Tom Recommends: The Dresden Files

My very first Gabbing Geek column was on urban fantasy.  Anyone who follows that subgenre knows who the 800 pound gorilla is for fans, the one all other urban fantasy characters will be compared to.

That would be Harry Dresden.

When A Series Leaves You Behind: Repairman Jack And Why I Stopped Reading Something I Enjoyed

I’m a big reader.  I teach English for a living, and reading a lot is required.  I write articles for Gabbing Geek, so I read even more.  Many of the books I read are part of ongoing Geek series, usually in the urban horror or fantasy realm.  My first column here was on urban fantasy and had a whole paragraph recommending various book series.

So, why’d I skip recommending one of the first series I read, the Repairman Jack novels? I used to recommend those books all the time.  Why skip out here when I had the chance?

Well, I had some reasons…

Geek Lit: The Living End (Daniel Faust Book 3)

My very first Gabbing Geek article was all about urban fantasy, that subgenre where protagonists are often supernatural individuals, or people with knowledge of supernatural individuals, living in the modern world.

One of the authors and book series I recommended there was Craig Schaefer’s Daniel Faust series.  Faust is a magician living in Las Vegas, a former flunky to a half-demon mobster that does odd jobs.  The third novel in the series, The Living End, wraps up an opening trilogy of novels where Daniel matches wits with the treacherous Lauren Carmichael.  Review with some potential spoilers after the cut.