The Paperback Fantastic, Volume One: Science Fiction - Justin Marriott, ed.

You can count on Justin Marriott to produce some excellent fanzines. The creator and editor of BATTLING BRITONS, MEN OF VIOLENCE, THE PAPERBACK FANATIC, HOT LEAD, and others recently launched THE PAPERBACK FANTASTIC. Volume One covers science fiction and features dozens of reviews of science fiction novels (and a few comic books and graphic novels), along with several features about science fiction paperbacks and, as usual in Marriott’s publications, plenty of great artwork on all the cover reproductions. Bill Cunningham deserves a lot of credit for the great design work on this trade paperback.

The reviews themselves are by Marriott, Tim Deforest, Andreas Decker, Dave Karlen, John Peel, Jeff Popple, Scott Ranalli, Penny Tesarek, Tom Tesarek, and Benjamin Thomas. They cover a wide variety of books and authors, ranging from the early Edgar Rice Burroughs/scientific romance years through the pulp era to the New Wave and beyond. Books by Robert Silverberg, Harlan Ellison, Poul Anderson, and many other classic SF authors are reviewed. Some are books I’ve read, and for the most part I agree with those reviews. Some are books I’d like to read, if I can ever get around to it. All of them are well-written and entertaining. I even learned a few things, such as the fact that David Grinnell was actually a pseudonym of Donald A. Wollheim. I’m not sure how I never ran across that so far, but it was news to me. And it might prompt me to read some of the books under the Grinnell name, although the one reviewed in this volume doesn’t get very high marks.

Overall, I had a great time reading THE PAPERBACK FANTASTIC, VOLUME ONE: SCIENCE FICTION. It concentrates mostly on the sort of SF that I grew up reading and enjoying, and if you’re a fan of that genre, I give it a high recommendation.

Now Available: Battling Britons - Justin Marriott, ed.

Brits at War! War at sea, in the air and on land, as seen through the pages of classic British comics. The war comic has been an enduring part of British pop culture, from the invasion of the pocket books in the 1960s, through to the explosion of weekly strips in the 1970s. Often dismissed and derided, the time has come to reassess their importance as entertainment and education. In these pages are 215 capsule reviews of war comics from the 1960s through to the 2000s, with insights to the creators, themes and sheer readability. Strips from well-loved comics such as Action, Air Ace Picture Library, Battle Picture Library, Battle Picture Weekly, Commando, Valiant, Victor, War Picture Library and Warlord. Fully illustrated with covers and panels from the stories reviewed, many of them by top European creators. Edited and co-written by Justin Marriott, with contributions from Jim O’Brien, Steve Myall and James Reasoner. Foreword from award-winning journalist and war comics expert Paul Trimble. Afterword from Commando scripter Gary Martin Dobbs.

(I wrote some of the reviews in this excellent volume, and in reading through it, I've found a number of other stories I want to look for. If you're a fan of war comics, war fiction, or comics in general, I think you're going to want BATTLING BRITONS. Highly recommended.)

Chess, Comics, Crosswords, Books, Music, Cinema: The Red Reef by James Reasoner, 2008

Chess, Comics, Crosswords, Books, Music, Cinema: The Red Reef by James Reasoner, 2008: In The Red Reef , a 23-page sea adventure, Captain Thomas Larkin is racked by guilt even though he committed no crime. The master of  ‘ ...

(One of my favorites of the stories I've done, and I appreciate the kind words from Prashant. Check out his blog post for the rest of his review.)

Texas Rangers Review and New Interview

Ron Scheer reviews my collection TEXAS RANGERS on his Buddies in the Saddle blog today, and there's a new interview with me accompanying the review. Thanks, Ron!

Nice Review for The Traditional West

There's a nice review of THE TRADITIONAL WEST in the new issue of AT HOME IN THE SPANISH COSTAS, a Spanish magazine that's mostly in English (including the review). You can read it on-line here. You'll have to page through the magazine to get to it. I believe it's on page 34. Thanks to Nik Morton for the heads-up.


And don't forget that THE TRADITIONAL WEST is currently on sale for $3.99 for the e-book. For more than 120,000 words of top-notch Western fiction, that's a deal you can't beat.

Blatant Spousal Promotion

Livia's work pops up in a couple of places today. You can read about "A Day in the Life of Phyllis Newsom" (the protagonist from the Fresh-Baked Mystery series) here. And Scott Cupp blogs about the urban fantasy novel WITCH GOT YOUR TONGUE on the Missions Unknown website. Check 'em out!

Interviews with Livia

A couple of new interviews with Livia have been published recently. You can read them here and here. Her latest Fresh Baked Mystery is getting great reviews, too. And let's not forget WITCH GOT YOUR TONGUE. There's a new review of it here.

Great Review of The Blood Mesa

Bruce Grossman over at Bookgasm has given THE BLOOD MESA, my entry in The Dead Man series, a very nice review.  You can check it out here.

Nice Reviews for The Dead Man and Rancho Diablo

This blog post includes kind words for both series.  It's nice that people like and understand what we're trying to do.

Review of Witch Got Your Tongue

Bill Crider has nice things to say about Livia's new novel WITCH GOT YOUR TONGUE.  Check it out.

Another Blood Mesa Review

This time on the Wag the Fox blog.  If you haven't been reading the Dead Man series, this is a perfect time to go back to the first book and catch up.  It won't take you long.  They're addictive.

Another Nice Review of The Blood Mesa

This time from the Post Modern Pulps blog.  I really appreciate all the kind words.

Permission to Kill Reviews The Blood Mesa

There's a very nice review of THE BLOOD MESA on the excellent blog Permission to Kill this morning.  "Rapid fire pace and unflinching brutality", the review says, which is exactly what I was trying to achieve in the book.  Check it out.

Under Outlaw Flags Review From Mel Odom

Mel Odom has some very nice things to say about my novel UNDER OUTLAW FLAGS. Now, Mel is a friend and colleague, but you know he wouldn't lie to you. Among other things, he says:


I expected a good story when I sat down with this one. What I didn’t expect was the old school storytelling that Reasoner immediately launches into. He uses a first person narrative that draws a reader in effortlessly. From the first page I felt like I knew Drew Matthews and his cohorts in the Tacker Gang, one of the last cowboy bank robbing gangs in the twentieth century.


You can read the rest of Mel's comments here. And if you look over to the left at the Amazon link, you can see the book's new cover.

Longarm and the Bloody Relic Review

Steve Myall has nice things to say about LONGARM AND THE BLOODY RELIC over on the excellent Western Fiction Review:


"Right from the opening chapter this book piles action upon action. There’s gunfights, chases, and a little bed-room fun, and mystery, as Longarm attempts to find the Star of Father Cristobal and discover why it was taken, and by whom. If that’s not enough then there’s the kidnapping to add further intrigue. And then there’s Longarm’s desire for revenge – his need to kill a couple of bad-guys for murdering an innocent girl."


The rest of the review is here.  Thanks, Steve!

PW Starred Review

Publishers Weekly likes HUNT AT THE WELL OF ETERNITY, giving it a starred review this week. You can read the whole thing here, but the quotes I particularly like are " . . . raises the action bar to nosebleed heights" and "Pulp adventure fans will be thrilled to see the genre so smashingly resurrected." You can't beat that as a nice way to start your week.

Reviews

The first review of HUNT AT THE WELL OF ETERNITY has been posted over at the Pulp Fiction Reviews blog. I'm very pleased and honored by the kind words from Ron Fortier. Check it out. And while you're at it, head on over to Mystery Reader Discussion and take a look at this fine review of Livia's THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE KILLER.

Dust Devils Review

A lot of writers will tell you that if you're going to ignore the bad reviews, you really ought to ignore the good ones, too. That's probably sound advice . . . but golly, that's a nice review of DUST DEVILS from Bruce Grossman over on Bookgasm:

"Many authors have tried to duplicate the feel of the old Gold Medal classics, but usually are slightly off the mark. Not James Reasoner; his new one from Point Blank Press – DUST DEVILS – hits the bull’s-eye from page one. What starts out innocently enough takes some jaw-dropping turns in a taut 150 pages."

High praise indeed in my world, and I'm human enough to feel great about it.