Ella Review

Ella- Cinders and Ash by Erik Schubach is the third book in the Urban Fairytales series and it’s in this installment things start to change for our many and varied heroines.
Schubach uses his personal narrative spiced with the characters’ wit and banter to make for compelling drama.  Two, well three, new characters are introduced in this book: Parker, who is the narrator, Ella, and Marie, who shares Ella’s body.  They cause trouble from page one and are quickly teamed up with the Red Hood and Gretta Snow to go in search of the fourth avatar, The Briar Rose.
Erik Schubach is putting a whole new twist on fairy tales.  Kick ass heroines with no need of a dashing prince, blessings that curse, and darkness that threatens the modern world.  Now the four avatars of the original fairytales have to come together to defeat the evil of the Black Crown and save humanity from werewolves.
Brilliantly rendered.  A knock-down, drag out page turner no reader could put down.  You will read this in one sitting.

The Martian Review

The Martian by Andy Weir is the story of one man’s struggle to survive, that’s the punch for the book, that’s the tagline.  The book that I read gave me so much more than a cast away survival story.  This man, Mark Watney, beyond wanting to stay alive, he wanted to stay human, to not loose himself.
Weir took the knowledge that was so extreme and could have easily put readers off and had Mark explain it in his witty sarcastic logs.  It was fun to read Mark because you always know he’s going to say or do something crazy and that it’s probably going to work.
When I first started this book, I got a little nervous when I noticed it was written in logs by one man.  There would be no dialogue no character dynamic, none of those things that generally make an interesting narrative.  But then, Weir brought in NASA and the Ares 3 crew and it came together very nicely.
All in all this book combines solid science, classic wit, and human desire to make a riveting read.