Short Story Reviews – Baskerville Book Reviews

Review: Chronicles of Maradoum Volume 6

Dwarves and mutants.

Orcs and demonesses.

Tea trolls and tigers.

Bone-bound ghosts and lightning wolves.

Dip your toes into the exotic waters of Maradoum, exploring the realm through 11 stand-alone short stories set in the same world as the Convent Series, beginning with A Dead Wizard’s Dream.

From the brutality of dust-blown Ogbun Nagali and the barbarism of high society in Zamphia to the rotten heart of civilized Justiqua and the treacheries secreted beneath the soothing tropics of Ishambria, this high fantasy anthology is stuffed to the gills with witches and wizards, gods and monsters, tales of love beyond death and familial vengeance, coming of age and reunification, and questing warriors and even noble foes.

Featured in Chronicles of Maradoum, Volume 6:

A Worthy Foe
Dwarves and Mutants
The Floating Village
The Ghost of Clandillion Tower
How to Bribe a Magician
The Guru of Bebuniyaad
Drusilla the Demoness
The Fiddler and the Fossegrim
Tea Troll Madness
The Tigers of Talipalau
Wrath of the Cloud Emperor

Review: The Ballad of Alchemy and Steel

In the Murkor culture, it is customary for the individuals bound during the unity ceremony of ujar’havel to compose a book of memories detailing the events that led to their first meeting and subsequent desire to be joined.

As a Murkor without a mother to guide him, Sal’zar is afforded unusual freedoms in his path to ujar’havel and the selection of a caste. In their strongly matriarchal society, his father’s voice holds little weight. He must forge his own destiny, though he struggles to find the proper way.

Sal’zar knows he is unsuited to the soldier’s caste, but is running out of options. One fateful day, he journeys to the sparring ring to test his mettle, where he meets Jal’den. Jal’den is the same age, but has already proven himself a better fighter than most of the older children. Noting Sal’zar is without a sparring partner, Jal’den offers to pair with him, and so begins a long friendship that may ultimately become something more.

Note: This story features LGBTQ+ themes. If it’s not your thing, that’s ok – I don’t expect everyone to read it. I wrote this story for my brother.

Review: Memories of Tomorrow

What strange science made Nameless who he is? What catastrophes have been erased from his memories? In the stunning conclusion of this series, the dark past comes flooding back, and Nameless must decide how much he really wants to know.

In Indiana, a murderous psycho has kidnapped his own 6-year-old stepson, Jamie, and secreted him away in a subterranean cave. It’s become their bunker. For Nameless, the case is breaking down his defenses, and it may force him to face his memories.

From number one New York Times best-selling author Dean Koontz comes Memories of Tomorrow, part of Nameless, a riveting collection of short stories about a vigilante nomad, stripped of his memories and commissioned to kill. Follow him in each story, which can be read or listened to in a single sitting.

Review: The Mercy of Snakes

A series of suspicious deaths in a retirement home draws Nameless into the confidence of a terrified former resident – and into the dark heart of a shocking conspiracy. In part five of the Nameless series, it’s time to hunt.

Oakshore Park is Michigan’s most exclusive assisted-living community. Presided over by two killer angels of mercy, it’s also THE go-to facility in assisted dying. For a cut, they make impatient heirs happy. Nameless must concoct a scheme just as cunning. But righteous retribution stirs disquiet in the avenger as light starts to shine on the black hole of his past. Should he welcome it or keep running?

From number one New York Times best-selling author Dean Koontz comes The Mercy of Snakes, part of Nameless, a riveting collection of short stories about a vigilante nomad, stripped of his memories and commissioned to kill. Follow him in each story, which can be listened to in a single sitting.

Review: Goodnight Smartphone

Sleep is central to every part of our lives, and a good night’s sleep begins by putting aside the day’s worries. But in today’s technology-saturated world, saying goodnight to the day is harder than ever. Allow author Arianna Huffington (Thrive, The Sleep Revolution) to guide you to a peaceful night’s slumber as she performs Goodnight Smartphone: a classic tale reborn for the modern age, when the hardest thing to say goodnight to is not the moon but our phones, our email, our social media, our always-on digital selves.

During a visit to Audible to speak about the benefits of sleep, Arianna joked about what a wonderful book Goodnight Moon is and how other childhood classics help transition kids from daytime to sleep time. She posited why there weren’t such books for adults. “Goodnight cares of the day, goodnight worries about tomorrow, goodnight laptop!” she exclaimed. Soon after, Goodnight Smartphone was born. Listen as Arianna borrows from the traditions of children’s bedtime stories to create this modern age adaptation for adults, and learn more about her daily sleep regimen in her introduction. Exclusively written for Audible, available only in audio.

Inspired by children’s bedtime classics, this audiobook is a playful and relaxing guide to help you transition from the worries of a stressful day to a good night’s sleep, and you can hear it only on Audible.

Review: Red Rain

In a town where the corrupt are protected, a bereaved mother seeks retribution for an arsonist’s deadly crimes. Only Nameless can help ease the burden of her grief – and satisfy her rage – in part four of this thrilling series.

After a suspicious house fire, Regina Belmont lost her two children, was left disfigured, and was abandoned by her gutless husband. Brokenhearted and bullied into silence by corrupt officials, Regina’s only recourse for truth and justice is Nameless. There’s something about this case that’s breaking Nameless’s heart as well. But can he bear to remember why?

From number one New York Times best-selling author Dean Koontz comes Red Rain, part of Nameless, a riveting collection of short stories about a vigilante nomad, stripped of his memories and commissioned to kill. Follow him in each story, which can be listened to in a single sitting.

Review: The Praying Mantis Bride

A deadly black widow has eliminated three husbands and counting. But Nameless knows her one weakness. To bring truth and its consequences to her crimes, the vigilante must spin a web of his own in part three of the Nameless series.

Lucia – current last name, Rickenbah – has made a fortune by marrying rich men who tend to drop dead. But the superstitious blonde believes in more than money and murder. Nameless’s job is to scare a confession out of Lucia, and as the psychological warfare escalates, even he may be in for a shock.

From number one New York Times best-selling author Dean Koontz comes The Praying Mantis Bride, part three of Nameless, a riveting collection of short stories about a vigilante nomad, stripped of his memories and commissioned to kill. Follow him in each story, which can be listened to in a single sitting.

Review: The Roommate

This audio novella is a stand-alone prequel to the Cormac Reilly series.

Twenty-two-year-old Niamh Turley thought she had problems dealing with the obnoxious principal of the school she’s teaching in as well as the anxious parents of her little charges, but when she wakes one morning to a missing roommate and a garda knocking on her door, her life spirals out of control fast…

Review: Even Tree Nymphs Get the Blues

A hilarious new standalone novella brimming with otherworldly charm from the reigning queen of paranormal romantic comedy Molly Harper!

Ingrid Asher is the newest resident of Mystic Bayou, a tiny town hidden in the swamp where shapeshifters, vampires, witches and dragons live alongside humans.

Ingrid doesn’t ask for much. The solitary tree nymph just wants to live a quiet life running her ice-cream shop in peace. Unfortunately, she can’t seem to shake her new neighbor, Rob Aspern, head of the League’s data science department and so good looking it just isn’t fair.

If there’s one thing Ingrid doesn’t need, it’s someone poking around in her business. But the more she gets to know the hunky mathematician, the more she finds herself letting her guard down. Can she trust him with her secrets, or will her past destroy everything?

Review: Photographing the Dead

A self-styled artist is getting away with murder in Death Valley. If all goes well, so will Nameless. In part two of the Nameless series, the relentless avenger is haunted by nightmares of the past and visions of what’s to come.

Palmer Oxenwald’s hunting ground is the Mojave wasteland. His victims are random tourists and hikers. His trophies are cherished photographs of the damage he’s done. His greatest threat is Nameless. Two men with one thing in common: memories of the dead. For a psychopath like Palmer, they’re a clear rush in black and white. For Nameless, they’re visions of violence buried and erased. But for how long?

From number one New York Times best-selling author Dean Koontz comes Photographing the Dead, part of Nameless, a riveting collection of short stories about a vigilante nomad, stripped of his memories and commissioned to kill. Follow him in each story, which can be listened to in a single sitting.