I found this to be a thoughtful and entertaining take on the time travel story. Time travel stories have plenty of tropes, and it seems like most of it’s been done before. Mastai’s debut novel takes those tropes, mashes them together, and comes out with something that feels new. I had a few issues with … Continue reading
This is a book with an interesting concept but there were a few things that didn’t work for me at all. Ann Decker is working in a tech store when she’s approached by someone who wants to recruit her for a special job. Her life isn’t too exciting, so she jumps in a van with … Continue reading
This novel was a gift from my mother, after we both read Stephen King’s 11/22/63. King said this was his favorite time travel novel, and that it inspired his book. And I can see that. I had mixed feelings about the book, although it begins with an interesting premise. Si Morley is an artist who … Continue reading
I’ve read four of Rainbow Rowell’s books and enjoyed every one of them. It’s hard to compare them, so I won’t. Rowell’s previous books have all been about the beginnings of a relationship, but this one is about what happens to that relationship across years of marriage. Georgie McCool is a writer of television comedies … Continue reading
This is not a review exactly, since I don’t like to write reviews mid-series. Instead I’m just going to gush. Diana Gabaldon’s books are amazing. They are so long and involved, you feel like you know these characters intimately. She writes with a level of detail that makes you feel you’re right there. It’s the … Continue reading
There are books that stay with you, and this is one of them. I always hear raves about Octavia Butler, yet her books aren’t exactly mainstream titles. I knew I wanted to read something by her, but wasn’t sure where to start (thanks to favorite blogger Alley for her review). Kindred has a deceptively simple … Continue reading
Note: The Book Stop is officially on vacation. I wrote this ahead of time so I may not respond to your comments (but please comment). Enjoy! If you’re a Stephen King fan, especially a fan of his older books, you’ll appreciate this one, because he really gets back to the detailed way he used to … Continue reading
The Mine is a novel by first-time novelist John Heldt. It’s a time-travel story in the vein of Back to the Future – only this time the traveler lives in 2000 and goes back 60 years to 1941, just before Pearl Harbor and U.S. entry into World War 2. Joel Smith is graduating from college … Continue reading
Spring-Heeled Jack is pretty much what you’d expect it to be – it’s good, fun steampunk set in an alternate version of Victorian England. The “twist” is that it actually explains how the alternate reality came to be. It also involves a whole cast of real-life characters, including the explorer Richard Francis Burton, the poet … Continue reading
Normally, if I don’t understand a book I’m not going to enjoy it. I also don’t like writing that’s weird for the sake of being weird. Slaughterhouse Five was different. It’s funny and strange and tragic and an easy read, all at the same time. Slaughterhouse Five is at first told from the point of … Continue reading
