I’ve loved reading ever since I learned how. Sometimes, that can be inconvenient. I now own over 8000 books, not including ebooks, so storage space is an issue. Fortunately, my heart space is not as constrained as my physical space. Anyway, given my keen interest in reading, it’s no surprise that I began to write. Though my reading tastes are wide, I mostly write in fantasy, my favorite genre. It’s an opportunity to explore new worlds and to use them to reflect upon our own. We may not make literal pacts with demons, but we all face temptation. Figuring out how to navigate our desires is a crucial part of life.
I’m a sucker for stories about struggling underdogs, and Celaena Sardothien certainly qualifies, despite her training as an assassin. Through a series of events, she rises from being a convict in a slave labor camp to winning a contest through which she becomes the King’s Champion.
This sounds like a happy ending, but it’s nothing of the kind. The king is a vicious tyrant, and by serving him, she’s just exchanged one kind of slavery for another. Though she isn’t exactly asked to sell her soul, she’s faced with one moral dilemma after another.
This is a book in which the writer is a seductress, drawing me into her world in a variety of ways. I feel anguish over the plight of Celaena and the many tortured souls she meets. I feel hope when she encounters someone who might, against all odds, be a good person. I feel fear when disaster looms in her path. Always, I feel the urge to cheer her on. By the end of the book, my heart was pumping more adrenaline than blood.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas started a worldwide phenomenon when she published her debut novel, Throne of Glass. To date, Sarah's books have spent more than 92 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and she has hit #1 on charts around the world. Her books have sold more than seven million copies and have been translated into 36 languages. Throne of Glass alone has sold over one million copies. Now you can own this epic fantasy classic in a deluxe hardcover collector's edition.
Throne of Glass begins the sweeping saga of assassin Celaena Sardothien,…
I find the combination of mystery and fantasy in the Harry Dresden books irresistible, and Storm Front is certainly no exception. A typical detective has to watch out for the as-yet-undiscovered killer. Harry has to watch out for the killer—as well as the White Council, the organization of wizards that is profoundly suspicious of him and more than ready to execute him if he takes one step out of line. And then there are various supernatural creatures who want either to kill humans or to use them for their own purposes.
Butcher’s imaginative humor is second to none. I have to laugh every time I think about Bob, the skull animated by an air spirit, or Toot-Toot, the wyldfae who serves Harry in exchange for pizza. Butcher seamlessly blends such touches of original humor with pulse-pounding excitement.
In the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dresden Files series, Harry Dresden’s investigation of a grisly double murder pulls him into the darkest depths of magical Chicago…
As a professional wizard, Harry Dresden knows firsthand that the “everyday” world is actually full of strange and magical things—and most of them don’t play well with humans. And those that do enjoy playing with humans far too much. He also knows he’s the best at what he does. Technically, he’s the only at what he does. But even though Harry is the only game in town, business—to put…
This book hooked me initially by drawing hope out of a difficult situation. When Chance Fortunato is just a little kid, his own father sells him to a demon. He spends eight years learning magic and then tempting other teenagers to sell their souls. But then, he flips the script, winning his freedom and setting out to undo the evil he has done by helping others to avoid or escape demonic pacts.
I was impressed by Chance’s ability to overcome a catastrophic upbringing. I was fascinated by how seamlessly Reeder has him switch between navigating ordinary teenage issues and supernatural threats. Chance’s dialogs with his “hairy monkey brain”—which mostly wants sex—and his efforts to find a relationship that is more than that are moving and realistic. His bravery in the face of overwhelming threats is inspiring.
Conroe has a talent for creating interesting characters, as Chris Gordon, the main character in this book, illustrates. He has violet eyes, a perfect physique, and enough sexual chemistry to overwhelm most women. Yet he is at best standoffish with them.
I was puzzled by this pattern until I realized his motivation. He lives a dangerous life, exorcising demons and driving them back to Hell. He doesn’t want to subject a woman to that kind of risk. It’s lucky that he finally encounters a woman who can deal with such risks—Tatiana Demidova, a vampire princess.
One of the things I like about Conroe is the introduction of that kind of twist—at a point when Chris doesn’t even know vampires exist. A demon hunter and a vampire wouldn’t normally make a plausible couple, but Conroe creates a different kind of vampire, one capable of good. His fresh take on old themes is another reason I found the book hard to put down.
Book 1 of the Demon Accords. Chris Gordon is a rookie cop in the big apple with an interesting sideline - hunting demons. But after rescuing a beautiful girl from a demonic attack, he finds life stranger than he ever thought possible. Vampires, werewolves, shadowy federal agencies and a giant short-faced bear. And it's not even halloween yet.
I like how C. Gockel leads me to expect one type of story but then gives me another. I thought that Snow So White was going to be a retelling of a fairy tale. While the book does allude to the fairy tale, “Snow White” is just a nickname for Jack Frost, which in turn is a nickname for an identity the character himself can’t quite remember.
I’m also a big fan of the world-building. The story is set in a time when old technology has collapsed, replaced by a resurgence of magic. Other planes of existence now intersect with ours so that unwary travelers can meet anything from animal spirits to old gods.
The characters are equally diverse and include my personal favorite, a vampire who retains her humanity, likes to play with dogs, and reminisces about her long-dead family. It’s hard to make a vampire heartwarming, but Gockel has succeeded.
Chris Murphy has gotten himself into a unique problem. He’s sold his soul to the Devil—accidentally. He should have been more careful about what he did on the internet! He discovers he can get out of the deal, but only if he gives up Amanda, the girlfriend he’s gained as a result of his pact. Unfortunately, he’s fallen in love with her, and she can’t escape from her own pact.
Chris is nothing if not stubborn. He's determined to free Amanda even though he has no idea how to rescue someone from Hell. While he tries to figure out what to do, he attempts to keep others from bargaining with Satan, putting his life—and maybe his soul—in jeopardy.
I have been to, and loved, North, Central, and especially East Africa for over fifty years. Only six times have I been to Africa on holiday; more often, perhaps twenty or more times, as a television producer. Working in Africa gains a perspective of reality that the glories of vacation do not. Each has its place, each its pitfalls like stalled plane rides with emergency landings in the bush or attacks by wildlife. But, in the end, the magic of the “otherness,” what an old friend called “primitava” captures one’s soul and changes your life.
Keen to rekindle their love of East African wildlife adventures after years of filming, extreme dangers, and rescues, producer Pero Baltazar, safari guide Mbuno Waliangulu, and Nancy Breiton, camerawoman, undertake a filming walking adventure north of Lake Rudolf, crossing from Kenya into Ethiopia along the Omo River, following a herd of elephant making their annual migration.
Stumbling onto an elephant poaching, the team become embroiled in true financing of terrorism for al Shabaab –ivory sales–and are determined to stop the slaughter at any cost. Ivory trade financing terrorism involves UN refugee camps with two hundred thousand displaced Somali persons, powerful…
A documentary team hiking through East Africa collides with a gang of deadly poachers, in this gripping adventure by the author of Kidnapped on Safari.
Years of filming, extreme dangers, and daring rescues have taken their toll on documentary producer Pero Baltazar and his team. To relax and reconnect with the East African wildlife they love, Pero organizes a walking safari for him, his camerawoman Nancy Breiton, and their elite guide Mbuno Waliangulu. Still, Pero has trouble truly disconnecting from work. When the team comes across a herd of elephants making their annual migration north of Lake Rudolf, Pero decides…
