Category Archives: Small Press Book Reviews

Johnny Talon and the Goddess of Love and War (The Wild Rose Press) W. B. J. Williams This novel is possibly one of the best examples of magical realism I’ve ever read. Warning: Adult themes. Johnny Talon is a private … Continue reading →

Shortcut: A Jason Maxx thriller (Villainous Press) by Bryan Thomas Schmidt and Hunt Lowry Smart, original, and it twists like an ice dancer. You’ll want to read Shortcut or see the movie they’re  making from this page-turning thriller. Jason Maxx … Continue reading →

Slice of Chaos: Pizza In Space Book 2 (Paper Golem LLC) by Lawrence M. Schoen Since Book 1 Melody Wilder has beaten a ruthless alien pirate/priest, survived being gored, and is recuperating while trying to complete and defend her doctoral … Continue reading →

Touch the Sky (… And We Write) edited by Jennifer Busick and Catherine Jamie This is an enjoyable anthology themed by the Saturn V rocket. I could see it being a worthy addition to the Huntsville Space & Rocket Center’s … Continue reading →

 The Shadow Collector (Tellwell) by Bonnie Randall It takes at least a decade to become an “overnight success,” or in this case two decades. In June of 2023 this A&A author and veteran indie writer Bonnie Randall’s latest work became … Continue reading →

Death Tango  (Running Wild Press/ RIZE ) by Lachi The book opens with a grisly murder by a nameless someone who is not fully human and feels not only slighted by a scientist named Dr. Ferguson but threatened by him–so … Continue reading →

Singularity Syndrome (Pandamoon Publishing) by Susan Kuchinskas I was pleasantly surprised by The Singularity Syndrome. I guess you could call it “hacker noir,” and by hacker I mean both biological as well as computer hacking. It involves biological chimeras in … Continue reading →

Esprit de Corpse (NeoParadoxa) by Ef Deal This is a fun romp of a steampunk tale. Jacqueline Duval is an inveterate tinkerer, an innovator, and holds many mechanical patents in 1840s France. Her twin sister, Angélique, used to be a … Continue reading →

Greensmith (Unsung Stories) by Aliya Whiteley A thought-provoking tale that lingers in the mind. I’m going to categorize Greensmith as a “thought experiment” because it has the usual flaw of stories that are outside of human experience. States such as … Continue reading →