Jeff James

Did Not Finish: California by Edan Lepucki

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I wouldn’t normally post about a book that I didn’t finish reading, but considering the fact that I received not one but two free copies of California by Edan Lepucki – one from NetGalley, and one thanks to the Ford Audiobook Club on Goodreads – I feel as though I need to at least give my impressions of the five chapters I did manage to read.

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Dangerous Women: Only Occasional Danger

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Dangerous WomenDangerous Women

Edited by: George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
Published: December 3rd, 2013
Publisher: Random House Audio
Genre(s): Fantasy, Science Fiction, Crime, Historical
Format: Audiobook
Length: 32 hrs and 49 mins

Dangerous Women is one of George R.R. Martin’s many side projects. The pedigree of contributors is excellent, but the quality varies, sometimes wildly. Of course, that’s true about most short story collections, even those largely considered masterpieces of the form.

The nice thing about Dangerous Women is that a large percentage of the stories are worth reading and most tie in to the overall theme fairly well. On that level, the collection is a success. It’s also an excellent collection to pick up in audio because the talent on offer is both varied and impressive. Actors like Sophie Turner, Iain Glen, Claudia Black and Jonathan Frakes all narrate, as do audio mainstays like Scott Brick.

One thing to keep in mind is that a few of the stories tie in to existing series and may constitute spoilers if you aren’t caught up. The Jim Butcher story takes place late in the Dresden Files series, and Lev Grossman’s story is a direct prequel to the upcoming third novel in his Magicians trilogy. I wasn’t necessarily current on all the related works, but for the most part I was able to enjoy the tie-in stories on their own merits.

Dangerous Women also isn’t a strictly SF&F anthology, including several crime, historical and literary stories in the mix. Some of those stories are the best parts of the collection, but if you are particularly stringent about your genre tastes, you may come away disappointed at the balance between SF&F and other genres.
As for the individual stories, capsule reviews follow after the jump.

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Nowhere Men, Vol. 1: Bigger Than The Beatles

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Nowhere Men, Volume 1: Fates Worse Than Death Writer: Eric Stephenson Artist: Nate Bellegarde Colorist: Jordie Bellaire Lettering & Design: Fonografiks Published: December 3, 2013 Publisher: Image Comics Genre(s): Graphic Novel, Science Fiction Format: Paperback Length: 184 pages Nowhere Men, Volume 1 tells the story of a world that treats scientists like rock stars and celebrities. … Read more

Pretty Deadly, Volume 1: WTF Western

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Pretty Deadly, Volume 1: The Shrike Script: Kelly Sue Deconnick Art & Cover: Emma Rios Colors: Jordie Bellaire Edits: Sigrid Ellis Letters: Clayton Cowles Published: May 13th, 2014 Publisher: Image Comics Genre(s): Graphic Novel, Fantasy Format: Paperback Length: 120 pages Pretty Deadly was my first exposure to “weird western”, a genre I knew existed but had … Read more

Lexicon by Max Barry: Words Will Hurt You

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Lexicon by Max Barry Published: June 18, 2013 Publisher: Penguin Audio Genre(s): Speculative Fiction, Thriller Format: Audio Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins Lexicon is the rare book that I found both completely unpredictable and intensely thrilling. I’d call it a page-turner, but I listened to the audiobook version, so instead I’ll tell you that I … Read more

Lockstep by Karl Schroeder: The Pain of Time Away

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Lockstep by Karl Schroeder Published: March 25th, 2014 Publisher: Tor Books Genre(s): Science Fiction, Young Adult Format: eBook Length: 352 pages Lockstep is a fantastic, entertaining novel that I find a bit difficult to summarize. The short version is that it will probably appeal to readers of young adult and hard scifi, but existing experience … Read more