Book Review: The Invention of Science: A New History of the Scientific Revolution

Book Review: The Invention of Science: A New History of the Scientific Revolution by David Wootton At the beginning of the Fifteenth Century, there were no scientists as we understand the term, and no science.  Received wisdom from Aristotle and Galen ruled knowledge and philosophy.  Then a series of changes in technology and the way people… Continue reading Book Review: The Invention of Science: A New History of the Scientific Revolution

Book Review: The Quick and the Dead

Book Review: The Quick and the Dead by Louis L’Amour When Duncan McKaskel and his wife Susanna decided to move out West with their young son Tom to homestead, they knew there would be dangers and difficulties.  But after their wagon train falls to cholera and the family strikes out on its own, they learn that… Continue reading Book Review: The Quick and the Dead

Book Review: Riot Most Uncouth

Book Review: Riot Most Uncouth by Daniel Friedman Disclaimer:  I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of this review.  No other compensation was offered or requested. When George Gordon, Lord Byron, was a lad, his father Mad Jack often told him tales of the vrykolakas, immortal beings who fed on the blood… Continue reading Book Review: Riot Most Uncouth

Book Review: The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut’s Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt

Book Review: The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut’s Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt by Kara Cooney Hatshepsut lived about 1500 B.C.E. to circa 1458 B.C.E.  The daughter of Thutmose I, she was married to Thutmose II, her half-brother, when he ascended the throne of Egypt.  As the God’s Wife of Amen-Re (king of all… Continue reading Book Review: The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut’s Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt

Book Review: The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories

Book Review: The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories edited by Otto Penzler I have a fondness for Sherlock Holmes, as I am sure the majority of my readers do.  Unsurprisingly, there has been a ton of Holmes fanfiction over the years.  Pastiches that try to capture the feel of Arthur Conan Doyle’s prose, parodies… Continue reading Book Review: The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories

Book Review: The Princess and the Pony

Book Review: The Princess and the Pony by Kate Beaton Princess Pinecone lives in a warrior kingdom, and wants to be a warrior herself.  But instead of getting swords or plate armor for her birthdays, she always gets comfy sweaters instead.  This year, Pinecone has made it very clear that she wants a warhorse, a… Continue reading Book Review: The Princess and the Pony

Book Review: China Dolls

Book Review: China Dolls by Lisa See It is 1938, the tail end of the Great Depression, and San Francisco is trying to shake off its blues with a World’s Fair on Treasure Island.  They’re going to need a lot of employees for that, and the prospect of a job draws Grace Lee all the… Continue reading Book Review: China Dolls

Book Review: Slow Dancing Through Time

Book Review: Slow Dancing Through Time by Gardner Dozois in collaboration with Jack Dann, Michael Swanwick, Susan Casper and/or Jack C Haldeman II. The art of collaboration is an interesting one; two authors (rarely three) blending their skills to create a story neither could produce individually.  Ideally, the reader should be able to see the… Continue reading Book Review: Slow Dancing Through Time

Book Review: The Opposite of Everyone

Book Review: The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson Paula Vauss was born with blue skin, so her mother Karen (“Kai”) named her Kali Jai after the Hindu goddess of destruction and fresh starts.  Estranged from her mother for many years, Paula has become a divorce lawyer, far better at the destruction part than the… Continue reading Book Review: The Opposite of Everyone

Book Review: Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante

Book Review: Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal It is late December, 1941.  The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, and America is now at war with the Axis powers.  The United States’ alliance with Great Britain is now an active one, and to cement that alliance,  Prime Minister Winston Churchill has crossed the ocean… Continue reading Book Review: Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante