Moon by James Herbert
When my uncle passed away a few years ago, he left behind a wealth of novels to read. In the days that followed his funeral, his friends and family were welcomed into his home and encouraged to seize a momento. My uncle and I have always shared a love of the macabre, so I was not surprised to find an impressive collection of horror novels on his jumbled shelves. One of the titles I picked up through the fog of grief that day was Moon. […]
Firestarter by Stephen King
Clearly, 2019 has been my year of reading Jane Austen reboots and Stephen King. I’m not complaining. For some reason, I just needed some cozy reading this year, and I didn’t stray too far from my comfort zone. I first read Firestarter so long ago that I can’t even remember reading it.*** I know I did, because I’ve always been a completist like that, but I just don’t remember. I assume I was in 8th or 9th grade, which was NOT recently, so I was […]
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Official book description: The Emperor needs necromancers. The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman. Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit. Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as necromantic skeletons. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy. Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as […]
Shadow Roads (Volume One) by Cullen Bunn
Shadow Roads (Volume One) is one very large screwy ride! Cullen Bunn and Brain Hurrt make realism and science fiction collide. They bleed together to create a familiar but new world where Victorina England and the American old west are only a portal jump away from each other. There is magic, native tribes and demons. There are people who are not what they seem and people who are the comic relief. There is an Annie Oakley-like kid who also could pass herself off for Little […]
The Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman
This is essentially a short story collection in comic form. The afterword notes that Gaiman needed a break from the main storyline after finishing up The Doll’s House arc, and had a few ideas he wanted to play around with. I found all of them to be satisfying enough, but none of them really knocked my socks off, either. The standout in the collection for me was the first one, “Calliope,” in which a novelist with a terrible case of writer’s block holds one of […]
We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix
Not entirely sure anymore whether I picked this one up because of coffeeshopreader’s review or badkittyuno’s, but between the premise and the cover, I thought it sounded fun. And I think it is, but it’s not quite my cup of tea. I guess it’s a sense of humor thing and sometimes it can be hard to predict what will be incredibly amusing vs. kind of entertaining, even if everything else seems like it should fit. For some reason, something about the vibe reminded me of […]
