The Latest

SCIENCE FICTION

MYSTERIES & THRILLERS

A tense medical thriller from a master of the craft

A tense medical thriller from a master of the craft

If you're fond of reading medical thrillers, you've probably come across the names of the leading practitioners of the craft. Tess Gerritsen, for example, author of The Surgeon. Michael Crichton (The Andromeda Strain). Patricia Cornwell, author of the Kay...

read more

NONFICTION

Popular Fiction

A brilliant novel of love, hope, and the Rwanda genocide

A brilliant novel of love, hope, and the Rwanda genocide

Today, Rwanda is one of the brightest lights in Africa. The economy is booming. Corruption is rare. Government delivers services. The streets of Kigali, the capital, are clean. It's even easy to open a business. Thirty years ago the country was in chaos, as this award-winning...

read more

Explore My “BEST OF the category” selections

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK?

When people ask me that question, I never know what to say. In a lifetime of reading, I’ve read many thousands of books. And I’ve reviewed well over 2,000 of them on this site. Picking just one as a “favorite,” or even a handful of them, makes no sense to me.

The problem is, I read for many different reasons. Perhaps you do, too. And I read many different sorts of books. Mysteries and thrillers. Popular fiction, especially historical fiction. Science fiction.

And nonfiction, history in particular. You’ll find hundreds of reviews in every one of those categories on this site.

Look to the right for a rotating random selection culled from throughout this site.

Happy reading!

 

If Tomorrow Comes is the highly anticipated science fiction sequel to Tomorrow's Kin.

In this highly anticipated science fiction sequel, surprises are the order of the day

Ten years have passed since the events in Tomorrow's Kin, the first book in Nancy Kress's trilogy about the arrival on Earth of the "Denebs." Now, at the outset of the highly anticipated science fiction sequel, If Tomorrow Comes, the United States has finally launched a starship to the Denebs's...
Brain Wave

How would you behave if your IQ suddenly doubled?

Just as history books often tell us more about historians than they do about history, genre fiction can reveal a great deal about its authors and the times during which they write. History books fall into disfavor as new information comes to light, making way for new interpretations of the facts....
All Systems Red reminds us that technology doesn't always work well.

A reminder that technology doesn’t always work well in the future, either

Technology rules our lives. We depend on the lights to go on, our phones to work, and airplanes not to fall out of the sky. Nowadays, we assume that technology will just go on getting better and better. Perfection is within reach, right? Well, of course not. Stuff happens. And Martha Wells'...
Cover image of "The Shape of Water," a novel by Andrea Camilleri

Andrea Camilleri writes about murder in Sicily. What else is new?

There's little of that celebrated Italian charm in The Shape of Water, the first novel by Andrea Camilleri in his widely-read series of crime stories featuring Inspector Salvo Montalbano. The book is set in the town of Vigata in Sicily, where corruption reigns supreme and murder is nothing out of...
latest detective story: Breakdown by Sara Paretsky

The latest detective story from Sara Paretsky hits home

A review of Breakdown, by Sara Paretsky. @@@@ (4 out of 5). This is no straightforward whodunit where any reasonably intelligent reader is likely to know whodunit midway through the book. Paretsky kept me guessing until the end. Breakdown is a very satisfying read.

Operation Chastise was different from the strategic bombing of German cities.

Bomber Command’s most successful attack on Nazi Germany was not on its cities

Operation Chastise highlights a mission executed by Bomber Command that was not consistent with the strategic bombing program. In fact, Air Marshall Harris fought its adoption at every stage with fierce resolution.

The Irregulars

The dashing British spies in wartime Washington

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes Soon after Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of Great Britain in May 1940, he turned to a Canadian industrialist named William Stephenson for help. Stephenson's charge was to weigh in on his biggest challenge in prosecuting the war against Germany:...
Cover image of "Underground Airlines,"

What if the American Civil War never happened?

Early in 1861, a pro-slavery fanatic assassinates President-Elect Abraham Lincoln on a visit to Indianapolis. This event sets the scene for Ben H. Winters' tension-filled alternate history thriller, Underground Airlines. Lacking Lincoln's leadership, the American government stumbles into an uneasy...
Cover image of "The Black Book," a mystery involving an Elvis-themed restaurant

An Elvis-themed restaurant, a five-year-old murder, and Inspector Rebus

Read any one of the 21 novels published to date in the Inspector Rebus series, and you will have no doubt that Ian Rankin, is a native Scotsman, and proud of it. You'll rush to the dictionary from time to time to look up strange words known only to the inhabitants of that cold and rainy land. And...
Network Effect

A huge disappointment in the Murderbot series

Network Effect is the fifth of what are now six novels in the Murderbot Diaries, one of the most celebrated series in all of science fiction. Like All Systems Red, the novella that inaugurated the series, Network Effect won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. It's one of only 26 novels to date that...

My Most Popular Reviews

Weekly Reviews Delivered to You!

Mal Warwick - Book Reviews

Weekly book reviews to match your taste!

Love mysteries and thrillers? Historical fiction fan? Prefer to read nonfiction? Or, like me, you just love reading? Take your pick of my three weekly newsletters. Just click the Yes! button, and you’re on your way.

Here you can take your pick of the three newsletters I publish each week. They’re all free of ads, and I never share subscribers’ email addresses with anyone. Just make your newsletter selections below.

Feel free to subscribe to any or all of these newsletters. Remember, they’re ad-free, and I won’t share your contact information with anyone.

Enjoy reading!

Mal Warwick

The latest mystery
& thriller book
reviews every Tuesday.

…includes my latest mystery and thriller book reviews, with links to other content in the genre.

The latest nonfiction book reviews every Wednesday.

…includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.

My latest
book reviews,
every Thursday.

…includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.

The Latest Book Reviews of the Week

...includes summaries and links to all of the week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in the other newsletters.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Latest Mystery & Thriller Book
Reviews Every Week

Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review,
with links to other science fiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Latest Nonfiction Book
Reviews Every Week

Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review,
with links to other nonfiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Latest Book Reviews of the Week

The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Tuesday's Newsletter

Tuesday's Newsletter

Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Wednesday's Newsletter

Wednesday's Newsletter

Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Weekly Newsletter

Thursday's Newsletter

The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.

You have Successfully Subscribed!