Notable New Releases

Several of my friends have new books out that I’m eagerly looking forward to getting and reading. Perhaps you might enjoy these works as well. Here’s a quick blurb about them.

1. First up, Ron Scheer, over at Buddies in the Saddle has released How the West was Written: Volume 1.  Beat to a Pulp is the publisher. Ron has been doing a long running exploration on his blog of the early history of printed western tales. And he’s branched out well beyond such names as Owen Wister and Zane Grey. I’ve been following his work on this project eagerly and have ordered the book, though I haven’t yet had a chance to read it. Both an ebook and print version are available. Here’s the link on Amazon  

2. Bernard Lee DeLeo at Bernard’s Blog has the second book in his Cold Blooded series available for preorder. I tell you I almost NEVER preorder a book but I did this one. Looking forward to reading it. I’ve liked everything I’ve read from DeLeo, but the first Cold Blooded was my favorite. You can preorder here

3. C. S. Harris. The latest in Harris’s Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series has been released, Why King’s Confess. This is an excellent historical mystery series that just ‘drips’ with atmosphere. It’s at Amazon here. I love this series.

4. Richard Prosch has released One Against a Gun Horde, a collection of western stories set mostly in Nebraska and Wyoming.  I’ve been remiss in getting this one up. I plead overwork. See Amazon link here.

5. Beat to a Pulp has a number of new releases out. They also have a re-release of  A RipThrough Time, which yours truly has a section in. An exciting space time adventure, if I do say so myself. And I do.

6. James Reasoner and his wife Livia have also leaped into the publishing ranks with Rough Edges Press. They have a good number of releases out already with a lot more to come. Check out their website. 

I’ve probably forgotten someone. If so, I’ll have to put up a second edition of this short list. But, for now, happy reading!

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Book and Movie Reviews

Lana and I watched Inglorious Basterds and both thought it was way too long. I know Tarantino often includes two separate story lines in his movies and this was the same. Unfortunately, I didn’t think they meshed well in this case. I later watched Jennifer’s Body myself, a horror movie. It wasn’t the greatest story ever told but far better than Inglorious Basterds. I enjoyed it enough to watch some scenes over.

I read When Gods Die by C. S. Harris (Candice Proctor) and enjoyed it much. This is the second in the Sebastian St. Cyr regency mystery series. The first in the series was What Angels Fear and it wowed me with great atmosphere. The second one really got me caught up in the characters. I also read Brom’s The Devil’s Rose, referred to as an illustrated novel. It’s a short novel, about some souls escaped from Hell and another doomed soul who is hunting them. I enjoyed it pretty well and liked the art a lot. I’ll probably try another by him.

I read Red Moon and Black Mountain by Joy Chant and found it beautifully written, although I wasn’t caught up in the plot as much as I wanted to be. I’m also still reading King’s Nightmares and Dreamscapes, a short story collection. There are some good ones in it, but quite a few tales seem a bit overly long and slow to me. Not sure why I’m finding a lot of King’s stuff to be slow these days. Maybe my attention span is really starting to go.

As for writing, I could have been doing more. I’m afraid I’ve been a bit lazy. My writing got a nice mention on The Cimmerian Blog, though. Much appreciation to Miguel Martins.
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My Reading Year

I’ve mentioned how I keep records of the books I read. Well, I date my “reading year” from October 14 to October 13 of the following year. That’s because my birthday is on the 14th so it corresponds to my actual number of years alive. I’m about to finish out the current reading period and thought I might share the results.

The 2008/2009 period was a good reading year for me and I read more than average. I estimated that I first started truly reading at around 7, so counting from that age I’ve averaged about 76 books a year. I believe the actual average should be higher because I didn’t keep records until I was a teenager, and didn’t keep accurate records until my 20s. But hey, the exact number isn’t that important.

For this past year, I’ve read 124 books. This includes 18 nonfiction works, almost all having to do with science, 15 westerns, 18 thrillers, 18 SF, and 17 fantasy. I’ve also read 11 young adult books, including the Harry Potter series, and then smaller numbers in horror, classics, and poetry.

In the past, I almost never reread books, but as I’ve gotten older I’m doing so more frequently. I only started a record column for reread books about 8 years ago, and this year I set a new record with 6. Several of these I reread in order to blog accurately about them for Forgotten Book Friday.

The Harry Potter books, especially the last five, were definitely among my favorite reads of this past year. Also notable was the graphic novel The Watchmen, which is by far the best graphic novel I’ve ever read (not that I’ve read many). My favorite mystery/thriller of the year was What Angels Fear, the first Sebastian St. Cyr mystery, by our own C. S. Harris. In SF, the Cap Kennedy series of Space Opera stories were an interesting discovery, and in fantasy it would be “The Best of Robert E. Howard series, although most of the stories there were rereads. In nonfiction, the best book I read was probably The Lost Notebooks of Loren Eiseley, which I talked about a lot on my blog.

So there you have it. Soon a new reading year will dawn, and the possibilities are…endless. Hurray!
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Lovely Blog

James Reasoner has given "Razored Zen" the "One Lovely Blog" award! Thanks, James!

The rules:

1) Accept the award, and don’t forget to post a link back to the awarding person.
2) Pass the award on.
3) Notify the award winners.

Although I don't visit blogs that aren't lovely in some way or another, and so there are many that deserve this award, I must pass the award along to a few folks who live close to me. First, Lana, who lives very close to me and who makes it all worthwhile. And Candy, who I've been in a writing group with for quite a few years now. And Sphinx Ink, who is mysterious to some but whom I know quite well.
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Great New Book

I just finished a great book, and even greater, it’s the first in a series. I always love finding a compelling new series to read.

The book is What Angels Fear by C. S. Harris, who is also know by the real life name of Candice Proctor. This is a historical mystery series set in England, primarily London, during the early 1800s, the “Regency” period. It features Sebastian St. Cyr, a nobleman who has been rusted a bit by the dark side of life that he’s witnessed, but whose basic goodness is untarnished beneath. St. Cyr hangs out with a lot of “undesirables,” or so they would seem to his noble father and to his social climbing sister. But St. Cyr finds that nobility, and depravity, can each wear fine clothes or foul.

The series stands at four books right now, What Angels Fear, When Gods Die, Why Mermaids Sing, and Where Serpents Sleep. The first one certainly made me want to delve right into the others, all of which I have on my shelves.

What Angels Fear begins with a brutal murder of a popular actress from the London stage, and our St. Cyr is accused of the horror. Rather than flee the country, as many of his friends urge him, he remains in England to solve the crime and clear his name. He gets more experience of the seamy side of London than he might have preferred. But he thrives, and even manages to rekindle a love he thought he’d lost.

The mystery at the heart of “Angels” is a good one, with several surprising developments, but the real joy here is characters and the chance to really “live” for a little while in a very different sort of life. Candy, who has a Ph.D. in history, knows her time period, and the intimate little details are wonderfully realized. And besides, how can you not like a book in which London’s “yellow fog” virtually becomes a character.

Check it out!





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