Peadar O'Guilin / The Call / Three Minutes To Live Or Die / Absolutely As Good As YA Literature Gets

Peadar O'Guilin has copied no one
The Call stands firmly on it's own
Ireland, all of Ireland, is united
Ireland is cloaked by a fog
Nothing penetrates, nothing passes through
There is but one enemy, the Sidhe, the Fae
The Fae are angry
Banished long ago to their horrid grey world
Now they are punishing the Irish
Calling the children, Killing the children
Maiming the children and sending some home alive
Broken

Nessa, a young teen with polio stricken legs
Fighting for her life
Training to survive "The Call"

The world build here is terrific
The social dynamics, well, dynamic
Cliques of elitists
Struggling humanists
Denial ridden oblivious
All the stuff of a dynamic society
All the young, waiting, "The Call"
The Sidhe grey world
A Living Night Mare

The pacing, always engaging
The mystery, palpable
"The Call" horrifying
Three minutes away
A full day with the Sidhe
Running, Fighting, Dying

Nessa, a protagonist to root for
A protagonist who needs your support


Music
Soulrocker
Michael Franti

David D. Levine / Arabella Of Mars / A Flight Of Fancy, Daring-do And Romance

David D. Levine has captured my heart
For a reader of old time Science Fiction
Edgar Rice Burroughs, E. E. "Doc" Smith, Jules Verne etc etc
Arabella of Mars made me reminisce
Fond memories of the Mars and Lensman and Nemo
Treasures from the basement of my home growing up

Arabella is a plucky young woman
Yes, she has to disguise herself as a boy
I wouldn't have it any other way
Breathable air between Earth and Mars
Hoot, Hoot

A father who knew much of Automata
A father who understood his unusual daughter
A mysterious ship Captain
An amazing Automata Navigator

Much daring-do
Trying to do the right thing
Arabella Ashby is a heroine you want to meet


Music
New from Mark Knopfler with Evelyn Glennie
Altamira

Blake Crouch / Dark Matter / Stunning

Easily one of my favorite books of the year
Dark Matter unravels the multiverse
Maybe it ties it in knots on an infinite cord
Author Blake Crouch is my hero

An above average man (read, genius)
Happily living below his intellect
The baby stopped his pursuit of science
Quantum physic his specialty
A wonderful family life his reward

Jason Dessen
Abducted in the night
Taken to another verse in the multiverse
Here he perused his science
At the cost of all else
It is here he figured out the multiverse
Expected to live this "other" life

Jason is not happy
He was happy with the choice he made
Jason misses his wife and son
He will find them at any cost

Things just get crazier and crazier
With an infinite multiverse
You would expect nothing less

Tight pacing, constant unexpected changes
Multiple Multiple Universes

Gripping, I forgot to say Gripping
A paragraph, perhaps a page or two
Say goodbye to your universe
The finish? Read to the finish




Madeline Ashby / Company Town / The Good Stuff / Heavens To Murgatroyd

I Love Madeline Ashby
Her Machine Dynasty books knocked me over
Company Town owned my head space, start to finish

The near future setting
An Off-Shore Oil Rig / City
A future of Corporate States
Bio-engineered human enhancements
Lots of mystery
A serial killer

Hwa, the young protagonist
She has no enhancements
Totally organic
Morally sound
Conflicted as hell
Yippee Ki Yay Ki Yo
A Cowboy's dream girl, fer shur

Warning
Pick a time, Any time
Company Town will own you, start to finish


Music
Ten Songs From Live At Carnegie Hall
Ryan Adams

Robert Kroese / The Big Sheep / Delightfully Strange Nior Romp

Saw the Cover, Read the title, Had two thoughts
Raymond Chandler, Philip K. Dick
Was not disappointed

An homage?  /   A homage?
The debate continues
No debate about the book
Definitely An/A Homage to both authors

The Near Future 2039
Absolutely believable
The city partitioned
Keeping the have-not's at bay
And at war with one another
(Yes, Like now, without the partitions)

The Mystery? Very Mysterious
A pretty girl, (Super Star Actress)
A really big Sheep (That probably dreams)
And Clones, Lots of Clones
A very Quirky Detective
Partnered with a Hard Boiled Straight Man
(Need I mention Cynicism, Plenty of Cynicism)

Robert Kroese, The Big Sheep


Music
True Sadness, Avett Brothers

Lian Hearn / Emperor Of The Eight Islands / Terrific Japanese Historical Fantasy

Lian Hearn, pseudonym, for Gillian Rubinstein
Knows her Japanese History
She knows her cultures
She knows the little things
That make her stories rich with detail
All this, and in no way pedantic

Emperor of the Eight Islands
Book 1 of The Tale of Shikanoko
So rich with characters, you like/need the list
Characters you enjoy getting to know
Characters you get invested in

This is a sprawling tale
War, Conquest, Mystery and Mayhem
Protagonists you willingly follow anywhere
Characters complex enough to make you wonder

Feudal Japan writ large
A little romance, but as it should be
Complicated

Family values
As complicated as feudal Japan can be

Loyalties? Dynamic
Always Interesting


Music
Cleopatra by the Lumineers

Malka Older / Infomocracy / Where Politics May Be Headed / A Screamer

What the heck is post-cyberpunk?
Oh, Not plugged in, Nose to the screens
Like, where some live right now
Add a Meta Mega Overload of Data

This near future thriller is superb
No nation-states, no corporate-states
Just lots and lots of 100K population mini Democracy's

I was coasting along
A character says something like
"Your vote really counts" (oh sure, really)
The book owned me

Not going to give the machinations away
It's just too good to spoil
This is terrific Science Fiction
Think
Human Condition blazing on a false background

Malka Older, remember the name, may he write more Soon
Infomocracy, not to be missed

Loved Ken Liu's back cover blurb
"Smart. ambitious, bursting with provocative extrapolations,
Infomocracy is the big-data-big-ideas-tecnoanalytical-microdemoglobal-post-everything
polotical thriller we've been waiting for."


Music, let there be music in your life
Detour by Cindy Lauper
Mighty fine Classic, old school, Country Music

Charlie Anders / All The Birds In The Sky / Outstanding Entertainment

Right out of the box
Charlie Anders brings the mail
All the Birds in the Sky is a delight

Hip, Literate, Esoteric
I am at a loss for words

Want a smile on your face?
Read All the Birds in the Sky


Music
Born To Play Guitar by Buddy Guy

Jay Posey / Outriders / Gotcha From Start To Finish

Jay Posey opens the story with the unthinkable
Outriders will own you from the opening sentence

Captain Lincoln Suh is a special operations soldier
He has been reassigned

Lincoln now heads-up a very secretive unit
Specializing in very black ops
What's so special
The 519th Applied Intelligence Group
One and all are reanimated
And there is so much more to the story

Every character has endearing traits
People you want to read about
People you want to spend time with

I look forward to more from the Outriders
Military Sci-Fi with a twist


Music
You can blame it on a patron's recommendation
He said the lyrics were special
I am now listening to Hip Hop
Love Story by Yelawolf
The lyrics are indeed special

Jason M. Hough / Zero World / High Tension SF Thriller

Thriller fans, Buckle-Up
Jason M. Hough delivers
Zero World will grab and hold you

Interesting protagonist
Peter Caswell is an assassin
What's different?
After every job
His memory of the job is Erased
He never gets to know

The current job
Travel to another universe
Kill the target
Return and forget

Things go horribly wrong
The action slows just enough
To catch your breath, on occasion

Everything that can go wrong
Goes Horribly Wrong
Fun, Fun, Fun at every turn of the page

You will want to keep an eye on Mr Hough
Be sure to catch The Dire Earth Cycle

Music
The ghosts of Highway 20
Lucinda Williams

Jason Denzel / Mystic / Brilliant Debut

Foolish boy that I am
I unwittingly requested and received
The eARC for Mystic by Jason Denzel
Not paying attention
Did not notice
I only got a "Preview Excerpt"

Most of the book was there
Not the last chapters of the book
I burned through the ARC
Smokn' Hot Story
Totally Captivated
The ARC stopped short
What Happens Next??
Bummed, Sad, Dejected

Just could not bring myself to post a reaction
I had not finished the book
I waited
The book finally arrived
I burned my way to the finish
Great Stuff!

Near the end
Yikes! Philip Pullman could have written this
Not a comfortable conclusion
But wait, another chapter to read

One of the best
Lonely serf girl tries to make good
Wants to be a Mystic
Magic maker of the forest and such

This is one terrific Heroic Myth
All the elements are present
A must read


New Music to the library
An old friend of mine from 1973
Over-nite Sensation
Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention
One of my persona all-time favorite songs Montana

Fran Wilde / Updraft / Wonderful World Build

In a city rising higher and higher
Built of living, growing bone spires
People fly everywhere
All trade is carried by flyers

Kirit Densira is coming of age
Kirit wants nothing more than to be a trader
Her mother is one of the best
Her missing father, one of the best

Politics being politics, there is a Catch 22
Kirit must strap on her wings
The Wing Test is her only path to being a trader

The fail in this Heroic Journey is spectacular
The journey after failure, amazing
Kirit is someone you want to get to know
Someone you want to cheer for
The story, so much more than you think at first reading

Updraft book 1 of Bone Universe, will stay with you
You will wait impatiently with me for more
Fran Wilde has penned an outstanding debut novel
Fran Wilde is on my Must Read list


Music you didn't know about but want to hear
The Green 
James Maddock, a songwriter's songwriter

Marianne De Pierres / Mythmaker / The Story Just Keeps Getting Better

I really enjoyed Peacemaker  (post)
The idea of the last natural lands on the planet
A young woman trying to keep it safe
The rest of the world interfering with her work

Mythmakerbook 2 of the Peacemaker Series
More engaging than Peacemaker, if that is even possible
Broadened the scope of the story
And upped the ante in danger to park and planet
Virgin Jackson more endearing than ever

Mythos, demons you may or may not be familiar with
Are showing up more frequently
In greater numbers
They are everywhere
Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!

Not everyone can see the Mythos
Not just anything can kill a Mythos
Virgin Jackson and Nate Sixkiller can

Virgin Jackson is now on assignment
Working for the GJIC (Global Joint Intelligence  Commission)
With US Marshal Nate Sixkiller
Tasked to stop the Mythos
Not a simple thing to do

Least I forget to tell you
The head of the GJIC, Commander Orlean
The woman who abandoned Virgin and her father so long ago
Did not know she was even alive
Virgin's mother, Yikes!
Life can be so complicated

This is terrific urban fantasy
The world is a delight to read about
The city next to the park, messy, wonderfully messy
Virgin Jackson more likable with every turn of the page
Marianne De Pierres, take a bow, Standing Ovation!

Publisher of this mash-up?
Angry Robot of course


Might fine music at the library
Nashville ObsoleteDave Rawlings Machine

Matt Hill / Graft / 448 Pages of 'wth' / That's Right Mascara Snake, What The Heck

Who'd a thunk it?
Matt Hill thought of it
Graft
Sizzling, Bizarre, Shiny
Okay, Okay
There is nothing Shiny here
Maybe a clean car

It's 2025 Manchester England
Everything sucks, big time
Sol runs a chop shop
Old cars for old parts
Why oh why did they jack a shiny new Lexus
Big mistake, really Big mistake

I've just finished the eARC
Thank you Angry Robot!

Often a little confused
My mind miss-directing itself
Thinking I "knew" something
I didn't
Always Locked-In
Full of Wonderment, ooh

About the Lexus
There was a surprise in the boot
A woman
A woman with three arms
"Made to order"


Something new in music
The Milk Carton Kids
Monterey
Don't miss it