In case you missed it…

So the new Paperspaceships site design is live (hooray!), and although it’s not completely finished yet, I must say it’s looking super crispy – thanks Rufus.

I am currently charging through a copy of Robert V.S. Redick’s The Red Wolf Conspiracy, a book I purchased based on good reviews… and so far, so good. I think we may have a winner here. A review will be up… oh yeah.

So I’m taking a little vacation (I really really need it) starting Sunday night, meaning I will probably be incommunicado for a week, but I will be coming back reloaded – hopefully. Look for reviews of Mockingjay, the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy, as well as The Desert Spear, Peter V. Brett’s sequel to the awesome debut The Warded Man.

Last but not least, I am really trying to get myself back into writing short stories again. I’ve been drafting up a novel I’ve had tumbling around in my head lately (part of the reason for my absence) and I need some polish and practice to get the wheels moving on it. I plan on posting one (broken into parts) in the very near future. Until then, adios astronauts, see you very soon.

Will Riordan Score Another Hit?

So in a couple weeks (read: May 4th) the first book by Rick Riordan since the success of Percy Jackson will be released: the Red Pyramid, the first book of the Kane Chronicles, a trilogy.

The story follows the two semi-estranged Kane siblings, Sadie and Carter, as they take on a quest to stop the Egyptian god Set, who was released by their father. To save their father who has been banished by Set, they must travel across the world and find out the secret to their family’s history that dates back to the time of the pharaohs.

I’ll be picking this up the day it comes out. Why? Because I’m very interested to see if this book lives up to Percy Jackson. I could be totally wrong (and I hope I am), but I have a feeling it’ll fall short by quite a bit.

Not to say that Percy Jackson is a great piece of literature, because it isn’t. But it’s entertaining, clever, and better than a lot of IR/YA stuff out there. I always really liked Percy Jackson because of the integration and adaptation of the Greek myths into our world today–some of the ways the Greek ideas/people were modernized were pretty clever, and I really enjoyed that. Plus the story was, like I said, entertaining and there were quite a few times where I was caught by surprise by a plot twist.

I’m hoping that this novel will be a step up for Riordan, that his characters will be stronger and his detail more flushed out, but at the same time I’m worried about him churning another one out so quickly after such a successful series.. sometimes that’s the perfect recipe for failure.

Mercy Thompson is Silver Borne

It wasn’t too long ago I professed my love for Mercy Thompson, and I’m about to do it again this month. First off however, I have to shout out Dan Dos Santos for the great cover art this guy churns out on a regular basis. He’s like T-Pain, except you don’t get tired of his stuff. He also did the cover art for Brandon Sanderson’s Warbreaker (good book), as well as the art for the Wheel of Time ebook The Fires of Heaven. Big fan.

Silver Borne is the fifth novel in the Mercy Thompson series, and according to Patricia Briggs, will be focused mostly on Samuel, Mercy’s former flame and roommate as he continues to lose what all werewolves lose as they get older: the will to live. It will also deal with a certain magical item Mercy had in her possession that apparently she’s not supposed to. Can this chick ever stay out of trouble?

Silver Borne drops March 30th in hardcover. Mark your calendars.

Mockingjay is Coming

February 11th was a happy day for me. Very, very happy. Why? Because Scholastic announced the release date (here’s where I died as reader) and cover (and here’s where I died as a designer) for the upcoming third (and final) installment of the Hunger Games, Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins.

If you’ve never read the Hunger Games and Catching Fire (and I hope you have, because we can’t be friends if you haven’t) it’s an incredible young adult trilogy set in a dystopian futuristic world, Panem. Twelve outlying districts are ruled by the Capital. Sometime in the past, the districts (there were thirteen at the time) revolted against the Capital and lost. Because of this, the Capital asserts its dominance over the districts by holding the Hunger Games every year as a constant punishment and reminder of their place. Every year, each district must hold a lottery to pick one female and one male from ages 12 – 18 to participate in the games. All of the tributes are taken to the capital, put through training, given a story and a distinct look, and then dumped in a fabricated arena to fight against the other tributes to their death. The last one standing wins the Capital’s favor in yearly rations to their district. … Continue Reading

Have Mercy

Normally, a guy will steer clear of any girl he deems to be too stubborn, fussy, reckless and bold, clearly understanding that the bitch is so radioactive she’s practically glowing.

Normally.

Mercy Thompson is an entirely different story. From the first book, Moon Called, up to the latest, Bone Crossed, Patricia Briggs has blended all the above mentioned characteristics into a character so confounding yet unique that I find myself endeared to her, even when I want to shake her.

Did I mention that she’s a tatted up shape-shifting mechanic? … Continue Reading

onward to the tenth dimension

If you’re reading this blog there is a good chance that you are like me, someone who every once in a while imagines infinity, the universe, and what lies beyond. There is also a good chance that you’ve googled or wikied string theory and multiple universe theories and pondered the significance of Schrödinger’s Cat. Or I could be a nerd. A nerd about to blow your mind.

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Up Next: Jeaniene Frost

Since half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her undead lover Bones met six years ago, they’ve fought against the rogue undead, battled a vengeful Master vampire, and pledged their devotion with a blood bond. Now it’s time for a vacation. But their hopes for a perfect Paris holiday are dashed when Cat awakes one night in terror. She’s having visions of a vampire named Gregor who’s more powerful than Bones and has ties to her past that even Cat herself didn’t know about.

Gregor believes Cat is his and he won’t stop until he has her. As the battle begins between the vamp who haunts her nightmares and the one who holds her heart, only Cat can break Gregor’s hold over her. She’ll need all the power she can summon in order to bring down the baddest bloodsucker she’s ever faced . . . even if getting that power will result in an early grave…

… Continue Reading