Grave Ransom is the fifth book in the Alex Craft series, there may be spoilers in this review though I will try to avoid them. Non-spoilery review? I enjoy this series for the brainless mind-candy that it is. It’s got good female characters, including a strong group of lady friends for our protagonist, and in general it’s just fun Urban Fantasy. I will say, I read this over a week ago and I’ve mostly forgotten it. I had to read the Goodreads blurb to remind […]
First the smiles, then the lies. Last comes gunfire.
Homestretch on Ye Olde Darke Towere Marathone! I’m actually starting to be sad that there are only two left plus the movie. And there had better be whole bunch of those, too, is what I’m saying, do ya. If I’m being honest, I think that Stephen King didn’t start leaning into the conceit of this series until about the time that I went all in, and that’s probably the reason I was finally able to invest fully. The more I think about it, the clearer […]
Pride and Prejudice with dragons
Ever wondered what a fantasy version of Pride and Prejudice would be like if the countryside was full of dangerous supernatural creatures like direwolves, gryphons, lamias and banshees? Where the most respected and revered members of society weren’t just idle nobles, but devoted themselves from youth to training hard and hunting down these dangerous monsters? Elle Katharine White clearly wondered the same thing, and before you think this is just another quick cash-grab like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, where the original story has pretty much been kept […]
Just because your clients are dead, that’s no reason not to try to save their lives
Vivian Shaw offers a fresh and charming take on the “they walk among us” fantasy trope with one simple twist: Dr. Greta Helsing is a medical doctor, not a cop. A dedicated physician, Helsing is driven by the need to ensure the vulnerable have access to compassionate and ethical medical care. And, really, who is more vulnerable in modern London than vampires, ghouls, trolls, and other supernatural creatures? Life as a supernatural doctor isn’t easy. Most of her clients live outside the bounds of society; […]
The night may be dark and full of terrors, I thought, but I’ve got a big stick.
Ben Aaronovitch did a really smart thing with Foxglove Summer, which was to de-escalate, take it down a few notches, and bring us back to basics. I complained after Broken Homes that things were getting too complicated and also sort of repetitive. Foxglove Summer is a breath of wonderfully Peter Grant-laden fresh air. When you study Shakespeare, at some point or another, you get to the idea of the Green World. My college advisor was deeply in favor of Northrup Frye’s theory, and I have […]
The Best of and the other of Connie Willis
The Best of Connie Willis The premise of this book, which is a little contrived and arbitrary–an idea that even Connie Willis discusses in the intro–, is these are all the award-winning stories Connie Willis wrote over the years. The issue of course is that these traverse many years, many time periods, many themes, and don’t necessarily have a lot in common. And at their worst, we sometimes get somewhat retreaded material from different parts of her life. A Letter from the Clearys In this […]