My Book Reviews

The Pattern on the Stone (Science Masters) by Daniel Hillis (1999 Perseus Books Group)

I was very, very impressed by The Pattern on the Stone. Hillis explains, in terms that anyone can understand, how computers work from the most basic... (click on the book title to see my full review)

JavaScript: The Good Parts by Douglas Crockford (2008 O'Reilly Media)

I don't think the importance of JavaScript in our current world can be overstated. Nor can the work of Douglas Crockford to legitimize JavaScript by... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Hunted (Brides of the Kindred, #2) by Evangeline Anderson

It's hard to believe this has an estimated 472 paperback pages. It flew by like a book half its page count. The entertainment value is very high ind... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Lyman 48th Reloading Handbook by Thomas J. Griffin

While I might have organized it differently, most of the basic information for metallic cartridge reloading is here. The first half of the book conta... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Plague Zone (Plague, #3) by Jeff Carlson (2009 Ace)

I think it's safe to say that if you enjoyed the first two books in this series, you'll enjoy this one. Jeff Carlson exercises his completely unique... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Claimed (Brides of the Kindred, #1) by Evangeline Anderson

So this three star review is actually high praise. I came into this "sci-fi" erotic romance on a lark and with low expectations. Extremely low. And... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas by Brad Thomas Parsons (2011 Ten Speed Press)

If this is a culmination of the bitters knowledge of the world, then I guess there just isn't that much to know.¶ But that's fine. Honestly, unl... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Plague War (Plague, #2) by Jeff Carlson (2008 Ace)

Plague War is a solid middle episode of the Plague trilogy. It works for the same reason the first book worked - the constant uphill battle of surviv... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Titan II Handbook: A civilian's guide to the most powerful ICBM America ever Built by Chuck Penson (2008 Chuck Penson)

The Titan missile bases were an engineering marvel. They are also a frightening and sobering reminder of the capabilities of world superpowers.¶... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Plague Year (Plague, #1) by Jeff Carlson (2007 Ace)

I can dig emotionally dark stories. I don't want to wallow in them all the time, but there's plenty of good material in the abyss. As tour guides go... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Why the West Rules - for Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal About the Future by Ian Morris (2010 Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Astounding! I was fascinated by the premise of the book (why DOES the West rule, anyway?) but I was blown away by the scope! To make his case, Morri... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing by Taylor Larimore (2006 John Wiley & Sons)

Sometimes one needs to be reminded of the basics. I was that someone and this strangely-titled book was my reminder. ¶ If I'd not read very pos... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Secrets of the Amazing Kreskin by Kreskin (1991 Prometheus Books)

Though it wasn't quite what I expected, this was an entertaining read. I've long been fascinated with the abilities of mentalists. Practitioners of... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Crash Proof: How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse by Peter D. Schiff (2007 John Wiley & Sons)

The first two thirds of Crash Proof is a persuasive argument that there are (in 2006) impending dark times for the United States. The last third is a... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Footprints of God by Greg Iles (2004 Pocket Star Books)

I'm a programmer by trade. I'm happy to report that for a book with a computer at its core, I found Footprints of God pleasant to read. Unfortunatel... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk (2000 Vintage)

Well, you certainly know what you're getting with a Chuck P. book. Well, you don't know *exactly* what you're getting. That's the fun part. But the... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Annotated Turing: A Guided Tour Through Alan Turing's Historic Paper on Computability and the Turing Machine by Charles Petzold (2008 John Wiley & Sons)

This book has a 10:1 ratio of annotations to Turing's original paper. That's a considerable increase. But there's no wasted space here. The biograp... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Space Prisoners, The Survivors by Tom Godwin

Space Prisoners is short. It's epic. It's a blast to read. ¶ I grew up reading a fair amount of "Golden Age" science fiction. That stuff was... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Inflated: How Money and Debt Built the American Dream by R. Christopher Whalen (2010 Wiley)

There is a wonderful quote that goes something like this: "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the vot... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Wood Flooring by Charles Peterson (2010 Taunton Press, Incorporated)

As I reach the end of my own wood flooring project (which has taken about six months of sporadic weekend work), I realized that I have not only read t... (click on the book title to see my full review)

97 Things Every Programmer Should Know: Collective Wisdom from the Experts by Kevlin Henney (2010 O'Reilly Media, Inc.)

This is a provocative title! What practitioner in any field could see a title like "X Things Every Y Should Know" and not wonder, "Do I know all of t... (click on the book title to see my full review)

HTML5: Up and Running by Mark Pilgrim (2010 O'Reilly Media)

Pilgrim's HTML5: Up and Running (H5UaR) is a short book and has a far more conversational tone than I'm used to with O'Reilly technical books. Both a... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1998 Harper Perennial)

I'm massively impressed, to be sure, that this book comes to us from the ancient date of 1932. I can only imagine how shocking and original this must... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Pocket Outdoor Survival Guide: The Ultimate Guide for Short-Term Survival by J. Wayne Fears (2006 Stoeger Publishing Company)

The thing that really struck me about Fear's Survival Guide is as much what it didn't contain as what it did. I'd never before seen a survival book t... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Immune - Book Two of The Rho Agenda by Richard Phillips

After enjoying this book quite a bit, I almost feel that I was too harsh in my review of Phillip's first book of the series (The Second Ship). But af... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Boozehound: On the Trail of the Rare, the Obscure, and the Overrated in Spirits by Jason Wilson

It would be easy to dismiss Jason Wilson as a spirits snob. His rants about populist vodka and adoration of the obscure certainly rings of snobbishne... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Sex Sphere by Rudy Rucker (1983 Ace Books)

Looking to try out my new Amazon Kindle, I went searching for something new by one of my favorite authors. My search ended when I found this delightf... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Stork Club Bar Book by Lucius Beebe (2003 New Day Publishers)

As a book of prose, The Stork Club Bar Book perhaps falls short. But of course, it's not just that. It's also a cocktail recipe book. And a collect... (click on the book title to see my full review)

3,000 Decorative Patterns of the Ancient World by William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1974 Dover Publications)

This is strictly a reference for patterns. That seems quite obvious, given the title, but I wish to be clear that this book does not contain very man... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Florid Victorian Ornament by Karl Klimsch (1977 Dover Publications)

The title certainly gives it away: the majority of this book is page after page of beautiful, flowery Victorian ornamental engravings. But it's more... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Durer by Albrecht Dürer (1963 Dover Publications)

You'd be hard pressed to find a better value in art books. This is a nice big volume with sharp reproduction on non-glossy paper. There's little mor... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Animals: 1,419 Copyright-Free Illustrations of Mammals, Birds, Fish, Insects, etc by Jim Harter (1979 Dover Publications)

This is one of the larger Dover print books I own. I like a lot for three reasons: First, it's an excellent collection of engravings, woodcuts, and p... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Second Ship by Richard Phillips (2009 Synergy Books)

The Second Ship is a bizarre pastiche of "Golden Age"-style science fiction writing (think 1950's b-movie dialog and equally hollow characterizations)... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon (1987 Pocket Books)

I really like how McCammon subdivided this book internally into two Books, each containing Parts, each divided into Chapters. It was very well struct... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Parasites Like Us by Adam Johnson (2004 Penguin (Non-Classics))

It took me a long, long time to finish Parasites Like Us. This is where I'd normally explain that the book couldn't keep my attention and that I fini... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling (1986 Ace Books)

At times, my mind would wander while reading Schismatrix. But not in the usual way wherein a thought much more interesting than what's on the page en... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed by Adam Nathan (2006 Sams)

In my opinion, WPF Unleashed is a book with strengths and weaknesses. I like to end on a positive note when I can, so let's get the weaknesses out of... (click on the book title to see my full review)

A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash by Sylvia Nasar (2001 Simon & Schuster)

I think A Beautiful Mind is a balancing act. It is both a page-turner and comprehensive. It manages to be consistently interesting while also feelin... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Camelot 30k by Robert L. Forward (1996 Tor Books)

It's been a while since I read a "hard SF" book. I had almost forgotten how much I enjoy them. There's usually at least one clever idea buried somew... (click on the book title to see my full review)

How to Ace Calculus: The Streetwise Guide by Colin Adams (1998 W. H. Freeman)

This is perhaps a bit of an unusual book for me to have purchased and read. I have never been in a calculus classroom in my life, let alone have any... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug (2005 New Riders Publishing)

This book is as clear and concise as your web site should be. It's hard to call anything "timeless" on the web, but I think Krug's examples (some of... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Trigonometry Demystified by Stan Gibilisco (2003 McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing)

I never took Trigonometry in school. I'm glad. That would have been a waste. This book is faster. ¶ Gibilisco's writing is dry and he makes n... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Thirty-Nine Steps (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading) by John Buchan (2009 Barnes & Noble)

Surprisingly "modern" for a book published 95 years ago and very short, Steps is a fast read. While it's hard for me to get too excited about the act... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (2007 Quercus)

Let the Right One In is a masterpiece of horror writing. ¶ Through the course of the story, I felt completely transported to the real Swedish t... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Voyager's Grand Tour (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight Series) by Henry C. Dethloff (2003 Smithsonian)

Two space probes launched over thirty years ago are still active today. One of them is now the most distant man-made object in the universe. Prior t... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Story of Art by Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich (1995 Phaidon Press)

I thumbed through a much older (perhaps first) edition of this book when I was away from home and looking for something to read. I was immediately ho... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Peterson First Guide to Astronomy (Peterson First Guides(R)) by Jay M. Pasachoff (1998 Houghton Mifflin)

I picked up this little number in a gift shop while on vacation. I was under some dark skies and needed a basic star map. For such a conveniently ti... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Serpico by Peter Maas (1973 Viking Books)

I find that reading on planes and in airports can be difficult due to distractions. I have to have a book with me that thoroughly captures my attenti... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Sippin' Safari: In Search of the Great "Lost" Tropical Drink Recipes... and the People Behind Them by Jeff Berry (2007 SLG Publishing)

Sippin' Safari has some truly rare information. Jeff Berry has clearly done some serious research to gather these recipes and the stories behind them... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (2009 Anchor)

It's short, but packed. There is no wasted space in this book. I think what impressed me most about Into the Wild is how well Krakauer painted a bel... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Lucky You by Carl Hiaasen

Bah. I think I've had my fill of Hiaasen's politics for a while. He's apparently an author I need to read in small doses. An above-the-law ATF agen... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Trinities by Nick Tosches (1996 Back Bay Books)

Please understand that my two-star review is no indictment of Nick Tosches as a writer. The fact is, Trinities is very well written. It also contain... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Rental Property Manager's Toolbox: A Complete Guide Including Pre-Written Forms, Agreements, Letters, and Legal Notices [With CDROM] by Jamaine Burrell (2006 Atlantic Publishing Company (FL))

Though I've never been a landlord or property manager before, I knew nearly all of the information in this book. The areas I most wanted to learn abo... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (2006 Grove Press)

After about five pages, I'd pretty much made up my mind that Cold Mountain was a load of pretentious crap. The lengthy, poetic descriptions, the glac... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages by Ammon Shea (2008 Perigee Trade)

This certainly reminds me a lot of A.J. Jacob's The Know-It-All about a similar quest to read the entirety of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. They're... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Beat the Reaper (Peter Brown #1) by Josh Bazell (2009 Little, Brown and Company)

There are a certain number of things in Beat the Reaper that just don't work. But, it's such a quick read that I don't think that matters at all. If... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath (2010 Broadway Business)

Let me be clear: I HATE most self-helpy/businessy books. They're usually simplistic/obvious, preachy, vague, or "jargony". Switch is none of those t... (click on the book title to see my full review)

To Green Angel Tower, Part 2 (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #3; Part 2) by Tad Williams (1994 DAW Fantasy)

At last, I have slain the dragon that is the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series. I find that in the end, I cannot give this final volume five stars. My... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The I.D. Master: Identity Change Insider Secrets: Little Known Tactics Of Identity Change Professionals by John Q. Newman ( Loompanics Unlimited)

Does one admit that they've read a book like this? Not if they intend to carry out one of the schemes described within, surely. I certainly don't.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

To Green Angel Tower, Part 1 (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #3; Part 1) by Tad Williams (1994 DAW Fantasy)

At last, all of the world-building in the two previous books has begun to pay off. I'm now fully-invested in the characters. I'm fascinated by the w... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Stone of Farewell (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #2) by Tad Williams (2005 DAW Trade)

Stone of Farewell picked right up from the abrupt ending of Dragonbone Chair. I was extremely pleased that all of the characters managed to find them... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Beginning .Net Game Programming in C# by David Weller (2004 Apress)

This book is a perfect of example of what I do not like in my computer programming books:¶ I like for a book to present its subject in a logical... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Under the Dome by Stephen King (2009 Scribner)

I really enjoyed reading Dome. It's classic Stephen King, meaning that the 1000+ pages read like 300. Given all of the interesting characters and ha... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1) by Tad Williams (2005 DAW Trade)

This book has been to the bottom of the Grand Canyon with me. It looks like it, too. The thing is practically in tatters. And I'm very delicate wit... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen (2005 Warner Books)

I found myself not liking Tourist Season until pretty much the very end. Though funny and entertaining, something about it struck me as a bit mean-sp... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester (2005 Harper Perennial)

I was surprised at how little I liked this book. In theory, its subject matter was right up my alley. Unfortunately, the writing rubbed me the wrong... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Unknown Book 6657500 by Unknown Author 501

It's pretty rare that I'll give a technical reference such a high rating. However, when a book delivers exactly the information I need in exactly the... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Game Design: Theory and Practice (2nd Edition) (Wordware Game Developer's Library) by Richard Rouse III (2004 Wordware Publishing, Inc.)

Game design is a broad and diverse subject. A book of 550 pages can only spread itself thinly across so broad a surface. Despite that, this book man... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Explore Your World: Night Sky by Discovery Publishing ( Turtleback Books)

I've owned this book for a couple years and used it as a casual reference for finding constellations for a few stars. However, this reading was the f... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes (1995 Simon & Schuster)

The Making is just absolutely remarkable in its depth and scope. Rhodes can hardly have missed a single major facet of the environment of the atomic... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Filmmaker's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age by Steven Ascher (2007 Plume)

This book is a wealth of information. You won't could come away from it feeling completely proficient in any one of its many topics, but you'll certa... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Pandora's Clock by John J. Nance (1996 St. Martin's Paperbacks)

I liked the plot and I liked the whole beginning of the book quite a bit. I think this could have been a killer tale if about 200 pages of repetitiou... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Stormy Weather by Carl Hiaasen (2001 Warner Books)

A problem I've noticed with a lot of "humor" books is that they start out strong with lots of funny ideas and names...and then slowly deteriorate as t... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Relic (Pendergast, #1) by Douglas Preston (2005 Tor Books)

Most definitely entertaining. Nothing special, but I do think I'll pursue other Preston/Child and Pendergast novels.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Bicycling Magazine's Century Training Program: 100 Days to 100 Miles (Bicycling Magazine) by Marla Streb (2006 Rodale Books)

Cons:¶ 1. No actual century ride is ever described in the book. Seriously.¶ 2. Nobody in this book starts out in a shape where they couldn'... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Isle of Dead by Roger Zelazny

This book has what I admire about Zelazny: his ability to tell a lot in a small amount of space. Nothing is wasted. Both entertaining and philosophi... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy (1986 )

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Clancy writes military action very well and certain portions of this book were serious page-turners. I feel as thou... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Heat Lightning (Virgil Flowers, #2) by John Sandford (2008 Putnam Adult)

Sandford continues to amaze me with his excellent character dialog and believable settings. Since his plots are sometimes wild, it's nice to have a f... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Drood by Dan Simmons (2009 Little, Brown and Company)

Drood was a mixed bag for me. On one hand, I liked it and thought it was great. On the other hand, it was very slow and ponderous. Those two things... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Surgical Speed Shooting: How to Achieve High-Speed Marksmanship in a Gunfight by Andy Stanford (2001 Paladin Press)

While most of this is probably a review for anyone used to shooting, it does have an excellent description of the reasons and methods of getting into... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow (2008 Pantheon)

I liked this book, but I did not love it. There is some really good stuff in here. The first couple chapters, in particular, really challenged my se... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Financial Armageddon, Revised and Updated Edition: Protect Your Future From Economic Collapse by Michael Panzner (2008 Kaplan Publishing)

In this edition of Financial Armageddon (FA), Panzer has added a Foreword in which he points out that all of the first stages of the FA have already o... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Gravity's Rainbow: Great Books Edition by Thomas Pynchon (2000 Penguin Books)

I suspect this book was a lot more fun to write than it is to read. A rare person may actually enjoy plowing through page after page of Pynchonistic... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson (2005 Andrews McMeel Publishing)

This thing is truly huge. Obviously, if you are a big Calvin and Hobbes fan, this is the ultimate collection. I really, really enjoy Bill's introduc... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Complete Far Side, 1980-1994 by Gary Larson (2003 Andrews McMeel Publishing)

What more can be said of this incredible collection? It's truly perfect for any Far Side fan.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Sketching Your Favorite Subjects in Pen & Ink by Claudia Nice (2002 North Light Books)

One of my favorite art books for inspiration. Not exciting at first, but it contains a wonderful selection of amazing artists. I come back to this r... (click on the book title to see my full review)

ElfQuest 1: Fire and Flight (Reader's Collection) by Wendy Pini (1999 Warp Graphics)

This series is pretty much youth reading perfection. I'm not sure if I'd want to pick it up for the first time now as an adult. I take great delight... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Effective C++: 55 Specific Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs by Scott Meyers (2005 Addison-Wesley Professional)

Though any collection of tips and tricks is likely to be somewhat uneven in its usefulness to you, Scott Meyers really does have an excellent book her... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Hellblazer: Original Sins by Jamie Delano (1997 Vertigo)

Okay, I'll admit it freely to the world: I hated this. I thought it was far too annoyingly political to be entertaining. The stories were so-so and t... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Weird Business by Joe R. Lansdale (1995 Mojo Press)

Not everything in here is gold, but a couple of the stories (and artists!) are worth the book price alone. There are at least two amazing pen-and-ink... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Malicious Resplendence: The Paintings of Robert Williams by Robert Williams (2003 Fantagraphics Books)

This was out of print for a while. I was so pleased when I was able to buy it from Amazon at a reasonable price. For a while there it was going on E... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Visual Addiction by Robert Williams (1992 Last Gasp)

Another great cheap reproduction of RW's wonderfully hilarious paintings. Again, the titles are just as funny as the paintings themselves.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Views from a Tortured Libido by Robert Williams (1993 Last Gasp)

Robt. Williams has always been a favorite. This is a fine, inexpensive collection. The titles of the paintings are just as funny as the paintings th... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Little Nemo: 1905-1914 by Winsor McCay (2000 Taschen America LLC)

This book is huge. I love the illustrations. The text can get wearisome after a while (it's so damn small in this edition!).... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Comix: A History of Comic Books in America by Les Daniels (1988 Random House Value Publishing)

I've read this several times. The selection of underground comics are the stars of the show. A great mix of stuff.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Offerings by Brom (2003 Paper Tiger)

Just a tiny portion of Brom's incredible output. I would also have liked to see some of the artist at work, though we do get to see a number of thumb... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Devil's Advocate: The Art of Coop by Chris Cooper (2001 Aperient Press)

I love this book for two reasons: 1. I'm a huge fan of Coop. 2. It's a splendid book in its own right (a perfect reproduction of his work). All of h... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Joseph Clement Coll: A Legacy in Line by John Fleskes ( Flesk Publications)

Coll was an amazing artist and illustrator. The end of this book also features some of his paintings, which are very, very good.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Franklin Booth: Painter with a Pen by John Fleskes (2007 Flesk Publications)

A wonderful collection of Booth's best work. Just amazing. Also, a nice introduction to his life and times.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

C# and the .Net Platform by Andrew Troelsen (2001 Apress)

A very good book for learning both C# the language, and the structure and purpose of the .NET framework. Some of his writing will become dated in tim... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Win32 Programming by Brent E. Rector (2002 Addison Wesley Longman)

A huge and exhaustive tome. I really did read this from front to back. If you really want to know how Windows works, this is an excellent guide. I... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Comparisons of Distance, Size, Area, Volume, Mass, Weight, Density, Energy, Temperature, Time, Speed and Number Throughout the Universe by Diagram Group (1987 St. Martin's Press)

I've read and re-read this since I received it in childhood. It looks like you can buy a used copy cheaply through several online sources. I can't r... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Mekanika by Oscar Chichoni (2000 Nantier Beall Minoustchine Publishing)

Chichoni has some amazing paintings. This is a great collection of his work. A wonderful book to view slowly page after page.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Forever Man by Gordon R. Dickson (1988 Ace Books)

This was one of my favorite books as a wee lad. I liked it so much, I read it more than once. Something I rarely do.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (2002 Avon)

I had a hard time keeping up the momentum while reading this. I don't usually have that problem with Stephenson books. Perhaps the characters weren't... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson (2003 Spectra)

A wonderful book until Stephenson's trademark cut-off ending.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Night Shift by Stephen King (1979 New English Library)

I love the Night Shift. One of King's most outright fun books. I used to get this and Graveyard Shift confused, but now I know better. Rats!... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Shining by Stephen King (1982 New English Library)

Shit yes. One of King's best. Of course, boosted by Kubrick's incredible movie.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Philip K. Dick Reader by Philip K. Dick (2001 Citadel Press)

I sometimes have a difficult time slogging through a PKD novel, but his short stories are fantastic, fast, and inventive as hell.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Takedown by Tsutomu Shimomura (1996 Hyperion Books)

Shimomura has a huge ego. It's plastered all over this book. You will never again see the term "ankle-biter" this many times in print (unless somebo... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Inhuman Condition by Clive Barker (2001 Pocket)

Clive Barker's gore-based horror stories were a breath of fresh air after some of the moody, plodding horror books I'd been reading.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Island of the Sequined Love Nun by Christopher Moore (2004 William Morrow & Company)

I really wanted to love this like a sequined nun. The title's funny. The first chapter's funny. What's not to like? Well, humor is a hit-or-miss g... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Damnation Game by Clive Barker (2002 Berkley)

I'm probably in a minority, but this is my favorite Barker book. No doubt, because it was my first.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Bram Stoker's Lair of the White Worm by Bram Stoker (2002 Deodand Publishing)

Frankly, not a very good book by any standards. Unrelated note: modern readers will probably be shocked by the racism.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Number of the Beast by Robert A. Heinlein (1986 Ballantine Books)

This book is responsible for Heinlein's minuscule percentage of my SF reading. After I read this, I didn't try another for five or six years. I've d... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Vampire World I: Blood Brothers (Necroscope, Book 6) by Brian Lumley (1993 Tor Books)

Excellent, large-scale world crafting by Lumley. The stars of the show are the vampires and their truly alien world.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

John T. Molloy's New Dress for Success by John T. Molloy (1988 Grand Central Publishing)

Back in the day, my mother thought I should read this so that I could make myself presentable. Thanks to this book, I've probably forgotten more abou... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion, #2) by Dan Simmons (1995 Spectra)

I simply cannot say enough good things about this series. If you liked the first, you'll like this.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Practice Effect by David Brin (2009 Spectra)

11 years later, I still have extremely fond, vivid memories of reading this book. Brin has a truly novel idea which he carries to a great conclusion.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

In the Gravest Extreme Role of the Firearm in Personal Protection by Massad Ayoob (1980 Police Bookshelf)

This books has earned its status as a classic. Ayoob is brutally honest about both himself the realities of his subject. Some of the information is... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Secret Power Within by Chuck Norris (1997 Broadway)

I only vaguely remember reading this 12 years ago. But I am giving it 5 stars for my own safety.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Practical SQL Handbook: Using Structured Query Language (3rd Edition) by Judith S. Bowman (1996 Pearson Education)

As someone two has learned a large number of programming, scripting, and formatting languages, I feel well-positioned to say that SQL is a challenging... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1994 Tor Science Fiction)

Who doesn't love Ender's Game? Both the short story and the novel are wonderfully readable. Terribly, terribly readable.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Kahn on Codes: Secrets of the New Cryptology by David Kahn (1984 MacMillan Publishing Company)

At the time, this was a great book if you were looking for something to cover cryptography in its various forms.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Grid by Philip Kerr (1997 Warner Books)

Ha ha, so bad! Absolutely none of this book is even remotely plausible. I think most monkeys know more about computers than Philip Kerr. That would... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Lurking Fear and Other Stories by H.P. Lovecraft (1973 Ballantine Books)

Lovecraft can be a real treat to read. This is an excellent selection of his stories.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Teach Yourself Java by Joe O'Neil (1998 McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media)

Ah yes, back in 1999. I didn't yet understand object-oriented software design. This book slowly pulled me through the process. It all became clear.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Joe Bob Goes To the Drive-In by Joe Bob Briggs (1986 Delacorte Press)

This book is what really made me start appreciating B-grade movies. That's an affliction I have yet to shake. Of course, now he's practically a hous... (click on the book title to see my full review)

National Lampoon's Doon by Ellis Weiner (1984 Pocket Books)

Like most parody books, I felt it fell apart fairly early on. But there were some choice laugh-out-loud (LOL before there was LOL!) moments at the be... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Fantasy Art Masters: The Best Fantasy and Science Fiction Artists Show How They Work by Dick Jude (1999 Watson-Guptill Publications)

Surprisingly great! Contains work from some very excellent artists. From thumbnails to sketches, it shows the techniques and rough work of some peop... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Yngling In Yamato by John Dalmas ( Baen Books)

The only thing I remember from this fine work is that the main character has a huge dong.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Precalculus mathematics in a nutshell: Geometry, algebra, trigonometry by George F. Simmons (1997 Barnes & Noble Books)

I had always suspected these mathematical concepts could be taught in a compact, concise way. This book makes the concepts clear in as little space a... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Beginning Visual Basic 5 by Peter Wright ( Wrox Press)

So, this was pretty much my first programming book. VB 5 in the mid-90's was fast, fun Windows application development.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible by Leon W. Kania (2001 Happy Mountain Publications)

Parts of this book are worthy of five stars and others of a single star. It's simply uneven and disorganized. However, don't let that stop you from... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (2004 Anchor)

An incredibly honest account of a place almost completely alien to the rest of the world. Amazing.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Microserfs by Douglas Coupland (1996 Harper Perennial)

This is my second time through Microserfs long after the times have changed. My first time was during the glory years of the 90's. It's a great stor... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Ilium by Dan Simmons (2005 HarperTorch)

As a huge, HUGE fan of Simmons' other science fiction-meets-literature-as-real-life strangeness (The Hyperion Cantos), I really expected to like this.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Timeline by Michael Crichton (2000 Ballantine Books International)

It is with great pleasure that I give this book the lowest possible rating. Astoundingly bad.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson (2006 Anchor)

Having just purchased a frightening quantity of equipment for a backpacking adventure of my own, I located my copy of Walk from the Unsorted Shelves o... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Summer of Night by Dan Simmons (1992 Warner Books)

Invites comparison to King's "It". Actually brought back pleasant memories of reading King when I was younger. Simmons is a fantastic writer. In my... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Learn to Play Go: A Master's Guide to the Ultimate Game (Learn to Play Go, #1) by Janice Kim (1995 Ishi Press International)

This was my second reading of the first and second volumes of this series. I highly recommend this book, and the whole series to anyone interested in... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Old Man's War (Old Man's War, #1) by John Scalzi (2007 Tor Science Fiction)

I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of Old Man's War. Not just because I was invested in the story and the characters (I was) but because a... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Sewer, Gas and Electric: The Public Works Trilogy by Matt Ruff (2004 Grove/Atlantic, Inc.)

Like so many humor-based works, this came hot out of the chute funny as hell. At some point the funny became the mildly amusing. Eventually I stoppe... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Unintended Consequences by John Ross (1996 Accurate Press)

Controversial, probably outrageous to some. A remarkable book about a misunderstood culture. If I were his editor, I probably would have urged Ross... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Kiln People by David Brin (2003 Tor Science Fiction)

An excellent book for world-building and thorough exploration of an idea. My only gripe is that I thought the last hundred pages were a bit too "expl... (click on the book title to see my full review)

How I Became Stupid by Martin Page (2004 Penguin (Non-Classics))

I've held off writing this review here for a while. I took a stab at it on Amazon, but was never satisfied with the results. ¶ The one thing I k... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushner (2004 Random House Trade Paperbacks)

I've been a huge fan of Doom (and before that, Wolfenstein) since the first shareware episode was released (paid $2 for a copy on floppy since my mode... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Heft on Wheels: A Field Guide to Doing a 180 by Mike Magnuson (2005 Three Rivers Press)

I re-read this after two years. Mike Magnuson is not only a skilled writer, but a bit of a philosopher. I can really identify with the spirit (if no... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time, #1) by Robert Jordan (1990 Tor Books)

This book was okay, but hardly complete. From my understanding, this series starts off well and goes downhill. If this is as good as it is going to... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Johnson's Dictionary: A Modern Selection by Samuel Johnson (2005 Dover Publications)

I never imagined that I would have read a dictionary of any sort from cover to cover. What makes this selection of Johnson's remarkable achievement s... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (1992 Vintage Books)

Sure, the writing is great. To my amazement, this book was too nihilistic for me to enjoy. I really didn't know that was possible.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Wild Animus by Rich Shapero (2004 Too Far)

You know what? I may not be able to identify with this book in any way, but I have to admit that the author does a great job of creating a world in w... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Desert Landscaping: How to Start and Maintain a Healthy Landscape in the Southwest by George Brookbank (1992 University of Arizona Press)

Hardly an exciting book, but informative. I do recommend it for anyone faced with the task of trying to make a chunk of desert land attractive. $%@#$... (click on the book title to see my full review)

PHP]Architect's Guide to PHP Security by Ilia Alshanetsky (2005 Marco Tabini & Associates)

This book is a compilation of techniques. My only complaint about books of this type is that they cannot impart a greater philosophy. If the techniq... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Who Cut The Cheese? - An A-Mazing Parody about Change (and How We Can Get Our Hands on Yours) by Stilton Jarlsberg (2000 Crown)

If you hated that enormous pile of crap, "Who Moved My Cheese?" as much as I did, you'll quite possibly love this book. No point in reading this unti... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Snakes on a Plane by Christa Faust (2006 Games Workshop(uk))

One reads this book as a joke, so it's difficult to rate it in the context of other books. It has pages, two covers, and a spine. That's all I reall... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Little Schemer by Daniel P. Friedman (1995 MIT Press (MA))

With a programming language book, unusual teaching methods are not typically welcome. But from the very first page, you'll know if the question/answe... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Slaves of the Volcano God by Craig Shaw Gardner (1989 Ace Books)

There was nothing wrong with this book per se. Humor is a tough thing to get "right". I imagine most ratings for this book will either be high or lo... (click on the book title to see my full review)

By the Open Sea by August Strindberg (1987 Penguin Books)

I would like to freely admit that I read this book only because its author is the subject of the excellent and hilarious Flash animations at strindber... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Ballad Of Carl Drega by Vin Suprynowicz

Vin is serious about liberty. Probably to a degree that makes most people uncomfortable. I find it refreshing.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

NYPD 2025 by Hal Stryker

Exactly the kind of book you would expect from a guy with the excellent name Hal Stryker. He wrote this book while shooting bad guys from his 'Vette.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Black Art of 3D Game Programming [With CDROM] by André LaMothe (1995 Waite Group Press)

This is the book I used to learn the esoteric ins and outs of creating old-school graphics for DOS PCs. Some people don't like LaMothe, but the guy c... (click on the book title to see my full review)

At Home with Books: How Booklovers Live with and Care for Their Libraries by Estelle Ellis (1995 Clarkson Potter)

A delightful coffee table picture book of beautiful home libraries - all of them much more amazing than my own.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Out Of Their Minds by Dennis E. Shasha ( Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K)

I love reading about great computer scientists. Even more about great logical leaps and "a-ha!" moments. This book was entertaining, but simply did... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The World's Most Remarkable Buildings and how they Came to Be Uncommon Structres, Unconventional Builders by Alan Van Dine (2001 BARNES & NOBLE)

I have a weakness for these little picture books. There is just enough information to leave you wanting more. The selection of buildings is, indeed... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer (2007 Tor Books)

A quick, easy read. A breath of fresh air, really. The book achieves depth through story telling and character development. A nice change.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Programming Erlang: Software for a Concurrent World by Joe Armstrong (2007 Pragmatic Bookshelf)

A book with big cons and big pros. I think it will be easiest if I simply list the cons and the pros. ¶ Let's start with the cons, all of which... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Die Trying (Jack Reacher, #2) by Lee Child (2008 Jove)

I think what I have liked most about the two Lee Child "Reacher" books I've read so far is the way Child reveals the story. Something about it is so... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Amber Room by Steve Berry (2004 Ballantine Books)

Berry's first book reads like a first book. Long sections of (sometimes redundant) historical data are interspersed with action that switches from ch... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Hollywood Station (Hollywood, #1) by Joseph Wambaugh (2009 Little, Brown and Company)

This was a very unusual book. It was good, but not because of character development, tight plotting, or engrossing narrative. Instead, it kept me tu... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, #1) by Lee Child (2006 Jove Books)

A good book has to keep me entertained. So this is a good book. I felt there were some missteps in the plot and I had JUST read another book that us... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Terror by Dan Simmons (2007 Little, Brown and Company)

I absolutely loved this book. Dan Simmons had already carved a place in my heart with his science fiction masterpieces. Here he returned to his horr... (click on the book title to see my full review)

American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2005 Headline Review)

American Gods wasn't quite what I expected when I went in. I won't say I was disappointed, but I wasn't blown away, either. The book struck me as fa... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Android's Dream by John Scalzi (2006 Tor Books)

I love clever, inventive books. This book delivered both cleverness and inventiveness. My criticisms lie solely with the pacing. At about 50 pages... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton (2003 Avon Books)

This is an iconic science fiction book. I suppose it's something everyone owes it to themselves to read.¶ I enjoyed it as a young teen. Recentl... (click on the book title to see my full review)

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks (2006 Crown)

I hated this book. I had no idea it was possible to screw up a story involving zombies. Apparently it can be done as long as you create cookie-cutt... (click on the book title to see my full review)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (1973 Yearling)

I recently re-read this book when my wife purchased a copy. I hadn't read it since childhood. I was very impressed with the writing right off the ba... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The 97th Step (Matador, #5) by Steve Perry (1989 Ace)

This is a quick read. The writing is very typical of Steve Perry. It flows well and has a good mix of action and ideas. Nothing about it blew me aw... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Invisible Prey (Lucas Davenport, #17) by John Sandford (2007 Putnam Adult)

Sandford has yet to write a book I didn't like. This is certainly not one of the best Prey books, but like all of them, it's still good.I like the fa... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Broken Prey (Lucas Davenport, #16) by John Sandford (2006 Berkley Publishing Group)

A fine entry into the Prey series. Very action-packed ending. Everything I like about Sandford's writing was evidenced here.... (click on the book title to see my full review)

A Matter of Honor by Jeffrey Archer (2004 St. Martin's Press)

I can't go into the premise of this book without massive spoilers, but suffice it to say that it is an interesting idea. ¶ The plot is typical s... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Solaris by Stanisław Lem (2002 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

After seeing both the seemingly endless (but oh-so memorable) 1972 Tarkovsky movie version and the more recent incarnation with George Clooney, I deci... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes by Thomas W. Cathcart (2007 Abrams Image)

Once I picked up this short book, I couldn't put it down. The humor is great. The connections between jokes and philosophy are made in a convincing... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Temperatures Very High and Very Low by Mark W. Zemansky (1981 Dover Publications)

I thought this would be a very interesting read. The title describes the subject matter quite well. It's about very high and low temperatures as fou... (click on the book title to see my full review)

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby (1996 Riverhead Books)

After seeing the excellent movie with Cusack, the title caught my eye on the shelf.This is a fantastic book, working elements of believable relationsh... (click on the book title to see my full review)

There Are No Electrons: Electronics for Earthlings by Kenn Amdahl (1991 Clearwater Publishing)

I'm afraid I was severely disappointed with this book. It promised to give a new approach to teaching the principles of Electronics. ¶ It did s... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Search for the Giant Squid: The Biology and Mythology of the World's Most Elusive Sea Creature by Richard Ellis (1999 Penguin Books)

I expected to enjoy this more. I am utterly fascinated by the giant squid.Unfortunately, though we know so little about the creature, this book is ex... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Seeker (Alex Benedict, #3) by Jack McDevitt (2006 Ace Books)

While the premise is a winner, I really felt that the characters were forced along the path to the inevitable end. There were few interesting revelat... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Indiana Jones and the White Witch by Martin Caidin (1994 Bantam)

I would have enjoyed this when I was a kid. Sadly, in adulthood, it just doesn't hold up. There is way too much uninteresting exposition and a compl... (click on the book title to see my full review)

2012: The War for Souls by Whitley Strieber (2007 Tor Books)

I am completely torn between giving this five stars and one star.¶ Strieber has taken the fact-as-fiction (or vice-versa?) of Communion to a whol... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Cartridges of the World: 11th Edition by Frank C. Barnes (2006 Gun Digest Books)

An excellent summary of not only the popular cartridges we're used to (9mm Luger, 223 Remington, etc.), but also the fascinating rare, outdated, and "... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Art of John Berkey by Jane Frank (2003 Paper Tiger)

John Berkey is in my top ten of favorite artists. His work amazes me. What I enjoyed most about this book is that it showed both the science fiction... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Dark Of The Moon (Virgil Flowers, #1) by John Sandford (2007 Putnam Adult)

Like so many people, I became a Sandford fan with the Prey novels. Those are amazing. Dark of the Moon is an offshoot from Prey. ¶ Sandford is... (click on the book title to see my full review)

The Art of Blacksmithing by Alex W. Bealer (2009 Book Sales, Inc.)

This book was an interesting read. At the time it was written, virtually no hobbyist blacksmiths existed. Much of the book contains historical infor... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Pen & Ink With Watercolor by George Olson ( North Light Books)

The instruction in this book is clear enough. My problems with it are twofold:1. There is very little variation in the type of art being created.2. A... (click on the book title to see my full review)

From the Ganges to the Snake River: An East Indian in the American West by Debu Majumdar (2000 Caxton Press)

This is a short memoir about India and Idaho. I knew Majumdar's son growing up, so reading this was probably much more interesting to me than for mos... (click on the book title to see my full review)

Mega Machines by Richard Gunn (2007 Parragon Inc)

This is a big coffee table book with pictures and brief write-ups of some of the largest machines ever built. Watercraft, wheeled vehicles, bridges,... (click on the book title to see my full review)