Today officially starts final exams, so I'll be largely off the grid for a few days. I'll leave you with a few reviews. The first is a review of James Reasoner's Redemption, Kansas, which I just finished.
"Another excellent western by James Reasoner. Take a Kansas town called Redemption, a Texas cowboy injured in a stampede, a group of townsfolk who fear Texans but are learning that the lawmen who swore to protect them from the trail herds might be worse, and a beautiful, strong-willed woman, and you have the ingredients for an explosive western. As Bill Crider says in his blurb on the book, "If anybody asks you who's carrying on the heritage of fine traditional Westerns in the vein of Louis L'Amour and Elmer Kelton, tell 'em James Reasoner's the man."
On Saturday I went to a book signing by Shauna Roberts for her book, Like Mayflies in a Stream. She was back in town for a brief time and it was good to see her again. I've run a review of her book before, but here it is again. It's well worth repeating.
"I found this a really compelling read. Just great characters and a very realistic feel to the historical world. The basic story is a retelling of the Gilgamesh legend, but the mythology is fleshed out with supporting characters who seem extremely real. By the time I got to the second half of the book I was loath to take a break from it and was turning the pages rapidly to find out what happened next."
In the meantime, Shauna left a review on Amazon and Goodreads for my collection, Bitter Steel. Sure made me feel good.
"I loved this collection of epic fantasy short stories and poems. The prose is breathtakingly beautiful, particularly given how easy it would have been to write these tales of honorable but flawed heroes living harsh lives and fighting battles that are not always winnable in prose as bleak as the landscapes and battlefields the stories take place in. Gramlich is among the best stylists writing speculative fiction today."
I'm gonna visit blogs tonight, and then see you all again in a few.
----
----
22 comments:
Sounds like it is the time of the year for college life.
About the Bitter Steel review: Style is important. Is like the style of two fighting samurai. Both use a katana. Both are good. But... which style is the best to to achieve victory?
Love it when the book requires you to turn the pages at a rapid pace. Don't forget to breathe while grading those exams.
Ocean girl, indeed.
Deka, I really liked that comment by Shauna. I really want people to like my style. I spend a lot of time working on it.
Gaston, thanks. I'll work on that. :)
A difficult time of year for college professors. My husband so enjoyed being on sabbatical and missing it. Although he still has doctoral students to steer. He has read more novels than I have these four months.
Good blog post. Now I've enabled my PC to download ebooks I'm going to buy one of yours ~ which one do you advise? :)
Just dropping by to say hi. Trying to get back into the blog habit again.
Thanks for the reviews, Charles. That's a great review for 'Bitter Steel'.
You've been busy reading! Good luck with the finals.
Charles, i say it precisely because is evidence of your style ;) katana? you use a full army!
look at it this way, 'the end is near' ;) lol
I like the premise of Reasoner's novel. I'm way behind on my Reasoner reading. I have 2 of his earlier westerns here to read plus TEXAS WIND on the nook. Need to get cracking.
Oh cool -- reviews are always fun to explore . . . as well as the texts they review, of course . . .
. . .and good to have at least a slight change of venue, no doubt, except for the grading part . . .
pattinase, that’s why I love summer so much. I have time to write, read, and even get some sleep.
Akasha Savage, Well, I’d recommend either Killing Trail, Swords of Talera, or Bitter steel of the ones that are out on kindle. Killing trail is a western collection of stories. Swords is a fantasy novel and Bitter steel is a collection of fantasy stories. Of all my books, you might like Midnight in Rosary (vampires) best, or my nonfiction book on writing, “Write With Fire.” However neither is available as an ebook right now.
Rachel V. Olivier, sometimes you gotta get away. Hope all is well.
BernardL, Yes, I liked it a lot. I like to think I’ve got a good style and I appreciated her noticing it.
Alex J. Cavanaugh, I have got quite a bit read this year so far. Partly due to my Kindle.
Deka Black, thanks! I appreciate that, my friend.
laughingwolf, in a good way!
Ron Scheer, Texas Wind is really good. I’ve got 4 or 5 of his around that I haven’t read yet, and a couple by Livia.
Erik Donald France, just getting ready to turn in some grades now.
The Shauna ROberts book sounds fabulous!
That last comment was me - damn identity confusion.
Charles, get your grading done-the end is near and then you can spend some glorious 'off time' with your lovely bride!
benjibopper, or WAS it? Perhaps you have a doppleganger out there running around?
Jodi, we're planning some time together. I'm looking forward to it.
Ooh...actually Midnight in Rosary does sound like one I'd like! I'm going to buy it right now!!
Akasha, hope you enjoy!
Only three and a half weeks of school left here. This year has flown by!
Wanted to tell you that I read Alabama Moon by Watt Key and thoroughly enjoyed it. Even though it is written for a younger audience, I was hooked and couldn't put it down - I read the book in a day. Something about the main character and the natural setting made me think that you might enjoy it as well.
I've only now come across this post. Thanks so much for your kind words about Like Mayflies in a Stream.
Post a Comment