Do you remember the scene towards the end of The Empire Strikes Back, second episode in the original Star Wars trilogy, when the charismatic mercenary Han Solo is frozen in suspended animation in a block of carbonite?

And realisation dawns that you’ve got to wait for the sequel to find out whether he’s dead or alive?

Thanks to the magic of the DVD player I can watch the next episode anytime I want.

Unfortunately, I’ve got at least 12 months, if not longer, before I can hope to read the follow-up to In the Blood, the debut novel of Robin L. Martinez. Continue reading →

You know a book is good when your head is still in the story several days after it came to a very satisfying conclusion.

Jake Caldwell, chief protagonist of James L. Weaver’s gripping Poor Boy Road is an endearingly attractive bad guy with a heart of gold.

He could have been too good to be true.

A mob enforcer who fixes things by paying off the other man’s debts instead of beating the hell out of him. Continue reading →

A Christmas Carol: Charles Dickens

In a way it’s a good job that Charles Dickens is long dead otherwise I’d be lobbying him to grant Jacob Marley a reprieve. Continue reading →