The Friends of Eddie Coyle, by George V. Higgins — a book review

This is more than merely a book review. I own one other novel written by George V. Higgins. It was his last, as it turns out. At End of the Day (which I guess was a prophetic title, now that I think about it) was published in the year 2000. Higgins died in November 1999, […]

Abaddon’s Gate (The Expanse #3), by James S.A. Corey — a book review

Abaddon’s Gate is the third novel in The Expanse series, written by James S.A. Corey (the pen name of Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck). These are the books that the Amazon Prime series (formerly a SyFy series) The Expanse is based upon, going into its fifth season next year. Some of the events of Season […]

Batman: No Man’s Land, by Greg Rucka — a comic book novelization review

I knew who Greg Rucka was before I purchased this novel. And, not for his work in superhero comics. No, Rucka was the author of a series of novels about a bodyguard named Atticus Kodiak. I read a couple of these about twenty years ago, and, as I recall, I liked them. Batman: No Man’s […]

10-List: Essential Books for Writers

Okay. Maybe the word “essential” is overused. But, this is a more efficient title than “Firewater’s Personal Recommendations of Books for Writers, Limited to 10 of His Nonfictional Favorites.” As with any list of things, your personal mileage may vary. Although I haven’t read every book about writing or every reference book ever published, I […]

Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey — a book review

So . . . Okay, this is a seven-year-old novel at this point, the first in The Expanse series. It was published in the summer of 2011, and went on to be nominated for the Hugo and Locus awards for Best Novel in 2012. It didn’t win, but to be nominated is an honor unto […]

Full Court Press, by Mike Lupica — a book review

I can’t fault Lupica’s Full Court Press for not being what I thought it was going to be. When I picked this book up from the bargain bin all those years ago—probably at Barnes & Noble—I thought it was a mystery novel set in the milieu of professional sports. There are a lot of those […]

Revival, by Stephen King — a book review

Concerning Stephen King . . . Up until about 1992, I read everything he wrote. Then, he continued to write, seemingly faster than I could read. I estimate that I’ve missed fifteen of his novels, unless he’s published another one in the past few minutes, which is always a possibility. Oh, I’ve read some of […]

LOTR: The Return of the King: Book V: The War of the Ring— a review

So, here we find ourselves at last, the Black Gate of Mordor has opened and the Final Battle has begun. Nine chapters to go before the end of this great, vast, complicated and textured novel that’s been around more than a decade than I have. Well. . .That’s at the end of Book V, […]

The Armageddon Rag, by George R. R. Martin: a book review

I knew that George R. R. Martin existed before he published A Game of Thrones and all of the sequels that followed. He was a producer on the 1985 revival of The Twilight Zone, and then he was one of the writers on the 1987 television series Beauty and the Beast, which starred Linda Hamilton […]

The Handyman, by Bentley Little: a book review

I read my first Bentley Little horror novel in 1997. It was The Ignored and that was the year it was released. I was in the process of changing jobs, moving from a retail outfit that operated in the American Northeast to one that operated on a national scale. I was training in Tennessee […]

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