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Trucker Ghost Stories, And Other True Tales of Haunted Highways, Weird Encounters, and Legends of the Road edited by Annie Wilder
I’ve always been a fan of ghost stories, both the literary kind, as written by M.R. James and Russell Kirk, to name a couple, and those related by a friend or acquaintance over a campfire or a cup of coffee on a late night. Annie Wilder has compiled a collection of the latter in her latest book Trucker Ghost Stories,
October 26th, 2012. Steven Harbin´s rating: 3.5 | Annie Wilder | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
When bored millionaire Tim Hamner discovers a new comet, he’s excited to finally accomplish something without the help of his family. Harvey Randall, who’s producing a TV documentary about the comet, expects his show to be wildly popular. And the American and Russian astronauts who are chosen to study the comet are proud to be chosen for such an important international mission.
All the experts said there was no way the Hamner comet would hit the Earth. But there are always plenty of people who are ready to panic — the type who start hoarding guns,
October 25th, 2012. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The cover of Tina Connolly’s debut fantasy novel Ironskin describes it as a “… beauty and the beast tale, beautifully and cleverly reversed.” Is it Beauty and the Beast? Not really. Is it a re-telling of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre? No, not really. Is it good? Heck, yeah.
Jane Eliot comes to Silver Birches, a war-damaged house on the moors, at the edge of a sinister, fey-filled wood. She has accepted a position as governess to a little girl who has a “delicate situation.” Jane understands the nature of this situation better than most.
October 22nd, 2012. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Tina Connolly | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Death Sentences by Kawamata Chiaki
How to describe the copy of Death Sentences, by Kawamata Chiaki (translated by Thomas Lamarre and Kazuko Y. Hehrens) I recently received? Take a heaping helping of Philip K. Dick, a dollop or two of Ray Bradbury, layer into a pan, then frost liberally with my undergrad survey course in artistic movements — particular the week or so on surrealism. Let sit for a few decades (it was originally published in Japan in 1984) — you can pass the time by watching the Japanese horror movie The Ring,
October 19th, 2012. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Kawamata Chiaki | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Silver Wolf by Alice Borchardt
It actually wasn’t until I finished The Silver Wolf that I learnt that author Alice Borchardt was the sister of vampire novelist Anne Rice (that explains why her endorsement is on the title page) but I doubt that this knowledge would have affected my reading experience. In hindsight, Borchardt follows in her sister’s footsteps by writing about a supernatural creature in an historical context, but that’s where the similarities end.
Set in the Roman Empire during its waning years,
October 13th, 2012. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | Alice Borchardt | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
The Hand of Oberon by Roger Zelazny
The Hand of Oberon, the fourth book in Roger Zelazny’s CHRONICLES OF AMBER, continues exactly where the previous book, Sign of the Unicorn, left off. The story was originally serialized in Galaxy Science Fiction and later printed in approximately 180-page installments. Each, therefore, is short and ends at some dramatic moment. These days, we’d probably be annoyed with an author who did this (why buy 10 books when you could just buy two?).
October 9th, 2012. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Roger Zelazny | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Sign of the Unicorn by Roger Zelazny
The usual warning: Review contains spoilers for previous book.
Sign of the Unicorn is the third novel in Roger Zelazny’s CHRONICLES OF AMBER. At the end of the previous novel, The Guns of Avalon, Corwin finally got what he wanted: Eric off the throne. Corwin is now the regent of Amber by legitimate claim and he holds the Jewel of Judgment which has powers over the weather and, as Corwin learns,
October 5th, 2012. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Roger Zelazny | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black & Justine Larbalestier
Back in 2007, Holly Black and Justine Larabalestier got in an argument about which fiction creature was superior — zombies or unicorns. Spurred on by that debate, they each recruited some of their author friends to write short tales in which they present the storytelling possibilities of the two mythic beasts. With header notes for each story in which they discuss the historical background for the different takes on the creatures, Holly Black heads up Team Unicorn,
October 5th, 2012. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 3.5 | Carrie Ryan, Cassandra Clare, Diana Peterfreund, Garth Nix, Holly Black, Justine Larbalestier, Kathleen Duey, Libba Bray, Margo Lanagan, Meg Cabot, Naomi Novik, Scott Westerfeld | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Zeuglodon: The True Adventures of Kathleen Perkins, Cryptozoologist by James P. Blaylock
Eleven year old Kathleen Perkins considers herself a scientist — a cryptozoologist, to be exact. She studies legendary animals. According to Kathleen, “legendary” just means that they don’t appear very often. (“You can hardly blame them.”)
Kathleen’s mother disappeared in a submersible while trying to find the entrance to Pellucidar, so Kathleen now lives with her orphaned cousins Perry and Brendan at her eccentric uncle’s house. Uncle Hedge, who runs a little seaside museum of strange objects,
October 4th, 2012. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | James P. Blaylock | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Ghost of Graylock by Dan Poblocki
In the aftermath of their parents’ separation, Neil and his older sister Bree go to stay with their aunts in a small town in the middle of nowhere. There’s not much to do there — not much, that is, except breaking into Graylock, the abandoned mental hospital in the woods. Along with two new friends, Neil and Bree explore the old asylum, and soon afterward find that a spectral presence has followed them home…
The Ghost of Graylock is a ghost story for middle-grade readers,
October 1st, 2012. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Dan Poblocki | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Kind of you to say. I certainly like to think so!
BTW, Steve Sterner will be performing at seven films during this upcoming fest: https://filmforum.org/series/clara-bow
As far as I know, Bill, Steve Sterner is the only person who does the live accompaniment to silent movies…
And I'm positive that Kaidan will fondly remember watching these movies with his old man for the rest of his…
You bet, Marion!