Advance Review (or sometimes called Reader) Copies are books released to reviewers ahead of publication. These reviewers then post their honest opinions about the book on release day across multiple platforms (like Amazon and GoodReads). Whether it’s a 5 or a 1 star, an honest review is worth it’s weight in gold—which is one of the reasons ARC editions are free to the reviewer.
Book Review: Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
If you’re looking to squirm a little out of your comfort zone, Children of Time is hands-down one of the best science fiction choices with which to do so. The story follows two major plots that converge dangerously at the end: a ship full of survivors from Earth’s self-destruction, and a planet populated by a mad scientist’s experiment gone awry.
How awry? The experiment was to create a new type of human from rapidly evolving apes. Instead of apes, we watch the sentient evolution of something quite different from ourselves:
Book Review: The Household Guide To Dying, by Debra Adelaide
I picked up this book over 10 years ago while working at Chapters. It was placed in the bargain section and normally, I’m a book snob and don’t tend to buy from there. The stickers on the books drive me more than a little insane when I try to pull them off. But a book with a name like The Household Guide to Dying is one I simply couldn’t resist. If nothing else, the author and I clearly share the same sense of humor.
Book Review: The Shining
Book Review: Blood, Sweat, and Pixels
Book Review: "White Rage", and why Black Lives Matter
I want to get a couple of things out of the way right away:
Rights are not pie. Everyone can have them without diminishing anyone else
Your freedom ends where my freedom begins. We all have some sacrifices we agree to make for the betterment of society and civilization. For example, George Flynn’s right to life means no one had the right to murder him, badge or no badge.
Saying ‘Black Lives Matter’ does not mean no one else’s lives matter. It is a reminder, a call to action. It means ‘Black Lives Matter Too’.
Book Reviews: "Under the Knife" and "Dr. Mütter's Marvels"
Book Review: Kingdom of Copper, by S.A Chakraborty
Book Review: The Priory of the Orange Tree
I have been eyeing this book for some time. I am a complete sucker for big books, and at 800 pages long, The Priory of the Orange Tree, written by Samantha Shannon, certainly fits the bill. But don’t let yourself be intimidated by its size. It is not an 800 page slog through a mire of excessively long diatribes about food. It is 800 pages of character driven story that itself firmly in the category of ‘do not miss’ fantasy.
Book Review: Jade Dragon Mountain
When I came home after vacation, I was unsure what book to pick up from the to-be-read pile. I had my non-fiction read started, but needed something fiction. Something a little less knock-down-drag-em-out on my emotions than The Dragon Republic was. Looking over my bookcase, I came to Jade Dragon Mountain.