Dear writers: Please be aware of ongoing scams by agent impersonators. Use extra caution with any unsolicited offers from agents. Reputable agents will not ask for upfront fees of any kind. For more information, look at sites such as Writer Beware (https://writerbeware.blog/). Please always check email addresses/spellings. All official emails from Donald Maass Literary Agency will come from an address that ends in @maassagency.com (2 A's, 2 S's in MAASS).

Review: Neogenesis by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

Feb 142018
 

Cover of Neogenesis by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.Publishers Weekly: This enjoyable latest installment of the long-running Liaden space adventure saga, featuring the ever-resourceful Clan Korval and their eclectic allies, picks up on the simultaneous and parallel story lines of ALLIANCE OF EQUALS (2016) and THE GATHERING EDGE (2017)…

As always, this intelligent space opera focuses on matters of manners, honor, duty, and clever repartee; violence is rarely the solution, and subtlety wins out over overt force. For returning fans, it provides thoroughly satisfying progression or resolution for multiple threads and will feel comfortably familiar for fans of Korval’s escapades.

Starred Review: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Feb 082018
 

Cover of Dread Nation by Justina Ireland.Kirkus: Ireland takes the [zombie] genre up a notch with her deft exploration of racial oppression in this alternative Reconstruction-Era America.

With a shrewd, scythe-wielding protagonist of color, Dread Nation is an exciting must-read.

Review: Lake Silence by Anne Bishop

Feb 022018
 

Cover of Lake Silence by Anne Bishop.Publishers Weekly: The sixth installment of Bishop’s paranormal series (after 2017’s Etched in Bone), set in an alternate upstate New York, constitutes a fresh take on a series concept…It is a standalone thriller, set near a village called Sproing in the Finger Lakes.

New to the cast is narrator Vicki DeVine, who, unlike past protagonists, is an ordinary human woman. Recently divorced from an abusive wheeler-dealer, she has come to Lake Silence to renovate the property that constituted her settlement. The Jumble is exactly that: a dilapidated sprawl of buildings, abandoned by humans but not by the world’s supernatural predators, the Others. Vicki plans to reopen it as a modest resort until a body is discovered on her land.

Abruptly, this unassuming, hesitant woman must cope with a police investigation as well as a conspiracy by developers to seize the Jumble. Many core elements of prior plots are intact, notably the Others’ inevitable dominance…but the pleasures of these books have always lain in worldbuilding and character growth. Centering these on a woman liberating herself (personally and professionally) from abuse makes this episode unexpectedly timely.

Starred Review: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Feb 012018
 

Cover of Dread Nation by Justina Ireland.School Library Journal: Slavery comes to a halt when the dead on Civil War battlefields begin to rise and eat their compatriots. The north and south put aside their philosophical differences and join forces against the undead. They are aided in their efforts by the passage of the Native and Negro Reeducation Act which forces African American boys and girls into combat schools. Graduates from these schools are a buffer between the living and the undead.

Jane McKeen is a biracial girl sent to Ms. Preston’s school of combat…about to graduate when her friend, Red Jack, asks for help locating his sister Lily. Jane’s attempts to discover Lily’s whereabouts land her in a survivalist colony. Survivalists advocate a disordered view of natural selection that places Jane firmly under the thumb of a vicious sheriff and his psychopathic family. She must make some unlikely alliances of her own if she is to survive long enough to find her own path to freedom.

This is a fictional exploration of the chattel slavery and American Indian boarding school systems. Ireland skillfully works in the different forms of enslavement, mental and physical, into a complex and engaging story.

A perfect blend of horrors real and imagined, perfect for public and school libraries and fans of The Walking Dead.

Starred Review: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Jan 302018
 

Cover of Dread Nation by Justina Ireland.Publishers Weekly: First in a duology, Ireland’s gripping novel is teeming with monsters—most of them human. Abundant action, thoughtful worldbuilding, and a brave, smart, and skillfully drawn cast…Ireland illustrates the ignorance and immorality of racial discrimination and examines the relationship between equality and freedom.

Mounting peril creates a pulse-pounding pace, hurtling readers toward a nail-biting conclusion that inspires and will leave them apprehensive about what’s to come.

Review: I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest

Jan 182018
 

Cover of I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest.B&N Teen Blog: On a scale of red Chucks to katanas this badass book is a ninja princess.

The story’s plot line is just as jam packed and exciting as Seattle, the Starbucks-powered city in which the book is set. From reading comic books on the playground to scouring the city for clues in order to locate her dead best friend, Libby lives a life as action-filled as Princess X herself. The gorgeous illustrations made me feel like a little kid again reading comics in a couch fort.

I would recommend this book to adventure-seeking princesses, ninja-obsessed coffee drinkers, and murder mystery lovers.

Review: Creatures of Will and Temper by Molly Tanzer

Jan 172018
 
Cover of Creatures of Will and Temper by Molly Tanzer.Tor.com: The characters are strong and compelling. The atmosphere breathes life. It has a generosity of spirit, beneath the dark bits. And the presence of queer women is delightful.

Review: Look For Her by Emily Winslow

Jan 112018
 

Cover photo of Look For Her by Emily Winslow.Library Journal: What seems at the outset to be a textbook psychological thriller is anything but. The twists and turns make Winslow’s fourth Keene and Frohmann’s mystery (after The Red House) a compelling read.

Verdict: Former games creator Winslow has turned her talents to a very entertaining and readable thriller that can hold its own with the best of the current crop.

Starred Review: The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson

Jan 092018
 

Cover of The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson.School Library Journal: Hutchinson artfully blends the realistic and the surreal (and a bit of the biblical) for an utterly absorbing take on the Rapture.

Beneath the snarky, self-deprecating prose lie thought-provoking questions about morality, the universe, and free will.

The author presents an entirely original take on apocalyptic fiction—no mean feat. Hand this stirring tale to fans of Aaron Starmer’s Spontaneous and those who enjoy A.S. King’s work.

Review: The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden

Jan 052018
 

Cover of The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden.LA Times: Nicky Drayden’s debut novel takes place in a future South Africa where robots have made life easier. The problem is the robots are starting to gain sentience, and it’s only a matter of time before they rebel.

This book has a lot going on; it’s told from multiple individual points of view, seemingly disparate stories that come together as the book progresses… Drayden takes her story in unexpected directions, with unrepentant action and a surprising amount of depth. This book certainly isn’t for everyone; it’s definitely strange and unexpected, with plot twists and turns along the way. If weird is something you enjoy in a read, then you’ll likely appreciate “The Prey of Gods,” one of the most inventive debut novels of 2017.

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