In 2008, Entertainment Weekly decided to rank "the new classics," and made lists of the "100 Most Influential" bits of various media in the last few decades. They had a list of movies, a list of books, a list of TV series, and so on. This, naturally, made me grumpy and contemplative, because their list looked absolutely nothing like mine. I then ( Read more... )

Yesterday, I was sitting on BART reading the absolutely fantastic new book, I am Not a Serial Killer [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] by Dan Wells. It has blood splatter all over the cover. That's how you know it's qualityAnyway, I was happily reading away when the train pulled into Embarcadero Station and a fairly generic-looking white male of ( Read more... )

So last year, Entertainment Weekly decided to rank "the new classics," and made lists of the "100 Most Influential" bits of various media in the last few decades. They had a list of movies, a list of books, a list of TV series, and so on. This, naturally, made me think, because their list looked absolutely nothing like mine would. I promptly ( Read more... )

The Skewed Throne [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxies] by Joshua Palmatier.
DAW Books, paperback
384 pages, epic fantasy I bet you don't know where your wallet is
Currently in print

( Where were you when the White Fire burned the city, and everything went mad? If you don't know what I'm talking about, and you like your fantasy epic, you should click here. )

Straight On 'Til Morning [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxies] by Christopher Golden.
Roc Trade, paperback
352 pages, whatever happened to Saturday nights, and the girls you loved back then?
Currently in print

( Do you remember the 1980s, or are they just some by-gone era where the hair was funny and the delinquents were juvenile? Do you remember young love? Do you remember Peter Pan...and did you ever wonder just how dark it could get? Second star to the right, and click here 'til morning... )

(The scene: riding around in the car with Mom, doing errands. Because there are always errands to be done. But as these errands included getting the frame order for my book covers placed, neither of us really minded.)

Mom: So I finished my book.

(She looks sorrowfully towards Goblin War, barely visible in her bag ( Read more... )

Evernight [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxies] by Claudia Gray.
HarperTeen, trade paperback
352 pages, you don't know Evernight Academy like you think you know Evernight Academy gothic fun
Currently in print

( What secrets lurk in Evernight Academy, a school with a uniform most Hot Topic lovers would kill for? Can Bianca survive her time at school? What's up with the dreams? All this and more will be answered, but not everything will be revealed by clicking here... )

Dead to Me [Amazon] by Anton Strout.
Ace Books, mass market paperback
368 pages, New York New York it's a hell of a--HOLY GOD WHAT IS THAT THING?! MARSHA, RUN!
Currently in print

( How does Simon Canderous -- a reformed thief with a psychic talent that hinders as much as it helps -- make a life in a world that really seems to want to kill him as messily as possible? And is anyone really writing good comic fantasy these days? Click and find out. )

Divalicious! volume one and Divalicious! volume two, by Amy Mebberson and T. Campbell.
TokyoPop, paperback
232 pages, bubblegum bimbo pop princess American manga musical madness
Currently in print

( What's it like to be Tina Young, arguably the most famous pop-star princess in the known universe? And can a comic book about a pop princess really be awesome enough to be worth reading? Absolutely, and you'd be surprised. Click here for details. )

I went holiday shopping with my mother yesterday. Always an entertaining experience, since she's essentially tireless, shameless, and the only person I know willing to go through the entire bottom-of-the-barrel clearance section at Rasputin's with me. As we were driving to the mall, the following exchange took place. (I started transcribing as ( Read more... )