Percival Everett offers a fresh perspective on Mark Twain’s adventure of Huck and Jim. Filled with humor, heartbreak, horror, and irony, Everett’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel is captivating, powerful and entertaining. Jim, as one will remember, is a runaway slave, and is later thought to have murdered Huck. The pair travel down the Mississippi tumbling…
Category: The Book Shelf
All Systems Red (2017) – Martha Wells
I absolutely loved Martha Wells’ All Systems Red. I will admit to be a little disappointed when I downloaded from the library to my e-reader and discovered it was only a novella, a preface if you will to the adventures to come. When I dug into the story, however, any doubts I had about it’s…
To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) – Harper Lee
Countless people read To Kill a Mockingbird in high school, or couldn’t read it because people fought to get it banned. In high school, for me, it was all about Le Petit Prince and The Catcher in the Rye. I’ve had a huge hole in my literary field. But I was finally glad to fill…
Monday Musings – A Marvel Comics Super Special
Having recently talked about my love of the movie tie-in novelization, I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t dive into the equally enjoyable Marvel Super Specials that often adapted those same movies, and brought them to life panel by panel – sometimes with stellar art, sometimes not, but always worth collecting. I remember…
Star Trek: The Next Generation – Metamorphosis (1990) – Jean Lorrah
Jean Lorrah, who had previously penned Survivors for The Next Generation book series delivered the first Giant Novel in the Star Trek line. Once again, it focuses on Data. Sure Data was an interesting character, but the rest of the Enterprise-D crew gets the short-shrift in this story. But that may be a blessing for…
Blood Fever (2006) – Charlie Higson
The end of James Bond’s first year at Eton is almost here, and the young boy, still thirteen, is working to figure out what to do with his summer holidays. His Aunt Charmain endorses his choice to go on a school trip to Sardinia, with the caveat that if it gets too dull, he can…
Monday Musings – The Movie Tie-In Saga
I’ve always been an avid reader. I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t have at least one book on the go. And, I loved my movies. When I was a kid all the way up through the end of high school I was a devout fan of the movie tie-in book….
Star Wars: Ambush at Corellia (1995) – Roger MacBride Allen
It’s been awhile since I traveled to a galaxy far, far away. That being said, it’s surprising how quickly I fell back into the storylines and these versions of iconic characters. Originally published in 1995, this story, the first installment in The Corellian Trilogy is set 18 years after the Battle of Yavin. Allen has…
Lost Man’s Lane (2024) – Scott Carson
Scott Carson delivers a book I just couldn’t put down with Lost Man’s Lane. Combining nostalgia for the end of the 20th century with a twist of supernatural thriller, the tale is a coming-of-age story that is by turns frightening and beautifully told. Marshall and his mom are living their lives in quiet Bloomington. When…
SilverFin (2005) – Charlie Higson
The Young Bond series gets underway with SilverFin written by Charlie Higson, with the blessing of the Ian Fleming Foundation. It’s a curious idea. By giving us a young James Bond, you’d think the stories are meant to appeal to young adult readers. But the stories themselves are in keeping with the literary James Bond…
The Mind Reels 