Category: Reviews

Edited by Patricia Flaherty Pagan, Up, Do: Flash Fiction by Women Writers is, as the subtitle suggests, an anthology of short stories by women.

I thought all of these stories were very good, outstanding even. Not a single one of them was disappointing in any way. The stories were about a variety of different things and several of them really got to me emotionally.

So, yeah, this is an anthology I’d recommend.

“Holy shit, it’s Professor Marchuk! Run!”

Robert J. Sawyer‘s latest novel Quantum Night explores psychology and has me wondering if I’m a Q1, a Q2 or a Q3. Or maybe I’m sometimes one or another, depending on the time of the day and whether I’m wide awake or not. Right now I’m awfully tired and feel like I’m just going through the motions, much like a classical Q1 p-zed.

Jim Marchuk is a professor at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg who developed a procedure that determines whether someone is a psychopath or not. Because of this, he is asked to be an expert witness at a murderer’s trial in Georgia.

Jim travels to Georgia for the trial. Though he’s only there to explain his procedure, the prosecutor grills him about his past and he does not remember things that he should remember. When he returns to Canada, he discovers that he’s missing six months of his life.

Jim’s missing six months are the result of an experiment he took part in twenty years earlier. The experiment changed him from a fully conscious, thinking human being (Q3) to a mindless animation (Q1). Jim is determined to understand what had happened to him during those six months, and what had he done?

A good read and quite fun.

She Wrote on Clay, by Shirley Graetz, is a historical novel. The story is set in Sippar, which was a city twenty miles southwest of where Baghdad is today, and takes places centuries Before Christ.

At the beginning, Iltani is a young girl who wants to be a scribe. Her father is a respected scribe and she is anxious to follow in his footsteps. In order to become a scribe, she needs to go to the gagû where she will learn the art and become a naditu.

So, Iltani gets to the gagû and settles in with her aunt who is a wealthy naditu. Iltani begins her education, but soon runs into trouble.

The story spans over several years. Iltani meets many challenges and secrets are revealed.

I thought it was good read. I looked up some things mentioned in the book because I wanted to know more about them. When I was younger, I wanted to be an archaeologist. Though that didn’t pan out, I still have an interest in ancient civilizations and I feel that this book put me in one.

There’s lots of action in this new science fiction novel by Stephen Graham King. Soul’s Blood doesn’t begin with an explosion, but with a comfortable flow that leads to excitement. With rolling prose, Stephen settles you into the environment with ease and brings his characters alive.

Keene and Lexa-Blue are in the space shipping business. They haul merchandise through space from one port to another, but they also have a reputation for being very skilled fighters. Their ship is the Maverick Heart, but it’s more than just a ship. The Maverick Heart is also the body and mind of Vrick.

Think of Kitt from Knight Rider. Vrick is the ship. Ey thinks, ey talks, and ey helps Keene, Lexa-Blue and their friends. If Vrick was human, I imagine ey would wear a leather jacket and shades. Just like Kitt, Vrick is cool.

Keene’s former boyfriend, Daevin, is like the King of Brighter Light, a city state on another planet. Daevin wants Keene’s help in dealing with conflicts between two different cultures that don’t understand each other.

At first Keene is not so keen about helping Daevin, but eventually he agrees to, with Lexa-Blue and Vrick coming along. There is much conflict, a romance rekindles, friendships are made and mass destruction is witnessed.

Soul’s Blood was a fun read. I was impressed with the world building and I could relate to what some of the characters felt.

Remember the HBO documentary Paradise Lost that aired back in the 90’s? Where three teenage boys were charged for the murder of three younger boys in West Memphis, Arkansas?

Damien Echols is one of the West Memphis Three. His book Life After Death tells about the crazy ordeal he experienced from the time he was arrested for murder to the time he was released from prison in 2011.

Despite the lack of evidence and questionable actions by the police, in 1994 Echols was sentenced to death. In Life After Death, he describes the corruption of the system and life behind bars. In August 2011, due to new evidence, Echols was released along with Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin.

Life After Death is very well-written. I found it hard to put down. It’s also very educational.

A decent novella by J. Kathleen Cheney. The Seer’s Choice: A Novella of the Golden City is set in Europe (I’m not sure if it’s England or Spain or some other country, but it’s definitely Europe.). The year is 1903, so you get that whole Victoria feel.

There are two point-of-view characters, Genoveva and Rafael. Both of them are police officers, but they’re part of a special unit. All the officers in the special unit are witches of sorts. Genoveva is a healer. She has the ability to heal people simply by laying her hands on them. Rafael is a seer and he can see the future, though his visions are not always clear.

A madman is stalking Genoveva. The madman has powers of his own that are apparently deadly. It is believed that he wants to hurt  Genoveva because of what her father did to his son years ago. Genoveva  and Rafael work together and try to capture the madman.

It was a fun read. A nice mystery-fantasy mix. I enjoyed the Victoria setting. Well done.

This song came to mind while I was writing the review: