Book Review: Thief River Falls by Brian Freeman “Write what you know.” Thriller author Lisa Power followed that maxim in her fourth book, entitled Thief River Falls. It’s set in her home town of Thief River Falls, Minnesota and features real locations there, and even the real names of some of the residents. The verisimilitude… Continue reading Book Review: Thief River Falls
Tag: Minnesota
Book Review: Dirty Doc Ames and the Scandal That Shook Minneapolis
Book Review: Dirty Doc Ames and the Scandal That Shook Minneapolis by Erik Rivenes City government corruption is a recurring problem in American politics. Some cities are notorious for their local corruption levels, while others have it come and go. Minnesota cities are no exception, though it has seldom reached the level of Mayor Albert… Continue reading Book Review: Dirty Doc Ames and the Scandal That Shook Minneapolis
Book Review: Roar at the Universe
Book Review: Roar at the Universe by Danith McPherson In her introduction, the author states that bad stuff happens, and people can deal with it in different ways. This anthology, then, is eleven stories and poems about characters who struggle with the bad stuff in their lives, not always successfully. “Folds of Blue Silk” starts… Continue reading Book Review: Roar at the Universe
Book Review: Wolf of the Tesseract
Book Review: Wolf of the Tesseract by Christopher D. Schmitz Claire Jones is excited about her upcoming marriage to hot movie star James, who she’s known since they were in high school together in Duluth, Minnesota. Her best friend and bridesmaid to be Jackie is also pretty enthused. Not so happy is the other bridesmaid,… Continue reading Book Review: Wolf of the Tesseract
Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 9: What Prevails
Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 9: What Prevails edited by Mary Francois Rockcastle It is time again to look at Hamline University’s annual literary magazine. This issue is from 2006. It’s dedicated to Frederick Busch, author of Girls, who had visited the university shortly before his death the previous year. The subtitle, borrowed from one… Continue reading Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 9: What Prevails
Open Thread: Minicon 54
Open Thread: Minicon 54 My involvement with Minicon started early this annum, as I was approached by one of the co-chairs about becoming head of Programming. Citing my entire lack of managerial experience and continued inability to organize, I declined. But I did agree to help the Programming department out. I pitched a bunch of… Continue reading Open Thread: Minicon 54
Book Review: Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories
Book Review: Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories by Naomi Kritzer This is the first collection of speculative fiction stories by Naomi Kritzer, headlined by the title piece, which won a Hugo Award in 2016. There’s seventeen stories in all. “Cat Pictures Please” is a sweet story about an artificial intelligence accidentally created from a… Continue reading Book Review: Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories
Book Review: Seeking the Storyteller
Book Review: Seeking the Storyteller by Jessica Walsh & Briana Lawrence Alix Andre DeBenit and Randall Fagan are Hunters, tracking down and killing monsters called “demons” that harm humans. They’re experienced and work well together, and the Twin Cities are surprisingly monster-infested so they’re doing quite well for themselves, with a warehouse headquarters and full-time… Continue reading Book Review: Seeking the Storyteller
Book Review: Mammoths of the Great Plains
Book Review: Mammoths of the Great Plains by Eleanor Arnason On an alternate Earth, the mammoth lived into historical times, abiding with the bison and the Native Americans. But then Lewis and Clark saw their first mammoth, and reported on it to President Jefferson and the teeming masses of the East. This is the story of… Continue reading Book Review: Mammoths of the Great Plains
Comic Strip Review: Cartoons by Guindon
Comic Strip Review: Cartoons by Guindon by Dick Guindon During my teen years, one of the delights of reading the newspaper was the cartoons of Richard “Dick” Guindon. Born in Minnesota, he had returned to the Twin Cities in the 1970s to draw his satirical cartoons. Mind you, it was pretty mild satire, but folks… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Cartoons by Guindon