Behind Blue Eyes

A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee by Danny Fingeroth My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received an eARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This was fun. As with many people, I've always had a fascination with Marvel Comics, during spells where I was reading them one after another to drier periods where I'd only pick them up on occasion. But through it all, and through the explosion of Marvel products to the small and big screens, there was the lovable presence of Stan the Man. This book is more than a story of Stan Lee's life. It actually reads like a history of comics, taking us through the early days of Siegel and Shuster creating Superman right up to the current year, where there seems to be something Marvel releasing for our viewing pleasure every week. It was more than I really expected to learn about the comic book publishing industry, but was fascinating for all of that. Of course, no story of comic publishing...

Onslaught of Madness by Jesse Teller My rating: 4 of 5 stars Full review now up at Grimdark Magazine .. . Onslaught of Madness was my second foray into the world of Perilisc, as told by the gifted author Jesse Teller. I’ve also reviewed Song by the same author for Grimdark Magazine . While Song introduced us to a marvelous and mysterious world full of magic and intrigue, we only got a snapshot of the workings of the near-immortal beings that steer the course of humanity across the continent. With Onslaught of Madness , we get another angle on this, but from a much larger scope. Drine is invading the neighboring country of Tienne. Drine has a huge military and is bent on conquest, with its king sending one of our POV characters to lead his forces in this full invasion. Rextur is a follower of Dis, the God of Destruction, and he’s been planning this invasion for years. Even so, the king has ordered him to action much sooner than Rextur had hoped for...

The Millennial Manifesto by Michael R. Fletcher My rating: 5 of 5 stars I was provided a copy of the eARC for this book by the author. Wow! I just realized that by stopping there, I could get my point across on how I felt about this book, but it would also be the lamest review I'd ever written. Just that acknowledgement makes it a little better. But for real. A couple of years ago I was introduced to Michael R. Fletcher through his brilliant debut novel, Beyond Redemption , a grimdark fantasy of the highest order with a perfect blend of violence, grit, characterization, and humor. This is on my short list of books I push on the wary and unwary alike, quickly recommended without hesitation by anyone I come across that asks me for a good read. The other books in that series are nearly as good, and I've been devouring everything Fletcher ever since. But now he is moving out of his lane. This isn't fantasy. It's not even speculative ficti...

The God King's Legacy by Richard Nell My rating: 4 of 5 stars Review now posted on the Grimdark Magazine site... Not so much a novel as a collection of two novellas that are only distantly related, The God King’s Legacy serves as an excellent introduction into the as yet unreleased God-King’s Chronicles series. Rebellion of the Black Militia , the first novella, is about an apprentice Scribe that is being assigned to work with a legendary Knight to weed out a rebellion that seems to have a demon behind it. In this world, demons can be captured and held by magical markings on the body of the holder, with Scribes as the experts in such castings. The God-King himself has done this, and it appears that this is what keeps the demons at bay for the most part. If a Scribe or Knight holds the demon, it is neutralized and kept from hurting the population at large. A nice bonus is that the holder gains powers directly from the demon possessing him or her...

Smoke and Stone by Michael R. Fletcher My rating: 5 of 5 stars Holy Smoke! (and Stone) was that a wild ride… Michael R. Fletcher makes his return to grimdark fantasy in fine fashion, introducing us to a fascinating new world, different from that in his brilliant Manifest Delusions series. If you enjoyed the world-building and backstabbery of that series, you’ll love this one just as much. It’s the first book in the City of Sacrifice series, set entirely in the city of Bastion, which to its inhabitants comprises the entire known world. Bastion sets on a single stone, which covers a diameter of about 250 miles. A quarter of a million people live here, separated by several walls which ring around the core, where the priests live. It’s an elaborate caste system, where the farther out one lives from the center, the more poor and numerous. Smoke and Stone takes place mostly in the Grower’s Ring, where the food for the city is harvested by, you guessed it...

Limited Wish by Mark Lawrence My rating: 4 of 5 stars Review posted at Grimdark Magazine : https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/revi... I read One Word Kill a few weeks ago and was thrilled to get hold of an eARC of the sequel, Limited Wish . If you liked book one, prepare to be just as entertained an engrossed with book two. The good news is that this book doesn’t suffer at all from “middle book syndrome” where the bridge from beginning to end of a trilogy often becomes the weakest link. Indeed, this is just as good if not better than the first book. Limited Wish picks up a few months after the events of One Word Kill , as our party of adventurers settles back into their daily lives. Our narrator, Nick, has turned 16 and worked his way into admission at Trinity College in Cambridge, working as a protégé to a Professor in Mathematics. They’re working together on ideas with bending time, as Nick is convinced by his experiences in book one that he event...

Pick Up the Pieces: Excursions in Seventies Music by John Corbett My rating: 3 of 5 stars I received an eARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Sometimes I like to just throw a music memoir into the mix as they give great perspective of the journey of life with great music as a backdrop. I did get that here, though to be honest I had to skip some sections. I was reading it all for the first quarter but found myself mired when the author was covering artists I wasn't familiar with. Ideally, the writing would make me want to go out and find the material and give it a listen. But that didn't always work here. Sometimes I think the author just got too heavy handed with the descriptive words and cultural references that I didn't often get. That said, there were some great moments here, especially in the areas where an artist I listen to was covered. These would take me back to a time when it was all new to me, much like it was ...

One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence My rating: 4 of 5 stars Review posted at Grimdark Magazine : https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/revi... Though I often read more than one book at a time, I generally keep to a rule that I have for myself which prevents me from reading multiple books by the same author. With One Word Kill , I made an exception. My current audiobook is Holy Sister , also by Mark Lawrence, but since it is such a different genre and setting, I didn’t think it would be a problem. I was correct, as the only thing that carried over into this book was Lawrence’s great storytelling. Nick is a teenager that just wants to get through school and get to the weekends when he can enjoy the D&D ( Dungeons and Dragons ) sessions he has with a small group of friends. He might even be interested in kissing a girl, but that comes later. At the beginning of our story, Nick has learned that he has leukemia, and the prognosis isn’t that great. Talk about a...

Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence My rating: 5 of 5 stars It seems that unsatisfying endings are common in series these days (if they end at all), so this was a breath of fresh air. Not only did this trilogy end well, but it did so while bringing the heartache and devastation right along with the smiles and "fuck yeah!"fist raising moments. These characters will break and/or melt your heart. View all my reviews

The Lees of Laughter's End by Steven Erikson My rating: 3 of 5 stars I can't help but think this is like Terry Pratchett writing Grimdark... View all my reviews

Beyond The Shadows: Volume One: A Grimdark Anthology by Stefan M. Nardi My rating: 3 of 5 stars Full review now posted at Grimdark Magazine It’s always an exciting thing to see a new anthology of grimdark stories when it’s released. Great artwork typically pulls me in along with a list of stories promising lots of grit, swords, and dismemberment. View all my reviews

Gia by Kristi Belcamino My rating: 4 of 5 stars Nice intro story to get acquainted with Gia Santella. Self contained but serves as a great teaser to the main series. View all my reviews

Beyond the Shadows by Angel Haze My rating: 4 of 5 stars That was a great way to spend lunch. Because you know, overwhelming onslaughts of shadowspawn monsters attacking and being repelled whilst blood splashes on everything is just what one needs to be reading while eating..... At any rater, this was a nice snapshot of a bigger story that's now on the map for me. View all my reviews

Catwoman Vol. 1: Copycats by Joëlle Jones My rating: 3 of 5 stars I received an eARC of this title from the publisher thought NetGalley. The artwork was fantastic, but the story was merely decent and predictable. Still, not a bad way to spend a little time on a Saturday afternoon. View all my reviews

The Perfect Assassin by K.A. Doore My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received an eARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley . From the blurb, "A novice assassin is on the hunt for someone killing their own..." this pretty much sums it up nicely. I was pleased with this debut effort from K.A. Doore, who may very well be an author to keep an eye on. Great worldbuilding and lots of action highlight this one, and though some of the twists and turns aren't totally surprising, the novel was very well written and engaging all the way through. I understand that this will be a series, but this book would work as a standalone for those leery of starting yet another open series. It left me plenty satisfied, yet interested in more if and when it comes to light. 3 1/2 stars, rounded up. View all my reviews

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence My rating: 5 of 5 stars Even better the second time, this time on audiobook. View all my reviews

Grimdark Magazine Issue #18 by Adrian Collins My rating: 5 of 5 stars “Hunger and the Lady” by Peter McLean – Wow! That was brilliantly amazing! I’ve never read McLean before, but I keep hearing great things about his recent novel Priest of Bones . Now I know why. The heartache is real, and this book is going on my TBR stat. ETA: Before I even finished this issue, I found myself online purchasing McLean’s novel... “An Interview with Davin Madson” by Tom Smith – This was a great interview, with another author I haven’t yet read. But she’s also climbing my TBR after I read this, because like any good author interview, it made me want to read the books she’s talking about. “Building a Career with Small Presses” by Alan Baxter – Great article for aspiring authors. As one that has written here and there but never finished a manuscript, this article had some great information for me. Some great tips, and it made for a good read even for the informational...