THE SCAR OF AIMSIRE

 

THE SCAR OF AIMSIRE

Tales of Aimsire Book Two

By Scott Ladzinski

Available at Amazon

360 pages

The battle between good and evil continues in this, the second volume of the fantasy series, “Tales of Aimsire.” Book two starts directly after the events that transpired in book one…where wizard twins Rorie and Rayann were driven apart by Rorie’s succumbing to the dark forces manipulated by the entity known as the Rage Queen.

Now rogue magic wielders Fifth and Piramay pursue their sinister goals of conquest destroying entire towns and villages in their path to achieve the ultimate goal;  to unlock Lúth, the primordial One Power—a force imbued with the essence of life and light spoken into existence during the Dawn Light.

Now it is up to the Elf empire, and its warriors Ceridwyn, Rayann and Kali to stop them, if that is even possible. Scott Ladzinski weaves an incredible saga in a detailed world beyond imagination with noble heroes and the most twisted, barbaric monsters. It is a world fantasy readers have been waiting to explore further and he does not disappoint.

THE FIRE CONCERTO

 

THE FIRE CONCERTO

By Sarah Landenwich

Union Square & Co.

334 pgs

 

Rare are the stories that take hold of one’s imagination and don’t let go until the final page. This is one of them. The year is 1997 and thirty-year old Clara Bishop is a bartender in Austin, Texas living a quiet, happy life with her small circle of friends. What they don’t know is that ten years earlier she had been a rising star in the music world as a talented concert pianist. All of which came to an end when she was severely burned in a fire at her premier in Warsaw, Poland.

 

Clara blamed her teacher Madame Zofia Mikorska for the tragedy and retired from playing. As the book opens, Clara is made aware that Madame Mikorska has died and left her a unique item, an old world, beautifully crafted metronome; those wind-up devices used to keep a beat. Along with the item is a cryptic note hinting that there is a secret behind the metronome that only Clara can solve. Thus begins a complex and utterly fascinating adventure that leads back to the days of pre-World War II Poland and the death of that country’s greatest composer, Aleksander Starza. 

Sarah Landenwich, herself a musician, weaves a fast-paced puzzle that keeps jumping back and forth between the past and the present as Clara’s investigation begins to unravel the lives of several remarkably gifted women; all somehow connected with the death of Starza. But what are its implications for Clara? The story is addictive in that once begun, these characters draw us into their sad, seemingly lost lives. Their hunt for an ages-old solution somehow offers the possibility of genuine redemption for them all. 

“The Fire Concerto” is hands down one of the best mysteries we’ve read this year. Now someone go make it into a movie. Please.

MEN'S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY Vol 12

 

MEN’S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY Issue # 12

The PI Issue

Edited by Robert Deis & Bill Cunningham

Subtropic Productions, LLC.

143 pgs

 

We were 13 yr old freshmen in high school when we discovered private eye paperbacks. Our fond memories include the white-haired, affable Shell Scott by Richard S. Prather, Chester Drum by Stephen Marlowe. Not to forget the Mike Shane monthly mystery digest and eventually Mickey Spillane’s toughest tough-guy of them all, Mike Hammer. Heady stuff for a young reader who had first cut his literary teeth on comic books. But we loved them all and now editors Robert Deis and Bill Conningham have given us a P.I. themed issue of their wonderful Men’s Adventure Quarterly.

 

There is so much great material in this 12^th issue, it’s difficult to know where to start. As ever the reprinted fiction is top-notch and worth the price of admission. We were familiar with Frank Kane’s Johnny Liddell but had never had the pleasure of reading one of his tales. That’s now been remedied. The Ed Noon piece by the prolific Michael Avallone is a real winner and is accompanied by a touching bio written by his son. Honestly, we can’t recall a time when his name didn’t jump off the spinner racks at us on so many tie-in books and to learn he even wrote adventures of the Partridge Family was a hoot. 

The history of Honey West, one of our favorite past TV series, was informative and we appreciate the beautiful layout with pictures of the gorgeous Anne Francis. That it only ever had one season is a media crime. Then there are the articles on the real-life Al Hynd, a truly remarkable detective, and Walter Kaylin, one of MAM’s own super-scribes who could write anything. And often did. 

Bob and Bill, what more can we possibly say. With every issue of MAQ, you guys reach new heights of genuine entertainment that is so bloody rare these days. Thank you.