Sheila's Guests and Reviews

My husband used to tell me he only liked "real" science fiction, not that "fantasy" stuff. So it's kind of surprising to find him thoroughly hooked on fantasies like Game of Thrones and Mistborn. But it's satisfying too. It seems what makes fantasy work for him is when it has a well-imagined, logical worldview, when magic obeys its rules rather than making them up to change with the novel's changing needs, and where characters become real and believable rather than cardboard cutouts. That being so, it's not surprising he loves Harry Potter (definitely logical) and Mistborn too. Meanwhile I just love fantasy, always have done and doubtless always will. But what makes it fantasy? Is it magic? Is it different worlds (but surely they're part of science fiction too)? Is it swords and sorcery and dragons? Gods and goddesses? And what makes fantasy different from (hard) science fiction? I suspect for my husband at least, real (hard) science fiction ...

Sometimes I want a book that will take me out of myself, out of my world and all the cares of my world, and away into somewhere safe where problems are solved, disasters averted, and relationships healed. Then I'll read a cozy mystery perhaps, an fast-moving thriller, or a romance, and I'll enjoy the gentle respite they offer. Other times I want something to absorb my attention, involving my thoughts and concerns in someone else's life, with that gentle hint that what I learn might, maybe, help in my own. Then I'll go for something literary; something longer perhaps, or more "different," more intriguing. And sometimes one book will fulfill both purposes. I've read a number of mystery novels recently, and some of them certainly leave me seeing the real world, or real history, slightly differently. Others just offer rest and relaxation. And all are fun. So here are just a few book reviews for you. Drink coffee. Enjoy! First are a couple of stories fr...

Today I'm delighted to be part of Greg Messel's blog tour for his new novel Dreams that never were, so let me tell you a little bit about it... Dreams that never were by Greg Messel The sixties… swinging sixties… Vietnam… Kennedy… Were the disillusioned young adults of the sixties so different from those of today? Greg Messel’s novel, Dreams that never were, tells the first person story of a reporter following the rise of Robert Kennedy, just as that rise came to an end. It’s a story that feels intensely personal and real, told with a thoroughly convincing voice. And it combines an authentic sense for time and place with heart-searching timeless questions, romance and excitement. By the end of the story, the reader is just as deeply invested in a man whose future is just beginning, as in another whose dreams are tragically done. Just maybe, the reader might also feel some small investment in today’s fallen dreams. Dreams for America’s future (now our past) threa...