Wolf’s Empire: Gladiator
Hardcover | Kindle
Written by Claudia Christian and Morgan Grant Buchanan
Tor Books
Release Date: June 28, 2016
Cover Price: $26.99

I read very quickly. This is a fact that few will even attempt to dispute. But there is a caveat when it comes to fiction: I have to like the book. Not to say I didn’t enjoy all of Wolf’s Empire: Gladiator, but there were some extraordinarily trying times during the consumption of this novel. I normally love anything that has even the slightest bit of history or historical reference but when it’s delivery is the equivalent of my monotoned American History professor from my freshman year, I sort of lose focus. Luckily, there were some spectacular chapters that all but redeemed this book in my eyes.

Read on for more!

Pathfinder Tales: Starspawn
Paperback | Kindle
By Wendy N. Wagner
Cover Art by Jesper Ejsing
Tor Books
Release Date: August 9, 2016

I was having a crisis of faith, folks. Specifically a loss of faith in the extended world of Pathfinder. For you see, I have read at least a half dozen of the Pathfinder Tales over the last few months and had become discouraged that I would find any that would please me. Luckily, I picked up Pathfinder Tales: Starspawn, for it has made everything okay again. Blending classic sword and sorcery with tales of the Old Ones, this novel more than makes up for some of the shortcomings I’ve seen in other books from this series. It is not without its flaws, but the tale itself is amazing and well written, two essential components in any fictional story.

Pathfinder Tales: Pirate’s Prophecy
Softcover | Kindle
By Chris A. Jackson
Paizo Publishing | Tor Books
Release date: February 2, 2016

I’ll read almost anything. After working amongst books for the better part of two decades, being picky seems restrictive. So anytime the great folks here at Geeks of Doom offer me a book to review, I normally accept. Such was the case here, with Pathfinder Tales: Pirate’s Prophecy. This was my first journey into the Pathfinder franchise. Not to say I’m not familiar with it. I mean I know it’s an alternative game system to the D&D that I grew up with, but I’ve never played it, per se. However, I went into it expecting something akin to a role-playing game in prose form. Lucky for me, that’s essentially what I got!

I want to take a different approach with this review, though. I didn’t realize until halfway through the book that it was the third in a series. There were several scenes where I felt I was missing something and, truth be told, I was. So, I’ll review the storyline briefly but I want to talk about the content, as well. As I know next to nothing about the author, Chris A. Jackson, I shall not dwell too long on him at all.

Lock In
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
Written by John Scalzi
Tor Books
Release Date: August 26, 2014
Cover Price: $24.99

In the near future, a flu-like virus wreaks havoc across the Earth and kills 400 million people. Some got the flu and recovered. The rest experienced “lock in,” trapped inside paralyzed mute bodies, completely aware of their surroundings with full brain activity (at least the thinking part).

Superman: Peace In The Balance
A Choose-Your-Fate Adventure Book
Softcover
Written by Michael Teitelbaum
Tor/Starscape
144 Pages
Release Date: April 30, 2013
Cover Price: $5.99

This isn’t going to be a normal book review, mainly because this isn’t a normal book. I offered to review Superman: Peace In The Balance because it’s a Choose-Your-Fate Adventure Book, not because it’s superhero related. I have much love for this type of literature, though it doesn’t seem to be as prevalent today as it once was. There’s nothing like a variety of possible endings to extend the fun you can have with a story.

And when I say a variety of endings, I mean just that. These books are similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure books of my youth. Everything hinges upon decisions the reader makes after each short chapter. Essentially, as the story progresses, you (acting as the main character would) make choices and flip to a new chapter to see the results of your action. This leads to a lot of flipping back and forth, but can create vastly different conclusions. For instance, in this book, I killed Superman no less than four times and destroyed the Earth at least once. And I had a blast doing it (pun intended).