Vince's bookshelf: all en-US Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:31:42 -0700 60 Vince's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Redshifted: Martian Stories 19208113
You know you want to go, and Mars has rarely been closer. Patch up that old spacesuit, stick out your thumb, and hitch a ride with thirteen talented speculative fiction writers, collected here in "Redshifted: Martian Stories," from Third Flatiron Publishing.
~~~~~
Third Flatiron Anthologies presents "Redshifted: Martian Stories," a collection of new speculative fiction by rising and established authors. Contributors include Maureen Bowden, Lela E. Buis, Martin Clark, Jaimie M. Engle, Jeff Hewitt, Neil James Hudson, Jason Lairamore, Vince Liberato, Michael McGlade, Kara Race-Moore, Ian Rose, Chuck Rothman, and Robina Williams.

Look for your sign as an astrologer casts a Martian colony's horoscope, the Roman god decides war's not in his stars, and a tycoon finds his way back to Barsoom. Cheer as a clockwork man takes his girl on the trip of a lifetime, a Martian bride refuses to miss her wedding, and Man's Best Friend turns out to be a giant roach. Shadow a being who's "just here to help," and another who's just here to hurt. Shiver as murderous antibodies attack an expedition, and a workfare crew struggles to dispose of hazardous junk from space. And of course, get a good laugh as you peruse the Want Ads and check your MarsMail.]]> 135 Juliana Rew 1311741534 Vince 5
As for the technicals, there were no grammatical errors that jumped out at me (always a major plus) and that the digital version comes with illustrations for each of the stories while the printed does not, although the image on the cover is very cool and arguably an even trade for the exclusion of images inside.

All in all, a great read that you could sit down and consume in a single sitting or at a much slower pace. Fans of Martian stories of old especially should not skip out on this return to the Red Planet.]]> 4.60 2013 Redshifted: Martian Stories
author: Juliana Rew
name: Vince
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2013/12/07
date added: 2014/06/20
shelves:
review:
Definitely a fun read that has elements of both nostalgic and modern storytelling, "Redshifted" has a little bit of everything for lovers of science fiction. While I enjoyed all of the stories, without a doubt my favorites were the first two, "Eurydice in Capricorn" and "Make Carrots, Not War." In all works like this, there is usually a story or two that feels inferior or out of place, but for me this book is one of the rare exceptions to that, and I doubt anyone could read this cover to cover without finding one or two stories that they will thoroughly enjoy.

As for the technicals, there were no grammatical errors that jumped out at me (always a major plus) and that the digital version comes with illustrations for each of the stories while the printed does not, although the image on the cover is very cool and arguably an even trade for the exclusion of images inside.

All in all, a great read that you could sit down and consume in a single sitting or at a much slower pace. Fans of Martian stories of old especially should not skip out on this return to the Red Planet.
]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)]]> 1 652 J.K. Rowling Vince 5 4.57 2005 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Vince
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/04/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Demonic Visions: 50 Horror Tales 2]]> 19234450
Table of Contents
1. SWALLOWED by Joe McKinney
2. BIRD IN A WROUGHT IRON CAGE by John Alfred Taylor
3. LOOSE ENDS by Chris Leek
4. OUTSIDE by Patrick Freivald
5. SKINWALKER by B.A. Holland
6. THE KITTEN by Megan N. Watson
7. SOUR by Bruce L. Priddy
8. PRESENCE by Mark Slade
9. THEY REQUIRE KILLING by Naching T. Kassa
10. LIKE ‘EM BIG by Johannes Pinter
11. OPERATION WENDIGO by A.J. French
12. THE CLUB by Michael Schomaker
13. LILY’S GRAVE by Chris Reed
14. EXPERT OPINION by Shenoa Carroll-Bradd
15. WRITING FOR EXPOSURE by Joe McKinney
16. ABALAM by S.C. Hayden
17. LYTHALIA CALLING by Adam Millard
18. DAY DREAMS by Christopher Conlon
19. DOUBLE DOWN by Devlin Giroux
20. SPRINGHEELED JACK by Maggie Carroll
21. THE PATIENT IN THE ATTIC by Arran McDermott
22. SMOKE by Kerry G.S. Lipp
23. THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST by Matt Drabble
24. THE GHOST WHO HAUNTS ME by Charles D. Bennett
25. A LICENSE TO KILL by Rob Smales
26. THE FINAL SCREAM OF YOUR LIFE by Rick McQuiston
27. ON THIS DARK AND SACRED NIGHT by James Pratt
28. ROULETTE by Peter Adam Salomon
29. THE HUNTER by K. Trap Jones
30. MAGNUM OPUS by Sydney Leigh
31. WHY THEY TAKE FIFTEEN BLOOD SAMPLES by C.L. Hesser
32. THE LAST STRAW by Vince Liberato
33. BEAUTY’S END by Shaun Avery
34. MR. RIGHT NOW by Marc Shapiro
35. STILTSKIN by Justin Hunter
36. BABY HANDS by Rebecca Fung
37. SPHERA by Robert Friedrich
38. FLYTRAP by Jeani Rector
39. THE HACKER by Doug Robbins
40. CLICKITY-CLACK by J. T. Seate
41. HEADS UP by Winifred Burniston
42. THE FIRES OF HELL AND AVONDALE by Julianne Snow
43. VISITING HOUR by William Holden
44. ACROSS THE STREET by J. T. Seate
45. MYTHIC by Nicholas Paschall
46. CONTEMPORARY BY PROXY by Raymond Gates
47. THE OTHER SIDE by April Bullard
48. NIGHT TERRORS by Marc Sorondo
49. THE GRUNT by Ken MacGregor
50. LOST by Jeff McFarland]]> 200 Chris Robertson Vince 5
All in all, a great collection of flash any horror fan would be hard pressed to find a story or two or several inside that they'll love.]]> 3.81 2013 Demonic Visions: 50 Horror Tales 2
author: Chris Robertson
name: Vince
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/12/25
shelves:
review:
While I enjoyed the first entry to the series, the second I feel was considerably better, enough so to warrant one more star than its predecessor. The same raw creative energy that the first had is just as strong, but many more the stories feel more like actual stories and less like ideas.

All in all, a great collection of flash any horror fan would be hard pressed to find a story or two or several inside that they'll love.
]]> <![CDATA[Redshifted: Martian Stories (Third Flatiron Anthologies, Volume 2, Winter 2013)]]> 19087367 135 Juliana Rew 0615926185 Vince 5
As for the technicals, there were no grammatical errors that jumped out at me (always a major plus) and that the digital version comes with illustrations for each of the stories while the printed does not, although the image on the cover is very cool and arguably an even trade for the exclusion of images inside.

All in all, a great read that you could sit down and consume in a single sitting or at a much slower pace. Fans of Martian stories of old especially should not skip out on this return to the Red Planet.]]> 4.75 2013 Redshifted: Martian Stories (Third Flatiron Anthologies, Volume 2, Winter 2013)
author: Juliana Rew
name: Vince
average rating: 4.75
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2013/12/07
date added: 2013/12/12
shelves:
review:
Definitely a fun read that has elements of both nostalgic and modern storytelling, "Redshifted" has a little bit of everything for lovers of science fiction. While I enjoyed all of the stories, without a doubt my favorites were the first two, "Eurydice in Capricorn" and "Make Carrots, Not War." In all works like this, there is usually a story or two that feels inferior or out of place, but for me this book is one of the rare exceptions to that, and I doubt anyone could read this cover to cover without finding one or two stories that they will thoroughly enjoy.

As for the technicals, there were no grammatical errors that jumped out at me (always a major plus) and that the digital version comes with illustrations for each of the stories while the printed does not, although the image on the cover is very cool and arguably an even trade for the exclusion of images inside.

All in all, a great read that you could sit down and consume in a single sitting or at a much slower pace. Fans of Martian stories of old especially should not skip out on this return to the Red Planet.
]]> <![CDATA[Awakened: The Story of Maxwell Cain]]> 15789845 283 David Matthiesen Vince 4
That being said, I am really looking forward to the sequel that Matthiesen is working on. He ties up everything very well in the first book, but leaves enough plot points to set the foundation for a very creative series. The four star rating is there because I really want to see where the series goes, and will re-evaluate the review after I get the opportunity to read the next installment in the series.]]> 3.60 2012 Awakened: The Story of Maxwell Cain
author: David Matthiesen
name: Vince
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/12/12
shelves:
review:
Excellent first book by a new author. I had another review posted in my "to read" section that I accidentally deleted when I was clearing out the books there that I had already read.

That being said, I am really looking forward to the sequel that Matthiesen is working on. He ties up everything very well in the first book, but leaves enough plot points to set the foundation for a very creative series. The four star rating is there because I really want to see where the series goes, and will re-evaluate the review after I get the opportunity to read the next installment in the series.
]]> <![CDATA[Tales of the Undead - Suffer Eternal: volume III]]> 18498246 It’s time to run with the wild ones and break loose from the pack, as over twenty authors from around the world unleash their tales of an eternity gone wrong.
Dare you brave such epically depraved circumstance one final time?]]> 288 Nathan J.D.L. Rowark 1291522948 Vince 0 to-read 4.82 2013 Tales of the Undead - Suffer Eternal: volume III
author: Nathan J.D.L. Rowark
name: Vince
average rating: 4.82
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/12/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Ҳá貹Dz 9593 Ҳá貹Dz takes the reader back one million years, to A.D. 1986. A simple vacation cruise suddenly becomes an evolutionary journey. Thanks to an apocalypse, a small group of survivors stranded on the Ҳá貹Dz Islands are about to become the progenitors of a brave, new, and totally different human race. In this inimitable novel, America’s master satirist looks at our world and shows us all that is sadly, madly awry—and all that is worth saving.]]> 324 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 0385333870 Vince 4 3.89 1985 Ҳá貹Dz
author: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
name: Vince
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/11/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ecology of a Cracker Childhood]]> 196714 224 Janisse Ray 1571312471 Vince 4 4.02 1999 Ecology of a Cracker Childhood
author: Janisse Ray
name: Vince
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/11/15
shelves:
review:
A fun read that blends a little bit of subtle environmentalism with a memoir, there's a few things going on that best speak to those that can relate to Ray's life experiences. She doesn't beat you over the head with her beliefs/ideals, which I found incredibly refreshing. Not for everyone, but one I recommend to people I know would like it.
]]> <![CDATA[Mostly Harmless (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #5)]]> 360
Hell takes a number of forms: there’s the usual Ford Prefect form of hell, fresh hell in the form of an all-new version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and a totally unexpected hell in the form of a teenage girl who startles Arthur Dent by being his daughter when he didn’t even know he had one.

Can Arthur save the Earth from total multidimensional obliteration? Can he save the Guide from a hostile alien takeover? Can he save his daughter, Random, from herself?

Of course not. He never works out what is going on, exactly. Will you?]]> 240 Douglas Adams Vince 3
I'm in the middle on this one. It's not my favorite in the series, but it's also not the worst. Random is a fun character (although not as much as Zaphod and especially Marvin) and I wish there would have been more of her in the book. The humor is arguably at its best here, I only wish that I liked the story a little more, which is probably its weakest element.
]]> 3.98 1992 Mostly Harmless (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #5)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Vince
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/11/09
shelves:
review:
The final Hitchhiker book written by Adams continues the misadventures of Arthur, Trillian, Ford, and introduces a new character named Random. If you liked the other Hitchhiker books, then you'll like this one, if you don't, you won't, simple as that.

I'm in the middle on this one. It's not my favorite in the series, but it's also not the worst. Random is a fun character (although not as much as Zaphod and especially Marvin) and I wish there would have been more of her in the book. The humor is arguably at its best here, I only wish that I liked the story a little more, which is probably its weakest element.

]]> <![CDATA[36 Views of Mount Fuji: On Finding Myself in Japan]]> 473464 272 Cathy N. Davidson 0822339137 Vince 5
]]> 3.95 1993 36 Views of Mount Fuji: On Finding Myself in Japan
author: Cathy N. Davidson
name: Vince
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/11/04
shelves:
review:
An excellent book that many who have lived abroad for an extended period of time (myself included) will find themselves nodding in agreement with every turn of the page or swipe of a screen. Davidson's prose is excellent, her voice believable, and I would not hesitate to give this book to anyone preparing or even thinking about doing this sort of thing (or to anyone else for that matter).


]]> <![CDATA[How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe]]> 7726420
Minor Universe 31 is a vast story-space on the outskirts of fiction, where paradox fluctuates like the stock market, lonely sexbots beckon failed protagonists, and time travel is serious business. Every day, people get into time machines and try to do the one thing they should never do: change the past. That’s where Charles Yu, time travel technician—part counselor, part gadget repair man—steps in. He helps save people from themselves. Literally. When he’s not taking client calls or consoling his boss, Phil, who could really use an upgrade, Yu visits his mother (stuck in a one-hour cycle of time, she makes dinner over and over and over) and searches for his father, who invented time travel and then vanished. Accompanied by TAMMY, an operating system with low self-esteem, and Ed, a nonexistent but ontologically valid dog, Yu sets out, and back, and beyond, in order to find the one day where he and his father can meet in memory. He learns that the key may be found in a book he got from his future self. It’s called How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, and he’s the author. And somewhere inside it is the information that could help him—in fact it may even save his life.]]> 256 Charles Yu 0307379205 Vince 3 ]]> 3.45 2010 How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
author: Charles Yu
name: Vince
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2013/10/21
date added: 2013/10/21
shelves:
review:
Definitely a fun book to read, but very hard to follow in parts. Overall, I enjoyed the book and am glad that I took a friend's recommendation to pick it up. This is definitely not a novel for everyone, but for those who are looking for a VERY unconventional time travelling story unlike any they have read before, pick this up.

]]> Amanda's Eyes (A.J. Gregson) 15786998
The bad and the ugly are crime reporter Amanda "A.J." Gregson's business. But learning she had a ringside seat for an explosion that vaporized two federal agents, incinerated an entire block of warehouses, and peppered her eyes with so much shrapnel they had to be surgically removed? Well, that gives the darker side of life a whole new meaning.

Haunted by will-o-the-wisp nightmares, A.J. waits for her transplant and struggles to remember the events leading up to the fateful night of September 4, 2075. She isn't the only one who wants that information. Special Agent Jack "Iceman" Eagan is as determined to get the facts as she is to remember them. When memory floods back in brutal detail the night before surgery, fed and reporter form an uneasy alliance against the architects of her personal disaster, a lethal band of killers-for-hire known as Ferrymen.

The Ferrymen. My not-so-magnificent obsession for more than a year. Only a cataclysm could have made me forget. I guess you could call them hitmen. You could also call Einstein a math whiz. Think ruthless. Think unstoppable. Think killers so proficient 'caught the ferry' was fast replacing 'bought the farm' in common usage, and you have the Ferrymen in a nutshell.


A.J. is raring for a rematch with Hell's Boatmen, eager to come out swinging as soon as the bandages come off. But fate has a surprise in store for both her and Eagan. Before long, her new baby blues reveal a power that turns her world upside down--the power to see hidden dimensions of the human heart.

When the Sight unmasks the mastermind behind the Ferrymen, A.J. realizes she's onto a story no one will believe--least of all the ultra-cynical Iceman--and it propels her toward a second head-collision with evil. Will she survive the final encounter?

A paranormal fantasy that will appeal to those who don't normally read them, the near-future thriller Amanda's Eyes blends suspense, drama, and humor in an exploration of the capacities for good and evil in each of us, the cost of doing the right thing, and the push-me-pull-you relationship between the Fourth Estate and the Long Arm of the Law.]]> 367 Kathy Disanto Vince 0 to-read 3.80 2012 Amanda's Eyes (A.J. Gregson)
author: Kathy Disanto
name: Vince
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Second Foundation (Foundation, #3)]]> 29580 256 Isaac Asimov 0553803735 Vince 5 4.27 1953 Second Foundation (Foundation, #3)
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Vince
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1953
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/09/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Foundation and Empire (Foundation, #2)]]> 29581 256 Isaac Asimov 0553803727 Vince 5 4.23 1952 Foundation and Empire (Foundation, #2)
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Vince
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1952
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/09/27
shelves:
review:

]]> Foundation (Foundation, #1) 29579 The first novel in Isaac Asimov's classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series

For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future--to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire--both scientists and scholars--and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.]]> 244 Isaac Asimov 0553803719 Vince 5 4.18 1951 Foundation (Foundation, #1)
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Vince
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1951
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/09/27
shelves:
review:

]]> I, Robot (Robot, #0.1) 41804
I, ROBOT

They mustn't harm a human being, they must obey human orders, and they must protect their own existence...but only so long as that doesn't violate rules one and two. With these Three Laws of Robotics, humanity embarked on perhaps its greatest adventure: the invention of the first positronic man. It was a bold new era of evolution that would open up enormous possibilities—and unforeseen risks. For the scientists who invented the earliest robots weren't content that their creations should ' remain programmed helpers, companions, and semisentient worker-machines. And soon the robots themselves; aware of their own intelligence, power, and humanity, aren't either.

As humans and robots struggle to survive together—and sometimes against each other—on earth and in space, the future of both hangs in the balance. Human men and women confront robots gone mad, telepathic robots, robot politicians, and vast robotic intelligences that may already secretly control the world. And both are asking the same questions: What is human? And is humanity obsolete?

In l, Robot Isaac Asimov changes forever our perception of robots, and human beings and updates the timeless myth of man's dream to play god. with all its rewards—and terrors.
--front flap]]> 224 Isaac Asimov 0553803700 Vince 5 4.22 1950 I, Robot (Robot, #0.1)
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Vince
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1950
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/09/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[After the Fall - Tales of the Apocalypse]]> 18583321
The wasteland of abandoned memories, the end of the world or a chance for a new beginning. Be it a personal apocalypse, or one of great cataclysm, the stories that arise from the rubble are tales of aftermath and tales of survival. Bridging the gap between Science Fiction and Horror, the gothic overtones of the apocalyptic imagination are explored to their full extent in these short stories.

After the Fall is a collection of twenty short stories, all apocalyptic or dystopian in nature. Some bringing laughter and others bringing tears, but each unique in its interpretation of the theme.


Casting off by Robert Holtom (Competition winner)
As I sit in a cafe, waiting for a loved one, so I contemplate the end of the world.

Nightshade by Damon DiMarco
Civilization’s death rattle as we succumb to the Nightshade virus in a curious and ironic way.

Rush Hour by Thomas Brown
A man reflects on what it means to be alive in the 21st century.

They Turn Red Then Black by Spencer Lawes
In a run-down village dependent on a river of garbage, two boys desperately try to find a way to stop their crippled mother being raped by the inhabitants of nearby villages.

Sale of the Century by Liam Brown
The end of the world is coming - it should make for some truly excellent TV ratings.

The Dying and the Desolation by Paul S. Huggins
Drake is alive, man and animal alike have been wiped off the planet by a virilent form of rabies, immune or lucky he must adapt if he wants to survive.

Diary of a Zee by Brian LeCluyse
Set in an apocalyptic, dying Austin, Texas and told from the point of view of a vegetarian, pot-smoking, hippie, liberal zombie.

We Don’t Go to the River by Jeremy Watssman
In a foul plague-ridden town, a recently unemployed man goes looking for fresh water to save his sister and himself.

In Debt by Javier Moyano Perez
A dystopian story about a fictitious America enslaved for eternity by merciless creditors and artificial age preservation.

All Clear in the Anderton House by Claire Fuller
Moving from house to house away from the flood waters, Finlay has a compulsion to check every room in every house before he can contemplate living there.

Over the Vanishing City by Toby Lloyd
It's the end of the world and three young men go out for a drink, much like they have always done.

Up the Road by Andrew Saxsma
What if the world was destroyed, not by disease, war, zombies, or famine, but by fairytales...

Seen and not Heard by Ilana Masad
A mother's fight to retain her sanity and her illegal, secret, son in the post-nuclear dictatorship she lives in.

The End of Time by Robert Legg
The beginning of an apocalypse and its fallout from the point of view of the machine responsible.

Stasis by Rebecca Jane Garner
A woman's struggle to come to terms with a world where the majority of the human race has fallen into a state of catalepsy.

The Ambulancemen by Heather Parry
A world turned on its head; a world where the sirens of an Ambulance are to be feared, not respected.

The Comeback Tour by Andrea Mullaney“After the world gets used to zombies, an enterprising rock music manager sees a gap in the market for a very special artist �

Anaesthetised by Emma Lyskava
Humans have pushed nature to its limit with devastating consequences.

You Call This an Apocalypse by Errick A. Nunnally
Two foster kids more different than alike, from one of the poorest neighborhoods in Boston during the first day of the zombie apocalypse.

The Remnants of Civilization by Vince Liberato
After a global cataclysm called the Sundering, Seth and Ty hunt the creatures that populate much of the Earth, for the good of and continued existence of Civilization.

Forward by Kelly Gardner]]> 206 Kelly Gardner 0993657125 Vince 5
And by my rating above, you can see what I thought of it.

The different takes and styles of the authors keeps each work feeling unique and bristling with creative energy. Yes, there are zombies (not that there is anything wrong with that, my story is one of them), but there are lots of other things killing us off in manners both horrifying and hilarious for people who are tired of the undead. The book has a really cool balance not often seen in anthologies, one that won't leave fans of the apocalypse disappointed when they reach the end.]]> 3.62 2013 After the Fall - Tales of the Apocalypse
author: Kelly Gardner
name: Vince
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2013/09/26
date added: 2013/09/26
shelves:
review:
The writers were asked to write stories with an apocalyptic theme. Traditional stories of zombies, wastelands, and viral pandemics were welcomed, but warned that originality was what "After the Fall - Tales of the Apocalypse" most wanted. I was one of the entries in the contest, and lucky enough to be accepted. I was very curious about what other types of stories I would be featured alongside my own and what the end result would be like.

And by my rating above, you can see what I thought of it.

The different takes and styles of the authors keeps each work feeling unique and bristling with creative energy. Yes, there are zombies (not that there is anything wrong with that, my story is one of them), but there are lots of other things killing us off in manners both horrifying and hilarious for people who are tired of the undead. The book has a really cool balance not often seen in anthologies, one that won't leave fans of the apocalypse disappointed when they reach the end.
]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5)]]> 2
Harry has had enough. He is beginning to think he must do something, anything, to change his situation, when the summer holidays come to an end in a very dramatic fashion. What Harry is about to discover in his new year at Hogwarts will turn his world upside down...]]> 912 J.K. Rowling Vince 4 4.50 2003 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Vince
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/09/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2)]]> 15881
And strike it does. For in Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor and a spirit who haunts the girls� bathroom. But then the real trouble begins � someone is turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects� Harry Potter himself!]]> 352 J.K. Rowling Vince 3 4.42 1998 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Vince
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/09/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4)]]> 6 734 J.K. Rowling 0439139597 Vince 5 4.56 2000 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Vince
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/09/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7)]]> 136251
In this final, seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling unveils in spectacular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited.]]> 759 J.K. Rowling Vince 3 4.61 2007 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Vince
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/09/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)]]> 5 435 J.K. Rowling 043965548X Vince 5 4.57 1999 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Vince
average rating: 4.57
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/09/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)]]> 3 309 J.K. Rowling 0439554934 Vince 4 4.47 1997 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Vince
average rating: 4.47
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/09/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Marvelous Land of Oz (Oz, #2)]]> 179565
First issued in 1904, L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz is the story of the wonderful adventures of the young boy named Tip as he travels throughout the many lands of Oz. Here he meets with our old friends the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, as well as some new friends like Jack Pumpkinhead, the Wooden Sawhorse, the Highly Magnified Woggle-Bug, and the amazing Gump. How they thwart the wicked plans of the evil witch Mombi and overcome the rebellion of General Jinjur and her army of young women is a tale as exciting and endearing today as it was when first published over eighty years ago.]]> 192 L. Frank Baum 0140350411 Vince 4 3.78 1904 The Marvelous Land of Oz (Oz, #2)
author: L. Frank Baum
name: Vince
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1904
rating: 4
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date added: 2013/09/23
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]]> Ozma of Oz (Oz, #3) 60177 never satisfied; Princess Langwidere, who has thirty heads; Billina, a talking chicken; and Tiktok, a mechanical man.

Blown overboard while sailing with her uncle, Dorothy finds herself in the fairy realm of Ev. She sets out with her friends to rescue the Queen of Ev and her ten children, who have been imprisoned by the cruel Nome King. But even Ozma, the wise Ruler of Oz, is no match for the clever king, and it's up to Dorothy to save everyone from terrible danger. But will the Nome King's enchantments be too much even for the plucky little girl from Kansas?]]> 188 L. Frank Baum 0543895149 Vince 5 3.95 1907 Ozma of Oz (Oz, #3)
author: L. Frank Baum
name: Vince
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1907
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1)]]> 236093 Come along, Toto, she said. We will go to the Emerald City and ask the Great Oz how to get back to Kansas again.

Swept away from her home in Kansas by a tornado, Dorothy and her dog Toto find themselves stranded in the fantastical Land of Oz. As instructed by the Good Witch of the North and the Munchkins, Dorothy sets off on the yellow brick road to try and find her way to the Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz, who can help her get home. With her companions the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, Dorothy experiences an adventure full of friendship, magic and danger. A much-loved children's classic, The Wizard of Oz continues to delight readers young and old with its enchanting tale of witches, flying monkeys and silver shoes.

]]> 154 L. Frank Baum 0140621679 Vince 5 4.00 1900 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1)
author: L. Frank Baum
name: Vince
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1900
rating: 5
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date added: 2013/09/23
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]]> <![CDATA[Life, the Universe and Everything (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #3)]]> 8694
“Wild satire . . . The feckless protagonist, Arthur Dent, is reminiscent of Vonnegut heroes.”� Chicago Tribune

The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads—so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation.

They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler who tries to learn how to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing; Ford Prefect, his best friend, who decides to go insane to see if he likes it; Slartibartfast, the indomitable vice president of the Campaign for Real Time, who travels in a ship powered by irrational behavior; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-president of the galaxy; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox.

How will it all end? Will it end? Only this stalwart crew knows as they try to avert “universal� Armageddon and save life as we know it—and don’t know it!

“Adams is one of those rare an author who, one senses, has as much fun writing as one has reading.”� Arizona Daily Star]]> 224 Douglas Adams 0345418905 Vince 3 4.20 1982 Life, the Universe and Everything (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #3)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Vince
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1982
rating: 3
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date added: 2013/09/23
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]]> <![CDATA[The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #2)]]> 8695 alternate edition for ISBN 0345418921/9780345418920

Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as they hurtle through space powered by pure improbability - and desperately in search of a place to eat. Among Arthur's motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a long-time friend and contributor to the The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMilan, a fellow Earth refuge who's gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, who suffers nothing and no one gladly.

Source: douglasadams.com]]> 250 Douglas Adams Vince 3 4.22 1980 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #2)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Vince
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1980
rating: 3
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date added: 2013/09/23
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]]> <![CDATA[So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #4)]]> 8698
"HE LOST ALL FAITH IN THE STRAIGHTFORWARD OPERATION OF CAUSE AND EFFECT THE DAY HE GOT UP INTENDING TO CATCH UP WITH SOME READING AND ENDED UP ON A PREHISTORIC EARTH WITH A MAN FROM BETELGEUSE AND A SPACESHIP-LOAD OF ALIEN TELEPHONE SANITISERS...".

Left at the end of LIFE, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING with the address for God's Final Message To His Creation, Arthur Dent let this crucial information slip his mind. He tries everything to jog his memory - meditation, mind-reading, hitting himself about the head with blunt objects. But none of it works. Of course, as everyone knows, the answer lies in making life flash before your eyes...
Source: douglasadams.com]]> 167 Douglas Adams 0330491237 Vince 3 4.09 1984 So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #4)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Vince
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1984
rating: 3
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date added: 2013/09/23
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]]> <![CDATA[The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)]]> 11
Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!]]> 216 Douglas Adams Vince 3 4.21 1979 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Vince
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1979
rating: 3
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date added: 2013/09/23
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]]> I Am Legend 2370696 THE LAST MAN ON EARTH IS NOT ALONE

Robert Neville may well be the only survivor of an incurable plague that has mutated every other man, woman, and child into bloodthirsty, nocturnal creatures who are determined to destroy him.

By day, he scavenges for food and supplies, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But all the while the infected lurk in the shadows, watching his every move, waiting for him to make a mistake....]]> 320 Richard Matheson 0765318741 Vince 4 3.68 1954 I Am Legend
author: Richard Matheson
name: Vince
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1954
rating: 4
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date added: 2013/09/23
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]]> The Last Watch (Watch, #4) 2192092 Last Watch returns us to the hyper-imaginative world of Sergei Lukyanenko, where the endless battle between good and evil is about to reach its climax. Anton Gorodetsky is just getting a feel for his new powers when his boss, Gesar, sends him to assist the Scottish Night Watch in Edinburgh in a murder investigation. A young Russian man has been murdered—apparently by a vampire. But the mystery is more than it seems, and soon Anton is himself in danger. The murderer appears to be someone with intimate knowledge of the Night Watch. Before long, Anton realizes that a plot is being hatched by the forces of both darkness and light that—unless he can intervene—may mean nothing less than Armageddon.]]> 370 Sergei Lukyanenko 1401309275 Vince 5 4.12 2006 The Last Watch (Watch, #4)
author: Sergei Lukyanenko
name: Vince
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2006
rating: 5
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date added: 2013/09/23
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]]> Twilight Watch (Watch, #3) 104159 405 Sergei Lukyanenko 1401360211 Vince 5 4.13 2004 Twilight Watch (Watch, #3)
author: Sergei Lukyanenko
name: Vince
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2004
rating: 5
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date added: 2013/09/23
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]]> Day Watch (Watch, #2) 104160
Set in a modern-day Moscow, the epic saga chronicles the eternal war of the "Others," an ancient race of humans with supernatural powers who must swear allegiance to either the Dark or the Light. The agents of Dark - The Day Watch - keep an eye during the day, while the agents of Light keep watch over the night. For a thousand years a treaty between the two sides has maintained an uneasy balance, but when a very potent artifact is stolen from the inquisition - an impartial group of Others who keep watch over all - the consequences are dire for both sides.

Day Watch introduces the perspective of the Dark Ones, as it is told in part by a beautiful but troubled young witch. When she falls in love with a handsome young Light One, the balance is threatened and a death must be avenged. Replete with the thrilling action and intricate plotting of the first tale, Day Watch is fuelled by cunning, cruelty, violence, and magic. It is a fast-paced, darkly humorous, haunting world that will take root in the shadows of your mind and live there forever.




(Description from the back cover of trade paperback edition)]]> 453 Sergei Lukyanenko 1401360203 Vince 4 4.08 2000 Day Watch (Watch, #2)
author: Sergei Lukyanenko
name: Vince
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2000
rating: 4
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]]> The Nightwatch 1865653
In The Night Watch , the first of a quartet, and reminiscent of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials in its ambitions and achievement, the setting is contemporary Moscow. A small number of Muscovites with supernatural powers � those who are Other, owing allegiance either to the Dark or the Light � co-exist in an uneasy truce, each side keeping a close eye on the other’s activities around the city.

Anton, an Other on the side of the Light, is a night-watchman, patrolling the streets and Metro of the city as he protects ordinary people from the vampires of the Dark. On his rounds, Anton comes across a young woman, Svetlana, whom he realizes is under a curse that threatens the entire city, and a boy, Igor, a young Other, as yet unaware of his own enormous power. Partnered by Olga, an Other who is in the form of an owl, he struggles to remove the curse and thereby save the city, while at the same time prevent Igor from falling into the clutches of the Dark.

The Night Watch explores the nature of good and evil and the tensions between the individual and the collective in a gripping narrative that owes as much to The Master and Margarita as it is does to the richly realized worlds of Philip Pullman and Tolkien.


From the Trade Paperback edition.]]> 592 Sergei Lukyanenko 1400025125 Vince 5 3.82 1998 The Nightwatch
author: Sergei Lukyanenko
name: Vince
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1998
rating: 5
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date added: 2013/09/23
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]]> <![CDATA[The Monster's Corner: Stories Through Inhuman Eyes]]> 10869776
From the point of view of an outsider, they may very well be horrible, terrifying monstrosities, but of course they won’t see themselves in the same light. Demons and goblins, dark gods and aliens, creatures of myth and legend, lurkers in darkness and beasts in human clothing…these are the subjects of The Monster’s Corner, an anthology of never-before-published stories assembled by Bram Stoker Award-winning author Christopher Golden.

With contributions from such luminous authors as Lauren Groff, Chelsea Cain, Simon R. Green, Sharyn McCrumb, Kelley Armstrong, David Liss, Kevin J. Anderson, Jonathan Maberry, and many others, this is the ultimate anthology on the dark heart of a monster.]]> 388 Christopher Golden 0312646135 Vince 4 3.54 2011 The Monster's Corner: Stories Through Inhuman Eyes
author: Christopher Golden
name: Vince
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2011
rating: 4
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date added: 2013/09/22
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]]> <![CDATA[Demonic Visions: 50 Horror Tales]]> 18487669 148 Chris Robertson Vince 4 3.81 2013 Demonic Visions: 50 Horror Tales
author: Chris Robertson
name: Vince
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2013
rating: 4
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date added: 2013/09/22
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]]> <![CDATA[So Long, and Thanks for All the Brains]]> 13233597 In a world where the living struggle to survive...
In a world where Munchkins fight alongside flying monkeys...
Those are just some of the things you will find inside this mammoth book of zombie fiction by writers from Michigan to Malaysian, from Austin to Austria.
So, pull on your bibs and prepare to sink your teeth in.
There's plenty of brains for everyone!

With stories by Bint Arab, Robert Forrester, Michael C. Dick, K. A. Masters, T. Fox Dunham, Kenneth E. Olson, Jason Papke, Richard Jay Goldstein, T. L. Barrett, Theresa Derwin, Joe Sherry, Jack Bantry, Bruce L. Priddy, Jonathan Wood, Gary Madden, Nicky Peacock, Douglas J. Moore, Iain Rob Wright, Dale Elster, Rebecca Snow, T. L. Decay, Philip Harris, Annie Neugebauer, Jamal K. Luckett, Marc-Anthony Taylor, Michelle Ann King, Suzanne Robb, C. Douglas Birkhead, Anne E. Johnson, Indy McDaniel, Bryan Vogt, Paul S. Huggins, Stef White, Jim Gadsby, J. Rodimus Fowler, Golda Mowe, Mihai Boc, Jessica A. Weiss, B.E. Scully, Scott Lininger, Katie Young, Allen Jacoby, Kelly Evans, S. Wayne Roberts, Alyn Day, R. S. Pyne, Kristal Stittle, Theresa Derwin, Pembroke Sinclair, Justin Sharples, Vince Liberato and an amazing cover by Gary McCluskey

]]> 474 Matt Nord 1466288140 Vince 4 4.28 2012 So Long, and Thanks for All the Brains
author: Matt Nord
name: Vince
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2012
rating: 4
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date added: 2013/09/22
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]]>