book-review

Book cover "We have got to make the white population uncomfortable, because that is the only way to get their attention."  That quote at the start of this book is from Bill Russell in 1964.  He was a Basketball player, but also a civil rights activist. I categorize this book as a Memoir, mostly because it follows the narrative flow of a memoir.  It starts out introducing the reader to Michael Bennett's childhood on a rural farm in the South, into college through the NFL, and discusses his own discovery of the importance of both support and activism on a number of issues of equality....

Book cover Imagine the universe of Battlestar Galactica but add elves, trolls and dragons, remove the religious overtones entirely.  The dragons are spaceships, a bit like the galactic whale from Jim Henson's Farscape.  Instead of Battlestar's Cylons, we have Constructs, which are a bit closer to the Nexus of Bladerunner fame. Scarlett, Jade and Blue are elite pilots of young dragons on the cruiser known as the Opal Dragon....

Book cover According to the preface, this book is a carefully researched retelling of surviving stories of the Nordic gods, Odin, Thor, Loki, Freya and others.  Where surviving versions of a story differ, artistic license allows for the best of each to be used. First and foremost, these are Nordic tales.  If you are familiar with these characters from Marvel comics or movies, be prepared to relearn a lot of what you thought you knew....

Book cover The descriptions of the country, fashions and even the names of characters channels Poland of the 1500s or 1600s.  The story focuses on a peaceful valley with little villages nestled along the Spindle river, but a dark forest grows nearby.  Corrupted creatures come from the forest late at night and attack human, livestock or both.  Or worse, a cloud of pollen might come in and corrupt a neighbor where they stand, turning them....