The Pharaoh Contract

While sifting through a pile of books the other day I stumbled upon "The Pharaoh Contract", a science fiction book published in 1991, and written by Ray Aldridge.  "The Pharaoh Contract"
is the first book in the Emancipator trilogy, which also includes "The Emperor of Everything" and "The Orpheus Machine".  "The Pharaoh Contract" follows the path of Ruiz Aw, the enforcer of the slave trading Art League.  Ruiz is sent to the planet of Pharaoh to investigate who is stealing some of the Art League's most valuable slave performers.  When Ruiz reaches Pharaoh he finds that not only is he mysteriously changed, but that a web of intrigue even entwines the Art League's agents on Pharaoh.  "The Pharaoh Contract" is an exciting book set in an unusual and more than slightly strange galaxy.

Fables

No matter how you feel, pictures are a way to help us express our imaginations, and give life to the words on a page. For these reasons I have come to enjoy the comic series called Fables. These comics not only have an original and imaginative story arc but they also have amazing and extremely detailed drawings by a plethora of illustrators. Even if you feel that drawings have no place in literature this series will surely change your mind. I personally laud this procession of narratives with 9 put of 10 wolves.

Rush (Coming June 2013)

Rush, by Eve Silver, tells the story of Miki Jones. After Miki is hit by a car while trying to rescue a child her life changes drastically. Miki becomes attached to a "game" against terrifying aliens, ones who are deadly and bent on Earth's destruction. But when a fellow player dies in game, Miki realizes that to die in game is to die in real life. Rush has a fast paced plot that keeps the pages turning, and heartily deserves 9 out of 10 wolves.

A Cruel Wind

I recently finished an anthology of the series A Cruel Wind, by Glen Cook, which includes the books: A Shadow of All Night Falling, October's Baby, and All Darkness Met.  This hefty 508 page tome involves the petty wars of neighboring kingdoms, high sorcery, low sorcery, and immense battles.  With a slightly slow beginning this book soon draws you in.  Though I have not given this book a full review, I truly believe that anyone will enjoy reading the novels of this series as much as I did.

Book List

Here is a list of books that I read a few years ago, some were good, some were a little bad, but I thoroughly enjoyed the vast majority of them.

Ruins of Gorlan, The Burning Bridge, The Icebound Land, The Battle for Skandia, The Sorcerer of the North, The Siege of Macindaw, Erak's Ransom, The Kings of Clonmel, Halt's Peril, Dragon Champion, Dragon Avenger, Dragon Outcast, Dragon Strike, Dragon Rule, Redwall, Lord Brocktree, Loamhedge, The Legend of Luke, Triss, The Bellmaker, Taggerung, Eulalia!, Rakkety Tam, Marlfox, High Rhulain, Salamandastron, Mossflower, Mariel of Redwall, Pearls of Lutra, Martin the Warrior, The Outcast of Redwall, The Long Patrol, Mattimeo, The Rogue Crew, The Farthest Shore, Tombs of Atuan, Dune, Paul of Dune, Cold Mountain, Thirteen Moons, Petey, Were the Red Fern Grows, American Gods, Wild Thoughts From Wild Places, The Sight, Wolf Brother, Spirit Walker, Soul Eater, Merlin's Dragon, Eragon, Eldest, Brisingir, Gauntlygrym, Homeland, Exile, The Icewind Dale Trilogy, The Legacy, Starless Night, The Thousand Orcs, The Lone Drow, The Two Swords, The Orc King, The Pirate King, The Ghost King, Servant of the Shard, Elminster in Hell, Conundrum, American Gods, The Android's Dream, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Siege of Malta, America's Forgotten Army, The Alchemist, The Magician, The Sorceress, Napoleon's Russian Campaign, Central Park Knight, Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Queste, Artemis Fowl and Associated Books,
The Hobbit, Poison Study, Magic Study, 2001: Space Odyssey, 2010: Space Odyssey, 2061: Space Odyssey, Waterstone, The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golems Eye, Ptolemy's Gate, Gods of Manhattan, Magic Thief, The Floating Island, Lightning Thief, Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse,
The Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian, Red Pyramid, Throne of Fire, Lost Hero, The Day of the Tempest, The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, Going Postal, Making Money, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Three Cups of Tea, Neversfall, The Thief Lord, The Lost Gate, His Majesty's Dragon, Throne of Jade, Black Powder War, Empire of Ivory, Victory of Eagles, Tongues of Serpents, The Good Thief, Midnight for Charlie Bone, Charlie Bone and the Time Twister, Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy, The Last Charge, Virals, The Black Talon, Almanac of World History, Bridge to Terrabithia, Day of the Dragon, Lord of the Clans, Merle's Door, Black Dragon Codex, Gold Dragon Codex, Bronze Dragon Codex, Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, Starfinder, Island in the Sea of Time, Against the Tide of Years, In the Oceans of Eternity, I Robot, The Naked Sun, The Robots of Dawn, Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, Foundation's Edge, The Grey King, The Naked Sun, The Robots of Dawn, The Lost Gate, Timeline, The Westing Game, The Cartoon History of the Universe, The Cartoon History of the Universe II, The Cartoon History of the Universe III, The Cartoon History of the Modern World, The Cartoon History of the Modern World Part II, The Cartoon Guide to the Enviroment, Larklight, Mister Monday, Grim Tuesday, Drowned Wednesday, Sir Thursday, Lady Friday, Guns Germs and Steel,

The Rithmatist (Not Out Yet, Coming May 2013)

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson is an exciting new novel following the adventures of Joel. Joel has always wanted to be a rithmatist, a person who can control chalk and make it come to life, but he was never chosen to be one. Now at Armedius Academy, where Joel learns and also lives, rithmatists start to vanish. When Joel joins a group trying to save the students he enters a race against time and the killer, a race which may end up changing rithmatics as he knows it. I give this book 8 out of 10 wolves, mainly because the cliffhanging ending makes me wish the second book was out already!

Between Books

On February 22nd Greg Schauer announced the closing of his bookstore: Between Books. Greg has made his little shop a focal point of the community for almost 34 years, weathering the recession and competition. This closing not only has an impact on the field of small bookstores but also has a personal impact because Greg is a family friend and was best man at my parents wedding, who met at Between Books. Throughout the years he has been able to provide whoever walks in his door with the perfect book, whether it be sci-fi, fantasy, comedy, horror, or just the plain weird. I hope that you will take some time out of your day to visit his store at 2703 Philadelphia Pike, Claymont, DE, before he is gone.