In 60 Stories About 30 Seconds, Bruce Van Dusen, Post Hill Press - The richness of Bruce Van Dusen’s book, “In 60 Stories About 30 Seconds,” springs from his perspective of key events that dramatically changed the production of television commercials during his forty-five years as a TV ad director and producer.
Make Them Cry, Smith Henderson & Jon Marc Smith, Harper Collins - Can private military contractors hired by the United States to stabilize violence in Afghanistan by taking over the country's heroin traffic use the same tactics with Mexican drug cartels?
Millicent Glenn's Last Wish, Tori Whitaker, Lake Union Publishing - Tori Whitaker’s “Glenn’s Last Wish,” fails to excite, with what turns out to be a tedious plot line. If that’s not enough, toss in Roe vs Wade, and add religious overtones.
The Book of Lost Names, Kristin Harmel, Gallery Books - Eva Traube Abrams, a university student living in Paris, refuses to believe a warning from a fellow student, who, like herself, wears a yellow star.
The Big Book of Modern Fantasy, Ann and Jeff Vandermeer, Vintage Books - Editors Ann and Jeff Vandermeer have compiled an extraordinary collection of creepy, scary and intelligent stories by an impressive number of fantasy writers from around the world in their hefty new tome, “The Big Book of Modern Fantasy.”
Hard Rain, Irma Venter-Elsa Silke translator, Amazon Crossing - Translated from Afrikaans, Irma Venter’s thriller,“Hard Rain,” takes the reader on a roller coaster ride.
Red Dress in Black & White, Elliot Ackerman, Alfred A. Knopf - Former Marine Elliot Ackerman, who lived a swath of time in Turkey, offers us his new novel, “Red Dress in Black and White,” which focuses on that country’s political upheaval, in particular the 2013 Gezi Park demonstration that left many protestors dead and thousands imprisoned.
Book Review: Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann, Pantheon Books - German novelist Daniel Kehlmann, in his magical fantasy novel, “Tyll”, invents a jester named Tyll as protagonist to guide us through a historical and momentous adventure in Central Europe during the Thirty Years’ War from 1618 to 1648.
Book Review: Scarlet Odyssey, C.T. Rwizi, 47North - This ambitious debut novel, Scarlet Odyssey by C.T. Rwizi, features mystics, sorcerers and warriors who all fight to control plains and rivers in a magical world.
Winter Sisters, Tim Westover, QW Publishers - Author Tim Westover weaves an illuminating tall tale about ancient vs. modern medicine in his novel, “Winter Sisters.” The story begins in the early 1800s with the arrival of Audrey Waycross fresh out of medical school.