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The best books you never read

I am both a reader and a writer. I find that the best writers are in fact avid readers. I love books of all kinds but I really adore reading new authors who are just getting their feet wet. Some of the very best writers are now found in the indie set. These reviews will be of books I have devoured in my never ending quest for good fiction. Some will be up and comers who have hit the top of the chart, but most will be struggling new writers who deserve a second look.

Skin Game by Jim Butcher

Skin Game: A Novel of the Dresden Files - Jim Butcher

Has it all ready been fifteen books? This series just get better and better as it goes on.

 

In Skin Game Mab has loaned Harry out to Nicodemus. Not something that Harry appreciates in the least. After all why would he want to work with one of the real bad guys?

 

Well as always Mr Butcher gives us enough twists in the tale to make a snake knotted! Harry learns some painful lessons about the protection that the Winter Knight's cloak gives him and learns a more important lesson about who he is. Between finding out just exactly what the 'parasite' in his head is, to just why no one came to visit him on Demonreache, this tale is a fast paced romp from Chicago to Hades Realm and back. We get some great cameos and the little tete de tete between Harry and Hades is both comfortable and enlightening. As always Mr Butcher has given us an amazing ride.

 

In the end he leaves us enough hanging threads to make us pant for the next book, Peace Talks. Will Harry be up to being a father to his child and to the child he never expected? With Butters be up to his new role? Will Harry and Murphy finally get together? All those questions are left hanging but there are a lot of things answered and some very fine twists that make this book one of my all time favorites. I can not wait for the next!

Plum Spooky by Jaent Evanovich

Plum Spooky - Janet Evanovich

A fun read by Ms Evanovich. One of her novels from this series was made into a movie and I am not sure how good it was but if it was anything like this it had to be fun. In Plum Spooky we have a cast of hysterical characters and a story that mixes some paranormal with a fine mystery and procedural style of writing.

 

Stephanie Plum is a New Jersey girl who works as a bail bondsman. With her side kick Lula, a walking fashion disaster and the HOT Diesel, a mysterious fixer type, Stephanie is working on tracking down Martin Munch, a brilliant man who is working for the wrong man.

 

Filled with tons of comedy, bad guys that just have to be read to be believed, a ton of intelligent primates and a lot of heavy flirting, this is a fun and fast read. With only hints at the paranormal, this is a great introduction to the whole paranormal investigator genre. Not to be taken too seriously but well worth spending an afternoon (or longer) reading on a snowy day. I definitely plan on picking up the rest of the Stephanie Plum series. Lots of fun.

Star of Danger by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Star Of Danger - Marion Zimmer Bradley

This review is of the 1983 printing of this novel that was first published back in 1965. Ms Bradley was one of the masers of science fantasy novels from that time period.

 

In this book we have Larry Montrey, a sixteen year old Terran boy and Kennard Alton a sixteen year old Darkoven. They meet in Thendara just outside the space port and the story goes from there.

 

Well written with rich details about two very different worlds coming together. This story shows that no matter the world you come from you can find a friend if you are willing to look beyond what is familiar.

 

While this is a world filled with alien creatures that the boys have to deal with it is really a story about the boys. About the differences that society builds and making bridges.

 

This story is good enough that I have read it many times over the past twenty years. I recommend this book for the YA market. Well worth the read, even with the controversy that has stained Ms Bradley's legacy.

Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs

Fatal Voyage - Kathy Reichs

In book four of the Temperance Breenan series we have an airline disaster. A plan filled with the male and female soccer teams goes down and the story goes from there.

 

Temperance is brought in to help with the recovery effort but that is not the problem. The problem is while out on a walk she runs into a coyote with a foot in its mouth. She managed to get the foot from the animal only to realize that it is too decomposed to be from the plane crash.

 

Tempe goes through a lot in this book. From being accused of tampering with evidence to uncovering more and more facts that led to a shattering conclusion this tale is a fast and hard read. There is a lot going on here and we meet a lot of interesting characters in this book.

 

This book was written before 9/11 and the author includes an afterward that explains how she knows so much about DMORT and the fact that she was in no way cashing in on the national disaster and heartbreak of that time.

 

A great piece of a literary work of art.

 

Spder Bones by Kathy Reichs

Spider Bones - Kathy Reichs

In this, the 13th book, of the Temperance Brennan series we find our heroine dealing with a body found in a pond. I won't go into just what shape the body was in but well, interesting.

 

When the body is identified via a fingerprint things get interesting. For the body that is only freshly dead is identified as a man who died in Vietnam! We are taken back into the US to exhume the body that was buried and from there on there are enough twists to keep the most jaded watcher of procedural dramas riveted. Bouncing between Canada, North Carolina, and Hawaii we learn a lot about JPAC.

 

JPAC is how our government finds and identifies our lost war dead. Going through this tale we learn about the confusion that happens when governments fall and how much identification of the dead has evolved since the sixties. There is a great message in the middle of a tale of crimes unspeakable.

 

For this tale is about redemption, understanding, loss and so much more. About why we search for the remains of the fallen and how important it is to give families closure. I recommend picking it up and reading it.

Death Du Jour by Kathy Reichs

Death du Jour - Kathy Reichs

Anyone who watches the series Bones knows that the character was originally part of a book series.

 

Now the character of Temperance Brennan in the tv show is very different from the character in the book, and wonderfully this is a good thing.  I am a huge fan of the how and have watched it for the full ten seasons it has been on. I love the characters and when I picked up the book I was on pins and needles knowing that only rarely does the book and the media match up.

 

Well first, no they don't match up. Two..OMG I think this just might be better. The Temperance in the series is a recovering alcoholic with a daughter who is nearly adult in this book. She has a cat named Birdey and she works in two separate countries identifying corpses.

 

Bouncing between Charlotte and Montreal, this book starts with Temperance working in the bitter cold of a winter north of Montreal digging carefully to find the bones of a nun that is up for sainthood. A simple thing for an archeologist right? Well then through in a burned house filled with bodies and then connect them to more deaths back in the Carolinas and you get a gripping and fun ride.

 

I could go on and on about this book but I think you should just go and read it. I have two more of her novels in my hands and will be reviewing them next but this so far 15 book series has enough to keep an avid reading going for a long time.

Wither by Lauren Destefano

Wither - Lauren DeStefano

The first time I tried to read this book I was tired of the whole dystopian YA novels. Having this told in first person grated on me, but like a wise woman I put the book aside and decided to read it again at a later date. It is a good thing I did. On a day where I was cold and not feeling well this turned out to be a good read.

 

As I stated earlier this is a dystopian novel. Due to some bad mistakes made by science  most of the world has been destroyed and those who are alive are either First Generation, genetically bred to be perfect or their doomed children. See male children only live till they are 25 and females till they are 20, before they died coughing up blood from the Virus.

 

Rhine is the daughter of two first generation scientists who were killed in an explosion. She has been kidnapped away from her twin brother and loaded into a van with a bunch of other young girls to be offered as wives to the son of a first generation doctor.

 

This novel starts out a bit slow for me but it slowly sneaks in a tale of longing, of understanding and of death, for as we read two of her sister-wives die. You become attached to these characters without meaning to and I, for one, can see how this novel would make a great movie much like Divergent, The Host and even the HungerGames style.

 

While it is not as action packed as those other novels, it has a heart that I find lacking in those other books. Where at one point I thought of selling my hardcover copy of this novel, I now plan on picking up the other two books in this series to see how Rhine makes it through the remaining four years of her life.

The Solaris Book of New Fantasy by George Mann

The Solaris Book of New Fantasy - George Mann, Mark Chadbourn, Mike Resnick, Steven Savile, Jay Lake, Conrad Williams, Scott Thomas, Lucius Shepard, Steven Erikson, Janny Wurts, James Maxey, Tim Pratt, Hal Duncan, Jeff VanderMeer, Christopher Barzak, Chris Roberson, Juliet E. McKenna

Okay first off I am going to say we all know I love fantasy. I adore it and I adore short stories. It is what got me started as a writer.

 

But! And there is a but. You see one of the things that drives me nuts is a story where the author is taking themselves too seriously. They are not writing a story to entertain the reader, but to get themselves into collections like this one.

 

While there are some good stories in this collection (and i will review them over on my google blog) most of these stories are just the writers attempts to seem literary.

 

While fantasy can be amazing, it can be deep and touching and important, it generally is not literary to the literary snobs out there. This book is filled with stories that literary snobs would adore!

 

Anyone who knows me knows that I can finish a five hundred page book within a day or so. So the fact that I have yet to finish a book that I bought years ago should tell you something. Many of the tales in this book are just...not worth the effort.

 

Yes i have given this book overall a three star review. That is because there are tales in here well worth the read. Once that make me want to read them again. but over all...no, I would pass it by.

Flower Fairies of the Wayside by Cicely Mary Barker

Flower fairies of the wayside: Poems and pictures - Cicely Mary Barker

This tiny, little book is a very sweet thing. I picked this up for my daughter at a used bookstore simply because it was filled with fairies. I had not looked at it in the two years since i picked it up but last next I just sat down and flipped through it.

 

This little book is filled with simple poetry and wonderful little paintings. Originally published way back in the 1920s, they stand up to the test of time. Any fan of fairy art will love this book.

 

The poems are simple, a great introduction to poetry to the younger reader, but a perfect book for those of us who write short form poetry.

 

It is nice to see something that is truly ageless.

Kissing Coffins by Ellen Schreiber

Kissing Coffins - Ellen Schreiber

I picked up this book for something to read while my family was playing TCG games. It looked interesting. I did not realize till I picked it up that it was the second book in a series.

 

This was an interesting if cliched read. Take your typical goth teenager living in a town of yuppies, toss in a young vampire who is an artist and high jinks ensue.

 

A very quick read that should be aimed at the tween set. While it is written well and reads quickly, it is just too cliched for a mature reader. Thankfully it was a big expenditure for me. It was being sold at the local Canadian Tire store for only a few bucks. So it wasn't too bad. 

 

If you like simple plots with teenagers who think they really know better, then go ahead and pick this up. If you are looking for a toss off read that will fill a few empty hours this is for you. If you are looking for something new, exciting, intriguing or fresh, well try something else.

Cry Mercy by Toni Andrews

Cry Mercy - Toni Andrews

 

Once more Ms Andrews has given us a great read. In this book we get a clearer look at the background of some of the characters. From learning all about Tino's family and history to meeting Sam's father, Roger, we get a richer tale in this third book of the series.

 

The author has obviously done her research on gangs and the inner workings of the politics of these groups. Mixing that with the supernatural elements of this tale and dropping more bread crumbs about Mercy keeps the reading wanting more.

 

The only downside to this is that Ms Andrews has not released a fourth book in over two years.  This reader hopes she does soon!

Angel of Mercy by Toni Andrews

Angel Of Mercy - Toni Andrews

Angel of Mercy is the second in a series. Mercy, a young woman who doesn't know just exactly what she is has the ability to press...or make people do things. She tries to live by a code of self imposed ethics and most of the time she does fine. She helps people.

 

In this book Mercy starts helping at a battered womens shelter. While the story deals with this topic gently and quite well, giving the facts, it is the secondary story of child pornography and what some men will do in their quest for power that takes us to the dark places of mankind.

 

Ms Andrews handles both the topic of abusive husbands and child pornography delicately and with understanding. The story pulls you from start to finish in a fast ride that is highly emotional.

 

Woven into the darker subjects is Mercy's own quest to find out who and what she is. With the help of the ever bubbly Sukey she manages to find some clues that lead to more questions. All in all a great read and I can't wait to read the next in the series.

Beg for Mercy Tony Andrews

Beg For Mercy - Toni Andrews

Another free title i picked up along the way, I decided to relax and read this on a cold winter day.

 

This paranormal book has a nice twist to it. A mix of the mostly hapless young woman who has a secret power, a bit of scooby doo sleuthing and a touch of romance makes this a great read.

 

Mercy is mostly a loner who thinks she has only one friend. She decides to set up a business as a hypnotherapist and meets a sexy young man along the way. Her best friend is a redhead with bad taste in men and she has a cat by the name of Fred.

 

The story starts with Mercy trying to help her friend Sukey deal with her current bad choice and quickly spins out of control. From the mysterious bad guy Dominic to the sexy good guy Sam, this tale is filled with interesting characters and a lot of fun. Well worth reading at any price.

Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire

Rosemary and Rue - Seanan McGuire

Recently I was reminded of this fine author by a friend of mine. He kept pushing me to re-read this book and i am glad I did.

 

Toby is a half Fae living under the radar, so to speak. Burned by both sides of her heritage, she is really just existing. Going from work to home and back again with little contact with anyone at all. When an old Friend and Mentor is murdered, Toby is pulled back into a world that she turned her back on.

 

Sounds interesting right? Well you would be right. Much in the flavor of a lot of the half fae books being written we have a strong character who has gone through too much to trust the bloodlines that she comes from. The fact that she previously spent a decades as a Koi in a pond should give you an idea how little she wants to be brought back into the world of Fae politics and intrigue. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the rest of this series.

Space Opera anthology edited by Anne McCaffrey

Space Opera - Anne McCaffrey, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Jody Lynn Nye, Jim  Burns, Charles de Lint, Suzette Haden Elgin, Steven Brust, Elisabeth Waters, Robin Wayne Bailey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Gene Wolfe, Leslie Fish, Warren Norwood, Margaret Ball, Lyn McConchie, Peter S. Beagle,

Now I picked up this book way back when it came out in 1996 , but I recently decided I needed to re-read my older books.

 

This lovely anthology is a collection of tales with the theme of music. Everything from fantasy, horror, science fiction, post apocalyptic and more. Some of the greatest voices in fiction from the 90s and before are in this book.

 

From Space Station Annie by the late great Cynthia McQuillian to Scarborough Fair by Elizabeth Anne Scarborough to Calling Them Home by Jody Lynn Nye it is easy to find a tale that lifts up your heart by the power of the mixture of words and music.

 

While these tales might seem a bit dated to a lot of modern readers, they are fine examples of masters of the craft writing on a theme. We need more anthologies like this and I know I will be looking for them.

Happy New Years everyone

Well 2015 has arrived so I thought I would look back at the reviews I have been doing all over the place. I know I should use Booklikes for all my reviews but I don't always remember what I have where.

 

Looking back to when I jumped onto this site back in May of 2014 I have done 33 reviews on Booklikes. Not a lot right? Well see i have only reviewed books i have as epub, paperback or hardcovers here. I haven't put the reviews from the mobis up here and over the next month I should probably do that right?

 

Of course I have also been a busy writer. I published a lot of titles which of course cut in to my reading time. but to be real most of the books i have reviewed here are ones that I have had for a long time but have not don reviews on.

 

You can expect a lot more reviews of the older books in my collections. Heck you might even get reviews of the short stories that really hit me as fantastic that are found in anthologies and collections.

 

so my friends, go and read some of these books. You never know what you might find and enjoy!