Mark Stevens's Blog, page 42

“Crossing Colfax”

(Originally published as a blog for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers on Jan. 6, 2014.)   Short-story anthologies can be tricky affairs. Collecting short stories in one volume from multiple authors can end in a patchwork mess. Not the case with��Crossing … Continue reading →

2014: Top Books

Favorite reads from 2014 *denotes accompanying Q & A with the author 1. Updike by Adam Begley* 2. Soldier Girls by Helen Thorpe* 3. In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides 4. Pure by Andrew Miller 5. The Paying … Continue reading →

Hampton Sides – “In the Kingdom of Ice”

I’d put In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible  Polar Voyage of the USS Jeanette up there with Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage (Alfred Lansing), Undaunted Courage (Stephen Ambrose), and Unbroken (Lauren Hillenbrand) for terrific non-fiction narratives about toughness, survival and … Continue reading →

Catriona McPherson – “The Day She Died”

The Day She Died is slow-burn creepy. Jessie Constable is three-dimensional and one of a kind. She is both cheery and easily troubled, confident and easily thrown. She’s alert and analytical when time calls and equally willing to trust and … Continue reading →

Q & A with Pat Stoltey – “Dead Wrong”

Who doesn’t love a chase scene? Planes, buses, cabs, rental cars and all your systems on high alert. Every move matters. Every decision is critical. Patricia Stoltey’s Dead Wrong starts with one bad assumption and puts the wheels in motion. … Continue reading →

Warren Hammond – “Ex-Kop”

I liked “Kop,” but “Ex-Kop” is tougher, rougher, meaner, cleaner. It’s gritty, terribly human, and not for the squeamish. Like its predecessor, this is a fully realized mash-up. Imaginative but grounded sci-fi sprints full-throttle into moody, brooding old-fashioned detective noir. … Continue reading →

Q & A with Helen Thorpe – “Soldier Girls”

(Note: the following was originally published Nov. 13 on Telluride Inside … and Out.) Soldier Girls was named as an Editor’s Choice in the New York Times and one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post. … Continue reading →

Dark Night of the Soul by Gary Reilly

Originally posted on Books in Review II:
? Dark Night of the Soul (Running Meter Press, 226 pp., $14.95, paper) is the sixth book in Gary Reilly’s Asphalt Warrior series. Reilly was drafted into the U. S. Army during the…

Andrew Miller – “Pure”

I don’t read much historical fiction. Too often, I feel with as if the author wants to take me through a time tunnel as a tour guide. The prose comes off as forced, a sort of golly-gee quality to it. … Continue reading →

Steven Schwartz – “Little Raw Souls”

Short story fans, add Little Raw Souls by Steven Schwartz to your reading queue. All eleven stories lower the tractor beam and pull you in. Schwartz writes mostly about ordinary people in semi-harrowing moments. “Characters who populate short stories generally … Continue reading →