Okay, so I rail against long fantasy epics all the time, knowing full-well that I'll have to walk that back one day. Today is that day. I can already see my enemies at the gates, laughing and shouting "I told you so!" First, a definition: Long Fantasy Epic: Noun - Any story that takes 4... Continue Reading →
Science Fiction is similar to fantasy; it usually requires some kind of world-building. But where fantasy world-building is often filled with intrigue and mystery, I've found some science fiction to be overly expository, which can be dull or lead to really long books. In The Rosetta Codex, author Richard Paul Russo skews in-depth world-building in... Continue Reading →
First of all, I should point out that Username: Evie is a graphic novel. Occasionally, the talented, and extremely attractive, people at MojoFiction make me read graphic novels. That's okay, though, because I like comic books in their collected format. I love reading and I love art, so that's a no-brainer. But I've grown tired... Continue Reading →
Disclaimer: The author of this book contacted me via my WordPress site and requested a book review. I said sure, but I bought my own copy with my own hard-earned money. So there you go. Consider yourself informed. The official title of this book is, The Water Travelers: Heir of the Unknown. It's the first... Continue Reading →
I've been slowly reading Life Itself for months, one chapter at a time, usually late in the evening. I didn't take my time because the book is boring or confusing, or because it isn't compelling. I took my time because this book demands it. This trip down someone else's memory lane isn't for the trivia nut. It's... Continue Reading →
The novel Anti-Social Media, by first-time author Kate Beth Heywood, describes itself as "savagely funny." In its own unique way, that statement is entirely true. But let's get to that later. First, what is this novel about? Constance Anderson is a young woman living out her dreams in the UK. In other words, she is an aspiring screenwriter with no screenplay... Continue Reading →
Readers of MojoFiction know how I feel about books in a series (see Jack Reacher and the Case of the Plug-and-Play Plot). John Lescroart hits a few of those marks. On the other hand, it's a pretty fun mystery, and isn't that why we read these things? Smoke and Mirrors Hal Chase works as a... Continue Reading →
"I won’t leave you." Therein lies the emotional thread running through the Robert Crais novel, Suspect, a story about an LAPD officer trying to recover from the traumatic loss of his partner and finding an unexpected source of healing in his new position in the department’s K-9 unit. I recently railed on thrillers that have... Continue Reading →
I’ve had several people ask how I could possibly write a humorous story about a woman finding out she has breast cancer. Then they realize I’m a guy and they wonder how I could possibly write about women, let alone breast cancer. Good questions. I tell them it starts and ends with the character. That’s... Continue Reading →
In the fall of 2014, five deep-cover, serial-thriller agents met at a black site located somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Their mission was top secret. The only record of the meeting was assembled by the apparent target of their operation: author Stuart Woods. After discovering his main character, Stone Barrington, had gone missing for two... Continue Reading →
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