Been a bit busy lately so in lieu of anything, you know, actually entertaining, I present to thee …

My Summer Reading List!

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Feed by Mira Grant  

Like the undead themselves, novels about zombies just won’t die.*

As you can guess, Feed is a novel about zombies but it’s more than that.  It’s also about a Presidential election and the life that exists after zombies are a fact of life.  I’ve already finished the book – went through it in less than a week – and I enjoyed it quite a lot.  Feed will be the subject of my first book review for Adventures in Sci Fi Publishing so I’ll make sure to link that once it goes live.

* I wasn’t allowed to use this line in the review so I’m gonna use it here.  Meh, take that!

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Template by Matthew Hughes

Sadly, this is not my book.

This is written by the ‘other’ Matthew Hughes, also famous for writing Fools Errand, Fool Me Twice, and a whole bunch more.  Years ago, I originally grabbed a copy of Fools Errand just to have a book on my shelf with my name on it.  Fortunately for me, the story was entertaining so I’ve kept an eye on him.

Template will be out in August.  Me?  I’m getting an ARC (Advance Reader Copy) from the publisher so I can do a review on it.  Very happy about that.

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Broken Angels by Richard Morgan

Shortly after Viable Paradise, I picked up Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan on the recommendation of one of the instructors (Patrick Nielsen Hayden I think).  The book blew me away and I’ve read it twice since then.

Broken Angels is the second in the Takeshi Kovacs trilogy and this time we’re taken off Earth and into the other worlds to which humanity has expanded.

Morgan’s style is hard-boiled in a way that reminds me of Dashiell Hammet (Red Harvest, Maltese Falcon) and combined with the fascinating character of Kovacs, it makes for a great read.  I’m looking forward to devouring this one.

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Neuromancer by William Gibson

As a Geek, I am ashamed to say that I have not read this book.

This great travesty shall be fixed before the summer is out.

Neuromancer practically defined the cyberpunk world. Some of the language we use today in regards to the Internet? This guy invented and he did it back in the ’70s before any of this existed.  So that makes this a must read for me.

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Hulk Hercules : Professional Wrestler by Catherine Schaff-Stump

Cath is not only a fellow Viable Paradise 13 attendee, but she’s also an Iowan.  So, well duh, of course I’m going to read it.

Plus the whole concept sounds great – a modern recreation of Hercules Twelve Tasks combined with wrestling. What’s not to love?

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Magic and Showmanship by Henning Nelms

Another VP recommended book.  While it’s about how to put on a good show for an audience, between the lines you can find out how to put on a good story for your readers.

This will probably be one of the later ones I read since I’ll want to apply some of the lessons learned to my revision of Genie Memories.

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Shades of Grey by Jackie Kessler, Caitlin Kittredge

The second in the Icarus Project trilogy.  I picked up the first book (Black and White) while wandering through a book store a couple of years ago on vacation. It was a fun story and I enjoyed the shifting perspectives between characters as well as past and present.

Shades of Grey continues the tale of Jet and Iridium (written by Kessler and Kittredge respectively)  and addresses the fine line between a hero and a villain.

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The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diane Wynne Jones

This one just looks fun – a compilation of all the fantasy tropes and cliches that are out there.  Basically a humorous “What to Avoid When Writing Fantasy”.

This will be the one I read when my brain is ready to explode after a hard day of work.

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