July 2024 Review Issue
Fantasy & Sci Fi
Literature
Mystery & Thrillers
The First Son
Bill Harvey
The
Human Effectiveness Institute
978-0918538093
$19.99 Paperback/$8.99 eBook
https://www.edelweiss.plus/?sku=0918538092&g=4400
Fans of
alternate
history sci-fi heavy on scientific and metaphysical elements will find The First Son an excellent study in
contrasts. It posits a revised 3100-year world history as seen from the
eyes of
four lovers caught up in its unfolding: Templegard and his love
Nastassia;
Layla and her former teacher Melchizedek; and their mentor Maitreya,
who is not
only one of the earliest avatars, but holds great powers and even
bigger secrets.
As Agents of
Cosmic
Intelligence, these individuals hold the power to either foster in a
new Age or
oversee its destruction by malevolent forces. Charged with adopting an
indigenous race and protecting it, these Agents also find their own
influences
and incarnations at risk as they embark on a time-hopping effort to
thwart
destruction.
It’s not
long before
readers realize that Bill Harvey has created, in The
First Son, a dialogue and (perhaps controversial) a
revisionist
history about Judeo-Christian events, beliefs, and spirituality.
When viewed
in a
different manner that arrives with the embrace of sci-fi elements of
surprise
and interaction, The First Son
proves
a fitting vehicle for revelation and discovery. Readers will absorb new
concepts about ancient lives in a plot delivered with excellent
characterization and a “you are here” overlay:
Yeshua was a very affectionate baby and normal in
most respects. While
fully awake even in his dreams and remembering everything from before
and since
his conception clearly, he was adhering to the strict interpretation of
the
Lost Lambs region of the multiverse. He would not divulge the greatest
of all
secrets, the unity, the true Oneness, nor would he perform conspicuous
miracles
except whenever his compassion couldn’t avoid it. He would not speak
the voice
of an adult while in a baby’s body. He was playing it by the highest
Book. His
parents and his close relatives adored him and showered him with love.
He listened
to every human conversation, and those of the animals he knew, and
heard the
traffic on the cosmic intercom. Although he could not see out of
everyone’s
eyes at once as his Father did, they were very close in reasoning
powers and
compassion, and in constant touch. In a sense he was the Superspy of
all
history—or if not spy, undercover Agent.
While its
premise may
prove controversial to readers with set belief systems and a strong
tendency to
identify as sacrilegious anything that provokes deeper-level thinking, The First Son will be readily embraced
by those willing to examine not just alternate history, but a revised
sense of
spiritual connection.
Set in a
sci-fi
universe that injects satisfying revelations on human nature and
metaphysical influence,
The First Son will find its place on
library bookshelves and the reading lists of anyone interested in a
powerful
synthesis of sci-fi action and adventure, and spiritual and
philosophical
reflection.
Return to Index
Phoenix Saga: Peace on Earth Protocol
amalL era JesuƨɘႱ hO
Atmosphere Press
979-8891322646
$18.99 Paperback/$27.99 Hardcover/$9.99 eBook
www.atmospherepress.com
Phoenix
Saga:
Peace on Earth Protocol comes
from
an American poet and engineer who delves into the world of metaphysical
sci-fi.
While it’s related to Book 1, to bill this book a ‘sequel’ would be to
set up
associations for prior readers and the supposition that the first book
will be
required reading for newcomers—both of which would be unfair.
In fact, Phoenix Saga: Peace on Earth
Protocol, while related to and extending the narrative of
the first book,
in actuality stands alone and apart from its predecessor as it reframes
ideas
of sanity, insanity, mental illness and truth using a reflective,
poetic
overlay that may challenge those anticipating the usual linear sci-fi
production.
Indeed, the very categorization of Phoenix
Saga: Peace on Earth Protocol defies any pat terminology or
anticipation of
a progressive plot in the usual sense.
amalL era JesuƨɘႱ hO (NOT a misspelling/this is the author’s
name) incorporates reflections on ancient linguistics, punctuation
(produced
and adjusted to lend to vocal intonation over the relatively flat
presentations
of works intended to be silently read), and history that leads to a
basic
invitation to audiences:
Dearest
You, Where
did God go?
History, reflections on the peace-on-Earth
concept, a galactic manifestos, and literary thoughts that confront
traditional
spiritual thinking require a reader and mind interested in experimental
sci-fi,
a flow of adjusted words and punctuation intended for read-aloud and
drama, and
a concurrent flood of ideas that come from various narrators.
One example is ‘Unshattered Visage’, written
by Yahweh:
Enēôlnən
walks a
narrow, tidy Path through thy Oasis reaching thy Base of thy Exquisite
Tri-Pyramid Complex of Phᴔnix. Black Drakōn leads, Enēôlnən trails.
Indescribable Beauty & Complexity accent Connection manifest
from
enduring-rapturous Dialogue. Evening Bird-Song captivates All
Sole-Soul-Soule,
as forest breaks on stone steps yielding a grand opening in thy Canopy
at thy
Base of Thy Complex.
Obviously NOT your usual sci-fi or literary
pursuit, Phoenix Saga: Peace on Earth Protocol
invites the attention of
literary readers interested in the juxtaposition (and
re-interpretation) of
prose, poetry, and spiritual and philosophical discourse.
From discourses on openness and intellect to
wide-ranging reflections on purpose that all arrive cemented with an
overlay of
the ultimate objective of peace on Earth at a future time, the
protocols
covered in Phoenix Saga: Peace on Earth Protocol
will prove revealing
and challenging. It will prove of special attraction to audiences who
want to
move away from pat genre definitions and into the more mercurial world
of
extraordinary, demanding definitions and reading. It promotes a leap of
faith
and literary excellence as it tackles transfigurations
of ancient Babylonian stone tablets (called Enūma Eliš).
Perhaps college-level classrooms seeking
experimental literary and sci-fi discussions suitable for read-aloud
and debate
will be the best audience for a book that holds such a rich vein of
spiritual
and intellectual thinking under the loose guise of the ‘sci-fi’ genre.
Return to Index
The Silver Forest, Book One
J. D. Rasch
Lamina Press
978-1962247016
$18.99 paperback/$0.99 eBook
Website: https://jdrasch.com/
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Forest-Book-One/dp/1962247015/
The
Silver Forest,
Book One, the first book in the
Wanderer series
gives readers a
coming-of-age metaphysical fantasy that will give rise to
thought-provoking
discussions about dictators, followers, rationales for setting aside
moral and
ethical values, and more. Perfect fodder for modern times!
J. D. Rasch’s intention was to take these
issues and explore them by placing characters in uncomfortable
positions where
their values and beliefs come into question.
The first important observation intrinsic to
this book’s success in the reader’s mind lies in an all-important
Author’s Note
which neatly introduces the author’s objectives. Now, most such notes
can be
easily skipped. Not so this one, which cements the plot and intention
of the
story:
It
was important
to me that, unlike in traditional epic fantasy, my wizards did not
actually
have powers that others didn’t have or couldn’t obtain. They were just
more
expert at manipulation so that everyone could obtain what they had. The
key
theme to the book is getting to know your own mind, getting rid of
outside
influences, and understanding what is true.
This represents higher-level thinking at its
best, merging insights about truth with ethical concerns that readers
can keep
in mind while pursuing a fantasy story that, while epic and fast-paced,
doesn’t
neglect its underlying duty of stimulating a reader’s mind.
Young adult and adult audiences alike will
appreciate the dynamics which emerge from such an approach;
particularly since
it follows characters that also come to better understand their
influences and
the impacts of their choices:
…the
wizards
didn’t work that way. Their power lay beyond merely “locked” doors.
Their power
lay in perceptions. As long as Asmar believed escape impossible, it
was. He had
not been forgotten by the wizards at all—just taught a lesson he would
never
forget.
Asmar’s growth evolves to the point where he
realizes the wizards need him as much as he needs them. The crux of the
story
hinges on battles and choices that carry Asmar from child to man as he
embarks
on his journey supported by cousin Remer, who longs to go home back to
a
quieter life, but knows he can’t abandon Asmar mid-quest.
Already labeled a misfit, Asmar doesn’t
trust the wizards set to influence him. Perhaps he should, because
worse things
await him. Also key to the saga is aging rogue wizard Malzus, who
introduces an
unexpected flavor of rebellion combined with new possibilities to the
action
and confrontations between wizards, boys, and men.
J. D. Rasch creates, in The Silver Forest,
a respectable and compelling novel of accomplishment and discovery that
introduces engrossing concepts accompanied by a moral and ethical fiber
that
compliments the story’s adventure component.
Libraries seeking books suitable for
recommendation to book clubs for young adult to adult fantasy readers
will find
the characters, action, and underlying questions of The
Silver Forest
worthy of high praise and (more so than most first books presented with
the
idea of series growth) equally worthy of acquisition.
Return to Index
Steel Reign:
Preflight
Braxton A. Cosby
Starchild Comics
ASIN: B0BYB85JJ5
$4.99 eBook
COMIC
BOOK - STEEL REIGN: PREFLIGHT (cosbymediaproductions.com)
Steel Reign: Preflight provides a prequel
to the already-published
international-bestselling novel Steel
Reign: Flight of The Starship Concord, and is an important
predecessor to
the first story. It thoroughly explains the characters, culture, and
experiences of Proxima Centauri and the actions and confrontations of
ex-Bounty
Hunter Steel Reign.
All the
trappings of
sci-fi adventure are here, including high-tech enhanced adversaries
that force
Steel Reign into unfamiliar territory. His failure to locate the
genetically
enhanced soldiers leads to more trouble as he becomes involved in
universe-saving efforts and child trafficking rings, confronting
painful
experiences of his past.
Once again,
Braxton
A. Cosby injects subtle humor into the dialogues and interactions (“D’Muir Le’Rou, for the crimes of sedition,
murder, rape, and blah, blah, blah … Damn, this list is long.”).
These add
comic relief to the events as they unfold with a complexity and force.
These
elements make for a superior graphic novel story that readers will find
exceptionally engrossing.
Action-packed
words
are used to capture touchdowns to confrontations, permeating Steel’s
adventures
and associations with others with vivid language, from the “Raattt-taaa-taaatt” of firearms to the “Blaassstt!” of tactical engagements.
The
outstanding blend
of vivid language, visuals, and descriptions of clashing forces brings
action
and characters to life in the sci-fi comic. Teens and adults alike will
find
the tale steeped in fantasy, science, psychological insights, and a
“you are
there” feel in Steel’s latest adventure.
As with
Cosby’s other
comic books, the story ends “to be continued…”, so readers can look
forward to
more Steel action in the future.
Return to Index
Twenty-One
Stones
Janice Boekhoff
Lost Canyon Press
978-1-948003-12-4
$14.99 Paperback/$3.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Twenty-One-Stones-Limit-Janice-Boekhoff/dp/1948003120
In Twenty-One Stones, protagonist Mars
Lockporte is a quantum physics major who is addicted to excitement and
high-octane action. The mysterious murder of his best friend adds these
opportunities into his angst—especially when the obvious (to him)
solution (stopping
the murder entirely) demands he employ an untested time travel
invention to
change both the past and the present.
As with most
untested
devices (and forays into the past with the intention of altering it),
there are
surprises. This one lands Mars in the middle of the Civil War at
Antietam,
where he makes some surprising discovers about heritage, legacy, and
moral and
ethical dilemmas surrounding who dies and who lives.
It’s these
injections
of bigger-picture thinking which set Twenty-One
Stones well above and beyond the usual time travel adventure,
encouraging
readers to absorb not only the science and history of time travel and
the
process of confronting one’s past, but the consequences of sacrificing
one life
for another.
Who can (or
should)
place a value on such lives? Certainly not Mars, even though he would
be saving
his friend.
Janice
Boekhoff
excels in using Mars’s situation to cover thought-provoking insights as
he
grows into new realizations about his role and his attitude towards
history:
This is a battle where thousands have died—or
rather thousands will
die. In the history books, they are nameless, faceless men. Even the
more
personal archives show only their somber portraits or their bodies
lying still
in death. I have no reason to care about men who are so long dead to my
present. And yet, something in me cannot let this man be one of them.
She injects
the subplots
of romance, breakups, interpersonal clashes and attractions, and other
layers
of life into the tale, giving it the added value of a character-driven,
emotional component which contrasts nicely with its fast-paced action.
This is
flavored with
a wry sense of comic relief that is also unexpected:
A few seconds later, a loud blast shakes the wooden
door. Hopefully,
Jonah ducked back out before it went off. Cracks appear in the wood.
But the
door doesn’t fall off its hinges like I expected. Maybe that’s a movie
thing.
All these
facets lend
to a time-travel/murder probe that excels not just in covering issues
of
changing the past to affect the present, but dilemmas that force Mars
to grow
psychologically and morally.
Libraries
and readers
seeking time travel sci-fi that arrives with the added value of
psychological
insight, packed with material suitable for book club discussion, will
find the
satisfyingly different atmosphere of Twenty-One
Stones to be compellingly different from the usual
time-travel genre
production.
Return to Index
The Autobiography of Moon County
Jeremy Dennis
Independently
Published
979-8-218-42029-1
$1.99
www.amazon.com
The ten interconnected stories in The
Autobiography of Moon County come together to map
the struggles and
hopes of those living in a small town in the American South. By
reflecting
differing experiences and perspectives through the lens of
unforgettable
characters like Cyrus and Abel, Jeremy Dennis creates an interlocking
puzzle of
lives that marry human complexity, mystery, and community in a manner
designed
to inspire thought and self-observation. Each story embraces a
different
world view, set of circumstances, and experiences that, together,
create a
melting pot of inflictions and reflections.
Take ‘Cyrus’, the introductory
character. Cyrus has built himself a fine little grocery store in Moon
County,
Georgia, but his values lie not just in monetary success, but
spiritual
foundations. He also believes in “knowing folks,” and
this chronicle
of his life, narrated in the first person, explores his special focus
and how
he finds “q-u-a-l-i-t-y” in everything he does—until
a mysterious
fire changes things.
From the truth about a church’s demise to a
Gentleman’s Society that absorbs his friends, Cyrus provides a lens of
inspection that peels away layers of Southern experience to expose
underlying
influences and compromised values.
In contrast, there is ‘Abel.' He owns a
barbershop where Moon County’s history is constantly
reconstructed—leading to
tragedy. His story explores issues of blame, murder, curses and lies,
and
prejudices as the story rises and collapses over the nature of a
child’s
potential in a world that Abel can no longer recognize or accept.
Libraries and readers seeking a collection
of linked stories that expresses a fascinating and deeply
encompassing portrait of American life will find The
Autobiography of
Moon County pointed, revealing, and worthy of
consideration and
discussion—especially for book clubs seeking literary works with strong
characters that face compelling circumstances.
Return to Index
Detour
Dimension
David Keay
Independently
Published
979-8350944549
$12.00 Paperback/$5.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Detour-Dimension-David-Keay/dp/B0CY3GWXMS
Truly
original
experimental literary writings are relatively rare. Try Detour
Dimension for a modern sense of how paradox, irony, and the
intersection between reality and fiction operate.
The story
opens with
a resonant bang:
A dissonant guitar.
A bongo roll.
The opening theme to your favorite television program: The Detour
Dimension.
A man in a suit and skinny tie, smoking a Chesterfield, introduces each
episode:
That’s me, Ron Sterling.
Supposedly, I died over half a century ago. But what do they know? You
think I was kidding with those shows?
No, I’ve been around.
Cultural
reflections
on the Grateful Dead; a rollicking road trip powered by whimsical, zany
participants; and a sense of discovery and irony permeate a story which
feels
like a Rod Serling portrait of life’s oddities and encounters, but
paints its
picture with characters akin to the odd ducks in One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest:
Frank announces we’re going to pull into a
Stuckey’s for a rest stop.
It’s only a three-hour ride, with two to go. Go figure.
The ringleader of the opposition is a guy who’s got a televised
wrestling match to referee in Scranton who’s already running late.
We take a vote. After all, we’re in The World’s Only Democracy.
The majority want to stop.
The kids are chanting, clapping, squealing.
Readers
interested in
media studies, pop culture references, Serling-like irony, and literary
devices
that intersect odd characters and situations in compelling,
thought-provoking
ways will find Detour Dimension
challenges boundaries and literary mindsets … but in a good way.
Its best
value will
lie in its assignment to all kinds of college-level studies; from media
and
educational fiction to literature classrooms subject to debate over
themes
ranging from pop culture explorations to road trips through music,
life, and
institutions.
Libraries
will find Detour Dimension an
excellent detour
from the norm. Don’t change that channel. Dig in and prepare for a
roller
coaster of a read permeated by Crazy Clowns and characters intent on
taking
charge of and redefining reality itself.
Return to Index
Men Who Walk
in
Dreams
Marisa Labozzetta
Guernica Editions
9781771839075
$17.95
Website: www.marisalabozzetta.com
Ordering: https://www.ipgbook.com/men-who-walk-in-dreams-products-9781771839075.php
Men Who Walk in Dreams is a collection of
stories about men and
women who confront their influences and life progressions. The title
story
opens the collection with a reflective process that muses on early
influences
and attitudes:
“…when you are deemed the worst from conception,
your possibilities are
limitless and your desires, no matter how destructive, never
unrealistic.”
The narrator
embraces
an early recognition that she is different from everyone else, the
evolving
relationship she has with Father Salvator Nania (who is both a
spiritual
advisor and the object of her attraction), and the journey they
undertake
together from the sleepy Italian village of Fossato Serralta to
America, where
anything is possible.
Many times,
the
narrative style widens to embrace bigger-picture thinking:
“That’s how it was, whether people walked or drove;
they couldn’t be
seen until they had climbed the steep road that branched off from a
wider one,
dotted with other farms, that led to the main route.”
How she can
cultivate
relationships with men who “walk in dreams only” forms the crux of an
inviting
journey of immigrant experience and new discoveries.
In contrast
is “The
Intruder,” which is set in Boston and follows an encounter between an
American
woman and a middle-aged French stranger. As the story evolves, kismet
enters
the scenarios traveled by a woman who experiences desire, mourning, and
lost
youth coalescing in unusual ways.
Each tale
offers a
different setting, focus, realization, and experience. Each provides
much food
for thought about ambitions, assumptions, thwarted love and
relationships, and
the efforts of disparate characters to redefine their realities.
The result
is a short
story collection highly recommended as a literary read for both men and
women
and reading groups interested in the intersection of reality and
‘magical
thinking.’ Libraries will find it easy to recommend Men
Who Walk in Dreams for its intriguing diversity and literary
and psychological strengths.
Return to Index
The Night
Owl Sings
Judy McConnell
Boyle & Dalton
978-1-63337-780-6
$28.99 Hardcover/$16.99 Paper
www.BoyleandDalton.com
The
Night Owl
Sings: and Other Stories of Old Age matches literary craft
with
psychological insights as Judy McConnell tackles advancing years
through
characters who each face their own special aging issues.
These stories together form
a fine synthesis and
intersection of experience that reflects on deeper and different
issues, in
which age is but an overlay to developing life concerns. While its
likely
readership will be those on the cusp of advancing years, young people
should
not peg its audience as the elderly. These lessons, which consider
general life
attitude and choices, are appropriate lessons for all ages.
Take the opening story
‘Urgent Care,’ for example. Yes,
Lila is an aging grandmother; but under this veneer lay concerns not
limited to
the elderly. Lila has once again entered her son’s home to be with the
family
for Christmas. She’s been invited as an insider.
But, coexisting alongside these connections is an outsider’s loneliness
and
uncertainty. Her grandchildren are growing up, her son and stepdaughter
operate
as an efficient team without her, and she’s regulated to the position
of
‘guest’ in her own family, her skills long laid to rest.
Lila is well capable of
adaptation and easily recognizes
that her current role of being sidelined in the family is also
connected to the
fact that:
It
was only natural
for a wife to instinctively proceed to wrestle control from the
lifelong
caretaker she had replaced. Lila must make sure she didn’t intrude—Todd
had his
own family now.
Lila gets it. But that
doesn’t mean she has to like it,
accepting though she is of her revised role and importance, which
lately seems
to rest on the fact that she is old and not long for this world. This
makes her
temporarily valuable—but in an antique sort of way.
Disappointments over her
disconnection from her family
mount even as she chants her survival song:
I understand,
her mantra. She couldn’t know the challenges of their lives, which
played out
in happenings far beyond her single vision.
The remnants of interlinked
lives are shaken, one
surprising morning, when she awakens to a silence that smacks of
abandonment,
loneliness, and ghosts of the past.
In satisfying contrast to
Lila’s experiences and
revelations are the very different family connections that unfold (and
unravel)
in ‘No Greater Love.’ Here, cousins Angela and Pinky reflect on their
shared
past experiences and the different ways in which each have moved on and
away
from the family.
Neither is old (indeed, one
is only eighteen!), but both
are aging. This process and these connections receive close inspection
in a
story that enlightens readers on matters of heart, mind, and experience
to
influence changing courses of events.
Older Angela, who is
married, at times chafes at Pinky’s
slow growth:
Fond
of her cousin
as she was, sometimes it took patience waiting for her to grow up.
Forced to face the reality
of her own questionable
choices, Angela confronts her marital problems and her own uncertainty
about
where she ultimately wishes to land as she acknowledges her husband’s
seemingly
uncaring stoicism and his distance from her.
As Pinky finds love in an
unusual way and Angela
continues to grow, the aging, in this case, is as much mental as
physical,
introducing new facets of life possibilities to each character.
Judy McConnell
examines and contrasts very different sides of the aging and growth
process in The
Night Owl Sings. Her
approach makes the collection not only of literary import (as well as
accessible to general-interest fiction readers), but the perfect item
of choice
for libraries to recommend to reading groups interested in short
stories that
traverse the range of aging’s new and revised options.
Return to Index
No Ocean
Spit Me Out
Gabrille Gilliam
Old Scratch Press
978-1-957224-32-9
www.oldscratchpress.com
No Ocean Spit Me Out celebrates rural
worlds, traversing the space
between observation and engagement as poetic free verse descriptions of
environment blend with human activities and emotional overlays.
These facets
come to
life in poems like ‘Going Home’, with its surreal juxtaposition of
human and
nature:
Porch lights flicker in the trees
like fireflies under the darkened sky
winking in and out of existence
the way memories do
when you’re not remembering them.
Or, for
another
example, in ‘Transcendence of Stars’, where:
My mother would
love this painting
the gradual
transmutation
from flesh to wing
figures cocooned
in a column of light
Life, loss,
and the “soil
of upstate New York” come to life in this tribute to nature, family,
and
ancestral connection. It brings to life not only Gabrille Gilliam’s
personal
experience, but the interconnectivity of people and places.
Libraries
seeking
literary free verse poetry that is steeped in atmosphere and
psychological
connection will find No Ocean Spit Me Out
well worthy of acquisition and recommendation—especially for book clubs
seeking
contemporary poetry firmly rooted in ecologically entwined systems and
experiences.
Return to Index
Toys in
Babylon
Patrick Finegan
Two
Skates Publishing LLC
978173390257
$11.50
Paperback/$26.99 Hardcover/$3.99 eBook
Website: www.twoskates.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYDNGNX2
Toys
in Babylon: A
Language App Parody and Whodunit gives readers the perfect
demonstration of
a parody written with lively intention. This will prove especially
intriguing
to high school to college-level students of contemporary fiction who
are
interested in learning about language usage, form, and parody’s
possible
applications.
The tale originally appeared
online in thirteen
installments, but its appearance here reflects both an expanded
presentation
and a renewed focus on the language and fine art of parody writing.
Author
Patrick
Finegan is passionate about languages. His participation in an online
chain-novel project delivered unexpected fruits of achievement as he
republishes these installments for a larger audience.
The plot
revolves
around a cast of satirical, fictional characters and situations that
embrace
animated teaching characters, AI influences, jokes, and mystery alike.
The presence and
juxtaposition of all these facets may prove challenging to readers who
anticipated the usual linear production, but the joy of Toys in Babylon lies in its unconventional approach to
fiction and action. These facets will delight readers seeking the look
and feel
of something completely different.
Romance, poetic interludes,
and more emerge from
unexpected encounters. Readers are kept on their toes by a progression
of
shifting events and realities that keep the characters engaging and
memorable.
Confrontations and
realizations are carefully crafted to
lend insight into the overall atmosphere and motivations of AI and
human alike:
Do
not pretend it isn’t you. You are the leader, the disgruntled one –
all because the Burmese language didn’t sell, and Ҫok Dilli dumped
you.” Myaing
lurched back in alarm. Someone squealed on them. Her comrades stared at
her in
terror and confusion. She stared back in rage and consternation. Her
recruits
ran for the doors, as fearful as she was, that Ҫok Dilli’s unseen army
would
soon surround them. The room emptied swiftly. Just Myaing and the old
hag
remained, not even the proprietor. Myaing’s feet felt glued in place to
the
floor.
Again: the
complexity
of these intersecting worlds and experiences may prove challenging to
everyday
readers simply seeking staid entertainment value from their fiction.
It’s the
literary-minded reader interested in the changing devices of satire and
parody
who will find the progression thoroughly absorbing, albeit steeped in
language
not ordinarily seen in standard writing approaches:
Arpita did not think Clarisse was bonkers but
understood why the story
was a bombshell to the group: Çoki scattered her ÇD Anon members among
cottages
outside town, fearful their interaction with official Çokland citizens
and cast
members might disrupt what she had taken so long to nurture. In fact,
she
lodged Clarisse in a forest, but her addict cravings were so
pertinacious she
applied for the high school’s vacant media arts position.
These strengths are
why Toys in
Babylon: A Language App Parody and Whodunit is especially recommended for advanced
students of language and parody, who will find the story’s contemporary
twists
and usage to be both thoroughly engrossing and ultimately educational.
Return to Index
The
Inventive Life of George H. McFadden
Richard Carreño
Camino Books, Inc.
9781680980608
$35.00 Hardcover
https://www.caminobooks.com/
Richard Carreño’s
biography of Philadelphia art
collector John H. McFadden, John McFadden
and his Age, provided a wealth of information applicable to
art history in
general and Philadelphia history in particular.
McFadden himself provides
the introduction to Carreño’s
latest foray into biographical history, The
Inventive Life of George H. McFadden. This book serves as a
fitting
companion volume, examining John’s Uncle George’s life of intrigue,
mystery,
adventure, and Philadelphia connections.
This is not to say that
either book should be limited to
Pennsylvania readers and collections—not by a long shot. Indeed,
especially in The Inventive Life of George H.
McFadden, the
value lies in Carreño’s ability to present contrasts in intellectual
drive,
psychological melancholy and isolation, closet homosexuality, and life
contributions in such a manner that invites attention and inspection by
audiences immersed in life stories and intellectual pursuits alike …
not just
Pennsylvanians or art students.
George H. McFadden stood out
from the proper
Philadelphian in many ways. His different relationships and personas in
disparate
cultural groups, his shifting approach to “finding ancient things” that
led him
to sailing and travel experiences (and, ultimately, to a mysterious
death), and
his literary prowess all come to light in a revealing examination of a
Renaissance Man whose intellectual pursuits were anything but ordinary.
From his draw to Cyprus (his
adopted homeland) to his
amateur archaeological pursuits, participation in war, and often-clever
political maneuvers to find ways out of socially challenging
situations,
McFadden’s life is narrated with the dual atmosphere of intellectual
examination and adventure story:
For
a man of
forty-one, the timing smacked of desperation. His aspiration was
equally
disquieting. His twenty-year career in Cyprus had been shadowed by war
and mired
in his own complacency and vainglory. His way out modeled the
successful career
arcs of Daniel and Young—as eminent archaeologists and museum curators.
McFadden was a formidable applicant. He was fluent in French, German,
and in
modern Greek. He had a learned reading ability in Latin and ancient
Greek. His
work as a Penn Museum “research fellow” at Kourion, as a Navy veteran,
and as
the author of entries to professional and academic publications—not to
mention
his translation of the Iliad—were additional pluses.
The result
reveals a
life worthy of discourse and discovery, and is very highly recommended
for
libraries interested in riveting tales of lives vividly and powerfully
lived.
Return to Index
Wandering
from China to America
Xiuwu R. Liu
ibidem-Verlag
978-3838210711
$40.00 Paperback/$24.77 ebook
Website: https://www.ibidem.eu/en/Topics/Social-Sciences/Sociology/Wandering-from-China-to-America-Paperback.html?listtype=search&searchparam=Xiuwu%20R%20liu
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Wandering-China-America-Straddling-Different/dp/3838210719
Wandering from China to America: A Life Straddling Different
Worlds appears in a
second revised edition that not only corrects minor grammatical snafus
and
factual errors in the first rendition, but, more importantly, includes
historical documents related to the story, for readers of Chinese.
These appear
in the appendices as photocopies which capture their authors’ drafts
and their
own revisions, reinforcing their authenticity.
The
book itself
will appeal to new generations of Chinese and American readers alike as
it
traces Xiuwu R. Liu’s journey through Chinese and
American societies. This autobiography is neither a story of immense
struggles
nor a treatise on resilience or prejudice, but incorporates basic
insights into
how Liu fell into teaching, made a difference in others’ lives, and
assimilated
lessons from basic living as he made his way through life.
Why
will Wandering from China to
America prove of interest to readers who do not know Liu?
Because he
captures not just the nuances and influences of his own journey, but
interacts
with, absorbs, and incorporates flavors of two different cultures (plus
other
ethnic influences) into his life.
This
creates an
inviting interplay which follows his experiences through a myriad of
life
challenges, from travel and cross-cultural encounters to marriage,
divorce, and
higher education:
Having
worked so
hard to get into a school so that I could continue my education, now I
would
throw myself into my studies. Or so you might imagine. On the contrary,
barely
a month into the fall semester, I dropped two of my three classes and
nearly
had a nervous breakdown. What happened? The circumstances of my life in
Iowa
City were, if anything, more livable than before. When I landed in
Cedar
Rapids, a fellow student sent by the Chinese Student Association met me
and
drove me to the campus. I immediately found a place to stay; to save
money
three other students from China and I shared a large studio at the back
of a
building, a semi-basement space.
Readers can also anticipate a healthy dose
of philosophical reflection from Liu’s life story:
Conventional
wisdom has it that the United States is an individualistic society.
Politically
and legally, it is individualistic in that the individual enjoys
certain basic
rights; psychologically and socially it is individualistic in that the
individual
is egoist. But the society is not individualistic in the sense that its
members
typically show independence of thought and action.
Lest readers think, by these quotes, that
the account is staid and dry, it should be noted at this point that
Liu’s life
story is alternately candid, ironic, playful, and
satirical, reflecting
his personality and life philosophy and mindset.
The result is a memoir that is firmly and
satisfyingly rooted in the personal, but will prove of interest to
Chinese-American readers, in particular, who will follow Liu’s life
events with
interest and reflective thinking that’s also perfect for book club
recommendation.
Libraries
will want to consider Wandering
from China to
America for its accessible form of
individual reflection and bigger-picture thinking on cross-cultural
assimilation and contrasts.
Return to Index
All the Bodies
Do
William J. Cook
Independently Published
9798323496457
$13.99 Paperback/$5.99 eBook
Website: https://authorwilliamcook.com/
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/All-Bodies-Do-William-Cook-ebook/dp/B0D64RJ66N
All the Bodies Do is a novel about
ghosts, secrets, and murder that
is based on true crime events: in 2022, drought exposed skeletons at
Lake Mead.
Investigative
journalist Kate Temperance here seeks to link these bodies to crime
lord
Giancarlo Gemelli, but the threat doesn’t stem directly from him alone.
His
ruthless daughter Sofia Gemelli is the real challenge, confronting
Kate’s every
effort to reveal the truth with her determination to keep these secrets
buried
in the lake.
This might
include
Kate herself, if she’s not careful.
William J.
Cook
evolves a cat-and-mouse game that embraces not just these two
characters, but
bigger-picture thinking revolving around a situation that dovetails
with Kate’s
confrontations in her own circle of supporters:
“It’s just that I feel terrible for abandoning you
like that. That’s
not what friends do.”
“You did what you had to do to protect your family. I understand.”
Kate changes
plans,
changes locks, and changes the values in her life as her case reveals
new
threats from directions she never saw coming.
Readers
might not
expect the setting to move around as quickly as Kate does, but as she
journeys
between Las Vegas and Oregon to tackle threads of underlying influences
and
deceptions, the wine industry also becomes a spark point of contention
as the
murder probe becomes complicated.
Cook’s
ability to
weave these seemingly disparate threads of connection into a
bigger-picture feel
creates a vivid thriller that proves thoroughly engrossing not just for
its
perhaps-predictable confrontations between reporter and crime family,
but for
its satisfyingly less predictable revelations about life values and
what it
takes to absorb the truth about lies, spies, and threats.
Libraries
seeking
thrillers that sizzle with action and psychological twists will find
both
qualities make All the Bodies Do
thoroughly engrossing—perhaps because its roots lie in real-world
events.
Return to Index
Cauldron of
Wrath
Terrence Poppa
Demand
Publications
978-0-9664430-3-5
$14.95
https://druglord.com/thrillers-by-terrence-poppa/
Everybody
knows
disaster’s coming; but nobody knows just when or how. This is why
thriller
enthusiasts are in for an exceptional journey in Cauldron
of Wrath. Its action is tempered by reader realization
that the violence and events described represent all-too-possible
scenarios
rooted in modern dilemmas and perceptions.
Two nukes
are
smuggled over the Mexican border into America in an attempt to paralyze
the
nation. Their objective goes beyond the Twin Towers disaster—they
intend to
attack Los Angeles as a cover for their real goal: setting off the
sleeping
dragon of natural destruction that resides under Yellowstone National
Park,
effectively destroying the entire nation.
FBI agent
Malcolm
Hendricks has no more clue of where or when disaster will strike than
anyone
else. All he knows is that his prior achievements, which have landed
him in a
plum position as the head of the Southern California Joint Terrorism
Task
Force, may prove futile in a scenario where the destruction of L.A. is
but the
tip of the fatally tipping iceberg of terrorism.
As Hendricks
investigates, the bodies stack up alongside his questions. Viewpoints
shift
between him and terrorists Abu Hadi al-Maliki and others who’ve
infiltrated the
country, with objectives on both sides receiving enlightening
inspection.
Terrence
Poppa
cultivates high-octane, nonstop action as he unravels a thriller
steeped in
pursuits and confrontations. The characters on both sides (including
Mateo
Ochoa, a Marine Corps vet whom everyone calls Cholo; and Yellowstone
drilling
site boss Harley Duke) find themselves working against time to either
instigate
or prevent disaster.
Shootings,
confrontations, subterfuge, and social media involvements lend
contemporary realism
to the plot. This makes it even more engrossing and relevant for
contemporary
readers, who will all too easily picture these possibilities; yet less
easily
predict the story’s outcome.
Cauldron of Wrath adds social, political,
investigative drama to
its cat-and-mouse game, creating a thriller that stands out— especially
because
its heroes range from rogues to ordinary people. These elements, joined
by
equal attention to both sides of a bigger picture, make this thriller
highly
recommended to libraries and readers seeking a vivid saga that’s nearly
impossible to put down.
Return to Index
Change of Heart
Cristina LePort, M.D.
Bancroft Press
9781610886604
$27.95
www.bancroftpress.com
Medical thriller enthusiasts will find
Cristina LePort’s Change of Heart the perfect
ticket for a thoroughly
absorbing read. Its foundations in the medical world are cemented by
the
author’s medical degree and familiarity with the world of medicine and
its
politics.
More than a story of the usual detective
work of investigative efforts, however, Change of Heart
incorporates
elements of romance, ethical issues that challenge the characters in
unexpected
ways, and cybercriminal encounters. These contribute to character
development
and action that contrasts nicely with other genre reads, raising the
bar for
the medical thriller as a whole by cementing character challenges with
questions that arise in the course of making life-supporting decisions:
“I
have to ask,
just to make sure: Did anyone offer you a deal: provide you with a
heart to
save your life, so long as your wife agreed to end hers?”
These and other ethical questions reflect
the very fabric of medical decision-making, influence, and values,
offering
readers scenarios designed to raise questions about personal objectives
and
sacrifices made in the name of survival, science, and healthcare
concerns.
Having the mystery so thoroughly embedded in
background particular to Dr. LePort’s career as a cardiologist lends
the entire
effort an authenticity not to be found in the usual medical thriller
genre.
The action is solid and nonstop, characters
are believable and well-drawn, and the supporting underlying moral and
ethical
quandaries lend excellent tension to the story, which develops many
twists and
turns readers won’t see coming.
Libraries seeking medical thrillers more
than a cut above the usual will find Change of Heart
an outstanding
exploration of hospital politics, medical challenges, and mystery that
lends
equally well to book club recommendation and discussion groups.
Return to Index
Deep Cover, The Unknowing Agent
Jeffrey Jay Levin
Black Rose Writing
978-1-68513-436-5
$18.95
Website: www.Jeffreyjaylevinauthor.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Cover-Jeffrey-Jay-Levin/dp/168513436X
Deep
Cover, The
Unknowing Agent is a thriller
that
posits the question of whether more Cold War Russian spies are lying
undercover
in America, either doing damage or waiting quietly for instructions
from the
Kremlin.
What does this question have to do with
genetic researchers Lisa Jones and Jennifer Turner? Plenty. Lisa's
boyfriend, Sgt. Stephan Beck, regularly interprets intercepted messages
from
Russia, but the latest message has him convinced that underneath its
apparent
subject lies a secret and deadly dangerous direction.
His probe
shakes his
relationship with Lisa, distancing them at a point where they really
should be
strengthening their ties to stand against the personal and professional
forces
which threaten not just them, but the world.
Because Jeffrey Jay Levin ties these
characters into a plot that rests on the foundations of modern-day
political
and social turmoil and questions, readers will find Deep
Cover, The
Unknowing Agent especially pertinent to issues involving
Russian
influencers on modern events in America.
The confusion which evolves in Lisa and
Stephen’s relationship mirrors the confrontations and confusion in
political
circles as the truth is twisted, obscured, and finally emerges in an
unexpected
new light to challenge everyone involved. Levin also injects history
lessons
into his story line, giving it the flavor of a revisionist review as
Russian/American
relationships and experiences develop.
This, too, casts deep shadows and
revelations about evolving events. This keeps thriller readers
guessing,
engaged, and absorbing new insights about the cat-and-mouse game of
espionage
and subterfuge that has marked the social and political relationships
of two
nations subtly at war with one another.
Excellent tension comes from nonstop twists
and turns, paired with first-person observations and experiences that
walk a
fine line between psychological and political involvements.
Libraries and readers looking for a thriller
that ultimately delivers the one-two punch of modern-day relevancy and
discovery will find Deep Cover, The Unknowing Agent
thoroughly
thought-provoking and completely worthy of thriller and political
science book
club group discussion.
Return to Index
Defrosted
Cristina LePort M.D.
Bancroft Books
978-1-61088-618-5
$25.95
www.bancroftpress.com
In the beginning, there were thrillers. The
expanded subjects of this genre began to dictate further delineation
into such
sub-categories as ‘political thriller’ or ‘psychological thriller’.
Dr. Cristina LePort now raises the bar with Defrosted,
a ‘cryogenic & political thriller’ that pairs science,
medicine, political
intrigue, and cat-and-mouse games that operate on expanded levels of
intrigue
designed to pique the mind and reader’s knowledge. The general ‘medical
thriller’ category thus expands to define yet another category, which
proves
refreshingly original and captivating.
The story opens in present-day Alaska, a
suitably chilly environmental backdrop for the events that unfold. The
same
exactness of medical world detail is present as in Dr. LePort’s other
medical
thrillers (such as Dissection), but takes a
different tone and twist as
cryogenic possibilities, science, and manipulation become hot topics.
What does a routine Forest Service
helicopter survey have to do with cryogenic politics? Plenty, as the
unfortunate pilots discover when a routine fly-over patrol reveals a
mother elk
in distress, a baby gone missing, and a lake simmering with trouble.
In short order, the plot moves from the
wilds of Alaska to the heady rush of medical world lab investigations
that jump
forward to 2220, where a successful power play by a medical manager has
resulted in a leadership position that’s being challenged from an
unexpected
direction.
High-tech medical options and dangerous new
avenues of research and exploitation cement a plot steeped in too many
threats
as Dr. Ralph Clifford and his son Maurice’s inspection mission probes
too close
to secret efforts replete with moral and ethical conundrums. Who is
better
saved if there is a choice: a baby, or drug addicts?
Can the Chief Medical Officer of the
Northern Regions be blackmailed? Can research on an emerging
chemoculture save
humanity from extinction?
The power plays operate on both political
and psychological levels as Dr. Ralph Clifford, Dr. Alan Muller, and a
cast of
characters become involved in a program that defrosts not only those
with
now-solvable medical conditions, but the truth.
Dr. LePort’s medical background lends a
realistic authenticity to the story, but it’s her concurrent focus on
medical
and political conundrums that keep readers thoroughly engaged as the
characters’
special interests dovetail with bigger-picture thinking, legal
proceedings, and
problem-solving.
Readers drawn by either the thriller promise
or the medical backdrop will find that Defrosted’s
ability to thaw out
the truth of purposes, visions, and the consequences of actions yet to
be
tested on moral and ethical grounds gives much food for thought.
Against the
backdrop of political and medical special interests beats the heart of
a
captivating series of interlocked relationships that are all tested by
new
opportunities and novel choices that hold no clear pathways to
redemption or
resolution.
This is why Defrosted is
especially
recommended, above many other medical thriller genre reads, for books
clubs
active in debates over medical ethics and new technology.
Libraries will find it easy to recommend Defrosted
to a wide audience of thriller and medical thriller patrons as a
refreshingly
different take on future medical processes and accompanying ethical
possibilities.
Return to Index
If Two Are
Dead
Jeanne Matthews
Independently
Published
9798328605267
$18.95
https://www.jeannematthews.com/
The title of
If Two Are Dead comes from a proverb
(“Three can keep a secret if two are dead.”)
which neatly ties into another Garnick & Paschal detective
story that both
stands nicely alone and continues to expand the series with new
adventures.
Here,
investigators Gabriel
Garnick and Quinn Paschal find their investigative prowess stymied by
events
that ensnare them in not one, but a series of conundrums.
Jeanne
Matthews
builds tension immediately with an opening scenario in which the duo
creep
through the woods on a moonless November night, protecting graves from
grave
robbers. Their assignment to protect the dead soon extends to those
living,
because the cemetery under guard also houses Quinn’s father, injecting
a
personal note into the introductory salvo of intrigue.
As Quinn and
Gabriel
conduct numerous interviews with physicians and family and probe
secrets
ranging from a husband shared by two women to surprise revelations
about a
long-ago murder, the plot thickens. It reaches out to pull in a diverse
cast of
characters who each find their lives tested not only by events, but a
controversial probe that continues to expose new secrets.
Matthews
creates fine
insights into Quinn’s focus and methodology:
Covetousness in a witness was a gift to the
detective. She felt as if
the facts were beginning to catch up to her theory.
When
Gabriel’s life
is at stake, Quinn finds her own moral compass sorely tested:
Blackmail was a loathsome business, but in the
accomplishment of
justice, the ends justify the means.
These
considerations
power the story with intriguing, thought-provoking moments of discovery
as the
two main characters are forced to operate outside their usual comfort
zones and
investigative processes to solve an outrageous crime.
Matthews
injects
these considerations at many points in the story, from beginning to
end, as the
lines blur between good intentions and evil actions and people:
If she’d learned anything since becoming a
detective, it was that the
Devil could operate anywhere.
Mystery
readers
interested in a detective story packed with intrigue, unexpected twists
and
turns, and more than a light touch of evolving romance will welcome
this story.
So will libraries interested in profiling quasi-medical-mystery stories
for
book clubs seeking bigger-picture choices suitable for group discussion
and
enjoyment.
Return to Index
A Venue of
Vultures
Patsy Stagner
Independently Published
979-8350947991
$14.99
https://www.amazon.com/Venue-Vultures-Rancho-Exotica-Mysteries/dp/B0D25B362S
Mystery fans who enjoy writing that is
high-octane in its action, yet thought-provoking in its subject and
progression, will find A Venue of Vultures, the
first book in the Rancho
Exotica mystery series), to be more than worthy of acquisition and
discussion.
Patsy Stagner creates a pair of feisty
senior citizen investigators in sisters Claire and Avery,
who maintain
an exotic animal sanctuary, but are forced to solve a murder mystery
when they
become suspects in a hunter’s mysterious death.
Two elderly
women
would seem to be the last people to want to spend their time pursuing a
truth
the police are better suited to follow, but Stagner’s ability to inject
whimsy
alongside serious age-related issues lends the story as much added
value as in
its animal-centric backdrop of endangered species preservation issues:
“Age did have its advantages. Most young people
held an idea about
senior citizens that might not be entirely accurate.”
Indeed, if readers approach this mystery
anticipating staid turns of events, they will be pleasantly surprised
by the
strengths and creative thinking pathways Claire and Avery
cultivate as
their probe moves in unexpected directions that even the seasoned
police don’t
anticipate.
Wry humor
even
permeates scenarios such as those where fiery minister promises his
flock the
specter of hell … which somehow does not put Avery’s appetite for
trouble on
hold:
“The visions of a flaming hell promulgated by the
funeral preacher did
not put Avery off her food. What did were the platters of carcasses
that
dominated the buffet table.”
From being
in the
position of defending a woman she doesn’t even like to working with
detectives
while harboring anger over their methods and decisions, Avery’s probe
into the
identity of the real murderer edges she and her sister ever closer to
moving
from suspects to victims, themselves.
Stagner excels at contrasting aging
personalities with wicked wit, social observations, and savvy that
arrives with
not just growing older, but defying convention in different ways.
These elements give her characters
realistic, engaging personalities that drive the mystery towards
revelations
over a myriad of prejudices about age, environment, and detective work,
which
will lend nicely to mystery book club discussions.
Libraries that choose A Venue of Vultures
seeking something satisfyingly original and compelling will find the
story more
than thoroughly absorbing as Claire and Avery voluntarily enter into
roles that
challenge their past, present, and possible futures.
Return to Index
Wild Irish
Yenta
Joyce Sanderly
The Wild Rose Press
978-1-5092-5093-6
$18.99 Paperback/$5.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Irish-Yenta-Joyce-Sanderly/dp/150925093X
Readers who
enjoy
cozy mysteries embedded with food references will especially relish the
approach and plot of Wild Irish Yenta,
which marries both with a taste of panache.
Events swirl
around a
suburban mother whose detective instincts are aroused by a suspicious
(to her)
hit-and-run accident. Good thing her father’s a police detective, so
that her
upbringing has been influenced by his nose for trouble and his
problem-solving strengths.
It’s also a
good
thing that she is involved in Temple Israel because of her conversion
to
Judaism. Patricia will need both an insider’s access and an outsider’s
ability
to troubleshoot when the seemingly simple death of an ordinary
custodian
evolves into a threat to her beloved mentor Rabbi Deborah, who vanishes
after
she delivers a controversial sermon supporting interfaith marriage.
Deborah is
not alone
in her venture, even though her husband eschews her efforts. Friend
Brenda
supports her perceptions and adds her own formidable prowess to the
investigative effort, and so ‘The Yenta Patrol’ is born.
Biblical
stories,
good coffee, and astute perceptions of the politics of religious
institutions
permeate a thoroughly engrossing story as Patricia navigates family
duties and
community connections which often conflict with her own heart:
Guilty, guilty, guilty for shirking her
responsibility to provide
nourishment for her family. Wasn’t “guilt” what all these religions
were about?
The only difference was Catholics felt good about feeling guilty: that
was how
they were supposed to feel after sinning at which point if they
confessed and
did penance, they could be absolved, relieved, and happy. Jews, on the
other
hand, felt guilty even about feeling guilty. And Judaism had no easy
mechanism
for relieving guilt.
Where does
the food
come in? It stems from delivering a seasoned set of food-in-culture
references,
from Chinese takeout to a deli experience, often pairing these servings
with
humor:
“I’ll have the Reuben but with pastrami instead of
corned beef, and
extra Swiss cheese and Russian dressing. Could you please bring hot
mustard?”
She pointed at the menu. “And a chocolate egg cream. I might order more
later.”
The waitress scowled at Brenda and moved to the neighboring table
without
putting in their order. “I’m glad to see this deli has authentically
rude
service,” Brenda quipped.
The dynamics
of
interfaith marriage, friendship, and varied religious traditions infuse
a vivid
story which is as strong in its character depictions as in its mystery
component. The intersection of both weaves a believable plot that
readers,
Jewish or not, can really sink their teeth into.
All these
elements
make Wild Irish Yenta a standout
for
cozy mystery enthusiasts seeking satisfyingly different plot twists,
and
characters whose personalities—and appetites for food and trouble—shine.
Libraries
will find Wild Irish Yenta easy to
recommend,
while readers may want to bring this inviting, cozy mystery along on
their
summer vacations.
Return to Index
All Man’s
Land, 2nd
Edition
D. László Conhaim
Broken Arrow Press
978-0-9843175-5-4
$13.99 Paperback/$9.99 eBook
www.dlaszloconhaim.com
In 2019,
this
reviewer first wrote about All Man’s Land,
a novel about Benjamin
Neill, a former slave and reluctant Civil War hero whose appearance in
a
frontier town with a sack of books and a storyteller’s compulsion
challenged
the prejudices of that culture.
In its
updated second
edition, the novel is well worth a revisit as it includes both a
fictional
essay about Spanish thinker Miguel de Unamuno’s famous confrontation
with one
of Franco’s generals at the start of the Spanish Civil War and a new
Foreword
by Conhaim’s longtime editor, which places the combined work squarely
in the
realm of literary and scholarly excellence.
The
historical bows
to Paul Robeson and Jewish history and culture (the latter deftly and
unexpectedly tackled by a Black man), plus the addition of “Don
Miguel—The
Wise” adds twists and pathways to a story—from a scholarly
perspective—replete
with literary, social, historical, and racially sensitive
value.
Because the
first
edition was reviewed previously, the focus here is upon the additional
edito
“Don Miguel”
originally appeared in The Prague Revue 6 in
1999 as a
fictional essay remembering so-called “Generation of 1898” idealist and
Spanish
thinker Miguel de Unamuno from the perspective of a certain academic
Dr. Víctor
M. Carrasco Villa de Segovia.
Set in the
1990s,
this first-person account of the good doctor reveals that his efforts
are
directed to exploring and exposing “…not the
injustice of Nothing for
Don Miguel, but for perhaps the last time Don Miguel for everything,
for
posterity.”
History,
fiction, and
philosophy all dovetail nicely here, accompanied by footnoted
references to
Unamuno and his contemporaries who have largely been forgotten, a fact
that
Conhaim seems determined to reverse.
For
instance, the
narrator, Mr. Carrasco, jumps “pencil first into controversy” by
publishing an
interpretation of Unamuno’s San Manuel Bueno, Martyr
as a “homosexual
novel.” This, in turn, leads to the author’s resignation from the
University of
Salamanca amidst a furor of accusations and innuendos attempting to
subvert his
scholarly pursuit.
Compellingly,
Don
Miguel’s own forced withdrawal from academia and Carrasco’s role as his
‘uneasy
hero’ mirror many of the underlying themes in All Man’s Land (foreign
as they may initially seem to one another), creating a
thought-provoking mix of
political, social, psychological, and philosophical inspection highly
recommended for any reader up to the challenge.
This new
edition of All
Man’s Land is sure to provide book clubs with ample
inspiration for
discussion and debate.
Return to Index
Counterfeiter
Robert G. Klein, Esq.
Miracle Mile
Publishing, LLC
979-8-218-38693-1
$24.95 Paperback/$6.99 eBook
www.miraclemilepublishing.com
What better
foundation for exploring the crime and facts of trademark infringement
than to
inject a lawyer’s real-world knowledge with the drama of a novel?
That’s what
attorney Robert G. Klein has achieved with Counterfeiter: The Plight of an Accused
Trademark Counterfeiter. The
situation is based on legal holdings and findings; and while Klein
cautions
that these may differ between jurisdictions, the meat of his work lies
in a
heady legal rush that will draw even non-legal readers into a
thought-provoking
plot.
Ahmed Hossam
faces baseless claims of Medicare fraud in an ongoing discrimination
process
that threatens to belittle his University of Cairo medical degree and
demote
his professional status. Forced to plead guilty to a crime he didn’t
commit,
twenty years later his choice returns to haunt him when he faces
further legal
challenges over something very different.
Ahmed’s
situation involves
a trademark dispute over “Hot Grabba Natural Tobacco Leaf.” His story
is
concurrent with a close inspection of the cannabis industry, trademark
politics
and legal processes, and court proceedings surrounding infringement’s
definition, and trademark protection laws.
Legal
students and
readers who look for detailed legal proceedings and definitions from
their fictional
dramas will appreciate the many real-world insights that Klein inserts
in the
course of Ahmed’s unfolding dilemma:
Suggestive marks are more distinctive than
descriptive marks. They
require consumers to use their imagination or understanding to discern
the
nature of the product or service. These marks hint at certain qualities
or
features without directly describing them. Suggestive marks are
inherently
distinctive and receive a higher level of trademark protection. For
example,
“Netflix” for an online streaming service or “Microsoft” for a
technology
company.
These
insights and
definitions arrive within the course of a trail as Counsel and others
explain
the processes surrounding trademark identification, protection, and
assignment.
Of special
interest
is how Klein delves into many accompanying legal dilemmas, from fair
use and
copyright infringement defenses to how Ahmed uses the special verdict
process to
enhance the jury’s decision-making in his case.
Readers also
receive
a progressive series of insights into many aspects of trademark and
copyright
law, which moves into Federal court proceedings as the case unfolds.
While, at
times, the
detailed proceedings may read like nonfiction (packed with motions,
facts,
considerations of pleas and fee awards, and liability issues), the
story adds
the value of a likeable character whose good and bad choices are
dictated by
the fact that:
…
Ahmed’s soul had been consumed by the relentless
machinations of an unforgiving system. He was the victim of a corrupt
district
attorney and a health care system that
seemed more intent on the quest for money than for providing proper
care for
the needy. Ahmed had once believed that his path lay in alleviating the
suffering of others, but his faith had waned like a flickering candle
in a gust
of wind.
The very
human
aspects, reactions, insights, and struggles of this case thus come to
light
amid a myriad of court moves and facts that readers will find both
easier to
absorb than nonfiction, and more detailed than the usual fictional
approach
(even legal fiction) usually receives.
That’s why Counterfeiter:
The Plight of an Accused Trademark Counterfeiter is especially highly recommended for legal
students and those already versed or interested in descriptions of
court
proceedings and law.
Libraries
catering to such audiences will find Counterfeiter:
The Plight of an Accused
Trademark Counterfeiter an excellent acquisition that stands
out, with its
attention to legal detail, from the usual fictional legal depiction.
Return to Index
Courting the
Sun
Peggy Joque Williams
Black Rose Writing
978-1685134129
$24.95 Paperback/$6.99 eBook
Website: peggywilliamsauthor.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Courting-Sun-Peggy-Joque-Williams/dp/1685134122/
Courting the Sun is a historical novel
set in the late 1600s in
Versailles. It captures the politics and high society of court life
through the
eyes of teen Sylvienne d'Aubert, whose invitation to attend the king’s
royal
court sweeps her into a world of deception and intrigue, powered by her
mother’s dangerous secret.
The richness
of Parisian
court life is transmitted through the teen’s concurrent concerns about
coming
of age and making decisions about love, connection, and social climbing
that
might impact her relationships as well as her future:
I still had girlish dreams of doing something grand
with my life,
although I had no idea what that could be. Foolish, I knew. My love for
Etienne
was real. Would I be passing up an opportunity to spend my life with
someone
who loved me as Papa loved Maman? Perhaps that was my fear. What if
something
happened, and I lost Etienne the way Maman lost Papa? What if I caused
Etienne
harm? Papa’s willingness to climb onto the roof to keep me dry still
painted a
dark shadow that haunted my dreams. As I helped Maman and Tatie with
household
chores, my thoughts were a tangled knot of what-ifs and wonderings.
As various
characters
query Sylvienne about her perceptions and concerns, education, and
moral and
ethical insights on life, readers receive a steady progression of
thought-provoking passages. These outline not just a coming-of-age
scenario,
but the inner workings of French court members. Sylvienne’s education
thus
takes place on several levels. including reflections that young adult
to adult readers
alike will find revealing:
“Is it a worse fate to be married to someone who
doesn’t love you? As
was the case with the prince in the novel. Or to love someone whom you
can
never marry, as with the princess…and…and the Portuguese nun?”
As the story
progresses from a village girl presented with an unprecedented
opportunity to
rise above her station to the politics and influences of court life,
readers
will especially appreciate the vivid reenactment of the times. The
dreams of
promise faced by a girl who struggles with love, family, wealth, and
the
newfound responsibilities imposed by becoming a duchesse further test
her
relationships and goals in life.
History
comes alive
under Peggy Joque Williams’s pen as the court of Louis XIV assumes a
more realistic
countenance than many historical novels depict.
The
psychological
component of fielding public opinion probes not just the history and
politics
of the court, but its impact on a young girl’s growth and ability to
face
life’s challenges:
“There is not one of us in this room who has
escaped the vicious quill
of the satirist.” She lifted my chin, forcing me to look up at her. “We
learn
to hold our head high and ignore the jealousy of the uncouth.” She
glanced
pointedly at Lorraine, then back at me. “You will learn to do that,
too.” I
nodded. But I didn’t believe it.
The fact
that Courting the Sun marries a
coming-of-age
story with higher-level thinking about French history and culture, the
psychology of success, and shifting perceptions of what constitutes
failure and
challenges lifelong relationships translates to a heady story. This
also will
engross book club discussion groups in both the history and psychology
of 1600s
French court life.
Courting the Sun is thus highly
recommended for libraries strong in
historical fiction that goes beyond depicting a sense of the times to
delve
into its psychological complexities and entanglements, as well … a
feature
often neglected by many competing historical novels set in these times.
Return to Index
Greetings
from Asbury Park
Luigina Vecchione
Dennyloo Publishing
979-8491254989
$14.99
www.luiginavecchione.com
Greetings from Asbury Park: A World War Two Love
Story is a study
in romance, politics, and coming-of-age that will appeal to readers
seeking
love stories set against the backdrop of real-world events.
15-year-old
Roman
girl Mariella chafes under the blanket of family responsibility and the
German
occupation of Italy. She needs a way out to escape family
responsibility and
the brutality the Germans have introduced into daily life. American GI
Jack,
who is visiting Rome but is about to be shipped off to Japan, seems to
hold the
promise of not only escape, but love.
But, is
Mariella old
enough to make decisions about romance, responsibility, and reinventing
her
life?
Luigina
Vecchione’s
story is loosely based on both the lesser-known history of the
nine-month Nazi
occupation of Rome, and a true story based on a personal relationship.
These
elements lend authenticity to Mariella’s account, creating a draw that
will
attract a wide audience of readers.
From
cross-cultural
encounters to contrasts in wealth and poverty, approaches to love and
life, and
indicators that “the world is crumbling around them,” Mariella and a
host of
characters struggle to adjust their lives, expectations, and very
survival to
the new social and political forces that swirl around them.
The romance
component
is tastefully presented, the political overlay is revealing and
realistic, and
the novel’s ability to probe family relationships between Mariella and
Jack’s
very different circumstances is strengthened by dialogues and
reflections. These
cast the question of marriage and the events of World War II in a
different
light than most accounts of either:
It took Mariella effort to keep her composure. So
what if they had a
big family? At least it was filled with love. And she was proud to help
out when times were difficult. If she hadn’t, her family
would have starved during the war.
The result
is an
exceptional, vivid, and engrossing story that builds its tension on
strong
characters, pairing it with historical insights many won’t have known
prior to
the story.
Libraries
seeking
standout attractions that place World War II’s atmosphere and events in
a very
different, personal light will welcome the many discussion
opportunities that Greetings from Asbury Park
encourages.
Return to Index
Scott Gordon
Maxwell Street
Books
979-8-9901035-0-4
$27.99
Hardcover/$15.99 Paperback/$4.99 ebook
https://scottgordonbooks.com/
Head Fake is a novel about basketball,
second chances, and coaching
a team of kids who drove away their last coach. These kids hold a
reputation
for especially dangerous attitudes in a high school already devoted to
high-risk offenders who show symptoms of mental illness.
Under these
conditions, and given his own failure to control his mental condition,
how can
twenty-five-year-old coach Mikey succeed against the odds and efforts
of those
who presumably were far wiser and mentally more competent than he?
Surprisingly,
he
finds that his mental condition actually proves to be a strength as he
addresses this mixed bag of upstarts and delinquents on a level that
most
adults and prior leaders haven’t understood.
But, is the
cost of
such a great effort another mental breakdown, or will it lead to
healing?
Readers who
navigate
Mikey’s world and the uncertainty of his pathway to success and
personal mental
health will find Head Fake a
rousing
story of failure, success, and relationships. It introduces unexpected
insights
and connections for adults and kids who also struggle with mental
conditions.
Scott Gordon
creates
a multifaceted story that includes Mikey’s family relationships and
influences
as his casual foray into coaching becomes both a profession and a point
of
conflict:
“’Mikey couldn’t coach a dish from the sink to the
dishwasher,’ said my
old man. The camera pushed in a foot from my face, allowing me to see
my
distorted reflection in the lens, which felt about right. This wasn’t
how I
wanted my old man to learn I’d encroached into his sacred world.
’Little birdie told me you were coaching,’ said Knowles.
’I drive a bus for the Mary Friedman Alternative High School and their
coach
quit, so I’m just helping out—no big deal,’ I said, attempting to
lessen the
blow.”
A father
convinced
that his son is “always looking for a way to embarrass me”; a son
taking
tentative late steps into finding his life abilities and passion
independent of
his mental challenges; and kids that fall under his leadership and
inadvertently absorb new lessons about their own illnesses, impulses,
and
ideals makes for a riveting story of discovery.
As conflict
rages
over student fights and administration processes, a wry tone of ironic
humor
permeates the novel, lending it just the right flavor of insight and
fun to
keep readers both enjoying and thinking.
The result
is a
late-stage coming-of-age story; a foray into mental health and
recovery; an
examination of intergenerational relationships; and an uplifting
success story
that navigates many mine fields of failure before achieving its goals.
Libraries
will find Head Fake satisfyingly
hard to narrowly
define and easy to recommend to patrons looking for realistic,
streetwise
stories of transition and change.
Return to Index
In Their Ruin
Joyce Goldenstern
Black Heron Press
978-1-936364-44-2
$17.99 Paper (with
French flaps)/$9.99 eBook
www.blackheronpress.com
Black Heron
Press
awarded author Joyce Goldenstern the 2024 Black Heron Press Award for
Social
Fiction. It’s only the 11th time since 1997 that the award has been
given,
indicating the special high quality of this novel.
In Their Ruin is set in a 1940s Chicago
suburb. where gang
operations lead to family involvements, estrangements, and situations
that not
only divide relationships, but lead to mysteries that remain unsolved
for
generations.
The quest
actually
opens in 2016, where itinerant English teacher Ruth Winters writes
about a
missing mother of the past who continues to impact generations.
The first
part of the
story moves readers from 1948 to 1968, where mother Gladys worries
about her
sons’ influences, temptations, and challenges. The era is on the cusp
of
radical changes, but is still recovering from the influence of Al
Capone and
racial prejudice; both of which have permeated her family in personal
ways that
thwarts many of her moves to raise her three sons differently.
What would
lead such
a mother to abandon her family? Impossibilities that seem inevitable
against
all effort; including a father’s mental illness.
Floundering,
rudderless,
and struggling against the tide of poor influences and neglect, the
boys are
haunted by ongoing, unresolved issues of the past and the power of
various
women who surround them with disparate options and voices.
Joyce
Goldenstern is
especially adept at capturing these conflicting values and lessons as
life
moves on:
Samuel, sitting there inconspicuously on a bench on
a sunny summer
morning, pondered not only the nature of reality, but also the nature
of evil.
How could evil exist and be defined by consequences when intentions had
only
been thoughtless or wayward or maybe even innocent? He turned this
question
over in his mind. He considered his own behavior: the worst things he
had ever
done, the ones he regretted and the ones that affected others: Anthony,
Caleb,
his brothers. And being now so physically near his childhood home, he
considered too the behavior of those who had once lived there with him.
The
injection of
insights such as these, as Samuel searches for a place of his own and
tackles his
own physical and emotional limitations, will lend to dialogues between
readers
interested in generational impacts, family legacies, and how the
presence or
absence of family leaders influences the choices children make and the
consequences they then pass on to their own kids.
Libraries
and readers
seeking astute literary and psychological works that bring family
history and
legacy to the forefront of discussion will find In
Their Ruin’s ability to contrast past and present trends and
lives to be especially thought-provoking and inviting. It’s an
award-winning
read strongly recommended for book clubs looking for discussion
material central
to family evolution, mental illness, and family legacy.
Return to Index
Italian
American
Luigina Vecchione
Dennyloo
Publishing
979-8893790832
$16.99 Paperback/$1.99 eBook
Website: www.luiginavecchione.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Italian-American-Mariellas-journey-continues-ebook/dp/B0CZPSP47H
Italian American continues Jack and
Mariella’s story, introduced in
Greetings from Asbury Park,
following
them from Italy to America, where further challenges and growth awaits
them.
Set nine
years after
events in Asbury Park, the story
traverses and contrasts the cultures between two countries as Mariella
emigrates to America, only to find new loneliness and alienation awaits
her,
between a country she really doesn’t understand, prejudice, and a
disapproving
mother-in-law’s lack of support for the couple.
Even though
she has
Jack, she confesses to this lack of connection as she struggles to make
a new
home and life outside of her native Rome:
“Do you like it here?”
“Yes, of course,” Mariella replied a little too quickly. “I mean, I try
my
best. When Jack is with me, all is perfect. Just like I dream. But when
he
works I am lonely.”
One would
think a new
baby could change hearts and minds, but cultural differences even come
into play
when the pregnancy almost terminates in disaster in a manner few
Americans can
understand:
“Now, tell me, why didn’t Mariella want to stay in
the hospital? I
loved my time in the maternity ward. Nothing to do but rest and chat
with all
the gals. I tell ya, it was a hoot.”
“Well, she’s not used to that.” Leaning against the stove, Jack rubbed
the back
of his neck. “They’re still doing births at home back in Italy. She
didn’t
think it was necessary to be there.”
Little
Olivia does
change things, but it’s really the shifting social milieu which
eventually
invites Mariella to become more connected to her new culture and world.
Luigina
Vecchione’s
story will be especially appreciated by readers who absorbed the
Italian world
and World War II stresses of Asbury Park,
who will find this ongoing journey by the couple to be realistic,
thought-provoking, and hard to put down.
Mariella’s
struggles
to make sense of her world and adopted land and Jack’s concern with
making sure
his wife feels welcome and safe permeate an engrossing love story which
widens
to embrace family and cultural differences.
Even more
intriguing
are the differences between male experience and female ambition which
are
approached from a different light as Mariella comes to question
tradition and
precedent in new ways:
Why can’t a woman be in medicine? she asked
herself, looking down at
her name. And she’s Italian, to boot!
Romance,
mystery, and
historical draws unfold in a saga that is sparked by two daughters’
interest in
probing their parents’ love and lives, and evolves to embrace the
challenges of
moving to America in the 1950s.
Libraries
and reader
seeking stories of immigrant experiences, the culture and challenges of
the
times, and a continuing story of a couple in love that fields a variety
of
obstacles to stay together will find in Italian
American a thoroughly engrossing story that builds emotional
tension,
cultural revelation, and historical connection in an inviting manner.
Book clubs and Italian-American groups will find Italian American of special attractionand interest, providing a strong sequel to Mariella and Jack’s story that is just as revealing and attractive as the beginning of their odyssey.
Italian AmericanReturn to Index
Katharine’s Remarkable Road Trip
Gail Ward Olmsted
Black Rose Writing
978-1685134327
$20.95 Paperback/$5.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=katharine%27s+remarkable+road+trip&crid=2M42D0CFIKM93&sprefix=%2Caps%2C158&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_3_0_recent
Katharine’s
Remarkable Road Trip is a novel
about travel and discovery; but unlike the rollicking ride of Jack
Kerouac’s On
the Road, this story comes steeped in a sense of history,
aging-related
issues, and adventurous encounters that prompts new revelations and
growth.
Set in 1907, it follows a 300-mile road trip
undertaken by a 77-year-old woman from her Rhode Island home to New
Hampshire,
and the unexpected encounters and changes that transform her experience
and
perspective during this journey.
Katharine’s real-world life fuels this
fictional pursuit, which offers a wry sense of humor from its opening
lines:
I
held the
telephone’s mouthpiece as far from my ear as I was able, but my
sister’s shrill
voice could still be heard. I did not want to believe that Mr.
Alexander Graham
Bell had invented the telephone for the sole purpose of my younger
sister
screeching at me from two hundred miles away. Clearly, he’d had far
loftier
goals in mind.
Katharine is no newcomer to travel. Indeed,
she’s made the journey between her two homes (as well as other places)
numerous
times. What concerns her family is her age and the fact that she’s
traveling
solo as a female traversing a man’s world. But that’s nothing new,
either: for
most of her life, Katharine has been alone and done many things. So,
really, it
all boils down to aging and safety.
Katharine’s journey defies both as she
engages with various characters, navigates new situations, imparts the
wisdom
of her years, and learns unexpected new things in the course of her
road trip.
The real Katharine (Prescott
Wormeley,
1830-1908) was fiercely independent, educated, and never married. She
was a
nurse, a school founder, a hospital administrator, a writer, and a
translator.
The facts about her life neatly blend into
her times, here, to capture both a psychological and philosophical
sense of
growth and the circumstances. These lead her into unexpected new
directions via
not only her expanded relationships, but their impact:
Perhaps
my random
meanderings were meant to serve a real purpose, after all. No, that was
ridiculous.
It had just been nothing more than a fortunate coincidence that had put
us in
the same place and time today. Unless . . .
The result is a story that will especially
delight readers of women’s historical fiction and novels rooted in
real-world
people. Gail Ward Olmsted’s in-depth studies of the real Katharine’s
life and
times lends a realistic atmosphere to all her choices and their
consequences,
successfully cementing character intentions and the adventurous nature
of her
life and thinking.
Katharine’s
Remarkable Road Trip is very
highly recommended for a wide audience, from libraries seeking
appealing
stories of women’s lives to book clubs that will find plenty of
material here
for discussion and debate on everything from aging and life experiences
to
revised perspectives on how to approach and live one’s twilight years.
Return to Index
Now and at
the Hour
Martin Drapkin
Three Towers
Press/HenschelHAUS Publishing Inc.
978-1595989901
$16.95 Paper/$8.99 eBook
www.HenschelHAUSbooks.com
Now and at the Hour, Martin Drapkin’s
first novel, is set in the
1970s. It explores the relationships that evolve between staff and
patients in
a state institution for people with intellectual disabilities. This
definition
of need embraces a wide range of issues, age ranges, and needs, as
young aide
Billy Malsavage finds in the course of his work.
Several of
his
charges suffer from physical impairments, although their mental acuity
is
untouched, creating special dilemmas that require approaches and
attitudes that
are different from traditional one-size-fits-all routines.
Drapkin
employs
shifting viewpoints between new young resident Ricky, who has suffered
a
debilitating brain injury during a football game; Billy, who tries to
go above
and beyond in developing a relationship with him that traverses
personal
distancing; and Buddy, an aging man with cerebral palsy who well knows
the
special challenges of being trapped in a body that doesn’t work.
Philosophical
reflections about life’s value move from looking at individuals who are
frustrated by life developments to even considering the feline’s
lesser-evolved
life:
My little orange man’s happy with what he has and
doesn’t want more and
isn’t depressed by his lot in life. He’ll last for as long as he can
and all he
wants and needs is what he has now: a simple, quiet, warm place to
live; some
food, and I don’t think he cares if it’s the same cat food crap day
after day;
a fairly clean litter box; and his little comforts, including my lap.
He likes
watching birds out the window, and tenses and twitches when he sees
them,
though I imagine the glass barrier frustrates him. Maybe he’d
appreciate some
companionship of his own kind, but that’s about it. That’s his little
life, and
then somewhere down the road that life will end. Stan won’t accomplish
anything
in this world, unless he catches a mouse or two, and his life will be
little
noted nor long remembered by anyone but me.
These and
other
thought-provoking passages of reflection emerge as each character
reconsiders their
past, present, and future; both individually and at this juncture in
their
lives.
Martin
Drapkin’s penchant
for thoroughly exploring and revealing each character’s perspective
creates an
interplay of philosophies and values that, in turn, will provoke
discussions
and debates among book club audiences.
That’s why Now and at the Hour’s fictional
exploration will prove a draw to libraries seeking a contemporary twist
on Ken
Kesey’s classic One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest—one which outlines not the insanity of
institutions or their
residents and keepers, but the sanity of cultivating close personal
ties
against all odds … even when the looming future is of mixed value.
The
exquisite
development of each character creates compelling insights certain to
spark
discussion and reader interest.
Return to Index
The
Overexamined Life
of Jacob Hart
Jerry Wald
Torchflame Books/Top
Reads Publishing
978-1-61153-593-8
$18.99
https://www.amazon.com/Overexamined-Life-Jacob-Hart/dp/161153593X
The Overexamined Life of Jacob Hart is a
novel that introduces
topics of faith and belief when Jacob Hart’s heart and mind are
challenged by
the death of his wife. Gone is the notion that all problems are
solvable.
Buffeted by
winds of
loss, grief, and feelings of helplessness, Jacob finds himself both
beset upon
by prophetic visions and determined to locate and confront the greater
power
which has wrested his love from his life.
His story is
revealed
through alternating viewpoints, from Jacob’s experiences to Lizzy, a
model wife
who continues to love him, albeit in a very different manner. Also
prominently
featured is a rabbi who has lost his faith and a professor who joins
Jacob’s
journey to Lake Paradise in search of answers.
Jerry Wald
provides
an intriguing set of spiritual questions and avenues of philosophical
thought
as his story unfolds. He presents these ideas and realizations during
the
course of a meeting of minds between three seemingly disparate
individuals. Each
contributes their own perspective and insights into bigger-picture
thinking
about God, life’s meaning, and death.
Their
interactions
provide the fuel for a burning story of discovery that operates on many
levels,
translated through the experiences of a disparate cast of characters:
Aaron could see that something was bothering his
friend. He wished that
Jacob could find the peace he had finally chosen. But Jacob’s stubborn
expression annoyed him. “Do we really need to keep debating?” he said.
“For
once, just try to appreciate the things you have, the knowledge you do
possess.
This is the human condition, Jacob, and you need to accept it. If you
keep
trying to get closer to the sun, you’ll get scorched.”
Is the human
condition acceptable? Not always, for Jacob and for his companions.
The
injection of
serious philosophical reflection adds an extra dimension of thought to
the
story, making it of special attraction to readers and book club
discussion
groups interested in the growing, changing connections between friends
and
family members who find existential questions at the heart of their
concerns.
Supporting
characters, such as a town mayor, also add their very different voices
into the
greater scheme of discovery and the lessons gleaned from higher-level
thinking:
I had the bastard right where I wanted him. Ready
to hemorrhage cash
and snivel out a public apology to the good citizens of Chicago. Better
yet, to
show the hardworking voters from Main Street that their mayor takes no
shit
from Wall Street.
Is Jacob’s
life
overexamined, or underacknowledged? Why does God often remain unseen?
These and
other
questions will lead The Overexamined Life
of Jacob Hart onto the shelves of libraries seeking novels
that can be
recommended to fiction readers and book clubs seeking themes of
spiritual and
philosophical enlightenment. The encounters and juxtaposition of
characters
who, each in their own way, contribute to a greater journey of
discovery is
simply delightful, compelling, and thought-provokingly realistic.
Return to Index
Past Lives
Denied
Ellenmorris Tiegerman
Scholar Dreams
Publishin
979-8989907113
$16.99 Paperback/$4.99 ebook
Website:
www.ellenmorrisauthor.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Past-Lives-Denied-Ellenmorris-Tiegerman/dp/B0D1SRYMLZ
Past Lives Denied is a novel that centers
on Professor Caitlyn
Morrys, a school political and policy controversy that results in a
murder, and
police inspector Cormac Robertson, who employs an unusual method to get
at the
truth—past life regression.
This places
the tale
firmly within the interests of anyone who loves good mystery, but
generally
eschews novels for their lack of intrigue.
Past life
regression
doesn’t open the door to a singular event, but provokes the review of
all kinds
of events, influences, and even past lives, as they both discover
during the
course of sessions which reveal far more than either Caitlyn or Cormac
could
have anticipated.
Is there
such a thing
as a murder whose origins reside in past life experiences? In this
case, yes.
The trick lies in using these revelations to save Caitlyn’s life as
well as
solve the case; because now she’s the pivot point in a different way,
and
resolution can seemingly only come with her demise.
Ellenmorris
Tiegerman
crafts a vivid story that rests on an unusual premise: that the future
can not
only be influenced, but changed, by events in the past. Past lives, to
be
specific; as the psychiatric community is discovering and as reflected
in an
article Caitlyn finds, published by an esteemed Yale psychiatrist.
Deeper-level
thinking
than most mysteries offer may reflect Past
Lives Denied’s billing not as a mystery, but a novel. From
historical
stereotypes that have their mirrors in present-day events to the
identification
of Caitlyn as a “heretical rebel,” Tiegerman juxtaposes dialogues,
confrontations, revelations, and solutions in a manner that heightens
the
tension over not just whodunit, but past life influences and portents.
Libraries
and readers
seeking a story refreshingly different in the way of a problem-solving
event, a
life-threatening mystery, and psychological and political
confrontations will
relish characters whose present-day lives intersect over past life
experience.
Past Lives Denied is hard to put down,
impossible to predict, and
also perfect for book club discussion groups—especially those in which
past
life regression is already of interest.
Return to Index
A Place
Unmade
Carla Seyler
Black Rose Writing
978-1685134211
$24.95 Paperback/$6.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Place-Unmade-Carla-Seyler/dp/1685134211
A Place Unmade blends themes of corporate
intrigue and
environmental issues into the lives of two very different characters.
Each find
themselves immersed in a scheme that challenges their moral and ethical
compasses.
Valentina
Sorelli is
a graduate student and also a marketing director. Executive Jack
Stillman’s
mission to use his company's research for personal gain would seem to
place
these two characters in worlds which wouldn’t collide. However,
Valentina’s
relationship with Stillman’s son Sam complicates matters as she finds
herself
immersed not in marketing or studies, but a whistle blowing battle that
eventually threatens her life and her friends.
Carla Seyler
creates
a moving, thoroughly engrossing story. It pairs a New Orleans botanical
garden
director’s job with bigger-picture thinking and activities that force
her to move
well beyond her experience, objectives, and comfort zone.
Flashbacks
into Jack
Stillman’s activities lend to insights on not only his motivations, but
his
ultimate goals. This, in turn, leads to understanding why Valentina is
being
threatened and the links between corporate activities, personal gain,
and
political interference.
Powerful
insights are
developed based not just on these disparate interests, but the
psychology of
motivation and greed which fuel character actions and reactions.
The last
thing
Valentina expected from these murky waters is romance—and yet new
possibilities
emerge.
Readers may
not
expect the threads of humor which flavor serious conflicts with comic
relief,
but Seyler’s adept employment of such translates to a story which rests
on the
perfect blend of tension, understanding, and fun to pique the mind and
delight
the heart.
Terrorism
and
friendship served hot, with a dashing side dish of comedy, makes A Place Unmade an ideal recommendation
for libraries seeking multifaceted stories spinning compelling yarns of
discovery and special interest.
Return to Index
The Playbook
Gary E. Parker
Bancroft Press
978-1-61088-664-2
$24.95
www.bancroftpress.com
The
Playbook is a novel about
football, players and
coaches, and the experience of strategy and determination as one young
woman
forges new pathways in a traditionally male sport.
Chelsea Deal represents a dichotomy.
Manicured hands don’t ordinarily hold a football, even if it is a high
school
sports scenario. Players don’t usually wear lipstick. And her
participation in
a contact sport that males dominate places her in an unusual role when
it comes
to bending rules, making plays, and assuming an active stance in a
ballgame
where she is encouraged to “do something they won’t expect.”
In reality, she’s already done so by her
drive to participate in football. But something more is required than
her
presence and game skills alone, and as The Playbook
unfolds, these
elements come into play in a manner that highlights the presence of
women in
sports in general and one young woman’s perseverance and determination
in
particular.
Gary E. Parker’s playbook comes with rules
that are meant to be broken as Chelsea explores new options, forging
new
pathways not only for herself, but future generations of young women
interested
in football.
Team clashes and efforts, Chelsea’s ability
to guide her team and take command of situations through her special
insights,
and the playbooks of tradition that fall to her leadership abilities
are
outlined in group and individual dynamics that come to life under
Parker’s
hand:
A
football in
hand, Chelsea steps forward and scans the team. Knowing the players
aren’t
accustomed to losing, she isn’t sure whether to go easy or rain
hellfire and
brimstone on their heads. “Okay, gentlemen,” she starts, deciding to
stay
positive. “First thing: Last week is over. Flush it. We’re not talking
about it
anymore.” Everyone relaxes a little as she continues. “Second, this is
a bye
week, so we can all rest up, recover from injuries.” The players nod,
letting
their guard down a little more. But Chelsea’s next words jerk them
quickly back
to attention. “But know this,” she says, her face tightening. “A bye
week
doesn’t mean it’s a ‘jerk-around and waste-time’ week. Or an
‘act-like-an-idiot
and get-in-trouble week.’ Use your time wisely. We clear on that?”
A new Playbook is created which challenges
both Chelsea and her team as faith plays a strong role in outcomes and
shifting
goals.
Parker’s inclusion of this Christian
foundation adds yet another dimension of attraction and interest to the
story,
elevating it beyond any perception that the novel will be about
football or
women’s participation alone.
This makes The Playbook a
game-changer for its revelations about life, belief, and bigger-picture
thinking. All will drive readers to appreciate facets of life
experience that
go well beyond Chelsea’s participatory skills alone.
Libraries looking for faith-based, strong
considerations of sports, relationships with God, male and female
confrontations and love, and evolving goals that embrace new
revelations will
find The Playbook an excellent choice that outlines
more than one game’s
changing strategies.
Return to Index
Rescue Run
John Winn Miller
Bancroft Press
978-1-61088-643-7
$27.95
www.bancroftpress.com
Rescue
Run: Capt.
Jake Rogers’ Daring Return to Occupied Europe
is a sequel expanding the World War II maritime Peggy C Saga series,
and is especially recommended for prior fans of John Winn Miller’s
blend of
history and action.
Newcomers will find Rescue Run
an
unusual approach to World War II history, in that it describes events
and
experiences from the viewpoints of ordinary sailors who become caught
up in a
war they never trained for.
Miller’s attention to even small nuances of
daily life experience lends an authentic feel to the saga, bringing it
to life
with rich detail:
The
three ravenous
men gathered around a small table in the backroom for a plateful of a
beef
version of braadworst, a traditional Dutch sausage, typically served on
top of
steaming hutspot—mashed potatoes with kale, onions, and carrots.
Vegetables were hard to come by, and meat was even more scarce, so
the dish was mostly carrots.
“No, that will not do,” Mr. 400 said, snatching the fork out of Rogers’
right
hand. “Here, do this.” He cut the tiny sausage with the fork in his
left hand
and the knife in his right and shoved the bite into his mouth with his
left
hand. “Do not eat like an American. Do not switch hands. Understand?”
Leader Jake once again risks his life to
save innocents and others who also have found themselves caught up in a
battle
far from their experience.
History and local atmosphere are embedded
into these descriptions, furthering the feel of realistic settings,
environments, and encounters as tense action and high drama unfold:
The canal, unlike the ones in Amsterdam, was cut several meters below street level
and
was lined
with windows, arched double doors, and an occasional staircase. The
doors led
to the city’s wharf cellars, carved out under homes so the owners above
could
take in supplies and store them without having to haul them up to
street level.
Most of the 700 in existence had been abandoned after rail and road
traffic
began to dominate transportation.
It is Miller’s close attention to building
intricate details to support these confrontations that keep this novel
both
entertaining and insightful. It captures the milieu of different
countries,
nautical adventures and interests, and social and political clashes in
a manner
unequalled by typically one-dimensional portraits of the times.
Cementing all these events is also an
exquisite characterization in which all participants in the struggles
hold
their distinct personalities, special interests, and viewpoints.
From Resistance movements and double spies
to pathways of escape and redemption, the movements Jake and his
cohorts make,
and the morals and values that fuel their decisions, create vivid
scenarios
that will prove hard to put down.
Libraries strong in either nautical novels
or historical fiction, particularly those with a special interest in
World War
II battles or that have seen patron interest in Miller’s prior book,
will find Rescue
Run an excellent choice. It will attract even readers who may
initially
hold little prior interest in nautical or military history, but seek
rollicking
good fiction that defies pat categorization.
Return to Index
Ring: A Novel
Michelle Lerner
Bancroft Press
978-1-61088-627-7
$23.95
www.bancroftpress.com
Ring:
A Novel is a story about grief,
suicide, and
rejuvenation. Trigger warning: this will prove difficult reading for
those who
might hold unresolved issues in their own lives. Recommendation? Start
such a
self-examination here, through the comforting distance of fiction, by
moving
through the life and reactions of grieving parent Lee, who is searching
for
solace after an immeasurable loss.
Nobody is ready to face suicide—or its
aftermath. As the story opens, Lee, who has hardly left the house since
the
death, is on the first trip he’s undertaken since Rachel’s funeral,
heading for
a sanctuary bereft of the comfort of Xanax or the ability to continue
hiding
from the world and his own heart.
Rachel and Lee’s perspectives shift
throughout the story, juxtaposing the thoughts, observations, and
experiences
of parent and child in a manner that lends to enlightenment and
understanding
on both sides.
Witness the changes that occur when grief is
transformed into concern for Ring, a dog brought to the sanctuary by a
man
determined to not only end his life, but take Ring with him to be his
companion
in the afterlife.
Pulled into another dilemma surrounding the
ethics and morality of suicide, Lee embarks on a journey that not only
addresses this unique situation between animal and owner, but covers
past
connections to Rachel which have, until now, proved impossible to
confront or
absorb.
Michelle Lerner crafts a story which
delicately walks between psychological insight and inquiry, injecting
atmospheric influences of Canadian culture and environment into the
tale of a
search for not just peace, but understanding.
Rituals and changing perspectives shift
Lee’s prior convictions about suicide and its possibilities, as well as
its
influence on those that are left behind with loss and grief.
Concurrent issues facing First People
residents at Attawapiskat and its nearby Seven Pillars Sanctuary (which
purportedly has little to do with the Swampy Cree First Nation
government, but
ripples influences into the nearby native culture) are also explored,
adding
additional, unexpected dimensions of cultural, social, and
psychological
inspection to widen the scope and subject from suicide to First Nations
concerns.
Lerner’s delicate reconstruction of Lee’s
life without Rachel in it (but newly enriched by knowing Ring) offers
thought-provoking dialogues and insights perfect for psychology group
or book
club discussion as bigger-picture thinking about life, death, and
purpose come
into play:
“Maybe
you can do
that for Rachel, maybe you can survive and serve others as a legacy for
her. I
think that’s part of what Gloria was trying to suggest. Or maybe you
can use
this opportunity as a place to live with Ring while you figure out
another way
to honor Rachel’s memory. I know you’re afraid. I know you’re in pain.
And I
know maybe you don’t want to heal. I just wonder if maybe you do.”
Libraries seeking novels about suicide and
parental loss which take an extra step into arenas of animal protection
and
connection, healing, and First Nations concerns will find Ring:
A Novel
the perfect recommendation for patrons who struggle with their own
losses.
More is going on in Ring than
loss
alone: it’s the rejuvenation opportunity, which works on different
levels of
realization and resolution, which give this book added value and
expanded
interest.
Return to Index
Sparks of
the
Revolution
Todd Harrison Otis
Modern History Press
978-1-61599-787-9
$35.00
Hardcover/$21.95 Paperback/$6.95 eBook
www.ModernHistoryPress.com
Sparks of the Revolution: James Otis and the Birth
of American
Democracy is a novel that is steeped in the birth of the
American
democracy. It narrows its focus to a small band of patriots led by the
words of
James Otis, whose argument against the Writs of Assistance led Boston
first to
resist British rule and triggered events that led to
Revolution.
Otis
contributed much
to the foundations of the early American democracy through his legal
pursuits
and their concurrent political impact. He led the growing opposition to
the
British with the charge that the rights of the colonies were
independent of
foreign rule, and he helped influence and establish the framework by
which the
American democracy was formed.
The sparks
lit by
this 1700s patriot are especially important for modern audiences to
understand,
considering the current challenges to long-held democratic principles
and the
arguments that swirl between historical precedent and modern political
ideals.
Todd
Harrison Otis
couches his novel in dramatic experiences and history. This approach
lends a
compelling touch to its real-world foundations:
“What Bostonians found most vexing, and which added
fuel to the fire of
Boston resistance, was that Governor Hutchinson’s sons were two of the
specially designated consignees of the East India Company tea. The
crowd of
resisters resented Thomas and Elisha Hutchinson for flagrantly ignoring
the
non-importation agreements in the late 1760s; it was only natural the
Sons of
Liberty sought to stigmatize them. The Hutchinson sons, like their
father, came
to see how despised they had become.”
Under Otis’s
hand,
the culture, politics, and perceptions of the times come to life,
inviting
contemporary contrasts between modern events and history.
From
massacres and
alliances to the incendiary flames of battle and increasing
confrontations, Sparks of the Revolution
brings the past
to vivid life in a manner that invites understanding and interest
through its detailed
contrasts between social and political visionaries of the times.
The result
is
especially highly recommended to libraries and readers looking for
fictional
surveys that are engrossing, imparting a “you are here” feel to events
that
make it easier to understand the roots of American culture and
revolution,
whether they be past or present-day.
Return to Index
Vermilion
Harvest
Reenita M. Hora
Indignor House
978-1-953278-52-4
$24.95
Website: www.indignorhouse.com
Ordering: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vermilion-harvest-reenita-m-hora/1145699636?ean=9781953278524
Vermilion Harvest: Playtime at the Bagh
will appeal to historical
novel enthusiasts who hold a special interest in either Indian history
or 1900s
turn-of-the-century world events.
The
real-world
Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919 serves as a backdrop, here, for a love story that
centers on the growing
romance between two teens: an Anglo-Indian schoolteacher and a Muslim
student
activist.
Aruna isn’t
seeking
love, but a stability that is shaken by events that begin transforming
the city
of Amritsar from a peaceful haven to a milieu rocked by social and
political
unrest.
Ayaz Peermohammed represents a centrifuge of
dichotomies that both attracts Aruna and refutes her basic notions of
safety and
security. Betrayed by her own emotions, Aruna’s tendency to question
the
rationale behind her fears falls to the wayside as the young couple
faces
mayhem as well as attraction.
Reenita M.
Hora’s
choice of placing Aruna as the first-person narrator and observer of
this
changing world injects immediacy into the events as they unfold. This
brings
the social and political turmoil and its impact home to readers who
might have
no special knowledge of either Indian history in general or the events
surrounding the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in particular.
While some
might
think this prior knowledge essential for appreciating the novel’s
backdrop and
cultural heritage, the joy in its reading lies in the fact that such
facets
emerge and are explained from the perspective of the two newly joined
individuals who each reexamine their values and impulses, both towards
one
another and as they participate, individually and as a couple, in the
changes
buffeting their world.
Aruna’s
observations
are central to understanding not only the psychology of historical
events, but
the contrasting differences between those who participated in them:
Violence was lurking, and Ayaz did know about it.
What about his oath
of satyagraha? Wasn’t knowing about violence and not saying anything
the same
as being a part of it? I wanted to scream. Public demeanor be damned…
I, too, wanted
answers, the Aruna that had fallen in love with him and trusted him. I
wanted
answers now.
Hora’s
attention to
the psychology of motivation and relationships which simmer beneath the
emerging political struggle makes Vermilion
Harvest a powerful read. It’s perfect for individuals who may
know
relatively little about Indian history, but are as interested in
expanding their
knowledge as they are in an absorbing tale of matters of the heart.
Libraries
that choose
Vermilion Harvest for their
historical fiction collections will want to pair its messages with such
classics as The Raj Quartet and
other
fictional bastions of Indian culture and affairs. They will also want
to
recommend it to book clubs looking at political and emotional
examinations of
the times, in India.
Return to Index
Vienna on
Fire
Don Gabor
Blue Danube Press
978-1-879834-00-2
$22.99
Hardcover/$17.99 Paperback/$5.99 eBook
www.bluedanubepress.com
Vienna on Fire: A WWII Story of Survival
will delight historical
novel readers that look for strong female protagonists and historical
backdrops
that come alive. Don Gabor’s ability to depict the events of 1938
Nazi-controlled
Austria through the perspective of 18-year-old Jewish woman Greta
Kolbe’s
clashes with the Gestapo brings the era and its issues to life.
Greta has
been
actively involved in resistance activities, which the Nazis have
finally
identified. Forced into flight from her native country (which has
turned into
threatening, alien territory), Greta fields not just the fruits of her
own
seeds of rebellion, and not just a singular political machine, but
pursuit by
three forces: the Gestapo, a Dutch bounty hunter, and a vengeful
ex-suitor-turned-Nazi.
At this
point, it
should be cautioned that Greta’s experiences escaping these forces and
journeying
the road to freedom also incorporate scenarios of violence against
women,
attempted rape, and resistance which each require different
incarnations of
survival efforts, in different ways.
Greta and
her readers
come to realize that, within this environment, no group or individual
can be
considered entirely trustworthy:
Take care who you trust. There are Gestapo spies
everywhere—even in the
Austrian resistance.
Greta’s
reaction to
suggestions that she give up her freedom (and body) for Hitler
personalizes the
types of oppression Jewish people faced under Nazi rule:
“Not long after that, I
saw Hans and his Brownshirt friends beat a rabbi in front of a
synagogue. They
were worse than a pack of wolves. When Hans saw me, he threatened to
turn me
into the Gestapo as a Communist sympathizer if I didn’t join him as his
partner
in Hitler’s Aryan birthing program.”
Greta’s
discovery that resistance comes from different places and takes
many forms only strengthens her own definitions of right, wrong, and
defiance:
“Stuttgart is a nice place, if it
wasn’t for the Germans.”
Captain Peter stroked his beard and added, “Or, for the Nazis, of which
there
are plenty.”
Greta pulled her coat tighter. “Which makes it an unsafe place for
Jews.”
“And for anti-Nazis too,” Emil said. “It may surprise you that there
are many
German resisters here who show their disdain for the Nazis.”
These
social and political encounters expand the concept and
incarnation of multiface
Greta’s
ability to field all challenges in pursuit of not just survival
and freedom, but living her life both within and away from her beloved
homeland
(annexed by invaders who proceed to change not just the landscape, but
the
mindsets of people she once knew well) strengthens a story steeped in
history. The
effort is tempered and personalized by author Don Gabor’s family’s
correspondence and stories about these times.
The
result is not just a portrait of Vienna and Europe on fire, but the
challenges brought to ordinary people as issues of superiority, women’s
duties
and rights, and political supremacy take over the world.
Libraries
and readers seeking exceptional portraits of Jewish survivors
and strong young women who foster different responses to escape and
survival,
refusing to become victims, will find Vienna
on Fire absolutely captivating. It’s powered by strong
characters whose
perceptions and conflicts are not just realistic, but thoroughly
absorbing “you
are here” experiences.
All
this also makes for compelling book club discussion material.
Return to Index
Witch
Mirror
A.L. Hawke
Independently Published
978-195391999
$22.99 Hardcover/$15.99 Paperback/$4.99 eBook
Website: www.alhawke.com
Ordering: https://www.amazon.com/Witch-Mirror-Hawthorne-University/dp/1953919995
Cadence
Wallace has married Bryce and the two pursue their teaching
careers at Hawthorne University, striving to revive the metaphysical
elements
of historical investigation that their former teacher promoted to his
students.
Not
only does Cadence face her new endeavors with an extra advantage
(she houses the spirit of her former teacher, Doctor Alondra Johansen,
with her
magical abilities), but she taps the additional strengths of a council
of
witches who help her repel and confront demons and witches who continue
to try
to warp her love and life.
Sadly,
this council is convinced that Alondra is evil. But Cadence’s
unique connection to Alondra seems to indicate otherwise. Or, does it?
Bryce
and Cadence attempt to bring back some of her magic, but their
endeavor comes at a cost.
A.L.
Hawke creates a thoroughly absorbing, witchy tale as events unfold
to probe friendships, enemies, and shady relationships which lie
in-between,
defying easy definition:
Enora said Mira and I are
enemies. Bullshit. It’s true we love fighting with one another, but we
also
love each other. Everything out of that evil witch’s mouth is a lie.
Forced
to choose between dark magic and the light, Cadence finds her
abilities and morals tested as she ventures into realms that involve
‘backward
magic’ and options she never thought she would consider, powered by
Alondra’s
influence.
Libraries
and readers seeking vivid cat-and-mouse intrigue, paranormal
encounters galore, romance, and friendships tested by perceptions of
right and
wrong choices will find Witch Mirror
nearly impossible to put down—and challenging to easily peg.
Call
it a story of unearthly choices and encounters, or a consideration
of the lasting power of teachers and love … either
way, Witch Mirror is a winning
story that (spoiler alert) concludes with
a cliffhanger that paves the way for the next Hawthorne University
adventure.
Return to Index
Wolves and
Empires
Daniel McKenzie
Atmosphere Press
979-8-89132-234-9
$20.00 pb/$29.99
hc/$9.99 ebook
www.atmospherepress.com
Wolves and Empires is the second book of
the Seafourthe Saga,
continuing the story of the Wolf of the Agean, who finds himself
sailing to the
Caribbean; there to become involved in a clever heist at Spain's major
shipping
port in Vera Cruz, Mexico.
Captain
Lucien
Dumaine (“The Wolf”) expected resistance and battle. He did not plan on
fighting his heart when romance evolves and beckons him away from his
assigned
objectives, there to enter unfamiliar waters that swirl him away from
his
purposes and very self.
Can a
purposeful
foray into political clashes still be conducted when his attraction to
Parisian
apparel salon owner Lady Seafourthe emerges during a new sailing
assignment?
Once again,
the
swashbuckling, seaworthy adventures of The Wolf come to life, with
social and
political alliances affecting the course of events, driving the good
captain
and his crew towards ever-murkier waters of involvement and political
alliances.
The
underlying
political associations and influences of dialogues and encounters bring
characters from Europe and the Caribbean to life:
“Forgive me, Viscount. This is all so
overwhelming,” he answered in a
political gesture so universal with the inexperienced and inattentive
born-to-wealth again calling him by his father’s title, Viscount.
From the
experiences
of being at sea for months to the disparate interests of a wide range
of
characters who work alongside or become associated with The Wolf,
McKenzie
employs astute observations to capture events from more than one
viewpoint:
John could only hope that one day his fellow
captain would embrace the
unending sweetness, the peace and love of God. This rogue Wolf had
proven
himself repeatedly, and it was evident to him the Wolf was beloved of
God. Yet
he must recognize this wondrous gift and could only pray for him to see
the
light and open to the truth of salvation.
Between
heists and
heroes to “wind-scoured” high seas adventures, Wolves
and Empires expands the character of the good captain
through
experiences that will prove adventurous, compelling, lively, and
thought-provoking for readers attracted to sea sagas and action.
Libraries
looking for
solid, compelling, stand-alone, seaworthy stories will find Wolves and Empires runs hot, whether
through
its adventure-packed encounters or a romance that blossoms under
unpredictable
circumstances.
Return to Index
A.N.V.K.:
Birthed in
the Blood
Chayil Champion
Starchild Comics
ASIN: B0CSQ1NHFB
$4.99 eBook
COMIC
BOOK - ANVK: BIRTHED IN THE BLOOD (cosbymediaproductions.com)
They fight
with more
than martial arts, however—high technology adds another dimension of
strength
to their toolboxes, and may be the only thing keeping them from
disaster as
they hide under their ninja identities and struggle to confront deadly
killers
whose own powers may be equal to (or greater than) their abilities.
Chayil
Champion
crafts his comic story with a sense of purpose, action, and discovery
as these
would-be heroes find themselves confronting a bigger vampire problem
than they
had anticipated.
Elizabeth
Olamide
demonstrates her own form of superpower in the form of colorful,
engrossing
illustrations throughout the comic. These capture unfolding events as a
group
of young student warriors evolves in response to a threat to their
world.
This comic
is
directed to teen readers, and contains a certain amount of gore as the
vampire(s) strike. (After all, it’s about vampires … and gore is part
of their
picture and modus operandi).
This,
combined with
streetwise actions, slang, confrontations, and newfound missions that
spark
social and ethical observation in the young warriors, makes for a vivid
comic
book read. It walks the mean streets of bloodsuckers with an avid eye
to
bringing to life not only confrontations with vampires; but between age
groups
and special interests operating behind the scenes.
Teens (and
many an
adult) seeking comics steeped in action, confrontation, and shifting
alliances
and insights will welcome A.N.V.K.:
Birthed in the Blood’s bloody consideration of an impossible
invasion from
within. It also leaves the door wide open for more confrontations and
action.
Return to Index
Broken (Book 2 of the Young Hellions Series)
Braxton A. Cosby
Starchild Comics
ASIN: B0BBD9H9GD
$4.99
Broken:
Book 2 The Young Hellions Series (cosbymediaproductions.com)
Broken: Book 2 adds another comic book
story to the Young Hellions
series. Here, Alphas Kessa and Kiran are reunited after Kessa is cured
of
Horder Poison.
Dr. Raymond
Gregg has
not only saved her, but he knew her father and now operates Shelter
719, their
joint project (which Kessa knew nothing about). As she learns about his
participation in a secret group of scientists commissioned to build
fallout
shelters across America, Kessa is concurrently introduced to The
Resistance.
The creature
who’d
been tracking Kessa and her friends is presented not as the monster
she’d
thought, but a rescuer. As everything she’d trusted and believed in is
turned
upside down, Kessa is tapped to participate in the resistance effort
before
she’s even formulated new notions of who the bad guys really are.
Braxton A.
Cosby
creates a powerful series of clashes and action-packed confrontations.
These
pair nicely with a swift flow of plot that excels in mercurial fluidity
and
changes to keep both Kessa and her readers on their toes.
Just when
you think
you know the outcome, the story line changes in an unexpected direction.
As
abandoned towns, rescues, and horder threats emerge, Kessa faces
beasts that rise from the glowing ashes of humanity’s wars. She finds
her
loyalties, perceptions, and courage duly tested.
Readers
of the first Young Hellions title will find the action and
deployment of unexpected realizations and truths to be equally
compelling in
the second book. With the foundations of the characters nicely set in
the first
adventure, prior fans will find seamless the actions of new friends and
enemies
in this story.
Broken: Book 2 of the
Young Hellions Series is
highly recommended for comics readers of all ages who look for succinct
descriptions and explanations, strong characters, and futuristic
scenarios that
challenge not only the survival of humanity, but the perceptions of
emerging
young heroes.
Return to Index
The Cape:
Hellfire
Braxton A. Cosby
Starchild Comics
ASIN: B09Z9QM81T
$4.99
COMIC
BOOK - THE CAPE: HELLFIRE (cosbymediaproductions.com)
The Cape: Hellfire follows the events of Infinity 7: Gods Among Men with an
action-packed, colorful comic
book rendition that opens with a superhero’s grief over the loss of his
beloved
Karla (“Blurr”). Sebastian (“Paladin”) has had little time for mourning
before
a stranger confronts him with the special knowledge that he could be reunited with his lost love … if he is willing to embark on a dangerous
quest.
Of course he
is. The
Thief and Zenith return to accompany him on his galaxy-hopping mission
to
rescue Karla from another time, but the trio unexpectedly discovers
that more
is at stake than recovering a lost love. The future of the universe
lies at the
heart of their interconnected lives and struggles.
Of course it
does.
And that supercharges a comic book adventure that, once again, defies
death and
tests values and goals as the heroes interact on a very different
playing
field.
From the
start,
Braxton A. Cosby presents vivid dialogues, scenarios, and revelations
to invite
both prior fans of Infinity and
newcomers alike, who will find that just because The
Cape is the third book, doesn’t mean that that prior
experience
with its characters or plot is required. The immersion is seamlessly
compelling, while an unexpected sense of wry underlying humor often
permeates
action and observation (“Nice ride. All
kings live this high-life where you’re from?”).
As cousins,
fellow
heroes, and adventurers literally get on board, the story evolves a
complex mix
with timeweavers, choices in competing special interests, and just
plain fun.
Again, wry humor appears when and where least expected (“You’re
late. I was expecting you hours ago. Also, the timeweaver is
losing his touch.”).
The comic
format
excels in bringing characters and adventure to life. It will appeal to
a wide
audience, from comic book and prior Cosby fans to newcomers who will
find the
illustrations of beefy men, sexy women, and satisfyingly vivid
transformations
to be brightly alluring.
The comic
ends with a
cliff-hanger. Of course. It leaves its readers hungry for more in a
dish most
comics don’t serve up, making it highly recommended both as
supplemental Cosby
reading and as a stand-alone, action-packed story.
Return to Index
The Consolation of
Theology
CJS Hayward
CJS Hayward
Publications
979-8869318534
$19.99
Website: www.cjshayward.com
Ordering: https://cjshayward.com/all-books/
It is no
secret that
novice CJS Hayward is a devotee of the venerable spiritualist and
philosopher
C.S. Lewis; but more so than Hayward’s past writings, The
Consolation of Theology is so embedded with reflections
central
to Lewis’s work that a reading (or, re-reading, as the case may be) of
Lewis’s
favorite book, The Consolation of Philosophy, and especially Lewis’ own analysis of Boethius in
his The Discarded
Image, will be key to understanding Hayward’s approach and
methodology
here.
In effect, Hayward extrapolates and fills in
the blanks of an unexpected Lewis loose end on Boethius. This served as
the
inspiration for The Consolation of Theology, dovetailing
Hayward’s
thoughts with the original classic in an enlightening manner that
almost
demands of his readers an appreciation of the past texts (of not only
Lewis and
Boethius, but Hayward) in order to realize what Hayward has
accomplished here.
Readers unfamiliar with Boethius’s book, who
may harbor thoughts that it is largely irrelevant because of its
ancient
origins, will find that, in fact, The Consolation of
Philosophy was no
obscure reference. Indeed, it was one of the most popular, influential
books in
Western Europe from the time it was written in 524 until the end of the
Renaissance. Its subject, a solid Christian focus on human happiness
and its
incarnation and achievement, is truly timeless—which makes his work
relevant
today; especially in light of Hayward’s attention to expanding the
details of
its philosophy and spirituality.
In his The Consolation of Theology, Hayward
adopts the same lyrical approach to description as Boethius, but
applies modern
dilemmas and observations to update the theological and philosophical
examination:
This
man hast lost
a cellphone,
And for that alone he grieveth.
Knoweth he not that money maketh not one glad?
Would that he would recall,
The heights from which he hath fallen,
Even from outside the Orthodox Church.
A healthy degree of psychological inspection
also expands and enhances these spiritual and philosophical components
as
Hayward brings modern perspectives into play—and under close
consideration:
Thou
needest not
refute TED talks; a few years and a given talk will likely be out of
fashion.
There is something in the structure of TED that is liberal, even if
many talks
say nothing overtly political: forasmuch, there is more to say than
that they
are self-contained, controlled, plastic things, where world religions
are
something organic that may or may not have a central prophet, but never
have a
central planner. TED is a sort of evolving, synthetic religion, and it
cannot
fill true spiritual hunger.
Again: without prior knowledge of Hayward’s
grounding in Lewis’s special brand of reflection in general, and the
exiled
Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy in particular,
the extent and focus
of this work could not be fully appreciated.
This is why The Consolation of Theology
is particularly recommended for back-to-back reading/rereading of the
original
Boethius classic, ideally flavored by some C.S. Lewis to heighten the
discussions of its origins, relevance, and connections to past
inquiries and
inspections. It also represents yet another classic in the Hayward line
of
books for thinking individuals which joins a widening collection
classics linking
theology to modern life … thus, a background in at least some of
Hayward’s
writings will enhance appreciation for what he’s achieved here.
Hayward’s ability to fill in gaps in the
dichotomy of Christian and pagan thinking makes this survey an
exceptional
piece of scholarship. It should be in any library strong in C.S. Lewis,
Boethius, or theological writings that probe the intersection of
modernity and
ancient times.
Return to Index
Deflating Human Beings V. 1
Selected by
Xiuwu R. Liu
Hermit Studio
9798987005507
$25 Hardcover/$9.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Deflating-Human-Beings-Sources-Quotations-ebook/dp/B08BK7XFNK?ref_=ast_author_mpb
Deflating
Human
Beings: Sources and Quotations from Around the
World, V. 1:
Numerals–C presents
college-level students and quote readers with a different approach,
gathering
writings which are “deflationary” in definition, designed to puncture
the egos,
suppositions, and errors in the human condition.
The philosophical, inspirational, and
psychological value of these selected quotes thus operates in arenas
not
typical of the standard general-interest quote book. This offers
opportunities
for debate, classroom discussion, and reader enlightenment that goes
beyond
inspirational value alone.
Xiuwu R. Liu’s
compilation and
categorization of these works is both extensive and enlightening. In
contrast
to the usual synthesis of material in quote books that tend to come
from
singular times or themes, Liu has gathered excerpts from classics from
around the world, from antiquity to modern times. He even samples
from contemporary works not usually considered as quote material, from
college
textbooks and trade books in dozens of fields and academic disciplines
to
treatises on history, literature, and philosophy.
This wide-ranging approach to the quote form
and its value lends a scholarly, rich wellspring of source materials
suitable
for college-level and intellectual discourse, with its attention to
bibliographic documentation allowing researchers to return to the
sources of
these reflections.
One example lies in the quotes from Black
Elk Speaks, a classic of Native American experience and
observation:
Black
Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man
of the Oglala Sioux, premier ed.,
Black Elk, as told through John G. Neihardt (Flaming Rainbow), SUNY,
2008:
Crazy
Horse was
dead. He was brave and good and wise. He never wanted anything but to
save his
people, and he fought the Wasichus [white people] only when they came
to kill
us in our own country. He was only thirty years old. They could not
kill him in
battle. They had to lie to him and kill him that way.
I cried all night, and so did my father. (ibid.)
(113)
In
contrast are thought-provoking quotes
from European woman Marie von
Ebner-Eschenbach,
with quotes such as these:
Those
who
understand only what can be explained understand very little.
And:…
Whoever
believes
in the freedom of the human will has never loved or hated.
The depth and extent of these selections
makes Deflating Human Beings: Sources and Quotations
from Around the
World, V. 1: Numerals–C a special
recommendation for
college-level libraries and reading groups interested in the topics of
deflating human experience, better understanding the human condition,
and
contrasting the thoughts of cynics, visionaries, and observers of
history. As
the first of four volumes, it opens the door to a more wide-ranging
appreciation of the quote form than most, offering sources and insights
that
are usually not present under one cover.
The value of having these works under one
cover will not be missed by serious students, libraries, and
general-interest
readers used to the generally self-help nature of simpler quote books,
who will
find Liu’s scholarly collection invaluable.
Return to Index
Forgotten
Battles of
World War II
Dr. Donal McAuliffe
DartFrog Books, LLC
979-8-9877116-4-4
$12.99 Paper/$3.99 eBook
www.DartFrogBooks.com
Forgotten
Battles
of World War II: A Chronological Survey of The 21 Most Significant But
Often
Overlooked Battles That Shaped The Outcome Of The War is a
‘must have’
recommendation for any library considering itself to be definitive in
World War
II history.
While such a collection
might think that such extensive
holdings need little further embellishment, the publication of Forgotten Battles of World War II says
otherwise, presenting history that often doesn’t receive close
inspection in
either military or historical analyses of the times.
Why should the Battle of the
Dnieper, the Battle of
Hengyang, or Operation Gunnerside be omitted if they are as key and
important
as Dr. Donal McAuliffe maintains?
The answer to these omissions is unique to each struggle as the good
doctor considers
each event, its underlying politics and struggles, and reasons why each
battle
was both important and not part of standard World War II history or
knowledge.
Partially due to popular
media and film depictions, major battles became prominent public
knowledge, and
those deemed less dramatic (with lesser potential for public
entertainment) were
thus regulated to back burners, there to lie nearly forgotten—until
this book’s
publication.
Forgotten
Battles is not meant to
be a definitive exposé
of all neglected battles. Indeed, Dr. McAuliffe admits that much more
remains
to be explored even as his book uncovers the tip of the World War II
hidden iceberg
of history:
…there were hundreds of major battles and thousands
of military
engagements in the conflict, the vast majority of which have been
ignored by
Hollywood and forgotten by most everyone other than the experts working
on the
history of the war. Clearly not all of these skirmishes can be
retrieved from
neglect in the pages of one book, but there is certainly room to try to
shed
light on some of these overlooked battles of the Second World War,
which is the
purpose of this volume.
This
contention,
viewed in context of the vast research Dr. McAuliffe conducted for this
book,
offers exciting possibilities for filling in the blanks of WWII history
with a renewed
focus on facts and events which have received little traditional
exploration in
the past.
As for the
conflicts
outlined here, the stories are presented in an analytical manner that
not only
covers battleground events and military strategy, but the political and
cultural ramifications of conflicts that involved differing nations:
The Battle of Hengyang was a significant moment on
the China Front in
the war. Descriptions of it as the “Stalingrad of the East” are
somewhat
hyperbolic (millions of soldiers fought at Stalingrad), but it was
quite an
important battle in its own right. Although the Japanese were
victorious, it
was a Pyrrhic victory in which Japan lost far too many soldiers against
a
numerically inferior opponent. That news buoyed Chinese morale in a way
that
was much needed after the loss of Changsha just days before the
conflict at
Hengyang began.
Ideally, Forgotten
Battles of World
War II will not just
join other histories that
command a static spot on a library bookshelf, but will be highly
recommended
for students and book clubs interested in fodder for lively debates
about these
events and their underlying contributions to a deeper understanding of
cross-cultural and national clashes.
Return to Index
Funny Thing Is: A Guide to
Understanding Comedy
Stephen Evans
Time Being Media, LLC
978-1953725479
$9.99 Paperback/$7.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Funny-Thing-Guide-Understanding-Comedy/dp/1953725473
Funny
Thing Is: A
Guide to Understanding Comedy analyzes the evolution of
comedy in many
different ways; from sociological observations to political,
psychological, and
historical components of comedy. Stephen Evans includes insights from
philosophers and other observers during the process of considering what
makes
people laugh (and why), and what makes terminology or twists of
language
humorous.
This, in turn, leads to a
reasoned study of the
influences on comedy’s development, perception, and appearance which
provides
food for thought. The opportunity emerges on levels ranging from
personal
reflections and experiences to examples from scholars who come from
different
disciplines and approaches to comedy.
From Chaucer to Freud, this
wide-ranging hop through worldviews
and laughter is marked by its own special brand of serious inspection
and
insight:
Comedy
is like an
iceberg; most of it floats below the water line of consciousness. And
just as
Kant connected comedy with meaning, Freud connects it with truth.”
Chapters also delve into why
comedy has not been
seriously studied in depth, despite the many allusions to its devices
and
incarnations. Of special interest is the attention given to how comedy
began
and has evolved over human history.
From the nature of laughter
to philosophical reflections,
the connections drawn between major thinkers and comedy’s impact on
daily life
makes for thought-provoking reading, and certainly will power book club
and
classroom discussions:
I
don’t mean to say
that some comedy is true and others false. What I mean is that some
comedy, the
rarest form unfortunately (maybe we can change that) is comedy that
leads us
toward truth. True comedy opens the mind and keeps it open.
Is Funny Thing Is funny?
Not in and of itself—and it’s not meant to be. Plenty of other books
tap the
funny bone, but it’s the flow of enlightened consideration of comedy’s
roots
and applications that makes Funny Thing
Is highly recommended for a wide audience. This includes
those interested
in philosophical, social, or psychological analysis and
general-interest
readers who will relish the rare history embedded in this story of
human
laughter.
Return to Index
The Genetic Universe:
Revised Edition
García-González
Independently Published
979-8-9897362-0-1
E-book: $11/Paperback: $19/Hardback: $27
Website:https://thegeneticuniverse.com
Ordering: https://thegeneticuniverse.com/buy-book
Picture a synthesis of
philosophy, science, metaphysics,
and psychology. Garnish this blend with the overlay of complex language
that
lends a scholarly tone to the examination, juxtaposing philosophical
reflection
and inspection in a manner suitable to college-level and intellectual
readers.
Then add an icing of reflection that delves as much into psychological
influences and forces as it does scientific and global issues, for a
sense of
both the complexity and appeal of The Genetic
Universe.
To call The
Genetic
Universe ‘wide-ranging’ would be to both accurately describe
it and do it a
disservice. While intellectual readers interested in such complex
blends will
find García-González’s language and scholarship
appropriately challenging and intriguing, the examples and
illustrations of
metaphysics’ relationship to everyday living and dilemmas of the human
condition lends it an appeal to lay audiences seeking mind-expanding
connections and unusual discourses.
Take García-González’s chapter on ‘Making Perfect
Copies of Inexistent Images’. Herein lays a perfect example of how the
author
draws important connections between perception, upbringing,
classifications of
different types of recognition and identification, showing how all
these facets
dovetail neatly with cognitive actions and reactions.
García-González’s basic query (“Is a genetic essence needed before things
can exist?”) thus expands into realms that singular readers won’t see
coming—which makes it both a challenge and an enlightening read. This
undoubtedly will deter many general-interest readers, who will find
either the
science or the philosophy (or even the metaphysics) to be more detailed
than
anticipated.
However,
readers of
all disciplines (including general-interest audiences) who cultivate
inquiring
minds and the flexibility of adapting to the leaps of subject and
connections
that García-González makes will find the reward lies
in absorbing and better
understanding his fruits of intellectual effort:
Simply put, wisdom emerges from transcending the
logical ramifications
of theoretical learning, which, in its own right, is the largest
portion of an
educated individual’s personal formation. A “highly educated” or
“cultured”
individual accumulates more theoretical learning than an ordinary
individual
and could become a specialist or expert in a field that requires a high
level
of theoretical learning, but only if the cultured individual transcends
the
learned theory with complementary physical experience could he or she
become,
and be correctly regarded as, wise.
This
reviewer’s
degree lies in psychology. Other readers may hold pedigrees in
intellectual
philosophical discourse, genetics, or metaphysical subjects. Regardless
of the
background and approach of the audience, only one real prerequisite is
needed
for appreciating the divergent courses and connections García-González makes here: an interest in the
intersecting puzzle pieces of human awareness and understanding.
Putting these pieces
together is no simple task. That’s
why The Genetic Universe is
especially recommended for book reading groups interested in a study
that,
admittedly, is a slow read; if only for its complex associations and
integrative discipline approach. Indeed, there are so many subjects,
applications,
and facets to this discussion that it’s hard to synthesize all these
connections in a succinct review.
Surprises in conclusions and
the applicability of these
seemingly ethereal thoughts to real-world events lies in chapters like
‘Global
Overpopulation,’ which makes a powerful case for world issues grounded
in
overpopulation’s incarnation in modern times:
Considering
the
global problems mentioned, could our time be “the age of the receptor,”
ruling
over every significant area that could harm people and their
environment? It is
not a matter of a lack of intelligence that prevents confronting each
problem
as it appears; alternatively, it is a matter of overpopulation
eventually
defeating any strategy that could be put into practice.
Libraries willing to take a
chance on a book that defies
pat categorization or discipline assignment will find the very
challenges posed
by these approaches in The Genetic
Universe also represent the book’s strength.
This makes it a top interdisciplinary recommendation for readers who would think beyond the usual linear presentations of social, philosophical, scientific and psychological examination to delve into the nature and applications of consciousness itself.
The Genetic Universe: Revised EditionReturn to Index
House of
Honor
Margaret Philbrick
Ambassador
International
978-1649604231
$32.99
Hardcover/$25.99 Paperback/$4.99 eBook
www.ambassador-international.com
Readers who
enjoy
intrigue, the art world, novels that revolve around 1960s European
atmosphere,
Mafia activities, and unexpected involvements between the Vatican and
the art
world will find House of Honor: The Heist
of Caravaggio’s Nativity a powerful narrative. It combines
the best
strengths of intrigue, suspense, art world escapades, and political
subterfuge.
The action
swirls
around two Italian sons whose relationship is frayed by their
connections to
the art world, each another, and their changing definitions of honor as
wayward
son Orazio Bordoni discovers that his heroes and influences are both
questionable.
His
association with
Nicolo Giotto, whose Sicilian Mafia family has instilled within him
convictions
about honor and love that clash with convention, injects a new sense of
discovery and despair into his actions, reactions, and confrontations
both
within and outside the art world. This tests his admiration for his art
hero
Caravaggio’s work, creating questions about its real value.
Associate
Nicolo adds
a deeper flavor of psychological inspection and motivation to the story
through
his reconsiderations of family values and his own trajectory and
ambitions:
“Honors. His father deserved a great deal of
respect—he’d earned his
title—but honor was something different. Onore: to earn respect by
doing the
right thing, repeatedly; by sticking to an action despite opposition;
to
display chastity and virtue. He’d looked up the definition many times
because
his father demanded honor, but he also blurred the defining lines of
honor.
Nicolo struggled to secure his place in their family in the midst of
this
unfolding enterprise of conflicting values.”
The
contrasts and
dances between these two characters blend with other interests and
influences
in art and crime to bring a sense of discovery and surprise to events
which
test both young men.
Enigmas and
love
abound as each is revealed in a different manner. Their friendship
brings new
baggage and introduces insights into their endeavors.
Margaret
Philbrick’s
ability to capture both the European art milieu and the questions of
honor and
fidelity which merge from Mafia and Vatican special interests creates a
story
steeped in art community influences and history.
Her equal
prowess in
crafting characters motivated and influenced by family connections (and
disconnections), and the Pope’s involvement in their lives, creates
added value
with insights that shift and shimmer as the plot thickens.
The result
is an
exquisite dance between cultures, underworld influences, and art world
politics
that will thoroughly immerse readers in Nicolo and Orazio’s pasts,
passions,
and future possibilities.
Libraries
will want
to highly recommend House of Honor: The
Heist of Caravaggio’s Nativity to readers and book clubs
seeking
thought-provoking discussion material and action that rests on
relationship
revisions as much as politics and social issues.
Return to Index
Intimate Conversations
Larry Ruttman
Torchflame Books
978-1-61153-477-1
$50 Hardcover; $30 Paperback; $12.99 ebook
www.torchflamebooks.com
Intimate
Conversations: Face to Face With Matchless Musicians holds
many surprises.
For one: readers who choose this book expecting the usual author
expertise in
the music industry will find that Larry Ruttman’s background lies not
in music
or even the liberal arts, but in law and writing biographical cultural
histories of his hometown in Massachusetts; particularly the Jewish
experience
and history of Brookline.
To move from these milieus
to the music world might at
first seem a dichotomy, but the advantage of an interviewer not
immersed in the
music scene lies in the very outsider status that Ruttman held until
writing
this book, lending him the ability to both research and ask questions
sans a
seasoned insider’s perspective in musical culture or politics.
From musician mentors and
musical wellsprings of
inspiration to how they think about, interpret, make, and compose music
from
the likes of Mozart and Beethoven to Gershwin and Bernstein, Ruttman
approaches
the fine art of classic music study and rendition with an attention to
surveying not only the history of classic music, but, more importantly,
its
potential for ongoing relevance in modern times and its power in any
person’s
life.
In-depth conversations with
these classical musicians
thus prove far more contemporary and revealing than a reader might
anticipate
from the usually-staid classical enthusiast.
In Larry Ruttman’s book, the
issue of the future of
classical music is discussed. As revered a figure as John Harbison
takes a dim
view of that future in his chapter.
In the story in the book on
famed English classical
conductor of The Sixteen (the group he founded) Harry Christophers
(who,
for the
last several years, has doubled, to great acclaim, as the conductor of
Boston's
historic Handel and Haydn Society, founded in 1815), Ruttman queried
the
plain-spoken maestro about the reason why pop music is so popular:
“A
question often
asked is whether classical music will go on? It is hard to draw young
people
in, but pop music draws these fantastic crowds. Why does pop music draw
young
people the way it does?”
“Pop is what young people want to do. It’s not cool to go to classical
music.
It is not cool to sing in a choir at school, or to play sport, it is
not cool
to play in an orchestra. I think there is room for all types of music.
Actually
we’ve got ourselves to blame for the state of the industry, if you
wanted to
call it that, for not cultivating younger people. It comes all the way
back to
education, right to young kids at the primary level. When we’ve got the
young
kids at school, let them sing pop songs, but let’s also be introducing
them to
a simple aria by Handel done well. It is how we educate young people
that makes
it possible for them to come to concerts, how we make them realize they
don’t
have to dress up in a suit and tie. Let them come wearing whatever they
want. I
think Bostonians have accepted me for what I am, wearing training shoes
and
jeans most of the time. We do need to be breaking down those barriers,
and it
goes right back to education.”
Ruttman also addresses the
question in the section of his
book entitled “Beyond Genre,” which includes chapters on pop star
Jazzer Ran
Blake, Americana composer and performer Monica Rizzio, and wide-ranging
singing, dancing, and violin-playing performer and educator Eden
MacAdam-Somer.
Through these examples, it
should be apparent that the
meat of Ruttman’s discourses lies in a close inspection of the role and
future
of classical music in a changing society. These topics will not only
involve
anyone interested in music: they will spark important discourses
between
musicians and their audiences about the culture, adaptations, and
information
necessary to keep classical music on the radars of future generations.
The interviewees come from a
broad spectrum of life and
musical connections, from the founder and artistic director of Music
for Food
and world class violinist Kim Kashkashian to American composer Matthew
Aucoin,
who is interested in adding contemporary twists to the classical music
tradition. Driven by convictions about connections to others, these
seemingly
disparate but interconnected classical music supporters offer
conversations
rich in insight and modernity.
This is why libraries
seeking close inspections of
classical music’s contemporary meaning will want to make Intimate
Conversations a foundation acquisition for any serious
music library. It’s a top choice for general-interest collections
interested in
why music remains so important and necessary to life, highly
recommended for
book clubs interested in interviews that will prompt discussion,
debate, and
reflection about the nature and evolution of classical music today.
Return to Index
The Little Black Book of
Birthday Wisdom
Mike Kowis, Esq.
Lecture PRO Publishing
979-8-9900133-3-9
$9.99
Paperback/$2.99 ebook
www.mikekowis.com
The
Little Black
Book of Birthday Wisdom: Quotes on Aging, Life, and Birthday Cake is
the
perfect item of choice for a birthday celebration or recipient. Mike
Kowis
provides over five hundred quotes that juxtapose humor with
thought-provoking
insights on aging, gleaned from a broad wellspring of sage thinkers.
All kinds of birthday
concepts are featured here, from
toasts and famous sayings to quips that lend a fun countenance to the
birthday
experience.
Contrasts between youth and
‘seasoned citizens,’
everything to do with candles and cakes, and famous sayings create an
inviting
synthesis of pleasure and contemplative thoughts that will appeal to a
range of
readers.
Samples of these
wide-ranging approaches include:
If you are an
actress in L.A., on your 40th birthday they should just hand you the
keys to
the lunatic asylum.
– Romola Garai
On my 50th birthday
in 2005, my discount-wielding AARP card came in the mail. I hurled it
in the
trash, put on something fabulous, and had a decadent meal. Just the
thought of
putting it in my wallet felt like a concession.
– Iman
Because
time itself
is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year:
The
same energy that God invested in you at birth is present once again.
– Menachem Mendel Schneerson
The
Little Black
Book of Birthday Wisdom should be on the invite list of any
birthday
organizer, given to celebrants and toastmasters, and included in any
general-interest library for its thought-provoking, fun sayings.
Return to Index
Lost and Found
Mark D’Souza, M.D.
Morgan James Publishing
9781636983837
$18.95
www.MorganJamesPublishing.com
Lost
and Found:
How Meaningless Living is Destroying Us and Three Keys to Fix It tackles a major existential question. In so
doing, Dr. Mark D’Souza creates a masterful alternative to the usual
analytical
approach of honing meaning from life choices.
His is at once a philosophical history and a
spiritual analysis. He considers past efforts to reconcile disparities
in
notions of life’s meaning, present-day challenges posed by material and
technological focuses, and the emerging ‘religions’ of victimization
and
radical thinking that have shaken modern society.
The paradoxes created by modern-day
disconnections from meaning and purpose are astutely explored in
chapters that
skirt the edge of intellectual observation and emotional investment.
This
approach guides readers to conclusions that will certainly provoke
discussion
and debates, leading to further enlightenment:
The
solution to
the unholy trinity of nihilism, atheism, and depression is meaning and
responsibility. Speaking of meaning, there is nothing better to provide
it than
a sophisticated, traditional religion. To loosely paraphrase Winston
Churchill
again, traditional religion is the worst form of belief system except
for all
the others.
Dr. D’Souza’s assertion that part of the
solution to contemporary nihilism is a renewed and different approach
to
religion and social connection is outlined in chapters that probe the
foundations of these contemporary dichotomies:
Ultimately,
every
individual has to decide consciously or unconsciously whether
traditional
Western values, those of the Enlightenment, are worth defending. These
values
include equal opportunity, natural justice, colorblindness, merit, free
will,
primacy of the individual, objective reality, empiricism, effort,
appreciation,
humility, and nuance. And if they aren’t protected, they will
subsequently be
replaced by equal outcome (equity), presumption of guilt, microaggressions,
political correctness, the
perpetually offended, Maoist struggle sessions, racial essentialism,
intersectionality, determinism, tribalism, group guilt, group
entitlement,
victimhood, lived experience, postmodernism, relativism, radical
nonjudgment,
nihilism, rationality, expectation, and pathological altruism.
Marry philosophy, social inspection, and
religious considerations, and what you get is a melting pot of
opportunity and
inspection. Lost and Found is especially highly
recommended for a wide
circle of thinkers, from college students and philosophers to book
clubs
seeking controversial, engrossing discussion and debate materials about
life
progression.
Libraries will want to include Lost and
Found
in any collection where intellectual discourse and philosophical
inspections of daily life is of interest. Its compelling arguments
about free speech and personal accountability should not be missed
Return to Index
Metatron:
Terror at
the Track
Laurence St. John
Starchild Comics
ASIN: B09Z8T3M22
$4.99 eBook
COMIC
BOOK - METATRON: TERROR AT THE TRACK (cosbymediaproductions.com)
Metatron: Terror at the Track is a sci-fi
superhero comic book that
features Tyler (a.k.a. Metatron) and his team of young heroes. It
follows the
last Metatron adventure, The Secret Grid,
opening at a car racing event where some respite from action and
adventure is
being enjoyed, and where the only threat is flipping a new birthday
present on
the track.
When the
owner of
Payne Oil calls the next race, Tyler senses danger. And when a flyover
goes
bad, Tyler faces revealing himself to rescue a crowd of race fans, or
stepping
back to let disaster unfold.
Guess which
course he
chooses.
That’s only
the
opener to a game which immerses Tyler and his friends in a deadly
pursuit that
goes beyond car racing.
Laurence St.
John
plays out the events in comic slow-mo to draw out the suspense, which
at times
feels like the characters have plenty of time to respond to an
emergency
situation … including bumping into one another in their confused
efforts to
survive, before Metatron emerges to save the day. Or, has the hero just
exposed
himself to his deadliest foe, at the track?
St. John’s
blend of
simmering tension and action-packed scenes, which evolve step-by-step,
give
readers plenty of time to absorb nuances of Metatron’s heroic actions
and the
risks he takes. This lends to an approach that addresses adversity from
different angles as Killtie, the immortal Black Shadow, and a host of
evil
entities converge on Metatron.
Unexpected
humor
injected into many of the discourses (“I
tell you what, how about you let …! What’s your name, kid?” “Ryan. Ryan
Zink.”),
add comic relief to confrontations which move the nonstop action from
familiar
milieus (such as the racetrack) to extraordinary circumstances
involving
confronting super-endowed beings.
Once again,
Metatron
has been forced from childhood and the ordinary to change and confront
the
extraordinary in yet another bid to save humanity.
Replete with
the
rat-a-tat of unceasing action, unexpected twists, well-developed
characters and
motivations, and an adventure that stands nicely alone for newcomers to
Metatron’s world, teen graphic novel and comics readers are in for a
real treat
with this marriage of sci-fi and the account of an ordinary (not so
much!) day
at the track.
Return to Index
Mind Magic
Bill Harvey
The Human Effectiveness Institute
978-0918538000
$23.95
Paper/$9.99 eBook
https://www.edelweiss.plus/?sku=0918538009&g=4400
Mind
Magic:
Doorways Into Higher Consciousness is about defining (or
redefining, as the
case may be) one’s consciousness and self outside the trappings of
world
influence and set pathways of activity and discovery. As such, it’s a
top
recommendation for self-help readers interested in not only
self-examination,
but keys to authenticity, better reactions and actions, and lasting
transformation.
Bill Harvey applies
philosophical, spiritual, and
psychological keys to better understanding, taking the form of succinct
admonitions and advice even the busiest reader can easily absorb.
These sentences initially
may mimic the structure of
poetic discourses; but look deeper to find that they are actually
reflections
on the process of delving into one’s mind and interactions with life
influences, imparting the basics of adjustments and perceptions that
result in
change. This comes not just from reading the entire book, but in each
sentence
that Harvey delivers:
Visualize
the mechanism
which sends you verbal thought messages
not as one speaker,
but as a vast senate of many different
speakers.
Each experience you have had
creates a separate viewpoint
from which comments may be made.
Therefore, the first step to take
in analyzing any thought sent to you,
is to determine who is speaking…
Some of these observations
may appear obvious to
already-thinking, enlightened readers; but when presented in the
broader
context of a gathering of mind-altering approaches that provide
alternatives to
linear thinking, they stand out:
Your
feelings and
thoughts program
you and your environment on many levels:
if you radiate negatively,
negative events will occur around you and to you;
the opposite will occur if you radiate positively.
Even seasoned seekers on the
road of life may find some
of these approaches challenging—but that’s the point. Life isn’t
simple—and
neither should be the process of self-examination.
The 1st edition was
published in 1976 under the title Mind
Magic: The Science of Microcosmology. This
6th edition only goes to show that the message
and
instructions here remain as relevant decades later as they were upon
the book’s
first appearance. Having sold some 35,000 copies over its lifetime, Mind
Magic earns its ongoing acclaim by appearing in updated
editions relevant
to next generations.
Libraries seeking
motivational self-help books that
provide reflective thoughts about mental development and acuity will
also find
that Mind Magic lends especially
well
to book club recommendation, whether the group is interested in
psychology,
metaphysics, or the state of the human mind and its capacity for growth.
Return to Index
The Pumpkin King and Other
Tales of Terror
R. David Fulcher
Devil’s Party Press LLC
978-1-957224-06-0
$15.99
Paperback/$4.99 eBook
www.gravelightpress.com
The
Pumpkin King
and Other Tales of Terror isn’t just for the seasonal
Halloween reader. It’s
for anyone who loves a good scary tale with a dark twist. Reminiscent
of Poe
and other masters of the macabre, R. David Fulcher’s collection of
creepy tales
relies more on psychological surprise than gore, tapping the inner
sense of
what makes a subject terror-stricken in order to deliver its power.
Take the opening short story
in this collection,
‘Marienburg Castle,’ for example. Seasoned horror genre readers simply
won’t
expect the opening lines of this story:
At
first, they were
mere specks in the sky. The specks became white wedges, like falling
pieces of
crème pie. Closer still, they appeared as marionettes, dancing with
umbrellas
across the horizon. Finally, when they were very near the earth, one
could see
that they were paratroopers.
There may be no intrinsic
horror in this descriptor, but
it certainly is a literary draw; especially when readers are
anticipating the
typical dark opening salvo of a deadly horror scenario.
Fulcher excels in the
unexpected, and as the story
unfolds, his penchant for description and atmosphere continues to excel:
The
cathedral
hovered directly before them, its stained-glass windows shining like
jewels in
the moonlight. The castle stood adjacent to the church, silent and
dark, sealed
behind thick iron doors and high barred windows. They ascended a
stairway onto
the battlements and stared out into the night-enshrouded valley. “Holy
Jesus!”
muttered Walker. The woods surrounding the keep were filled with small
pinpoints of light.
These observations drive
events that lead readers to the
dark side of a group of soldiers that face an unexpected a battle far
beyond their
training, playing out beyond death itself.
The title story, ‘The
Pumpkin King,’ follows, with a
seasonal twist on the flavors of decorating with pumpkins. Such are
not, in and
of themselves, horror; but representatives of terrible possibilities,
in this
story. A first-person narrator reinforces a pumpkin invasion which
proves to be
“his worst nightmare.”
Readers of all ages should
anticipate not just thrills
from seemingly common and uncommon events, but the excitement that
stems from a
close attention to building exquisite tension, atmosphere, and a
one-two punch
of surprise to keep readers guessing about outcomes.
Libraries and readers
seeking the flavor of horror, the
thrill of surprise, and the literary devices of settings which are
delivered
with atmospheric twists will relish The
Pumpkin King and Other Tales of Terror, while classes in
horror writing and
literature will find many examples, here, of the various ways horror
can be
defined and unfolded.
Return to Index
The Self Education Manual
Gary Dean Petersen
Independently Published
978-1-7366051-1-0
$30.00
www.sem-education.com
The
Self Education
Manual employs the SEM Learning System’s tried-and-tested
methods to impart
techniques and approaches for self-education. This will attract a wide
audience. This book is designed for learners interested in absorbing
and
applying these methods to their own educational pursuits, but requires
no prior
familiarity with either SEM or the principles behind it.
Opening chapters review the
hows and whys of learning
before delving into the meat of the presentation: applying flowcharts,
“decision trees,” and various study methods to further one’s training.
The review of the logical
learning opportunities of SEM
is conducted by an experienced
educator who builds a progressive foundation of study, contributing to
the
reader’s ability to self-assess the results of their efforts.
Chapters
delve into
science study methodology with an eye to tailoring SEM approaches so
that students
can better understand not only how
to
apply them, but when:
Before
diving into
Summarizing, a continuation of the current step was needed for more
Pre-Writing
by making observations and writing any strategies that come to mind.
During the
Summarizing process, a break was taken to employ the Interleaved
Practice study
method to compare and contrast similar concepts before returning to
Summarizing. Upon reviewing the planned Why Question and
Self-explanation study
methods, one realizes that only the Why Question method appears to be
needed at
this time. The anticipated need for the Self-explanation study method
may well
come into play later when studying new learning objects resulting from
applying
the Learner-Generated Scenario study method.
The contents are imparted in
a scholarly, yet accessible
manner that will give college-level self-learners a boost in developing
their
own strategies for research, review, and greater understanding.
Quizzes, observations, and
the methodology imparted also
receive visual embellishments (in black and white and color), which
helps break
up the admittedly weighty instructions and scientific insights under
consideration
here.
An accompanying (separate)
workbook furthers the
exercises and applications—but The Self
Education
Manual should be consulted first, as it builds reader
knowledge of the
system and its benefits. This approach encourages a greater
understanding of
various study methods which, when contrasted, offer a smorgasbord of
opportunities for better results. Gary Dean Petersen reviews a
logically
organized, proven course of study—actually, a revolutionary idea. As
these
methods are paired with novel insights, students will find the approach
applicable to and invaluable for all kinds of studies; not just science.
Libraries catering to high
school to university students
will find The Self Education Manual
an essential program contributing to more effective student study
habits and
efforts.
Return to Index
The Uncommon Life of Danny O’Connell
Steve Wiegand
Bancroft Press
978-1610886338
$33.00
www.bancroftpress.com
Sports followers of baseball history may not
know the name of player Danny O’Connell, but Steve Wiegand’s The
Uncommon
Life of Danny O’Connell plays a key role in returning this
renowned (but
lesser-known) player to the top billing he so deserves.
Readers may not expect baseball card history
to be one of the prominent focuses of this book, but Steve Wiegand’s
ability to
move from collector history to baseball events and personalities
creates a
satisfying synthesis of subjects and history. This approach will
attract both
sports card collectors and enthusiasts of baseball itself.
Chapters trace the life and career of Danny
O’Connell, exploring both his world and his appearances on baseball
cards as
his career evolved.
Readers who anticipate a sports outlook
alone will be surprised (and, hopefully, delighted) by the broader
inclusion of
baseball card history that lends a different flavor of insight to the
story.
Numerous good-sized color photos of baseball
cards liberally pepper the account, accompanied by a play-by-play
history that
baseball fans will relish.
Even more added value lies in the ethic and
cultural insights included in the discussions, which trace how baseball
reflected America itself in the years following World War II, from
economic to
social transformations.
Because The Uncommon Life of Danny
O’Connell moves from baseball to card collecting history,
it’s highly
recommended for a wider audience than sports fans alone. Readers and
libraries
interested in baseball history, sports card collecting oddities and
facts,
Danny O’Connell in particular, or the moves of players as they
participate in
key games will find this survey highly attractive, informative, and
thoroughly
engrossing.
Return to Index
University
Follies
Paul Warren
Belmont Treetops Press
979-8-35093-340-6
$19.95
Paper/$7.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/University-Follies-Jewish-Roots-Jesuit/dp/B0CS5Z3NJN
University
Follies: Jewish Roots in a Jesuit University will
appeal to libraries strong in education history, college administrative
issues
and management, and Jewish concerns. It presents new Dean Paul Warren’s
odyssey
through challenging social issues that buffet his leadership.
More
than the story of an educational leader’s revelation,
University
Follies is
also
a cross-cultural examination as Warren moved from the East to the West
coast,
there to tackle issues of which he held no prior knowledge. These include handling condoms placed on a
holiday tree after Christmas and the conflict between a professor and a
staff
member which threatens to result in assault charges.
Luckily
for his readers, Warren kept a log of all these experiences for
some thirteen years, so was able to recapture the events, emotions, and
challenges of the times through a memoir that contains more than
hindsight
writing.
Humor
also abounds:
My opening remarks to the
assembly of professors (gathered to sharpen) the School’s mission
statement,
were buried in a bed of silence. If I was to survive the balance of the
hour, I
needed to catch my professors’ attention… I called on my Jewish roots
strategy…
The question implicit in the School’s mission statement that calls for
an
answer is analogous to the question posed at a family Passover dinner:
Why is
this night different than any other night? There was
silence.
Finally, a professor took the hook… Father Thomas rose to the offering
like a
trout rises to a fly. ‘I can answer that question. It’s as stated in
Deuteronomy’… After what seemed like an eternity of Deuteronomy from
Father, my
Passover analogy was long gone. The School’s mission
statement and
undergirding programs, I’m afraid still promised all things to all
people.
Readers
interested in accounts of educational labor/management battles,
dueling principles, the Jesuit ambiance of the university Warren worked
for,
and the follies which emerged from the intersection of student,
teacher, and management
concerns will find University Follies more
than entertaining while
it educates on challenges particular to university leadership.
Highly
recommend for memoir, education and Jewish and Jesuit readers
and libraries simply seeking a lively story of ironic interactions and
wry
humor, University Follies is well worth its
acquisition and
recommendation to book clubs and readers.
Return to Index
Winning
Your Jury
Robert G. Klein, Esq.
Miracle Mile Publishing
979-8-218-37045-9
$24.95
Paperback/$9.99 eBook
www.miraclemilepublishing.com
Winning Your Jury: How
to Litigate Like the Nation's Top Trial
Advocates should not
only be
in legal libraries, but in general-interest collections for patrons who
would
better understand jury selection and litigation processes.
Both
audiences here receive a
‘how to’ explanation of not just legal process, but the influencers on
decisions and outcomes. This will prove invaluable to anyone involved
in legal
struggles; especially the finer art of predicting jury behavior.
Robert
G. Klein, Esq. has extensive background in the legal profession,
but his perspective isn’t geared to professionals alone. Chapters probe
all
kinds of courtroom topics, from what makes for a good, successful trial
lawyer
to developing a case and a ‘discovery plan,’ understanding the
psychology of
jurors and what influences their decisions, and the processes of both
getting
organized for a trial and conducting examinations and
cross-examinations.
Surveying
the roots of why a lawyer should (or should not) take a case
to concluding arguments, Klein provides all the basics to enlighten
both
aspiring lawyers and laymen who would better understand legal process.
From the
inherent controversy in punitive damage awards to the
surprising legal applications and strategies of Sun Tzu’s classic The Art of War to the legal cases, Klein
goes far beyond a simple charting of process, considering underlying
influences, psychology, options, and opportunities that uniquely reside
in the
courtroom.
Winning Your Jury should not
only be a mainstay of legal student reading, but ideally will be
assigned for
college-level classroom discussion because of its roots in real-world
experience. These pair powerfully with its discussions of legal tactics
and the
rigors of writing a brief, conducting interviews, and more.
Winning Your Jury’s attention
to detail and examples from trials and research are invaluable, easy to
absorb,
and shed much light on why some cases are winners and others become
losing
bets.
Return to Index
Wrangling the Doubt Monster
Amy L. Bernstein
Bancroft Press
978-1-61088-638-3
$14.95
www.bancroftpress.com
Wrangling
the
Doubt Monster: Fighting Fears, Finding Inspiration is a survey of confidence, questions, and
conundrums. It’s directed to
writers who struggle to overcome their own internal messages and
barriers to
writing success.
The real killer of any art is self-doubt.
Amy Bernstein doesn’t devote her entire book to illustrating this fact
or its
impact. Instead, she outlines various types of doubt and informs
writers and
artists about how best to deal with it so that artistic inclinations
aren’t
quashed by its force.
Those who think the psychology of doubt will
receive yet another staid definition or self-help approach in Wrangling
the
Doubt Monster will be surprised (and pleased) to learn that
Bernstein
delves far beyond psychology alone, asking and stating, right from the
start,
that:
Are
your doubts as
an artist affected—possibly even determined— by the culture around you?
I’m not
referring to your dad, who thinks you need to find a “real” job and
stop
futzing around with art. I’m referring to the dominant culture and
society in
the country where you live (or have spent the most time). There could
be a
connection, even if it’s tangential, between your cultural environment
and the
severity or prevalence of your doubts about practicing your artform.
From the origins and influences of
persistent doubts and working definitions of how it impacts one’s
artistic soul
to concrete self-help strategies that not only analyze the problem, but
place
it in a different light of resolution, Bernstein fine-tunes her
presentation to
appeal across the board to a variety of artistic pursuits and senses:
Doubt
is a
question holding a knife. A question, by itself, can be innocent or
sinister.
But hand that question a knife, and all at once you are in danger. What
sort of
danger? Danger that exposes your deepest vulnerabilities, plumbs your
weaknesses, finds flaws in your logic, pokes holes in your
systems…tears you
down…Here’s what no one tells you about the danger of doubt…
Presented in succinct, descriptive language
complimented by black and white illustrations that add comic relief to
the
serious tone of this survey, Wrangling the Doubt Monster
is highly
recommended for a diverse audience, from artistic library patrons to
young
adult aspiring artists, adult book clubs interested in self-help books
that
promote discussion and change, and psychology readers who would
identify and
resolve their own doubting personalities.
Return to Index
Young Adult/Childrens
The Amazing
Adventures of Mr. Mac
Vickilynn O’Donnell
Yorkshire Publishing
978-1-960810-63-2
$20.00
www.YorkshirePublishing.com
The Amazing Adventures of Mr. Mac: The Farm Life
Way With Granny Jay
Kay is the first volume in a picture book series that follows
a Mr. Mac and
Granny Jay Kay’s farming life and adventures.
Bright,
inviting
illustrations by Jenna Jordan add colorful embellishments to Vickilynn
O’Donnell’s exploration of the farm life, animals, and chores required
to keep
everything going.
A rollicking
rhyme
moves young listeners and readers through these farm tasks, from “First chore on the list is where the pigs
lay they throw down some slop and move on their way” to
creeping through
the chicken coop to “gather some eggs
with a smooth gentle swoop.”
Farmer Mac
and Granny
Jay Kay are filled with smiles even as they work hard and follow their
daily
maintenance routines.
Kids receive
a gentle
lesson about perseverance, purpose, and cheer, giving read-aloud adults
the
opportunity to point out that hard work need not be negative.
Libraries
that
include The Amazing Adventures of Mr.
Mac: The Farm Life Way With Granny Jay Kay will find that it
both
enlightens about farming, and holds underlying value with its messages
about
tackling jobs with a positive attitude.
Return to Index
Children of Mandrake
Jesse Stein
Atmosphere Press
979-8-89132-251-6
$20.00 Paperback/$9.99 eBook
www.atmospherepress.com
Jesse Stein’s Children of Mandrake
sports a lovely cover illustrated by Meng Samantha Shui, enticing young
readers
to follow the journey of teens Truman and Donna, the only teens in the
small
town of Mandrake that care about the summer of rain.
A mandate by the town hermit and baker to
locate a special cinnamon tree somewhere downriver, that hides Mandrake
from
the outside world, sends them on an unexpected path of discovery as the
quest
for a perfect dessert turns into a search for answers and survival.
Ecological messages cemented in these
children’s’ lives are imparted from the story’s opening introduction:
“The
Hojo River is
round and pointless,” Donna says to me. “Nothing feeds it, and it
doesn’t feed
nothing.” She works up a brick of snot to tsk through her bottom teeth.
“You
even remember the last time you saw a fish?”
“I don’t look for fish,” I say, making a face, thinking about gills. “I
don’t
look for birds either; they’re just the fish of the sky.”
Stein builds the narrator’s unique
perspective and voice, which cements the story’s attraction and promise
of
adventure through strong characterization:
I
don’t know the
particular magic that old black river mud carries, nor do I necessarily
subscribe to her mother’s claims of knowing how every single thing in
the world
is stitched up and twisted together. I mean, I’m fourteen years old. I
don’t
want to know how anything works. But if anyone asked me, which they
never
would, I’d say it sounds like a bunch of nonsense.
Truman has very little interest in the
outdoors. And if he wanted to go and sleep outside (he says), he’d join
a
circus. For him, nature and the concept of interconnected lives lie in
the
realm of magic, not reality. That reality is about to change as their
journey
embraces both Donna’s dreams and the sordid truth about what is
happening to
their environment.
Stein moves back and forth in viewpoints
between the two. This neatly outlines their disparate perceptions as
Truman
talks to animals and Donna recovers from loss. How can Truman talk to
animals
when she can’t?
Chapter headings that identified these
viewpoint shifts would have made reading even smoother, but it’s fairly
apparent who is doing the observing, after a few lines of each chapter.
Meng Samantha Shui’s gorgeous illustrations bring this story to life. Children of Mandrake’s rich synthesis of ecological and personal connections makes it a top recommendation for middle to high school readers and elementary-level libraries interested in a coming-of-age fantasy that weaves together elements of social and ecological consciousness, detective work, epic adventure, and magic.
Children of MandrakeReturn to Index
Miya’s
Mountain
Cathy Ringler
Crystal Publishing,
LLC
978-1942624844
$16.95
www.cathyringler.com
Cowgirl
storyteller
Cathy Ringler presents middle grade to young adult readers with another
Miya
adventure in Miya’s Mountain. Now a
teenager, Miya experiences more learning opportunities when an issue
involving
the Forest Service and lease dates draws her into adult concerns.
Questions of
how Miya
does (and does not) take responsibility in life, her choices and their
consequences, and the issues that stem from a “dumb idea” turned
dangerous
power a story filled with insights about land management, encounters
with
bears, and more.
Cathy
Ringler’s
storytelling prowess enables her readers to smoothly move from prior
adventures
(in which the girl was eight) to present-day challenges as Miya teeters
on the
cusp of adulthood, but sometimes still reacts as a child.
Awareness of
animals
and people permeate the tale as Miya grows into new realizations about
life and
her role in taking charge and making decisions.
As she
fields friend
Tanner’s asthma attacks, undertakes trips that test her resources and
mettle,
and tackles new adventures with Jake (trail riding in the back
country), Miya
searches for her place in the community of humans and nature, absorbing
lessons
from both.
The special
strength to
this story lies not just in Ringler’s ability to spin a vivid yarn
filled with
adventurous twists, but in her dedication to considering Miya’s
challenges,
choices, decisions, and camping’s pros and cons.
The result
is a vivid
outdoors adventure highly recommended for teens, who will find
themselves
riding the trail of new adulthood and responsibility alongside Miya and
her
horse Dream.
Return to Index
Sanya’s New
Starts
Aditi Singh & Sharvi Singh
Raising World
Children LLC
978-1-956870-06-0
$9.99 Paperback/$8.99 eBook
www.raisingworldchildren.com
Sanya’s
New Starts: An Easy to
Read, Diverse Chapter Book about Belonging is the first in the chapter book Sanya series,
exploring an 11-year-old
girl’s search for a sense of self and place.
Readers ages 6-9 will find
Sanya a compelling character
whose courage in tackling new experiences drives her to make proactive,
powerful choices in her life.
Another big plus to this
story is the wealth of Indian
culture which is embedded into her life, philosophy, and world. These
elements
give kids a solid introduction to dosas, turmeric milk, and other
traditional
foods and experiences to be absorbed in the course of Sanya’s journey.
The chapter book format
lends to the feel of a series of
scary (but enlightening) encounters which each require Sanya to step up
to
opportunities for different kinds of friendships and experiences.
An added bonus to these
stories comes in the form of a
(separate acquisition) classroom guide that helps identify and solidify
discussions that adults can spark, about comprehension and social
emotional
skills, available from RaisingWorldchildren.com/guides.
Between its focus on new
words and concepts and how Sanya
absorbs and incorporates both into her life, Sanya’s New Starts represents
an outstanding opportunity for adults and elementary-level libraries to
introduce subjects of diversity, friendships, belonging, and manners to
chapter
book audiences and young reader book clubs alike.
Return to Index
The
StarWriters Club
Mary K. Savarese
Indignor House
978-1-953278-37-1
$34.95 Hardcover/$24.95
Paperback/$6.99 eBook
www.maryksavarese.com
The StarWriters Club is the second
adventure in the trilogy and
opens with the life (or, is it?) of sixteen-year-old tomboy Em Iverson,
who is
newly experiencing another realm and the challenges that come with it.
Teens may
not expect
religious questions to evolve from a fantasy setting, but a spiritual
component
embracing life purpose, missions, and efforts to thwart evil and
support His
Plan come to light when Em joins others on a similar journey and
discovers that
the world—and the afterlife—are not what she once believed.
Familiarity
with the
opening novel of the trilogy, The Girl in the Toile Wallpaper, will lend to the continuation of theme and
understanding that plays out in this character's encounters. Young
adults who
appreciated the romance, adventure, and blends of history and mystery
that
intersected with the fantasy following 12-year-old Tyler
Charles in the
first book will find the expanded ideas and different experiences of
another
who enters this realm to be equally captivating. While this second book
may
stand alone, ideally it will be chosen as a fine follow-up to the first.
Mary K.
Savarese
writes with an eye to building intrigue, starting with Em's ethereal
journey
and then moving to ordinary daily life at the breakfast table with her
family.
This then segues to a horrible discovery made by her roommate Danni.
Teens will
have
little trouble following these transitions as Em is invited to
participate on a
team training to be a StarWriter whose goal is to deliver His Plan to
the
universe. There are only twelve StarWriters. Em's opportunity is thus
rare and
inviting.
As Savarese
unfolds
this world and its undercurrents of good and evil, teens receive plenty
of
insights into ideal worlds and new realities:
“Below is the village of Wis.”
Ja Crof pointed at a countryside village that was tucked into a snowy
hillside.
“Over there is U-ing.” She
pointed to a distant dark green area. “A wild jungle filled with every
animal
ever created by Him.”
“Wow,” Milos sighed, “do bilocators play with the tigers and lions.”
“Yes, they do.” Ja Crof laughed. “There is only love here.”
As
exploration
dovetails with challenge, Em and the other potential StarWriters delve
into
deeper purposes and thinking that challenge both their growth and their
goals.
Savarese
cultivates a
quirky tone surrounding the meeting of different worlds that will
attract teens
looking for genre-busting fantasy that doesn't evolve on a formula
level, but
continually poses surprises and new revelations.
Tests,
quests, and
questions permeate the efforts of the StarWriters as they find their
new world
and mission filled with magic, intrigue, and a renewed sense of purpose
about
their abilities to step into their destinies and change fate.
The result
is a
powerful story that captivates, prompts thinking and discussion about
philosophical and spiritual matters, and entertains with a vivid hand
to
encounters and twists readers won't see coming.
Libraries
and young
adults looking for original, creative works that excel in
bigger-picture
thinking will find The StarWriters Club
a major attraction.
Return to Index
Webster
the Beagle and His Adventures at the River
Frank Payne
Mascot Kids
978-1637556733
$19.95
www.mascotbooks.com
Webster the Beagle and His
Adventures at the River
is a
colorful picture book that follows the adventures of a former hunting
dog with
a nose for observation.
Webster
wasn’t just fated for hunting. When he got lost during a
hunting trip, he not only found his forever family, but a new mission
in life.
Frank
Payne outlines river ecology as Webster both explores and
appreciates this world. The story is replete with observations and
encounters
that support the wonder of the outdoors, giving children a sense of
discovery,
themselves, through “Did you know?” facts, colorful illustrations by
Romney
Vasquez, and insights on birds, crabs, and other East coast river
denizens that
Webster encounters.
As
Webster follows his owner through the seasons, kids will enjoy a tale
filled with appreciation for these changing landscapes and their nature.
The
result is a fictional overlay to some very interesting nature facts
that will intrigue kids interested in the outdoors.
Webster the Beagle and His
Adventures at the River
is
particularly well-suited for adult read-aloud, as it emphasizes the
river
environment’s special nature.
Return to Index
The West: Land of Opportunity
Johnny Gunn
Condor Publishing
978-1-931079-63-1
$26.95
Hardcover/$14.95 Paper
www.condorpublishinginc.com
The
West: Land of
Opportunity is a collection of Western stories filled with a
storyteller’s
penchant for high drama and strong characterization.
Any advanced elementary to
middle grader readers who have
thought of Western history as dry and one-dimensional would do well to
read the
vivid stories, here. Johnny Gunn’s tall tales outline not just events,
but
concepts about the West and its characters. Gunn doesn’t just cover
positive
people seeking opportunity in the Wild West: the stories include
characters
with more nefarious attitudes and motivations.
Tales range from ‘Not This
Time’, about cattle-rustling
on the frontier and efforts to thwart it, to ‘Rage on the Range,’ which
outlines
feuds, justice, and the law in a relatively lawless time and place.
Each story is designed to
feature different characters that
represent disparate facets of Western experience, from lawmen and
strangers to
individuals concerned with either upholding or thwarting the forces of
frontier
justice.
Through these tales, readers
will gain a renewed
appreciation for the opportunities, obstacles, encounters, and
characters
attracted to the American West.
Gunn is especially adept at
creating compelling scenarios
which embrace problem-solving, social and political situations (as they
pertain
to frontier living, of course), and encounters that test not only the
mettle of
each character, but their perception of and place in the West.
All these features are why The West: Land of Opportunity is highly recommended for libraries seeking lively discourses that will attract not just young history buffs, but leisure readers who will find its “you are here” atmosphere compelling, realistic, and thoroughly engrossing.
The West: Land of OpportunityReturn to Index