Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Jade - Joseph Lallo

Jade is 99 cents for the kindle. This is a generations later follow-up story to The Book of Deacon trilogy. You don't have to read the trilogy first, but you'll enjoy this book more if you do.

Jade Vera Rinton is six years old when her home catches fire and her family burns to death. Jade is left an orphan. The town elders turn Jade over to a man named Drudder, but Jade was only fostered by Drudder so he could have her land. Now Jade is the only thing standing between Drudder and the ownership of her family's acres. What Drudder doesn't know is that there's a dragon named Halfax lurking in the forest, and the dragon is watching Jade too. This is a great story for young and old. The ending is appropriate for any happy fairy tale. Very highly recommended.

Calamity Jayne - Kathleen Bacus

Calamity Jayne is the first book in the Calamity Jayne Mystery series. This book is 99 cents for the kindle. It was free when I downloaded it. Murder doesn't make a very funny blonde joke.

Tressa Jayne Turner is 24, blonde, and drifting through life. Tressa has milked being average and blonde for her whole life. She's beginning to get tired of her reputation as a dizzy blonde. Tressa is ready to be taken seriously. Then she finds the first dead body. By the time this story is coming to an end, the bodies are piling up and Tressa is about to be the next one on the pile. A lot of murder, mystery, and laughter, with some romance thrown in. This is a rollicking good tale. Very highly recommended.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Slide - Jill Hathaway

Slide is $7.43 for the kindle. This novel was free when I downloaded it. This story is a murder mystery with a paranormal twist.

Sylvia Bell is almost a normal teenage girl. Everyone thinks Vee has narcolepsy, which can be embarrassing, but when Vee succumbs to her affliction, she's doing more than sleeping. When Vee passes out, she's sliding. When a friend of Vee's sister Mattie commits suicide, Vee knows it was murder because she had slid into the murderer. The trouble is proving it was murder without exposing her ability. This is a great young adult to any age novel. Highly recommended.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Flesh and Bone - Jefferson Bass

Flesh and Bone is a Body Farm novel. This book is currently $6.83 for the kindle. It was free when I downloaded it. If you keep looking you'd be surprised with the books you can find for free. This one is an outstanding murder mystery.

Dr. Bill Brockton is a forensic anthropologist. Bill founded and manages the Body Farm, run by the University of Tennessee. Bill is helping with a murder case that requires a body be posed in the Body Farm to determine when the victim died, and exercises his forensic skills to determine the weapon used. Bill never dreamed that instead of trying to find a murderer he was about to be accused of being one. This is a great mystery. Very highly recommended.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Corpus Callosum - Erika Price

Corpus Callosum is free for the kindle. This is a strange book, but it grows on you. What if dead didn't have to mean dead any longer?

Josephine Porter was a 30 year old firefighter. Joey died while trying to rescue two people from a burning building. The building collapsed on her. But Joey didn't stay dead. Her twin sister Jeanette had her Brightboxed. Was this a blessing or a curse. It's not clear that anyone is sure, even Joey. This story takes a while to get traction, but you can't put it down once it gets going. Highly recommended.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Lifesphere INC: Acquisition - Talitha Kalago

Lifesphere INC: Acquisition is free for the kindle. This story takes place in a severely stratified far future dystopian society. This is a great book for young adults. This novel is the first in a series. The other books are not available yet.

Eli is an orphan who's spent his life scavenging on the rim. His dream is to save enough money to purchase a meka and fight his way to the topside. Eli runs into Squall Owens while trying to find a rumored meka seller. Squall is from the blueline. She's wheelchair bound, but Squall has a real family, and her own meka. Eli will find that having a meka isn't as simple as he'd thought, and that getting one can be even more dangerous than dodging falling garbage on the rim. This is a great young adult science fiction story. Very highly recommended.

The Tank Lords - David Drake

The Tank Lords is free for the kindle. If you like military science fiction you'll love this book. It's a collection of Hammer's Slammer stories in chronological story sequence.

Colonel Alois Hammer heads the mercenary armored force known as Hammer's Slammers. When a planetary government wants to win a war they call on Colonel Hammer. This is a series of stories that include everything from epic battles to small skirmishes. The Slammer's weapons are awesome engines of war, but the people who man them are only human. Very highly recommended.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Unicorn Western - Johnny B. Truant, Sean Platt

Unicorn Western is free for the kindle. It may be overpriced. It depends on how you like your westerns.

Clint Gulliver and his unicorn Edward have settled in the little town of Solace. Clint is a Marshal. Clint and Edward have managed to tame Solace, but Solace is in the Sands, and the magic is leaking out of the Sands. This book makes me think of nothing as much as a Stephen King Gunslinger wanna be. Notice I wrote wanna be. This book is the first in a series, but I won't be pursuing the others. Not my kind of western. Not recommended.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Star Soldiers - Andre Norton

Star Soldiers is free for the kindle. This download is actually two novels packaged together, Star Guard and Star Rangers. The two stories are separated by 4,000 years of galactic history, but compliment each other perfectly.

In Star Guard, Arch Swordsman Third Class Kana Karr is a Terran. Terrans have been forced into the role of mercenaries by Galactic Central Control. Kana is about to find that being forced into service as a soldier is not all Terrans have to worry about. Maybe it's time for Central Control to learn what Terrans are really capable of.

In Star Rangers, Ranger Sergeant Kartr is the ranking ranger who survived the crash of Patrol Scout Starfire. The ship came down on a planet that's not on any starmaps, located in a distant arm of the galaxy. The remaining crew must fend for themselves and find a way to live on a plant that, at first glance, seems to be primitive and uninhabited. In the end, Kartr and the others will have to fight for a home on this planet, and discover just how serendipitous the galaxy can be.

This is some amazing classic science fiction by one of the masters of the art. Very highly recommended.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Way Out West - Blanche Marriott

Way Out West is free for the kindle. This book is a western of sorts, but it's mostly a romance novel. Oh well.

Callie Sumner has been drifting for the last few years. At 25, Callie is ready to settle down, but first she has to get away from her latest boyfriend. Callie figures hiding out with a job at the Way Out West fantasy park should do it. Then Callie meets Rand. While Callie is working at Way Out West as a saloon girl, Rand is a guest playing the part of a gambler. Who is Rand and is he really the kind of man Callie could fall for? It's a romance novel so take a guess. I did enjoy the book. There's some wild west action to keep it interesting, and a villain to put the damsel in distress. There's also plenty of the romance stuff. Highly recommended.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

1632 (Ring of Fire) - Eric Flint

1632 (Ring of Fire) is historical science fiction that's free for the kindle. That's amazing, because this is one of the best books I've ever read, free or not. This is literally an alternate universe novel. Imagine a six mile circle of modern West Virginia plunked down in the middle of 17th century Germany. Someone already did.

Mike Stearn is head of the local union in Grantville, West Virginia. It's the summer of 2000, and Mike's sister just got married. The whole town has collected in the local high school for the wedding reception, when there's a blinding flash of light. So begins an American town's adventure in the year of 1632. Modern technology and ideas clash with 17th century European politics and religion. Or do they? This is a great story that combines history and science fiction with an alternate universe that will not be anything like the universe it split off from. Whether that will be good or bad is in the telling of the tale. There are great characters, great battles, and great courage to spare. There is also plenty of humor to bind them together into a story I couldn't put down. Very highly recommended.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Brilliance - Marcus Sakey

Brilliance is $4.99 for the kindle, but Amazon prime members can borrow it for free. How would you feel, as a norm, if you had to compete with supermen, supermen called brilliants?

Nick Cooper works for Equitable Services. A secretive branch of the Department of Analysis and Response (DAR). DAR was formed to try and keep a handle on brilliants, and Equitable Services is the sting on the wasp. The thing is, Nick is a brilliant. Actually, one percent of the population are now born brilliant and there is a war brewing. Who's behind this war? Nick is about to find out. I couldn't put this book down. This novel combines a great story with great characters and plenty of action. Very highly recommended. This is a great stand-alone book, but of course there's a sequel.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Toward a New Beginning - R. William Rogers

Toward a New Beginning is the first novel in the Arkansas Valley series. This book is free for the kindle. This western falls into the category of Christian fiction.

In the late 1880s, Sam Bartlett and his wife Jay decided to head west with their son Tom. They had a good life in Independence Missouri, but Sam was hankering for something more, and as a family they decided to make the trip. They joined a wagon train and headed for the Arkansas Valley. Indians and Mexican bandits combined with swollen rivers, dry plains and stormy weather to make the trip hard and dangerous. The Bartlett's and the other families in the wagon train used their courage, brains, and a strong Christian faith to keep heading west. Highly recommended.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

The Long Midnight Of Barney Thomson - Douglas Lindsay

The Long Midnight Of Barney Thomson is the first book in the Barney Thomson series. This novel is free for the kindle. This is a serial killer mystery with a bizarre twist.

Barney Thomson is a barber. Barney is old school. He's been cutting hair for 20 years, but he doesn't get as many clients as the other barbers in the shop where he works. His accidental solution to this problem could very well be his undoing. This is a hilarious tongue-in-cheek murder mystery with characters that almost can't be believed. You never know what's going to happen next, but it never fails to be good. This novel takes place in Scotland, so some references may be obscure, but it's worth sussing them out. Highly recommended.