I’d sworn off Ringo’s Aldenata universe. Really, I had.  You see, though, I was at the library with my son as he pulled references for a college project and there, on a shelf of new arrivals, was The Tuloriad.  “Okay,” I told myself, “I’ll just check out a page or two.  It can’t do any […]

Just in case you, like me, managed to miss it, the Maximum Ride series of YA (young adult) novels by James Patterson are best sellers.  Bona fide best sellers.  As in, the kind of success that every author dreams of best sellers, not just “good for YA” best sellers, i.e. movie-coming-out-soon-with-hordes-of-expectant-fans-already-looking-forward-to-seeing-it-because-they’ve-read-the-book best seller.
Still, not quite […]

Strange Day
by Lorne Kates
Originally published in the Vol. 1, Iss. 2 Omnibus.
They always told me I shouldn’t go to the university.
It’s too much trouble, they’d all say.  Too much work for such a measly reward.  They all said there wasn’t any difference between someone who goes to the university and someone who doesn’t.
Of course, I […]

So, there I was, stuck in Rockford, Illinois. Not that much of a hardship, mind you, considering that I was sucking down a mocha while meandering through the science fiction and fantasy section of the local Borders.  In any event, the book whose cover caught my eye and whose jacket copy eventually opened my wallet […]

To truly appreciate the manga version of The Third, you really ought to seek out the anime version first.  So, for the purposes of this review, I’m going to discuss the both the anime and the manga.
The main character of both versions of The Third is Honoka.  With her self-aware AI sand tank, Bogie, she […]

Conventions.  Very bad for people who really shouldn’t be tempted with stacks and stacks of books for sale.
Not that that’s a bad thing, mind you.  However, when you’re a minor player at best with a paltry few panels to attend, you end up spending a lot of time amongst the books.  What’s worse, of course, […]

Doggy Paddling
by Casey Fiesler
Originally published in the Volume 1, Issue 2 omnibus.
“Why am I here?”
Jeremy, too shocked to form a coherent response, just blinked down at Benjy.
For Jeremy, dogs conjured up a set of expectations.  Eating, sleeping, playing, perhaps fetching the occasional newspaper, chewing on the odd slipper.  Therefore, he assumed that their mental lives […]

Click.
The question is always how far you’re willing to go to get what you want. Kill or be killed? Betray or be betrayed? Win or lose? At each step, you place your bets; you take the result. You don’t cry about it. There’s no one to cry to.
Click.
If there were anyone to cry to, the […]

Claymore first came to my attention via the scanlation exchange community.  I’m a sucker for a woman warrior story, especially a story that has such a compelling heroine as Clare.  I soon became enamored of the series not only for its original blending of archetypes that so uniquely identifies Japanese manga, but for the depth […]

Ghost Chimes
By Nancy Fulda
Originally published in the Volume 1, Issue 2 omnibus.
The ghost chimes rang at 3 AM. Alicia fumbled at the bedside table for her glasses, wishing she’d had the nerve to unplug the annoying little machine last night. She gripped the cool steel rim of the glasses and settled them over her […]