Ron Andrea's Blog, page 54

Book Review: Heliotrope by Palmer Pickering (four stars)

Book Review: Heliotrope by Palmer Pickering (four stars) ‘He wept until he had no more tears, and rocked the dead boy to the beat of his broken heart’. A good read. Not your standard swords-and-sorcery fantasy, but close. Linear, journey … Continue reading →

Book Review: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick (four stars)

Book Review: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick (four stars) “I’m beginning to think there’s something very odd about this house.” A light fantasy about a widow and her children moving into a house already occupied by … Continue reading →

Book Review: Contrarian by L E Modesitt Jr. (three stars)

Book Review: Contrarian (Grand Illusion #3) by L E Modesitt Jr. (three stars) What is … is. The illusion is in our minds. Great story by a renowned fantasy fiction author. What went wrong? Lots of stage directions. So tired of … Continue reading →

Book Review: Esrahaddon by Michael J. Sullivan (five stars)

Book Review: Esrahaddon (The Rise and Fall #3) by Michael J. Sullivan (five stars) It’s always easier to destroy than to build.  Oliver Twist does Enders Game. Excellent epic fantasy fiction in the unique style of a premier storyteller. Sullivan … Continue reading →

Book Review: Shards of Empire by Susan Shwartz (four stars)

Book Review: Shards of Empirehttp://www.sff.net/people/SusanShwartz/ by Susan Shwartz (four stars) No one betrays you as thoroughly as your dearest friends.  Excellent historical fiction, quarter turn from real toward fantastic. Schwartz confronts Christian, Jewish, and Islamic characters with a region gestating … Continue reading →

Book Review: The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson (three stars)

Book Review: The Lost Metal (Mistborn Saga #7) by Brandon Sanderson (three stars) “Always plan for an explosion around [redacted]. It saves a ton of effort.” Gone full-blown Jordan: expanding scope and entities. (Not flattery.) Never-ending tales. Been there; done … Continue reading →

Book Review: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson. (five stars)

Book Review: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson. (five stars) Kilahito was a safe city, nightmares excluded. Nothing like rampaging semisapient voids of darkness to drive down crime.  The best story Sanderson has ever written. I’m embarrassed because … Continue reading →

Book Review: Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik (three stars)

Book Review: Hunt the Stars (Starlight’s Shadow #1) by Jessie Mihalik (three stars) I’d lost half of my squad and most of my soul on that cursed planet. Others had lost so much more. Enemy Mine on The Love Boat. … Continue reading →

Book Review: The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson (four stars)

Book Review: The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson (four stars) Nothing like a therapeutic bout of amnesia to force you to look really hard at your life. Jason Bourne does A Connecticut Yankee. An excellent … Continue reading →

Book Review: Quantum Radio by A. G. Riddle (five stars)

Book Review: Quantum Radio by A. G. Riddle (five stars) “What if the phenomenon you’re observing, the pattern you’ve been able to detect, isn’t a natural phenomenon?”  Best science fiction I’ve read in years. Building on a foundation of science, … Continue reading →