Review:
2009
November
Monday, November 23, 2009 -- Ilfayne's Bane (Oathcursed Book 1) by Julia Knight
Ilfayne's Bane by Julia Knight is a Fantasy novel wrapped in a love story. It's rather well-written and though it is not explicitly labeled YA (Young Adult) I do suspect that, but for one or two scenes, it skirts the border between YA and adult Fantasy fiction.
Monday, November 16, 2009 -- Installing Linux On A Dead Badger by Lucy A. Snyder
In this book, Snyder succeeds in making zombies (both human and animal) wickedly funny--no matter how jaded you are by cries of 'Braaaaaaaaaaaains!!!' Either this book will make you laugh out loud at least once, or you should consider having yourself checked for signs of death.
Monday, November 9, 2009 -- Heroes Arise by Laurel Anne Hill
In her debut novel, Laurel Anne Hill explores young adult fiction of the fantasy genre. She creates a world where savagery and revenge are commonplace, and where the Kren (who seem to be a lizard or reptilian-like tribe) are nomadic warriors who wander in the desert, trading, while protecting their customs and mythology from outsiders.
October
Saturday, October 31, 2009 -- The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic by Martin Grams, Jr.
"You are travelling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!"
Monday, October 26, 2009 -- Midnight Picnic by Nick Antosca
Midnight Picnic is GUD contributor Nick Antosca's second novel, but is written with such assurance and skill that it might more easily be his twenty-second. On the first page, Antosca draws the reader in to unwilling protagonist Bram's world, which is about to get uncanily strange.
Monday, October 19, 2009 -- Martyrs & Monsters by Robert Dunbar
Martyrs & Monsters by Robert Dunbar is a motley collection of short stories that address almost all manner of the supernatural and fantastical, from vampires to sea serpents. And, of course, the Jersey Devil is figured in, being a staple figure of curiosity in Mr. Dunbar's other works.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 -- WolfSongs Vol.1, edited by M.H. Bonham
The first WolfSongs anthology arguably contains every wolf story you'll ever need. There are love stories, stories of magic and enchantment, scary stories, heart-warming stories, and, most important of all, wolves. Human wolves and wolfy humans. Snow and blood.
Monday, October 5, 2009 -- Garbage Man by Joseph D'Lacey
After the success of Joseph D'Lacey's disturbing debut MEAT (reviewed by GUD here), his second novel, Garbage Man, was bound to come out to high expectations. So high, perhaps, that no book could live up to them.
July
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 -- Half-Past Nowhere by Joseph Cavano
It's hard not to judge a book by its cover--and I think it's rather silly not to, to be honest. The production values of a book say a lot about what's going to be within. Of course, that doesn't mean you shouldn't still take a peek inside, and give the words a chance. Especially with the small press, where the trappings of the business may not be in full bloom, but where the writing itself can still be honeyed treasure.
June
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 -- Revise the World by Brenda Clough
Despite the updated cultural background and the focus more on romance than adventure, Revise the World continually reminded me of a Golden-Age-SciFi space opera.
May
Monday, May 18, 2009 -- Eternal Vigilance 2: The Death of Illusions by Gabrielle Faust
Another beautiful piece of cover art should have teenage goths, emos, and creatures of the night itching to get their hands--or claws--on Book Two of the Eternal Vigilance series.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 -- Neon Literary Journal, edited by Krishan Coupland
British literary magazine Neon describes itself as "a journal of brilliant things", and issue #14 belies its small size with an enigmatic and striking picture of a shingle beach on the cover. Throughout this fifty-page literary journal are monochrome images that set off, illustrate, or provide backgrounds to the poetry and prose.
April
Monday, April 27, 2009 -- The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
The Gargoyle is an intriguing and intelligent novel that I couldn't put down, despite occasional annoyance with the overly-flowery language, the momentum being spoiled when interesting sections ended too soon (and believe me, parts are simply stunning, particularly Dante's hell as a dream), or when the prose got lumpy.
March
Tuesday, March 24, 2009 -- Scrofula by Matt Dennison
Scrofula, a collection of twenty poems by Matt Dennison, is strongest in the poems detailing ordinary life. ... I recommend this small but sturdy compilation to all lovers of poetry.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009 -- The Second Elizabeth by Karen Lillis
On the whole, I'm not sure I can even call this a story; it is probably best described as a novella-length prose poem. There are many threads of narrative, but the author seems to be more interested in following each thread where it leads her than in bringing them together to make a coherent piece of work. Taking it as poetry gives a different perspective.
February
Monday, February 23, 2009 -- Sarasota VII by Lo Galluccio
"Sarasota VII" is so intensely personal that reading it feels like an intrusion, like listening to someone's late-night conversation with their lover, like shoving your face right into the breast of a nursing woman, like clomping in Wellington boots through a delicate tracery of flowers.
Monday, February 16, 2009 -- The Pines by Robert Dunbar
This is a chilling tale set in the rural Pine Barrens of New Jersey, a region as known for its inbred, throwback inhabitants or 'Pineys', as for its swampy, humid and dense woodland. The story centers around a team of ambulance drivers, a couple of small-town sheriffs, and a series of deaths that occur, leaving behind bodies so mangled it looks as though wild animals have been in a frenzy. And yet, there are clues that these are no animals anyone's ever come across before. Thus start the rumors, the stories, of a devil, a Jersey devil, hunting its prey, tearing it limb from limb and doing unspeakably horrible things to the corpses....
Monday, February 9, 2009 -- Through A Glass, Darkly by Bill Hussey
In Bill Hussey's debut novel, a centuries-old pall of evil hangs over the small village of Crow Haven, personified by a mysterious figure known as the Crowman. When the young Simon Malahyde disappears apparently without cause, and young boys are abducted, then found dead and mutilated, DI Jack Trent is paired with his colleague and ex-girlfriend DS Dawn Howard to investigate.
Monday, February 2, 2009 -- I,AM by Deon Sanders
"At first, when darkness covered the earth and the sun rested in the propensity of God, entrenched in the darkness was I,AM-a force of relentless evil."
January
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 -- Spellbound (The Legend of the Ice People, Book 1) by Margit Sandemo
This very readable novel is the first in a series by best-selling Scandinavian author Margit Sandemo, whose books are being made available for the first time in English. Sandemo is the author of a hundred and seventy novels, a feat that becomes more believable when you note that, at two-hundred and fifty-five nicely-spaced pages, "Spellbound" is actually a bit short for a Fantasy novel. A forty-seven-book series is still an impressive achievement whatever way you look at it.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 -- A Field Guide to Surreal Botany
I would recommend a copy of this book to be nestled in among any collection of its more prosaic ilk.
Monday, January 5, 2009 -- Sparks and Shadows by Lucy Snyder
"Sparks and Shadows" is a collection of poems, short stories, and essays by GUD contributor Lucy Snyder ('Sublety', Issue 2). Snyder has a unique voice and her work is almost instantly recognisable. Dive into this collection and you begin to feel like you're swimming around inside her head. It's not necessarily comfortable in there, but it's certainly interesting.
