Sunday Book Review: Binti and America Again and READATHON announcement.

This week I read Binti by Nnedi Okorafor and America Again by Stephen Colbert. As always I say what I liked and didn’t like about each book.

Nebula and Hugo Winner, Binti is a coming of age novella that follows a 16 year-old-girl as she leaves home to go to the university and ends up a prisoner of an alien race, the Meduse. Ultimately though there was a lot I enjoyed in Binti, I felt the setup felt a little lopsided as Okorafor explored Binti’s culture in depth, while every other human was unimportant. Otherwise this is a great allegory novella with layers of meaning with an intelligent hero who finds non-violent solutions to her and humanities problems.  4 stars

America Again is Stephen Colbert being Stephen Colbert from the Colbert Report. He explores topics such as gun control, food, the justice system and others. If you liked the character, you’ll like it. I got tired of the sarcasm. 3 stars.

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A regular feature to my blog, Elizabeth’s Sunday Book Review, is simply a review of the book (or books) I read during the previous week on Sunday. Since I started adding videos, I started doing stars. I do say what I liked and didn’t like. You will notice that some will be independent titles, some will be mass market books, others will be classics. I write a review on whatever I read that week.

Sunday Book Review: Warlock Holmes, The Last Keyhole & Cursed Pirate Girl

 

 

This week I read three books.
Warlock Holmes A Study in Brimstone, is a Sherlock Holmes Mystery/Dark Fantasy Mashup which I purchased during my last Barnes&Noble Book Haul.
The Last Keyhole is a cute children’s ghost story which I purchased from the author at GeekGirlCon last week. This is the first children’s book that I have reviewed.
Cursed Pirate Girl is the first volume of a beautiful graphic novel series which I purchased at Golden Age Collectables in Pike Place Market a couple years ago. This is a re-reading.

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A regular feature to my blog, Elizabeth’s Sunday Book Review, is simply a review of the book (or books) I read during the previous week on Sunday. Since I started adding videos, I started doing stars. I do say what I liked and didn’t like. You will notice that some will be independent titles, some will be mass market books, others will be classics. I write a review on whatever I read that week.

Sunday Book Review: Untethered and Monochrome

Yep, I know its Monday, not Sunday, but last week my week ended up eaten by GeekGirlCon which is an awesome convention in Seattle. So I made the video today instead and have two books I want to share with you.

They are listed in the order that I read them. Untethered: A Magic Iphone Anthology edited  Janine A. Southard, with stories from Rhiannon Held, Manny Frishberg, Edd Vick, H.M. Jones, Kris Millering, Jon Lasser, Raven Oak ,Sarina Dorie, Jonathon Burgess, Jeremiah Reinmiller, C.S. O’Cinneide, Stevehen Warren, Aaron Giddings, Sr., Amanda Hackwith, Dale Cameron Lowry, Angela Dell’Isola, Dawn Vogel, Stephanie Djock, Kyle Yadlosky, A. Moritz, J.S. Rogers

Like all anthologies there were stories I like better than others, but all the stories had a fun cleverness that I enjoyed. If you like reading stories about modern tech with fantastic elements, you’ll enjoy this anthology. 4 stars

The second book is Monochrome by HM Jones.Though HM Jones is in the above anthology, the two books couldn’t be more different. That being said, Monochrome has so much going for it. Suffering from severe post-partum depression, Abigail flies into a rage and begins to believe that her family would be better off without her. She finds herself in Monochrome: the physical manifestation of her depressed mind where everything is blue. She finds herself with a man named Ishmael Doubois who says he is her Guide. The Guides create a path through Monochrome. Then like Dorothy in Oz, Abigail has to find her way out of Monochrome to find her way home to her husband and child. 4 1/2 stars

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A regular feature to my blog, Elizabeth’s Sunday Book Review, is simply a review of the book (or books) I read during the previous week on Sunday. Since I started adding videos, I started doing stars. I do say what I liked and didn’t like. You will notice that some will be independent titles, some will be mass market books, others will be classics. I write a review on whatever I read that week.

Sunday Book Review: After Ours

This week I read and reviewed Cheryce Clayton’s After Ours, a collection of flash fiction stories that create an over-arcing stories. It’s a fun take on zombies and the Folk with a dark sense of humor. Tagline: Things are looking grim for the shop hobs.

I gave it a 4 star review for zombies, shop hobs, and a dark sense of humor. I received an ARC for this book free from the author, but that in no way changed my feeling about the book.

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A regular feature to my blog, Sunday Book Review, is simply a review of the book (or books) I read during the previous week on Sunday. Since I started adding videos, I started doing stars. I do say what I liked and didn’t like. You will notice that some will be independent titles, some will be mass market books, others will be classics. I write a review on whatever I read that week. I get most of my books from conventions from the author or bookstores, but as per FCC regs, I do mention if I received a book for free.

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Sunday Book Review: Famished, The Farm & The Dragon Tax

While I have posted reviews in the past as I have read books, I am going to start posting reviews of the book (or books) I read during the previous week on Sunday as a regular feature to my blog.  While on Goodreads and Amazon, I give books a star rating, I don’t do stars here. I just say what I liked and didn’t like. You will notice that some will be independent titles, some will be mass market books, others will be classics. I write a review on whatever I read that week. I get most of my books from conventions from the author or bookstores, but I do mention if I received a book for free. I only read books in hardcopy.

Famished: The Farm

(Adult Horror)

Great story. I enjoyed the pull between the characters. There is the ghoul who is just waking up to who/what he is. And the friction between the ghouls who live the old ways and the ghouls who want something more. There was a bit of misdirection in the plot and the ending was an action-packed blood bath.

My only negative comment is that it followed many vampire narratives that I have read before, so once the ending started I wasn’t surprised. Still it was a great fast-paced read.

If you like books where monsters take center stage with no human interpreter, this is the book for you!

(This book was given to me for free in exchange of an honest review.)

 

The Dragon Tax 

(New Adult Fantasy)
This novella is a quick  read in an epic fantasy setting. If you like Robert Bevan or Peter Beagle, you will like Madison Keller’s work.

Without spoilers, the relationship between Sybil the dragon slayer (tax collector), Riastel the dragon, and the king who wants to tax the dragon plays out at the center of this novel. There is plenty of danger and fun surprises. There is a bit of tounge in cheek attitude to the writing which adds to the light tone.

My only negative comment is why do good guys say things like “I’d rather die…” to bad guys.   I saw the set up and shook my head with the thought “DON’T SAY THAT!” But the book picked up directly afterwards and the climax was awesome.

Great fantasy romp!

(This book was also given to me for free in exchange of an honest review.)