The Magic of Findhorn is a magical book. I first read it when it came out in paperback more years ago than I care to remember. For more than a decade, I reread it now and then to savour Hawken’s sweet distillation of the spirit of the time. Those were the heady days of pot-smoking…
Review: The Tower of Bones by Frank P. Ryan
The Tower of Bones is book two of The Three Powers series and the sequel to The Snowmelt River. The novel continues the adventures of four young people from Earth (Alan, Kate, Mark, and Mo) as they struggle with their destinies in a savage sorcerous world called Tir. The physical action in a brooding romantic landscape that…
Review: That Scoundrel, Emile DuBois by Lucinda Elliot
Lucinda Elliot describes her novel as a “cod gothic,” a seriocomic parody of a venerable genre that often satirizes itself. The book is a delightful read, with an intriguing story, lively sometimes-outrageous characters, and well-placed touches of humour. An outstanding feature of this amusing vampire tale is the delicious contrast between the staid nobility of…
Review: The Quickening by Mari Biella
The Quickening is above all a novel of mood. It has a pleasing quality of intriguing familiarity that brings other writers and their works to mind while at the same time setting out its own unique ambiance. As an old-fashioned atmospheric ghost story, the author’s style suggests that of a young Wilkie Collins or a…
Review: Hidden Boundaries by C.S. McClellan
With its homosexual relationships and dominant slavery theme, this powerful well-written novel seems a challenging read for those of us who are in the mainstream. Yet George Orwell’s 1984 hardly slots into the norm and we have no trouble reading about Winston Smith’s brutal torments at the hands of the virtual slave-state known as Big Brother.…
Review: Sylvia’s Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
From a masculine standpoint, Sylvia’s Lovers is not a promising title for a novel. It sounds like a Harlequin romance when, in fact, it is a marvellous evocation of life in a rugged Yorkshire whaling town in the late 1700s. The English are at war with the French (again) and the vividly depicted harbour town…
Review: The Snowmelt River by Frank P. Ryan
The Snowmelt River spans the Earth we know and a strange magical world called Tir. The tale opens in the picturesque Irish countryside (beautifully depicted by the author) where four young people meet and discover they are all orphans. Right away, we feel that, while quite ordinary in outward appearance, these youngsters are somehow special.…
In the Comic Footsteps of Douglas Adams
A good comic science fiction novel by a university student. Available for free at the time of this writing, and an entertaining read. The Garden Wall is Lichfield Dean’s first full-length novel. Reminiscent of works by Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams, the humorous science fiction tale is entertaining enough to be a decent read. A…
Review: Birdie Down by Jim Graham
This one is usually free at Smashwords. Why not enjoy an exciting read that costs you nothing? Birdie Down is Jim Graham’s second novel and a science fiction version of what Rudyard Kipling would have called a "ripping good yarn." What we have here is high adventure of the best kind with a motley collection…
Review: Revolution by Rachel Cotterill
Revolution is a fast paced, engrossing, and enjoyable read. Rachel Cotterill’s second novel, Revolution, is another fast-paced adventure fantasy, and something of an accomplishment. A sequel to Rebellion, the book continues the exciting adventures of the interesting and remarkably independent hero Eleanor. The knife fights keep coming, the rousing action remains all pell-mell and helter-skelter,…
Thomas Cotterill 