A Hero Born: The Definitive Edition
Hardcover | Kindle | Audiobook
Legends of the Condor Heroes: Book 1
Written by Jin Yong
Translated by Anna Holmwood
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release date: September 17, 2019

Set during China’s Song Dynasty, approximately 1200 AD, A Hero Born, the first in the celebrated Chinese Legends of the Condor Heroes book series, starts when two sworn brothers are confronted with a terrible choice after being charged with treason by the local government: argue their innocence before a corrupt magistrate that will likely condemn them to death or try to make a run for it with their wives and sons in tow, fighting their way through soldiers who have come to arrest them.

Time And Time Again: A Novel
Hardcover | Kindle
By Ben Elton
Thomas Dunne Books/ St. Martin’s Press
Release date: December 22nd, 2015

Hugh Stanton is barely alive. He is hearty and healthy enough, but he has no reason to live since his wife and children were murdered. It is just because of the slightest chance in his atheist heart, that there might be a heaven and hell, that keeps him from suicide. So he wanders and drifts, waiting for his time to die. He answers a summons from an old professor, because he literally has nothing better to do. It is there that he is asked the questions:

“What would you consider to be the greatest mistake in world history?” And, “What’s your best shot?”

It is those “what ifs” that revs the engine of Time And Time Again by Ben Elton.

More below.

The Curse Of Jacob Tracy
Hardcover | Kindle Edition
Written by Holly Messinger
Thomas Dunne Books/ St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: December 1st, 2015

“I see dead people.”

Jacob Tracy does, that is. He doesn’t know why. He doesn’t know how. And he doesn’t like it one bit. He and his work partner (and BFF) Boz work where they can find it. Boz knows Trace is a weirdo, but they’ve been relying on each other for a while. Trace tries to suppress his powers, thinking it causes those around him pain or death. It is not until he meets Sabine Fairweather that he admits the full extent to his friend. He’s hopeful she can help him. Otherwise he’s stuck with The Curse Of Jacob Tracy, written by Holly Messinger.

Don’t think all they encounter are ghosts either. Everybody is invited to the party. A particularly riveting scene involves Chinese vampires, but I can’t give it away. Let’s just say they are a nasty lot.

What else can you expect from this fabulous novel?

Agents Of The Internet Apocalypse: A Novel
The Internet Apocalypse Trilogy
Hardcover | Kindle
Written by Wayne Gladstone
Thomas Dunne Books/ St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: July 21st, 2015
Cover Price: $24.99

This book has the most unique premise of any book I have ever read. And I read a lot. It is about the apocalypse. It is about a dystopian world.

I know, I know. That’s not unique! There’s a million dystopian apocalypse books! There’s zombies, “Captain Tripps,” aliens, nuclear catastrophes, government conspiracies, weather anomalies, sorcery, robot takeovers, and space disasters. What makes this book so unique?

Just read the title. It’s about the INTERNET Apocalypse! It’s the Agents Of The Internet Apocalypse by Wayne Gladstone.

The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Second Annual Collection
Hardcover | Softcover | Kindle Edition
Edited by Gardner Dozois
St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Cover Price: $22.99 (Softcover)

Have you ever tried to review an anthology? It’s a lot harder than you might think! Over six hundred pages from almost forty authors was not just an investment in time but it was also a chance to get to know some new writers and revisit some that I hadn’t read in a while.

I was, at first, a bit apprehensive about digging into this hefty tome, but once I started, I was amazed at how quickly I shot through the stories. In an era where many of our devices and gadgets were once thought of as science fiction, how much of what we read today will be available for purchase in the future? We look at science fiction as entertainment but much of it foreshadows our culture and what we can expect in days to come. This, my friends, is what The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Second Annual Collection is all about.