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Reviews / Policies / Ads

(Note:  I would like to have a link list at the top to take you to the various sections, but Blogger is making that difficult.  For now, you'll have to scroll down through the sections:  Review Policy, Book Reviews, Comic/Magazine Reviews, TV Show Reviews, Movie Reviews, Reviews By Others, and Advertising Policy.)

Review Policy
Note: I am currently being incredibly selective about what I take for review due in part to a reduction in time for "fun reading" and "review reading." Publishers who already have a relationship with me are free to submit work and do not have to query.


Update:  I now own a B&N Nook.  This means that I am 100% open to electronic review copies in appropriate formats (ePub preferably, though PDF is fine too, provided it is formatted properly).

What kinds of fiction I will read:
  • Science Fiction (any form)
  • Fantasy (any form)
  • Young Adult (only science fiction or fantasy, or related styles--no general fiction please)
  • Romance (only stories that are speculative in nature--books by Luna would be an example)
  • Magical Realism (provided it leans more to the speculative/fantasy end rather than just being something a little odd--think The Steam Magnate by Dana Copithorne or works by Zoran Zivkovic)
  • Cross-genre (provided it is speculative in some way)
  • Horror (only supernatural, near-fantasy/sf type stuff; no slasher things like the movie Scream)
  • Urban Fantasy (just to clarify in case someone makes a distinction between standard fantasy and urban)
  • Nonfiction (science, history, guides, etc. provided it has some use to writers or readers of genre--science books work really well in this category as well as fun little guides and such)
  • Children's literature (not Dr. Seuss, but older stuff such as chapter books and the like)
Who I will read from and the formats I will read in:
  • Advanced copies, printed manuscripts provided they are being published by a publisher, or any other form of unfinished work that has yet to be released to the market (please ask before you send anything electronically)
  • Small Presses (I would prefer these simply because they don't get enough exposure as it is)
  • Large Presses (I have nothing against them and I will read from them just as I will anything else)
  • Graphic Novels or artistic books related to genre. (I will make an exception here for graphic novels that are not genre, especially for manga)
  • Works in English (I only speak one language, so the work has to be in English)
  • Translated Works (as long as it follows everything else)
  • Hard copies (hardcovers, trade paperbacks, mass market paperbacks, and other sizes)
  • Electronic copies (ePub preferably, but PDF should work decently if it is properly formatted; do not query me about poorly formatted ebooks)
  • If you don't see something listed here or in the list below feel free to email me anyway if you think I might be interested in your work.
What kinds of fiction I won't read:
  • Anything outside of my typical reading genres (i.e.: works that are not speculative in nature, although you can query me if you think I might be interested anyway as I break this rule sometimes; non-fiction books are typically exempt from this).
  • Erotica (I will make an exception if your work has a particularly strong SF or F plotline that coincides with the dirtier stuff)
  • Hentai comics (sorry, this just isn't of interest to me and my audience really isn't for you anyway)
  • Books that revolve around gore and explicit violence (I just don't have time to assess this sort of work since gore and violence should be tasteful)
Who I will not read from and the formats I will not read in:
  • Self-published books. This is a new development. I apologize to anyone who has a self-published book that happens to be good, but I've grown tired of having to wade through some particularly wretched works in the last year or two. There's a certain quality that I'm guaranteed with legitimately published novels, and self-publishing cannot promise that, nor can its authors.
  • Books published by a press you invented to publish yourself. This is the same thing as self-publishing and I do not support the deception of the consumer in order to make yourself look better. You either embrace self-publishing or you don't.
    Note:  I do check who publishes the books that people query me with.  If you are self-published, I will find out in about thirty seconds.  It's better not to query me at all or to at least be upfront about your publishing history.  I don't appreciate being misled, and it's quite likely that lying to me or misleading me or simply misrepresenting yourself to me will make me even less likely to take self-published work again.  You're hurting everybody by doing this.
  • Non-English Works (as I said above, I only speak one language)
Want to send me something?
Great! Please send an email to this email address and tell me what you'd like to send to me. If I am interested, I will give you my address. I don't want my address on here for obvious reasons (I get enough junk mail), but I would be happy to read your work.

Publishers, authors, editors, etc. may send me books. Just email me and I'd be happy to work with you.

Note: Publishers who already have a relationship with me do not have to query or send me an email to send me new work. You probably already know what I like, so send things as you see fit.


Book/Story Reviews (w/ Book Release Date)
(Note:  Some links take you to pages which are not explicitly for the reviews, but contain links to the actual reviews.  Some reviews were not posted in-house.)


Graphic Novel / Comic Reviews (w/ GN Release Date)
Magazine Reviews

Aetheric Mechanics by Warren Ellis
DTOX No. 0 (Special Biohazrd Edition) by Frank Forte
Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine, July 2008
Interzone #224
Interzone #225
Residential Aliens #4
Undead Evil No. 0 (Special Edition) by Frank Forte
Waltz With Bashir by Ari Folman and David Polonsky
Warlash No. 0 (Zombie Mutant Genesis:  Special Edition) by Frank Forte and Eric Rochford
Warlash No. 1 (Dark Noir) by Frank Forte
Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher and Adrian Syaf

TV Show Reviews (w/ General Show Release Date)

Movie Reviews (w/ Movie Release Date)
(Note:  Some of the reviews below are from my older Quickie Review posts)

The 13th Warrior
2081 (2009)
Aliens vs. Predator 2
Animania
Babylon A.D.
Be Kind Rewind
The Big One
Burn After Reading
The Call of Cthulu
The Chronicles of Narnia:  Prince Caspian
Cloverfield
Deadly Enemies
Death Race
Doomsday
Eragon
Europa 
The Fall
Fantastic Four and the Rise of the Silver Surfer
The Forbidden Kingdom
Get Smart
Ghost in the Shell 2:  Innocence
The God Who Wasn't There
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Good German
Hancock
The Happening (2008)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part One) (2010)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Hellboy 2:  The Golden Army
The Hills Have Eyes 2
Hole
House Bunny
Howl's Moving Castle
How To Train Your Dragon (2010)
The Hulk (2008)
I Am Legend
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2010)
Inception (2010)
Inception (An Addendum:  Emotion)
Inception (An Addendum:  Musicology, Part One)
Inception (An Addendum:  Musicology, Part Two)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Invasion
Iron Man
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Jesus Camp
Jigoku
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Jumper
Kiki's Delivery Service
The Last Mimzy
Let the Right One In
Life After People
Life of Brian
The Man Who Wasn't There
Meet the Robinsons
Metropolis 
The Mists of Avalon
The Mothman Prophecies
The Mummy:  Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Mutant Chronicles
My Neighbor Totoro
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Next
Pineapple Express
Pirates of the Caribbean:  Curse of the Black Pearl
Porco Rosso
Quantum of Solace
Rambo (2008)
Religulous
Resident Evil:  Extinction 
Robin Hood (2010)
Saw V
Sicko
Slipstream
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Star Trek (Why It Sucks and Why Abrams Needs to Stop) (2009)
Star Wars, Episode One:  The Phantom Menace (1999)
Sunshine
The Tale of Despereaux
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Titus
Torturing Democracy
Transformers:  Rise of the Fallen (2009)
Tron: Legacy (A Brief Review) (2010)
Tron: Legacy (published in Strange Horizons) (2010)
Tropic Thunder
Ultraviolet
WALL-E (2008)
Wanted
Whisper of the Heart 
Wings of Desire
Wolverine (X-men Origins) (2009)

Reviews By Others
Yes Man


Advertising Policy
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