Changeling by Kelly Meding

In a world of mutants (my word not the author’s) there are allies and enemies but if changelings are involved how do you tell the difference?  

This seems to be the second book of a series.  I was not fortunate enough to read the first book, Trance.  This book paints a picture of immature semi-super hero’s making mistakes and enemies while trying to do the right thing.   Morality is fairly fluid as to the rule of law and biblical justice (old testament) seems to be favored.  

The characters are naïve but likeable.   Dahlia wears her heart on her sleeve and she seems almost a stereotype of a lonely teenager.   The relationships between Dahlia, Noah and her team are complex which mirrors life in general.

I would have liked a little more back story as to the events leading to the re-emergence of Metas and what transpired in the relevant past.   The story stand alone without a back story but I think it would be improved with one.   Super heroes, werewolves, vampires are all very popular at this point, I think this book will do quite well.  

I recommend the book. 

Body of work of Body of  work of <a type="amzn" > Kelly Meding </a>

Web Site: http://kellymeding.com/wordpress/?p=3

 

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

Spook House Revealed! Scary Blog Tour Coming!

For Immediate Release

You have got to love this cover!

October 8, 2012

Cover Art Reveal, Limited Hardcover Offer, and Blog Tour Announcement for Michael West's Spook House!

Seventh Star Press is proud to unveil the cover art and illustrations created by Matthew Perry for Spook House by Michael West, as well as announce sites and dates for the book’s upcoming blog tour.  A pre-order window for a limited edition hardcover is also open in advance of the book’s official release.

and you think an author's life is easy?

The latest Harmony, Indiana novel following 2011’s Cinema of Shadows arrives just in time for Halloween, exploring the places in this world that go far beyond any normal definition of “haunted.” These places are so evil, so diabolical, that they become gateways to Hell itself. The Fuller Farm is one such place.

It is said that old man Fuller conducted unspeakable acts, blood rituals and human sacrifices, all in an attempt to gain the ultimate knowledge, the ultimate power. And then, he was killed–horribly murdered on his own lands, leaving the house to stand as a vacant monument to his wickedness. But once a door is opened, it can never really be closed.

Now, the stars are right. The gateway is ready to once more unleash unspeakable horror upon the town of Harmony, Indiana. And this will be one Halloween that they will never forget!

The softcover and eBook versions will be released following the launch event for the novel at That Book Place in Madison, Indiana on October 27th. 

Spook House is now available for pre-order in a beautiful hardcover edition that is strictly limited to 75 copies.  The limited hardcover edition will be signed and numbered by Michael West and includes a bonus illustration from Matthew Perry not included in other editions. It will be accompanied by an assortment of collectibles, including a set of glossy art cards and bookmarks. Those interested in securing one of the 75 copies can place a pre-order now at: http://www.seventhstarpress.com/pre-orders/

The Spook House Blog Tour will feature 33 events, beginning October 25th and running through November 27th. The tour will feature a number of activities, including reviews, interviews, podcasts, guest blog posts, and contests/giveaways.

The dates and sites for the Spook House Blog Tour are as follows:

10/25     Great Minds Think Aloud

10/26     Bookishly Me

10/27     Red Headed Bookworm

10/28     Book and Movie Dimension

10/29     Azure Dwarf Horde of Science Fiction & Fantasy

10/30     Reading Aways the Days

10/31     Ginger Nuts of Horror

11/1        WTF Are You Reading?

11/2        Darlenes Book Nook

11/3        JeanzBookReadNReview

11/4        The Independent Review

11/5        Fictional Candy

11/6        Book Den

11/7        Vilutheril Reviews

11/8        Beauty in Ruins

11/9        Beagle Book Space

11/10      Bunny’s Review

11/11      Splash of Our Worlds

11/12      A Book Vacation

11/13      A Daydreamer’s Thoughts

11/14      Crossroads Reviews

11/15      Bee’s Knees Reviews

11/16      From the Bootheel Cotton Patch

11/17      Sheila Deeth

11/18      Kayla’s Reads and Reviews

11/19      The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

11/20      I Smell Sheep

11/21      Ali’s Bookshelf

11/22      Full Moon Bites

11/23      The Cabin Goddess

11/24      Stuck in Books

11/26      The Rabid Fox

11/27      Jess Resides Here

For further information on Michael West, Seventh Star Press, and its titles, please visit www.seventhstarpress.com, or the author’s site at www.bymichaelwest.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.

Angels Ink by Jocelynn Drake

This book fills in all the background information that I wanted when I read Asylum Interviews:Bronx.   Another title could be warlock on the run as the protagonist is rougue warlock operating as a tattoo artist whose ink conveys more than just symbols. 

I mentioned in my review of Bronx that I really liked Ms. Drake’s characterizations.  I like them even better in a book where she has the space to bring them to full fruition.  Stories of camaraderie are among my favorite.   The willingness of friends to sacrifice all in the name of love is eminently laudable.  

Trixie was mesmerizing.  Ms. Drake painted a breath taking picture of allure.  Frazetta could have painted a show stopper with Ms. Drake's description.  Bronx, the troll, is a companion we would all like guarding our back.    Ink power is a concept that hopefully will fuel many stories to come.  In addition to the heart warming, flawed protagonists there were some great characters as villains.  

Add in a deliciously complicated plot, a bit of powdered sugar for a brief but steamy love scene, swirl with complex and bombastic violence and you have a memorable recipe for a terrific book.   I liked the short story that featured Bronx but I loved the book defining Gage as the main protagonist.   In the vein of Jim Butcher but with plenty of differences this author should have a hit series on her hands!

I highly recommend the book. 

Body of work of <a type="amzn"> Jocelynn Drake</a>

Web Site: http://www.jocelynndrake.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.

William Bentrim Featured on Story Plant Blog

Check it out! I’m featured on Story Plant blog today.

http://tinyurl.com/9x8yaer

Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

With all the vampire books out, it was refreshing to read about mermaids and mermen.   These are not your disneyesque merfolks, these merpeople are bad, bad and more bad.

The story is probably most appropriate for a teenage girl as it has suspiciously romantic overtones.  As an aged male, I enjoyed it but I suspect a teen girl would love it.   The main protagonist is the moderately outcast sibling in a dysfunctional family who is seeking revenge for a decades old slight. 

The relationship between Lily, semi-normal and Calder, not normal at all, provides the fuel for this tempestuous and yet platonic relationship.   Aside from some vague violence, there isn’t anything in the book to prevent mature elementary kids from reading it.   There is no gratuitous sex or anything remotely repugnant for the young, after some of the stuff I have read lately, that too was refreshing. 

The book documents a relationship in true Romeo and Juliet fashion with the protagonists not only from different families but also from different species.

I enjoyed the book. 

Body of work of <a type="amzn"> Anne Greenwood Brown</a>

Web sites: http://annegreenwoodbrown.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.

Sands of the Solar Empire - New from author, Ren Garcia, the creator of the League of Elder Universe FREE 10/1/12--10/2/12

Sands of the Solar Empire - New from author, Ren Garcia, the creator of the League of Elder Universe

FREE 10/1/12 & 10/2/12

FREE

Sands of the Solar Empire, the first book in The Belmont Saga, begins a new adventure in the universe of the League of Elder. Can a masked Paymaster, a thief, a coward and a once great warbird face the unknown gulf of the Sands of the Solar Empire?

Title: Sands of the Solar Empire

Author: Ren Garcia

ISBN#: 978-0-9850817-6-8

Retail Price: $14.95 Paperback, 300 pages

Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera

Publishing Date: August 2012

Publisher: Loconeal Publishing, Amherst, OH

Contact:  James O. Barnes, (216)772-8380 james@loconeal.com www.loconeal.com

About the book:

Sands of the Solar Empire, the first book in The Belmont Saga, begins a new adventure in the universe of the League of Elder.

GET THE BRANDY TO BAZZ . . .

That’s all Paymaster Stenstrom, the Lord of Belmont-South Tyrol, has to do and the old warbird Seeker is his. He has dreamed of captaining a Fleet ship his entire life.

Little does Paymaster Stenstrom realize that he is in the grip of an old Vendetta and the short trip to Bazz might very well be his last.

Faced with a dead ship and a lost crew, Paymaster Stenstrom finds help in the strangest places: the thief Marine and the milquetoast young man from the Admiral’s office, and, though he just became acquainted with these two strangers, he discovers they have been influencing each other’s lives for a very long time.

Something sinister hovers over Paymaster Stenstrom and his two new friends, something they are only now becoming aware of. The SANDS OF THE SOLAR EMPIRE stretch out before them in an endless gulf brimming with the unknown. Can a masked Paymaster, a thief, a coward and a once great warbird face what awaits them?

About the author:

Ren Garcia is a Science Fiction/Fantasy author and Texas native who grew up in western Ohio. He has been writing since before he could write, often scribbling alien lingo on any available wall or floor with assorted crayons. He attended The Ohio State University and majored in English Literature. Ren has been an avid lover of anything surreal since childhood, he also has a passion for caving, urban archaeology and architecture. He currently lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife, and their four dogs.

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

Fate of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner

I read Ringworld in the early 1970’s and frankly I know I liked it as I ranked it as an E for excellent in my book database but beside the basic premise, I don’t remember a great deal.   This book would have served me better 20 years ago.  As is it gathers together the characters from several books and a couple of series and attempts tie them together under the label of the Known Earth Series. 

Frankly I’m not sure this was a wrap up and not a precursor to a new series.   The number of variables, races, venues and philosophies strains my recollection.  I have only read 28 of Niven’s books and have uniformly enjoyed them.   Sadly I didn’t really enjoy this because I have just enough recollection of the players but have trouble remembering the game they played.  Some reviews I read stated it stands alone well, I would disagree and feel at least brushing up on the precursors would make the book more compelling.

I would recommend either going to Wikipedia and brushing up on background or tracking down all the books and reading them.

From Wikpedia:

• 1970: Ringworld
• 1980: The Ringworld Engineers
• 1996: The Ringworld Throne
• 2004: Ringworld's Children
• 2012: Fate of Worlds (by Niven and Edward M. Lerner)

Five prequels have been written, set in the same Ringworld universe, and written in collaboration:

• 1988–2009: Man-Kzin Wars (by various edited by Niven)
• 2007–2011: Fleet of Worlds (by Niven and Edward M. Lerner)
• 2008–2009: Juggler of Worlds (by Niven and Edward M. Lerner)
• 2009–2010: Destroyer of Worlds (by Niven and Edward M. Lerner)
• 2010–2011: Betrayer of Worlds (by Niven and Edward M. Lerner)

I did enjoy the books when I read them and if it had been more recently I am sure I would have enjoyed this book more.   I do recommend the Niven style of creating warm, memorable characters.

Body of work of <a type="amzn">Larry Niven </a>

Body of work of <a type="amzn">Edward M. Lerner </a>

Web sites:

http://www.larryniven.org/

http://www.edwardmlerner.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.