Angry Candy
Harlan Ellison
Plume
www.penguin.com
In the 1960’s a different type of science fiction genre emerged. It was called New Wave because numerous authors wrote about new concepts such as sex in science fiction that had not been touched on before. Three names are identified with this group of writers. Norman Spinrad, Philip Jose Farmer, and Harland Ellison. This is another great collection of short stories. There is a vast wealth of short fiction here. Twelve of the seventeen stories have only been published in this collection. The others have been in collections and magazines such as Gallery, Playboy and Omni. There are stories of science fiction, horror, fantasy, and other genres. In “Paladin of the Lost Hour” a young Vietnam vet saves an old man’s life as muggers attack in a cemetery. In “When Auld Acquaintances is Forgot” a man becomes overdrawn at a memory bank Ellison is a master storyteller who blends into one collection some of the best stories anyone can ever read.
Blood Legacy
Prudence Foster
iuniverse
www.iuniverse.com
www.prudencefoster.com
This is a chilling tale of a vampire who comes to a Florida city and preys upon the people who live there. The vamp is in search of one woman and won’t leave until he has her. Foster is a very talented master of the genre. Her writing comes alive as the dialogue crackles. She spins her web very craftily. “Blood Legacy” is a thrilling shivering gem of horror excitement that should be read with all of the lights on or the demons will come and get you.
Computer Legends, Lies & Lore
Iris Forrest Editor
Ageless Press Sarasota, Florida
e-mail irishope@comcast.net
Computes are the target and 37 authors take their creative potshots at them in a great collection of short stories. Some read like tales from the “Twilight Zone” to warnings to readers to beware of the effect of the machines on our society. This is a fun collection that is perfect for any occasion
Murder A La Carte
Prudy Taylor Board
Worldwide Mystery
www.prudencefoster.com
www.eHarlequen.com
I’ve read Ms. Board’s horror novels and am delighted to say that this is a darling tale that is the first of a series of Clyde Colby mysteries. The novel is fun reading fare for genre fan. But also encompasses the fine art of cooking. The novel is told on several different levels with wonderful likable characters and a plot that just moves along to its revealing end. One of the things I very much enjoyed is that we get to see what it takes to produce a cooking show for television, while at the same time former journalist Clyde Colby now TV star has her crime reporter skills kick in at the first murder and all through the rest of the story as the bodies pile up. As and added bonus there are numerous recipes and they appear to be quite delightful. Board and Colby are off to a wonderful start with this charming first book.
Fresh and Saltwater Gamefish Cookbook
Robert Anderson
Winner Enterprises
In the search to be healthy Americans are paying more attention to an often overlooked food source: fish. Fish offers a nutritional diet that is low in calories and saturated fats. Accompanied with fresh fruits and vegetables it makes a truly wonderful weight reducing plan that is not a fad but a whole new way of eating. The author states that the old expression “Eat Seafood, live longer” has new meaning today. The book deals with the proper amount of protein, minerals, vitamins, fats and carbohydrates that he human body needs on a daily basis. Fish is one that fills the fill for all the body can use. The book names all types of fish, telling the calories, content, where it swims, whether a fresh water or saltwater kind. There are also cooking suggestions such as deep frying, broiling, microwave or barbecuing. But no book on the subject would be complete without recipes. Some of them are the author’s own creations; others are from restaurants and kitchens from all over the country
Justifiable Homicide
Mark Osterman
Osterman, a former police officer with the Detroit department, writes about a cop who becomes a vigilante against crime. The tale is a nail biting story of suspense.
When All Reason Fails
Richard Sebastian
Publish America
www.publishamerica.com
This is a masterfully written novel of how relationships slowly fall apart. Sebastian has created a very clever story that flows along to its shattering conclusion where you have to read carefully or its impact is completely lost and it’s a doozy of an ending that is one of the most memorable to recent fiction. Told in multi levels that complement each other, the book has a lot to say about men, women, and how we are so different about most things in life. Robert the protagonist, is a complex character. On the one hand the reader can not stand him at all because he is on a conquest to have sex with as many women as he can. On this he is very similar to Victor Newman of the hit CBS soap “the Young and the Restless.” Newman has married just about every woman on the show, then tosses her aside in search of the next catch. No female can hold his interest for very long. Robert is very similar. He seems crude and disgusting on his quest. Anything dealing with sex is graphic. Robert is such a low life character that he asks women he has been to bed with about other sexual aspects of their lives. He wants all the details in as graphic terms as they will tell him. But Robert is also very much like Harry Angstrom of the John Updike novels of the “Rabbit” series of novels, where by the last book “Rabbit at Rest” the reader has very mixed emotions for the Harry Angstrom character. On the one hand, you hate him on the other you like him such is the case here with Robert, because of his journals that are spread throughout the novel. It is in these writing by the character that make him more complex. He does have emotions, is worried about getting older, wants a relationship, and wants to know different things about women that most men ignore about women. There also are religious undertones that some readers will pickup, but the beauty of this novel is that it is written by a man who has great insight into how women feel and what they want in a relationship. “When All Reason Fails is a book that is bound to brew a lot of controversy. It also would make a very fine movie.
There’s Gotta be a Better Way: Discipline That Works
Dr. Becky Bailey
Learning in Action Books
Good parents today are often confused on how to raise their children. One of the reasons is there is so much bad information being given that adults cannot tell which is good or bad or what will work or what won’t. Proper behavior so that the child can fit in with society is the ultimate goal but the author does not ever really show how to achieve it she talks about the parent who is too strict, or the one who just lets the young one control the household or situation with now equal doses of love and discipline. One of the most glaring points the writer makes is that you never tell the child he/she has done bad because that will affect their self image for the rest of his/her life. that , to put it mildly is just plain garbage because the message being sent is that the child’s behavior is ok, when the parents must be allowed to tell the little one that it won’t be tolerated. Though bill Cosby’s material on his tapes was funny about the differences between the father’s and the mother’s approach, there is a lot of truth in what he said even if it was for comedy purposes. Here is another example of where Dr. Bailey makes a point about how to deal with students in school. “Research on older students has indicated that this authoritarian style does seem to increase the amount of work produced by learners: however, the side effect is student aggression toward the teacher” What is lost here is the fact that if the teacher makes the course interesting most students will want to learn. Techniques from the past do work but have been put aside because it is felt that to raise children it must be done as a psychological science. Today there too many of the Dr. Bailey types who usually have no children of their own and just have contact with kids through the school system. There is no mention that Ms. Bailey has any children of her own but she has dealt with kids in schools across the country. “you can’t know what I have been through if you have not experienced it yourself” is so true in this case.
Night Beasts
T.W.Stetson
Pinnacle Fiction Kensington Publishing Corp
www.kensingtonbooks.com
http://www.tedstetson.com
Author Stetson has created a new kind of creature. It started as a genetic warfare experiment but something went wrong causing the creatures to seek a new food source….humans. They are called Warbeasts. Stetson utilizes a real situation of germ warfare to create a very terrifying monster. His characters are believable in a horrific situation of nature in a collision with mankind. The novel is a chiller full of biting suspense: but it seems to have a much deeper message about man interfering with the genetic code of animals.
Bimbos of the Death Sun
Sharon McCrumb
978034541257
www.amazon.com
The novel falls into the category of mystery fiction, but science fiction fans will have a very good time with it because it takes place at Rubicon, science fiction convention. One of the guest authors is killed. The mystery is finding who would want to kill him, and why. Half the fun of this novel is reading about the numerous people who also attend this event. Rubicon is surely the most memorable gathering of science fiction fans ever to be written about.
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