Category: Books

Includes all types of publications: books (hardcovers, trade paperback, mass market paperbacks, ebooks, magazines, graphic novels)

Book Review: The Copper Crown by Kennealy-Morrison (5 Stars)

CopperCrownThe Copper Crown by Patricia Kennealy-Morrison

5 out of 5 stars

Read at least five times since the late 80s

Synopsis:

WHEN EARTH MEETS KELTIA WILL STAR EMPIRES FALL?

When lore became legend on ancient Earth and the powers of magic waned, the Kelts and their allies fled the planet for the freedom of distant star realms.

But the stars were home to dangerous foes, and millenia later, the worlds of Keltia still maintained uneasy truce with two enemy empires -the Imperium and the Phalanx. Then, at the start of the reign of Aeron, mistress of high magic and queen of all the Kelts, an Earthship made contact with her long-fled children. And while Earth and Keltia reached out to form alliance, the star fleets of the enemy mobilized for final, devastating war….

My Thoughts (Warning: Spoilers):

Every couple of years, I get the urge to pull out this novel and re-read it. Continue reading “Book Review: The Copper Crown by Kennealy-Morrison (5 Stars)”

Book Review: Tea with Black Dragon by MacAvoy (3.6 Stars)

Tea with Black Dragon by R.A. MacAvoy

3.6 out of 5 stars

Read in August 2009

Recommended to me by Janny Wurts

Synopsis:

Martha Macnamara knows that her daughter Elizabeth is in trouble, she just doesn’t know what kind. Mysterious phone calls from San Francisco at odd hours of the night are the only contact she has had with Elizabeth for years. Now, Elizabeth has sent her a plane ticket and reserved a room for her at San Francisco’s most luxurious hotel. Yet she has not tried to contact Martha since she arrived, leaving her lonely, confused and a little bit worried. Into the story steps Mayland Long, a distinguished-looking and wealthy Chinese man who lives at the hotel and is drawn to Martha’s good nature and ability to pinpoint the truth of a matter. Mayland and Martha become close in a short period of time and he promises to help her find Elizabeth, making small inroads in the mystery before Martha herself disappears. Now Mayland is struck by the realization, too late, that he is in love with Martha, and now he fears for her life. Determined to find her, he sets his prodigious philosopher’s mind to work on the problem, embarking on a potentially dangerous adventure.

My Thoughts:

I curled up with this book Continue reading “Book Review: Tea with Black Dragon by MacAvoy (3.6 Stars)”

Book Review: City of Bones by Wells (3.5 Stars)

City of Bones by Martha Wells

3.5 out of 5 stars

Read in November 2011

Synopsis:

In a place where an ancient holocaust devastated civilization and caused most of the world’s water to evaporate, a new civilization has arisen–where sand ships cross the deserts between city-states, where bones are used to work magic of all kinds. Charisat is the greatest of city-states, the Imperial seat where your status is determined by how high up the tiers of the city you live. Khat is a trader and sometime thief, one of a race genetically altered to survive in these new conditions. Elen is a scholar and a lady who is investigating the ancient ruins, looking for the secrets of their magic. Together they must solve a mystery involving a fanatical cult whose members are trying to unleash an evil that will topple Charisat–and from there, destroy the world again

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed Martha Wells writing, Continue reading “Book Review: City of Bones by Wells (3.5 Stars)”

Great Unsung Science Fiction Authors That Everybody Should Read

http://io9.com/great-unsung-science-fiction-authors-that-everybody-sho-1552276689?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_twitter&utm_source=io9_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

More books to be added to my TBR stack.  I will be scrutinizing the female authors closely.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

io9 March Madness Final Four: Harry Potter vs. Lord of the Rings!

http://io9.com/io9-march-madness-final-four-harry-potter-vs-lord-of-1551342961

Easy voting today but the next and final round will be a tough devision.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

eBook Review: Hollow World by Sullivan (4 out of 5 stars)

Full Cover of Paperback Edition

Hollow World by Michael J. Sullivan

4 out of 5 stars

Read in November 2013

Synopsis:

The future is coming…for some, sooner than others.

Ellis Rogers is an ordinary man who is about to embark on an extraordinary journey. All his life he has played it safe and done the right thing, but when faced with a terminal illness, he’s willing to take an insane gamble. He’s built a time machine in his garage, and if it works, he’ll face a world that challenges his understanding of what it means to be human, what it takes to love, and the cost of paradise. He could find more than a cure for his illness; he might find what everyone has been searching for since time began…but only if he can survive Hollow World.

Continue reading “eBook Review: Hollow World by Sullivan (4 out of 5 stars)”

Why “Critical Density” Could Determine the Fate of the Universe

http://io9.com/why-critical-density-could-determine-the-fate-of-the-1550168923?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_twitter&utm_source=io9_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

I don’t remember seeing Esther (the author of the above article) at last Saturday evening’s ASKC meeting and Dr. Feldman’s lecture on Dark Matter and Dark Energy … but I’ve seen that graph very recently.

Hmmm…

20140322_192901
Dr. Feldman and the Definition of Cosmology

Professor Hume A. Feldman, Ph.D.

io9 March Madness Elite Eight: Lord of the Rings vs. Game of Thrones!

http://io9.com/io9-march-madness-elite-eight-lord-of-the-rings-vs-ga-1549513344?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_twitter&utm_source=io9_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Tolkien v Martin … I know who I’m voting for.  Do you?

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Movie Review: Parkland (3.5 Stars)

Parkland

3.5 out of 5 stars

Watched BluRay late March 2014

I must be mad (hinting at March Madness) or crazy because all this film did was depress me.  These events predate me by almost ten months.  Not even a glint in my parents’ eyes yet.  I’ve stood on the white “X” on the street where President Kennedy was shot in Dallas.  I’ve walked through the park and stood in the spot where Zapruder captured the assassination on film.  I did not visit Parkland, where both Kennedy and Oswald were declared deceased.  Until this morning, I didn’t even know the name of the hospital nor the doctors and nurses burdened with that triage.

Continue reading “Movie Review: Parkland (3.5 Stars)”