Lou Paduano | Urban Fantasy Novels | Sci-Fi Crime Series

Spring Reading List – 2020 Edition

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I’m a little late in putting together my Spring Reading List this year. I’m keeping this one short with the hope that I might actually get to read them all. I hope you have been enjoying some great fiction while keeping safe and healthy during this time.

Spring Reading List

Black Magnet by David Neth

The city is heating up…

Ash doesn’t know who he is or how he ended up in an old coal mine outside the city. Even more terrifying, he discovers that he can throw fire from the palms of his hands when he saves Rachel from being mugged. She’s a researcher, who develops a curiosity for his powers. With the help of Rachel and her coworker, Perry, Ash tries to piece together what happened to him.

They soon encounter another super they call the Gatekeeper, who knows Ash’s history and holds a grudge against him for it that he expects Ash to pay for. But the Gatekeeper seems to be more powerful than Ash’s own moniker: Heat. With the Gatekeeper’s apprentice, Black Magnet, terrorizing the city, Heat will have to fight his way to uncover answers about his past.

However, those answers won’t set him free.

Twist by J.S. Arquin

TO ESCAPE, A BOY MUST PLAY…

TO PLAY, A BOY MUST PAY.

BUT WILL THE PRICE BE HIS LIFE?

The only way out of Canyon City is to win the Game,

But Theo Maro always eats dust.

When he finds a strange object in the scrapyard,

He thinks his luck might be changing.

But luck can change for the better … or the worse.

Will Theo uncover the path to victory?

Or a one-way ticket to the scrapyard?

VR and reality collide in this action-packed prequel to The Crimson Dust Cycle.

If you like cyberpunk or LitRPG, you’ll love this origin story.

Because everyone loves an underdog…

And games are the universal language.

Lost Library – Kate Baray

A mysterious and magical book

What’s the point of a book that can’t be read? Lizzie hasn’t a clue, but she does know there’s magic afoot.

When a handsome stranger shows up on her doorstep asking questions and expecting her to have all the answers, she can’t decide if she wants to thump him or kiss him. And John’s revelation that he’s a Lycan doesn’t simplify matters.

Before Lizzie can catch her breath, she and John are caught up in an evil mastermind’s bid for power. Can she and John put a stop to their newfound enemy’s plans?

Take a romp through the life of the quirky and well-meaning Lizzie as she discovers magic, creatures that go bump in the night, and maybe love.

What have you been reading?

I’m always looking for new recommendations. Shoot me a message at lou@loupaduano.com and let me know what exciting world you’ve been escaping into during this madness.

Take care and happy reading.

Winter Reading List

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I’ve been slowly getting back into the reading pile. I tend to ignore other books when drafting, but I’ve been drafting for way too long this year and need me some good reading. I’ve scoured through the pile for the next four books on my To Read list.

Winter Reading List

A Means to an End – Lissa Marie Redmond

Buffalo police detective Lauren Riley risks her life to close the book for good on a killer who’s never paid for his crimes.

When cold case detective Lauren Riley returns to work months after being stabbed by a fellow police officer, it’s clear that her troubles are far from over. The body of a young woman has been found in the same woods as a murder victim from one of Lauren’s most horrifying cases. It doesn’t take long for Lauren to be back at square one confronting David Spencer, the quietly deranged man she could never prove was a killer.

Lauren convinces the police chief to put together a task force to uncover the connections between the brutal slaying of both women and the murder of two cops. But things go south quickly, forcing Lauren into a deadly game that she can’t afford to lose.

I absolutely loved The Murder Book, the second book in the trilogy, and can’t wait to see how the story closes out. 

Artemis – Andy Weir

Jasmine Bashara never signed up to be a hero. She just wanted to get rich.
 
Not crazy, eccentric-billionaire rich, like many of the visitors to her hometown of Artemis, humanity’s first and only lunar colony. Just rich enough to move out of her coffin-sized apartment and eat something better than flavored algae. Rich enough to pay off a debt she’s owed for a long time.
 
So when a chance at a huge score finally comes her way, Jazz can’t say no. Sure, it requires her to graduate from small-time smuggler to full-on criminal mastermind. And it calls for a particular combination of cunning, technical skills, and large explosions—not to mention sheer brazen swagger. But Jazz has never run into a challenge her intellect can’t handle, and she figures she’s got the ‘swagger’ part down.
 
The trouble is, engineering the perfect crime is just the start of Jazz’s problems. Because her little heist is about to land her in the middle of a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself.
 
Trapped between competing forces, pursued by a killer and the law alike, even Jazz has to admit she’s in way over her head. She’ll have to hatch a truly spectacular scheme to have a chance at staying alive and saving her city.
 
Jazz is no hero, but she is a very good criminal.
 
That’ll have to do.
 
Propelled by its heroine’s wisecracking voice, set in a city that’s at once stunningly imagined and intimately familiar, and brimming over with clever problem-solving and heist-y fun, Artemis is another irresistible brew of science, suspense, and humor from #1 bestselling author Andy Weir.

The Martian is one of my favorite books of all time, so this is a must-read.

Call to Arms – Jay Allan

War. The word spreads like wildfire.

The long-expected invasion is here. The Union force is even stronger than feared, their fleets larger and more powerful than intelligence reports had predicted. They have broken through the forward defenses, and sent the Confederation’s proud fleets into an ignominious retreat.

Captain Tyler Barron and the crew of the battleship Dauntless are lightyears from the front, waiting for their damaged battleship to be repaired. But there is no time to wait. The Confederation forces need every ship they can get, so Barron and his survivors board their vessel…and rush to the battle lines.

They encounter a shattered fleet, yielding system after system to the invaders. The Confederation is losing the war, unable to halt the irresistible enemy advance. And Dauntless finds herself trapped, cut off from the rest of the fleet, deep behind enemy lines.

Captain Tyler Barron must make a choice. Pull back, try to find a way to get around the enemy and rejoin the fleet. Or press on, strike deep behind the invaders – a reckless sortie toward the Union’s main supply base.

A suicide mission. But maybe the only way for the Confederation to survive.

Military Sci-Fi and Space Opera Sci-Fi has been on my mind quite a bit the past few months. Jay Allan is one of the best in the biz and his Blood on the Stars series is phenomenal. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Stone of Fire – J.F. Penn

A power kept secret for 2000 years. A woman who stands to lose everything.

India. When a nun is burned alive on the sacred ghats of Varanasi, and the stone she carried is stolen, an international hunt is triggered for the relics of the early church.

Forged in the fire and blood of martyrs, the Pentecost stones have been handed down through generations of Keepers who kept their power and locations secret.

Until now.

The Keepers are being murdered, the stones stolen by those who would use them for evil in a world transformed by religious fundamentalism.

Oxford University psychologist Morgan Sierra is forced into the search when her sister and niece are held hostage. She is helped by Jake Timber from the mysterious ARKANE, a British government agency specializing in paranormal and religious experience. Morgan must risk her own life to save her family, but will she ultimately be betrayed?

From ancient Christian sites in Spain, Italy and Israel to the far reaches of Iran and Tunisia, Morgan and Jake must track down the stones through the myths of the early church in a race against time before a new Pentecost is summoned, this time powered by the fires of evil.

J.F. Penn spins some incredible mysteries. I’ve already read Book 5 in the ARKANE series, so I thought it was time to start from the beginning.

Have you read these books?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these and any other incredible books you’ve read lately. Shoot me an email at lou@loupaduano.com.

What’s on your winter reading list?

Thanks for reading!

Books, Books and more Books!

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I usually have a nice reading list planned out for the summer. This year? Not so much. Too much to do, too much to finalize for the releases coming your way this fall.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t a ton of books I’m excited to dive into when I have the chance.

Book recommendations!

Lostlander by Dean F Wilson

Welcome to nowhere.

Nox, the Coilhunter, wakes up in unfamiliar territory, victim of a deranged man who claims he’s from another world, and who’s building an army of slaves to help him get back there.

The eccentric bounty hunter must face off the wild of the desert and the wild in men, all the while trying to piece together what happened from his fractured memory.

Some go to the Lostlands to find themselves, but the Coilhunter is on the hunt for the true Lostlander: the Man with the Silver Mane. Folk say those Magi are lost without their magic, but Nox has long found his own kind of mojo in his gadgets and his guns.

I can’t get enough of this series and book 4 looks like the best one yet. Check out the Coilhunter series now!

Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin

Rebus and Malcolm Fox go head-to-head when a 30-year-old murder investigation resurfaces, forcing Rebus to confront crimes of the past

Rebus is back on the force, albeit with a demotion and a chip on his shoulder. He is investigating a car accident when news arrives that a case from 30 years ago is being reopened. Rebus’s team from those days is suspected of helping a murderer escape justice to further their own ends.

Malcolm Fox, in what will be his last case as an internal affairs cop, is tasked with finding out the truth. Past and present are about to collide in shocking and murderous fashion. What does Rebus have to hide? And whose side is he really on? His colleagues back then called themselves “The Saints,” and swore a bond on something called the Shadow Bible. But times have changed and the crimes of the past may not stay hidden much longer — and may also play a role in the present, as Scotland gears up for a referendum on independence. 

Allegiances are being formed, enemies made, and huge questions asked. Who are the saints and who the sinners? And can the one ever become the other?

It’s been ten years since I read Resurrection Men and fell in love with the Inspector Rebus series. Love every installment. This is crime fiction at its absolute best!

Bang-Bang You’re Dead by Joe Janowicz

A Nice Place to Live. A Nice Place to Die.

Someone is killing old people. The quaint and quiet Sunny Side Up Retirement Home is known as the last stop on a life journey before entering the pearly white gates of Heaven – but now it has become the doorway to Hell.

On a cold and rainy night, an evil, soulless Killer roams the Retirement Home hallways, forcing intended victims to share their life story before he decides whether they live or die. Their stories unfold with many twists and turns, revealing their innermost secrets of lives filled with happiness and sadness, joy and pain.

As the number of murdered residents increases, it becomes apparent that the Killer is treating death like a game. Each killing has a beginning, middle, and end story as the killer plays “cat and mouse” with each person. Acting as both their Judge and Jury, is this some sort of a random murderous game, or a night of planned and bloody revenge? Or maybe something else? And why old people?

For the elderly people living in the Sunny Side Up Retirement Home who are part of this blood- filled nightmare there is only one ending – death.

Joe Janowicz’s debut thriller is a fantastic page-turner. This is an author to keep an eye on!

A Throne for Sisters by Morgan Rice

In A THRONE FOR SISTERS, Sophia, 17, and her younger sister Kate, 15, are desperate to leave their horrific orphanage. Orphans, unwanted and unloved, they nonetheless dream of coming of age elsewhere, of finding a better life, even if that means living on the streets of the brutal city of Ashton.

Sophia and Kate, also best friends, have each other’s backs—and yet they want different things from life. Sophia, a romantic, more elegant, dreams of entering court and finding a noble to fall in love with. Kate, a fighter, dreams of mastering the sword, of battling dragons, and becoming a warrior. They are both united, though, by their secret, paranormal power to read other’s minds, their only saving grace in a world that seems bent to destroy them.

As they each embark on a quest and adventure their own ways, they struggle to survive. Faced with choices neither can imagine, their choices may propel them to the highest power—or plunge them to the lowest depths.

Morgan Rice is an unrelenting force in fiction. An unbelievable imagination and a back catalog you have to see to believe! This book is FREE right now so check it out.

Winter 2019 Reading List

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I’ve made a vow this year to minimize my purchasing of new books until I’ve finished reading everything I already own. (HA. We’ll see how long that lasts…) It’s true, though. I’d love to buy and buy and buy but I want to make a concentrated effort to clean house, while also produce as much new material as humanely possible.

What it doesn’t take into account are library books or recommendations from friends. Those are always fair game so feel free to disrupt this silly plan of mine as often as you like.

And if you’ve read or feel like reading along with any of the following books, let me know! Drop me a line at lou@loupaduano.com to share the reading experience. I’d love to hear from you.

Winter Reading List

A Cold Day in Hell by Lissa Marie Redmond

Lauren’s job as a cold case homicide detective is her life. And life just got complicated.

Lauren Riley is an accomplished detective who has always been on the opposite side of the courtroom from slick defense attorney Frank Violanti. But now he’s begging to hire her as a private investigator to help clear his client of murder. At first Lauren refuses, wanting nothing to do with the media circus surrounding the case—until she meets the eighteen-year-old suspect.

To keep an innocent teen from life in prison, Lauren must unravel the conflicting evidence and changing stories to get at the buried facts. But the more she digs, the more she discovers that nothing is what it first appears to be. As Lauren puts her career and life in danger, doubt lurks on every corner . . . and so does her stalker.

The sequel is coming out next month so I want to jump right into this one to see where it leads. Very excited about this book.

The Fall (Mutant Rain Book 2) by L.A. Frederick

New Hampton lies in ruins.

Amidst the death and destruction, a few survivors cling to life avoiding the many pitfalls residing in the decaying city. The mutants hiding in the Bunker, led by New Hampton’s most famous vigilante Reinhardt, must devise a new plan to outlast the rampaging hordes, and more importantly Doctor Zhirkov and the infamous Watchroom gangs. 

The murderous Doctor Zhirkov sets about the next phase of his long devised plans to improve humanity, as we discover the crazed, obsessed and bloody history of the man. In a new world, plagued by infected masses hellbent of devouring all in their path, choosing whom to trust is the difference between life and death.

The Fall is the second book in The Mutant Rain series, a dark, dystopian, mystery, horror and science fiction story.

I am very curious to see what happens next with the characters introduced in L.A. Frederick’s first novel, The Rain. Lots of intrigue and a superhero element that is right up my alley.

The Escape Artist by Brad Meltzer

WHO IS NOLA BROWN?
Nola is a mystery
Nola is trouble.
And Nola is supposed to be dead.
Her body was found on a plane that mysteriously fell from the sky as it left a secret military base in the Alaskan wilderness. Her commanding officer verifies she’s dead. The US government confirms it. But Jim “Zig” Zigarowski has just found out the truth: Nola is still alive. And on the run.
Zig works at Dover Air Force Base, helping put to rest the bodies of those who die on top-secret missions. Nola was a childhood friend of Zig’s daughter and someone who once saved his daughter’s life. So when Zig realizes Nola is still alive, he’s determined to find her. Yet as Zig digs into Nola’s past, he learns that trouble follows Nola everywhere she goes.
Nola is the U.S. Army’s artist-in-residence-a painter and trained soldier who rushes into battle, making art from war’s aftermath and sharing observations about today’s wars that would otherwise go overlooked. On her last mission, Nola saw something nobody was supposed to see, earning her an enemy unlike any other, one who will do whatever it takes to keep Nola quiet.
Together, Nola and Zig will either reveal a sleight of hand being played at the highest levels of power or die trying to uncover the US Army’s most mysterious secret-a centuries-old conspiracy that traces back through history to the greatest escape artist of all: Harry Houdini.
Brad Meltzer is one of those authors I will read no matter what they write. He’s just released a new non-fiction book – way out of my wheelhouse – and it is on my to read pile. His stories are fun and always contain some unique look at American history. Can’t wait to dive in.

A short list this time around…

Can’t be avoided, unfortunately. I’m putting every ounce of energy, every spare hour I can muster into churning out some incredible stories for you to devour later this year. When the dust settles, and hopefully it will in a few months, it’s going to be so nice to sit back and enjoy some more books.

Let me know what you’ve been reading! I’d love to hear what’s been exciting you in the world of fiction.

Take care and thanks for reading.

Remembering Steve Ditko

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Steve Ditko passed away recently.

I typically don’t do this type of thing. I always worry about saying the wrong thing, about pointing out some fact and not the right fact but this is one of the times that can’t be ignored.  There are creators we idolize, inspirations that we carry with us in our every endeavor.

For me, Steve Ditko is the man who created Spider-Man, and more importantly, the man who created Peter Parker.

Steve Who?

This is why I felt it was important to write this. For all his great contributions, and they are truly innumerable, Steve Ditko has never enjoyed the prominence or the spotlight of other creators. That was his choice and I respect him for that decision. He was simply a comic creator and wanted to remain that – did remain that – until the day he died.

I look at those contributions and feel awed to have discovered his work at a young age. My all-time favorite issue of Amazing Spider-Man is a Steve Ditko drawn epic. Amazing Spider-Man #5 with Doctor Doom as the villain. It was also my first issue of the webslinger. There was something eerie about the way Ditko drew the book.

Spider-Man wasn’t Superman. He wasn’t this powerhouse. He was a geeky little teenager and Ditko is one of the few people to make that clear. If you’re looking for contemporary comparisons look no further than Marcos Martin and Ron Frenz, though without Ditko’s influence their styles in drawing the webhead wouldn’t even exist.

Peter Parker was an ordinary guy with ordinary problems. The soap opera of the book wasn’t as prominent but the problems were persistent. They were normal challenges about an aunt with a heart condition and a kid with no money. Ditko accentuated the normal in the book, while also creating this bizarre, creepy world surrounding Pete, as well as a rogues gallery that has never been beaten.

Every Spider-Man film has starred a Steve Ditko creation. The Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, the Lizard, Electro and the Vulture. In 38 issues, 2 annuals and one origin story, Ditko built up a legacy that will transcend time.

And Spider-Man was a drop in the bucket of his creativity.

Spider-Man would be enough for one man to hang his hat on. Ditko went further. He created Doctor Strange, Speedball and Squirrel Girl for Marvel (among others) and dozens of characters for DC and Charlton, including the Blue Beetle, The Question, Hawk and Dove and more.

He never rested, never stopped creating. Never stopped building new worlds for readers to get lost in. There is no better testament to a creator than that. He may never have wanted the glory that others sought for their great work, but he always had the admiration of his peers and served as inspiration for generations to come.

If not for Steve Ditko and his work I might not be the same person I am today. I might not know about power or responsibility to the extent that I have learned by following this great man’s work and those that came after him.

He will be missed.

Check out these great Steve Ditko works:

      

   

These barely scratch the surface of the man’s talent. From horror to science-fiction, everything the man touched was a testament to a brilliant and creative mind.

Spring Reading List

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A new season, a new list of reading material. I truly enjoyed the selections of the winter list so here’s hoping for more fantastic reads as the weather finally turns a little brighter.

The Amulet Thief – Luanne Bennett

Alex Kelley vanished twenty-one years ago––the night her mother was murdered. When she comes home to New York City, she wants just two things: a little peace, and answers about the unsolved murder and why she was abandoned in the middle of America at the age of eight.

Greer Sinclair, an enigmatic stranger who knows a little bit more than he should, just might give her both––and more if she’ll let him.

What is she?

What is he?

Who is this beguiling satyr who keeps coming between them?

She attracts the otherworldly like moths to a flame. And why does every stranger on the streets of Manhattan want a piece of her and that pendant hanging around her pretty little neck?

Maybe the answers are in a peculiar shop in the heart of Greenwich Village where ghosts, memories, and secrets are bursting from the walls and the books and the one person who knows her best.

The line between the mundane and supernatural worlds is starting to blur. Which side will she choose? Which would you?

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

After getting expelled from yet another school for yet another clash with mythological monsters only he can see, twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is taken to Camp Half-Blood, where he finally learns the truth about his unique abilities: He is a demigod, half human, half immortal. Even more stunning: His father is the Greek god Poseidon, ruler of the sea, making Percy one of the most powerful demigods alive. There’s little time to process this news. All too soon, a cryptic prophecy from the Oracle sends Percy on his first quest, a mission to the Underworld to prevent a war among the gods of Olympus.

This first installment of Rick Riordan’s best-selling series is a non-stop thrill-ride and a classic of mythic proportions.

Seer of Souls by Susan Faw

The time for hiding is finished. The dead are restless. Fate and destiny collide.

Twins Cayden and Avery Tiernan have grown up in isolation on the fringe of the realm. Gifted with forbidden skills, they hide their growing magical powers. Ancient prophecies speak of the ones with the power to depose the queen.

To protect her throne, Queen Alcina scours the land for evidence of magic, while the darker force she serves threatens the land with chaos. She is not the only huntress however. Primordial seekers discover the twins first but before they can escape, the death of a queen’s guard puts the entire village in jeopardy. To save their town, the twins flee, only to be dragged toward an unknown destiny.

Guided by her gift, Avery senses lies and treachery where others see only truth. Dare she trust her instincts? For Cayden, an irresistible voice whispers to him. Does it belong to the souls of the dead and are they calling him home?

The Einstein Prophecy by Robert Masello

As war rages in 1944, young army lieutenant Lucas Athan recovers a sarcophagus excavated from an Egyptian tomb. Shipped to Princeton University for study, the box contains mysteries that only Lucas, aided by brilliant archaeologist Simone Rashid, can unlock.

These mysteries may, in fact, defy—or fulfill—the dire prophecies of Albert Einstein himself.

Struggling to decipher the sarcophagus’s strange contents, Lucas and Simone unwittingly release forces for both good and unmitigated evil. The fate of the world hangs not only on Professor Einstein’s secret research but also on Lucas’s ability to defeat an unholy adversary more powerful than anything he ever imagined.

From the mind of bestselling author and award-winning journalist Robert Masello comes a thrilling, page-turning adventure where modern science and primordial supernatural powers collide.

Care to join me?

I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on the books above. Email me at lou@loupaduano.com.

I was hoping to add a couple more this time around (I have so much to READ!) but it looks like writing is going to win out as usual.

Happy reading!

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