Title: An Audience for Einstein
Author: Mark Wakely
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Mundania Press
Pages: 173
ISBN: 1-59426-096-6
Price: $12
Publishing Date: 2004
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This sci-fi book is reminiscent of “Flowers for Algernon.” A wealthy professor and a twisted neurosurgeon discover a secret method of transferring the professor’s memories to a young, indigent boy. What happens next becomes a struggle for dominance and dominion over the boy’s brain. We rated this book four hearts.
Title: The Duke’s Handmaid
Author: Caprice Hokstad
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Xulon Press
Pages: 289
ISBN: 1-591603-37-4
Price: $16.99
Publishing Date: 2002
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This medieval fantasy incorporates a two-race world (delineated by hair color and ear shape). A duke is apprised of the plight of a young peasant girl of the inferior race whose mother and sisters were raped and murdered and their homestead burned down. Since the higher culture depends on an economy supported by a beneficent slave system, the young girl offers herself as a slave to the nobleman to gain security, respect, and maybe even love. A highly prejudiced, evil duchess stands in her way to true happiness and safety.
The author structures a plot that pulls one through at a rapid clip. There are so many parallels to American racial attitudes, that this teaches a higher norm. The action is nonstop and the slave society is rich with rituals and codes that are designed to protect the interests of both slaves and their owners, although many owners ignore or take advantage of the system. We rated this book five hearts.
Title: Goblin Quest
Author: Jim C. Hines
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Five Star
Pages: 339
ISBN: 1-4104-0245-2
Price: $13.95
Publishing Date: 2004
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
Goblin Quest is a rather cute fantasy which takes a member of a fantasy groups, the goblins, and makes a hero of him. Traditionally, goblins are always on the short end of the stick against fantasy questers. This one time, a goblin rises out of the ranks of obscurity to become a cowardly hero. The plot is definitely twisted and the point of view is most unusual. We rated this book four hearts,
Title: Singer of Souls
Author: Adam Stemple
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Tor Publishing
Pages: 237
ISBN: 0-765-31170-4
Price: $22.95
Publishing Date: 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
At last, a fantasy that is not quest dependant. This excellent story about a young street musician who travels to modern Scotland to escape a raging dope habit and to live with his grandmother is a classic flawed-good fighting against evil. The protagonist is given what he thinks is dope and falls off the sobriety wagon, only to find he hasn’t been given something to make him high but something that allows him to see the fairy folk where others can’t. He sets aside a very lucrative street-song writing and performance gig in order to survive a constant onslaught of fairy folk who want to involve him in their politics and wars. He suddenly discovers he has the makings of a powerful wizard based on his musical abilities and crosses over into fairy land to rule and reign.
This first book sets up the possibilities for a whole series that comes as a breath of fresh air in its originality. The author’s ability to communicate the intricacies of guitar playing and the almost Clockwork Orange feel to his modern Scottish street life makes for an unusual combination. We rated this five hearts.
Title: Violent Night
Author: Byron Justice
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Lone Tree Publishing
Pages: 352
ISBN: 0-9701793-4-0
Price: $19.95
Publishing Date: Jan 2006
Reader: Marcia Schutte
Rating:
"The road to The Other Side is a single thread woven through a tapestry of perils. If you follow that road, do not look back." Alfred Ramblin's admonition to the Temple Shadows Youth Group is the first step on a fantastic journey of faith and love and hope. Well-drawn, believable characters balance an apocalyptic ride through the valleys of despair and the peaks of perfection.
Step into this world of life Before and life After. Test yourself alongside the youngsters who eventually show their true colors, for better and for worse. Enter a world where biblical revelation fuses with the realities of everyday life.
The inevitable comparison is to the "Left Behind" series; do yourself a favor and read the gripping tale that is VIOLENT NIGHT instead. We rated this five hearts.
Title: When the Angles Have Risen
Author: Andrew Feder
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Author House
Pages: 128
ISBN: 1-4208-3041-4
Price: $12.95
Publishing Date: 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This is an SF novel of the “space aliens are really angels and gods” genre. The book is far more valuable for its political scenarios. The author’s solutions to some of the typical problems we face as citizens of an oligarchy are interesting. We rated this three hearts.
