This was reviewed as being quite the steampunk novel, which is something that I've had a growing hunger for lately. As with so many cases, the published reviews of the book exhibit a lack of knowledge regarding the genre (or, at least, a lack of ability to write IN the genre, as opposed to the author himself). So, I've put off picking it up for some time now.

However, I found myself in a local bookstore (in an attempt to escape construction noise at the home) and was browsing through my "save-for-later" list on Amazon (ie: everything that WAS in my "Cart" but then got removed when I trimmed down the order prior to completion) via my Droid phone (gadget-of-the-year, IMHO). Unable to find a dozen other books on my list (what is it with the selection at bookstores, anyway? am I just that eclectic?) I finally stumbled upon Boneshaker sitting on the shelf, and snatched it up.

I don't know how many of you have had the chance to read a good "steampunk" novel before, but there are a few out there which I believe are quite good. Here's hoping this is one of them, eh?

I'll update and re-post this entry after I've finished reading it and let you know whether it's worth the effort...

It must have been a first edition of Sunglasses After Dark (the first of the three books in this edition) that I first read so many years ago. I picked it up off the dusty shelf of a discount bookstore, wedged anonymously onto a shelf with dozens of other books in horror fiction. After losing it as a loaner, I would return again and again to the same bookstore as if it was the magical author of the book I would grow to love.

We are in an era of multiple television shows all struggling to depict the sexiest leather-clad blood-sucking night-fiend, but all were inspired by the story of Sonya Blue.

This book is the best fiction I've read in quite some time. I'm not ashamed to admit that I've reread it at least once, and was subsequently rewarded by noticing a host of additional details that I did not pick up on the first time through. A priceless work of literature, in my opinion. This novel affected me on a personal level.

All of that aside, it is NOT an easy book to read. The main characters exist in a state where time and place, even reality itself, is fluid and dynamic. Reading their story can be confusing when it periodically shifts into a different reality that is incredibly different while retaining the same or similar relationship between characters. Of course, that was part of what made it so enjoyable, for me.

I'm a big fan of stories that revolve around books of power, arcane tomes, or codexes of lost lore. This is the king of such books, hands down. A book about a book should be powerful grist for the blogging generation. The Book of All Hours is such a book.

What if, in the beginning, God dictated reality to his scribe, including the journeys and meetings of those with power. The Word of God, transcribed as a future map of history. And if the Word of God were to be changed...? How else would you propose to escape the fate decreed for you?

Of course, it is not an easy task to understand the written Word of God, if that is, indeed, what it is. But it is another matter entirely to learn how to speak it yourself. And then, would you not be as God, yourself?

Follow Phreedom Messenger and Seamus Finnan as they travel through mythology in a quest to escape fate, and to escape being forced to choose a side in a war between gods.

This is the most recent success in the sorcerers apprentice style of fantasy, written as an autobiography dictated by the main character to a scribe over several nights in an out of the way tavern. Kvothe was the typical fast learning student on their own who is accepted into the school only to spend the entire time being tormented by teachers, other students, and his past. This is a story of the hero constantly overcoming obstacles while on his road to self-discovery. Kvothe's rogueish charm provides an entertaining backdrop to his frequent loss. As previously stated, this is all told in retrospect and includes periodic breaks in the story being told where Kvothe provides additional thoughts about events considered in reflection. His tremendous ego (which the story goes at lengths to justify) is quite admirably portrayed behind a humble veneer brought about by the frequent losses in his life. Rothfuss provides us with an extremely well written tale that I certainly recommend.

This story takes place almost entirely within the walls of a city which has echoes in half a dozen other fantasy worlds that all seem poised on the brink of collapse from the extent of cultural detritus built up to overlap after uncounted generations of corruption and moral decay. Locke Lamora is yet another character in the Robin Hood tradition of iconoclast leaders. However, while many similar heroes come endowed with exceptional abilities that allow them to frequently escape their fates, Locke Lamora takes a different approach by repeatedly using himself as victem to distract antagonists until someone can arrive to save him and turn the situation around. In the meantime, he seems to repeatedly take a beating from his opponents in just about any physical confrontation. On the other hand, Locke's schemes and scams for conning nobility out of their coinage include very interesting twists which put to shame the catburglary and theft more typical of this scenario in other stories. While not overly epic in scale (something I typically look for in a good fantasy book) this is still a great read.

Rolling in with a host of fresh new concepts to justify extraordinary (magical) feats, Brandon Sanderson proves once again to be powerful author in the genre. Mistborn follows the rise of a slave rebellion in a land ruled by a theocracy of metal "burning" Allomancers and one failing god. The concept of toppling gods is, of course, of interest in this story, but the more fundamental draw is maintained by the rogues gallery of would-be heroes who frequently lapse into the type of witty verbal sparring that indemic of the Robin Hood pattern of merry outlaws. On top of it all rests a progression of character development that easily keeps the reader from getting bored with the political machinations which can get drawn out entirely too long by other modern writers. While the book does come to a definite ending, with sufficient closure to be satisfied with it, there is a very large loose thread left hanging to make room for an even more epic sequel. I'm looking forward to it.

After years of underground creature thrillers that just always seem to under-deliver, The Descent is a welcome redemption of the genre. Discover the terror of tunneling underground, in search of the origins of man's oldest myths and legends. Learn of the horror that awaits us beneath the ground, beneath our very streets. There are no heroes below, only survivors of the dread depths... until there is simply too much horror to ignore and the combined might of every nation on earth is hurled headfirst to it's doom. There is no fantasy more terrifying than that of our illusions being violently shattered by the existence of a hidden enemy that is just as cold-blooded and capable of degradation as the worst human mind might conceive.

This is an incredibly fast read and the value of the story is not lost on rereading, which makes it an instant addition to my library. I can't recommend this book enough to fans of the horror who are ready for something on a grand scale.