Staff Picks for December 2001/January 2002

Annie's Picks

The Dragon Queen, by Alice Borchardt

Born into a world of terrible strife, where war is constant and weapons are never far from the hands of men or women, Guinevere, daughter of a mighty pagan queenm is a threat to her people and a prize to the dreaded sorcerer Merlin. Sent into hiding, she grows up under the protection of a shapeshifting man-wolf and an ornery Druid. But even on the remote coast of Scotland, where dragons feed and watch over her, she is not safe from the all-seeing High Druid Merlin. He knows the young beauty's destiny, and he will stop at nothing to prevent what has been foretold. For if Guinevere becomes queen and Arthur, king, they will bring a peace to the land that will leave the power-hungry Merlin a shriveled magician in a weary cloak.

$25.00
new release - 25% off

Mort, by Terry Pratchett

In this Discworld installment, Death comes to Mort with an offer he can't refuse -- especially since being, well, dead isn't compulsory. As Death's apprentice, he'll have free board and lodging, use of the company horse, and he won't need time off for family funerals. The position is everything Mort thought he'd ever wanted, until he discovers that this perfect job can be a killer on his love life.

$6.50

Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light, by Tanya Huff

The wild magic was loose in Toronto, for an Adept of Darkness had broken through the barrier into the everyday mortal world. And in this age when only fools and innocents still believed in magic, who was there to fight against the invasion of evil?

$5.99

A Field Guide to Demons, by Carol K. and Dinah Mack

Demons, fairies, and fallen angels are everywhere. They lurk at crossroads, crouch behind doors, hide in trees, slip into beds, wait in caves, hover at weddings and childbirths, disguise themselves as friends, relatives -- even disguise themselves as you. They are powerful; they are protean; they are enchanting. And, to the uninformed, they are often invisible. This illustrated guide - the first of its kind -- reveals the remarkable permutations of the demon and fairy species worldwide.

$15.00

Santa Cows, by Cooper Edens

'Tis the night before Christmas and Elwood and his family are snug at home enjoying video games, TV, and a microwave meal. Suddenly, a strange mooing comes to their ears. Flinging open the shutters, they're amazed to discover a sky full of udders! Down the chimney come the Santa Cows. With dewy eyes like Liz Taylor's and radiant smiles, the cows bear wondrous gifts for one and all. It's a Christmas the family will never forget.

$5.99

Andrew's Picks

Black Dog, by Stephen Booth

As helicopters search Northern England's Peak District for fifteen-year-old Laura Vernon, Detective Constable Ben Cooper quietly dreads the worst. And when her body is found in the woods, Cooper's investigation begins with a short list of markedly uncooperative suspects: retired miner Harry Dickinson, whose black Labrador discovered Laura's body, and Laura's wealthy parents. Uneasily teamed with ambitious newcomer Detective Constable Diane Fry, Cooper tests a town's family ties, friendships, and loyalties -- and finds that in order to understand the present, they must unearth the past.

$6.99
signed copies available

Bad Karma, by Andrew Harper

In his only novel under a pseudonym, noted horror author Douglas Clegg takes a slight sidestep into the territory of psychological thrillers and reveals a power within his writing style that hasn't shown itself in the other novels of his that I've read. The story is about Trey Campbell, a psychiatrist who works at a hospital for the criminally insane. One patient in particular, Agnes Hatcher, has formed an attachment to Campbell that is both unhealthy and extremely obsessive. She's not only the most brutal and dangerous psychopath in the hospital, she's also extremely intelligent -- and when Campbell leaves the hospital for a vacation, Hatcher breaks loose and decides to hunt him down. This fast-paced, suspenseful novel manages to combine the most horrific moments of Clegg's conventional horror novels with the sort of suspense generated by such classics as "The Silence of the Lambs" or "Cape Fear." Clegg can't completely escape the supernatural presence in his writing, but by not dwelling on it as much as he normally does, he produces what is perhaps his best work.

$5.99

The Organ Grinders, by Bill Fitzhugh

Paul Symon is an environmentalist who's out to make the world a better place, but he faces too much disjoined information, public apathy and self-serving talk. Not to mention greedy despoiler Jerry Landis, a venture capitalist dying of a rare disease that accelerates the aging process. Landis cares only about making more money and finding a way to arrest his condition. That brings him and his fortune to the wild frontier of biotechnology, where his people are illegally experimenting with cross-species organ transplantation in California while breeding genetically altered primates at a secret site in the piney woods of south central Mississippi. There's also an eco-terrorist on the loose, bent on teaching hard lessons to people who think the Earth and it's creatures are theirs to destroy. Fitzhugh moves with lightning speed from rather frightening conspiracy theories and little known facts to hilarious exchanges between backwoods good ol' boys and overgrown baboons, managing to throw in enough humor, suspense, and multi-dimensional characters to make this one of the most darkly entertaining novels of any genre that I've read for some time.

$6.50
signed copies available

A Graveyard for Lunatics, by Ray Bradbury

In this loose sequel to his darkly themed detective story "Death is a Lonely Business," Bradbury picks up a few years later into the life of the unnamed main character (who bears an extremely close resemblance to the real-life Bradbury), now working as a scriptwriter at a major Hollywood studio. After receiving an anonymous note, the unnamed main character shows up at a graveyard at midnight, where he is both frightened and intrigued by the terrifying discovery he makes. From there, he is plunged headlong into a dark world of decadence and the awful things it generates--all of it hitting uncomfortably close to home, especially when people he cares about start dying.

$13.00

No Rest For the Wicked, by Brian Keene

This young underground horror author gives us, with his first book, a collection of stories that stand head and shoulders above the typical work within the horror genre. In fact, it wouldn't be untrue to say that they are most reminiscent of a young Stephen King, only growing up a generation later and cutting his teeth on the pseudo-Satanistic heavy metal of the 80s and the best of the gore/slasher movies from two to three decades ago. Keene's stories are able to communicate, within only a few pages, simultaneous depth of character and chilling events. You not only visualize what's happening in the stories Keene tells, you care about those who it's happening to--which, if I may be so bold, is half of what makes good horror so frightening. The influence of those who came before, such as King, Lovecraft, Bloch, and Matheson, is evident, but with his stories of demons conjured by heavy metal bands in mosh pits and kids calling up demons using spells they find on the internet, Keene is definitely rooted in the 21st century. If he is to get what he deserves, look for him to ride his Harley-Davidson down the highway to success within the next few years. And for now, hunt down and purchase this book. Seriously, you won't regret it.

$14.95
signed copies available

Lelia's Picks

Who Is Angela?, by Thomas J. Doyle

In this mystery, set in the Edwardian era on the Isle of Charts, a girl is found murdered. The inspector called in on the case finds himself surrounded by mystery and doubt as he unravels the many layers of the dead girl's complex life.

$16.00
meet the author December 15th from 2 to 4PM

Brief Candles, by Manning Coles

Billed as a mystery ghost story, this really only has a very slight thread of mystery but it stars two of the most delightful ghosts one could meet. Cousins James and Charles Latimer and their wine-loving monkey, Ulysses, were killed in 1870 when they had a few too many and decided to halt the German advance during the Franco-Prussian War. Then, in 1953, they suddenly reappear when their descendants, Sally and Jeremy Latimer, find themselves in difficulty while touring near their ancestors' unmarked graves. The ghosts intend to solve Sally's and Jeremy's dilemma but first they must try to fit into a world that has moved on some 80 years and on the way they "light brief candles of insanity for a tipsy policeman, a recalcitrant banker, a convocation of English ghost-busters and a card-playing rogue who's wanted for murder."

$14.00

The Sunset Lounge, by Gene Cox

Chandler Harris, a young TV reporter, stumbles onto an assault in Richmond's most fashionable neighborhood just minutes after a police officer is murdered, a few blocks away. Only Chandler sees the connection between the two crimes. His obsession to prove he's right leads him to Flossie, a topless dancer at a local strip joint. She, he believes, may be concealing the facts that link the crimes. But before he can convince her to trust him, he finds himself drawn too far into the dark underworld in which she lives. Soon, he discovers that he must become a part of it in order to save her, and himself.

The author, Gene Cox, is the news anchor for Richmond's WWBT NBC-12.

$6.99
Signed copies available

A Dead Man's Honor, by Frankie Y. Bailey

I was enthralled with Frankie Bailey's first mystery, Death's Favorite Child, and could barely wait for the second in the series starring Lizzie Stuart. The wait seemed nearly endless---that's how much I loved the first one -- but it was well worth it. This time, Lizzie is a visiting professor at a university in Virginia and, lo and behold, Detective John Quinn just happens to find himself a spot there, too. While Lizzie and John are embroiled, but not together, in tracking down the murderer of an arrogant professor, the tension between the two of them is palpable. The question is will either or both of these situations be resolved? And how long do I have to wait for the next book?

$13.95
signed copies available

The White Plague, by Frank Herbert

Twenty years after this thriller was first published, it is every bit as exciting and topical today. A scientist sees his entire family killed by a car bomb in Ireland and, in his grieving madness, decides to take his revenge -- a revenge that is incredibly horrific, a plague that kills only women and girls, spelling the potential end of all mankind.

This book is out of print -- let us know if you'd like us to locate a copy for you.