Tag Archives: book review

In keeping with my new resolution to ignore the flaws in novels that I start reading and actually finish them, I have now plowed through to the very end of Tiger Burning Bright by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Andre Norton, and … Continue reading →

Yes, it’s time for another Oblong Book Review, brought to you by Mr. Grumpy, Inc. This month the local science fiction book club decided to read Lightning Strike by Catherine Osaro. I had never read any of her work. She’s … Continue reading →

Writing a multi-volume epic is a popular pastime these days. This may be a market-driven trend: Once you’ve hooked readers with the first book, you’ll have a built-in customer base for the rest of the series. But it’s not always … Continue reading →

The Mortal Word is the fifth book in Genevieve Cogman’s Invisible Library series. I’ll cheerfully admit I’m hooked on them. The stories are overwrought and a bit cheesy, but they’re good fun. I waited eagerly for The Mortal Word, and … Continue reading →

There’s an important place in fantasy literature for places and events that are just flat-out amazing — colorful, fresh, spectacular, and beautifully fleshed out by the author. But is an amazing spectacle all that’s needed to propel a novel, or … Continue reading →

I never read comic books when I was a kid. I read Mad Magazine, but that wasn’t a comic, it was freewheeling satire suitable for the warping of impressionable young minds. Last week, at the local used book store, I … Continue reading →

I read a lot of genre fiction, but I’ve never quite had the patience to read literature. Read half of The Great Gatsby, lost interest. Read maybe a third of Tristram Shandy, lost interest. Tried Ulysses, didn’t get far. Liked … Continue reading →

Large fantasy novels sometimes get off to a slow start. When tackling a new one, I try to give it 125 pages before I decide whether to go on or bail out. By that point, if not before, a writer … Continue reading →

If you’re looking for a fine and somewhat unusual epic fantasy series, may I recommend Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Sharing Knife? It may be a little low-key for some readers’ tastes, but in the end it packs quite a wallop. … Continue reading →