I review many books. Some here on my website and others on Goodreads and Independent Book Reviews. On this page I’ll attempt to bring them all together in one place for better browsing. It’s an eclectic mix, weighed heavily toward speculative fiction. Maybe you’ll find a few recommendations that strike your fancy!
Fantasy
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps
I enjoyed The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson and would recommend for people that like an up-market, even literary, take on their science fiction/fantasy. Specimen Days comes to mind as a comparable in that regard, although that is quite an old title. A few, essentially structural, issues made it a less engaging reading experience than it could have been for me.
Winter Tide (The Innsmouth Legacy, #1)
A marvelous turnabout on the Lovecraftian mythos. By Ruthanna Emrys.
A Moonserpent Tale
Readers who enjoy character-driven fantasy fiction such as the fantasy novels of Lois McMaster Bujold will be impressed with A Moonserpent Tale. This is a tale both thoughtful and entertaining, a true pleasure to read.
Skadi
Young adult and adult readers who also enjoy fantasy-themed roleplaying games and Norse mythology will feel right at home in the world of Skadi.
Urban Fantasy
The Wrong Side of Hell (The Deathspeaker Codex, #1)
I found the Wrong Side of Hell by Sonja Bateman highly entertaining and would recommend it to people that enjoy dark urban fantasy in the Jim Butcher vein. It is written from first person point of view, if that attracts or repels you, and Gideon has a strong, if sarcastic, voice. It is comic bookish, pulp fun.
Albrecht Drue: Paranormal Dick (Albrecht Drue, #2)
Paranormal Dick is a rich, imaginative story. The cast is large, and the reader will likely enjoy it most if they’ve recently read Albrecht Drue: Ghostpuncher. The story’s conclusion implies that more adventures for Al and the Ghost Geeks beckon. I’d recommend this book for speculative fiction readers who like some humor with their horror and paranormal tales.
Fourth Wall
Roleplaying gamers will identify with Digger and Jett and enjoy the merger of game worldbuilding and mundane reality. The Fourth Wall is recommended for any reader who enjoys unique and imaginative speculative fiction, as well as those intrigued by tales informed by military settings and the high stakes of wartime.
A Taker of Morrows (The Caretaker Series #1)
I recommend A Taker of Morrows for fans of Supernatural TV show and all lovers of other-worldly suspense.
Science Fiction
The Pulse
In The Pulse, author Owen Garratt tell the saga of Jack Broderick’s fight to redeem himself in his children’s eyes by trekking across a post-apocalyptic United States to join them in the Pacific Northwest.
51 Ways to End Your World
How many apocalypses can one world take? 51 Ways To End Your World is a fast-paced novella of a world turned upside down and inside out. Junior-college student Anna Frond just wants to be left alone to peacefully die from lack of sleep, but the violently disintegrating world is in danger of rescue. She must put aside her personal needs and meet the challenge: stop a villainous scientist from saving the world. The breezy, tongue-in-cheek narrative perfectly counterpoints this biting satire of modern America’s skewed values and dysfunctional obsessions. Thoroughly entertaining! Disaster upon disaster! Satirical story recommended for science fiction and humor fans.
The Two-Headed Lady at the End of the World
I recommend the book to its audience of absurdist sci-fi/fantasy. Deep in its central processor unit, The Two-Headed Lady at the End of the World is a sweet romance. Yes, the apocalypse looms, along with all those dreadful 1980s fashions and hair bands. But all you need is love, love/love is all you need (to quote some old-timey wisdom).
Coil Quake Rift
I highly recommend this amazing character driven science fiction novel. I liked it so much I bought the physical copy of Coil Quake Rift after reading the ebook.
Bloodmoon
I recommend Moonblood for YA readers who like some marvels of science-fiction technology with their fantasy magic. An interesting dystopia is presented, in that the society is comfortably utopian—for some—and decidedly dystopian for many.
Mystery
The Mourning Sexton
I read The Mourning Sexton as research for The Big Cinch. Interesting characters, and the murder victim becomes a real person we root for as the investigator follows the trail of clues. Investigator is redeeming his life after a ton of bad decisions and the case takes on an element of quest for him. Lots of st louis scenery to look at, which is fun for us locals.
Thriller
The Lawyer’s Angel
The Lawyer’s Angel, a legal thriller by Scott Allen Benkie, raises the stakes on typical courtroom dramas. Powerful forces will stop at nothing to win a wrongful death lawsuit brought against an unscrupulous truck rental company and its owner, Obadiah Talbot. Squared off against them, attorney James Crosson fights not only for his client but also for his own salvation.
The Ponce Factor
The Ponce Factor is an engrossing page-turner—a medical thriller with high tension and even higher stakes. Author J.D. Crawford crafts a brilliant tale. The story focuses on the characters’ responsibilities and responses within their own belief systems, all the while maintaining a breakneck pace of world events.
Around the Edges
Around the Edges is a literary thriller about how a young law enforcement professional finds the strength to continue the struggle—the big fight, not just the case we see here. Content warning: Rape.
Historical Fiction
1836: Year of Escape (The Immigrant Chronicles I)
Inspired by genealogical research of her own family, Rose Osterman Kleidon crafts a compelling tale, seamlessly weaving family research, historical facts, imagination, and insight into human emotion and behavior into an exciting story. The first book in a series, it describes the Kästner family’s travels from Prussia to the Port of New Orleans. 1836: Year of Escape includes everything you could want in historical fiction—engaging characters, brisk action, compelling drama, and historical facts that are totally integrated into the narrative.
The Light Among Us
Readers interested in natural science and social justice reform, as well as a little-known yet intriguing woman who led the way, are really going to enjoy this novel. The themes and issues of The Light Among Us bear serious thought and discussion—a great choice for a book club.
Transgression
Transgression describes itself as “autofiction”—a fictionalized memoir. It is the tale of a gifted, curious, and precocious American teen as he reconciles the fundamentalist religious teachings ingrained in his heart and mind with his spiritual quest, intellectual rigor, and sexual longings. His internal conflicts mirror dangerous conflicts in the world around him; Hitler’s aggressions and World War II’s events form the background of his life.
Literary
The Last Days of New Paris
This quirky novella by China Mieville narrates two timelines in an alternative-history WWII-era France, in which the war continues, with street-to-street fighting in Paris, in 1950.
A Boring Book
Readers who enjoy a unique take on narrative and characterization will be glad to spend some time with Mr. John Smith. There’s plenty of nostalgia here, as we relive the common, everyday experiences of growing up seen from a gently humorous perspective. We can’t help but root for John and wish him success in all of his dull endeavors.
Mrs. Alworth
The finely drawn characters and everyday life’s minutia of Mrs. Alworth are made poignant by extraordinary circumstances. In an era in which Amanda’s leukemia diagnosis means certain death at an early age, the brilliant independent young woman makes a strange request: she wants to get married.
Manifest
The feel of Manifest is Walt Whitman, Shawshank Redemption, and Field of Dreams, all rolled up into killer storytelling. Although about a baseball team, you do not need to know or care about baseball or sports to love this book.
The Spirit of Laughter
In the magical realism story, Spirit of Laughter, high-school student Francesco, must complete a daunting task—decorate the school perimeter wall with an image of each of his classmates, nearly a hundred in total. And he barely has three weeks to complete the job. He faces many obstacles, including his extreme sensitivity to sensory input and his reclusiveness.
Memories End
Memories End is a parable sort of tale about animal friendship and human failings. Bazil the elephant and Moe the chimp run away from a dismal circus. launching a county wide hunt for their capture.
Memoir and Biography
Other Nonfiction
Sell More Books at Live Events
I highly recommend Sell More Books by Christopher D. Schmitz to authors, or really anyone, selling things at conventions, craft fairs, and swap meets.
Taming Infection
Geared toward the lay reader, Taming Infection places modern epidemics like AIDS and COVID-19 in context with the long and deadly heritage of smallpox, cholera, and other pathogen-induced illnesses.