Saturday, October 23, 2021

Huntress Moon (The Huntress/FBI Thrillers #1) by Alexandra Sokoloff ★★★★★

A close up of Laura Vandervoot in a black leather jacket
“She thinks, for the millionth time, that being a woman is the world’s most perfect camouflage.” 

The Rook (The Checquy Files #1) by Daniel O'Malley ★★★★☆

Chyler Leigh giving the camera a gimlet eyed knowing smile
“You think I'm in a daze because you're handsome, I'm in a daze because I could crush you."
- Myfanwy Thomas

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins ★★★★★

A black and white photo of a lion with the caption in his language the word for promise is the same as the word for a bone that cannot be cracked
I promise you that if you stick with this book it will make sense. That said, this is a gory, violent, funny, urban fantasy that does not welcome you with logic.  

American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett ★★★★☆

A lone cottage house brightly lit from inside with lightning raining down Russian writing all around as this is the russian book cover
Are you tired of aliens that look like Bob-your-neighbor with pointy ears or some other negligible difference? 

Are you tired of predictable plots you see a mile away? 

Have no fear, this is not one of those! These are ALIENS. 

The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson ★★★★☆

Damning image of Trump affiliates attack of the US Capital with the caption AMERICA in capitals
“Easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism: the old saying had grown teeth and was taking on a literal, vicious accuracy.” 

What we are doing is not working. 

Professor (First Time #2) by Madison Faye ★★★★★

Still of Indiana Jones teaching while a female student blinks at him with Love You written on her eyes
The hot college professor fantasy is a classic. Since they started giving lectures in amphitheaters there's been someone day dreaming about extra credit. This erotica is the hottest retelling of that fantasy.

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse

Ron Livingston and Henry Thomas standing in front of large lab mixing equipment
The End of the Whole Mess by Stephen King ★★★★★ 
"The world needs heroic measures, man. I don't know about long-term effects, and there's no time to study them, because there's no long-term prospect. Maybe we can cure the whole mess. Or maybe—" 

I read Nightmares & Dreamscapes when it first came out in the early 90s, and was ridiculously proud of myself (huge book); this was the story that stayed with me. It was my first apocalypse story, and it felt real because there were no zombies, no aliens, no Revelation. Just Yankees coming down to Texas and deciding they knew it all and had the right to “fix us.” 

Decades later it’s still chilling. Somehow more so hearing Waco mentioned again and again as a place of peace and madness - known today for the Branch Dividian Rape Factory.

Friday, October 22, 2021

The Hunger by Alma Katsu ★★☆☆☆

A dark image of Guy Pearce in Ravenous covered in blood
A motley collection of Christians-with-secrets sets out by wagon train to California. Along the way they fight, hate, rape, and kill until succumbing to nature and German sociopathy.

I was hoping for Lonesome Dove meets Ravenous and found boredom instead.

Ghost Story by Peter Straub ★★★★☆

A dramatic image of a woman's torso in shadow the top half of her face lit in red with her eyes staring at the camera the caption says My friends and i will tear the soul from this pathetic town and crush its bare bones between our teeth
The slow burn of darkness seeping inexorably into a small town. A classic that takes it’s time to haunt you.

“Wouldn't you like to live forever? Even if you must die first? It's a good Christian bargain, after all.” 

Patient Zero (Joe Ledger #1) by Jonathan Maberry ★★★★☆

A romantic moonlit scene combined with a zombie movie a man kisses a woman while shooting a zombie
Joe Ledger is the James Bond of zombie slayers. This book was well paced, action packed, and sometimes funny - in short, this was an entertaining action movie of a book!