Reviews and Comments

If you enjoyed "All Systems Red," you'll almost certainly enjoy this as it's a direct follow-up to that story, expanding on the Murderbot character and the surrounding universe in a nicely-executed, quick, and satisfying manner.

Murderbot is a bit sassier and more overtly brash in this one, which at times during the read felt a little forced to me but I ultimately adjusted to the new tone and ended up chalking the change up to a plausible evolution of the character given the events of the first book.

The story is fairly simple and straightforward, which leaves plenty of room for the additional world building and character development that I'd say are the bread and butter of the experience. I particularly enjoyed Murderbot's interactions with ART as they did a lot to check both of those boxes in a fun and novel way.

If you got your fill of Murderbot from "All Systems Red," I don't think there's much in "Artificial Condition" that you'll miss experiencing but if you enjoy the character and the universe, and are looking for more of both, this is certainly a worthy sequel worth exploring that will likely leave you itching for the next volume in the series.

This was my first Brian Bowyer book and I feel it's been a great introduction to his work. With a variety of horror sub-genres represented in its various stories, "Sinister Mix" absolutely showcases his adept ability to shift into different narrative gears on a dime without missing a beat, delivering prime examples of the types of stories being told with an impressive range of intensity. At times subtle and nuanced, at times bombastic and arguably unhinged, with all manner of noteworthy points along that spectrum on frequent display, there really is something here for almost any type of reader.

I will say that some of the included narratives didn't fully line up with my personal tastes and preferences but I feel that's to be expected given the sheer number of themes and concepts being explored. Moreover, the quality of the writing and the generally-excellent pacing of the storytelling made it easy to breeze through every tale, even on the rare occasions when certain elements didn't fully click or resonate for me.

In short, I've found "Sinister Mix" to be an easy book to recommend, particularly for horror fans or those seeking an introduction to Bowyer's compelling brand of prose. Highly recommended.

As advertised, this is a quick read about a shark, the product of a nefarious government experiment, that runs amok at a ski resort after being engineered to thrive in frigid, fresh-water environments, including snow. Obviously, this is a concept that really pushes the boundaries of plausibility right out of the gate and only leans further into the absurd as the story progresses, so sticklers for the "realistic" and "believable" need not apply.

That being said, if you're on board with the premise and looking for a fun, frenetic dose of escapist horror tinged with 80s nostalgia, "Snow Shark" will likely check all the right boxes and push all the right buttons for you.

The only real caveats I'd have in recommending the book are that it is extremely gory and grim. At times those elements are balanced with a bit of humor, or other welcome literary flourishes that keep it from feeling too one-note and phoned-in as a concept like this could so easily be, but this definitely isn't a "feel good" read.

Ultimately, I ended up enjoying "Snow Shark" quite a bit despite a few elements of it not being to my personal taste, and feeling like there were a few missed opportunities for it to go even further beyond its obvious inspirations than it does. Bottom line: If you think you'll like this book, you almost-certainly will. It's well done and absolutely delivers everything the cover and synopsis promise.

One final note: I read this as an audiobook via Audible and the narrator did a great job of striking the perfect balance between fully committing to the material and providing well-timed moments of "knowing" or "tongue-in-cheek" delivery to give the overall experience just the right "feel." A very good and noteworthy job, I'd say.

Let's start with the good. Overall, I found "Aliens: Vasquez" to be a fairly entertaining and interesting read. As a big, long-term fan of the source material, particularly the first three "Alien" films, I absolutely enjoyed the references to that legacy and the way this book successfully built on that universe in a mostly-convincing and plausible manner. I also appreciated the author's "own voices" representations of various aspects of Latin culture, and the struggles often associated with it, which made for some of the most compelling moments in the book.

Unfortunately, I also ended up coming away from this read a bit unsatisfied by the experience, feeling that several elements of it ultimately came up far short of their full potential. Specifically, I was sorely disappointed by much of the dialogue, which often felt stiff, contrived, and forced to the point of distraction. There were so many instances where characters made statements that just didn't feel like things actual people would say in the circumstances presented, or that came across as incongruous or nonsensical given their established personalities and tendencies. Moreover, there were more issues than I ended up caring to count of poor pacing, underdeveloped characters, or vague and sketchy plot threads throughout the text that ultimately just left me wanting. It's really hard to talk about those things in detail without venturing into spoiler territory but I think it suffices to say that it would be a good idea to go into this read not expecting anything too deep, fully-realized, or sophisticated. That said, there are parts of "Aliens: Vasquez" that I did find genuinely intriguing and thought-provoking but for me, they almost always failed to pay off in the manner I'd hoped they might, providing just enough to wet my appetite and keep me reading without fully delivering the goods.

I realize I'm probably being a bit harsh with my criticisms but I do believe it's important for the purposes of a proper review to not get caught up in nostalgia and assess a work like this based on its own merits and flaws, regardless of the rich and storied context in which it exists. At the end of the day, I did enjoy "Aliens: Vasquez" and would generally recommend it to fans of the franchise, or anyone seeking a competent, military sci-fi reading experience. Sadly, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I would have preferred.

I should probably also mention that I read this as an audiobook via Audible and would say the narration was... okay. Not bad but also not amazing or noteworthy beyond a few, minor highlights.

The literary equivalent of an 80’s slasher film.

Do you like your horror rough and gritty? Are you a fan of delving into the details and minutia of a kill, or a raunchy sex scene, or even a trip to a convenience store for a bottle of sweet tea? If so, have I got a book for you.

In a lot of ways, “Boondock Butcher,” the first standalone novel from veteran serial writer Chuck Buda, feels like reading two screenplays, one for a vintage horror film of the 1980’s and another for a 1990’s psychological or supernatural thriller, that were thrown into the air and zealously combined together as their pages were eagerly gathered up and reassembled. That might be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your own personal taste but the end result is a book that frequently shifts between the methodical, building tension of a mystery thriller and the over-the-top gusto of an extreme horror, splatterpunk gore fest.

I’m not gonna lie. There are parts of this book that I genuinely didn’t care for, like the occasional reliance on a few negative and outdated stereotypes as a substitute for proper character and narrative development. In particular, I disliked the “horror movie” logic applied to the words, thoughts, and actions of pretty much every character at one point or another. I quickly lost count of the number of times someone said or did something, not because it was anything likely to occur in any version of reality, but because it served to move the plot forward in an obviously-contrived manner. Of course, one could certainly make the argument that this may have been an intentional homage to the sort of brain-dead behavior exhibited by characters in the aforementioned slasher flicks, but I still found it jarring and off-putting enough times to note it.

There were also some pacing, tonal consistency, and technical issues throughout the book that, while individually minor, did cumulatively diminish my overall enjoyment of the experience as their number built to a total that became impossible to ignore completely by the end of the read.

All that said, I did ultimately end up enjoying “Boondock Butcher” for what it is: a fun, well-intentioned romp through the backwoods of Eastern Tennessee that’s certainly worth experiencing for fans of the genres it embodies.

A final note regarding my score: For me, this was more of a 3.25 or 3.5 but I didn’t want to under-rate the overall effort with a 3 as I feel that would have done it a disservice. I could absolutely see this book garnering anywhere between 2 and 4 stars, depending on a given reader’s personal preferences and tolerances, but I felt compelled to round my score up as I truly believe those interested in what “Boondock Butcher” has to offer will inevitably find a lot to like within its pages.

As a very casual baseball fan, I found this book to be quite charming in a variety of ways. I will say up front that it was a bit of a slow burn for me, with the second chapter specifically feeling a bit unfocused and overwrought, particularly after the fairly-strong opening that preceded it. That said, I'd definitely encourage potential readers to stick with this one as it does build a nice, more-consistent momentum from the third chapter onward. From that point, it frequently and pleasantly transitions between accounts of the games in the 2017 Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp minor league baseball season, some often-heartwarming anecdotes from the author's lifelong love affair with the sport, and some engaging, insightful, and at times revealing interviews with members of the aforementioned organization.

I do feel compelled to point out that I did spot a few technical errors, somewhat awkwardly-worded passages, and instances of seemingly-unintentional repetition that might occasionally leave readers scratching their heads for a moment until they're able to derive the author's intent but I don't personally feel they are plentiful or significant enough to meaningfully detract from the overall experience. Moreover, they don't strike me as being particularly shocking given the sheer volume of names, statistics, and topics present throughout the book.

All things considered, I'd call this a generally-strong, solid, worthwhile read that would likely be at least somewhat compelling for any baseball fan, or anyone with an interest in learning more about the sport, its history, the fandom surrounding it, or the inner workings of the minor league system in general or the Jumbo Shrimp in particular.

Cure fans will almost certainly enjoy this memoir. There are some great anecdotes, particularly from the early days of the band, as well as various, compelling exploits from later years. For non-fans, this is probably more of a three star read as there are some meandering passages, and several instances of repetitive or overstated accounts of particular points and events. Still, I found the overall experience interesting, entertaining, and worthwhile. Another editing pass or two would most-likely have made for a better, smoother, more compact read but I do generally recommend the book as its minor, technical shortcomings don't significantly hinder it.

As a fan of the band for many years, I found Lol's perspectives mostly thoughtful and thought provoking. It seems clear to me that his heart and mind were both in the right place in terms of respectfully and sincerely telling his story, which ultimately elevated the experience in my mind, and left me feeling good about seeing it through to its satisfying conclusion.