As I start to share all these science fiction, fantasy, mystery and romance book recommendations in blog post form, I have to admit it’s great to revisit some old book recommendations about some of my favourite books. These book recommendations are important to read because before writers become writers, they are readers. Therefore, please enjoy these fantasy and science fiction book recommendations from July 2023.
Death Takes A Diamond By Dean Wesley Smith
Considering I've had another weird reading week, I was looking back at my favourite books to see if I've missed recommending any of them. And I flat out cannot believe I was stupid enough not to recommend one of my favourite mystery books of all time. You cannot beat "Death Takes A Diamond" by Dean Wesley Smith. The book follows the story of assassin Mary-Jo as her and her friends hunt down a woman that tried to kill a friend of theirs and the complex mystery they unlock in the meanwhile. Personally, I always flat out love the Mary Jo assassin books and I think it is disgusting that I haven't recommended them before. I love them that much. They're voicey, entertaining and I read this book in two days which basically never ever happens to me. From the great romantic elements to the great and tense plot to its brilliant ending, this crime book seriously has it all and I'm really looking forward to future books in the series. So if you're looking for a fun, enthralling, truly unputdownable crime mystery book to devour this week. Definitely check out "Death Takes A Diamond". You will not be sorry for picking it up.
The Perfect Man by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
On occasion, I am known to tackle one of the thicker books in my To-Be-Read pile and most of the time it is very rewarding, because there are some great books in that pile. This was one of them. So this week, I am very happy to recommend "The Perfect Man" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. The book follows the journey of detective Tasha Morgan as she falls in love with hot sexy Rick Chance who's struggles to deal with a stalker and protect everyone around him. From their sexual tension to the criminal itself to its great ending, this is a great piece of romantic suspense. I really liked the book because it is romantic suspense at its core, which is a genre I am a massive fan of. Since the romance and mystery elements are perfectly blended, you want the couple to get together and you really want the bad guy to get caught. Because the criminal is just a weird, silly lonely man that needs serious help. But as you'll see in the book, he is very determined and the reasons why are fascinating and flat out disturbing. Also, I really like the book because of how the relationship develops between Tasha and Rick. It's interesting, moving and tense as each of them tries to protect the other from what's happening and they try to stay professional despite how badly they want each other. It is a great read. So if you're looking for a great example of romantic suspense writing this week, definitely check out "The Perfect Man" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
A Big Twisted Plot By Dean Wesley Smith
Whilst for the past week I've been reading a Dean Koontz's book and I am more than confident about recommending that, I actually want to read more of it first just so I can actually finish it. Therefore, I want to recommend an old favourite of mine in the form of a fantasy short story by Dean Wesley Smith called "The Big Twisted Plot". Now I know that I don't normally do short stories in these book recommendations, but for Marble Grant stories I will always be happy to make an exception. I flat out love the Marble Grant short stories because they're funny, brilliant and I love the characters. Since after the first Marble Grant short stories you know that she loves sex, she loves helping people and she loves life. It's certainly that positivity that I enjoy about these short stories, and because she's a ghost she gets up to some very cool stuff too. This particular story follows the journey of Marble Grant and her lover Sims as they investigate a criminal exchange that reveals something much, much larger is going on. And that short story sounds like it might not work for a Marble Grant story because they aren't detectives. But I enjoy the story because it is so well-written, so fun and interesting that it is certainly worth the price and worth the time it takes to read. If you've read Marble Grant fantasy short stories before, then this is another great addition to the series. However, if you hadn't read one before then you are in for a serious fantasy treat. So if you're looking for a great fantasy short story series to enjoy this week, definitely check out "The Big Twisted Plot" by Dean Wesley Smith. Available at all major booksellers.
Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz
As I finally get round to this week's book recommendation, I am very happy to recommend this absolute masterpiece of a book by one of the biggest writers on the planet. "Life Expectancy" by Dean Koontz. Now if you're familiar with Koontz's work then you know that this is one of his lesser well-known books and this is a different book to what he normally writes. However, I have to admit that this mystery book is wonderfully, weird, whacky and really funny in places. Not because it's a funny book at all but I flat out love the reactions of some of the characters to the situation. That is the essence of humour writing after all. Anyway, the novel follows the story of Jimmy from the moment he was born with the fascinating and tense events surrounding it to the 5 terrible days of his life that his grandfather predicted before he died to everything in-between. Like I said, this is a flat out wonderfully weird book but I loved it, because everything is so artfully written and brought together that in the end everything makes perfect sense. And the characters are truly wonderful too. Jimmy and his family are so likeable, so normal and so great together that it really makes you care about the characters. Yet my personal favourite character is Lorrie. She is sensational, she is fun and she is absolutely brilliant in this book. So much so that the book would be completely different without her. And without spoiling this mystery book, I actually can't say anymore. So if you're looking for a great book to enjoy this week, then definitely check out "Life Expectancy" you really will not regret it.
Escaping Amnthra by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
After a busy day and an evening filled with helping others I wanted to recommend a brilliant book that I read last week. And that science fiction book is "Escaping Amnthra" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. The story follows the journey of a woman who made herself captain once the engineer and the large bulk of the crew and engineers either died or abandoned the ship. Leaving her to escape with the crew, attempts to keep everyone alive and overcome her painful past in the process. Now I really liked this book for a few reasons. I really liked it because the character was very relatable, she wasn't sure what she was doing but she always made intelligent tries and she was the glue the ship depended on. She was very kind, very capable and when she made mistakes she knew how to correct them. And the ending certainly made that extremely clear to the reader. Another reason why I liked the book was because it was a good plot and story that wasn't very long. I know this story arc was originally taken from Rusch's monster book "The Regenat" a massive book I still hadn't gotten round to reading because of its door stopping size. But the book was a perfect standalone novella that was definitely my sort of length that I like to write myself. Then part of that great plotting was that it allows us to see the character and the crew get tested by multiple different situations and stressors. This allows us to understand how human and capable the character and their limited knowledge about the workings of the ship. Overall, this might be a short science fiction book but this is a great book recommendation. Therefore, if you want a brilliant short sci-fi read this week seriously pick up "Escaping Amnthra" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. You will not regret it.
I hope you enjoyed these book recommendations and if you want to see some of my own fantasy, science fiction, mystery and romance books. Then please click the hyperlink on the genre you want to explore. You won’t regret exploring these great books.
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