Friday, January 13, 2012

Michael Belmont & the Tomb of Anubis
by Ethan Russell Erway

I enjoyed Michael Belmont & the Tomb of Anubis, the first in the Michael Belmont series by Ethan Russell Erway. Its a fast paced adventure that leads the Belmont siblings across the globe in a frantic search for their parents who have gone missing in an ancient Egyptian necropolis. The characters are likeable and well-developed, the settings well defined and believable. From a Scottish castle to the Egyptian desert, Mr. Erway has done a great job of blending together an exciting story that is full of life lessons, adventure and mythology. Michael is a good kid, caught up in the same things that affect all tween/teen kids; a pesky little sister, love, loss and learning to trust. And the biggest lesson of all, that being different is not necessarily a bad thing. I had a great time reading Michael Belmont & The Tomb of Anubis and I am looking forward to Mr. Elway's next installment in the Michael Belmont series.

You can follow Mr. Elway's blog here .

Bird of Prey by Griffin Hayes

Bird of Prey by Griffin Hayes
**** (4 stars)

"Find what's making that noise, and you will find what needs to be killed." Buck Sanders isn't kidding when he utters those words to his good buddies in Griffin Hayes' novella entitled, Bird of Prey. A tight, fast-moving story, Bird of Prey is a story of ancient evil awakening in a small Alaskan town and a small squad of good ole boys doing their best to protect their homes and families. Mr. Hayes describes the setting and his characters well and the fast pace makes this story a real page turner! There is action, suspense and a nice dash of horror to complete the recipe for Bird of Prey. Mr. Hayes can spin a good tale and I look forward to watching his career grow. In the mean time, will Buck and Tommy be able to save their town? Can they save themselves? You will have to snag your own copy of Bird of Prey to find out!

You can find out more about Griffin Hayes and his world here.

Friday, December 16, 2011

TCM Remembers 2011 - Music by OK Sweetheart, Before You Go

Sunday, December 11, 2011

O Little Town of Maggody

Fasten your seat belt! The holidays are known for being a bumpy ride, but with Arly and Ruby Bee on the prowl, this Christmas is bound to be filled with bumps, laughs and a body or two before the season is over! Arly Hanks, Maggody Chief of Police, is once again called in to work, this time to find the lost relative of singing superstar, Matt Montana. When Matt and his entourage decide to come home for the holidays, Maggody (pop. 755), swells to the breaking point and the crazy locals are hot after the almighty dollar. Another side splitting adventure in the Maggody series, Joan Hess does it again. Bringing the lovably annoying denizens to life once again, we are treated to a rollicking ride through the holidays to search for missing Aunt Adele, figure out why, why, why Dahlia has confessed to murder, and nearly get a leg chewed off by Raz Buchanan's prize pig, Marjorie. Will Brother Verber get it together and find the perfect orphan for the benefit concert? Grab a burger at Ruby Bee's and crack open Joan Hess' O Little Town of Maggody to find out!

The Constantine Codex

In the third book of his Skeleton series, historian Paul L. Maier has written a taut, compelling thriller. A scrap of parchment leads archeologist Jonathon Weber and his wife Shannon on a wild chase after an ancient manuscript that could change the way the world views the Scriptures. Soon however, the precious pages are stolen and the hunt is on for the lost book of the Bible. Paul Erdman coined the phrase "theological thriller" for Prof. Maiers genre and it fits well. Carefully penned, carefully researched, the resulting story is indeed a classic thriller that takes on the well debated subject of the Ressurection. This fast-paced story is an exciting exploration of the origins of Christianity that could have been ripped from today's headlines. The Webers are well developed characters and a likable couple, the dialogue is crisp and the story never lags. From the halls of Harvard to Istanbul and Rome, The Constantine Codex keeps you on the edge of your seat. Has Jon Weber really found the missing Second Acts? Is St. Paul really buried in the crypt under the Basilica? Forgery or not, will the codex be forever lost? Pick up Paul L. Maier's newest thriller, The Constantine Codex to find out!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Bloomsbury's 100 Must-Read Science Fiction Novels

Bloomsbury's 100 Must-Read Science Fiction Novels

Published in 2006 by Stephen E Andrews



1984 by George Orwell   
Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan   
Ancient of Days by Michael Bishop   
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers   
The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World by Harlan Ellison   
The Best of John W. Campbell by John W. Campbell   
Black Gods and Scarlet Dreams by C. L. Moore   
Blood Music by Greg Bear   
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley   
Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore   
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.   
A Case of Conscience by James Blish   
The Centauri Device by M. John Harrison   
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke   
China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh   
City Come A-Walkin' by John Shirley   
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess   
The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe by David G. Compton   
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester   
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin   
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick   
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis   
Dr. Adder by K. W. Jeter   
The Drowned World by J. G. Ballard   
Dune by Frank Herbert   
Earth Abides by George R. Stewart   
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card   
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury   
The Female Man by Joanna Russ   
The Final Programme by Michael Moorcock   
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge   
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes   
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman   
Foundation by Isaac Asimov   
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley   
Fury by Henry Kuttner   
The Garments of Caean by Barrington J. Bayley   
The Genocides by Thomas M. Disch   
The Glamour by Christopher Priest   
Guernica Night by Barry N. Malzberg   
Heroes and Villains by Angela Carter   
Hothouse by Brian W. Aldiss   
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson   
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov   
Immortality Inc. by Robert Sheckley   
Involution Ocean by Bruce Sterling   
The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad   
The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells   
The Jonah Kit by Ian Watson   
The Journal of Nicholas the American by Leigh Kennedy   
A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne   
The Languages of Pao by Jack Vance   
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin   
The Legion of Time by Jack Williamson   
Life During Wartime by Lucius Shepard   
The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle   
The Lovers by Philip José Farmer   
Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison   
The Man in the Maze by Robert Silverberg   
Man Plus by Frederik Pohl   
The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis   
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury   
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham   
Moonseed by Stephen Baxter   
More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon   
Neuromancer by William Gibson   
Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith   
Nova by Samuel R. Delany   
Orphans of the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein   
Other Days, Other Eyes by Bob Shaw   
Pavane by Keith Roberts   
Permutation City by Greg Egan   
The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks   
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs   
The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton   
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson   
Ringworld by Larry Niven   
Roadside Picnic by Arkadi Strugatsky   
Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys   
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe   
The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner   
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut   
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson   
Solaris by Stanisław Lem   
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester   
Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein   
Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick   
Super-Cannes by J. G. Ballard   
Synners by Pat Cadigan   
This Immortal by Roger Zelazny   
This Island Earth by Raymond F. Jones   
The Ticket That Exploded by William S. Burroughs   
Tik-Tok by John Sladek   
The Time Machine by H. G. Wells   
Timescape by Gregory Benford   
Triplanetary by E. E. "Doc" Smith   
Ubik by Philip K. Dick   
The Voyage of the Space Beagle by A. E. Van Vogt   
The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells   
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm

Thursday, December 8, 2011

The Essential Man's Library: 50 Fictional Adventure Books

The Essential Man's Library: 50 Fictional Adventure Books

Read blurbs, look at covers and browse the complete article here.

    The Adventures of Captain Hatteras by Jules Verne   
     Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne   
     Ayesha: The Return of She by H. Rider Haggard   
     The Beach by Alex Garland   
     The Call of the Wild by Jack London   
     Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini   
     Captain Grant's Children by Jules Verne   
     Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling   
     Congo by Michael Crichton   
    The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas   
     Hatchet by Gary Paulsen   
     Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad   
     The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien   
     Inca Gold by Clive Cussler   
     A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne   
     The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling   
     Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton   
     Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson   
     King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard   
     Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory   
     The Lighthouse at the End of the World by Jules Verne   
     Lord of the Flies by William Golding   
     The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien   
     The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle   
     The Lost World by Michael Crichton   
     The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling   
     Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville   
     The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne   
     The Odyssey by Homer   
     The People of the Mist by H. Rider Haggard   
     Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie   
     The Pirates of Malaysia by Emilio Salgari   
     The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope   
     Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe   
     Roughing It by Mark Twain   
    Sahara by Clive Cussler   
     The Sea Wolf by Jack London   
     She by H. Rider Haggard   
     The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien   
     Southern Mail / Night Flight (Penguin Modern Classics) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry   
     The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss   
     Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs   
     The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan   
    The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas   
     The Tigers of Mompracem by Emilio Salgari   
     Treasure by Clive Cussler   
     Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson   
     True at First Light by Ernest Hemingway   
     Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne   
     The Two Tigers by Emilio Salgari