A bargain, a rip-off, a bizarre trophy or a priceless momento? A look at the practice of paying a celebrity to be nice to you.
by Rachel Hyland
There is a tangible electricity in the air, a frisson of anticipatory glee as scores of men and women – mostly women – stand in line for an approximately 30 second encounter with Jason Momoa. A privilege for which they have paid quite handsomely.
Star of Stargate Atlantis, Conan and Game of Thrones (Season 1, anyway), Momoa’s is a towering presence as he emerges from …

In the first installment of a new series, one gamer takes on a new MMORPG—and we’re along for the ride.
by Kellie Sheridan
In July of 2012, Funcom released The Secret World, a massively-multiplayer online game set in a world of Urban Fantasy. The game takes place in the modern day real world, but includes all kinds of fantasy elements, from mythology all the way to pop culture. The result is an immersive game that sheds traditional game elements like levels and character classes in order to give its players a unique …

Justin Cronin’s despised sequel The Twelve, and a great literary tradition it might well uphold
by Kate Nagy
The Twelve, the sequel to Justin Cronin’s wildly popular 2010 vampire thriller The Passage, was published last fall to reviews that were, alas, rather less than ecstatic. “The Twelve bites,” was the succinct, if somewhat unkind, conclusion drawn by one waggish reviewer. Various critics have cited the book’s overpopulation, tissue-thin characterization, and surplus plot lines as flaws, and I have to concede that they have a point. There are too many characters, not to …

Earlier this year, geek goddess Felicia Day drew her hit webseries to a close… or did she?
by Kellie Sheridan
For anyone who has somehow not yet heard, The Guild is a geektastic webseries that follows the “real lives” of a guild of six socially awkward gamers as they interact both in and out of their favorite online video game. You can even argue it is the web series, as it was one of the very first to reach large scale popularity, and is even credited as being part of Joss Whedon’s …

Based on the Oz series by L. Frank Baum
Written by: Mitchell Kapner, David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz
In Short: A less-wicked origin story, but less interesting.
Recommended: Kind of – this movie is best served on DVD.
OSCAR: I might not actually be a wizard.
GLINDA: Yes, but they don’t know that.
The Wizard of Oz is all about magic, and ingenuity and a sense of childlike wonder. Even with the other side of the MGM classic: that “not family-friendly” version where adults watch it on mute …

Based on The Fifteenth Pelican by Tere Rios
Created by: Max Wylie, Harry Ackerman
Starring: Sally Field, Madeleine Sherwood, Marge Redmond, Shelley Morrison, Alejandro Rey, Linda Dangcil, Vito Scotti
Number of Episodes: 83 (3 Seasons)
ABC
TV on DVD: Saints
In Short: There’s this nun. She can fly.
Recommended: Yes!
SISTER JACQUELINE: You play cards often, Sister Bertrille?
SISTER BERTRILLE: No, I just learned about three weeks ago. Helped pass the time while I was in jail.
SISTER JACQUELINE: Prison?�
SISTER BERTRILLE: Yeah, I was arrested at a free speech protest rally.
SISTER JACQUELINE: [voice over] It was at this point I had …

Published by Dragonfairy Press
Release Date: April 11, 2013
Available in Paperback and Kindle editions
In Short: A human private investigator is reluctantly drawn into the case when someone starts killing gods.
Recommended: Not really.
Most mortals idolized the Gods and would have killed for the chance to work alongside them. There was a time when even I admired them. That was before I started working with them, before I saw them without their makeup, so to speak. I found out what was behind all the glitz and glamour, and I wasn’t impressed. I’m still …

Published by Orbit Books
Release Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Available in Paperback and Kindle editions
In Short: Nyx Fortuna is the son of the fourth Fate, Lady Fortuna. He has dedicated his immortal life to obtaining justice for her death at the hands of her three well known sisters.
Recommended: Not really
“Everyone deferred to the House of Zeus, except the Fates. Even a sorcerer from the House fo Zeus, the most powerful sorcerer’s family there was, wouldn’t take on a Fate.”
Marlene Perez is known for her young adult paranormal novels and her fantasy …

Published by Harper Voyager
Release Date: March 26, 2013
Available in Paperback and Kindle editions
In Short: A psychiatrist in Paris struggling to overcome a tragedy becomes embroiled in some fantasy crap in a cookie-cutter fantasy world.
Recommended: No – not as a “stand-alone,” anyway.
“Forgive me,” Reynard said, his voice low and gentle. “I’ve looked into your background. The internet is very helpful.”
- The villain of the book’s first third giving readers of this ‘standalone’ some good advice
There’s no such thing as a stand-alone entry in a series. Oh, sure, there are television series …

2012
Published by: Aderton Prime, LLC
Available in: Kindle edition
In Short: When Lucifer challenges the throne of God, it ignites a decades-long war that devastates the serenity of the Heavens. With an arsenal of demonic fallen angels at his side, Lucifer’s march to satanic glory seems imminent. Archangel Sariel believes otherwise.
Recommended: Kind of.
“You speak as if she’s gone forever. She is a soul, created in the image of God. Since when can a soul die?”
Heaven’s Night is about the fall of Lucifer and his war in Heaven through the eyes of the …