The Great Geek Manual

Book: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
ISBN-13: 978-0446563086

Author: Seth Grahame-Smith
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Historical Fiction / Horror
Release: March 2, 2010
Length: 352 pages (Hardcover)

Rating: C+ (75 / 100)

Verdict

Despite what initially might seem to be an utterly absurd story premise, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is a surprisingly earnest story, couched in thick layers of historical accuracy and told in the spot-on imitation of the style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough. It’s driving suspense makes it a light but compelling read suitable for speeding along an idle after, carrying along on a vacation read, or writing a middle school book report. But Twilight and Buffy fans beware. This isn’t a comedy or even a melodrama about vampires. Seth Grahame-Smith keeps the details of his story so close to actual history as to not only make the story nearly plausible. All the entertainment value of this book arises from its seamless integration of fiction into reality.

Pros: Educational. Spot-on documentary style. Excellent narrative voice. Intriguing premise. No sparkly vampires.

Cons: A bit drier than most vampire sagas. Somewhat skims on the details of violence. Skirts around the history of the battles of the Civil War. A bit too short.

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Art

• Alien Versus Pooh Bear is certain to become the next big childhood classic.
• LTL Prints has just launched a comics wall art series, featuring panels from classic comics like “Flash Gordon” and “The Phantom” up to 7 feet tall.
• The latest masterpiece from Threadless is a Ghostbuster/Lost Mash-Up.
• Lisa Black creates art that combines taxidermied creatures and steampunk.
• Unreality offers this Mario Desktop Wallpaper.

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Comics

• Interview: Patton Oswalt talks about his new Firefly comic book.

Film

• SciFi Wire remembers 11 unbelievably crazy things turned into time machines.

Internet

• News: Twitter reduces spam to just 1%
• Game Informer provides this useful Zombie flowchart to guide you through your Zombie movie/game plot.

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Art

• Batman vs. Darth Vader in a Lightsaber Duel is the only thing that could possibly top Batman Fighting a Shark with a Lightsaber.
• Julian Briones has created an awesome Calvin and Hobbes sculpture. Also check out this Calvin and Hobbes print being sold by Casey Weldon.

Comics

• FoxTrot takes a jab at the Flash.

Film

• AMC’s SciFi Scanner picks Ten Sci-fi Movies That Need to Be on DVD.
• ARS Technica talks Genocide and Jedi: why the Sith may be right in Old Republic.
• io9 seems pretty upbeat about the new healthcare reform. They’ve compiled a list of 5 Dystopias Healthcare Reform Could Prevent.
• MetroMix has compiled a list of the 10 Trippiest Time Travel Movies.
• Roger Ebert gives five stars to Swedish film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which is beginning to sound like the next must-see foreign film.
• Suite101 names the Last Decade’s Underrated Science Fiction Films.

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Hardcover Book Releases

Divine Misfortune by A. Lee Martinez
Epitaph Road by David Patneaude
Halo: Helljumper by Peter David and Eric Nguyen

Paperback Book Releases

Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt 1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Mind Games by Carolyn Crane
Petrodor (Trial of Blood & Steel, Book II) by Joel Shepherd
The Temporal Void by Peter F. Hamilton
The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett
The War of the Dwarves by Markus Heitz
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Audio Fiction and Podcasts

• Listen to “Ankor Sabat” by C. Deskin Rink at Pseudopod.
• Listen to “Eden” by Phil Rossi at Podiobooks.com.
• Listen to “The History Within Us” by Matthew Kressel at Clarkesworld Magazine.
• Listen to “Lady Witherspoon’s Solution” by James Morrow at StarshipSofa.
• Listen to “The Next Invasion” by Robert Reed at Tor.com.
• Listen to “Remote Control” by R.R. Angell at Transmissions From Beyond.
• Listen to “The Scarecrow’s Boy” by Michael Swanwick at Infinivox.
• Listen to “Under The Red Sun” written and read by Ben Peek at Terra Incognita.

Novels and Preview Chapters

• WoorkUp has a list of The 5 Best Ebook Search Engines.

Novels and Preview Chapters

• Don’t forget! Author Jim Butcher is offering the first four chapters of the next Harry Dresden book, Changes, on his website.
• The original version of Alice in Wonderland, handwritten and hand-drawn by Lewis Carroll, has been posted online. The illustrations are amazing.
• TA Pratt is offering chapters of his latest (fifth) Marla Manson book, Broken Mirrors.

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Art

• Check out the Steampunk Hellboy over at Deviant Art.
• Comic Alliance has posted a gallery of Mind-Blowing Origami Based on Comics, Manga, Anime and Video Games.
• Naldz Graphics offers a list of the 30+ Best Apple Inspired Photoshop Tutorials.
• Over on YouTube, you can watch one girl play the entire Orchestral theme to Star Wars on an Organ.
• This Steampunk StormTrooper Helmet was created for the TK Project, a charity event the 501st Stormtooper Legion is holding for the Make A Wish Foundation.

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Book: Black Magic Sanction
ISBN-13: 978-0061138034

Author: Kim Harrison
Series: Book 8 of the The Hollows / Rachel Morgan series
Publisher: Eos
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release: February 23, 2010
Length: 496 pages (Hardcover)

Rating: C+ (75/100)

Verdict

Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series continues to be one of the most entertaining series in the urban fantasy market, standing head and shoulders above most of the formulaic flotsam flooding the genre.

In a genre suffering from a surfeit of gruff, morally ambivalent private detectives, Kim Harrison’s The Hallows series is a breath of fresh air. Her protagonist, Rachel Morgan, is the closest thing the genre has to a female Harry Dresden, which is high praise among urban fan enthusiasts. Her plots are tumultuous joyrides. Her story premises are extremely innovative in a genre that’s rapidly growing stale.

In fact, the single greatest flaw of the series is that Harrison generates more potential than a single book a years can possibly fulfill. Now, if only she’d repeal the “G” rating, let her protagonist stray from the straight and narrow now and again, and butch up the fight scenes!

As it stands, however, this series still comes highly recommended, and while this isn’t the best book of the lot, it is a worthy addition to the series and a major step up from the previous installment, White Witch, Black Curse, which felt a bit like a holding pattern.
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