26 September, 2011

Giveaway: Ganymede by Cherie Priest

Tor was nice enough to provide a copy of Cherie Priest's newest entry into her Clockwork Century series, Ganymede [US] [UK] [Kindle]!

This series has received quite a bit of praise and excitement. While I have yet to read it, here's a nice review to whet your appetite.

Giveaway Rules

If you are interested in getting your hands on Ganymede, then follow the exceedingly simple instructions below.

E-mail me your name and address at (THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM NORMAL) seaksstamp@[removethis]gmail.com, with "GANY" as the subject of the email.

Snarky comments increase your chances of winning and win bonus entries for future giveaways. Open in the US only (sorry) as long as delivery doesn't require the mounting of an expedition into remote wilderness.

22 September, 2011

What's the Deal With... This Cover for The Iron Dream

An internet rant is a beautiful thing, I mean, why even be online, with all the anonymity that brings, and even attempt to contain all that angst. It's why we have comments on everything from blogs to Youtube to news stories. People need to complain! We have things on our chest and we've got to get them off...and our significant others are just plain tired of hearing the same thing over and over again.

In light of this, I decided to institute a new feature on the blog where I can bring up whatever's on my mind, be it terrible book covers, titles, ideas, bloggers (okay, probably just Pat), you name it and have some fun with it.

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There's not much to say on this one other than I'm pretty sure I'll have to read this at some point just to find out why Hitler is riding a futuristic motorcycle.

Anyone read it?

19 September, 2011

It's News To Me #24 - Peter Dinklage Wins an Emmy for Game of Thrones

Here's a couple items of news-ish things I'm interested in this week/recently.


Peter Dinklage wins an emmy for GoT (link to all Emmy Winners): Sadly, this is no test of longevity as Friday Night Lights can tell you.

Republic of Thieves Pushed Back to 2012: Lynch says he'll let us know once it's a sure thing. Can't wait.

New header at The Stamp (of Approval): That's my initial blog that I still keep up with every now and then. Got a new header, but now I'm debating changing the name. What do you think of The (Tramp) Stamp of Approval. (Thanks Staffer's Musings)

15 September, 2011

Demon Squad: Resurrection by Tim Marquitz

I may have mentioned I'm a huge fan of Tim Marquitz. Ever since I read his amazingly hilarious Armageddon Bound, it's been my goal to get more people to read his work by any means possible. Yup, nothing is too far when it comes to Frank Trigg.

When Tim sent me a copy of the sequel to one of my favorite books of 2009, I was overjoyed. You may then ask yourself why it took me this long to finally read it. I can promise that it's not for lack of quality, only for lack of time.

Demon Squad: Resurrection [US] [UK] [Kindle], Book 2 in the Demon Squad series, follows almost directly after Armageddon Bound. Frank Trigg "don't call him Triggaltheron" finds himself in the middle of yet another end of the world disaster. I guess that's what you have to expect when you're the nephew of Lucifer, also once slated to be the next Antichrist.
Armageddon averted, the world returns to business as usual. Unfortunately for Frank "Triggaltheron" Trigg, business as usual sucks. His night out interrupted by a horde of kidnapping zombies, what could possibly be worse? The resurrection of the Anti-Christ, that's what. Caught in the middle of a supernatural pissing match between the Devil's wife, a legion of undead, and an overachieving necromancer, Frank must survive long enough to stop Hell from being unleashed upon humanity; Again.
Still working with DRAC (Demon Resistance and Containment), an organization of wizards, psychics, and telepaths, Trigg is a witness to a zombie massacre at his favorite seedy nightclub, well, it works for him at least. These zombies seem to be popping up all over the place as favors are called in and Frank must do what he can to stay alive.

Frank Trigg is still as hilarious as ever in this sequel and that's one of the main reasons that will always have me coming back to this series over and over again. His observations have me dying laughing, even out loud sometimes and only Kurt Vonnegut has ever made me do that before. There did seem to be an overabundance of pants tightening in this one though, but I guess that's just how Frank rolls.

Going right along with the humor, Tim Marquitz bashes you over the head with awesomeness through his action scenes. I end up reeling by the end and I'm just a casual reader, come on man, give me a break. But seriously, Resurrection is action-packed and tons of fun.

Inevitably, I end up comparing this series to the Dresden Files and it really does make sense. Both are first person, both have a down-on-his-luck protagonist who's always the worse for wear in pretty much any situation and both tend to be humorous. But, for my money, the Demon Squad series beats the Dresden Files any day.

Let me also just say that the way things ended up had me very happy especially with the possibilities to come. The sequels cannot be available quick enough.

Why Read Demon Squad: Resurrection?

I was extremely happy to find out that Resurrection continues the high standard set forth in Armageddon Bound. The Demon Squad series is full of action, full of hilarity, and mostly full of heart...well, bloody ones pumping out their last ounce.

If you like fun, laughs, and any type of happiness, and don't mind some irreverance along the way, you should really give this series a go. Highly recommended!

4 out of 5 Stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher