The Sleep Room Review is up at Buzzy Mag

The good people at Buzzy Mag have published another review I wrote for them. It is a review for F.R.Tallis's new novel, The Sleep Room. The first two paragraphs and a link to the review are below. Check it out and share.

Genres are meant to be broken down and mixed. Some authors really shine in one particular genre but become stale if they don’t try to break out of it every now and again. Some, such as Richard Matheson and Ray Bradbury, can write in multiple genres with skill. Others, like Nora Roberts, may only choose a couple and write successfully in them. And then there are the authors that are better off just sticking with what they know.

Dr. James Richardson is a young ambitious psychiatrist who gets the opportunity to work with one of his heroes, Dr. Hugh Maitland. Not only does Richardson get to head Dr. Maitland’s hospital at Wyldehope, he gets to be in charge of Maitland’s most ambitious experiment, the sleep room. The sleep room is an experiment where patients are kept asleep for months at a time in order to treat their mental disorders. Using a process called narcosis (also known as deep sleep therapy), Maitland believes he can cure what plagues the patients in the sleep room. While the explanations here are interesting-Tallis is a clinical psychologist–it doesn’t do much for entertainment or intrigue. Tallis spends quite a bit of time setting up a spooky atmosphere and explaining something he has extensive knowledge about, but at the expense of moving the narrative forward. More...

Lost Planet 3 review up at Perihelion SF

The good people at Perihelion Science Fiction have published another review I wrote for them. It is a review for the video game Lost Planet 3. You can read it through the link below, it is the first review.

http://www.perihelionsf.com/1403/reviews.htm

After Death review published at New Myths

The good folks over at New Myths have published another review I wrote for them. The review is for an anthology, After Death. The link is below feel free to click it, read it, and share it.

You can find the review here.

A Natural History Of Dragons Review up at Buzzy Mag

The good people at Buzzy Mag have published another review I wrote for them. It is a review for Marie Brennan's novel A Natural History Of Dragons. The first two paragraphs and a link to the review are below:

Dragons are fascinating in the fact that though there has never been any evidence of their existence: they appear in various cultures throughout history. Their symbolism pretty much runs the entire gamut of meanings. The entire fantasy genre is heavily influenced by or centers on dragons. But what if dragons were real? As in really real and not some magical based nonsense. That would be an awesome field of study.

Lady Trent is the most respected expert on dragons. She begins to look back at her lifelong study, beginning as a young girl—at the time she went by her given name, Isobella—who fascinated with the tiny sparklings, dresses as a boy so she can join a dragon hunt. Her interest doesn’t wane as she grows into adulthood but luckily she finds a man, Jacob, who not only indulges her in her study of dragons, he encourages it (even though it wasn’t thought to be a lady-like pursuit at the time). The couple befriends Lord Hilford and thus begins her academic study into dragons. It’s here where the novel departs from its metafictional approach and takes on more a straight up narrative tone. It’s a pity, because Brennan shows real talent for metafiction writing...more

Doctor Sleep Review up at Buzzy Mag

The good people at buzzy mag have published another review I wrote for them. It is for Stephen King's latest novel, Doctor Sleep. Feel free to click it, read it, like it, and share it.

When you think about iconic horror novels a few jump immediately to mind: Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. For more contemporary novels you might think of things like The Call Of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft, The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, and The Shining by Stephen King. If you have created a work of art that sits on such a high pedestal would you mess with it?

Danny Torrance and his mother survived the Overlook Hotel only to find that some elements survived with them. Danny grows up into Dan, a miserable person and an abusive drunk like his father. Dan hits rock bottom and decides to get help. At the same time a girl, Abra Stone, is born with the shining that makes Dan’s look like a keychain flashlight.

Abra’s bright shinning attracts the attention of a group known as the True Knot. And Dan must face his demons to help Abra, but like all things, the shining dims with time...more

Starhawk review up at Perihelion SF

The good people at Perihelion Science Fiction have published another review I wrote for them. I reviewed the book Starhawk, it is the last review in the link. Check it out

Shape Stealer Review up at Buzzy Mag

The good people at Buzzy Mag have published a review I wrote for them. It is for the new Lee Carroll novel, The Shape Stealer. Feel free to click it, read it, comment, and share.

Some tropes are worn out quickly. A good writer can pick up when their idea is wearing a bit thin and switch focus onto a different aspect. Other writers produce things like The Shape Stealer.

Garet James finds herself back in 2009 (having been in 1602 in the previous novel) only she doesn’t have her Robert Pattinson knock off vampire love, Will Hughes. She has his much more boring pre-vampire self (who likes to spontaneously break into poetry, I’m not making that up to be mean, it is actually a plot point). To make matters worse, the duo accidentally brought the evil, shape shifting Marduk with them to the present. Not only do our heroes have to fight off Marduk, they have to constantly explain how everything works to the young Will from 1602 more...