The Stacks
All book reviews
412 honest reviews across fiction, non-fiction, mystery, sci-fi, romance, and more.
Showing 145-168 of 412
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
by John Clute
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction by John Clute review. The canonical SF reference work edited by Clute, Peter Nicholls, and David Langford. The right starting point for serious genre study.
Microserfs
by Douglas Coupland
Microserfs by Douglas Coupland review. The 1995 novel about Microsoft programmers starting a Bay Area startup. The defining Silicon Valley novel of its decade.
They Have Not Seen the Stars: The Collected Poetry of Ray Bradbury
by Ray Bradbury
They Have Not Seen the Stars by Ray Bradbury review. A 2002 collected poetry volume. Late-Bradbury verse at its most lyrical and most accessible.
Wolfsbane and Mistletoe
by Charlaine Harris
Wolfsbane and Mistletoe by Charlaine Harris and Toni Kelner review. A Christmas-themed paranormal anthology. Werewolves, holidays, strong roster.
The Trident Deception
by Rick Campbell
The Trident Deception by Rick Campbell review. A 2014 submarine thriller about a rogue US ballistic-missile submarine. Insider-rendered by a former Navy submariner.
Treasure of Khan
by Dirk Cussler
Treasure of Khan by Dirk Cussler and Clive Cussler review. A Dirk Pitt novel with a Mongolian-historical premise. One of the strongest late-Cussler entries.
The Computers of Star Trek
by Lois H. Gresh
The Computers of Star Trek by Lois H. Gresh and Robert Weinberg review. A 1999 examination of the franchise's computing technology and how it compares to actual contemporary tech.
Sorcery Rising
by Jude Fisher
Sorcery Rising by Jude Fisher review. The first Fool's Gold fantasy. A young trader, an Allfair festival, and a fantasy world being built with serious craft.
Tom Clancy: Commander-in-Chief
by Mark Greaney
Tom Clancy: Commander-in-Chief by Mark Greaney review. A 2015 Ryanverse continuation. President Jack Ryan, Russian black-ops, and Greaney at full Clancy register.
Locked On
by Mark Greaney
Locked On by Mark Greaney review. The 3rd Greaney-co-authored Jack Ryan thriller with Tom Clancy. The Campus and Jack Ryan Sr. against a Pakistani-nuclear plot.
Revenge of the Tide
by Elizabeth Haynes
Revenge of the Tide by Elizabeth Haynes review. A 2012 Kent-coast psychological thriller. A former pole dancer rebuilding her life on a houseboat. Sharper than the cover suggests.
Under a Silent Moon
by Elizabeth Haynes
Under a Silent Moon by Elizabeth Haynes review. The first Briarstone DCI Lou Smith procedural. A double-murder investigation and Haynes shifting into police procedural mode.
Into the Darkest Corner
by Elizabeth Haynes
Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes review. The 2011 debut about a young woman rebuilding her life after escaping a violent partner. Genuinely terrifying domestic suspense.
For the Dead
by Timothy Hallinan
For the Dead by Timothy Hallinan review. The 6th Poke Rafferty novel. A stolen phone, a dead Thai colonel, and Miaow at the center of the crisis. The series in family-thriller form.
The Fear Artist
by Timothy Hallinan
The Fear Artist by Timothy Hallinan review. The 5th Poke Rafferty Bangkok thriller. A travel-writer father, a dying CIA contact, and the Thai military police as the antagonist. Genuinely terrifying.
Herbie's Game
by Timothy Hallinan
Herbie's Game by Timothy Hallinan review. The 4th Junior Bender comic-crime novel. Junior's mentor Herbie Mott dies. Hallinan's most emotionally weighty entry yet.
Hey Nostradamus!
by Douglas Coupland
Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland review. A 2003 novel about a 1988 high-school massacre and the people it ruined. Four narrators across decades, devastating.
All Families Are Psychotic
by Douglas Coupland
All Families Are Psychotic by Douglas Coupland review. A 2001 novel about a Florida family reunion before a NASA launch. Coupland's comic precision at career-mid peak.
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture
by Douglas Coupland
Generation X by Douglas Coupland review. The 1991 novel that named a generation. A trio of young Californians, the desert, and one of the genuinely defining literary debuts of the 90s.
Land's End : A Walk In Provincetown
by Michael Cunningham
Land's End by Michael Cunningham review. A 2002 walking guide and meditation on Provincetown, written by The Hours novelist. Short, lyrical, deeply Cape Cod.
The Hours
by Michael Cunningham
The Hours by Michael Cunningham review. The 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that triangulates Virginia Woolf, a 1949 LA housewife, and a contemporary NYC editor. One of the great American literary novels of its decade.
How to Write a Mystery
by Larry Beinhart
How to Write a Mystery by Larry Beinhart review. A serious craft guide to crime fiction from the American Hero author. Sharp, practical, recommended for working writers.
Book of Iron
by Elizabeth Bear
Book of Iron by Elizabeth Bear review. A 2013 Eternal Sky fantasy novella, the prequel to Bone and Jewel Creatures. Bijou the Wizard, a desert expedition, sharp North African-inspired worldbuilding.
Lady Vanishes
by Carol Lea Benjamin
Lady Vanishes by Carol Lea Benjamin review. The 4th Rachel Alexander mystery. A missing dog, a Manhattan upper-class family, and Benjamin at her most carefully observed.