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Monday, September 08, 2014

Review of Malarat at Black Gate

My latest self-published book review is now up at Black Gate.  Here's a sampling:
This month’s self-published novel is Malarat by Jessica Rydill. The book is the third book in Ms. Rydill’s shamanworld series, but also a standalone novel. The novel takes place in a world much like our own, with France (called Lefranu), England (Anglond), Jews (Wanderers), and Christians (Doxans). But these analogs are not exact (for example, the Doxans elevate Megalmayar, the Mother of God, to the position of a goddess) and there are also a number of things that are very different, such as the Great Cold, that isolated a portion of Lefranu so that it remained stuck in Medieval times while the rest of the world advanced to what most closely resembles the late 19th and early 20th century, complete with trains, firearms, and electricity.

Monday, August 04, 2014

Review of The Severed Earth at Black Gate

My latest self-published book review, this time of Chris Presta-Valachovic's The Severed Earth, is now online at Black Gate. Here's a sample:
The rock band Karma is in trouble. Despite the success they’ve had, their ex-manager Izzy embezzled most of the money before dying, leaving the members deep in debt. They have one chance to produce an album and turn their fortunes around, but their lead singer, Vao, is having a crisis of faith, and thinking of quitting after the death of his mother. The guitarist, Rafe, is fed up with Vao’s moping and unreliability and would just as soon be rid of him, while Jonathan just wants to hold the band together. Ian and Dylan just want to make music, but they, too, are stuck in this emotional train-wreck of a band. But when the record rep turns out to be a wizard, the band members soon find themselves with other things to worry about.
Read the whole thing.

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Google knows it's my birthday

I'm not sure whether to be disturbed or impressed that this is my Google doodle today:

Happy Birthday Donald!
Google's Birthday Doodle