Ancient Images by Ramsey Campbell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had good memories of this book from almost forty years ago, read when I was a kid and fascinated by all things horror.

Specifically, I loved learning all about the old (truly old) great actors of horror cinema and a mystery surrounding a destroyed film from the 1930's.

This is a very English novel. Old mysteries surround more ancient histories and legends, dark traditions, nobility, and delicious sacrifices. Because the English love their sacrifice. :)

I really enjoyed re-reading this. Campbell's horror is quite unlike King's, despite old comparisons between the two in the '80s. Campbell's peeps aren't really designed to be hated--at least in this one. But the inexorable mystery is still very compelling. And tasty. Like bread.



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The September House by Carissa Orlando
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a great Halloween book. Or even an anytime psychological horror book. Or perhaps something rather more psychological. House-shattering, even.

Honestly, the first thing that ran through my head as I began reading this was how refreshing it was to start a tale AFTER the events. It's all long-after the main action, so we've got a delicious wrap-up ahead of us. Or unraveling. You know how these things go.

And then it just got funny. Deliciously funny. And without spoiling ANYTHING, I'll just say, vaguely, that a lot of twists and turns will happen with our expectations. Wonderfully so.

Suffice to say, this woman can absolutely make a heaven out of hell. I feel seen, too, in how well we both can roll with the changes--no matter how decidedly fucked up they are. Of course, making do and having a strong mind and body to make a HOME out of this situation CAN seem to be taken a BIT too far. But I'm an INFP and I SWEAR this character is, too.

We get it. We make do in the face of absolute insanity. Have you seen the rest of ya'll?

Ahem.

No matter how I look at it, this book was one hell of a kickass horror. Total recommendation.




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The Sentimental Agents in the Volyen Empire by Doris Lessing
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The last book in the Canopus in Argos series may not be a traditionally good book in any sense of the word, but it has something many do not: a purpose that is both interesting, sharp, and as tragic as it is funny.

For the first four books, we always get oblique views of WHAT Canopus is, a force of good, of spiritualism in empire form, always being subverted by its evil counterpart. It's the spirit of cooperation and the rising tide against those who betray and twist for their own benefit.

This is obvious and simplistic, of course, and the books are rich and complicated and even rather natural in the evolution of all this, but that doesn't change the basic fact.

This last book focuses almost entirely on words, words, words. Good god, the words. How to completely destroy an empire using little more than words. But here's the good part: it may as well be us. Everyone seems to be going through quite a bit of all we see here, written timelessly.

How to turn words meaningless, how to reverse their meanings, how to turn vital services into caricatures, how to enslave people while making them clamor for it until it's too late. The propaganda.

The goddamn propaganda.

The endlesss goddamn propaganda.

You might say it's a sore spot with me. And perhaps this book hit harder than it should just because of how like a spear it is with the goddamn propaganda.

But just as it is asked in the book: "Just imagine what you'd be if you turned all that to better purposes?"

Yeah. This is actually a rather dark book.

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Alchemised by SenLinYu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here's a pleasant surprise for a dark fantasy. Sure, yes, it's absolutely a tortured romance with some very solid fantasy elements, but it's also more than that.

It's actually written in a pretty interesting way. If anything, I'd say it's a cool mix between the darker elements of Wuthering Heights and Mistborn.

Or rather, I like THIS romance better than THAT one, but by god, the kinds of things that they had to go through... Yeah. Let's just say that when a writer is told to kill their darlings, it usually doesn't includes outright torture, rape, gaslighting, necromancy, war crimes, questionable life decisions, and murder. But then, we all have our foibles, right? lol But here's the important part: this is written well. It's consistently fascinating, and once we get beyond the opening part, it gets REALLY good. The past after the present, flavoring EVERYTHING fresh. I love this shit.

So, yeah, I loved this read. Very dark, very disturbing. And yet, I never fell out of love of these two. Even when they did all they could to try to make it so. :)






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Exadelic by Jon Evans
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I need to be very clear on this book.

It's a wild SF ride. It's what you'd expect if you had a love-baby between Heinlein's later books and Blake Crouch, with a heavy dose of modern tech and "Oh my god, I can't believe he just took it there."

That's not to say that it entirely fits in today's book market.

Indeed, it tries to bring back the "oh, wow" and the "that's COOL" back into a jaded market.

So why would anyone not like this?

Perhaps it's for the same reason that many people do like it. Magic and technology, Telluric bombs? Magic/tech wars, combos, matrix-like allusions, multi-universes, etc? I mean, hell yeah. The novel jumps from a techno-thriller mystery to claustrophobic adventure to misaligned love story to epic-level conclusion without ever missing a beat. It's wild, crazy, and just plain fun.

So why wouldn't anyone like this?

Could be they just don't have the patience to enjoy change. And that's one thing this book has in spades: change, change, and more change. And that's rather the spirit of freedom, no?

Don't sleep on this.


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Mimic & Me 3 by Cassius Lange
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm of two minds on this one. I used to love this series for the weirdness and the humor, but not so much for the plot. The first book was pretty good, the second was rather fast-forwarded, and the third took on a breakneck speed.

I don't want to be unclear. It's fast not in the sense of a snappy pace, but huge swaths of things jumped ahead or just plain skipped over to get to huge, almost meta-breaking events.

It got huge, OP, and frankly, I feel sad because of that. It was better when it was small.

That's not to say that there weren't a bunch of great, weird things going on, (I'm looking at you, googly-eyed split-idiot Chester,) but I really got a bit annoyed with the System plot.

Not horribly so, but it is still real.


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Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 (Light Novel) Vol. 2 by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one was interesting primarily for the ongoing reveals to other peeps about our MC's talents, their surprise, and preps for the new special exam.

But nothing much HAPPENED in this novel except the setup for more, later. And now I have to wait.. unless I switch over to the anime or something, lol. Oh, well.



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ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ 2年生編1 [Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e 2nd Year 1] by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I admit to being a bit addicted to the series by now. Not only for the clear examples of Game Theory as applied to whole classrooms and individuals in a very controlled environment, or the protag who hides his competence, or the evolution of his friends, but for the sheer bloody-mindedness of the author.

The whole series is a great mirror to our world, exposing its mechanisms in a very clear format. I'm impressed. This particular one is a variation on the prisoner's dilemma but with a sleight-of-hand focus on might equals right mentality. Nice.


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Extremophile by Ian Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a pretty good near-future cyberpunk/biopunk SF that revels in the music, the light anarchy, and the breaking out of the fascist pressures.

In other words, it's a fitting tale for us. Just throw a bunch of gene editing, rocker status, and some cool fights in the mix, and you've got yourself an entertaining ride here. It's a richly imagined cyberpunk world. Definitely worth the read.




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Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 229 by Neil Clarke


"Wire Mother" by Isabel J. Kim -- (4*) A brief glance at a possible surrogate-dominated future, a nice nod to PKD.

"The Cancer Wolves" by Fiona Moore -- (4*) This is a continuation of a number of post-apoc nomad series. Just some slice of life between human and robot. It's kinda cozy.

"Crabs Don't Scream" by H.H. Pak -- (5*) Beautifully hard-core SF about an avoidant personality stuck in a bad job -- but dreaming about being a crab. :)

"Understudies" by Greg Egan" -- (5*) A very timely novella by Egan with his characteristic focus on the maths. Close to home, too, with AIs in conjunction with the nearly-screwed meat-minds of ourselves. It underscores a glimmer of hope in a nearly hopeless battle--of intelligence.

Giant Grandmother" by Liu Maijia -- (4*) Nice little story about change, and continuity and what it might mean to be post-human.

"The Job Interview" by Carrie Vaughn -- (4*) Tongue-in-cheek space adventure. Solid.

"In Luck's Panoply Clad, I Stand" by Phoebe Barton -- (5*) Take a hard stand for what you believe. Or rather, a heavy stand. I felt the vibe.

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Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this novel. I honestly didn't know if I would, it being yet another stroll through hell in a graveyard of novels and poetry performing the same task, but Kuang pulled off a real miracle. Or even a paradox.

Here's the nitty: dark academia may as well be true accuracy in actual academia. Or rather, the upper echelons of academics. And better than that, magic is what English Majors do. :)

How can I not love this? It's not even being creative with your words, it's about the full edifice of ideas, structure, and performance. About meaning. And the whole damn novel is a self-aware and fully-baked allusion. That also happens to be a great story with unlikable characters who ultimately grown and change through their trip through hell.

Delicious. And, I need to say it, FUNNY as all hell. It almost has that pitch perfect tone of Devil Wears Prada as a revenge, nay, SPITE story. And what better reason for such a huge spite story than broken promises in academic honors? Delicious.



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Spread Me by Sarah Gailey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you think that title is rather dirty, then you would be entirely right.

Better, it's a perfect mix of truly horndog writing as imagined through the lens of The Thing.

What a weird, wicked mix.

I like.



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Dot Slash Magic by Liz Shipton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There's a lot to love in this book. But first, the problem areas: I'm not sure whether this ought to be considered UF or SF, and that's specifically because of the rug pull near the end that really irked me--but not enough to deal-break me. It righted itself and I was fully back on board, but I *ALMOST* got super pissed. And let me be clear: it's not because it was either UF or SF. I love both. I was pissed because the book came a hair's breadth away from committing an unforgivable story sin.

If you know, you know.

BUT, it didn't, and for that, I'm eternally grateful. Beyond that, I was merely slightly annoyed with a depiction of AI that might have been true for 2 minutes before AI (our modern AI) overcame the Strawberry idiocy. It dates this book almost to a month. And what about the whole Kurt Cobain stuff? It dates the author, too. :)

BUT. All that being said and done, it doesn't really matter, BECAUSE I LOVED THE CHARACTERS AND THE STORY. I had a great time. Good characters. Fun story. And lots of grey areas and toxicity handled well. And beyond that, heart. I love tales with heart.

This definitely has that. I hope there's more to come.


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Mimic & Me 2 by Cassius Lange
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Speed run, powerleveling. I suppose that's for the best when your primary method of gaining skills and power is by EATING your enemies. Perhaps we don't have the stomach for more than that. :)

Even so, it's a speedy story with exploration on the far side of the world with tons of weak peeps. It certainly made for an interesting alternative tale, forcing us into creative LitRPG solutions.

Not bad at all. And Chester, as always, is a goofball.


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Last to Leave the Room by Caitlin Starling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think I wanted to like this more than I did. Maybe if it was not so much a character study revolving yourself versus your doppelganger and being awfully undefined and slow about it, I probably would have enjoyed it more. The plot was pretty much not there.

That being said, I fully realize it's supposed to be an atmospheric novel, and I should have fallen for the SF-nal aspects a bit more, perhaps mistaking it for an Area-X kind of thing, but it really didn't stand out too much.

This wasn't Luminous Dead, alas. It was okay, but just okay.



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Wayward by Chuck Wendig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a book I didn't know I needed. The first one was pretty much an epic post-apoc with tons of great goodies. This one was... different. Still post-apoc in its way, but more focused on the after--be it dealing with cults within your own tribe, handling hate, isolation, or worse, OTHER PEOPLE.

It's kinda obvious that this was a pandemic novel, dealing with all the pandemic things, which was FUNNY because it was supposed to be dealing with the AFTER EFFECTS of a different kind of pandemic.

So what we get is a psychological work-over. A mindfuck of not epic proportions, but a catharsis.


I won't call this a worthy successor of the Wanderers novel. I will call it a good read all on its own, tho. It handles nanotech and AIs in an interesting way, and while not always what I'd like to see in a novel, it at least takes the subject seriously and in a vein that isn't all that usual. (You know what I mean. Everyone has an opinion on AIs now. This one is slightly different. Thank goodness.)


I'm happy to have read it.


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The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 by Doris Lessing
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating and depressing. Depressing even though we knew what was coming, but almost exactly in the same tone of the doomed naval expedition to the South Pole.

I bring that up specifically BECAUSE Lessing made a very strong point of it in her afterward of the novel. And fairly so.

As for the SF novel she wrote, I am, as I said, fascinated and horrified to see a wonderful people take a long, cold, horrible time to die. Slowly dying with their planet as it is overwhelmed with ice.

But there is hope. It is a Canopus novel, after all, despite the almost overwhelming oppression of reality. But HOW and WHY that hope even exists is probably the biggest mystery and concern throughout ALL of these novels.

I wholeheartedly enjoy these. They're nothing like a standard novels in any sense of the word, but written entirely out of the author's needs. In this case, the focus on dying well, of continuing on despite the knowledge of what will come, is of utmost importance.


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ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ 11.5 [Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e 11.5] by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Color me surprised. What might have been considered a side light novel actually turned out to be a major turning point, a moment of both reflection, determination, change of attitude, and some major plot changes.

In other words, it's a fitting capstone and plot pusher--so much so that I consider this to be essential reading for the series.

Lots of great surprises. Lots of reveals. Love it.




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ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ 11 [Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e 11] by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I tend to go back and forth on this series--in my head--about whether I ought to be annoyed at the schools contrivances or impressed by the general bloodthirstiness or whether I ought to hate our MC for his completely unambitious take.

But in the end, I just find it entertaining. I can ignore some things as long as the rest is fun. And it is fun.


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Classroom of the Elite (Light Novel) Vol. 10 by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Just when I think this school (Or our very society) can't get more fucked up, we get the whole "We are forced to vote someone in our class to be expelled" plot. It's sick. And it's only because the school is forcing it, making it into a game to train their little elites, that makes it even slightly palatable.

Well, either way, it just underscores how deeply disturbed we all are. Read this if you want to hate humanity.




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ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ 9 [Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e 9] by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rumor mill on overtime. And yes, when it comes to politicking, it's extremely effective if you know how to wield it.

This light novel is truly a how-to manual.


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ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ 8 [Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e 8] by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A new Game Theory aspect on display. Cooperation and weaponized sacrifices. Some nasty shit.

I'm really enjoying the mechanics in this series. It can teach quite a bit about politics. :)



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Classroom of the Elite Vol. 7.5: Light Novel by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Side-story, but I think it's pretty important to have the relationship-building stuff front and center in stories like this. Even if his relationships are very... cold. It's interesting, precisely because he IS rather a sociopath.


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Classroom of the Elite (Light Novel) Vol. 7 by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I took a moment's break between vol 6 and 7 and I'll tell you this: coming back has either given me a greater appreciation of the series or it suddenly got very, very interesting.

Probably the latter. The student who hides his power is hiding it quite a bit less, even revealing himself to his greater enemies at precisely the right times. And it was quite delicious.

I'm having a great deal of fun.


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Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sometimes slow has great atmosphere, and sometimes slow punctuates the uniqueness of a text. But slow, especially when nothing much happens except alienation on an alien world, dealing with personal ghosts and then the "other", mixing the two up, is either going to be a great hat-trick--or a boring mess.

I'll be honest: for the first 7/8ths of the novel, I was bored. The last bits picked up, but first I had to get there.

Just because it's on an alien world, it doesn't make the novel unique. Dealing with personal issues, without having something profound to say about it, doesn't make for automatically engaging material. Unfortunately, I just felt like I was reading from a checklist of traits she had to deal with, together with a poor little rich girl syndrome, while being picked on by a mean crew.

It may not quite be the case, of course, but it was my impression for most of the novel, and I was hoping for SOMETHING to happen, good or bad. It did, of course, but it didn't fix the underlying slowness.

Alas. It was just okay.


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Dead Hand Rule by Max Gladstone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Max Gladstone's writing is a head above almost any other in terms of sheer creativity. I hate to say that, because it makes everyone else look rather dull or usual or understated or just plain. Boring, even. :)

The Craft Wars jump up to a lot of politicking in this one. Dead gods, agents of the Craft, ancient deadly spiders from across the stars--all of it business as usual. Or rather, impossible business--as usual.

I love it. Line by line it's overwhelming with implications, colorful ideas, and a wild, fantastic, magical world. The new book seems primed for something even larger to come. I'm not complaining. I'm stoked.


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Future's Edge by Gareth L. Powell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My primary takeaway from this space opera is how much I appreciate the scope of the SF and the focus on characters. I get a very SF Paolini and Chambers vibe, but more importantly, the SCOPE is quite excellent.

What is strangest to me is how few people make the DIRECT comparison to Mass Effect and its universe. Indeed, it feels like a complete fan-fiction treatment of Mass Effect.

Or perhaps the game franchise is now so old, that its players are getting so old, that this whole storyline is now ancient and unknown to modern story-consumers? Kinda like how Saberhagen was forgotten by the time Mass Effect came into being?

*sad, depressed noises*

But at least we DO have this, a revival of sorts, of a story that should be celebrated.

I MISS SF like this. There's so little of it out there, now.


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What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novella establishes Sworn Soldier in the annals of a regular serial. Mystery, some boilerplate, and a general "type" of monster-of-the-week feel.

I'm not saying it isn't good. It is. But it's found its primary cake mould and it's baking the same kind of cakes every time. Different monsters, sure, and different friends, but it's definitely getting slightly rocky. (Yes, I joke)



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Classroom of the Elite (Light Novel) Vol. 6 by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can't quite tell if I'm liking this better or I just prefer more academics in my school stories. Either way, getting into the politics of dirty-dealing and studying hit a high point here. Fun stuff.



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Classroom of the Elite (Light Novel) Vol. 5 by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Still a pleasant enough series. Want to know more about our hero who hides his abilities more, of course, but the proof is always in the pudding, and the classroom is thickening well.

Or, in this case, the sports festival and all the underhanded shenanigans are becoming a nice pudding.



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ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ 4.5 [Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e 4.5] by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Strangely, I have very little opinion on this collection of side-stories taking place right after the cruise ship. They're pretty middle-of-the-road and standard slice of life stuff, with some humorous situations, but nothing very big.

That being said, it develops characters, so isn't bad.



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Classroom of the Elite (Light Novel) Vol. 4 by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hey, I always appreciate it when a piece of fiction successfully pulls off a Prisoner's Dilemma scenario. :)

Cooperation gets the most benefits, betrayals can pay off immediately, especially when you want to screw others over.

Perfect for classroom tests, no? The school-to-prison system is in full swing.



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Classroom of the Elite (Light Novel) Vol. 3 by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Funnily enough, there's very little classroom and a lot of "island survival" stuff in this one. Fortunately, the game, both hidden and apparent, was pretty cool and entertaining.



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Classroom of the Elite (Light Novel) Vol. 2 by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ah, to learn that your class is full of defectives...

well, that ain't no surprise.

But to strive to shore up their faults, pull them out of the fire, and draw them out of their shells... well, that's just good YA drama.

It's pretty classic and entertaining.



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Classroom of the Elite (Light Novel) Vol. 1 by Syougo Kinugasa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes I'm in the mood for a serious look at actual societal injustice without any kind of fantasy or SF slant. In this case, this light novel (that inspired the manga and the anime) hits many of those sweet spots.

Informational warfare, economic inequality, the whole thumb on the scale BS, and faulty assumptions run rife in this YA classroom story. They're set up to fail and are led right to the chopping block, but a few come to their senses and attempt to fight back.

It's a great little setup. I'm down for it. :)



Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews is be interested in reading my SF (Very hard SF, mind you), I'm open to requests.

Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

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The Hungry Moon by Ramsey Campbell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Damn, I feel like I just got transported to a strange and weirdly glorious past, where epic horrors came with great, huge page-counts, in-depth character studies with multiple characters, a slow-burn degradation of society, a strange, often awe-inspiring supernatural entity, sometimes even lovecraftian, and a huge blow-out that leaves a very satisfying body count.

You know, like early Stephen King.

Indeed, since I know this came out in '86 during the true heyday of epic horror classics, I know it's totally riding on the tide. Indeed, I know this is a intra-author nod to Koontz's Moon, too. I never read Hungry Moon until now, probably because I thought it was a cash-grab knock off... but damn was I wrong.

It's entirely its own thing and wildly creative. Its reveals are very different from King or Koontz even if the whole FEEL of the first half is so in-tune with the others.

Suffice to say, I got blown away by this way-back machine.

And WHY THE HELL did I get the impression this was a werewolf novel? Spoiler alert: it's so much more, and much more interesting. Lovecraftian goodness.


Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews is be interested in reading my SF (Very hard SF, mind you), I'm open to requests.

Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

Arctunn.com


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The Graceview Patient by Caitlin Starling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What this is: a beautifully atmospheric medical horror, a gothic, claustrophobic nightmare that may--or may not--be something other than what it seems.

But that's the best part of the novel. Being trapped, not knowing, and being worn down to a nub.

In that respect, it's a mirror to life, no?

But the writing is spot on and great. Perfect for those of us who want to escape into someone else's misery. I got lost for a time, and that's a wonderful thing.


Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews is be interested in reading my SF (Very hard SF, mind you), I'm open to requests.

Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

Arctunn.com


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The Only One Left by Riley Sager
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This turned out to be a pretty decent gothic horror novel. Great characters, dark mystery, old mansion, and murder most foul. You know the type.

As it is, I had a pretty good time. I enjoyed the care-taking bits, the teasing-out of the mystery, the many, many reveals. It was almost as nuts as a game of Clue. And that's what was so good about it.

Definitely worth it if this is your hankering. Fortunately, it was mine.


Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews is be interested in reading my SF (Very hard SF, mind you), I'm open to requests.

Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

Arctunn.com


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Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction by Grady Hendrix
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an unapologetic book on books. But specifically, the wild, roaring heyday of the glorious horror scene of the '70s and '80s.

I personally remember the '80s scene and still saw all the old great stuff in the used bookstores everywhere I looked. They were the fun, the cooky, the gory, the unapologetically tongue-in-cheek, sensationalist, and downright skewering (in multiple senses).

But what Grady Hendrix has done here is nothing short of fantastic. I remember reading SK's Danse Macabre with the same eye to CATCH UP with all the things that made him go wow with the same sort of determination. It may be slightly harder for me to find some of these almost-forgotten classics, now, but I have a feeling that I'm going to be having a great deal of fun hunting them down.

Childmare? Oh hell yeah, that sounds delicious. And there's a whole bunch of cosmic horrors out there that are going full tilt for JUST the sake of creativity and shock value that I've never heard of but always wish I had.

Sure, there's the current niche of bizzaro-fiction, but these old ones are like the great-grandadies... and they really shouldn't be utterly forgotten like this. There's a whole CULTURE that's been swept under the rug, and for what reason? Economics, just treating them like pulp, like trash... and while many may be exactly that, the sheer creativity that might be lost is rather tragic.

I LOVE how this book shines a spotlight, even giving away the good stuff in each of those old books to whet our appetites. I honestly want to go all out and find them, now.


Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews is be interested in reading my SF (Very hard SF, mind you), I'm open to requests.

Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

Arctunn.com


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Ushers by Joe Hill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This short story by Joe Hill hit all the sweet spots of investigation, ghost stories, and disbelief. Moreover, it felt fresh and lively and had me wanting a lot more. I could probably read this kid's story for quite some time. I just LIKE him. :)



Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews is be interested in reading my SF (Very hard SF, mind you), I'm open to requests.

Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

Arctunn.com


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The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand by Christopher Golden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's definitely the journey... not the destination.

And that being said, I'm really surprised how much I enjoyed this anthology collection (written by many fans) that give us an expanded revisiting of The Stand. They're all done so well it's like I'm reading the extra-long and extremely uncut version, now with more.

I honestly wouldn't have minded all of these interspersed in the original. It is, after all, all about the journey. The people you meet (and perhaps kill) along the way.

It's a vibe.

It's also a great way to kick off spooktober. Happy spooktober!



Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews is be interested in reading my SF (Very hard SF, mind you), I'm open to requests.

Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

Arctunn.com


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Mimic & Me by Cassius Lange
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Silly, wholesome LitRPG fun featuring... ahem... cannibalism?

YEAH, well, it's NOT quite as bad as that, but when you've MERGED with a mimic and the mimic eats people, and you are a person... ahem... well... let's just agree that we ought to be glad it didn't happen to us, and that our little doggie--I mean, mimic--ALSO likes sweets and especially cake, too, almost as much as he likes the taste of long pork.

Ahem.

Yeah, despite all that, it IS a funny book and it has a great pacing to go with all the progression stuff.

Nom nom nom.


Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews is be interested in reading my SF (Very hard SF, mind you), I'm open to requests.

Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

Arctunn.com


View all my reviews