Dr. Shaun Duke, Professional Nerd

Editor. Writer. Professor. Host.

Book Review: All Those Vanished Engines (2014) by Paul Park

“It occurs to me that every memoirist and every historian should begin by reminding their readers that the mere act of writing something down, of organizing something in a line of words, involves a clear betrayal of the truth.” — All Those Vanished Engines by Paul Park (Pg. 173) Of the novels I’ve reviewed in […]

Book Review: RedDevil 4 by Eric C. Leuthardt

I didn’t come to this novel with many expectations.  The cover description didn’t exactly entice me, but I figured I could give it a shot to surprise me.  And surprise me it did.  This is by far my least favorite read of 2014 thus far, though the Hugo Award packet may offer a few surprises […]

Book Review: Reflected by Rhiannon Held

I’ve read and reviewed all of Rhiannon Held’s books, which means she’s going to have to hurry up and write more stuff so I can read it.  I’ve been a fan of Held’s work since Silver (2012), which was introduced to me for an interview on The Skiffy and Fanty Show, and have reviewed both Silver and […]

Book Review: Boys of Blur by N.D. Wilson

Admittedly, I don’t get a lot of opportunities to review literature for kids.  The occasional YA novel?  Sure.  Most of what I read for review, however, falls firmly within the “not marketed to kids” category (since “adult” means something else here).  This review may expose some of my weaknesses when it comes to this particular […]

Book Review: Zero Sum Game by SL Huang

SL Huang has a Twitter account. One day, SL Huang talked about her new book, Zero Sum Game. I said, “Hey, why don’t I have that in my pile of books to read for review,” and she said, “Well, fine, I’ll put it in your inbox you complaining whiny person.” Thus began a glorious literary […]