Mythos: The Illustrated Edition

I love the idea of myths. Greek and Roman gods! They’re just like us! After reading (for pleasure, really) Robert Graves’ The Greek Myths in elementary school and taking an equally dry college mythology course, I’m ready to have some fun with mythical tales. Mythos: The Illustrated Edition fulfills thatContinue Reading

A Messy Murder

In A Messy Murder, professional declutterer Ellen finds another dead body. Humph was a D List celebrity with a chat show cancelled long ago. A copy of an article published by him explaining why humans should stop taking up resources when they turn 80 years old is found near hisContinue Reading

The Night Guest

The protagonist in The Night Guest is tired all the time. She also awakens with muscle aches and even bruises some nights. When she accidentally leaves her fitness watch on one night, she discovers that she has done 40,000 steps while she was asleep. How can she stop this sleepwalking?Continue Reading

The Lady Vanishes

I loved the 1938 Hitchcock film, The Lady Vanishes. Agatha Christie is my gold standard when it comes to classic mysteries. So by all accounts, I should love this golden age mystery on which the film is based. Unfortunately, I didn’t. The story is incredibly dated with a whole lotContinue Reading

Fatal Intrusion

Carmen Sanchez is a Department of Homeland Security investigator whose sister Selina is attacked. She takes leave from her job to investigate. She pulls in a college professor, Jake Heron who is an expert hacker, to help her find the attacker. Jake and Carmen have a history. Carmen and SalinaContinue Reading

Technical Slip

Technical Slip contains 14 excellent short stories and one tedious novella by the author of The Midwich Cuckoos, the basis of the Village of the Damned movies. The stories vary from science fiction to fantasy and even to comedy. All would be excellent choices for Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Indeed, Jizzle,Continue Reading

Anime + Chibi Art Class

Anime + Chibi Art Class is a good beginning art guide for drawing anime characters and their Chibi variations. While the techniques shown begin with drawing ovals, the vocabulary and suggested tools seem more oriented toward older readers. It is best suited for people used to drawing that want toContinue Reading

The Seventh Spell

Adrian has been through some hard times. But now his lifelong dream is being fulfilled. He is a crew member on a trip to Mars! Mars has been colonized for its rare metals. But with any new enterprise, factions have been fighting for control. The current government has imposed strictContinue Reading

After Oz

Be careful what you wish for. In the beloved tale, The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy tries tirelessly to return home. After Oz is the story of what happens when she gets there. Do the townspeople rush to receive her? Or does her tale seem not only delusional but even satanicContinue Reading

Story and Structure

Story and Structure is a master class in how literature is structured. It is best for the academically minded. It definitely reads like a university textbook. It has a lot of interesting information buried in its over five hundred pages. I can see why it won an award for bestContinue Reading