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Joe Abercrombie is a master world-builder and creator of nuanced
characters.

The language is rough and the blood and gore, vivid.
A dark fantasy set in an alternative medieval Europe
overrun by bloodthirsty elves.
Not for the feint of heart. Absolutely engaging.
Director James Cameron has already purchased the rights
to the book and is currently working on a screenplay with
Abercrombie. Casting and release date to be determined.

Abercrombie's writing invokes all five senses .The foetid smells of
the unwashed. The raucous sounds of the street. Seeing the
grandeur of the religious edifices or the half-finished candle-burned
walls of the underground. Unwanted embraces or the touch of silk
against the skin. The taste of sour ale or the vomit in the back of
the throat-feel when fear engulfs you.
A medieval experience !
Now add monsters.

A tale of nature and humans as obseved by 18th century tortoise,
Timothy. Now in his eighties, a transplant from the Grecian Isles,
our narrator wanders through a hole in the fence of the English
vicarage he now calls home. An observant and poetic sort, he
learns much about the world in a little over a week's time.

Creative writing 101 : woman as animal, goddess and more.
Expect nothing as you enter these pages but prepare to be
amazed.

Who would have ever imagined this jaded, wizened mind could be so
easily drawn into the world of a bullied high school freshman. A page
turning classic.

Hiaasen's characters and plots bring you memorable beach reading
even in October in front of your artificial fire place.
Some rough language. So, not for the young 'uns.

Away for a while and picked it up at random. Reads like I never left.

Can you say "segue " ?
Richard Fortey is the master of segue.......but in a good way .
A delightful read.

Chapter one is a tour of cubbies and specimen storage areas
as the author wandered unsupervised through the British
Museum of Natural History's stored collections.Closed to the
public is a "miscellaneous repository, a place of institutional
amnesia" known as Dry Storeroom No.1.
He sees the room as a metaphor for one's lifetime : a collection of sorts.
Like suppressed memories. "We are all our own curators."

"Nobody know me. I fool 'em all."
- Muhammad Ali to Sports Illustrated writer, Mark Kram,Sr.

"A collection of speculative and experimental fiction exploring
animal intelligences, gender, and the nature of stories."
Multi-award winning Kij Johnson's short fiction from the last 10 years.
Her previously collected short fantasy fiction was published under
the title AT THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER OF BEES. One of my all time
favorite books.

Communist Laos. 1970's. Breakfast at the Hotel Pakse.

"The cook appeared and plonked down two plates and
a basket of gray bread in front of the guests. The eggs
seemed to float like flat tropical fish in pools of grease.

'Coffee's coming,' the cook said. To Civilai's ears, it
sounded like a threat. "

A prismatic approach to biography from then-current articles.
Homage and roast, analysis and tribute all in one book.

Picking up a Colin Cotterill-anything is like meeting up
with a best friend after a long absence: happily anticipated,
and never disappointed. Just ordered the next 4 books
in the Dr. Siri series through Amazon....happily anticipated.

Still going strong........

Analytical, yet warm and fuzzy. Now that's writing to keep even a
Mr. Spock reading into the late hours.
If you're a fan of the show, this is a must read.

Predictable structure for any Hollywood "making of"
history. Trials, tribulations, who almost got the part,
creators butting heads with studio chiefs. Well written
so far and fairly high marks from the reading community.
Giving it a try..........

So far a promising variation on ALIEN, LIFE or any of the
other well done syfy / horror scripts about alien life form
encounters in outer space that keep us coming back to
support Big Popcorn and invest in Disposable Underwear
Futures on Dow Jones.

Worth the read if you're a fan of Monty Python, The Marx
Brothers, the novels of Tom Holt or anything ever written
by Terry Pratchett. I'm already checking on Amazon to see
if I can get a used Golem.

Arranged by decades (4), THE MUHAMMED ALI READER
offers the unfiltered biography of a boxing legend through
the writings of over 30 professionals. As much documentary
of the latter part of the 20th century as verbal biopic.

A special recipe from Terry Pratchett that includes
silly, sarcasm and menace in just the right balance.
Just this short distance into it and I'm looking for my
next Discworld. Pratchett may be considered an
acquired taste for some but his unique writing style is how
Pratchett acquires his readers.

Chapter headings like "Friendship, Cooperation, and Dengue Fever",
or, " Mrs. Nuts Goes Home", or even "The Missing Moron" are common.
I'm probably in for some political commentary here. Just guessing.........