Category: Book Reviews


Review of Parasite, by Steve Diamond

Filed under: Book Reviews, Fantasy, Fiction Reviews, Science Fiction — 1 Comment
March 25, 2024

Parasite is the sequel to Residue, which I reviewed previously. After the events of the last book, Jack Bishop has been relocated to Sacramento as part of an elaborate game of evil-mastermind chess between two genetic research firms, one of which is holding his father prisoner, and both are attempting to control Jack.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the sequel. Obviously, I expected more of the same blend of urban fantasy, urban sci-fi, and Diamond’s brand of action-horror; but the back-cover description showed things escalating far beyond what I thought the series was going for. Turns out that was deliberate. The first novel was effectively a stand-alone, almost entirely self-contained, with just a few loose threads intended to lead into a sequel. Another mystery, another secret investigation, another delightful Thin Man-esque back-and-forth between Jack and his mind-reading, gun-toting girlfriend Alex.

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The Emotional Thesaurus: A Must-Have for Any Fiction Author

Filed under: Book Reviews, Recommended Reading, Wordsmithing — Leave a comment
March 15, 2024

Lately, I’ve been running into authors who don’t know about this book, much less its ‘sequels,’ and it’s more than worth doing a quick post on the topic. I can state without any reservation that if you do not have a copy of The Emotional Thesaurus, you are cheating yourself. There is no other single book that you can buy that will help your writing more; and yes, that includes that other book you were just thinking of, whatever it was.

The Emotional Thesaurus is a book that does exactly what it sounds like, only more so. It gives you synonyms for different emotional states, which by itself is extraordinarily useful. How many times have you had to stop to figure out how to describe what a character was feeling? But it goes far, far deeper, giving you body language, internal effects, and behavior associated with each emotion.

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Review of Residue, by Steve Diamond

Filed under: Book Reviews, Fantasy — 2 Comments
December 10, 2023

I do not typically enjoy horror stories.

It’s been that way for a long time. Movies and novels alike; I just haven’t enjoyed horror. I don’t edit it either, because I don’t understand it well enough as a genre to give someone an acceptable return on their money. To edit something properly, you have to understand its context and audience; and to do that, you have to enjoy stories like it. Never go to someone who doesn’t enjoy your kind of story.

Oh, I’ve enjoyed an occasional entry in the genre, most notably Dan Wells’ I Am Not a Serial Killer (which was made into a very good low-budget movie, which can be enjoyed on its own even though the book is better); and I greatly appreciated the explanation of horror that Steve Diamond gave way back at the start of the WriterDojo podcast (in their thirteenth episode, appropriately enough). But overall the genre just didn’t speak to me.

Which means, despite getting to know Steve Diamond (online and for a brief meeting in person), I have had absolutely no interest in reading his debut novel, Residue, because it’s primarily supernatural horror. Now, though, after many years, I finally felt like I owed it to him to at least try the book. So when the book was re-released with an audio edition, I bought it and started listening.

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Grimnoir Chronicles: Special Edition

Filed under: Book Reviews, Fantasy, Fiction Reviews, Historical, Plugs and Promotions — 1 Comment
May 2, 2023

Just a quick little announcement at the request of a friend.

Years ago, Steve Diamond decided to pitch a special edition product to his friend (and now podcast co-host and coauthor), Larry Correia. Larry has a particularly awesome series, which currently consists of a trilogy and some short stories, known as The Grimnoir Chronicles. The elevator pitch for that one is X-Men set in an alternate history 1930s. It’s historical fantasy where the magic operates like superpowers, with everyone who has magic having an innate ability for one particular kind of magic (though you find out that limitation isn’t all it appears to be). It’s an absolutely fantastic story in a high-action noir setting with an unforgettable cast of characters.

Well, Steve wanted to publish a special-edition, limited run version of the trilogy. He sourced extremely high-quality paper, got some awesome covers from the European editions not released in the US, and even got fancy cases to protect each novel. I even had a minor hand in helping to confirm the Japanese lettering was accurate, because I was working a few blocks from the Japanese consulate in DC at the time (which means that if there’s a problem with it after all, it’s my fault, not Steve’s).

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Reading for Writers: Chesterton’s Orthodoxy

Filed under: Book Reviews, Fantasy, Literature, Nonfiction Reviews, Worldbuilding — Leave a comment
January 11, 2013

G. K. Chesterton was a British journalist and author living in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He wrote on nearly every topic there was to be discussed at the time, and naturally that includes literature. In fact, it’s widely agreed that his critiques of Charles Dickins’ books were a key part of the latter’s success, and Chesterton went on to have strong influence on both Tolkien and Lewis. Continue reading →

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