I've been an avid reader of fantasy and sci-fi books since I can remember - reading C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and the book that really dragged me into it all - Terry Brooks's Elfstones of Shannara, which I read when I was 14. I still read a lot, and I've taken to posting reviews of the books here. Enjoy.

Forensic Files of Batman, by Doug Moench

Forensic Files of Batman

This book, being a gift, was a very different read for me. The closest thing to it I've read was Joker's Wild, which of course was a very good book. However, with any collection of short stories there is bound to be a difference in quality from story to story.

There were only three stories in The Forensic Files of Batman that I found to be worth reading. These were the stories involving "The Scarecrow", "Two Face", and the final story in the book with a mundanely named (albeit not mundane) serial killer. These three were indeed well crafted tales of forensic research and the capture of criminals, and if the luck and skill of The Batman sometimes stretched believability, you must only keep in mind that superheroes are not created to be entirely realistic.

My chief complaint about the book was its intense focus on forensics. Many of the "stories" were in fact not stories, but accounts of forensic methods, penned by Bruce Wayne. In many of these he does not discuss any particular case, but merely discusses how one might go about determining how long a body has been dead by examining maggots in the body, or how evidence is collected from the scene of a crime. These were less than interesting to me, but that is probably simply my own taste rather than the fault of the author. I prefer fiction.

Altered Carbon, by Richard Morgan
Amber Spyglass, The, by Philip Pullman
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
Anguished Dawn, The, by James P. Hogan
Batman: No Man's Land, by Greg Rucka
Battle Circle, by Piers Anthony
Battlefield Earth, by L. Ron Hubbard
Beasts of Barakai, The, by Mickey Zucker Reichert
Black Monday, by Scott Reiss
Broken Angels, by Richard K. Morgan
Catch Me If You Can, by Frank Abagnale
Caught in Crystal, by Patricia C. Wrede
Cell, by Stephen King
Clash of Kings, by George R. R. Martin
Contact, by Carl Sagan
Cradle of Saturn, by James P. Hogan
Daughter of the Sun, by Lonnie Ezell
Deception Point, by Dan Brown
Decipher, by Stel Pavlou
Digital Fortress, by Dan Brown
Dragon and the George, The, by Gordon Dickson
Dune, by Frank Herbert
Eldest, by Christopher Paolini
Eragon, by Christopher Paolini
Eye of the World, The, by Robert Jordan
Feast For Crows, by George R.R. Martin
Fight Club, by Chunk Palahntuk.
Flightless Falcon, by Mickey Zucker Reichert
Fool Moon, by Jim Butcher
Footfall, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Forensic Files of Batman, by Doug Moench
Frankenstein, Book One: Prodigal Son, by Dean Koontz
Frankenstein, Book Two: City of Night, by Dean Koontz
Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin
Godslayer, by Mickey Zucker Reichert
Golden Compass, The, by Philip Pullman
Grave Peril, by Jim Butcher
Great Train Robbery, by Michael Crichton
High Druid of Shannara Series, by Terry Brooks
I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
In God We Trust, by Jean Shepherd
Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton
Kingdom Come, by Elliot S. Maggin, Mark Waid, Alex Ross
Last of the Renshai, by Mickey Zucker Reichert
Legend of Nightfall, The, by Mickey Zucker Reichert
Legend That Was Earth, The, by James P. Hogan
Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow
Master of the Five Magics, by Lyndon Hardy
Next, by Michael Crichton
Nor Crystal Tears, by Alan Dean Foster
Phylogenesis, by Alan Dean Foster
Prey, by Michael Crichton
Runelords, by David Farland
Seventh Son, by Orson Scott Card
Sleeping Dragon, The, by Joel Rosenberg
Stand, The, by Stephen King
Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
State of Fear, by Michael Crichton
Storm Front, by Jim Butcher
Storm of Swords, by George R.R. Martin
Subtle Knife, The, by Philip Pullman
Summer Knight, by Jim Butcher
Sword of Shannara, by Terry Brooks
Swords Against Deviltry, by Fritz Leiber
The Flash: Stop Motion, by Mark Schultz
The Invaders Plan, by L. Ron Hubbard
The Postman, by David Brin
Time Travelers Wife, The, by Audrey Niffenegger
Timescape, by Gregory Benford
Twilight Eyes, by Dean Koontz
Two Faces of Tomorrow, The, by James Hogan
Wild Cards, by George R.R. Martin
Wizard's First Rule, by Terry Goodkind
Woken Furies, by Richard K. Morgan
World War Z, by Max Brooks