Review – Master Assassins by Robert V.S. Redick

Two men with swords running away from a third man riding a gigantic saber-toothed tiger. Master Assassins
By: Robert V.S. Redick
Illustrator: Lauren Saint-Onge (Cover Artwork); STK-Kreations (Cover Design)
Release Date: March 6, 2018
Publisher: Talos
Series: The Fire Sacraments
Award: BookNest Award Nominee, Best Traditionally Published Novel (2018)
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


A truly wonderful tale is told in Robert V.S. Redick’s Master Assassins. The Fire Sacraments series starts off with one hell of a bang in a tale which follows two brothers—Kandri and Mektu Hinjuman—in desert world wracked with war that is only urged on by the Prophet, though some claim her to be nothing more than a madwoman.

If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawabura

Man and a cat sitting on a bench with their backs turned to the viewer. If Cats Disappeared from the World
By: Genki Kawamura
Illustrator: Leeann Falciani (Jacket Design); Henry Sene Yee (Jacket Illustration)
Translator: Eric Selland
Release Date: March 12, 2019
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Rating:


Genki Kawamura’s first novel, If Cats Disappeared from the World, has sold over two million copies worldwide, and it isn’t difficult to see why. A storyteller in all forms, Kawamura isn’t simply a novelist. He has also produced movies such as the famed Your Name as well as done work as a screenwriter and showrunner. All of these myriad of storytelling techniques leak into the novel, if not in method it was crafted, then in our nameless main character, his hobbies, and his loves.

Review – Wolfhunter River (Stillhouse Lake #3)

Wolfhunter River (Stillhouse Lake #3)
By: Rachel Caine
Website: https://www.rachelcaine.com/
Release Date: April 23rd, 2019
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: Stillhouse Lake
Rating:


Gwen Proctor is a survivor. She’s also an advocate for people that need help. So when she gets a call from a woman who is afraid someone is after her, Gwen is ready to step in and see what she can do to help keep this woman safe.

Unfortunately Gwen is too late to do that.

Review – The 2084 Report: An Oral History of the Great Warming by James Lawrence Powell

The 2084 Report: An Oral History of the Great Warming
By: James Lawrence Powell
Release Date: September 2020
Publisher: Atria Books
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


James Lawrence Powell is no stranger to penning books, but The 2084 Report: An Oral History of The Great Warming is his foray into fiction. The majority of his books are nonfiction titles touching on the subjects he’s spent his life teaching and researching at various universities around the country—namely geology and climate science.

Review – The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura

Woman's face wearing a pink hat with the title The Woman in the Purple Skirt beneath it. The Woman in the Purple Skirt
By: Natsuko Imamura
Translator: Lucy North
Release Date: June 8, 2021
Publisher: Penguin Books
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Natsuko Imamura’s debut English novel is a story that is at once a slow-burning character study and a tale of obsession and psychological intrigue. The Woman in the Purple Skirt has already won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in Japan, which Imamura was previously nominated for twice before.

Review – Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake #2)

Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake #2)
By: Rachel Caine
Website: https://www.rachelcaine.com/
Release Date: December 12th, 2017
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: Stillhouse Lake
Rating:


We’re back at Stillhouse Lake and things for Gwen and the kids haven’t gotten any easier. Especially not now since her psychotic ex Melvin has broken out of prison and is coming after Gwen and the kids.

Review – Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake #1)

Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake #1)
By: Rachel Caine
Website: https://www.rachelcaine.com/
Release Date: July 1st, 2017
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: Stillhouse Lake
Award: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Mystery & Thriller (2017)
Rating:


So, obviously I have a thing for thrillers. And crime stories. And mysteries. A fast-paced book that takes off from the first sentence is definitely my cup of tea.

Gina Royal had the perfect life. Two kids, a home in the suburbs, a husband that works hard. That all disappeared when a drunk driver crashed into her family’s garage…and revealed her husband is a serial killer.

Now she’s on the run with her kids while her husband rots in jail and Gina is now Gwen and she has to keep them moving to stay safe. When the land in the small, quiet town of Stillhouse Lake Gwen thinks maybe, just maybe, they’ve found a new place to call home. Online vigilantes haven’t found her yet, the people in town don’t appear to know her face from the news and her kids are settling in.

Review – Twelve Nights at Rotter House by J.W. Ocker

Twelve Nights at Rotter House
By: J.W. Ocker
Release Date: Nov 19, 2019
Publisher: Turner
Rating:


J.W. Ocker’s Twelve Nights at Rotter House is horror novel set in a classic haunted house. This is by no means Ocker’s first work. He has written numerous books about creepy or otherwise odd locations across New England, including Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe, which won an Edgar Award in 2015.

Izumi Suzuki’s Terminal Boredom – Review

Terminal Boredom
By: Izumi Suzuki
Translator: Polly Barton, Sam Bett, David Boyd, Daniel Joseph, Aiko Masubuchi, Helen O’Horan
Release Date: April 20, 2021
Publisher: Verso
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Izumi Suzuki is a Japanese author whose science fiction works left a lasting impact on the genre and should have been translated into English long ago. Thankfully, this collection has begun the overdue task of bringing her work to a much wider international audience. Terminal Boredom is a collection of some of her short fiction translated into English and bound together in this 240 page volume.

Blog Tour Review – Fid’s Crusade by David H. Reiss

Fid's Crusade
By: David H. Reiss
Release Date: June 2018
Publisher: Self-Published
Series: The Chronicles of Fid
Award: BBNYA 2nd Place, Winner of 2018 Publisher's Weekly BookLife Prize in "Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror" of the "Science-Fiction / Fantasy / Horror" category, and IndieBRAG medallion honoree
Rating:


One of my favorite reads of 2020 was Fid’s Crusade by David H. Reiss. This self-published novel is the first book in the series The Chronicles of Fid. The story is about Doctor Fid, a supervillain who has made it his sole duty to find and punish those unworthy for the title of hero. But personal tragedy follows Doctor Fid like a dark cloud, leading him to investigate certain crimes. Slowly, a plot is uncovered, and the self-avowed supervillain finds himself in a race against time to save the world.