Samie Foster's Blog – February 2012 Archive (50)

I get my books from odd places. Garage sales, give a ways, bargain bins, and sometimes out of trash can at my friends house. (He has no tastes in books and often throw good ones away) I grab books that seem interesting, providing an new concept or have tons of potential. I prefer not to join the waves of current fans of big writers stalking their every move. I mean, these guys that no one hears of are sometimes better than JK Rowling, or Stephen King. Sometimes. This time around, the book is…

Playground for Evil By Broken Sea Productions

When I was really really little, I remember digging through my father’s old VHS tapes and ran across something called Kolchak. The dusty ancient tape, despite of its condition actually still played. And I found out it was this fantastic show about a investigative journalist who encounters monsters from the early seventies. And as old and dated as it was, it was a extremely fun show, that can still stand up to television today. But sadly it…

The Man In The Black Suit By Stephen King Smoothie Review

Surprisingly enough I have actually kind of enjoyed Stephen King’s shorts more than the novels he written in the past. Maybe it’s because they are shorter, therefore giving him less of a opportunity to over use suspense, get off topic or escape to some kind of dreamscape before returning to the actual story. Or maybe it’s because his shorts share a trait with the only Stephen King books, I actually like. They were his first…

Ink Heart By Cornelia Funke Smoothie Review

A couple years ago, I watched this fantasy movie. It was something I rented having no idea of what it was. It wasn’t the best movie in the world, but it was so imaginative that no matter how much I try to forget it, it will just hang in my head because it was just so original. It was called Ink Heart. And when I found out it was based on a book, I just had to read it. I actually went out of the way to buy Ink Heart by Cornelia…

We’re Alive – Season 1 – From The Zombie Podcast

Overall Rating: Zombies have now invaded a new form of entertainment

Okay, I won’t deny it any more. Zombies have over taken our media and you know what? People love it. People just can’t get enough of them. They invaded our video games with Resident Evil. It has just invaded TV with the premier of The Walking Dead. It’s been in horror comics for quite a while. And then they won’t get out of our movies. And I’m not just talking…

The Yattering And The Jack By Clive Barker

Overall Rating: A attempt at a overdone idea that sadly missed it’s mark.

This is a another short story by Clive Bark out of the “Book of Blood.” And regardless of the cheesy titles, I like what I have read so far. It is great to see someone with their own style rather than ripping off someone else. So this is the first story. It’s called the “The Yattering and The Jack”

So to start off with, it’s not as dark as twisted as Barker’s…

Lockhart’s Nightmare by Wayne Banton and Stan Williams Smoothie review

Overall rating: A Charming Western Fantasy about Two Lovers on the Run

This book was an unusual find. I found this at a yard sale during the summer out of the largest collection of odd books that ranged from mermaid love stories to alien mummies to pirates in love. I mean I’ve seen many love stories at yard sale with the pretty girls and then the half naked (or entirely naked) perfect men holding them. Yet…

Selling house By Laurell K. Hamilton Smoothie Review

I was going to write this in the morning, but then realized I might forget that I even read it by then. So it might be better to write this as soon as possible. This is another short story by Laurel K. Hamilton called Selling Houses and it can be found in the Strange Candy short story collection.

So what is it about? Well first off, it is set in the Anita Blake world. Only it isn’t focusing on Anita Blake. It is focusing on a…

Pickman’s Model by HP Lovecraft

Overall Rating: An Odd Creepy Puzzle That May Entertain Or Disappoint.

Okay this is a short story by HP Lovecraft. Well overall I don’t think HP Lovecraft wrote anything but short stories. But all the same, this is a tale called Pickman’s Model. And if you have not heard of this author, then I dare you to look up some films that are based off of or influenced by Lovecraftean horror such as Re-animator, Dagon, From Beyond and my personal favorite,…

Carriers: A Journey Into The Rainforest For the Obvious Source.

Carriers by Patrick Lynch

Okay not much of intro for this one. All I can say is it was a church book giveaway and I grabbed whatever looked mildly interesting. And one of those books I did grab is called Carriers by Patrick Lynch. It was a simple white cover with bright bold red title. Then there was an inside cover revealing three faceless military people in gas masks and bio hazard suites. Which too me is a very…

Man’s Search For Meaning By Viktor E Frankl

Overall Rating: An Intriguing Look Into The Mind Of A Holocaust Survivor

This is another odd smoothie review. This one is a called Man’s Search For Meaning By Viktor E Frankl. It was a required reading for a college class. So since I read it, why not write a review.

First off, Man’s Search For Morning is not a text book. It’s not a memoir. It’s no a self help book. But it’s very much a combination of all three of these. It…

A Scarcity Of Lake Monsters by Laurel K Hamilton

Overall Rating : Sweet gentle Tale From Deep Water

Okay after reading two really bad books in a row, I’m not sure whether I can gamble on another five hundred novel just yet. I need a breather after that god awful Clive Cussler torture contraption called Atlantis Found. So I’m taking a break and am heading back to world of short stories. And I’m going to one of favorite authors Laurel K Hamilton. This one is called “A Scarcity Of…

Atlantis Found By Clive Cussler Smoothie Review

Overall Rating: Only Meant For A Audience Who Like Things That Go Boom

Clive Cussler. I really don’t know much about this author other than he tends to write these Indiana Jones like adventures. A friend in high school was a real book worm. (Bigger than I am, if you can believe that) said I might like him since I like Crichton and Ludlum. So she gave me three books. Vahalla rising, Sahara and Atlantis Found. I read Sahara way back…

The Edge of the Sea by Laurell K. Hamilton

Laurell K. Hamilton is a good writer and I’m convinced of that. Even now she is good. She’s just in a rut of writing stuff that’s X- rated, rather than actually writing a story. Edge of The Sea is a short story she recently wrote that hits much closer to home for any one who read her earlier stuff. It can be found in the Strange Candy Collection.

The story starts with Adria, who find that her room mate Rachel is missing in middle of the…

Autopsy Room Four By Stephen King

Overall Rating: Inspired by frightening truth but delivered a boring narrative

Okay there is is not much to of a introduction here other than Autopsy is the first short story in Stephen King’s Everything’s Eventual.

The story starts with only sounds and descriptions from inside if a body bag being rolled through a hospital. He can not move or speak. And only pieces together what is happening through the sounds he hears. And the detailed…

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

Over all rating: Went up and beyond expectations to quite possibly make this the best in the series.

Okay this one is a book I bought a long time ago. It is called The Battle of the Labyrinth. It is indeed the fourth book in the Percy Jackson series. And this time I actually did pay full price for a book instead of finding it at a yard sale or bargain bins. I was totally hooked on this series. That is until I paid ten bucks to see the…

A Lust Of Cupids By Laurell K. Hamilton

A Lust Of Cupids By Laurell K. Hamilton

Okay here’s another odd one. This is a short story written by Laurell K. Hamilton . And this has nothing to do with Anita Blake or Meredith Gentry. This entirely is it’s own thing. It’s called “ A Lust Of Cupids’ and it can be found in the Strange Candy short story collection.

So what is it about? Well its about a thirty year old woman named Rachel Ceridian , who is not married and never planned to…

The Midnight Meat Train by Clive Barker

Not big fan of horror. And if you read my smoothie reviews, you’re probably sick of hearing say that. But I always like to try new things. After all, I wasn’t a big fan of spy novels until I read of Ludlum’s work that made me rethink my opinion about the genre all together. And when they were cleaning out the library at my college, they were selling old books for a quarter a piece. And I found this thick book called Book of Blood. (Very cheesy…

Nick of Time by Ted Bell

This is another bargain bin item. I get most of these books for a dollar or two a piece and because there’s so many I often skim them before buying them, you make sure I’m not buying a boring romance or mediocre mystery. But this one was called “In The Nick Of Time by Ted Bell.” And I when I skimmed it, I found it was about Time Travel., and like the typical sci-fi nerd I am I go “sweet!” I love Time Travel. So it; was quickly tossed into the “To buy”…

Those Who Seek Forgiveness by Laurell K. Hamilton

Okay, this is another smoothie review based in an individual story. Why not a whole book? Well tell me how to review a collection of short stores with it having a meaning behind it, and I’ll start. Every story in my opinion whether it’s a novel, novella, or short story if it’s a piece of work and should be seen as such. This one comes from Laurell K. Hamilton short story collection called, Strange Candy. And this one is called, “Those…