Mr. Burke's Reading List

Gods of Manhattan by Scott Mebus (2008) [NO IMAGE -- AUDIO BOOK ONLY] (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This title was suggested by the public library -- I forget if it was Brookly or NYPL. I was looking for another book to listen to while I was walking. I didn't realize that it was so old (or that, I just learned, it's part of a series). Once again, I listened to the first chapter twice just to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Interesting book about a secret world of Manhatta occupying the same space as Manhattan and filled with people, "Gods", from New York's past, including Lenape Indians. It's listed on Wikipedia as a children's novel, but it's about 272 pages long. I guess that's on par with early Harry Potter books though. I enjoyed it and plan on reading it in the new year...

Yeti Left Home by Aaron Rosenberg (2023) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was an ebook I purchased in a Kickstarter from eSpec Books , which also published my book In A Flash 2020 . As a supporter of this book, my name appears in a list in the closing pages. As silly as it sounds, many of these Kickstarter books go into the electronic TBR pile. I have a directory of them on my hard drive. Between my book club selections, holiday reading (whichever holiday) and older books already in my Kindle app, I sometimes go back and upload stories and books, usually starting with the shortest, looking for some quick reads. (This means I read more short stories, but then I read more authors, too.) Happily, Yeti Left Home is from this year, so I'm not too far behind with this one. First, side note, I told Danielle (Ackley M...

Pumpkin Blend Paramour Bay #14 Kennedy Layne (2020) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a freebie from a BookBub mailing. I downloaded it and read it before Halloween, and then forgot about it. Not that it was forgettable (well, maybe a little), but I got behind in my blogging and didn't check my library for everything I'd read. On a side note, I already had book #15 in my Kindle library, which I apparently downloaded last year (or earlier), but haven't read yet. It's a Christmas mystery. There is very little chance that I will get to it by this Christmas as I have a couple of other things going already. This will be short, and hopefully the Christmas entry will be longer. It was a little difficult to get into because it's the 14th book, so the author is free to assume that the reader should be a...

The Fox's Fire: And Other Fantastic Tales Danielle Ackley-McPhail (2021) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This is another eSpec Books book, of which I have many, thanks to a number of Kickstarters and lots of bonuses and freebies. Note: Danielle Ackley-McPhail was the editor of my collection, In A Flash 2020 , and one of the editors of Devilish & Divine , which contains three of my stories. And, finally, my name appears in the back of the book along with the names of other kickstarter contributors who helped make this book happen. I read this a couple of books ago, so forgive me if some thoughts have already fled. There are eight stories contained within: The Fox's Fire, The Promise of Death, The Devil in the Details, A Moment Out of Time, Forever and a Day, Crossroads and Curses, Mis En Plac...

Bedeviled Eggs Laura Childs (2010) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This is the third in the series that started with my pandemic book club selection. THe first one was interesting enoug that iI thought I'd try a couple more. This book was not available as an ebook from any of three NYC library systems, so I had to get it as a paperback, just as I did with the previous two. I also got the audiobook, as I did with the last two. It's good to listen to when I'm out for my walks. The usual gang is back. Szanne, the recent widow, and her new boyfriend, Sam the doctor, along with Petra, whose husband is in a medical facility, and Toni, who is still married to Junior. Junior proves to be little more useful in this book. The relationship stays on-again-off-again. I'd imagined Junior as a cross between Jethro Clampett...

My Hero Academia Volumes 32-35, by Kōhei Horikoshi (2021-2022) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) Apparently, I haven't listed a review of one of these manga books since last November. I've been requesting them whenever they become available at the library. These are the past four books. There is one more listed online, but it isn't available at any library at the moment. We're getting new adult heroes as the continuation of the All-For-One story line continues, along with the development of Shiguraki, and the big reveal over who Dabi really is. There is less about the students, but they do get bck into the action. The time jump has Deku out of school on his own. It gets dark as he pushes himself farther and farther, and the heroes let him. Eventually, his former classmates are able to bring him home...

Clown in a Cornfield Adam Cesare (2009) Image withheld under the book is read. (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a book club pick, and not one that I would've chosen. The cover itself was a turnoff despite not judging books by one. I'm not into horror, and I had a feeling that this young adult horor would "Friday the 13th" everyone. Yeah, pretty much. Quinn and her dad Glenn move halfway across the country from Philadelphia to an old house in a small town. Glenn is a doctor who has seen too much death, including that of his wife, who'd become addicted to painkillers. They move into the house of the town's former doctor, who left rather abruptly. From Quinn's bedroom (the attic), which runs the length of the house, she can see a factory in the distance with an eery looking clown. She...

U is for Undertow Sue Grafton (2009) Audio only Image withheld under the book is read. (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) I needed another book to listen to while I was walking, and I selected the next Sue Grafton book. I haven't had a chance to actually read it yet. Last time, I listened and read together. I will update this entry after I read it. I'm not sure what "undertow" refers to in this title. It's metaphorical, having nothing to do with the ocean or the beach. Like recent books, there was a prologue taking place years ago. And like Trespass , this one has chapters that center on other characters, but in this case there are more characters to take center stage. On top of that, there are more flashbacks mixed in. It got a little confusing keeping track of all of these before they all got tied to...

Trial by Fire Charles E. Gannon (2014) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This is the second book in the "Caine-verse", the series about Caine Riordian that started with Fire With Fire . This was also a trade paperback edition, not an ebook. At the end of the first book, it was obvious to those in the know that war was coming to Earth, and it comes quickly by way of Bernard's Star. (Along the way, there is yet another attempt of Caine Riordan's life, to the point that he now has "feelings" when alien tech is being used to kill him.) Earth forces are easily routed at Bernard's Star and then the alien fleet heads to Earth. Caine barely survives this but does with the help of an Arat Kur official. Caine is still listed as an ambassador for Earth. When he gets back to Earth, he's still a prisoner...

Elder Race Adrian Tchaikovsky (2021) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a Pandemic Book Club pick for the month of September. A "novella" was chosen because many of us are teachers and September is busy. This is a Tor.com book, but not one I'd heard of before. I might've seen a promo for it when it was first released as I'm on Tor's mailing list. I'm also part of their book club and have gotten many free books from their site. The book tries to blend fantasy and science-fiction by telling parallel narratives. Lyn and Nyr are the two POV characters. Lyn is the Fourth Daughter of the current regent of her city/realm/whatever, and she goes to seek help from the wizard/sorceror on top of the mountain. She'd seen his castle once before as a child so she knows where to go. The wizard had hel...

Harald's Adventure Wares A story of one man's greed, and a goblin by D. G. Redd (2022) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a book from Free Ebooks on Reddit . It's a short novella, which Goodreads says is part of some other world. The plot is pretty much summed up in the subtitle, which is why I included it even though it doesn't appear to be on the image of the book cover. So Harald runs a shop selling stuff to adventurers, generally the dumber kind who are easier to swindle. Occasionally, a real hero will come to town, and he'll still try to get the best deal he can. It's amazing his lived as long as he has. There's a problme in that there's a goblin outside of town that's making it difficult to gather up the mushrooms needed for making potions and magic items, but a single goblin i...

Steampunk Leap Year by Jessica Lucci (2019) Steampunk New Year by Jessica Lucci (2020) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) These two steampunk collections were included in a recent eSpec Books Kickstarter campaign. I'm still fairly new to Steampunk, as a reader as well as a writer, so I can appreciate short stories that hit different aspects of the genre. I read the two of them back to back, each one having 12 stories or poems, and all quite short. (My experience with the second book might've suffered for this.) In the first book, the stories should've corresponded in some way (some more obvious than others) to the month of the year. In the second book, I couldn't tell if this was still an overall theme or not. The stories in the first book were: Steampunk Leap Year: on old man kidnaps a young baby. It...

Hobbies for Androids by Aurea Fenn (2023) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This book was from Free Ebooks on reddit. The image of the cat with the laser eye was confusing. Android cats didn't appear until halfway through and I don't care any having a laser eye. And if you think about it, it would've been popular with the kittens. Likewise, there aren't a lot of hobbies for these androids. They mostly have duties, even the one that paints. There was one that mused about having his own interests instead of performing anothers, but that turned into an android takeover story and not a particularly good one. This is a collection of short stories, ranging from a few pages to over 30. The lead-off story was about a music promoter in debt so when he discoveres his star dead in bed, he has an associate ready an android to ...

A Terrible Fall of Angels by Laurell K. Hamilton (2009) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a book club pick. It received mixed reviews. I listened to it while walking, and then read the ebook when I was done with the previous one. This made the reading go a little faster. Reading it did clear up one point, a little. I've previously read a single book in Hamiltion's Anita Blake series, which may or may not be in this blog. (There was a several year gap when I didn't maintain this page.) But I was game to start a new series. The book started strong and introduced a lot of elements. Then it dropped the ball on most of them. I slogged through the middle to get to the end. If this book had been a ten-episode Netflix series, the beginning would've been two episodes, the ending would've been two episodes and...

Eggs Benedict Arnold A Cackleberry Club Mystery by Laura Childs (2009) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) I decided to try another one of these. I could only get it as a paperback from the Brooklyn Public Library, so I made it my pool book. It was a fun, quick read. The Cackleberry Club is back, and only a few months have passed since the events of the first book. more to come.

Cibola Burn by James S. A. Corey (2014) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) I read this nearly a month ago, or at least it seems that way. Once again, I watched the show first which might've made this book go by a little faster. That said, there were enough differences between them. For starters, most of the book takes place on and above the planet Ilus or New Terra, depending upon who's talking. Any of the shows subplots that take place in the Sol system are absent here. There is also some rewriting of settlers. Belters and Outer Planets people (such as refugees from Ganymede) managed to get through the Ring and settled on an inhospitable planet that has a lot of lithium, which they are mining to sell to hire lawyers to stake their claim to "Ilus". They've already been there for a while when a UN/Mars backed...

Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (The Dowser #1) by Meghan Ciana Doidge (2013) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) I'm pretty sure that this was a freebie in a Book Bub mailing list, but it might've been a random search result when looking for free paranormal cozy mysteries. I don't remember. It was mostly a quick read, and I rushed to finish it because a library book became availalbe and I wasn't go to be able to renew that. As it was, I practically forgot that I'd read it, until I noticed the title again on my phone. (My iPad is loaded with a lot of recent stuff which gets downloaded automatically.) This is the first book in the "Dowser" series. The main character, Jade, is half-witch, half-human, and she knows nothing about her father. Her mother never chose to tell her anything, and sh...

Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley (2022) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a Pandemic Book Club selection We haven't had the zoom call yet, but advance word in the messenger chat is that it's a thumbs down, all around. I don't know what to expect from many club books because I tend to read them electronically, so I don't have the back cover like I used to have. I did read a synopsis on Good Reads when I voted (and I think I voted for this book -- I honestly don't remember), but I'd forgotten whatever it said. Basically, think of me as a scifi/fantasy guy who watches a lot of only movies, a lot of "classics", some of which have a "cult" following. So I didn't know what this was really going to be about. About nothing I would've expected. The prologue goes on about ghos...

T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton (2007) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) I freely admit that I'm backdating this review to June 30 because I read it last month, and I want it in my tally for the first six months of the year. Back to this series for the first time in a while. It was so long that I checked out the wrong book first. I listened to the prologue and thought, I'd heard this before. I listened for a bit and then I picked up the ebook and caught up to where I had listened to. I take walks, and I sometimes listen to books on tape during the walks, but I got to the point where I shot ahead with the text, so I abandoned the audiobook. This was an interesting book because it has a lot of "pays the bills" work going on while there is a problem brewing right under Kinsey's nose. By the time she realize...

Fire With Fire by Charles E. Gannon (2014) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This is a book that I should've read quite a while ago. I've met Chuck Gannon on a couple of occasions. The second time, he remembered me from the first time, and even congratulated me on being published, which was something that I'd been trying to do the first time. The group discussion we had might've contained some spoilers, but I'm sure I'll forget them by the time I get that far into the series. Update: Okay, it's been almost a month and I haven't gotten back to this or to the books that came after it. Real life gets in the way. Luckily, this is a popular series, so synopsies can be found online. My main reason for having this blog is to remind myself about the books I read in the past when I don't recall the deta...

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (2022) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a Pandemic Book Club selection, but I would have read it anyway. As a matter of fact, I started it before it was actually selected by the group. (The final vote was 4-3, so I "lucked out", but I would've read the other book if I needed to.) I heard my daughter describe the book to her mother (my wife) and it sounded interesting to me, with a nice little fantasy/sci-fi twist to it. The book had been recommended by Reese Witherspoon, so there was a wait for the ebook -- about 10 weeks or so. I put the paperback on hold when I was afraid I might not finish the book in time, but I did. Still I'm curious how long it will be. It starts on a Friday evening at the end of October 2022. Jen finished carving the Halloween pumpkin...

Eggs in Purgatory Cackleberry Club #1 by Laura Childs (2008) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a book club selection. The person who chose this (and two others) wanted to try a "cozy mystery" and this author had a couple of series going. To be honest, I didn't look at the publication date until I started writing this entry. I know that there are several books in the series. I listened to this book twice. I got a copy of the paperback from the library when I was almost done the second time, so I only read a few chapters. By that point I already had the voices in my head. It's a quick read and probably reads faster than 8 hours of audio. I gave it a second listen because I thought I'd missed a few things along the way, but it turns out that many of the others in our book club had issues with the boo...

The Library of the Unwritten (A Novel from Hell's Library) by A. J. Hackwith (2019) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This book was one of three that was our book club was to choose from, but it didn't win the vote. After the previous month, where the ebooks were difficult to come by, I placed holds on all three books before we even voted. Since the winning book was short, and since this one seemed to be of interest, I gave it a shot. I'm glad I did. I did have to pause reading this one to read the next month's book, but I immediately came back to it. There is a library situatied in Hell, but it isn't part of Hell and doesn't serve it. It is filled with books that were never written. It was a librarian, Claire, who used to be human, before she died. And she replaced the previous librarian, Bjorn, who is no...

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2022) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a book club selection. We discussed it in a zoom call while was away at HeliosphereNY, a sci-fi con in Piscataway, NJ. That was amusing. Despite my interest in science fiction, I have never read the original " The Island of Doctor Moreau ". In fact, I've never read any Jules Verne. I attempted in college but was thrown by the old writing style. (Similarly, it took me a few tries to get through Frankenstein .) Basically, all I had to go on was the movie adaptation The Island of Lost Souls . I have not seen any of the remakes. This book takes the original tale and sets it in the Yucatan in the 19th century and makes a historical romance out of it. I don't know what I was expecting from the title, but what I go...

ANALOG PLUS 50: Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, March 1973 Update the photo I had a lot of books to read in March, and I enjoyed most of them. Consequently, I didn't start Analog until March 27, so not much of it got read. The usual explaination: For anyone finding these reviews, my purpose is two-fold: enjoying some "classic" sci-fi, and looking for stories that I think could be adapted for TV broadcast since so much of what shows up on anthology shows is rough to awful. Additional Note: I do NOT work in television. I just watch it. In this issue: There's part two of a serial, two novellettes, and two short stories, one of which is really flash. The kind of thing that would one day be called "Probability: Zero" in Analog. Editorial: "Law & Order" by Ben Bova. The 15th anniversary of Sputnik had passed without notice. Satellites are now orbiting the Earth. The Russians established the rule of "Freedom of Space...