The Ghosts of Galway Ken Bruen “A failed suicide is a sad, sad *****” So begins “The Ghosts of Galway,” dropping the reader right into the action, as Jack Taylor, former Garda member and failed suicide, ends up, not kinder or wiser, but as a security guard, which he calls “Suicide by boredom.” Only things […]
Read more "“The Ghosts of Galway” by Ken Bruen"Brave Deeds David Abrams “We double-time across Baghdad on our twelve feet, a mutant dozen-legged beetle dashing from rock to rock, confident in its shell but always careful of the soft belly underneath.” One of the bravest of the brave deeds in “Brave Deeds” may be the daring decision to narrate the book in the […]
Read more "“Brave Deeds” by David Abrams"Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance Ruth Emmie Lang Oh goodness! you say. How could a book about a boy raised by wolves be anything other than cheesy? I mean, after “The Jungle Book” and “Julie of the Wolves,” it’s all kind of downhill, isn’t it? Well, I am pleased to say that “Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstances” […]
Read more "“Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance” by Ruth Emmie Lang"The Watchers Ellison Blackburn “The Watchers” series is a smart, unique pair of books about an archeologist, Mallory Jacks, who discovers a very unusual set of remains on a dig in England. Is it a hoax–or are our legends real? As I said about Mallory in my review of the first book, “If There Be […]
Read more "“The Watchers” Boxed Set by Ellison Blackburn"Need for Seed: Gertrude’s Tale CB Archer Tales of Gentalia After the last, unexpectedly sex-free, romp in the Tales of Gentalia, readers may be wondering anxiously: has CB Archer lost his touch? No fears, Gentalians, no fears: this latest outing contains plenty of touch, and many other things besides. Gertrude is setting off as an […]
Read more "“Need For Seed: Gertrude’s Tale” by CB Archer"All Soldiers Run Away Andy Owen My review of “All Soldiers Run Away,” which was released today, is below. You can read my very interesting interview with Andy Owen about writing the book and about war, literature, and PTSD here and my review of his novel “East of Coker” here. Some soldiers are heroic. But […]
Read more "“All Soldiers Run Away” by Andy Owen"Queen of Spades Michael Shou-Yung Shum What a cracking tale! As soon as I saw the title, I knew I had to read it. Although “Queen of Spades” isn’t my favorite of Pushkin’s stories–that honor goes to his “Little Tragedies”–it’s certainly a classic for a reason. This version, set in a casino in Snoqualmie in […]
Read more "“Queen of Spades” by Michael Shou-Yung Shum"China Girl: And Other Stories Ho Lin “She hates the David Bowie song…How could anyone think of that as a beautiful Chinese girl?” So thinks May Lee, the exotic dancer whose story is told in the eponymous opening story of the collection “China Girl,” whose characters move, often ambiguously, between East and West, belonging to […]
Read more "“China Girl: And Other Stories” by Ho Lin"Second Son Ellison Blackburn In “Second Son,” Ellison Blackburn continues the story of Dr. Mallory Jacks, the archaeologist who stumbled upon…what? The skeleton of an angel?–in the first book. The action in “Second Son” overlaps with the action in the preceding book, picking up at the death of Grey, possible angel and Mallory’s lover, whose […]
Read more "“Second Son” by Ellison Blackburn"Spoils Brian Van Reet Specialist Cassandra Wigheard is a tough girl from Arkansas who joined the army looking for adventure. What she got was deployment to Iraq and lots of close proximity with aspiring rapists, first from her own comrades in arms, then from the mujahideen who capture her and want to use her as […]
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E. P. Clark: Author, Book Reviewer, and All-Around Literary Handiwoman 