Author's posts
For Christmas, Jay bought me a physical copy of Bad Machinery’s first two volumes and ZOMG, I didn’t even know how much I wanted these till I had them! Oni Press has done an amazing job of translating the web comic to an oversized, glossy paperback that is luxe to the touch and weighty in …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/26/bad-machinery-vol-i-the-case-of-the-team-spirit-by-john-allison/
So few books deserve the title “literary mystery.” Often, that phrase is given to books where ponderous writing and a quasi-mystical theme are draped over a poorly constructed plot, as if the fact that the book itself is so unenjoyable is some testament to how smart the reader must be to not only finish but …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/24/dark-prayer-by-natasha-mostert/
Interesting take on the Sleepy Hollow/Headless Horseman mythology that was undermined by serious plot holes and obvious plot devices. The book is written in a very cinematic manner, and clearly serves as the lead-in to a series, but I spent way too much time being annoyed with Aimee and then with the writers for so …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/20/horseman-the-hollow-1-by-christopher-golden-and-ford-lytle-gilmore/
I’m deeply troubled by the thought that my young adolescent self was not as hard-hearted as I’ve always believed. See, I first read Watership Down while either 11 or 12, on a family vacation, and I remember bawling my eyes out at some point near the end, thereby casting a pall on the rest of …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/17/watership-down-by-richard-adams/
The twists are quite clever, and the main character really is, as promised, like an alternate universe Buffy if she’d retired to the suburbs. A somewhat slight book, but not an unintelligent piece of escapist fiction.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/13/carpe-demon-demon-hunting-soccer-mom-1-by-julie-kenner/
Mihir Bose is a terrific investigator, resourceful, thorough and intrepid. The amount of work he’s put into uncovering the facts and organizing the data is just astonishing. I only wish his writing skills were up to that standard. Beyond even the silly mistakes that appear more a result of slapdash composition than anything else, the …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/11/game-changer-by-mihir-bose/
Was actually pleasantly surprised by this! Picked it up for free way back when I started using the Kindle app and never got around to reading it, so didn’t really expect much when I cracked it open. The beginning didn’t really do anything to dispel doubt (especially since this book was written as the first …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/30/skin-deep-simeon-grist-3-by-timothy-hallinan/
Having read Perdido Street Station first, I’m fascinated to see how some of the themes are present here in nascent form. PSS is by far the superior book, but King Rat is a worthwhile entry to the urban fantasy oeuvre: grimy and bold and honest, if mean. It’s also a great take on the Pied …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/27/king-rat-by-china-mieville/
Thank God that’s over. I’ve realized that I come from the school of thought that would much rather let an artist’s work speak for itself. Particularly when I admire a product, such as the exquisite Lolita, I find that looking into the way it was made rarely serves to make me appreciate it more. Such …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/26/vera-by-stacy-schiff/
Quick, cute read that is a tween-friendly adaptation of Greek mythology. Had I encountered these books at that age, I would have much preferred them to the pettiness of the actual myths. Not for purists, obviously, but not a terrible way to introduce children to the Greek myths either.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/09/aphrodite-the-beauty-goddess-girls-book-3-by-joan-holub-and-suzanne-williams/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire