Recent Reviews
Voluptuous Confessions of a French Lady of Fashion
by Anonymous
Wow! It is really so fascinating to me that this book was first published in 1883! This book is pretty graphic...so be prepared...good stuff!
by anon
Caffeine
by Ryan Grabow
The first few pages had me groaning "another cyberpunk novel". Lots of acronyms and jargon are tossed out with little to no context, making a bit difficult to scan.
But I always like to try to give a fair reading, so I plodded on, and after a little while, I found myself engrossed.
The climax, like the exposition, were a bit overly drawn out, and I felt that closure could have been achieved in a more streamlined manner.
The author plainly classifies this as an "unashamed attempt at Philosophical (Christian) Science Fiction", wherein a self-aware artificial intelligence journeys to discover the meaning of life.
A human protagonist accompanies, at first unwillingly, the AI in her quest, and also finds the answers to his own questions.
The social and economic situations strike surprising close to home. Given this, I do wish the author did not attach specific dates, as I feel this could be "tomorrow" rather than a century-and-a-half into the future.
by Bill
No Great Magic
by Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr.
Amnesiac, agoraphobic Greta plays wardrobe mistress to a company of actors between bouts of dizziness. But the troupers play even more roles than at first appears. A deftly written story; I wanted more of it.
by Leah A. Zeldes
Lisbeth Longfrock
by Hans Aanrud
Based on the Norwegian story "Sidsel Sidsærk," this is the tale of a young peasant girl growing up in the mountains, her highest ambition to become head milkmaid. It's undoubtedly a very accurate account of Norwegian farm life of the time, but that life seems unexciting.
by Leah A. Zeldes
From a Girl's Point of View
by Lilian Bell
A collection of essays, mainly about relationships between men and women. They were meant to be humorous but now seem dated and dull.
by Leah A. Zeldes
The Thorogood Family
by Robert Michael Ballantyne
Plotless piece about a family of very brave, very worthy, very dull Christians. They start out good, they do good, they end good, they emigrate to America. End of story
by Leah A. Zeldes
Dangerous Days
by Mary Roberts Rinehart
A complex, multi-generational story set at the start of World War I, full of tense families, difficult marriages, thwarted loves and political intrigue.
As America prepares for war, steel magnate Clayton Spencer becomes increasingly aware of the shallowness of his wife and his widening distance from his son, Graham. Meanwhile, Graham struggles to overcome his mother's selfish love and his own weak nature.
A little soap-operaish, but fairly engrossing.
by Leah A. Zeldes
Security
by Poul William Anderson
A scientist in a totalitarian future America experiences the extremes of homeland security. Rather prophetic.
by Leah A. Zeldes
Clouds of Witness
by Dorothy L. Sayers
Lord Peter Wimsey comes into his own in a complex murder case in which his brother is accused of killing his sister's fiance. The cleverly told story is full of twists and turns and fascinating trivia, but though I heartily recommend the novel, I suggest you read it elsewhere. This is an extremely bad transcription full of notations about "[garbled]" and "[missing]" text.
by Leah A. Zeldes
Apron-Strings
by Eleanor Gates
A paean to mother love, rather daring by 1917 moral standards, but a little sappy. Susan Milo, a 45-year-old spinster dominated by her mother, tries to mother the world.
by Leah A. Zeldes