last reads

The Last Line by Anthony Shaffer and William H. Keith Publishing Information: Paperback; 385 pages Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 4 June 2014 ISBN: 978-1250048509 Standalone Copy: Out of pocket Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "THE WAR ON DRUGS Just because Chris Teller is one of the best in the intelligence business doesn’t mean he’s the most popular. Far from it, in fact. While Teller may be a threat to the status quo, however, the only thing saving him from expulsion is an even greater threat to his country—one that’s already within our borders… IS ABOUT TO BECOME REAL. With Mexico descending into anarchy, the drug cartels have kicked up the heat, allying with Hezbollah and the Iranian secret service in a plot aimed at nothing less than the destruction of the United States of America. As Teller races to unravel the plot, he discovers that the most dangerous and pernicious enemies are not bloodthirsty drug lords but a terrifying and treasonous cabal within the U.S. government it...

The Polar North: Ways of Speaking, Ways of Belonging Stephan Pax Leonard Francis Boutle Publishers, London. 2014.  £20. Reviewed by Genevieve LeMoine Stephen Pax Leonard's book The Polar North joins a long line of popular accounts by travellers to the far north who seek to experience and learn from traditional "primitive" culture before it disappears. Leonard spent a year among the Inughuit (in his spelling, Inugguit) conducting linguistic research, concerned about the impending loss of oral traditions, and indeed Inughuit culture as whole, in the face of rapid cultural and climatic change. His background is as a linguist of Scandinavian languages and this was his first experience in the far north. His approach is phenomenological, concerned with the spoken word, as well as gestures; language not as “a disembodied, purely formal set of grammatical and syntactic relations” but as a part of “the totality of human experience” (p. 28). Leonard discusses this aspect of his r...

Lords of the Sith by Paul S Kemp Publishing information: Kindle Publisher: Del Rey; 28 April 2015 ISBN: 978-0345511447 ASIN: B00MKZ3VUY Series Copy: Provided by publisher Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. . . . When the Emperor and his notorious apprentice, Darth Vader, find themselves stranded in the middle of insurgent action on an inhospitable planet, they must rely on each other, the Force, and their own ruthlessness to prevail. “It appears things are as you suspected, Lord Vader. We are indeed hunted.” Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight, is just a memory. Darth Vader, newly anointed Sith Lord, is ascendant. The Emperor’s chosen apprentice has swiftly proven his loyalty to the dark side. Still, the history of the Sith Order is one of duplicity, betrayal, and acolytes violently usurping their Masters—and the truest measure of Vader’s allegiance has yet to be taken. Until now. On Ryloth, a planet crucial to the growing Empire as a source of ...

I recently received a review copy of Carolyn Ives Gilman's novel, Dark Orbit and plan to read later this month but Carolyn was nice enough to stop by and provide us with an interview. So without further ado: Speculative Book Review: Care to introduce yourself to the Speculative Book Review readers? Carolyn Ives Gilman:  I am Carolyn Ives Gilman, and my fourth speculative fiction novel, Dark Orbit , comes out in July 2015.   It is set in the Twenty Planets universe—the same as my first novel, Halfway Human , though only one minor character appears in both books .   It’s also the universe for three of my novellas ( The Honeycrafters , Arkfall , and The Ice Owl ).   All three were nominated for Nebula Awards; the last one also made it to the Hugo ballot.   So this universe has been popular with readers, and I thought I ought to spend more time in it. When I’m not on one of the Twenty Planets, I spend my time developing exhibits at the National Museum of the America...

The Protectors by Trey Dowell Publishing information: Paperback ARC; 331 pages Publisher: Simon and Schuster; 7 Oct 2014 ISBN: 9781476788449 ASIN: B00KU4NU58 Standalone Copy: Provided by publisher Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "An enthralling debut, The Protectors offers a dark twist on the classic superhero story as fallen hero Scott McAlister embarks on a globe-hopping chase to stop his former teammate—and ex-lover—gone rogue. Don’t call him a superhero. Heroes change the world. Scott McAlister? On a good day, he manages to change out of sweatpants. It wasn’t always like this. Scott used to be leader of the Protectors, the world’s one and only squad of superheroes. It was a decent gig, but far from the shiny force for good the UN advertised. He could abide the publicity stunts, the lies, the ham-fisted government handlers—but when one of the Protectors died under his command, it was too much. Wracked with guilt, Scott stepped down and into an early retirement. Now, five years...

Half the World by Joe Abercrombie Publishing information: Kindle Publisher: Harper Voyager; 3 February 2015 ISBN: 9780007550234 ASIN: B00KAFX8XG Series: The Shattered Sea #2 Copy: Provided by publisher Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "Sometimes a girl is touched by Mother War. Thorn is such a girl. Desperate to avenge her dead father, she lives to fight. But she has been named a murderer by the very man who trained her to kill. Sometimes a woman becomes a warrior. She finds herself caught up in the schemes of Father Yarvi, Gettland’s deeply cunning minister. Crossing half the world to find allies against the ruthless High King, she learns harsh lessons of blood and deceit. Sometimes a warrior becomes a weapon. Beside her on the journey is Brand, a young warrior who hates to kill, a failure in his eyes and hers, but with one chance at redemption. And weapons are made for one purpose. Will Thorn forever be a pawn in the hands of the powerful, or can she carve her own path?" It...