Christmas came early this year, with the realization that Seanan McGuire’s second Velveteen book, Velveteen vs. The Multiverse, was finally available on Kindle. I stopped what I was doing, bought it, and read it in two long sittings. If you haven’t read the first book yet, Velveteen vs. The Junior Super-Patriots, or my review of … More Velveteen vs. The Multiverse
Quite some time ago I reviewed another superhero story I discovered while doing research into the genre. The book was Power Down and I reviewed it here. I am pleased to announce that Ben White has now published the fourth book in the Charlotte Powers series: Rising Power.As you can tell from the cover, things … More A “Super” Series.
Where are they now? There’s another word for teen sidekicks. It’s child-soldiers. I stumbled across this gem on TV Tropes, followed the link to Amazon, and… well, go there to read my review. I’ll say this here; Seanan McGuire gets it. Too many writers approach superhero stories from the deconstructive angle, but what they don’t … More The Velveteen Hero
I first ran into Daily and Davidson (they even sound like a law firm) when I was doing research for my first novel, Wearing the Cape. Their website, Law and the Multiverse, acquainted me with the facts about state actors and why superheroes who worked closely with law-enforcement could easily mess up a case when … More Laws Unto Themselves?
I am a reader with Catholic tastes; I enjoy good space-operas, modern fantasies, supernatural thrillers, military sci-fi and alternate-reality sci-fi, and YA action/adventures, but occasionally I fall into a quiet mood where I’m ready to settle down and enjoy a good comedy of manners–the kind of story that moves along at a leisurely pace, filled … More A Fantastical Feast
And now to sink for all time my reputation as a serious literary intellect. In my college days I couldn’t get enough of Star Trek–specifically Star Trek novels, and Penguin Books was cooperating by pumping out a title or three per quarter. Needless to say, quality varied, and “good” can certainly be a matter of … More In which Captain Kirk is the very model of a modern major general.
One of the things I was warned about, when I started marketing Wearing the Cape, was that some nosy Parkers would actually want to interview me about the book. Why? I’m not trying to be obtuse; it’s simply that, as a reader, I was never that interested in authors or interviews with them. If I … More Q&A: Loving The Grilling.
When one thinks of time travel stories, H.G. Well’s Time Machine comes to mind, and Ray Bradbury’s The Thunder Of Its Wings, and then of course Back To The Future I, II, and III, and… The point is that most time travel stories lead to far-distant adventures, danger, or history-threatening paradox. And then there is … More Its name is Montmorency.
Alternative-history novels are fairly common now, stories where history diverged because of a single changed event. What is less common is alt-history fantasy. Historical alt-history fantasy is least common of all. Back in 1988, Melissa Scott, better known for her science fiction works, pulled this rarest of stories off beautifully. Continuing my reviews of “lost … More A Midsummer Night’s Alt-History.
In keeping with Mark William’s Girls Just Want To Have Fun month, I’ve decided to put up the brainiest girl of them all, Agatha Heterodyne. . . . This is Agatha. . . . Agatha is the creation of Phil and Kaja Foglio, a demented artist/writer team responsible for reimaginings of Angel and the Ape … More Brains are Beautiful
Marion G. Harmon, A Writer in Vegas. 