last reads

The Heart Does Not Grow Back by Fred Venturini Publishing Information: Paperback; 320 pages Publisher: Picador; 4 Nov 2014 ISBN: 78-1250052216 Standalone Copy: Provided by author Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "EVERY SUPERHERO NEEDS TO START SOMEWHERE... Dale Sampson is used to being a nonperson at his small-town Midwestern high school, picking up the scraps of his charismatic lothario of a best friend, Mack. He comforts himself with the certainty that his stellar academic record and brains will bring him the adulation that has evaded him in high school. But when an unthinkable catastrophe tears away the one girl he ever had a chance with, his life takes a bizarre turn as he discovers an inexplicable power: He can regenerate his organs and limbs. When a chance encounter brings him face to face with a girl from his past, he decides that he must use his gift to save her from a violent husband and dismal future. His quest takes him to the glitz and greed of Hollywood, and into the ...

Speculative Book Review is a huge fan of Tim Marquitz's work and when he offered to do an interview and catch up we jumped at the chance.  Speculative Book Review: It has been a while since you last stopped by, care to reintroduce yourself to the Speculative Book Review readers? Tim Marquitz : Howdy, everyone. I’m Tim Marquitz, author, editor, publisher, and cook and personal manservant—according to my wife. My primary series is the Demon Squad, and urban fantasy romp with tons of action and juvenile humor, but I have a ton of stuff out there, to include a number of anthology appearances through several presses such as Night Shade and Grim Oak Press. SBR: Why should Influx, Clandestine Daze be the next book everyone reads? TM: Because it rocks, of course. That aside I’ve seen a trend in urban fantasy where all the main characters are touted as these badass malcontents and yet most of them never live up to it. They stick their toe into the gray and claim badness but that’s not the...

Willful Child by Steven Erikson Publishing Information: Kindle Publisher: Tor; 4 Nov 2014 ISBN: 978-0765374899 Standalone Copy: Provided by Publisher Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "From the New York Times Bestselling author Steven Erikson comes a new science fiction novel of devil-may-care, near calamitous and downright chaotic adventures through the infinite vastness of interstellar space. These are the voyages of the starship A.S.F. Willful Child. Its ongoing mission: to seek out strange new worlds on which to plant the Terran flag, to subjugate and if necessary obliterate new life-forms, to boldly blow the... And so we join the not-terribly-bright but exceedingly cock-sure Captain Hadrian Sawback and his motley crew on board the Starship Willful Child for a series of devil-may-care, near-calamitous and downright chaotic adventures through ‘the infinite vastness of interstellar space.’ The New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed Malazan Book of the Fallen sequence ...

Hunt the Scorpion by Don Mann and Ralph Puzzullo Publishing Information: Kindle Publisher: Mulholland Books; 29 Oct 2013 ISBN: 978-0316209625 Series: SEAL Team Six Book 2 Copy: Provided by Publisher Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "Thomas Crocker and SEAL Team Six are back for another adrenaline packed adventure from former SEAL commando Don Mann. When a nuclear device goes missing, and surfaces in the clutches of known terrorists, the United States calls on its most prized anti-terrorism force: Navy SEAL Team Six . Thomas Crocker and his squad from HUNT THE WOLF are called into action, protecting the world from terrorist threats. With the same real life insight and pulse pounding action he brought to INSIDE SEAL TEAM SIX and HUNT THE WOLF, Don Mann takes readers inside the most elite combat unit on the planet and on an action-packed ride that is sure to appeal to fans of Vince Flynn and Brad Thor." I love a good military action book and Mann and Puzzullo do a decent job of ...

Storm and Steel by Jon Sprunk Publishing information: Paperback; 479 pages Publisher: Pyr; 2 June 2015 ISBN: 978-1633880108 ASIN: B00NEUI2IU Series: The Book of the Black Earth #2 Copy: Provided by Publisher Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "An empire at war. Three fates intertwined. The Magician. Horace has destroyed the Temple of the Sun, but now he finds his slave chains have been replaced by bonds of honor, duty, and love. Caught between two women and two cultures, he must contend with deadly forces from the unseen world. The Rebel. Jirom has thrown in his lot with the slave uprising, but his road to freedom becomes ever more dangerous as the rebels expand their campaign against the empire. Even worse, he feels his connection with Emanon slipping away with every blow they strike in the name of freedom. The Spy. Alyra has severed her ties to the underground network that brought her to Akeshia, but she continues the mission on her own. Yet, with Horace’s connection to the queen ...

Influx by Tim Marquitz Publishing information: Kindle Publisher: Ragnarok Publications; 30 July 2015 ASIN: B010PMEHJC Series: Clandestine Daze #1 Copy: Provided by author Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "A doppelganger, Theo is trapped in the role of the man he murdered. Tasked with safeguarding the secrets of his homeland his loyalty is torn between his new life and his mission when an influx of militants stream to Earth. A pawn of both sides, he's given just days to bring the terrorists to heel. Failure means war, but success comes with its own consequences." Last year I reviewed the novella, Eyes Deep ( review here ) featuring a new anti-hero who is a doppelgänger, someone who can assume the identity of others, named Theodor Crane. Marquitz has decided to turn his new character into a series and it all begins here with Influx. I still don't know what to make of our hero, he is definitely doing his best to do good with his "adopted" family and keep them s...

Dark Ascension by M L Brennan Publishing information: Paperback ARC; 320pgs Publisher: Roc; 4 Aug 2015 ISBN: 978-0451474124 Series: Generation V Book 4 Copy: Provided by Publisher Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "After a lifetime of avoiding his family, Fort has discovered that working for them isn’t half bad—even if his mother, Madeline, is a terrifying, murderous vampire. His newfound career has given him a purpose and a paycheck and has even helped him get his partner, foxy kitsune Suzume, to agree to be his girlfriend. All in all, things are looking up. Only, just as Fort is getting comfortable managing a supernatural empire that stretches from New Jersey to Ontario, Madeline’s health starts failing, throwing Fort into the middle of an uncomfortable and dangerous battle for succession. His older sister, Prudence, is determined to take over the territory. But Fort isn’t the only one wary of her sociopathic tendencies, and allies, old and new, are turning to him to keep Prudenc...