[Review] Beyond Dancing: A Veteran's Struggle, a Woman's Triumph (Hardcover)

Hardcover: 311 pages $23.95
Publisher: Bartleby Press (November 2003)
ISBN-10: 091015550X
ISBN-13: 978-0910155502

It’s taken me a while to figure out how to approach this review. See, I’m used to reviewing fiction, and not autobiographies.

Anita’s story helps to bring to life aa period during WWII, and circumstances of which I was only peripherally aware of one, and that was the WAAC’s mainstreaming and transition to the WAC. For the uninitiated, that’s from the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps to the Women’s Army Corps. Injured in an incident in boot camp, which I’ve taken to thinking of as a case of “friendly fire” (and medical malpractice), and disabled as a result, this book takes us through Anita’s struggles to be recognized as a disabled veteran, injured in the service of her country. It’s her story, but it happened during that period, and her life, and the transition, and the struggle for the rights of those women veterans disabled during the transition adds a dimension to this story. It’s one woman’s struggle, and ultimate triumph, that illustrates the struggle, not only for women veterans, but for all veterans. It’s an important part of history that should not be overlooked, and brings to life the period in which it transpired. Anita was also the first woman to pass a drivers license test using hand controls. Considering that this period was WWII, that point also shows that civilization was not quite so barbaric as some of the medical methodology was, for that period. ;-

I have to admit that I was looking at the story and thinking about how different it was from the America portrayed in A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN, which was more about a depressed economy than about the child of a business owner. A different economic strata is portrayed, and this book, unlike that one, is not fiction. Still, I could relate to Anita’s story. I never was in the military, but…

I would recommend this book to both historians, and to people who like to read human interest stories. Other folks might find it interesting, too.

Bad Guys & Villains

Bad Guys & Villains

INSTINCT by Mark Anderson

This is the first short story in an anthology from the Yahoo! group called THE PARASITORIUM. It is the second volume pf short horror fiction from the group, called PARASITIC SANDS.

It's the story of a group of three guys who go to the beach for an annual event, watching as instinct takes over, and there's a mass exodus into the ocean, where dead bodies start piling up. Human bodies. People are driven to go to this particular beach, and jump off the dock and into the ocean.

Of course, it's not a story about the annual event, but rather, about the three young men who go to the beach to watch it.

Apparently, the title says it all. There's no mention of what instinct drives these people to the beach, only the carnage and the guys sitting, drinking beer, and talking among themselves.

The end of the story, though... Well, I'll leave that for the reader. The image is actually rather funny.

[Review] GOBLIN HERO by Jim C. Hines

Goblin Hero
by Jim C. Hines.
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: DAW (May 1, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0756404428
ISBN-13: 978-0756404420


No sane goblin wants to be a hero. They usually wind up dead.

Then again, since when has sanity ever stopped a goblin?

Jig Dragonslayer, for instance. He's not insane. Then again, he's a runt. He also admits, freely, that he's no hero. Still, he's the voice on Earth for the god Tymalous Shadowstar, and he can heal goblins, hobgoblins, and even ogres.

Speaking of ogres...

The events in Goblin Hero take palce one year after the first book, Goblin Quest. One year after the events in the preceding book, an ogre comes to Jig for help. It seems that his family's been enslaved by something. Now, orges are the biggest, baddest, and smartest (at least, compared to most goblins) creatures in the mountain. Jig's a runt. Still, with TS on his side...

What do you do when your people's leader wants you dead (though not overtly), because she fears you as a political rival? Or when an ogre comes seeking your help, because he's under the erroneous impression that you actually killed a dragon?

Jig never wanted to be a hero.

For that matter, no sane goblin wanted to be a hero.

Goblin heroes tend not to live for a very long time, you see. They charge into battle without thinking, always getting themselves killed.

Regardless, Jig has survived being a goblin hero for one, whole, year, since the events in Goblin Quest. Jig Jig doesn't think of himself as a hero. For one thing, he's still alive, which proves it to him.

The scrawny, bespectacled goblin was not even that much of a warrior, really, so why did everyone seek him out under the mistaken impression that he was?

Of course, this time, Jig has competition, in the form of a fledgling goblin wizard and hero wanna-be named Veka.

Veka is an unusually large goblin who some call "Vast Veka" behind her back, and sometimes even to her face. When Jig doesn't want to take her on as his apprentice in magic and heroism ("binding spell", indeed!) Veka sets off on her own, though on a parallel course to Jig. She recruits a "heroes' sidekick" she calls Slash, for the scar on his face. Not that Slash is all that interested in side-kickery. Veka tricked him into coming along, you see. Oh yes, Slash is a hobgoblin, and not on friendly terms with goblins.

Enemies make for strange bedfellows, but Jig's the one who, er, has to "get Jiggy" with it, and unite both goblin and hobgoblin, if he wants to defeat the enemy. Remember the Necromancer from the past book? Well, there was only one of him...

Oh, and keep an eye on Smudge, too. For one, he actually doesn't die in this book. For another, he gets to... Nah, I don't want to give too much of the story away, do I?

[Review] BLACK TIDE by Del Stone Jr

BLACK TIDE by Del Stone Jr © 2007
TELOS PUBLISHING
http://telos.co.uk/
£7.99 + £1.50 UK P&P
111 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-84583-043-4
GENRE: Horror

What would you do if you were stuck on a deserted island with a beautiful girl, her clueless boyfriend, and a mid-life crisis? Well, if you're Fred Miller, then you're fighting off what amounts to a zombie invasion.

Miller is a college professor who recently experienced a humiliating separation and divorce from his wife, who left him for a younger man. When the opportunity to conduct an environmental impact study in a deserted island comes his way, he decides to ask Heather, a nubile young assistant, to accompany him. To Dr. Miller's great dismay, she also brings her boyfriend, Scotty, along for the expedition.

The story opens with them taking a boat across Santa Rosa Sound to a spoil island by Okaloosa—a barrier island—to investigate a red tide outbreak in an area due to be flushed out by the opening of a new channel. When the three of them are alone on the island, Scotty decides he wants Heather to play Frisbee, rather than work: but when a toxic fog released by the irrigation threatens to overwhelm them, the quick-thinking professor uses the Frisbee to bury them all in the sand, until the fog rolls over and past them.

When the fog clears, they see people on the opposite shore combust, and walk into the water. They hear the havoc on the mainland. Apparently, everyone is either dead, or dying. The problem is worse than your run-of-the-mill red tide. It is a kind of black tide. It caused the fog which had earlier rolled over them.

The fog had turned the people on the mainland into photosensitive zombies, ones that burn at the slightest indication of unfiltered light. The three of them manage to incinerate a few with flashlights between dusk and dawn. In the daylight, Scotty decides to swim to the mainland in search of help. Not that he makes it...

BLACK TIDE sets the zombie mythos on its ear.

Del has zombies that can "live" underwater, filtered from the direct light of the sun. Starlight is too far removed to affect them, and sunlight filtered through the water, or if they are in shade, leaves them unaffected.

In a way, Fred gets what he wants at the end, Heather's undivided attention, though he does not really want it, by then. ;-)

The story is an interesting read, and throws an unlikely protagonist into an horrific situation. Can Fred and Heather make it out of this situation alive? Well, you'll have to read it BLACK TIDE find out. It's worth the journey.

Oh, and stock up on batteries, and candles. ;-) You never know...

[Review] BANK ROLL: A MAX STRYKER MYSTERY by Janet Elaine Smith

BANK ROLL: A MAX STRYKER MYSTERY
by Janet Elaine Smith
STAR PUBLISH (May 4, 2007[192 Pages]), $16.95
ISBN-10: 1932993789
ISBN-13: 978-1932993783
GENRE: Mystery





Wanted Immediately: reporter And Editor to run successful small town newspaper. Owner/pub retiring.

Maxine Stryker is a crime reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, until the announcement comes on the news that the Knight Ridder newspaper chain has been sold. When Max receives her pink slip, she makes a drastic decision; to go home and work for the local newspaper, something she had promised herself that she would never, ever do. Nothing more exciting than happened in Willow Creek then when the moose ran over Pete Bjornson. That's quite a step down for her.

Not to mention that, when she arrives, she's cast right into the middle of the mayhem. It seems that someone in the town has kidnapped the bank president. The only big problem, as Max gets caught up in this mystery, and has to deal with the FBI getting in the way as well, is who in the town did not have a motive to kidnap and ransom the womanizing bank president. Some folks are even surprised that he wasn't just killed outright, rather than ransomed.

This story has several layers that catch and hold your attention, or at least, caught mine. ;-) The townsfolk are colorful enough to draw you in, and some of them could even be your own neighbors. Not that they are, of course, especially not the moose. The ensuing mayhem has the FBI chasing the most obvious suspects, but Max grew up with these people and knows them a bit better then some guys from DC. She does quite a bit of digging, of the type you could only do in a small town where everyone knows one another. Still, with Max coming back from the "big city", there's a viewpoint that could appeal to everyone.

The ending itself twists several degrees, so it can catch you by surprise, especially when the entire town is a suspect. Well, those who were actually in the town at the time of the kidnapping.

The Ladies Next Door

Jean Rosestar's review of The Ladies Next Door makes it sound like an interesting plot line. I have to put it on my reading list. ;-)

[Review] DEVIL GLASS by C. Robert Cales

Devil Glass
Genre: Horror
C. Robert Cales (PublishAmerica, 2000, $34.95)
ISBN #1-59286-202-0


I've read the other reviews here, and they do the story some credit. First, forget that it's PublishAmerica. Yes, there are the occasional spelling gaffes in the text. DEVIL GLASS draws you right in, with sharpened talons, and it won't let go. Trust me on this one--I just finished reading it. If I had to reduce it to a simple equation (and if you have ever read THE OTHER), it's Stephen King meets Tom Tryon.

Antitheus Vitrum.

When someone contracts to have a swamp drained in their back yard, so they can install a pool, this strange totem ploe-like structure is uncovered. Nightmarish faces are carved into the crystal surface. The rought surface separates this from other crystals. Its black heart, contained by the nightmarish carvings etched on the fossilized wood that surrounds and contains it, unnerves anyone who comes close enough to peer into its darkened recesses. Its discovery coincides with a chain of mysterious deaths and disappearances that only seems to grow as the mystery shrouding the artifact deepens.

Joyce Robbins seems to have it all. She's starting work as a college professor, Native American Studies. She also works at the museum. She is highly respected by the people she works with--well, with the exception of Rudy. She's also, as of late, overwhelmed with memories, and feelings that she had ignored for some twenty-odd years. When Joyve and Kim Lee received word that Randy Lippencott had died in Vietnam, she and Kim lost contact as they tried to come to terms with Randy's passing. What will happen when she comes into contact with the artifact? What dark secret xould lie behind its enigmatic architecture?

Kim Lee is an enigma on to himself. He's got this knack for things--it's a bit difficult to pin down, until you read the book. Let's just say he's a bit of a clairvoyant. Well, maybe more than a bit. After they had heard that Randy died, and Joyce lit out on her own, he engaged in a journey which brought him to a Master, who would help him cope with his own grief, and to learn many things, in order to prepare...

Randy Lippencott is remarkably alive and relatively well, for someone who died in Vietnam. For three weeks, he was in a coma, misidentified as a fellow soldier, the only survivor of his platoon. He could find neither Joyce not Kim on his return to the U. S. He's now a geologist.

Together, the three of them must face the nightmare, dug up from beneath the ground, when someone wanted to install a pool. A nightmare called Antitheus Vitrum.

Devil Glass.

[Review] Goblin Quest, by Jim C. Hines

Goblin Quest
Genre: Fantasy
By: Jim C. Hines (346 pages, DAW Books, Inc., $6.99 US/$9.99 Canadian)
ISBN #: 0-7564-0400-2


            Jig is a very lucky goblin. Of course, he would much rather put the luck back where it found him. Jig's not just any goblin, mind you: he's a goblin who would rather stay alive, and avoid beatings by his fellow goblins, who know him for a clumsy runt who gets stuck with mucking about with the lighting. Not that Jig minds the muck. It's one thing he's good at. But when a group of his fellows draft him as bait, in case invaders enter the goblin's tunnels, and told to scream loud when he dies: that way, the goblins on guard duty who are busy drinking and playing can repel the invaders. Well, Jig's along for the ride-er, as bait. All this, before breakfast.
            He's more than a bit put out when he's drafted by two princes, one dwarf, and an elf for their party's quest--to find the Rod of Power. Not that the elf really has anything to say about it. See, she's a thief, and she was sort of drafted too. The worst part of it is, he has to eat this tasteless morsel that the humans call bread, which has no flavor whatsoever. Still, it is edible, barely.
            Thus begins Jig's Big Adventure, in Goblin Quest. If the adventurers find the Rod of Power first, will Jig live long enough to go home and have some decent food? Preferably, something with meat in it.
            On the one hand, I felt sorry for Jig. Essentially, he was sleeping with the enemy (in a manner of speaking), though he did end up making a friend or two along the way. A lot of what happened during his travails really led him to some hard questions and observations about Goblin society, and his place in it: but it's done in such a way that it's funny, too. There are a few surprises along the way, not the least of which is a dragon with an appreciation of fine art, a genteel if not a gentle soul.<
            Of course, speaking of which, Goblin Hero comes out, very soon. ;-)

Ivory Sword: The Lore of DAYONE: Books: A.A. Wolfner,Alan J. Vekich

Ivory Sword
The Lore of DAYone *
Genre: Fantasy
By: A. A. Wolfner ** (548 pages, PublishAmerica, $34.95)
Available at Amazon.com, B&N.com, Booksense.com, and Books & Etc. Book Store
ISBN #: 1-4137-9572-2

        Come, and be transported into a world of alien intrigue, mystery, and politics.
        The Ivory Sword of the title was a gift, given to both Prince Morais. and to his twin brother, Ils, by a Fishmonger who prophesied that the two Elves would share the sword. Ils (decreed the elder of the twins by their father, King Solay, Emperor of the Liosdoackfar (Mountain Elves) Empire) has possession of the sword.
        As the story opens, Morais, wanting recognition from his father, arranges with thugs to kidnap his brother, so that he could go to the rescue, and thereby earn respect from King Solay.
        Unfortunately, this plan goes awry as a battle with Fay and Swan Knights, led by King Ceagare, King of the River and Sea Elves and King Solay's vassal (and son-in-law), leaves Morais's father and brothers dead, and his twin, Ils, a prisoner. Ceagare wants the throne, and this ill-conceived plot was the impetus for his try at the throne. Morais rides off after his brother's kidnappers.
        This stirring scene, resplendent with the guilty conscience of Morais, begins his journey  to both rescue Ils, and to prove his worth as the new Champion to the Throne. He does not, has never wanted, to be king. He never wanted this to get out of hand.
        Events spiral beyond his control and the Elf Prince, Morais, gathers companions along the journey to rescue his brother, each with his or her own reasons for allying themselves with him and his cause.
        Morais sort of ends up with the sword. It's shrouded in mystery, and it seems to disappear, only to reappear at odd intervals. He has it for an initial defense, but it vanishes like an enigma, only to turn up again at the strangest times.
        Will Morais solve the mystery of the Ivory Sword? Will he succeed in his quest, to save his brother and, perhaps, avenge his father's death? Will Morais's adopted emblem, the White Rose triumph over the equally enigmatic emblem of the Black Rose, the symbol for the Spectral Dragoons who stole his brother away, and killed his father and brothers on the battlefield, along with Ceagare?
        This world is a rich tapestry of many races--Elves, Dwarvess, Dragons, Syrons, and others--a few of whom join the Prince in his quest, all with a single cause: to rescue, or revenge, their loved ones. This is the first book in the series and, as I came to its end, I found myself looking forward to the second book in the series.
        The prologue, and the epilogue, are separate from the main story; yet, they are important to the story, overall, and not to be skipped.

* The Lore of the DayONE comes from a game called DayONE or Day One. They created the game and the people in the acknowledgment play tested. The game generated some of the characters in the book. The teenage daughter of one of the authors created the Syrons.
** A. A. Wolfner is a pen name for Alan Vekich and Art Kessner.

[Review] BEAR DAUGHTER, by Judith Berman

Review of BEAR DAUGHTER by Judith Berman

      Cloud has spent the first twelve years of her life as a bear, the happy daughter of a human woman called Thrush, and a bear father, called Lord Stink, who is one of the First People. The book opens at some point after her stepfather, Lord Rumble, has killed, and eaten the heart of, her father, and taken her mother for his woman.
      A lot of people are surprised that Cloud became human. No one expected it. Cloud's lost her memories, too. The only things she remembers are glimpsed in dreams and images. There's an empty place in her, one that no food will fill. Her mother's forced to reject her, and Lord Rumble wants her dead. I mean, what's a girl to do, but run away from home when her stepfather tries to kill her?
      Thus begins Cloud's journey, a travel among and between the mortal and immortal worlds, in a search to find the bones of her father and brothers, and take them to the Edge of the World so that they can be born anew, even though she doesn't quite feel up to the task laid before her. It is a journey where she will learn to accept herself, her origins, and embrace both her past, and her future, while trying to learn how to live as a human girl.
      With Native American mythology as its base, Cloud's story engages you from the beginning, as you follow her quest, which is as much coming to terms with who and what she is, as to save the spirits of her father and brothers.
      On a more focused level, this is a story about one young woman's struggle to come to terms with herself, a voyage of discovery to find out who she is, what is her purpose in life, to stretch and surpass her limits. It is a story of acceptance, and self-acceptance.
      And, quite frankly, it's a good read.
      Bear Daughter is available on AMAZON.COM, and can also be found at, or requested by, your local bookseller.