Queen of Shadows by Dianne Sylvan

Eight people attended this discussion at the Milwood Branch Library. Our topic was Queen of Shadows, the first novel by Austin writer Dianne Sylvan. The story is about an Austin musician named Miranda who gets involved with the world of vampires. None of us had read the author before. Five of us started the book, and all five finished it.

Everyone at the meeting commented said that they were not in general fans of the paranormal romance/urban fantasy genre to which this book clearly belongs. Despite that, we found the author’s storytelling kept us interested all the way to

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Bug Jack Barron by Norman Spinrad

Nine people attended this meeting at the Milwood Library. Our topic was Bug Jack Barron, a classic sf novel published in 1970 by Norman Spinrad. Spinrad will be Guest of Honor at the forthcoming 2013 WorldCon in San Antonio.The book is about the powerful host of a national television show who comes across a big story involving cryogenics and immortality. Five people at the meeting had read Spinrad previously. Seven of us started the book, and four finished it.

One member expressed difficulty getting through the first chapter. She commented it was “just about the purplest prose you can write” and said the author’s prose style was a mix of bad beat poetry and lots of double-reflexive

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