Anthem's Fall, by S.L. Dunn

Rating: 3/5
374 pages
2014
Publisher: Prospect Hill Press
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers
Note: I read an ARC.

Description: Above a horrified New York City, genetics and ethics collide as the fallen emperor and a banished exile of the same herculean race ignite into battle over the city’s rooftops. In the streets below, a brilliant young scientist has discovered a technology that can defeat them both, yet might be more terrible than either.

Set both in modern New York City and in the technologically sophisticated yet politically savage world of Anthem, Anthem’s Fall unfurls into a plot where larger than life characters born with the prowess of gods are pitted against the shrewd brilliance of a familiar and unlikely heroine. (from Goodreads)

Twilight's Dawn, By Anne Bishop

Rating: 3/5
435 pages
2011
Publisher: Roc
Source: Library book

Description: Anne Bishop's "darkly fascinating" (SF Site) Black Jewel novels have enthralled readers and critics alike with their mixture of fantasy, intrigue, and romance. Now in Twilight's Dawn, Bishop returns to the Blood realm with four all-new captivating novellas. (From Goodreads)

She Tempts the Duke, by Lorraine Heath

Rating: 3/5
384 pages
2012
Publisher: Avon
Source: Library book

Description: Three young heirs, imprisoned by an unscrupulous uncle, escaped—to the sea, to the streets, to faraway battle—awaiting the day when they would return to reclaim their birthright.

Sebastian Easton always vowed he would avenge his stolen youth and title. Now back in London, the rightful Duke of Keswick—returning from battle a wounded, hardened, changed man—cannot forget the brave girl who once rescued him and his brothers from certain death.

Lady Mary Wynne-Jones paid dearly for helping the imprisoned young Lords of Pembrook, and she remembers well the promise she made to Sebastian all those years ago: to meet him once more in the abbey ruins where they shared a bold, forbidden kiss. While Mary is now betrothed to another, a friendship forged with dark secrets cannot be ignored. Unexpected passion soon burns dangerously between them, tempting Sebastian to abandon his quest for retribution and fight for a love that could once again set him free. (from Goodreads)

Lord of Wicked Intentions, by Lorraine Heath

Rating: 3/5
370 pages
2013
Publisher: Avon
Source: Library ebook

Description: Lord Rafe Easton may be of noble blood, but survival taught him to rely only on himself and to love no one. Yet when he sets his eyes on Miss Evelyn Chambers, and earl's illegitimate daughter, he is determined to have her, if only as his mistress.

After her father's death, Evelyn Chambers never imagined she would be sold to the highest bidder, yet circumstances give her little choice except to accept the lord's indecent proposal. Rafe is wealthy, as well as ruthless. Yet his coldness belies deep passion and deeper secrets. If she must be his, Evelyn intends to lay bare everything the Lord of Pembrook is hiding. But dark discoveries threaten to destroy them both until unexpected love guides the last lost lord home. (from GoodReads)

101 Places To Not See Before You Die, by Catherine Price

Rating: 3/5
235 pages
2010
Publisher: Harper Collins ebooks
Source: Library ebook

Description: From the Grover Cleveland Service Area to the Beijing Museum of Tap Water to, of course, Euro Disney, "101 Places Not to See Before You Die" brings you lively tales of the most ill-conceived museums, worst theme parks, and grossest Superfund sites that you'll ever have the pleasure of not visiting. Journalist Catherine Price travels the globe for stories of misadventure to which any seasoned traveler can relate--including guest entries from writers such as Nicholas Kristof, Mary Roach, Michael Pollan, Rebecca Solnit, and A. J. Jacobs--and along the way she discovers that the worst experiences are often the ones we'll never forget. (From Goodreads)

A Year At The Movies: One Man's Filmgoing Odyssey, by Kevin Murphy

 

Rating: 3/5
372 pages
2002
Publisher: It Books
Source: Library eBook

Description: Kevin Murphy, who played Tom Servo on Mystery Science Theater 3000, spent 2001 seeing a movie a day, in all types of different venues, circumstances, and countries.

William Shakespeare's Star Wars, by Ian Doescher

Rating: 3/5
172 pages
2013
Publisher: Quirk Books
Source: Library book

Description: Star Wars IV: A New Hope rewritten in the style of Shakespeare.

Uzumaki 1-3, by Junji Ito

Rating: 4/5, 4/5, and 3/5
2001
Publisher: Viz Media
Source: Borrowed from family

Description: Shortly after Shuichi Saitos father becomes obsessed with spirals snail shells, whirlpools, and man-made patterns he dies mysteriously, his body positioned in the shape of a twisted coil. Soon, the entire town is afflicted with a snail-like disease. (from Goodreads)

The De-Textbook, by Cracked.com

Rating: 3/5
207 pages
2013
Publisher: Plume
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Description: It’s Cracked, but true. You Might Be a Zombie and Other Bad News was a New York Times bestseller and has already returned to print seven times. Now, the writers at the Internet’s #1 most-read humor site have created a dementedly hilarious textbook parody. By the time we were out of school, we’d learned that spinach is full of iron, there are three primary colors, and we have five senses. Unfortunately, these and most of the other “facts” we crammed into our heads are simply not true. The De-Textbook is here to erase it all—easily, painlessly, and hilariously. (From LibraryThing)

Betrayal, by Julian Stockwin

Rating: 3/5
344 pages
2013
Publisher: McBooks Press
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Description: Cape Colony is proving a tiresome assignment for Thomas Kydd’s daring commander-in-chief Commodore Popham: South America’s Spanish colonies are in a ferment of popular unrest. Rumors of a treasure hoard of Spanish silver spur him to assemble a makeshift invasion fleet and launch a bold attack on the capital of the Viceroyalty of the River Plate in Buenos Aires. Navigating the treacherous bars and mud flats of the river, the British invasion force wins a battle against improbable odds, taking the capital and the silver. But the uprising that promises the end of Spanish rule never arrives and the locals begin to see dark conspiracies behind the invader’s actions. Now Kydd’s men must face resistance and the betrayal of their closest allies. Can they save themselves and their prize? (From Goodreads)

The Android's Dream, by John Scalzi

Rating: 3/5
394 pages
2007
Publisher: Tor
Source: Barnes&Noble.com

Description: A human diplomat kills his alien counterpart. Earth is on the verge of war with a vastly superior alien race. A lone man races against time and a host of enemies to find the one object that can save our planet and our people from alien enslavement... a sheep. 

Yes, you read that right. Welcome to The Android's Dream.

For Harry Creek, it's a nightmare. All he wants is to do his uncomplicated mid-level diplomatic job with Earth's State Department. But his skills and past training get him tapped to save the planet - and to protect pet store owner Robin Baker, whose own past holds the key to the whereabouts of that lost sheep. Doing both will take him from lava-strewn battlefields to alien halls of power. 

All in a day's work. Maybe it's time for a raise. (From the back cover)

Fledgling, by Octavia E. Butler

Rating: 3/5
Publisher:BBC Audiobooks America
10 discs
Narrated by
2005
Source: Library book

Description: Fledgling, the late Octavia E. Butler's final novel, is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly un-human needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: she is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted--and still wants--to destroy her and those she cares for, and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of "otherness" and questions what it means to be truly human. (from the back cover)

Howliday Inn & The Celery Stalks At Midnight, by James Howe

Rating: 2.5/5 & 3/5
Publisher: The Listening Library
About 4 discs (Howliday Inn) and 1.5 discs (The Celery Stalks At Midnight)
Narrator: Victor Garber
1982 & 1983
Source: Library book

Description: Howliday Inn
Harold and Chester could hardly believe it. The Monroe family was going on vacation without them. Bunnicula, the family rabbit, would be boarded with a neighbor. But they, the family's loyal dog and cat, were to be sent away with strangers; to a place called Chateau Bow-Wow. Chateau Bow-Wow, observed Chester, soon after they arrived, could more properly be called Howliday Inn. Though what was howling, neither of them knew. Chester had his suspicions however; only a werewolf could make that chilling sound. 

The Celery Stalks at Midnight
Bunnicula is missing Chester the cat makes a chilling discovery--Bunnicula the vampire bunny has vanished from his cage in the Monroe household. Everyone knows that vampire victims become vampires themselves--and the neighborhood gardens reveal the ultimate horror: bloodless zombie vegetables Determined to save Bunnicula's victims and the unsuspecting Monroes, Chester leads the valiant friends on a wild bunny chase. (From the back of the audiobook)

Lover Be Mine, By Nicole Jordan

Rating: 3/5
Publisher: Ballantine Books
327 pages
2013
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Description: As the wickedly seductive Wilde cousins seek true love by taking a page from history's legendary love stories, Lord Jack Wilde plays a determined Romeo courting an enchanting Juliet.

The last thing Sophie Fortin expects at a masquerade ball is a dazzling kiss from a pirate. Her desire quickly falters when she learns that her masked gentleman is devilishly scandalous Lord Jack, a member of the captivating Wilde clan — and a man she’s forbidden to acknowledge. But when Jack begins a breathtaking seduction, Sophie can barely resist.

Jack never imagined that the daughter of his family’s mortal enemy would awaken such fierce passion within him—until one unforgettable kiss changes his mind forever. Soon, Jack is hell-bent on winning Sophie’s hand, going so far as to abduct her to save her from marrying a rival nobleman. Determined to woo Sophie and her unyielding parents, Jack is faced with the one decision he’d sworn never to make. The secret heir to a prince, Jack has spurned his royal heritage for years . . . but for Sophie he’ll risk all to turn a legacy of heartbreak into love ever after. (From the back cover)

The Notorious Rake by Mary Balogh

Rating: 3/5
Publisher: Dell
261 pages
1992
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Description: Lord Edmund Waite is everything that Lady Mary Gregg despises: lewd, lascivious, mocking—the most incorrigible and successful rogue around. A bluestocking like her would never tempt a man whose taste runs to pretty playthings—so Mary is startled to find herself the object of Lord Edmund’s desires. Even more surprising is her reaction to his shocking advances. She may be a lady, but this man knows so well how to make her feel like a woman. (From the back cover.)

Review: Well, it was better than the other book in the volume. Edmund and Mary both had personalities at least.

Probably due to the length of the book, the romance seemed rushed, however the story still seemed to drag in places. And I wasn't thrilled about stalkerish behavior on the part of our hero, plus I suspect the first hookup between the leads could be troubling for some readers due to some dubious seeming consent issues.

Not a terrible book, but there are better romances out there.

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, Edited by Peter Boxall

Rating: 3/5
Publisher: Universe
960 pages
2010
Source: Library

Description: A list, with brief descriptions, of one thousand and one books, that the contributors to this volume feel everyone should read for a well rounded literary experience.

Feersum Endjinn, by Iain M. Banks

US Cover

UK Cover

Rating: 3/5
Publisher: Bantam Spectra
311 pages
1994
Source: My collection

The Cover: While neither of these covers seems to be the current cover art, they're roughly from the same period. I'm wondering what the American publisher was thinking. That art is just so bland. (Plus it has nothing to do with the content.)

Description: Count Sessine is about to die for the very last time...

Chief Scientist Gadfium to receive the mysterious message she has been waiting for from the Plain of Sliding Stones...

And Bascule the Teller, in search of an ant, is about to enter the chaos of the crypt...

And everything is about to change...

For this is the time of the Encroachment and, while the sun still shines on the vast, towering walls of the Serehfa Fastness, the end is close at hand. The King knows it, his closest advisors know it, yet still they prosecute the war against the clan Engineers with increasing savagery.

The crypt knows it too; so an emissary has been sent, an emissary who holds the key to all their futures. (From the back of the UK edition.)

Of Muppets and Men: The Making of the Muppet Show, by Christopher Finch

Rating: 3/5
Publisher: Muppet Press/Knopf
178 pages
1981
Source: Library

Description: A coffee table book about The Muppet Show.


Review: About what you'd expect from a coffee table book about a tv show. The text is readable and entertaining. There's lots of pictures. And it probably doesn't tell you much that you didn't already know, if you had an interest in the subject already. And since it's a coffee table book, it's rather unwieldy to actually read.

Given this came out the same year as The Muppet Show's final season, it is unsurprisingly out of print.