SONGBIRD by Colby Jackson (Bill Crider)

As part of the writing team for Rancho Diablo, I’ve made it a point to not post reviews of the books my fellow writers have written. Thought I would just stay conveniently out of the way and let readers find the books on their own – which they’ve been doing quite nicely, thank you. However, […]

IMPULSE by Steven Gould

Steven Gould’s Jumper series is awesome. I have read and loved all his books so far, which is – sadly – pretty easy to do because he’s only written nine novels and maybe twice as many short stories. So you can become an authority on Gould without years of reading. I wish he would write […]

BLACK SUN REICH: THE SPEAR OF DESTINY: PART ONE OF THREE by Trey Garrison

Black Sun Reich: The Spear of Destiny: Part One of Three by Trey Garrison is a thrilling return to the halcyon days of pulps and Saturday matinee serials. You know the ones – where you’d show up for a Saturday, watch your heroes go through a whirlwind of adventures fighting the bad guys, then end […]

APOCALYPSE by Kyle West

Hopefully this first review is a sign of interesting things to come for the year. This novella, an original ebook of 40,000+ words, is the start of an interesting sojourn across an apocalyptic world. We seem to have plenty of those types of books out there these days, but this one is special to me […]

THE SORCERER OF THE NORTH by John Flanagan

My wife and fifteen year old love John Flanagan’s The Ranger’s Apprentice series. We’ve been listening to the audiobooks for a few years now, always when we’re on long trips so we can get a whole book in. This Thanksgiving we got away for a few days, and we listened to The Sorcerer of the […]

AU REVOIR, CRAZY EUROPEAN CHICK by Joe Schreiber

I’ve been reading Joe Schreiber’s books for a few years now. He hasn’t written many so he’s one of those writers at the moment that is easy to catch up with, but the ones he’s written have had impact in the field. One of his claims to fame is that he brought zombies to Star […]

THE SWORD-EDGED BLONDE by Alex Bledsoe

I have to admit, it took me a second try to get into The Sword-Edged Blonde. I blame me, though. I must have been looking for something different when I first picked it up. Or maybe I was looking for a more sedate or a more pure read. Alex Bledsoe’s first Eddie LaCrosse novel is […]

ALLANON’S QUEST by Terry Brooks

I couldn’t resist the allure of a 99-cent Terry Brooks story for my iPad. Bought it and read it almost in one move. Overall, I think it was money well-spent. For 99 cents, I was transported to another world and took up a quest with Allanon, Brook’s fabled druid. That environment came alive around me […]

HAWKEYE #1 by Matt Fraction and David Aja

It looks like Jeremy Renner’s portrayal of Hawkeye has been on target, so to speak. Enough so that the valiant archer has garnered some serious street cred from Marvel Comics, because they appear to be pulling out all the stops to get Hawkeye increased public awareness. The new series promises to spend more time on […]

JOE GOLEM AND THE COPPER GIRL by Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola

Joe Golem and the Copper Girl is a prequel of sorts to Joe Golem and the Drowning City. Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola have been having some real success in storytelling through comics, short stories, and illustrated graphic novels, and I’m having fun trying to keep up with all of them. Their Hellboy stuff and […]