedious.

I still recommend it.

Body of  work of <a type="amzn" >David Brin</a>

Site:  http://www.davidbrin.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Watch on The Rhine By John Ringo & Tom Kratman

This book is by my count the 7^th of the Posleen War series.  None of the characters we have seen in previous books are in this book.   This book details the Posleen War in Europe. 

This book stand alone better than Calley’s War which I reviewed here.   The lack of previous characters helped the stand alone feature.   The authors provided sufficient back story to pick up and go.   I found this book more depressing than the previous books.  Since I haven’t read one with Tom Kratman as an author prior to this I can’t say if he brought the dark side or if it was in conjunction with Ringo.   Regardless, I found the story depressing.   The epilogue provided an uplifting ending, which I don’t think is a spoiler.  If it is, sorry!  There is some relief found in redemption in revenge.

There were a wealth of characters none of which were particularly memorable.  As in most of Ringo’s books there were many acts of self sacrifice and courage.   Action is infused in his books.   I enjoyed the tanks and found them a bit reminiscent of the Bolo books.   (If you like tanks, look the Bolo books up as well as the Hammer’s Slammer series.) 

I enjoyed the book but not to the extent that I have enjoyed others in the series.

I recommend the book.

Body of work of <a type="amzn"> John Ringo</a>

Body of work of <a type="amzn"> Tom Kratman </a>

Web sites:  http://www.johnringo.net/Home.aspx

                  http://www.tomkratman.com/asod.html

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Feel the Fire SSP Contest Begins!

Welcome to Seventh Star Press’ Feel the Fire Contest!  Easy to enter, easy to get a lot of entries, and you can win a Kindle Fire, Amazon.com gift cards/certificates, signed books, eBook bundles and much more!
Here are the parameters of this contest.   All eBook, book, poster art, and art card prizes relating to Seventh Star Press authors directly, as well as the Kindle Fire, and the Amazon.com gift cards will be fulfilled by Seventh Star Press .  eBooks from non-SSP authors featured in the bundles of the first three prizes (Grand Prize and prizes #2 and #3) will be fulfilled by the authors themselves.  These authors assume all responsibility for fulfillment and delivery of their titles to the prize winners. They have been asked to deliver their eBooks in the week following the close of the contest at midnight on September 19th.
Grand Prize limited to US/Canadian residents only.  Prizes #2-15 eligible for international entries.
Also, this promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. We hereby release Facebook of any liability.
This contest uses the RaffleCopter system where you can earn extra entries merely by liking the Facebook pages or following the Twitter accounts of various authors and some bloggers.  We encourage you to get as many entries as possible and discover from wonderful new authors in the process!
And now for a description of the available prizes:
Grand Prize:  Kindle Fire, plus 10 SSP eBooks of your choice (choose from any title in our catalog from authors Jackie Gamber, Michael West, Stephen Zimmer, H. David Blalock, D.A. Adams, R.J. Sullivan, and Steven Shrewsbury), as well as eBook bundle from participating non-SSP authors, including titles from Apex Book Company, Hydra Publications, Blackwyrm Publishing, LocoNeal Publishing, and more! (total of 29 eBooks, 10 from SSP and 19 in non-SSP bundle)
Participating Authors and Titles (other than SSP):  Total of 19 eBooks in this bundle.
J.H. Glaze: 5 pack including The Spirit Box, Northwest, Forced Intelligence, and The Horror Challenge Volumes I and II.
James R. Tuck: Hired Gun:The Culvert City Crime Files and That Things at the Zoo: Deacon Chalk e-novella 1
Rachel Hunter: Empyreal Fate
Dianne Gardner: Deception Peak
Gwen Perkins: The Universal Mirror
Sara Harvey: Penemue Trilogy  (The Convent of the Pure, The Labyrinth of the Dead, The Tower of the Forgotten)
J.M. McDermott: Last Dragon
Georgia L. Jones: Legends of Darkness
Christopher Kokoski: Dark Halo
Sheila Deeth: Divide by Zero
Ren Garcia: Sands of the Solar Empire
Aaron Drown: Path of An Arrow
Prize # 2: $25 Amazon.com gift card/certificate, plus 5 eBooks of your choice from the SSP catalog, and full eBook bundle of non-SSP authors (as described in Grand Prize).  Total of 24 eBooks in this prize package.
Prize #3:  $25 Amazon.com gift card/certificate, plus 5 eBooks of your choice from the SSP catalog, and full eBook bundle of non-SSP authors (as described in Grand Prize).  Total of 24 eBooks in this prize package.
Prize #4:  Your choice of 1 limited edition hardcover version from the following titles: Poseidon’s Children or Cinema of Shadows.  Signed and numbered by author.
Prize #5: Your choice of 1 limited edition hardcover version from the following titles: Redheart, Overkill, or The Fall of Dorkhun.  Signed and numbered by author.
Prize #6: Your choice of 1 limited edition hardcover version from the following titles: Angelkiller or Haunting Obsession.  Signed and numbered by author.
Prize#7:  Softcover of your choice from SSP Catalog
Prize#8:  Softcover of your choice from SSP Catalog
Prize#9:  Softcover of your choice from SSP Catalog
Prize#10:  Poster Art from Matthew Perry and Bonnie Wasson:  includes the  ”Kissing Image” from Poseidon’s Children, and the “Elf Woman” from The Fall of Dorkhun.  Posters are 14X20 and sent in cardboard tube.
Prize#11:  7 eBooks of your choice from SSP Catalog
Prize#12:  7 eBooks of your choice from SSP Catalog
Prize#13:  7 eBooks of your choice from SSP Catalog
Prize#14:  Sets of 5X7 art cards from Poseidon’s Children, Angelkiller, Overkill, Redheart, and The Fall of Dorkhun plus 2 SSP eBooks of your choice from the SSP catalog .
Prize#15:  Sets of 5X7 art cards from Poseidon’s Children, Angelkiller, Overkill, Redheart, and The Fall of Dorkhun plus 2 SSP eBooks of your choice from the SSP catalog.

To enter go:  HERE

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

The Toy Sorcerer by Laura Hart

I got a distinct feel of Alice in Wonderland when reading this.  I was relieved to see in the forward (which I usually read afterward don’t ask me why since I have no idea) that another reviewer saw it as an Alice in Wonderland tribute.

Alice is physically challenged due to an accident.  She and her Dad move to a quaint country cottage to escape their past.  She meets and is befriended by the delightful elderly lady and her Jack Russell terrier who live down the land.

Little does she know that all is not what it seems?  Alice is enmeshed in an ancient conflict of good versus evil, sister versus sister and reality versus fantasy.   Alice’s unlikely role as a champion provides the thrust of the story.  Overcoming obstacles regardless of their severity seems to be the moral.

There is a wealth of colorful characters in the book.   Surrounded by immortals of questionable character, she is befriended by unlikely allies.   Shammerwack seems to illustrate the bi-polarity of life.   The book is entertaining and a touch confusing with reality and dreams conflicting. 

Try it, you may find yourself on the wrong side of the looking glass. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Dust Off Your Keyboard and Get Writing

Seventh Star Press Announces New Anthology Project With James R. Tuck!

Posted on August 2, 2012

For Immediate Release
August 2, 2012
Seventh Star Press Announces New Anthology Project With James R. Tuck
Seventh Star Press proudly announces a new anthology project with James R. Tuck, author of the highly acclaimed Deacon Chalk stories released by Kensington Publishing.  An open call for submissions has been issued regarding the new anthology, Thunder on the Battlefield, which will take the reader on many adventures within the realms of Sword and Sorcery.
Writers are encouraged by James to explore the possibilities of the genre.   The time of the story could be placed in an ancient world, or even perhaps a futuristic one where a cataclysm has set a modernistic society back into a barbaric age.  The setting could be the heart of Africa, the steppes of Russia, the snowbound wastes of Iceland, or  the hills of China.  Warriors were found throughout the ages, the Celts, the Vikings, the Samurai, the Israelites, the Zulu, the Romans, and many more.  The challenge to the writer is to bring their best and make it heroic.
James brought the project to Seventh Star Press for a number of reasons. “I have been extremely impressed with the professionalism I have seen from Seventh Star Press. Their books are quality, they always make a big presentation at conventions, and their authors are happy. Happy authors mean a LOT in this business. Plus, with the stable of incredibly talented authors working with Seventh Star I knew that this anthology would be taken seriously and done right.”
James, whose latest Deacon Chalk adventure, Blood and Silver, is to be released in mass market paperback by Kensington on August 7th, is a former bouncer and a professional tattoo artist who lives in the Atlanta area with his wife, two children, and four dogs.  His first Deacon Chalk novel, Blood and Bullets, was released in February of 2012 and received high praise in urban fantasy circles.
What inspired James to do a project like Thunder on the Battlefield?  As James explains in his own words:
“Because sword and sorcery rocks my face off!
“On a serious note, I was a young kid when I discovered sword and sorcery for the first time. I have always been an artist, drawing when I should have been studying, and I found this artist, you may have heard of him, named Frank Frazetta. His artwork blew my preteen mind, just took the top of my skull right off and spilled in all this masculine power and feminine beauty and horrible monstrosity right inside my brainpan. I studied that book I had found, furrowed away in the back corner of my junior high library. Reading, I discovered these were the covers to books.

“I loved to read. The next trip to the used bookstore I found a book with a Frazetta cover, it was Robert E.Howard’s Conan The Adventurer. Those words, those damn near poetic, dark, strings of prose ate into my brain like acid. I was hooked from the first paragraph. I became voracious in finding more, more Robert E. Howard, more Conan, more sword and sorcery. I ran through Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, Karl Wagner, and Edgar Rice Burroughs.

.

“All those stories imprinted on my DNA and helped form the kind of stories I write today. I wanted to bring more of them to the forefront and put together a collection of today’s heirs to Robert E. Howard and his colleagues. To put new faces in the hands of the fans of the genre.”

.

Thunder on the Battlefield is slated for release in the 2nd quarter of 2013 in both print and eBook editions.

.

The guidelines include a 10,000 word maximum, 2,000 word minimum.  The full call for submissions is now posted at the Seventh Star Press site at:

http://www.seventhstarpress.com/submissions/

The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2013.

Seventh Star Press is a small press publisher of speculative fiction located in Lexington Kentucky
Contact: C.C. James
Public Relations, Seventh Star Press
ccjames@seventhstarpress.com

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Diablo:The Order by Nate Kenyon

Deckard Cain is a belligerent non-believer who is thrust into horrific circumstances due to his questionable heritage.  Cain seems to hate himself more than he hates evil.

Deckard doesn’t have a lot of character pull.  He isn’t someone that I found laudable, more petulant and put upon than heroic.   He tries to do right but struggles with his own foibles.   The world the story deals with is open to demonic interference and unholy alliances.  It is a dark, sad world populated by unhappy people.

The overall feel of this book is dark and brooding.   I had difficulty getting into it and it never really grabbed me.  I found his Spectres far easier to read and more enjoyable.

I'm guessing Diablo fans will enjoy this book.  For a first time reader and being unfamiliar with the setting or characters I was not enthralled.  I think more familiarity with Sanctuary and the overall story line would dramatically impact my enjoyment of the book.

Body of work of Nate Kenyon

Web Site: http://natekenyon.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Out of this World Contest (Texas)

PR by the Book's "Escape to Austin" Contest

To celebrate its 10^th Anniversary, PR by the Book will award one literary lover a trip to the home of storytellers like O. Henry and Willie Nelson: Austin, Texas
Enter Here

AUSTIN – Now in its 10^th year of operation, with a growing pool of star literary talent and media personalities, PR by the Book has become a go-to firm in the book publishing industry for innovative publicity campaigns and top-tier media placement. 

Founded in 2002 by Marika Flatt, PR by the Book has grown from a one-woman operation to a team of 10, representing everyone from The Berenstain Bears series to Rex Pickett, author of the beloved book-turned-movie, Sideways.

Now, PR by the Book has decided it’s time to share the love. And what better way to do that than to award a trip to the town where it all got started: Austin, Texas?

"Austin has burgeoned into a bustling literary community. When I started in book publicity here in 1997, I’d meet people who would be surprised I wasn’t from New York or Los Angeles,” says Flatt. “Now, when I travel for work and people ask where I’m from and I tell them Austin, the response is something similar to: I adore Austin and what a literary town that is!”

The contest is called "Escape to Austin" and will be a truly one-of-a-kind trip for the lucky winner. The prize package includes round-trip airfare for the winner and a guest, a two-night stay at The Hilton Garden Inn downtown Austin, dinner for two at TRIO in the Four Seasons, a $50 gift certificate to historic Hyde Park Bar & Grill and a couple of bookish perks.

Drawing the likes of Susan Orlean and Chuck Palahniuk, the Texas Book Festival is one of the premiere literary fests in the country. Last year, the festival featured 243 authors and attracted 40,000 attendees. The winner of the "Escape to Austin" contest will be granted two VIP passes to the weekend-long festival October 26-28, as well as a pass to one of TBF's invitation-only author parties.

"We are very excited to partner with PR by the Book for this contest package," says Lidia Agraz, TBF's Executive Director. "We're still early in the talent line-up process, but I can say that this year's festival will offer attendees a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to commune with true literary icons."

To enter "Escape to Austin," contest hopefuls must simply "like" PR by the Book on Facebook and fill out the entry form. The contest runs August 1 – August 31, 2012, and a winner will be selected by September 7 (open to U.S. residents only.)

PR BY THE BOOK is a boutique publicity firm specializing in literary media relations campaigns, publishing consultation, small business publicity, and publicity tours for authors and experts. Our team of seasoned publicists has worked on books in nearly every genre, and with dozens of major publishing houses and small presses. Visit prbythebook.com to learn more.