Friday, April 17, 2009

Doc Wilde review by Harriet

Got some new reviews from Harriet today and she also did one on Doc Wilde. I thought you might enjoy it as well.

Will include a couple more to give you something to look for it the review inspires you.

Beautiful weather today but I think there will be rain this weekend.

On a sad note, I've received word that Gary Markette, Publisher of Anotherealm.com, came home from work and discovered that his wife had passed on to the next world. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and the families.

Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom
Tim Byrd
Putnam, May 14 2009, $15.99
ISBN: 9780399247835


Grandma Pat informs her son Dr. Spartacus Wilde his nonagenarian father vanished after giving a talk at a forum at Harvard. The widower accompanied by his twelve year old son Brian, his ten year old daughter, associate Phineas Bartlett and driver Declan mac Coul plan to search for the missing Wilde. However, before they can begin, they are attacked by mutant frogs in their family abode in the Empire State Building.

Next stop for the intrepid warriors is Harvard, which soon leads them to Hidalgo in South America. From there they enter the jungle heading to a remote region with mutant frogs of all sorts attacking them until they reach a cave whose opening is shaped like the mouth of a giant frog. Inside they continue the quest learning that the dark God Frogon, who destroyed his universe, is seeking entrance to this one to destroy it too. As Mac is turned into a Man-frog, the Wildes battle saber-tooth frogs and other species of mutated frog while Frogon begins the ritual to enter the Wilde universe.

DOC WILDE AND THE FROGS OF DOOM is a fun pulp adventure that pays homage to Doc Savage while targeting the tweener crowd. The story line is fast and lighthearted as the heroes battle mutant fogs. With literary quotes ranging from Seuss to Lovecraft and beyond, Tim Byrd avoids dumbing down his novel. Young readers will relish the escapades of the Wilde family and friends as they struggle to save the world one croak at a time.

Harriet Klausner

Bad Things
Michael Marshall
Morrow, May 2009, $24.95
ISBN: 9780061434402


After falling into a lake in Black Ridge, Washington, four years old Scott Henderson dies though he was rescued in time; no cause for the child’s death is found. His despondent parents John and Carol are unable to cope or help one another with their grief. They divorce and both leave the town with neither planning to ever return.

Three years later, John receives a cryptic frightening note from someone claiming they know how Scott died. Though he thinks the woman who sent it is probably a nutcase, John goes back to Black Ridge hoping otherwise as he has not obtained closure. He is unaware that his return to the scene of his greatest personal tragedy will cause inexplicable deadly incidents to occur.

This is a thrilling horror tale that uses the setting of a seemingly placid rustic town to enhance the tension of what is going on. Readers will feel a sense of impending doom throughout the exciting story line. Although some plausibility is lacking, no one will care as Michael Marshall provides a strong scary tale with a psychological edge to make what is happening in Black Ridge even more frightening.

Harriet Klausner

Eternal Craving
Nina Bangs
Leisure, May 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9780843957938


Fin created the Eleven to counteract humanity’s enemy Zero whose plan is the destruction of mankind to coincide with the Mayan calendar prediction of the end at 12-21-12. Fin’s fighters use human bodies just like Zero’s minion.

Tabloid reporter Jenna Maloy wonders just who is her enigmatic new brother-in-law Ty (see ETERNAL PLEASURE) so she comes to Philadelphia to investigate him. What she learns about her sister’s spouse shakes her to her bone marrow. However, her inquiry also leads to Ty’s associate Al, who has been in a non-stop rage since he ended up cloaked as a pitiful human instead of a fierce “Hunter”. When he meets Jenna, who is the Key to beating the enemy, his heart does crazy things; making Fin wonder if he is too volatile to trust with keeping the “Key” safe.

The Eternal Gods of the Night saga is romantic urban fantasy at its best as antiheroes fall in love with feisty humans while battling an evil that is growing in strength as the malevolence begin the countdown to December 21 2012. The world is a gritty dark place as seen by Al (and for that matter Ty) except for Jenna who confuses him because a Hunter does not fall in love especially with a lesser being even if her tabloid experience enables her to accept the improbable. With a supernatural smorgasbord to round out a terrific fast-paced tale, fans will want to read about the big bang universe starting the big crunch to Zero time.

Harriet Klausner

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