- Book Review: Fun Inc.: Why Gaming Will Dominate the Twenty-First Century by Tom Chatfield
Posted on 23 Nov 2010 in Non-Fiction Reviews, Sociology
One element of the gaming industry that will surprise some readers is the billions of dollars made by “gold farmers,” people who play online games such as World of Warcraft, and then sell the loot acquired in the game for real-world dollars to other gamers. China alone is estimated to have over a million of these gold farmer players working right now.
- Book Review: All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed, and Me by Jeff Dunham
Posted on 02 Nov 2010 in Biography, Non-Fiction Reviews
Jeff Dunham’s YouTube videos have been seen over 400 million times, his comedy DVDs have sold more than six million copies, and he’s been one of the top touring comedians for the past two years. Here’s the good thing–Dunham’s book comes across a lot like his audience-pleasing live shows.
- Book Review: Gauntlgrym: Neverwinter, Book 1 by R. A. Salvatore
Posted on 18 Oct 2010 in Fiction Reviews, Science Fiction and Fantasy
One thing is clear: Salvatore is moving Drizzt ahead toward a new point in his life. He’s darker, more brooding, and full of a latent rage that threatens to explode at any time. This isn’t the same paladin-like Drizzt of previous books–he’s been damaged. Badly.
- Book Review: Tell-All by Chuck Palahniuk
Posted on 20 Jul 2010 in Fiction Reviews, Humor, Movies
Tell-All follows the general plotline of the movie Sunset Boulevard, which pairs a down-and-out young writer with an aging actress seeking to reclaim her former glory. If you’re going to base a novel off of a movie, this 1950 noir classic is a terrific place to start.
- Book Review: The Nearest Exit by Olen Steinhauer
Posted on 13 Jul 2010 in Espionage, Fiction Reviews, Thrillers
Stephen King said that Olen Steinhauer’s spy book, The Tourist, is “the best spy novel I’ve ever read that wasn’t written by John le Carré.” Here’s the good news—The Nearest Exit, a continuation of that same story, is no letdown (though the background gained in reading that first book makes the first 100 pages of this one much more manageable).
- Book Review: Chords of Strength by David Archuleta
Posted on 07 Jul 2010 in Biography, Music, Non-Fiction Reviews
It’s no surprise that David has musical talent in his DNA. His father is a jazz trumpet player, his mother is a gifted singer, his grandmother sang in TV commercials and acted in a few movies (and was known in Utah as “the little lady with the big voice”) and his grandfather sang in a barbershop quartet. Talk about stacking the genetic deck!
- Book Review: My Life with Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz
Posted on 10 Jun 2010 in Non-Fiction Reviews
Charles Schulz (1922-2000) started out simply wanting to draw for a living. He never had any sense that these big-headed, small-armed kids he was doodling back in the 1940s would be a staple of newspapers for the next five decades. Indeed, it almost seemed that he repeatedly looked upon his own career with a kind of reverent awe. Part of the appeal of Schulz the man is that even when fame struck, he still seemed amazingly humble.
- Fables: The Deluxe Edition Vol. 1 by Bill Willingham
Posted on 21 Jan 2010 in Fiction Reviews, Science Fiction and Fantasy
But without a doubt, it’s the series that he began seven years ago, Fables, that has captured the imaginations of so many readers. The premise of this story is clear and simple—familiar characters from fairy tales and folklore escape after an army of creatures led by the mysterious Adversary has come to conquer their home worlds. Where do all these exiled creatures go? New York City, of course.
- The Ghost King: Transitions III by R. A. Salvatore
Posted on 22 Dec 2009 in Fiction Reviews, Science Fiction and Fantasy
A fast-paced, heartrending book, The Ghost King is a must-read for any fans of the Drizzt Do’Urden stories and a welcome read for general fantasy enthusiasts. While The Pirate King has a tighter plot and better action scenes, it’s this book that people will long remember.
- Flesh and Fire: Book One of the Vineart War by Laura Anne Gilman
Posted on 03 Dec 2009 in Fiction Reviews, Science Fiction and Fantasy
The first clue that Gilman is not going to zing this story along with Tom Clancy speed is that her Prelude has a pre-Prelude—never a good sign if you’re in the mood for a fast-read airplane book, which so many fantasies are. But the Vin World is rich with vattage and vine, mustus and maturation, such that even non-oenophiles cannot help but feel immersed in a unique world full of a strange richness and beauty.
- Messenger: The Legacy of Mattie J.T. Stepanek and Heartsongs by Jeni Stepanek
Posted on 11 Nov 2009 in Biography, Disability, Non-Fiction Reviews
He explains it in his journals as “Whatever it is that a person needs or wants, they understand why that matters, and that is the unfolding of their Heartsong . . . And as we learn in almost every religion or philosophy of goodness, it is in giving that we receive. In sharing our Heartsong with others, it goes out into the world, and somehow, circles back to us.”
- Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks by Ethan Gilsdorf
Posted on 17 Sep 2009 in Non-Fiction Reviews, Science Fiction and Fantasy
The Otherkin Resource Center (ORC) exists for people who don’t believe they are human. Elves, vampires, and unicorns are among the most popular non-human races that they claim to be.
- The Twelve by William Gladstone
Posted on 14 Sep 2009 in Fiction Reviews, Religion, Science Fiction and Fantasy
This novel follows the exploits of intellectual and spiritual wunderkind Max Doff who, even as an infant, clearly was set apart from the rest of humanity. He’s destined for greatness along the lines of the Buddha and other prophets. During a near-death experience from a severe case of the flu at age 15, Max has a vision in his euphoric delirium that he can’t quite make sense of yet, but it reveals to him the names of twelve people…
- The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff
Posted on 01 Jul 2009 in Fiction Reviews, Science Fiction and Fantasy
Readers who know Tanya Huff from her Blood, Smoke, and The Keeper’s Chronicles books (or even the Blood Ties show on Lifetime) will find this stand-alone modern urban fantasy right in line with what they’ve come to expect from her. For those of us not so familiar with Huff’s work, a warning: This is not your usual fantasy fare. Not in the least.
- Nobody Move by Denis Johnson
Posted on 08 Jun 2009 in Crime Fiction, Fiction Reviews
For people who liked Johnson’s recent National Book Award winner Tree of Smoke or his drug-laden 1992 short story collection Jesus’ Son, his latest, Nobody Move, is a real change of pace. Originally published as a four-part serial in Playboy in 2008, this hardboiled noir tale plays with the conventions of thrillers and crime stories, utilizing nearly every stereotype and trick from the arsenal of Dashiell Hammett, Quentin Tarantino, Elmore Leonard, and Raymond Chandler.
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