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Book Reviews

Review: Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders

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Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders by Samuel R. Delany reviewed by J. Comer As a fan of Samuel R. Delany’s works and as a teacher who has assigned one of his memoirs to classes, I was pleased to see this novel. Readers may know of his Dhalgren, Delany’s 1973 novel, or of Stars in My Pockets Like Grains of Sand, a story which affected me deeply. As his earlier work did, this novel challenges its readers. Readers of Delany may well be familiar with pornography, and perhaps with the strange “anti-pornography” which Delany invented in works such … Read more

Book Review: Assimilation, Love & Other Oddities, by Lyn Gala

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Ondry and Liam have settled into a good life, but their trading is still tied up with humans, and humans are always messy. When political changes at the human base lead Ondry to attempt a difficult trade, the pair find themselves entangled in human affairs. Liam wants to help the people he left and the worlds being torn apart. He also wants to serve Ondry with not only the pleasures of the nest but also by bringing human profits. Ondry has no hope of understanding human psychology in general, he only knows that he will hold onto his palteia with … Read more

New YA Sci Fi Novel Features Gay Character

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IN THE SEA of female-centric young adult novels filling bookstores around the world, Proxy definitely stands out. Written by American author Alex London, Proxy is a sci-fi novel featuring two lead male characters — and one of them happens to be gay. The book narrates the friendship that is formed between Knox, a “patron” who gets everything he wants and his “proxy,” Syd, who takes all the consequences and punishments of his actions. “I did not want to write a ‘gay’ book, or even a book about that relationship. It was just a fact of life. I wanted to write … Read more

Review: City of Monsters by Andrea Speed

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Another ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords.com review (crosspost)   Rating: 4 stars out of 5 Hunter Burrows used to be an insurance investigator on Earth. But something happened 6 months ago and Hunter ended up a shifter of unknown species who was transported to Nightshade, a literal city of monsters in a near-Earth dimension called Dev. Nightshade is filled with vampires, weres of all types, zombies, reverse tooth fairies, and yes, even Yetis. Left somewhat amnesiac by the transition between dimensions, Hunter learns that having a job is high priority and becomes a finder for a fee. Since Hunter doesn’t know what type of … Read more

Powerless by S.A. McAuley (The Borders War #3)

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I don’t know if any of this group is familiar with S.A. McAuley’s Borders War series.  It has become one of my favorites with wonderful world building, a dystopian society made worse by the manner in which their  guns function.  Plus two main characters whose loyalties  will keep you guessing.Here is my review of the latest in the series. Melanie Rating: 5 stars out of 5 He was built to be invincible. Merq Grayson and Armise Darcan return to the States, their mission to assassinate the remaining Committee members unfinished. Why? The President of the Revolution is in need of … Read more

Review: Voodoo ‘n’ Vice (Galactic Alliance #3) by K.C. Burn

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Rating: 4 stars out of 5 In his anger and obedience to fleet rules and regulations, fleet captain Gideon Arcturus makes a serious error in judgement regarding the Ankyros Ambassador and his lover. The repercussions from that disastrous event finds Gideon banished to Elora Ki, the compost heap of the galaxy. Disgraced and demoted, Gideon is now a subordinate to a man he viewed as an inferior and considered an embarrassment to his wealthy and influential father. Gideon’s last romantic entanglement was a nasty set up by a rival officer that almost cost him everything. But during a visit to … Read more

Book Review: The Starving Years

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This book review is more centered on the author than the book. I love Jordan Castillo Price. She “bends the rules” of gay romantic fiction. But I couldn’t help but think as I read this great book, that this wasn’t a romance. I’d hesitate to say if it was super explicit or not. It was gay science fiction for sure, but I probably wouldn’t label it MMM, or even MMM Romance. Why does this bother me? This labeling? Good question. I think that this labeling possibly affects Price’s image and her work. She’s on the edge of these genres (science … Read more

Review: Noble Metals by L.A. Witt

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Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5 When Robert Belton and his brothers left home to make their fortune in the Klondike gold fields, they never imagined where their gold fever and poor judgement would take them. Amid betrayals and gambling debts, only Robert is left to survive in Seattle and he does so by becoming a prostitute. Robert hopes to save enough money to make it over the Chilkoot Trail into the Yukon and join the hunt for gold. Dr. John Fauth is on sabbatical from his teaching post at the university in Chicago. Dr. Fauth carries a precious machine … Read more

Review: Noble Metals by L.A. Witt

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Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5 Steampunk Historical When Robert Belton and his brothers left home to make their fortune in the Klondike gold fields, they never imagined where their gold fever and poor judgement would take them. Amid betrayals and gambling debts, only Robert is left to survive in Seattle and he does so by becoming a prostitute. Robert hopes to save enough money to make it over the Chilkoot Trail into the Yukon and join the hunt for gold. Dr. John Fauth is on sabbatical from his teaching post at the university in Chicago. Dr. Fauth carries a … Read more

New to the Group – ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords

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I’d like to briefly introduce my blog, ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords, a LGBTQ centric book blog (reviews, author interviews, essays on writing, contests and such). While I review all LGBTQ offerings, fiction and non-fiction, SciFi, Fantasy and Paranormals are deep favorites of mine.

I would like to post two of my reviews today as a sort of introduction. One was by a new author to me, Mina MacLeod and the other by Theo Fenraven (a paranormal trilogy).

Theo Fenraven wrote his Precogs in Peril between 2012 and 2013, a terrific paranormal trilogy which came to a conclusion in January 2013. My series review can be found here http://wp.me/p220KL-W0

SSS Edges & Embers - coverSwords, Sorcery and Sundry by Mina MacLeod
Suitable for YA and Adult Readers, minimal sexual content
First story in a new series
Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

“A wizard, a soldier, and an assassin walk into a bar …”

Wizard Sylvain has just recently arrived in Abelia, the large capital of the Firmiana Duchy. He’s hot, tired and just wants a drink before going up to his rooms. Soldier Ashe is at a table nearby wanting to enjoy her food and friendly banter with the bar owner. Assassin Niklas is situated right in the middle, with an agenda of his own and hopes not to be interfered with. Alas, once the trouble starts and it seems that Niklas has been ganged up on, then Sylvain and Ashe just naturally jump into the fray with sword and sorcery at hand.

But quickly things go awry as Sylvain accidentally sets the bar on fire and the culprits escape. No one has any money to pay for the damages they caused. With the Duchy’s guards at the door, and gold needed to repair the damage to the hotel and bar, the wizard, the assassin, and the warrior team up (it was their fault after all) to earn the money they required to keep them out of the jail and maybe make them even solvent. But the mission they were hired for will take them into the Deadlands and in order to survive, the three will have to become a team to contend with. What happens when a wizard, an assassin and a soldier combine and become something much more than any of them expected….

When a story opens with a tongue in cheek reference to a long-standing bar joke, I just knew I was in for a rollicking great time and Mina MacLeod’s Swords, Sorcery & Sundry delighted me at every turn. How I loved this story and MacLeod’s characters! From the very premise,three disparate people meet in a bar and bonding over a combined debt, I was hooked. And I stayed that way to the end of this adventure and the possibility of a series. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Swords, Sorcery and Sundry is that wonderful and rare story that be listed either as a YA book or M/M Romance, an element that was intentional on the author’s part. That is due largely because it is a story about the tight bonds of friendship first, and then the beginnings of a m/m romance between two of the friends second. But always it is the ties of friendship that guides them and forms them into a family of sorts as well as a business.

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