The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer from the people who’ve lived the longest by Dan Buettner. National Geographic. 336 pages. I can’t remember exactly where I heard about this book, but somewhere in my travels they mentioned that there was a book out there that isolated pockets of population around the world that … More Review: “The Blue Zones” by Dan Buettner
I want to try something different, and I need your help. I read that Andy Weir, author of The Martian, started his book off by posting it chapter by chapter on his website and looking for feedback from his readers. I would like to do the same thing. This isn’t the first time that I’ve … More The Great Adventure’s Grand Experiment
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King. 251 pages. Simon and Schuster. To fully appreciate The Gunslinger (as a fellow writer) you have to read the introduction by the author and realize that this book was originally written when Stephen King was in college. The version I read had been subject to a … More Review: “The Gunslinger” by Stephen King
Columbus Day (Expeditionary Force Book 1) by Craig Alanson. 494 pages. Amazon Digital Services. Yesterday I wrote a blog about humor, and the value of including it in suspenseful stories. From my perspective, it goes far in helping the reader relate on a human level with what’s going on in the story, and it lightens … More Review: “Columbus Day” by Craig Alanson
The Einstein Prophecy by Robert Masello. 338 pages. 47North. It’s always fun to mix a little history, a little military, in with your science fiction and/or horror. In this case, the story is of an art history professor who serves during World War II in Europe and is assigned with another soldier to recover precious … More Review: “The Einstein Prophecy” by Robert Masello
Belisarius II: Storm at Noontide by Eric Flint and David Drake. 859 pages. Baen Books. My daughter Melissa, the English major purist that she is, rolls her eyes when I talk about alternate history stories, as if they were worse that pornography. And I guess it is sort of an eye candy to me, especially … More Review: “Belisarius II: Storm at Noontide” by Eric Flint and David Drake
Starship Eternal (War Eternal Book 1) by M. R. Forbes. Quirky Algorithms. 433 pages. I’m a member of Amazon Prime (which I recommend), and one of the benefits is that once a month I get a free ebook to read on my Kindle. Pretty cool. Of course, you have to choose from their list, but … More Review: “Starship Eternal” by M.R. Forbes
The City of Mirrors: A Novel (Book Three of The Passage Trilogy) by Justin Cronin. Ballantine Books. 624 pages. Back when I was a kid, there was a well-known, very successful author named James Michener. He was known for novels centered around specific geographic locations, with perhaps his most famous being his book, Hawaii. He was also … More Review: “City of Mirrors” by Justin Cronin
Spain In Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War: 1936-1939 by Adam Hochschild. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 485 pages. Like most of the 2,800 nonfiction books that I read, this book was historical in nature and was done as research for an upcoming writing project of mine that partially takes place during the Spanish Civil … More Review: “Spain in Our Hearts” by Adam Hochschild
Constitution: Book 1 of the Legacy Fleet Trilogy by Nick Webb. Amazon Digital Services. 362 pages. Decades after a war against aliens almost destroyed the human race, the last of the old line of fleet ships who held the line against the invaders is about to be turned into a museum. And with it, the … More Review: “Constitution” by Nick Webb
