May 2014 Review Issue
Table Of
Contents
Biography
& Autobiography
Defining
Pearl
Pearl Matibe
FriessenPress
Hardcover: 9781460242230
Paperback: 9781460242247
eBook: 9781460242254
Few people deserve to produce a memoir more than Pearl Matibe, who had a happy childhood steeped in privilege and colonial British amenities in early Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), only to find as an adult that civil rights atrocities were rampant under President Mugabe in her newly-reborn country. The promise of independence was never realized, Pearl's own life as a black woman raised in a privileged white culture (separate, but enjoying many amenities) is unique, and her observations of the terrible things that eventually caused her to flee her country are unparalleled in scope and perspective.
For one thing, there are relatively few accounts of early township life in Rhodesia: Matibe's memoir captures memories from her earliest childhood years.
Another important note: Matibe's memoir juxtaposes her personal memories and experiences with a running history of her country. This means that readers need not have any prior background in African history or culture (it's all provided here) so one can readily absorb not only her life, but the larger issues facing her evolving country.
Photographs (not seen by this reviewer) serve as the impetus for this exploration, with clear delineations between childhood, teen and adult years providing details on the particular perspectives of the narrator at given points in time.
Soon after Zimbabwe's independence Pearl Matibe was admitted to elite schools that previously had been reserved for 'whites only' and lived a new life, sheltered by the school, even as her country was undergoing violent transformation. The juxtaposition of her privileged life even as Mugabe was wreaking havoc is striking and speaks of different layers of society that co-existed side by side, simultaneously insulated from the experiences and realities of each other.
As Pearl comes to recognize her country's social and political stratification and her own evolving talents and beliefs, so she arrives at new commitments about fostering positive change in her country - and eventually comes to the sad realization that her talents and goals are incompatible with the relentless course her nation is taking.
More than any other account of Zimbabwe's political and social changes, Defining Pearl has a unique way of personalizing and exploring the impact of these transitions on families and cultures.
There are harrowing experiences (such as a mysterious car that tries to drive Pearl off the road, then proves to have no traceable license plate) and there are social and political encounters that test Pearl's priorities and even her family's stability.
In the end Zimbabwe's changes will leave her few options - and by the end of Defining Pearl, readers will discover their own knowledge of Zimbabwe's history has been vastly expanded.
Any reader who wants an easy way of understanding this process will find Defining Pearl moves beyond the traditional definition of 'memoir' to embrace a social and political process too often puzzling to outsiders.
Pearl Matibe
FriessenPress
Hardcover: 9781460242230
Paperback: 9781460242247
eBook: 9781460242254
Few people deserve to produce a memoir more than Pearl Matibe, who had a happy childhood steeped in privilege and colonial British amenities in early Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), only to find as an adult that civil rights atrocities were rampant under President Mugabe in her newly-reborn country. The promise of independence was never realized, Pearl's own life as a black woman raised in a privileged white culture (separate, but enjoying many amenities) is unique, and her observations of the terrible things that eventually caused her to flee her country are unparalleled in scope and perspective.
For one thing, there are relatively few accounts of early township life in Rhodesia: Matibe's memoir captures memories from her earliest childhood years.
Another important note: Matibe's memoir juxtaposes her personal memories and experiences with a running history of her country. This means that readers need not have any prior background in African history or culture (it's all provided here) so one can readily absorb not only her life, but the larger issues facing her evolving country.
Photographs (not seen by this reviewer) serve as the impetus for this exploration, with clear delineations between childhood, teen and adult years providing details on the particular perspectives of the narrator at given points in time.
Soon after Zimbabwe's independence Pearl Matibe was admitted to elite schools that previously had been reserved for 'whites only' and lived a new life, sheltered by the school, even as her country was undergoing violent transformation. The juxtaposition of her privileged life even as Mugabe was wreaking havoc is striking and speaks of different layers of society that co-existed side by side, simultaneously insulated from the experiences and realities of each other.
As Pearl comes to recognize her country's social and political stratification and her own evolving talents and beliefs, so she arrives at new commitments about fostering positive change in her country - and eventually comes to the sad realization that her talents and goals are incompatible with the relentless course her nation is taking.
More than any other account of Zimbabwe's political and social changes, Defining Pearl has a unique way of personalizing and exploring the impact of these transitions on families and cultures.
There are harrowing experiences (such as a mysterious car that tries to drive Pearl off the road, then proves to have no traceable license plate) and there are social and political encounters that test Pearl's priorities and even her family's stability.
In the end Zimbabwe's changes will leave her few options - and by the end of Defining Pearl, readers will discover their own knowledge of Zimbabwe's history has been vastly expanded.
Any reader who wants an easy way of understanding this process will find Defining Pearl moves beyond the traditional definition of 'memoir' to embrace a social and political process too often puzzling to outsiders.
Parentheses: A Memoir of My Life
Before, During and After My Death
Fredrick Swan
Stewart and Hobbs Publishing House LLC
9780990028000 $17.95
http://www.fredrickswan.com/
Parentheses is a true story and revolves around the life, death, and rebirth of a man who wanted a "differing view" of his life - and received it when he 'died' from cardiac arrest and was resuscitated only to face a new life with new physical disabilities and possible brain damage. Don't expect a singular focus on this new life, however: in order to make its point, Parentheses had to delve into the author's entire life - not just that after his cardiac arrest. As such, it presents a memoir embracing a troubled childhood, Frederick Swan's journey as an adult to meet a birth parent, his life as a father, and the single physical event that changed everything.
All this opens with Swan's daily realization that his predictable path in life has changed: "It is just in this moment of waking, when no memories or thoughts have yet broken the surface, that I am unaware of several things. I am, upon opening my eyes, unaware that I am partially blind, unaware that there are people missing from my life, and unaware that in order to determine what has happened during the past week, I will need - as I get out of bed - to count backward or to refer to notes written upon a calendar. Of the various cognitive skills I took for granted in my life, my ability to feel and understand the passage of time was, until approximately a year and a half ago, a skill of which I was unaware. On January 12, 2010, many things about my life and my perceptions were changed when, during a routine angioplasty, I died from a cardiac arrest..."
I don't know about you, but from the beginning this is an effective attention-grabbing device that leads readers to want to fill in the blanks of "who, what, where, when and how". 'Who', of course, is the author, who narrates his own saga; and the 'what' grows to embrace not only his death but his rebirth.
Other elements are covered in chapters that reveal significant events in the author's life, from encounters with mad cow disease to his plea to a nursing home parent who has stopped eating: "She was sixty-three at the time. I was forty-five. My mother was frail, needlessly underweight. I looked into her fading face for quite a long time before speaking. When I did, I took in a breath and I let out a need. I asked her if, after all of these years, we could trade places, if we could have a relationship that was not based upon what she needed from me or what she was worried about or what made her afraid. I asked her if we could be a parent and a child and if she could make the decision to eat and go on living or not eat and go on dying, without it being my responsibility."
As Fredrick Swan finds different ways to relate to his world, he moves back and forth in time between past and present and brings readers along on a journey that embraces key moments and memories: "I remember the perfect circle of Sparkie's collar remaining in the clutch of my fingers, the feeling of the water against the back of my legs, the sight of it dripping off the end of the tag, the hardness of stones against the skin on my knees. I remember kneeling and watching him drip and flow away from my fingers to beneath the surface of the creek and remembering how dogs are happier in the country than when they are cooped up in the city. I remember bending forward and putting my head on the dampness of the log and thinking about the long journey I had made with my parents. I remember the wet emptiness of the collar that was left in my hands."
Medical records intersperse with events throughout his account, acts of faith are recounted, recovery processes detailed, and all these (along with memories of the past) are tied to a journey the author is still undergoing.
Now, if you're expecting a fluid read that moves in logical progression from beginning to end, don't look here. Swan's saga constantly moves from past to present to reinforce key events from throughout his life: as such, it's rich in impression, emotion, and reflection - and not a linear production.
Central to all is one of his invitations to readers: "Can you name a moment that you have experienced that made you change the way you look at the world?"
In pursuit of such experiences, Parentheses succeeds in capturing their complexity: "Time expands as a result of anxiety. Your perceptions open up, you fixate on moments. You remember details, and these are condensed into an imaginary reef that you circle in slow motion."
In a nutshell, these key, life-changing moments are what Parentheses is all about and the promise of involvement, revelation, insight, and ultimate change is more than met in chapters filled with reflections on life, death, and everything that lies in between.
Fredrick Swan
Stewart and Hobbs Publishing House LLC
9780990028000 $17.95
http://www.fredrickswan.com/
Parentheses is a true story and revolves around the life, death, and rebirth of a man who wanted a "differing view" of his life - and received it when he 'died' from cardiac arrest and was resuscitated only to face a new life with new physical disabilities and possible brain damage. Don't expect a singular focus on this new life, however: in order to make its point, Parentheses had to delve into the author's entire life - not just that after his cardiac arrest. As such, it presents a memoir embracing a troubled childhood, Frederick Swan's journey as an adult to meet a birth parent, his life as a father, and the single physical event that changed everything.
All this opens with Swan's daily realization that his predictable path in life has changed: "It is just in this moment of waking, when no memories or thoughts have yet broken the surface, that I am unaware of several things. I am, upon opening my eyes, unaware that I am partially blind, unaware that there are people missing from my life, and unaware that in order to determine what has happened during the past week, I will need - as I get out of bed - to count backward or to refer to notes written upon a calendar. Of the various cognitive skills I took for granted in my life, my ability to feel and understand the passage of time was, until approximately a year and a half ago, a skill of which I was unaware. On January 12, 2010, many things about my life and my perceptions were changed when, during a routine angioplasty, I died from a cardiac arrest..."
I don't know about you, but from the beginning this is an effective attention-grabbing device that leads readers to want to fill in the blanks of "who, what, where, when and how". 'Who', of course, is the author, who narrates his own saga; and the 'what' grows to embrace not only his death but his rebirth.
Other elements are covered in chapters that reveal significant events in the author's life, from encounters with mad cow disease to his plea to a nursing home parent who has stopped eating: "She was sixty-three at the time. I was forty-five. My mother was frail, needlessly underweight. I looked into her fading face for quite a long time before speaking. When I did, I took in a breath and I let out a need. I asked her if, after all of these years, we could trade places, if we could have a relationship that was not based upon what she needed from me or what she was worried about or what made her afraid. I asked her if we could be a parent and a child and if she could make the decision to eat and go on living or not eat and go on dying, without it being my responsibility."
As Fredrick Swan finds different ways to relate to his world, he moves back and forth in time between past and present and brings readers along on a journey that embraces key moments and memories: "I remember the perfect circle of Sparkie's collar remaining in the clutch of my fingers, the feeling of the water against the back of my legs, the sight of it dripping off the end of the tag, the hardness of stones against the skin on my knees. I remember kneeling and watching him drip and flow away from my fingers to beneath the surface of the creek and remembering how dogs are happier in the country than when they are cooped up in the city. I remember bending forward and putting my head on the dampness of the log and thinking about the long journey I had made with my parents. I remember the wet emptiness of the collar that was left in my hands."
Medical records intersperse with events throughout his account, acts of faith are recounted, recovery processes detailed, and all these (along with memories of the past) are tied to a journey the author is still undergoing.
Now, if you're expecting a fluid read that moves in logical progression from beginning to end, don't look here. Swan's saga constantly moves from past to present to reinforce key events from throughout his life: as such, it's rich in impression, emotion, and reflection - and not a linear production.
Central to all is one of his invitations to readers: "Can you name a moment that you have experienced that made you change the way you look at the world?"
In pursuit of such experiences, Parentheses succeeds in capturing their complexity: "Time expands as a result of anxiety. Your perceptions open up, you fixate on moments. You remember details, and these are condensed into an imaginary reef that you circle in slow motion."
In a nutshell, these key, life-changing moments are what Parentheses is all about and the promise of involvement, revelation, insight, and ultimate change is more than met in chapters filled with reflections on life, death, and everything that lies in between.
Business
The Bright Idea Box
Jag Randhawa
Aviva Publishing
9781938686818 $26.95
www.brightideabox.com
The Bright Idea Box: A Proven System to Drive Employee Engagement and Innovation is recommended for business collections and readers interested in better employee engagement processes, and comes from a program Jag Randhawa created (after the 2008 financial crisis) to help engage employees further business growth.
Now, plenty of books discuss this very theme (how to involve employees in innovation processes), but few offer the specifics of this book, which pinpoints exactly what constitutes 'innovation' and how to begin the task of fostering its growth.
In effect, The Bright Idea Box serves as a blueprint for the entire process, teaching the basics in a step-by-step format that creates a foundation, builds an innovation agenda upon it, then shows how ideas generated by employees can be put into action.
All this is based on the idea that every employee has an innate desire to contribute something greater to their job and world. Now, I've known employees who just want to 'do their job and go home'; so this piece is possibly an idealistic assessment when applied to every employee in any workplace scenario.
But, say you have developed a good, solid team of employees who truly care, and say you (as a manager) recognize there's a host of ideas running through the ranks on how to improve the business, but no structure in place to hear and act on these ideas: in this scenario, The Bright Idea Box takes the reins and runs with them.
Chapters provide a six-step process enabling employees to develop, submit AND execute ideas. Other books on innovation don't place this responsibility in the employee's hands: having all three parts in one place allows business leaders to focus on idea development as a major goal of everyday business operations.
Chapters also blend a workbook format with resources for implementation, recapping inspirations that move beyond dreams to their realization and demonstrating how to treat employees like partners.
This may sound complex, but it's not: all that's needed is a simple formula for capturing ideas (which The Bright Idea Box provides), a structure for developing the best ideas (which this also provides), and an actionable plan (needless to say: it's all here).
All that remains is for employers to hire conscientious, bright, caring employees excited about the possibility of seeing their ideas come to life: The Bright Idea Box does the rest, and is highly recommended for any entrepreneur and any manager working to revamp and revitalize a business structure.
Jag Randhawa
Aviva Publishing
9781938686818 $26.95
www.brightideabox.com
The Bright Idea Box: A Proven System to Drive Employee Engagement and Innovation is recommended for business collections and readers interested in better employee engagement processes, and comes from a program Jag Randhawa created (after the 2008 financial crisis) to help engage employees further business growth.
Now, plenty of books discuss this very theme (how to involve employees in innovation processes), but few offer the specifics of this book, which pinpoints exactly what constitutes 'innovation' and how to begin the task of fostering its growth.
In effect, The Bright Idea Box serves as a blueprint for the entire process, teaching the basics in a step-by-step format that creates a foundation, builds an innovation agenda upon it, then shows how ideas generated by employees can be put into action.
All this is based on the idea that every employee has an innate desire to contribute something greater to their job and world. Now, I've known employees who just want to 'do their job and go home'; so this piece is possibly an idealistic assessment when applied to every employee in any workplace scenario.
But, say you have developed a good, solid team of employees who truly care, and say you (as a manager) recognize there's a host of ideas running through the ranks on how to improve the business, but no structure in place to hear and act on these ideas: in this scenario, The Bright Idea Box takes the reins and runs with them.
Chapters provide a six-step process enabling employees to develop, submit AND execute ideas. Other books on innovation don't place this responsibility in the employee's hands: having all three parts in one place allows business leaders to focus on idea development as a major goal of everyday business operations.
Chapters also blend a workbook format with resources for implementation, recapping inspirations that move beyond dreams to their realization and demonstrating how to treat employees like partners.
This may sound complex, but it's not: all that's needed is a simple formula for capturing ideas (which The Bright Idea Box provides), a structure for developing the best ideas (which this also provides), and an actionable plan (needless to say: it's all here).
All that remains is for employers to hire conscientious, bright, caring employees excited about the possibility of seeing their ideas come to life: The Bright Idea Box does the rest, and is highly recommended for any entrepreneur and any manager working to revamp and revitalize a business structure.
Managing
for Success: Practical Advice for Managers
Steven R. Smith
Cambridge Hill Press
9780989748803
ISBN-13: 978-0989748803 $15.99
http://www.amazon.com/Managing-Success-Practical-Advice-Managers/dp/0989748804/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1396536894&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=9780989748803
Managing for Success: Practical Advice for Managers joins others in the business book category that presumes most managers need help in their job: this one citing statistics that some forty percent of new managers fail. Many managers and supervisors receive their designation due to success in their professions and expertise in their fields; but as managers they have a lot to learn, and that's where Managing for Success comes in.
It presumes such a scenario and answers common questions, addressing typical dilemmas of this group. It covers the very different skillsets required in managerial positions and talks about the best ideas author Steven R. Smith applied during his own tenure as a manager. It outlines the common routines of the job and how to handle typical challenges, providing the tools needed to handle individuals, teams, bosses, and corporate structures alike.
All this is based on the author's 42 years of observation at more than 15 companies, assessing why qualified managers ultimately failed at handling people and departments. The nuggets of wisdom gleaned from this entire experience are embedded into a daily guide for mangers of white-collar
workers and they pinpoint the practices that lead to either success or failure.
Chapters avoid your typical theory-and-case-history pairings to streamline information for busy business people who are simply seeking the nuts and bolts of applied management basics. They emphasize that technical training alone does not lead to good management practices: these embody a different set of skills and require specific management practice training, provided here in Managing for Success.
Clear ideas and approaches outlined by Steven R. Smith can easily be applied to any management scenario, while each chapter holds titles and statements that lend to quick browser reference as well as complete reading.
Want to motivate your staff? Then 'Managing Motivation' is the chapter of choice, outlining how motivation can be either stimulated or suppressed.
Want to better manage individuals? Then 'Individual Management' is recommended, covering everything from the basics of a superior job description (to include measurable metrics expected from an ideal candidate and how top performance is defined) to creating a 'responsibility table' to
better monitor goals, department workflow, and appropriate job assignments.
Have a difficult boss and want to extend management practices to handling conflict? Managing for Success tackles even this difficult subject with ease, from how to question bad decisions without jettisoning one's career to building a good relationship with a difficult boss.
It's all here: all that's required is that supervisors and managers be able to acknowledge that more effective management skillsets can be gleaned from the right combination of experience and logical lessons.
Managing for Success provides the latter: with it, new managers can step up to the plate and get on track quickly before any other moves are made in the workplace.
Steven R. Smith
Cambridge Hill Press
9780989748803
ISBN-13: 978-0989748803 $15.99
http://www.amazon.com/Managing-Success-Practical-Advice-Managers/dp/0989748804/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1396536894&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=9780989748803
Managing for Success: Practical Advice for Managers joins others in the business book category that presumes most managers need help in their job: this one citing statistics that some forty percent of new managers fail. Many managers and supervisors receive their designation due to success in their professions and expertise in their fields; but as managers they have a lot to learn, and that's where Managing for Success comes in.
It presumes such a scenario and answers common questions, addressing typical dilemmas of this group. It covers the very different skillsets required in managerial positions and talks about the best ideas author Steven R. Smith applied during his own tenure as a manager. It outlines the common routines of the job and how to handle typical challenges, providing the tools needed to handle individuals, teams, bosses, and corporate structures alike.
All this is based on the author's 42 years of observation at more than 15 companies, assessing why qualified managers ultimately failed at handling people and departments. The nuggets of wisdom gleaned from this entire experience are embedded into a daily guide for mangers of white-collar
workers and they pinpoint the practices that lead to either success or failure.
Chapters avoid your typical theory-and-case-history pairings to streamline information for busy business people who are simply seeking the nuts and bolts of applied management basics. They emphasize that technical training alone does not lead to good management practices: these embody a different set of skills and require specific management practice training, provided here in Managing for Success.
Clear ideas and approaches outlined by Steven R. Smith can easily be applied to any management scenario, while each chapter holds titles and statements that lend to quick browser reference as well as complete reading.
Want to motivate your staff? Then 'Managing Motivation' is the chapter of choice, outlining how motivation can be either stimulated or suppressed.
Want to better manage individuals? Then 'Individual Management' is recommended, covering everything from the basics of a superior job description (to include measurable metrics expected from an ideal candidate and how top performance is defined) to creating a 'responsibility table' to
better monitor goals, department workflow, and appropriate job assignments.
Have a difficult boss and want to extend management practices to handling conflict? Managing for Success tackles even this difficult subject with ease, from how to question bad decisions without jettisoning one's career to building a good relationship with a difficult boss.
It's all here: all that's required is that supervisors and managers be able to acknowledge that more effective management skillsets can be gleaned from the right combination of experience and logical lessons.
Managing for Success provides the latter: with it, new managers can step up to the plate and get on track quickly before any other moves are made in the workplace.
Self Help
It Starts With The Egg
Rebecca Fett
Franklin Fox Publishing
9780991126903 $16.95 / 10.95 Brit. pounds
www.franklinfox.com/contact
"It Starts With The Egg: How the Science of Egg Quality Can Help You Get Pregnant Naturally, Prevent Miscarriage, and Improve Your Odds in IVF" is all about understanding the biology of pregnancy and 'grey areas' of comprehension, and is a top pick for any who would start with the basics of how to get pregnant.
Yes, other books have covered IVF; usually in much detail. What differentiates It Starts With The Egg from its competitors is a format that offers a specific focus on nutrients and their importance to the process, and a precise self-help focus on how to supplement medical science with home-based options: "...it is critically important to provide your eggs with the specific nutrients needed to support embryo development and to avoid the toxins that cause the most harm. This book will explain the simple things you can do to have the best possible chance of getting pregnant and bringing home a healthy baby. And it starts with the egg."
Most other books on IVF focus on medical processes and procedures with only asides on nutrition: It Starts With The Egg uses the latest fertility research to show that women can take a proactive stand in assuring egg health and production, complimenting physician efforts to support fertility and health. Thus the specific strategies offered here are solidly backed by the latest medical research, not idealism; and they provide women with step-by-step options that are easily followed and clearly outlined. And it's also important to note that said research isn't singular, but represents an entire body of literature which has been synthesized by the author for a simple plan of action.
Rebecca Fett gently mentions that even those already under treatment by a fertility specialist should consider that not all physicians use the latest research (which keeps changing and growing.) The goal of It Starts With The Egg is to inform women of these new options, and reflects the author's own personal obsession with egg health.
And lest you wonder about her credentials, Fett has a background in molecular biology and biochemistry; so she was in the perfect position to investigate further when her fertility doctors were unable to advise her on which nutritional supplements she could take to improve her odds of getting pregnant.
Chapters are clearly titled and just as plainly written, presuming no prior experience in either fertility processes or science. From the basics in 'Understanding Egg Quality' to 'Supplements That May Do More Harm Than Good', prospective parents are treated to discussions that don't challenge their ability to comprehend.
The text is lively, easily grasped, and blends solid science with all the background readers need to thoroughly comprehend the subject, from the history of fertility efforts to modern approaches: "This brings us to one of the most valuable sources of information on how nutrition affects fertility: the Nurses Health Study. This extraordinary study revealed several factors impacting fertility, the most powerful of which came from the type of carbohydrates in the diet. Before we discuss the specific findings of the Nurses Health Study, it is worth noting just how immense this study was."
All this background history and basic science support the many chapters on how to consider and properly use supplements and how to integrate them with a doctor's fertility program and advice. Add extensive bibliographic references to scientific studies that enable further research and you have a winning approach.
In conclusion: it doesn't get any clearer, more contemporary, or any easier than It Starts With The Egg. Any aspiring parent needs to add this self-help primer to their fertility program!
Rebecca Fett
Franklin Fox Publishing
9780991126903 $16.95 / 10.95 Brit. pounds
www.franklinfox.com/contact
"It Starts With The Egg: How the Science of Egg Quality Can Help You Get Pregnant Naturally, Prevent Miscarriage, and Improve Your Odds in IVF" is all about understanding the biology of pregnancy and 'grey areas' of comprehension, and is a top pick for any who would start with the basics of how to get pregnant.
Yes, other books have covered IVF; usually in much detail. What differentiates It Starts With The Egg from its competitors is a format that offers a specific focus on nutrients and their importance to the process, and a precise self-help focus on how to supplement medical science with home-based options: "...it is critically important to provide your eggs with the specific nutrients needed to support embryo development and to avoid the toxins that cause the most harm. This book will explain the simple things you can do to have the best possible chance of getting pregnant and bringing home a healthy baby. And it starts with the egg."
Most other books on IVF focus on medical processes and procedures with only asides on nutrition: It Starts With The Egg uses the latest fertility research to show that women can take a proactive stand in assuring egg health and production, complimenting physician efforts to support fertility and health. Thus the specific strategies offered here are solidly backed by the latest medical research, not idealism; and they provide women with step-by-step options that are easily followed and clearly outlined. And it's also important to note that said research isn't singular, but represents an entire body of literature which has been synthesized by the author for a simple plan of action.
Rebecca Fett gently mentions that even those already under treatment by a fertility specialist should consider that not all physicians use the latest research (which keeps changing and growing.) The goal of It Starts With The Egg is to inform women of these new options, and reflects the author's own personal obsession with egg health.
And lest you wonder about her credentials, Fett has a background in molecular biology and biochemistry; so she was in the perfect position to investigate further when her fertility doctors were unable to advise her on which nutritional supplements she could take to improve her odds of getting pregnant.
Chapters are clearly titled and just as plainly written, presuming no prior experience in either fertility processes or science. From the basics in 'Understanding Egg Quality' to 'Supplements That May Do More Harm Than Good', prospective parents are treated to discussions that don't challenge their ability to comprehend.
The text is lively, easily grasped, and blends solid science with all the background readers need to thoroughly comprehend the subject, from the history of fertility efforts to modern approaches: "This brings us to one of the most valuable sources of information on how nutrition affects fertility: the Nurses Health Study. This extraordinary study revealed several factors impacting fertility, the most powerful of which came from the type of carbohydrates in the diet. Before we discuss the specific findings of the Nurses Health Study, it is worth noting just how immense this study was."
All this background history and basic science support the many chapters on how to consider and properly use supplements and how to integrate them with a doctor's fertility program and advice. Add extensive bibliographic references to scientific studies that enable further research and you have a winning approach.
In conclusion: it doesn't get any clearer, more contemporary, or any easier than It Starts With The Egg. Any aspiring parent needs to add this self-help primer to their fertility program!
My Guide: Overcome Insomnia
Rebecca Richmond
Richmond Pickering Ltd.
9780957237223, 17.00 Brit. pounds
www.writershouse.co.uk
www.richmondpickering.com
www.myguidebookseries.com
www.overcome-insomnia.com
http://www.amazon.com/My-Guide-Mrs-Rebecca-Richmond/dp/0957237227/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396887310&sr=8-1&keywords=9780957237223
There are plenty of books that address insomnia on the market already, but none hold the specific focus and discussions of My Guide: Overcome Insomnia, a clear dialogue on insomnia's origins and how to overcome it.
Sure, the science of sleep is the same and the advice on bedtime routines, diet and exercise can also be found elsewhere. And you're not looking at original research, either. What you are seeing is a talent for drawing disparate studies and approaches together under one cover, focusing on the 'secondary factors' that cause insomnia and providing a complete program addressing its underlying causes, symptoms, and how to combat sleeplessness on a nightly basis by changing lifestyle and emotional influences.
Chapters pair insights on techniques with supportive anecdotes that focus on holistic assessments of what influences different levels of sleep and how to create an environment that tips the balance towards sleep. These connections between emotional states of mind and sleep are essential to understanding the origins of insomnia, and include specific tips on busting worries and using meditation and visualization techniques to achieve optimum sleep routines.
From time management and flexibility to creating better self-esteem, My Guide: Overcome Insomnia includes considerations most books on the topic typically omit. It goes beyond theory to offer concrete routines readers can easily use to change belief systems and circumvent the habit of insomnia.
The fact that this approach embraces all stages of REM sleep patterns to works toward a unified sleep routine makes it even more effective: "...understanding the reasons for your insomnia and taking decisive positive action in order to rectify the situation makes perfect sense. In order to do so, you cannot simply sleep for fifteen hours on the weekend or sleep all day when you have a day off. So my techniques are designed to help you ensure that you can regularly get seven to eight hours of sleep that covers all the stages of non-REM sleep and REM (dreaming) sleep."
And it's very specific, step-by-step tips also set My Guide: Overcome Insomnia apart from competitors that offer theory and only a few approaches to actually curing insomnia. Here, it's all part of the 'bigger picture' which strives for overall better emotional health as a strategy for ultimately busting the habits and effects of insomnia.
Given this well-rounded and wider-ranging approach, it's a pleasure to highly recommend My Guide: Overcome Insomnia to any who suffer from regular insomnia and would consider a program to overcome it. To successfully consider this approach, one must be open to emotional change and techniques such as visualization and meditation. Those with such an interest will find My Guide: Overcome Insomnia embraces many techniques others bypass, and will find it a positive and authoritative guide.
Rebecca Richmond
Richmond Pickering Ltd.
9780957237223, 17.00 Brit. pounds
www.writershouse.co.uk
www.richmondpickering.com
www.myguidebookseries.com
www.overcome-insomnia.com
http://www.amazon.com/My-Guide-Mrs-Rebecca-Richmond/dp/0957237227/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396887310&sr=8-1&keywords=9780957237223
There are plenty of books that address insomnia on the market already, but none hold the specific focus and discussions of My Guide: Overcome Insomnia, a clear dialogue on insomnia's origins and how to overcome it.
Sure, the science of sleep is the same and the advice on bedtime routines, diet and exercise can also be found elsewhere. And you're not looking at original research, either. What you are seeing is a talent for drawing disparate studies and approaches together under one cover, focusing on the 'secondary factors' that cause insomnia and providing a complete program addressing its underlying causes, symptoms, and how to combat sleeplessness on a nightly basis by changing lifestyle and emotional influences.
Chapters pair insights on techniques with supportive anecdotes that focus on holistic assessments of what influences different levels of sleep and how to create an environment that tips the balance towards sleep. These connections between emotional states of mind and sleep are essential to understanding the origins of insomnia, and include specific tips on busting worries and using meditation and visualization techniques to achieve optimum sleep routines.
From time management and flexibility to creating better self-esteem, My Guide: Overcome Insomnia includes considerations most books on the topic typically omit. It goes beyond theory to offer concrete routines readers can easily use to change belief systems and circumvent the habit of insomnia.
The fact that this approach embraces all stages of REM sleep patterns to works toward a unified sleep routine makes it even more effective: "...understanding the reasons for your insomnia and taking decisive positive action in order to rectify the situation makes perfect sense. In order to do so, you cannot simply sleep for fifteen hours on the weekend or sleep all day when you have a day off. So my techniques are designed to help you ensure that you can regularly get seven to eight hours of sleep that covers all the stages of non-REM sleep and REM (dreaming) sleep."
And it's very specific, step-by-step tips also set My Guide: Overcome Insomnia apart from competitors that offer theory and only a few approaches to actually curing insomnia. Here, it's all part of the 'bigger picture' which strives for overall better emotional health as a strategy for ultimately busting the habits and effects of insomnia.
Given this well-rounded and wider-ranging approach, it's a pleasure to highly recommend My Guide: Overcome Insomnia to any who suffer from regular insomnia and would consider a program to overcome it. To successfully consider this approach, one must be open to emotional change and techniques such as visualization and meditation. Those with such an interest will find My Guide: Overcome Insomnia embraces many techniques others bypass, and will find it a positive and authoritative guide.
Short Stories
and Essays
Dumb
Things We
Say to Dogs
Diane Stresing
CreateSpace
9781495249563 $7.68
www.DianeStresing.com
http://www.amazon.com/Dumb-Things-We-Say-Dogs/dp/1495249565/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391088956&sr=8-1&keywords=dumb+things+we+say+to+dogs
Dumb Things We Say to Dogs: Essays and Other Stuff I Can't Keep to Myself comes from a soccer mother in Ohio who regularly speaks to her dog, and offers a fun essay collection that will appeal to any who appreciate wry observation pieces of life's ironies.
To make this mix of humor and reflection work, Stresing uses the essay format to its best advantage; but lest this format become repetitive or dull, she throws in some poetry and even some recipes. And lest you think this all comes from an ordinary housewife with little education, take another look: Stresing was a National Merit scholar and her literary prowess is more than evident even if her topic is light-hearted.
Some of the best things in life arrive on the lighter side, and so it is with Dumb Things, with its joie de vivre observations - as in 'Customer Service 101', which uses National Customer Service Week to reflect on her years as an industry manager based on training at 'Nag U', a "…small institute of learning where all the professors are simply and (usually) lovingly referred to as Mom and Dad."
There's the unexpected ("I saw Santa on a jet ski."), there's the reflection on the roles of canines in life ("While my dog has introduced me to many neighbors, who have become friends, there's still something we cannot do. We cannot call each other by name."), and there's the wider-ranging philosophical observation ("We don't hold the land; the land holds us."), and more - all couched, like a good dessert, in little bits and pieces that blend vignettes with delicious insight.
This approach succeeds in drawing in busy readers with writing that captures attention, delivers its message with a dose of humor blended with philosophy, then exits stage left (as a good, successful actor should), leaving its audience feeling satisfied and fulfilled.
Any who seek short essays (…and some poetry, and some recipes) on varied subjects (from marriage and business to dogs) spiced with color, fun, and reflection will find these vignettes simply delightful.
Diane Stresing
CreateSpace
9781495249563 $7.68
www.DianeStresing.com
http://www.amazon.com/Dumb-Things-We-Say-Dogs/dp/1495249565/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391088956&sr=8-1&keywords=dumb+things+we+say+to+dogs
Dumb Things We Say to Dogs: Essays and Other Stuff I Can't Keep to Myself comes from a soccer mother in Ohio who regularly speaks to her dog, and offers a fun essay collection that will appeal to any who appreciate wry observation pieces of life's ironies.
To make this mix of humor and reflection work, Stresing uses the essay format to its best advantage; but lest this format become repetitive or dull, she throws in some poetry and even some recipes. And lest you think this all comes from an ordinary housewife with little education, take another look: Stresing was a National Merit scholar and her literary prowess is more than evident even if her topic is light-hearted.
Some of the best things in life arrive on the lighter side, and so it is with Dumb Things, with its joie de vivre observations - as in 'Customer Service 101', which uses National Customer Service Week to reflect on her years as an industry manager based on training at 'Nag U', a "…small institute of learning where all the professors are simply and (usually) lovingly referred to as Mom and Dad."
There's the unexpected ("I saw Santa on a jet ski."), there's the reflection on the roles of canines in life ("While my dog has introduced me to many neighbors, who have become friends, there's still something we cannot do. We cannot call each other by name."), and there's the wider-ranging philosophical observation ("We don't hold the land; the land holds us."), and more - all couched, like a good dessert, in little bits and pieces that blend vignettes with delicious insight.
This approach succeeds in drawing in busy readers with writing that captures attention, delivers its message with a dose of humor blended with philosophy, then exits stage left (as a good, successful actor should), leaving its audience feeling satisfied and fulfilled.
Any who seek short essays (…and some poetry, and some recipes) on varied subjects (from marriage and business to dogs) spiced with color, fun, and reflection will find these vignettes simply delightful.
One
Heartbeat Past Normal
Dennis Timothy
Amazon Digital Services
ASIN: B00IHI0MXM $8.95
http://www.amazon.com/Heartbeat-Past-Normal-Dennis-Timothy-ebook/dp/B00IHI0MXM
If it's a short story format you're seeking (which both limits the action and story and demands that it build character, plot, and conclusion in a brief period of time) and if you're looking for a series of bizarre tales with very different approaches and perspectives, then look no further than One Heartbeat Past Normal, a collection that delves into other worlds with strange twists much like The Twilight Zone and other classics of irony and strange worlds.
Dennis Timothy's forte lies in little twists of plot that lead readers along a seemingly-predictable path, then change at the last minute. For seasoned readers who continually seek and seldom find true surprises, this is simply a delight.
Take 'The Pulse', as one example. This story opens at night in rural Louisiana where three men investigate just one of a series of incidents involving a strange pulse of energy with the instant ability to kill everything around it.
The theoretical Tesla Shield Machine has been brought to life, the military's involved, and a scientist's ethical decision to not deploy his discovery for fear of an arms race and pre-emptive strikes is shaken by the development and testing of a 'rogue shield' outside both military and government control.
The ante has been upped - and it's a cat-and-mouse game to indentify where it will be used next, and take it out. The mystery swings to an unexpected resolution in just a little over twenty pages of reading. To be able to develop plot, characters, motivation, and supportive science and mystery in that short a period means a blend of succinct writing and clear plot development must be deployed - and Dennis Timothy sure knows his art.
Also noteworthy in Timothy's work is his attention to diversity in plot, structure, and presentation. Too often short story collections assume a grudging similarity brought about by devices repeatedly employed from beginning to end. Not only are the stories in One Heartbeat Past Normal radically different from one another, but Timothy's ability to profile very different scenarios, outcomes and characters makes each tale stand alone as a gem of inspiration.
Thus 'The Price' (to name another example) tells of a talented guitar player who's about to enter a competition he can't afford to lose. His decision to employ supernatural forces to assure success will cost him more than his soul.
Immediately following 'The Price' is the very different 'Home', a short-short story narrated in the first person, telling of a man's return home: possibly for the last time. Another unexpected twist at story's end completes his journey; but not in any way a reader could easily foresee.
Delightful surprises that catch readers unawares and offer up different perspectives: that's the strength of a collection that will positively delight fans of Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, and sagas that are anything but predictable.
Dennis Timothy
Amazon Digital Services
ASIN: B00IHI0MXM $8.95
http://www.amazon.com/Heartbeat-Past-Normal-Dennis-Timothy-ebook/dp/B00IHI0MXM
If it's a short story format you're seeking (which both limits the action and story and demands that it build character, plot, and conclusion in a brief period of time) and if you're looking for a series of bizarre tales with very different approaches and perspectives, then look no further than One Heartbeat Past Normal, a collection that delves into other worlds with strange twists much like The Twilight Zone and other classics of irony and strange worlds.
Dennis Timothy's forte lies in little twists of plot that lead readers along a seemingly-predictable path, then change at the last minute. For seasoned readers who continually seek and seldom find true surprises, this is simply a delight.
Take 'The Pulse', as one example. This story opens at night in rural Louisiana where three men investigate just one of a series of incidents involving a strange pulse of energy with the instant ability to kill everything around it.
The theoretical Tesla Shield Machine has been brought to life, the military's involved, and a scientist's ethical decision to not deploy his discovery for fear of an arms race and pre-emptive strikes is shaken by the development and testing of a 'rogue shield' outside both military and government control.
The ante has been upped - and it's a cat-and-mouse game to indentify where it will be used next, and take it out. The mystery swings to an unexpected resolution in just a little over twenty pages of reading. To be able to develop plot, characters, motivation, and supportive science and mystery in that short a period means a blend of succinct writing and clear plot development must be deployed - and Dennis Timothy sure knows his art.
Also noteworthy in Timothy's work is his attention to diversity in plot, structure, and presentation. Too often short story collections assume a grudging similarity brought about by devices repeatedly employed from beginning to end. Not only are the stories in One Heartbeat Past Normal radically different from one another, but Timothy's ability to profile very different scenarios, outcomes and characters makes each tale stand alone as a gem of inspiration.
Thus 'The Price' (to name another example) tells of a talented guitar player who's about to enter a competition he can't afford to lose. His decision to employ supernatural forces to assure success will cost him more than his soul.
Immediately following 'The Price' is the very different 'Home', a short-short story narrated in the first person, telling of a man's return home: possibly for the last time. Another unexpected twist at story's end completes his journey; but not in any way a reader could easily foresee.
Delightful surprises that catch readers unawares and offer up different perspectives: that's the strength of a collection that will positively delight fans of Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, and sagas that are anything but predictable.
Mystery
& Thrillers
The
Ball Crossing
J.E. Lindberg
Amazon Digital Services
ASIN: B00HZUH876 $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/The-Ball-Crossing-J-E-Lindberg-ebook/dp/B00HZUH876
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ball-crossing-je-lindberg/1118260440?ean=2940148263807
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-ball-crossing
www.jelindberg.com
The Ball Crossing may be set in Civil War times (1874: about a decade after its conclusion), but it's a murder mystery and detective story pure and simple, set in the unlikely state of sleepy Vermont and centering around a veteran still recovering from war a decade later.
The victim is Marie Ball, a young teacher who is stalked and killed. The event sparks a manhunt that throws Francis Hakey into same arena as his adversary Joseph LaPage, a madman who subscribes to no singular religion or perspective, but who lives on the edge of insanity. (The character LaPage is based on the historical serial murderer who brought his reign of terror to Vermont and New Hampshire during the time period in which the novel is set.)
Francis Hakey joins with his old friend Ephraim Perley, freedman Moses Chestnut and Marie's twin brother Alden to track down the killer; and it's here that supernatural elements enter the bigger picture, immersing the hunters in a deadly game that moves quickly beyond a horrific, singular murder to enter the realm of the surreal.
It's important to note that J.E. Lindberg's attention to strong characterization never falters. Even the short-lived victim, Marie, is given enough colorful description that she moves from a one-dimensional figurehead to a living, breathing character filled with ideals, purpose, and vision: "Adjusting her expectations to the necessities of the local community had been a topic of discussion during Marie Ball’s first meeting with the committee of the school district. True to her ideals, the young schoolmistress had not initially accepted the proposition that the value of the classroom education she offered, and the time required to obtain its benefits, should be secondary to the demands of sustaining the marginal existence that most of the small farmsteads tendered to the children born into that life. Though still determined to fulfill her calling to fan the briefest flame of enlightenment wherever it burned, her appreciation for the capacity of these stoic people to endure privation, to work endlessly without complaint, and to love their children unconditionally only deepened her respect for the choices they made as she grew to know the families of Franklin County, their way of being, and the hard land that often took more than it gave."
Personal ideals, morals and values are only one facet of a story line that probes each character in turn, building up their motivations, perspectives and beliefs to create believable protagonists whose concerns imbed the story line with fire and passion. Needless to say, these elements are intrinsic to not just a good read, but a superior production; something too seldom present in typical mystery and supernatural reads. Many authors simply don't take the time to build in these layers of complexity and meaning.
Secondly, The Ball Crossing holds passages that provide strong connections to the environment. Moses, in particular, is able to 'read' the natural world around him for clues: "In all his days, Moses Chestnut had never seen a jay bird so close at hand. Its kind were among the most wary of the scarce life that remained visible during the winter months. Never alone, the blue jays moved in small flocks through the bleak landscape in search of whatever sustained them. They were vigilant of threats and quick to cry out a warning to which all the other creatures of the northern forest paid heed."
His ability to pay attention to these signs and interpret them as warnings and premonitions of danger blends into the general animist undertone that permeates events and their evolution: "Had he looked to the ground on the right edge of the doorway as the two entered the barn, Moses Chestnut might have noticed the fresh curls of wood that had settled there on the old hay and manure. If he had recognized them, then he would certainly have looked up to see the strange pattern of cuts high up the timber of the doorframe. Made by a skilled hand with a sharp knife, they formed a series of animist images like something from a language scarcely spoken now though once as familiar in this place as the whisper of wind."
As LaPage's evil evolves and begins to devour the world with its brutal vengeance, Francis Hakey and his fellow hunters come to find that the violence of war is nothing compared to the predatory purposes of a supernatural force beyond their control. The Ball murder not only consumes all their lives, but leads to something even more threatening: a final confrontation that brings with it a heavy cost.
Yet, there's the promise of peace at the end of the storm…if Frances can survive long enough to find it: "And though the scene about him was more awful than any he’d known in the war or the time since, he was filled with a sense of profound calm and peace as if the hand of God reached down to touch him."
Vivid, embracing, and speckled with violent confrontation and the prospect of total annihilation versus redemption, The Ball Crossing isn't for readers who want a casual 'whodunnit' mystery, but for those who enjoy complex reads with more than a hint of the supernatural thrown in for good measure.
J.E. Lindberg
Amazon Digital Services
ASIN: B00HZUH876 $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/The-Ball-Crossing-J-E-Lindberg-ebook/dp/B00HZUH876
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ball-crossing-je-lindberg/1118260440?ean=2940148263807
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-ball-crossing
www.jelindberg.com
The Ball Crossing may be set in Civil War times (1874: about a decade after its conclusion), but it's a murder mystery and detective story pure and simple, set in the unlikely state of sleepy Vermont and centering around a veteran still recovering from war a decade later.
The victim is Marie Ball, a young teacher who is stalked and killed. The event sparks a manhunt that throws Francis Hakey into same arena as his adversary Joseph LaPage, a madman who subscribes to no singular religion or perspective, but who lives on the edge of insanity. (The character LaPage is based on the historical serial murderer who brought his reign of terror to Vermont and New Hampshire during the time period in which the novel is set.)
Francis Hakey joins with his old friend Ephraim Perley, freedman Moses Chestnut and Marie's twin brother Alden to track down the killer; and it's here that supernatural elements enter the bigger picture, immersing the hunters in a deadly game that moves quickly beyond a horrific, singular murder to enter the realm of the surreal.
It's important to note that J.E. Lindberg's attention to strong characterization never falters. Even the short-lived victim, Marie, is given enough colorful description that she moves from a one-dimensional figurehead to a living, breathing character filled with ideals, purpose, and vision: "Adjusting her expectations to the necessities of the local community had been a topic of discussion during Marie Ball’s first meeting with the committee of the school district. True to her ideals, the young schoolmistress had not initially accepted the proposition that the value of the classroom education she offered, and the time required to obtain its benefits, should be secondary to the demands of sustaining the marginal existence that most of the small farmsteads tendered to the children born into that life. Though still determined to fulfill her calling to fan the briefest flame of enlightenment wherever it burned, her appreciation for the capacity of these stoic people to endure privation, to work endlessly without complaint, and to love their children unconditionally only deepened her respect for the choices they made as she grew to know the families of Franklin County, their way of being, and the hard land that often took more than it gave."
Personal ideals, morals and values are only one facet of a story line that probes each character in turn, building up their motivations, perspectives and beliefs to create believable protagonists whose concerns imbed the story line with fire and passion. Needless to say, these elements are intrinsic to not just a good read, but a superior production; something too seldom present in typical mystery and supernatural reads. Many authors simply don't take the time to build in these layers of complexity and meaning.
Secondly, The Ball Crossing holds passages that provide strong connections to the environment. Moses, in particular, is able to 'read' the natural world around him for clues: "In all his days, Moses Chestnut had never seen a jay bird so close at hand. Its kind were among the most wary of the scarce life that remained visible during the winter months. Never alone, the blue jays moved in small flocks through the bleak landscape in search of whatever sustained them. They were vigilant of threats and quick to cry out a warning to which all the other creatures of the northern forest paid heed."
His ability to pay attention to these signs and interpret them as warnings and premonitions of danger blends into the general animist undertone that permeates events and their evolution: "Had he looked to the ground on the right edge of the doorway as the two entered the barn, Moses Chestnut might have noticed the fresh curls of wood that had settled there on the old hay and manure. If he had recognized them, then he would certainly have looked up to see the strange pattern of cuts high up the timber of the doorframe. Made by a skilled hand with a sharp knife, they formed a series of animist images like something from a language scarcely spoken now though once as familiar in this place as the whisper of wind."
As LaPage's evil evolves and begins to devour the world with its brutal vengeance, Francis Hakey and his fellow hunters come to find that the violence of war is nothing compared to the predatory purposes of a supernatural force beyond their control. The Ball murder not only consumes all their lives, but leads to something even more threatening: a final confrontation that brings with it a heavy cost.
Yet, there's the promise of peace at the end of the storm…if Frances can survive long enough to find it: "And though the scene about him was more awful than any he’d known in the war or the time since, he was filled with a sense of profound calm and peace as if the hand of God reached down to touch him."
Vivid, embracing, and speckled with violent confrontation and the prospect of total annihilation versus redemption, The Ball Crossing isn't for readers who want a casual 'whodunnit' mystery, but for those who enjoy complex reads with more than a hint of the supernatural thrown in for good measure.
The
Conversions
Theodore Richards
Homebound Publications
978-1-938846-20-5 $18.95
www.homeboundpublications.com
www.theodorerichards.com
The attacks came in broad daylight, they targeted Ellis and Liberty Islands, they came (in typical modern terrorist fashion) via small boats - and they destroyed both islands, detonating American values and beliefs and changing the face of America in one fell swoop.
But this is just the prelude to The Conversations, a novel that takes place after the Attacks and which focuses on a vastly changed America and the individuals who inhabit the remnants of a dream.
Open with a familiar scene: a man in bed with a woman, who regrets his actions of the night before. Now, there are other things Dante does believe in: the pure pursuit of pleasure from life, avoiding any institution (whether religious or political), and generally deflecting connections to life that would cause him to become rooted in either belief or place. The last thing Dante wants is to be tied down; especially in a changing world that views his racial makeup (actually, anything different) with suspicion.
Adam, another protagonist, is very different from Dante. He's joined hiphop movements, immersed himself in counterculture activities, and has deftly avoided gang warfare in school, even though he's black and often targeted for attention by either side. After the Attacks, Adam notices that white people are less threatened by him: adversity has succeeded in prioritizing American heritage over differences between whites and blacks, uniting the country in a way civil rights movements never achieved.
Other protagonists (Kant, Diego, Mirabai and more) move in and out of scenarios that focus on social and political movements and changes experienced by each individual as they face new trends and ride the surf of a vastly changed America and outside world. Even leaving the damaged country doesn't afford new visions of freedom: limitations and constraints are an intrinsic part of a lost group of individuals each searching for new connections: "Neither man knew if they wanted to be a Muslim; neither knew what else they might do with their lives. Adam looked off at the buildings in the distance. He felt trapped. He had thought that leaving America would free him in some way. And it had, in part. But it had also allowed him to realize that there were constraints on him that mere leaving could not remove."
The Conversations is about a variety of dreams that dissolve, or smother, or evolve. It's about social protest and personal choices, the unraveling of society and individual, and it's about the privatization of society in the aftermath of a disaster the government can't handle or address.
Chapters alternate between individual focus and descriptions of these evolving pathways, providing critical connections between personal and wider social impacts and moving from the American condition to overseas encounters as the characters blossom, move away, and conduct their own searches for life's meaning in the face of such paradigm-altering events.
Adam's journey brings him to Africa and the Middle East in search of a land of milk and honey - which, instead, introduces him to a wider world of poverty and violence: "He was at once ashamed for his privilege and his poverty in their wake. His world had been turned upside down. Finding himself, as always, at the margins of a world—only now the world had no center—he could only do one thing. Adam reversed his course, and began his walk back to Africa."
Dante Conte eventually finds that his trip brings him full circle to validate some of the basic questions of his life: "For him, this was perhaps the only real moment of his life, revealed by the absence of land and solidity. The real story was in the depths, depths to which he had only partial access." In the course of his wanderings he comes to recognize both his roots in homelessness and his connections to America.
When homecoming finally is achieved after these vagabond experiences, it's with a newfound vision of what this changed world means, and America's place in it: no longer the land of plenty to be guarded against illegal immigrants, but a chaotic land peppered with pockets of refuge and retreat where civilization soldiers on.
Life and death, love and loss, endings and new beginnings: all these entwine against the backdrop of disaster and social change, with each protagonist bringing to the table his own unique ethnic and social background and his own desires to find a different place in a much-changed world.
To this end The Conversations is more than just another apocalyptic end-of-America disaster story, but focuses on the movements of very different Americans with very different social and ethic roots who each search for meaning and new lives. Through journeys and encounters they will be changed and will rebuild new, unexpected worlds: microcosms of survival in the aftermath of chaos.
It's these diverse protagonists and their perceptions, journeys and interactions that add depth and dimension to The Conversations, making it a highly recommended pick for those who like end-of-world sagas with another level of psychology and insight than your usual American apocalyptic focus provides.
Theodore Richards
Homebound Publications
978-1-938846-20-5 $18.95
www.homeboundpublications.com
www.theodorerichards.com
The attacks came in broad daylight, they targeted Ellis and Liberty Islands, they came (in typical modern terrorist fashion) via small boats - and they destroyed both islands, detonating American values and beliefs and changing the face of America in one fell swoop.
But this is just the prelude to The Conversations, a novel that takes place after the Attacks and which focuses on a vastly changed America and the individuals who inhabit the remnants of a dream.
Open with a familiar scene: a man in bed with a woman, who regrets his actions of the night before. Now, there are other things Dante does believe in: the pure pursuit of pleasure from life, avoiding any institution (whether religious or political), and generally deflecting connections to life that would cause him to become rooted in either belief or place. The last thing Dante wants is to be tied down; especially in a changing world that views his racial makeup (actually, anything different) with suspicion.
Adam, another protagonist, is very different from Dante. He's joined hiphop movements, immersed himself in counterculture activities, and has deftly avoided gang warfare in school, even though he's black and often targeted for attention by either side. After the Attacks, Adam notices that white people are less threatened by him: adversity has succeeded in prioritizing American heritage over differences between whites and blacks, uniting the country in a way civil rights movements never achieved.
Other protagonists (Kant, Diego, Mirabai and more) move in and out of scenarios that focus on social and political movements and changes experienced by each individual as they face new trends and ride the surf of a vastly changed America and outside world. Even leaving the damaged country doesn't afford new visions of freedom: limitations and constraints are an intrinsic part of a lost group of individuals each searching for new connections: "Neither man knew if they wanted to be a Muslim; neither knew what else they might do with their lives. Adam looked off at the buildings in the distance. He felt trapped. He had thought that leaving America would free him in some way. And it had, in part. But it had also allowed him to realize that there were constraints on him that mere leaving could not remove."
The Conversations is about a variety of dreams that dissolve, or smother, or evolve. It's about social protest and personal choices, the unraveling of society and individual, and it's about the privatization of society in the aftermath of a disaster the government can't handle or address.
Chapters alternate between individual focus and descriptions of these evolving pathways, providing critical connections between personal and wider social impacts and moving from the American condition to overseas encounters as the characters blossom, move away, and conduct their own searches for life's meaning in the face of such paradigm-altering events.
Adam's journey brings him to Africa and the Middle East in search of a land of milk and honey - which, instead, introduces him to a wider world of poverty and violence: "He was at once ashamed for his privilege and his poverty in their wake. His world had been turned upside down. Finding himself, as always, at the margins of a world—only now the world had no center—he could only do one thing. Adam reversed his course, and began his walk back to Africa."
Dante Conte eventually finds that his trip brings him full circle to validate some of the basic questions of his life: "For him, this was perhaps the only real moment of his life, revealed by the absence of land and solidity. The real story was in the depths, depths to which he had only partial access." In the course of his wanderings he comes to recognize both his roots in homelessness and his connections to America.
When homecoming finally is achieved after these vagabond experiences, it's with a newfound vision of what this changed world means, and America's place in it: no longer the land of plenty to be guarded against illegal immigrants, but a chaotic land peppered with pockets of refuge and retreat where civilization soldiers on.
Life and death, love and loss, endings and new beginnings: all these entwine against the backdrop of disaster and social change, with each protagonist bringing to the table his own unique ethnic and social background and his own desires to find a different place in a much-changed world.
To this end The Conversations is more than just another apocalyptic end-of-America disaster story, but focuses on the movements of very different Americans with very different social and ethic roots who each search for meaning and new lives. Through journeys and encounters they will be changed and will rebuild new, unexpected worlds: microcosms of survival in the aftermath of chaos.
It's these diverse protagonists and their perceptions, journeys and interactions that add depth and dimension to The Conversations, making it a highly recommended pick for those who like end-of-world sagas with another level of psychology and insight than your usual American apocalyptic focus provides.
Dangerous
Lorrie Farrelly
CreateSpace
9781469953519 $12.99
http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Lorrie-Farrelly/dp/146995351X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396882076&sr=8-1&keywords=9781469953519
Dangerous holds many elements of jeopardy woven into the story of a crime fighter's latest challenge: as such, it opens with a bang and just keeps on firing emotions and mystery to the end: "Shayla was astonished to see the big cop crying. She wandered closer to him, her impish curiosity overtaking caution. It never occurred to her that her perspective was impossible. It seemed very natural that she should be hovering over him like this."
Now, crime novels featuring a cop as the main protagonist usually don't begin with tears; especially in a male cop. This is just one of the devices Lorrie Farrelly deftly employs to add unusual twists and shock value to her story. And it works.
Ex-LA cop Cam Starrett may imagine his new assignment and career in a small town will be refreshingly quiet, but from the start it proves anything but: violence, bigotry, and even romance plague his footsteps and lead him down roads he'd never imagined possible in his prior life.
Perhaps that's just what he needs to aid his recovery process and overcome his grief over events of the past - or perhaps it will prove too much of a challenge, sweeping him away in an avalanche of crime, puzzles, and emotional challenges that just don't quit.
Either way, readers will be quickly immersed in not just Cam's life and problem-solving challenges, but in his emotional recovery and reactions: and that, in a nutshell, lies at the heart of any good crime novel.
Descriptions are vivid and capture a sense of awe, challenge, and love with deft pen strokes. Readers will find something new happens in every chapter - and they're always events that challenge Cam's perceptions, pre-conceived notions, and abilities.
And be forewarned: there's a healthy dose of steamy passion that charges the crime focus with romance, making this of special recommendation to romance readers: "Cam knew he was out of control, but was beyond caring. In the last hour he’d gone from terrible, bleak despair to soaring joy. His body responded to the woman in his arms with an ardor so intense that he was overwhelmed, almost crazed."
As Cam becomes involved in his new community on levels he could never have imagined, his life changes with purpose and newfound emotion. Whether it's Merry contributing to the vivid and immediate connections between them (forged by a foal's birth) or whether it's confrontations with fire and death; a little colt, a lovely girl and a child are threads running through the story line that keep reappearing in his life.
Even in the depths of despair Cam will find new life in each of these experiences: "Making his way across the gym, Cam hoped the aching pain in his belly was hunger, but his mind kept replaying the last, terrible hours, and he knew the emptiness he felt was something far more deep and devastating than hunger. Defeat. Despair."
The result is a hard-hitting story that relies on emotional turbulence to grasp, shake, and involve readers. Life and death, anguish and rebirth, and old habits paired with new possibilities: these form the center of a cocky, crime-busting story in Dangerous, ultimately offering up a satisfying conclusion cementing the new life Cam longed for when he first moved to a new home.
Lorrie Farrelly
CreateSpace
9781469953519 $12.99
http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Lorrie-Farrelly/dp/146995351X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396882076&sr=8-1&keywords=9781469953519
Dangerous holds many elements of jeopardy woven into the story of a crime fighter's latest challenge: as such, it opens with a bang and just keeps on firing emotions and mystery to the end: "Shayla was astonished to see the big cop crying. She wandered closer to him, her impish curiosity overtaking caution. It never occurred to her that her perspective was impossible. It seemed very natural that she should be hovering over him like this."
Now, crime novels featuring a cop as the main protagonist usually don't begin with tears; especially in a male cop. This is just one of the devices Lorrie Farrelly deftly employs to add unusual twists and shock value to her story. And it works.
Ex-LA cop Cam Starrett may imagine his new assignment and career in a small town will be refreshingly quiet, but from the start it proves anything but: violence, bigotry, and even romance plague his footsteps and lead him down roads he'd never imagined possible in his prior life.
Perhaps that's just what he needs to aid his recovery process and overcome his grief over events of the past - or perhaps it will prove too much of a challenge, sweeping him away in an avalanche of crime, puzzles, and emotional challenges that just don't quit.
Either way, readers will be quickly immersed in not just Cam's life and problem-solving challenges, but in his emotional recovery and reactions: and that, in a nutshell, lies at the heart of any good crime novel.
Descriptions are vivid and capture a sense of awe, challenge, and love with deft pen strokes. Readers will find something new happens in every chapter - and they're always events that challenge Cam's perceptions, pre-conceived notions, and abilities.
And be forewarned: there's a healthy dose of steamy passion that charges the crime focus with romance, making this of special recommendation to romance readers: "Cam knew he was out of control, but was beyond caring. In the last hour he’d gone from terrible, bleak despair to soaring joy. His body responded to the woman in his arms with an ardor so intense that he was overwhelmed, almost crazed."
As Cam becomes involved in his new community on levels he could never have imagined, his life changes with purpose and newfound emotion. Whether it's Merry contributing to the vivid and immediate connections between them (forged by a foal's birth) or whether it's confrontations with fire and death; a little colt, a lovely girl and a child are threads running through the story line that keep reappearing in his life.
Even in the depths of despair Cam will find new life in each of these experiences: "Making his way across the gym, Cam hoped the aching pain in his belly was hunger, but his mind kept replaying the last, terrible hours, and he knew the emptiness he felt was something far more deep and devastating than hunger. Defeat. Despair."
The result is a hard-hitting story that relies on emotional turbulence to grasp, shake, and involve readers. Life and death, anguish and rebirth, and old habits paired with new possibilities: these form the center of a cocky, crime-busting story in Dangerous, ultimately offering up a satisfying conclusion cementing the new life Cam longed for when he first moved to a new home.
The
Guardian's Angel
Lorrie Farrelly
CreateSpace
9781469953564 $12.99
http://www.amazon.com/The-Guardians-Angel-Lorrie-Farrelly/dp/1469953560/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396885591&sr=8-1&keywords=9781469953564
Libby's forte is helping troubled children; not solving crimes: she leaves that up to different professionals. So when she's called upon to do both by Seattle Police Detective J.D. McCammon, who believes an autistic little boy has witnessed (and repressed) the murder of his parents, it's with extreme reluctance that she becomes involved in a journey that will ultimately change her own life.
You can't say you haven't been forewarned that this is more than your usual crime story: The Guardian's Angel holds that promise in its very title, reinforces it in its opening chapter, and keeps its promise through a series of vivid encounters that keep readers involved on an emotional level.
One would expect from all this that Libby was herself a strong woman (a social worker, perhaps), but in fact she's a broken woman who three years earlier survived a brutal attack, identified her attacker, and found her calling in helping others survive: "He struck fast, kept to the darkness, gave his victims no chance to escape. Elizabeth Driscoll was his third victim, but unlike the first two, assaulted after dark near the south end of the park, she’d been attacked in early morning drizzle while jogging along the deserted Arboretum road."
As a former victim discovers a newfound position of strength that can change other lives, so she becomes immersed in a world that also holds danger and threats to mind and body. This time she's working with small children and finds her own trauma and recovery lends a special, successful touch in handling their emotional turmoil: "Libby never lost her awe at these children’s courage and resiliency. She understood the
battles they fought simply to get through each day, and how such endless struggles could wear down even the strongest of adults, much less a vulnerable child. And though she’d never had to endure a physical disability, she certainly knew how badly the heart and spirit could be wounded."
But Libby is about to be challenged on a very different level when she becomes involved with young Tommy and a policeman determined to keep him safe. This quest for safety eventually leads J.D. and Libby on a dangerous flight to safety, and as time runs out for Tommy, they face impossible scenarios together that will lead them to new connections … if they can all survive.
Brand this a romance thriller and add in a dose of intrigue and cat-and-mouse action and you have an unpredictable novel that's not easily categorized. Lorrie Farrelly's ability to capture the nuances of autism is realistic and involving, as is her ability to realistically represent the emotions and motivations of two very different protagonists watching over him. The autism angle is perhaps the single strongest device in The Guardian's Angel, setting it apart from other crime or thriller writings and elevating the plot to a whole new level.
Libby and J.D.'s romance is well-developed and builds up slowly, also contributing a realistic feel to the story. While this part is predictable, it's also a satisfying adjunct to the overlaying tension in the thriller.
The result is a story that will appeal to readers of crime stories, thrillers, and romance alike. Those who appreciate realistic psychological depth, especially, will find the character of little Tommy spot on in its representation.
Lorrie Farrelly
CreateSpace
9781469953564 $12.99
http://www.amazon.com/The-Guardians-Angel-Lorrie-Farrelly/dp/1469953560/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396885591&sr=8-1&keywords=9781469953564
Libby's forte is helping troubled children; not solving crimes: she leaves that up to different professionals. So when she's called upon to do both by Seattle Police Detective J.D. McCammon, who believes an autistic little boy has witnessed (and repressed) the murder of his parents, it's with extreme reluctance that she becomes involved in a journey that will ultimately change her own life.
You can't say you haven't been forewarned that this is more than your usual crime story: The Guardian's Angel holds that promise in its very title, reinforces it in its opening chapter, and keeps its promise through a series of vivid encounters that keep readers involved on an emotional level.
One would expect from all this that Libby was herself a strong woman (a social worker, perhaps), but in fact she's a broken woman who three years earlier survived a brutal attack, identified her attacker, and found her calling in helping others survive: "He struck fast, kept to the darkness, gave his victims no chance to escape. Elizabeth Driscoll was his third victim, but unlike the first two, assaulted after dark near the south end of the park, she’d been attacked in early morning drizzle while jogging along the deserted Arboretum road."
As a former victim discovers a newfound position of strength that can change other lives, so she becomes immersed in a world that also holds danger and threats to mind and body. This time she's working with small children and finds her own trauma and recovery lends a special, successful touch in handling their emotional turmoil: "Libby never lost her awe at these children’s courage and resiliency. She understood the
battles they fought simply to get through each day, and how such endless struggles could wear down even the strongest of adults, much less a vulnerable child. And though she’d never had to endure a physical disability, she certainly knew how badly the heart and spirit could be wounded."
But Libby is about to be challenged on a very different level when she becomes involved with young Tommy and a policeman determined to keep him safe. This quest for safety eventually leads J.D. and Libby on a dangerous flight to safety, and as time runs out for Tommy, they face impossible scenarios together that will lead them to new connections … if they can all survive.
Brand this a romance thriller and add in a dose of intrigue and cat-and-mouse action and you have an unpredictable novel that's not easily categorized. Lorrie Farrelly's ability to capture the nuances of autism is realistic and involving, as is her ability to realistically represent the emotions and motivations of two very different protagonists watching over him. The autism angle is perhaps the single strongest device in The Guardian's Angel, setting it apart from other crime or thriller writings and elevating the plot to a whole new level.
Libby and J.D.'s romance is well-developed and builds up slowly, also contributing a realistic feel to the story. While this part is predictable, it's also a satisfying adjunct to the overlaying tension in the thriller.
The result is a story that will appeal to readers of crime stories, thrillers, and romance alike. Those who appreciate realistic psychological depth, especially, will find the character of little Tommy spot on in its representation.
The
Last Ancient
Eliot Baker
Burst/Champagne Books
978-1-77155-043-7 $5.95 Print: $14.95
http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Ancient-Eliot-Baker-ebook/dp/B00H1ZBH8Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396036782&sr=8-1&keywords=9781771550437
http://burstbooks.ca/product.php?id_product=127
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Ancient-Eliot-Baker/dp/1771551445/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397598219&sr=1-1&keywords=the+last+ancient+eliot+baker
The Last Ancient blends mythology, mystery and action and opens with an investigation of deer mutilations: something a Nantucket reporter initially believes to be related to poaching. And who better to investigate than Simon, who makes his living as an environmental reporter?
It all seems predictable; but that's where the familiar ends as Simon uncovers a conspiracy centered on alchemy, finds mysterious gold coins pepper his every move, and begins to accept the existence of mythical creatures against all logic.
So what begins as a relatively simple investigation turns into a complex blend of mystery and supernatural exploration as Simon becomes involved in the impossible task of killing a mythological creature wrecking havoc on Nantucket.
The mysterious coins even implicate his own family heritage in events that unfold and engage him not only in their mystery but in the challenge of handling a fiancée who has gone over the edge.
To call this a 'murder mystery' is simplification at its worst: The Last Ancient is actually an action-packed thriller, more accurately, and belongs on the shelves of readers looking for spicy, darker, sexier Indiana Jones-style sagas that reel off subplot after subplot.
It's hard to believe The Last Ancient is a debut novel: the author's approach and writing skills seem those of an experienced thriller writer, not a newcomer, what with its
attention to detail that submerges readers in a 'you are there' feel throughout the story, evident from the very first line: "The deer’s blood catches the golden hour light. It radiates throughout the animal’s carcass in fall hues that reflect the island’s rustling red leaves and honey-colored needles littering the sand. Such eerie, blasphemous beauty. I fire shots from my Nikon."
One must also note that Eliot Baker's use of the first person has a lot to do with his device of immersing readers in not just the plot, but Simon's life and experiences. Readers follow Simon's logic in piecing the puzzle together and will relish his encounters with his tense fiancée as well: “You don’t return my calls for a day and a half, Simon? A day and a half? Really? The whole world sees you on TV talking about murders and mad deer but your fiancée, who lives down the street from you, can’t even get a text to say you’re alive? Are you serious?”
The island setting is perfect for containing not only characters that can't easily flee events, but for the murderers and mythical creatures Simon has come to believe in against all logic: "We are thirty miles out at sea with a murderer.” “Then the poor bastard’s got nowhere to hide,” I say. Judy doesn’t laugh. I can’t tell Judy about the Gryphon. That it could have killed me, or let me die, but instead saved me. Loved me. I’m safe. I’ve always been safe on Nantucket. Perhaps even under Her protection. And I’m not convinced She was Dennis’s killer. His wound was different, according to Dr. Mulcahey."
What Simon uncovers will change not only his world, but his own personality, goals, and life perspectives. It will also end some relationships and forge new paths: "Judy tries to bubble about things that escape my interest as we type. I don’t want to speculate on who bailed out my paper, or whether the gold standard will be approved by the President and Congress, or if the newest art house movie about biker gangs in Sweden is Oscar-worthy. I don’t care about interest rates falling, that it’s a buyer’s market in Manhattan and LA, that Hal wants to give us a million-dollar interest-free loan, and I’m positively disinterested in what we should bring to a wine and cheese party tomorrow with her Yale friends. My heart is no longer in this world, her world, and every syllable of pretending otherwise feels like a slithering lie to her and a filthy betrayal of my true love, my true self, my true god."
And perhaps that's The Last Ancient's greatest strength: its ability to pinpoint and follow the transitions of its protagonist, who finds that everything he's believed about himself and his world is different. In the process of these revelations Simon's real identity emerges. And then comes the special challenge of either fitting that new knowledge into the rest of his life or forging an entirely new direction in the world.
In truth, Simon's course has been set long before his knowledge of these other worlds and choices. In such a world Simon's powers as the ultimate healer and killer will emerge, and against this backdrop even evil gets another chance.
Without spoiling any of the intrigue, suffice it to say that readers will be captivated from the first chapter and will be immersed in a supernatural mystery that gets more complex with every turn, leading to a bloody battle with more at stake than a few dead deer or one man's revelations.
Eliot Baker
Burst/Champagne Books
978-1-77155-043-7 $5.95 Print: $14.95
http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Ancient-Eliot-Baker-ebook/dp/B00H1ZBH8Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396036782&sr=8-1&keywords=9781771550437
http://burstbooks.ca/product.php?id_product=127
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Ancient-Eliot-Baker/dp/1771551445/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397598219&sr=1-1&keywords=the+last+ancient+eliot+baker
The Last Ancient blends mythology, mystery and action and opens with an investigation of deer mutilations: something a Nantucket reporter initially believes to be related to poaching. And who better to investigate than Simon, who makes his living as an environmental reporter?
It all seems predictable; but that's where the familiar ends as Simon uncovers a conspiracy centered on alchemy, finds mysterious gold coins pepper his every move, and begins to accept the existence of mythical creatures against all logic.
So what begins as a relatively simple investigation turns into a complex blend of mystery and supernatural exploration as Simon becomes involved in the impossible task of killing a mythological creature wrecking havoc on Nantucket.
The mysterious coins even implicate his own family heritage in events that unfold and engage him not only in their mystery but in the challenge of handling a fiancée who has gone over the edge.
To call this a 'murder mystery' is simplification at its worst: The Last Ancient is actually an action-packed thriller, more accurately, and belongs on the shelves of readers looking for spicy, darker, sexier Indiana Jones-style sagas that reel off subplot after subplot.
It's hard to believe The Last Ancient is a debut novel: the author's approach and writing skills seem those of an experienced thriller writer, not a newcomer, what with its
attention to detail that submerges readers in a 'you are there' feel throughout the story, evident from the very first line: "The deer’s blood catches the golden hour light. It radiates throughout the animal’s carcass in fall hues that reflect the island’s rustling red leaves and honey-colored needles littering the sand. Such eerie, blasphemous beauty. I fire shots from my Nikon."
One must also note that Eliot Baker's use of the first person has a lot to do with his device of immersing readers in not just the plot, but Simon's life and experiences. Readers follow Simon's logic in piecing the puzzle together and will relish his encounters with his tense fiancée as well: “You don’t return my calls for a day and a half, Simon? A day and a half? Really? The whole world sees you on TV talking about murders and mad deer but your fiancée, who lives down the street from you, can’t even get a text to say you’re alive? Are you serious?”
The island setting is perfect for containing not only characters that can't easily flee events, but for the murderers and mythical creatures Simon has come to believe in against all logic: "We are thirty miles out at sea with a murderer.” “Then the poor bastard’s got nowhere to hide,” I say. Judy doesn’t laugh. I can’t tell Judy about the Gryphon. That it could have killed me, or let me die, but instead saved me. Loved me. I’m safe. I’ve always been safe on Nantucket. Perhaps even under Her protection. And I’m not convinced She was Dennis’s killer. His wound was different, according to Dr. Mulcahey."
What Simon uncovers will change not only his world, but his own personality, goals, and life perspectives. It will also end some relationships and forge new paths: "Judy tries to bubble about things that escape my interest as we type. I don’t want to speculate on who bailed out my paper, or whether the gold standard will be approved by the President and Congress, or if the newest art house movie about biker gangs in Sweden is Oscar-worthy. I don’t care about interest rates falling, that it’s a buyer’s market in Manhattan and LA, that Hal wants to give us a million-dollar interest-free loan, and I’m positively disinterested in what we should bring to a wine and cheese party tomorrow with her Yale friends. My heart is no longer in this world, her world, and every syllable of pretending otherwise feels like a slithering lie to her and a filthy betrayal of my true love, my true self, my true god."
And perhaps that's The Last Ancient's greatest strength: its ability to pinpoint and follow the transitions of its protagonist, who finds that everything he's believed about himself and his world is different. In the process of these revelations Simon's real identity emerges. And then comes the special challenge of either fitting that new knowledge into the rest of his life or forging an entirely new direction in the world.
In truth, Simon's course has been set long before his knowledge of these other worlds and choices. In such a world Simon's powers as the ultimate healer and killer will emerge, and against this backdrop even evil gets another chance.
Without spoiling any of the intrigue, suffice it to say that readers will be captivated from the first chapter and will be immersed in a supernatural mystery that gets more complex with every turn, leading to a bloody battle with more at stake than a few dead deer or one man's revelations.
The
Maid's Secret
Jane Whitney Clark
The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
ASIN: B00J9Q4052 $3.99
http://www.amazon.com/The-Maids-Secret-Jane-Whitney-Clark-ebook/dp/B00J9Q4052/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396466492&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=The+Maid%27s+Secret+Jane+Whitney+Clark
Take an idyllic summer with a best friend, during which a romance with a handsome bachelor evolves. Add tragedy when said friend Dancie dies in a fall and the bachelor vanishes, leaving Jameson struggling with her grief and under a cloud of suspicion over her best friend's death. Now fast forward twelve years: Jameson has never gotten over events of that summer and decides to return to her friend's home to clear her name and settle her continuing infatuation with balchelor playboy Callen.
And that's where readers begin in The Maid's Secret, a saga of mystery and romance that revolves around many possibilities: murder, love, and ultimately a close-held secret that will immerse both protagonists in disaster.
From the start, Jameson is breaking a promise to herself by returning to Dancie's estate, Blue Chimneys. The promise she made never to return seems different now that she's a seasoned woman of thirty and not a teenager; but it doesn't take long before she regrets her decision - until she meets Callen again. He too is older and wiser - and no less handsome and desirable.
Jameson believes her added maturity will enable her to handle the past, but she's wrong - and the subtle clues that she anticipates will hold answers are only further cause to question her decision to return: "How odd that she could suddenly recall so vividly such a trivial, long-forgotten detail. Is this how the details of the hours preceding Dancie’s death would finally be revealed to her? Perhaps a simple scent, a word, or a glance would release a stampede of memories long-buried and she would finally remember. But was she really ready for that?"
As scents, phrases spoken by house staff, and more provoke Jameson to vividly recall the circumstances of her friend's death, she finds herself ever drawn into painful memories: "…Charlene’s last few words were bouncing around in her head like marbles in a tin can. “You girls…come back later and help…” Jameson stared at Charlene and found Charlene was staring back with the same horrified expression on her face. Those were the very
same words Charlene had spoken to Dancie and Jameson in the Blue Chimneys kitchen on the day Dancie had died."
It turns out Jameson isn't the only one who hasn't forgotten the past and needs to heal from it. She's joined in her experiences by a cast of characters from years ago who also harbor painful memories … and deadly secrets. And as she pursues both answers and romance, she finds the mix a volatile cocktail of possibilities: "What secret was Charlene so eager to reveal? What could she possibly claim to know about Dancie’s death that she had chosen to withhold for the past twelve years? Was it something that would exonerate Jameson? Would it incriminate somebody else?"
There are enough twists and turns of plot that even readers well seasoned in gothic romances will find some surprises. Even the elements seem involved in imparting clues and omens that promise threats and danger: "…a sharp wind from the lake caught her hair and slapped it roughly against her cheeks. The sting remained as they started up the hill toward Falcon’s Nest and Jameson tried to deny that this might just be an omen of some very unwelcome things to come."
As Jameson faces hate from an unexpected place (a passion that embraces everything around her) she learns new truths about her former best friend - and new reasons for her death: reasons that are now reaching out to take her life, as well.
The Maid's Secret succeeds in coming full circle; but not before all the protagonists involved in past and present are challenged and changed by the revelations that emerge.
Readers of gothic romance will relish the fiery passions, the twisted relationships and ties, and a conclusion that douses the fires of danger with a satisfying twist of its story line.
Jane Whitney Clark
The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
ASIN: B00J9Q4052 $3.99
http://www.amazon.com/The-Maids-Secret-Jane-Whitney-Clark-ebook/dp/B00J9Q4052/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396466492&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=The+Maid%27s+Secret+Jane+Whitney+Clark
Take an idyllic summer with a best friend, during which a romance with a handsome bachelor evolves. Add tragedy when said friend Dancie dies in a fall and the bachelor vanishes, leaving Jameson struggling with her grief and under a cloud of suspicion over her best friend's death. Now fast forward twelve years: Jameson has never gotten over events of that summer and decides to return to her friend's home to clear her name and settle her continuing infatuation with balchelor playboy Callen.
And that's where readers begin in The Maid's Secret, a saga of mystery and romance that revolves around many possibilities: murder, love, and ultimately a close-held secret that will immerse both protagonists in disaster.
From the start, Jameson is breaking a promise to herself by returning to Dancie's estate, Blue Chimneys. The promise she made never to return seems different now that she's a seasoned woman of thirty and not a teenager; but it doesn't take long before she regrets her decision - until she meets Callen again. He too is older and wiser - and no less handsome and desirable.
Jameson believes her added maturity will enable her to handle the past, but she's wrong - and the subtle clues that she anticipates will hold answers are only further cause to question her decision to return: "How odd that she could suddenly recall so vividly such a trivial, long-forgotten detail. Is this how the details of the hours preceding Dancie’s death would finally be revealed to her? Perhaps a simple scent, a word, or a glance would release a stampede of memories long-buried and she would finally remember. But was she really ready for that?"
As scents, phrases spoken by house staff, and more provoke Jameson to vividly recall the circumstances of her friend's death, she finds herself ever drawn into painful memories: "…Charlene’s last few words were bouncing around in her head like marbles in a tin can. “You girls…come back later and help…” Jameson stared at Charlene and found Charlene was staring back with the same horrified expression on her face. Those were the very
same words Charlene had spoken to Dancie and Jameson in the Blue Chimneys kitchen on the day Dancie had died."
It turns out Jameson isn't the only one who hasn't forgotten the past and needs to heal from it. She's joined in her experiences by a cast of characters from years ago who also harbor painful memories … and deadly secrets. And as she pursues both answers and romance, she finds the mix a volatile cocktail of possibilities: "What secret was Charlene so eager to reveal? What could she possibly claim to know about Dancie’s death that she had chosen to withhold for the past twelve years? Was it something that would exonerate Jameson? Would it incriminate somebody else?"
There are enough twists and turns of plot that even readers well seasoned in gothic romances will find some surprises. Even the elements seem involved in imparting clues and omens that promise threats and danger: "…a sharp wind from the lake caught her hair and slapped it roughly against her cheeks. The sting remained as they started up the hill toward Falcon’s Nest and Jameson tried to deny that this might just be an omen of some very unwelcome things to come."
As Jameson faces hate from an unexpected place (a passion that embraces everything around her) she learns new truths about her former best friend - and new reasons for her death: reasons that are now reaching out to take her life, as well.
The Maid's Secret succeeds in coming full circle; but not before all the protagonists involved in past and present are challenged and changed by the revelations that emerge.
Readers of gothic romance will relish the fiery passions, the twisted relationships and ties, and a conclusion that douses the fires of danger with a satisfying twist of its story line.
Teller
of Lies
Alex Siegel
Amazon Digital Services
ASIN: B00JCCEQQG $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JCCEQQG
Teller of Lies is the thirteenth book in the 'Gray Spear Society' series: and once again the Society's enemies are trying to wreck havoc on the world; this time by targeting and killing a special little girl.
Led by Teller of Lies (a man whose power involves making people believe any lie he tells), the opposing team has one big advantage over Marina's Society: they have a better idea of what they're seeking, whereas Marina's people have only vague descriptions and a city of millions (San Francisco) as their starting point. The enemy also holds the advantage of being able to perpetrate a lie that will involve unwitting strangers into their quest - whereas Marina and her team must operate using their own resources without coercing the population at large.
As in other books in Alex Siegel's series, the potential victim under question holds a unique ability that can give either side a huge advantage. The problem here is that her death also promises rewards and complications. And to top it off - she's the only one able to see through the Teller of Lies, surpassing the abilities of even the Society itself; one of whom falls victim to the teller's wiles.
And all this is just the beginning, with the Society facing disaster just as Marina is setting up her new cell and testing her own abilities as its leader.
Prior familiarity with at least some of the books in Alex Siegel's Gray Spear series is strongly recommended. With such a background, readers are immediately immersed the latest adventure rather than struggling to absorb the Gray Spear Society's makeup, purpose, and structure. While some of this is provided in Teller of Lies, the purpose here is to add to the series of adventures, not reinvent the history wheel.
Thus old fans will find many familiar characters return to the fold to actively participate in an increasingly impossible search and will especially appreciate the strong focus on new leader Marina and her moves in what evolves to be another dangerous cat-and-mouse scavenger hunt through the streets of San Francisco.
If you're looking for intrigue, supernatural encounters, a Society fired with bigger-picture purpose, and leaders just coming into their powers, then Teller of Lies is the item of choice.
Now, a caution: multi-novel productions in a series too often begin sounding 'the same', causing ennui and eventual disinterest in readers tired of boiler-plate productions. NOT so with Teller of Lies: while its San Francisco setting is present in other adventures, its plot once again succeeds in weaving very different protagonists, encounters, and purposes into an overall thriller format that excels in keeping readers involved - and guessing.
There's passion, confrontation, and unexpected interactions between protagonists that keeps the plot emotionally charged and satisfyingly unpredictable: "You don't know about love. It's the most important thing. It holds the universe together. Without love, we are nothing but dust. If Yang and Jia are meant for each other, you should be happy for them instead of trying to scare them. Just because your heart is frozen solid doesn't mean everybody else should suffer."
It's these emotional connections and involvements that fire the diverse plots and adventures of the Society and keep newcomers and old fans alike coming back for more!
Oh, and just so you know: the ending, once again, opens a new door for another exciting adventure; this one revolving around an atomic bomb and a well-kept secret.
Alex Siegel
Amazon Digital Services
ASIN: B00JCCEQQG $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JCCEQQG
Teller of Lies is the thirteenth book in the 'Gray Spear Society' series: and once again the Society's enemies are trying to wreck havoc on the world; this time by targeting and killing a special little girl.
Led by Teller of Lies (a man whose power involves making people believe any lie he tells), the opposing team has one big advantage over Marina's Society: they have a better idea of what they're seeking, whereas Marina's people have only vague descriptions and a city of millions (San Francisco) as their starting point. The enemy also holds the advantage of being able to perpetrate a lie that will involve unwitting strangers into their quest - whereas Marina and her team must operate using their own resources without coercing the population at large.
As in other books in Alex Siegel's series, the potential victim under question holds a unique ability that can give either side a huge advantage. The problem here is that her death also promises rewards and complications. And to top it off - she's the only one able to see through the Teller of Lies, surpassing the abilities of even the Society itself; one of whom falls victim to the teller's wiles.
And all this is just the beginning, with the Society facing disaster just as Marina is setting up her new cell and testing her own abilities as its leader.
Prior familiarity with at least some of the books in Alex Siegel's Gray Spear series is strongly recommended. With such a background, readers are immediately immersed the latest adventure rather than struggling to absorb the Gray Spear Society's makeup, purpose, and structure. While some of this is provided in Teller of Lies, the purpose here is to add to the series of adventures, not reinvent the history wheel.
Thus old fans will find many familiar characters return to the fold to actively participate in an increasingly impossible search and will especially appreciate the strong focus on new leader Marina and her moves in what evolves to be another dangerous cat-and-mouse scavenger hunt through the streets of San Francisco.
If you're looking for intrigue, supernatural encounters, a Society fired with bigger-picture purpose, and leaders just coming into their powers, then Teller of Lies is the item of choice.
Now, a caution: multi-novel productions in a series too often begin sounding 'the same', causing ennui and eventual disinterest in readers tired of boiler-plate productions. NOT so with Teller of Lies: while its San Francisco setting is present in other adventures, its plot once again succeeds in weaving very different protagonists, encounters, and purposes into an overall thriller format that excels in keeping readers involved - and guessing.
There's passion, confrontation, and unexpected interactions between protagonists that keeps the plot emotionally charged and satisfyingly unpredictable: "You don't know about love. It's the most important thing. It holds the universe together. Without love, we are nothing but dust. If Yang and Jia are meant for each other, you should be happy for them instead of trying to scare them. Just because your heart is frozen solid doesn't mean everybody else should suffer."
It's these emotional connections and involvements that fire the diverse plots and adventures of the Society and keep newcomers and old fans alike coming back for more!
Oh, and just so you know: the ending, once again, opens a new door for another exciting adventure; this one revolving around an atomic bomb and a well-kept secret.
Tequila
Assassin: Malinalli Way
Greg Prosmushkin
FastPencil
ASIN: B00IIVCMCM $2.99
http://www.fastpencil.com
http://www.amazon.com/Tequila-Assassin-Malinalli-Greg-Prosmushkin-ebook/dp/B00IIVCMCM/
It's not rare to find thrillers and stories of intrigue that begin in prison. However, it IS rare to learn that there's an alternative to a lifetime behind bars in a Mexican prison - and that former U.S. agent Jack Fleming has just been offered such an option, which serves as his ticket to high adventure.
But that's what Tequila Assassin: Malinalli Way is all about: intrigue with a twist; and that's what places it among the top names in the thriller/international espionage fiction genre.
Take the setting, for example: Mexico. Now, one might presume the focus would be on an urban area - Mexico City, for example; or maybe on a short chase through the countryside. Nope: Jack finds himself immersed in the nation's politics, social issues, and on a cross-country adventure that introduces him (and the reader) to Mexican culture in different areas. And let's not forget his love of the Mexican alcoholic staple tequila, which steeps the story line in a lovely, sensual atmosphere that is more complex than might first be expected.
Thus readers will learn that the story's subtitle refers to Malinalli Extra Anejo Tequila, an exceptional tequila, as well as the character of Malinalli, an extraordinary Mayan princess whose ideal comes to life in a contemporary woman who serves as a heroine contrast to Jack's heroic endeavors.
Don't expect your usual chapter headings either: 'You Are What You Eat', 'Keep It Suavemente', 'Angry Mexicans With Big Guns' and 'Gangnam Style' are contemporary (often whimsical) indicators of the action to come, and will keep readers amused as well as guessing as to Jack's next moves.
Greg Prosmushkin's humor not only slowly permeates the story; it's a bracing introduction in Tequila Assassin's very first line: "The Mexican heat is more tolerable when coupled with beer and tequila. As I sit at the bar and wait for her, I begin to wonder how some bare-assed Mayans decided to suck on an agave tree and therefore discovered tequila."
And with that, readers are off and running on a rollicking journey of danger, intrigue, romance, and international relations all centered on Mexican culture and some of the rougher edges of Mexican society that tourists seldom see: "As I turn to order another round, I notice (or rather overhear) the bartender and the only other patron, an older, semi-toothless gentlemen, debating in Spanish whether my ancestry on my mother’s side was that of a prostitute or of a goat."
One doesn't expect humor in a serious story of international intrigue. One doesn't anticipate twists of plot that span past and present Mexican culture, or challenge the protagonist's ability to stay on track and stay alive. And one doesn't anticipate a story that injects sexual encounters into even the direst of scenarios; all washed down with an ample dose of the aforementioned tequila: "This is really confusing. Am I really that irresistible or does this broad have a fetish for soon-to-be dead guys?"
Get used to it: Tequila Assassin: Malinalli Way is unpredictability at its best, the story line cemented by a feisty, gritty, talented and funny protagonist whose ongoing observations are spot on and involving.
Anticipate brutal encounters, equally passionate, steamy sex scenes, and a circle of violence that begins in a bar and ends the same way. Justice, retribution, and finally Jack's evolving role as the avenger of his sister's death in Mexico all meld to provide a riveting, absorbing story that grabs the reader from its first line and captivates to its last.
Greg Prosmushkin
FastPencil
ASIN: B00IIVCMCM $2.99
http://www.fastpencil.com
http://www.amazon.com/Tequila-Assassin-Malinalli-Greg-Prosmushkin-ebook/dp/B00IIVCMCM/
It's not rare to find thrillers and stories of intrigue that begin in prison. However, it IS rare to learn that there's an alternative to a lifetime behind bars in a Mexican prison - and that former U.S. agent Jack Fleming has just been offered such an option, which serves as his ticket to high adventure.
But that's what Tequila Assassin: Malinalli Way is all about: intrigue with a twist; and that's what places it among the top names in the thriller/international espionage fiction genre.
Take the setting, for example: Mexico. Now, one might presume the focus would be on an urban area - Mexico City, for example; or maybe on a short chase through the countryside. Nope: Jack finds himself immersed in the nation's politics, social issues, and on a cross-country adventure that introduces him (and the reader) to Mexican culture in different areas. And let's not forget his love of the Mexican alcoholic staple tequila, which steeps the story line in a lovely, sensual atmosphere that is more complex than might first be expected.
Thus readers will learn that the story's subtitle refers to Malinalli Extra Anejo Tequila, an exceptional tequila, as well as the character of Malinalli, an extraordinary Mayan princess whose ideal comes to life in a contemporary woman who serves as a heroine contrast to Jack's heroic endeavors.
Don't expect your usual chapter headings either: 'You Are What You Eat', 'Keep It Suavemente', 'Angry Mexicans With Big Guns' and 'Gangnam Style' are contemporary (often whimsical) indicators of the action to come, and will keep readers amused as well as guessing as to Jack's next moves.
Greg Prosmushkin's humor not only slowly permeates the story; it's a bracing introduction in Tequila Assassin's very first line: "The Mexican heat is more tolerable when coupled with beer and tequila. As I sit at the bar and wait for her, I begin to wonder how some bare-assed Mayans decided to suck on an agave tree and therefore discovered tequila."
And with that, readers are off and running on a rollicking journey of danger, intrigue, romance, and international relations all centered on Mexican culture and some of the rougher edges of Mexican society that tourists seldom see: "As I turn to order another round, I notice (or rather overhear) the bartender and the only other patron, an older, semi-toothless gentlemen, debating in Spanish whether my ancestry on my mother’s side was that of a prostitute or of a goat."
One doesn't expect humor in a serious story of international intrigue. One doesn't anticipate twists of plot that span past and present Mexican culture, or challenge the protagonist's ability to stay on track and stay alive. And one doesn't anticipate a story that injects sexual encounters into even the direst of scenarios; all washed down with an ample dose of the aforementioned tequila: "This is really confusing. Am I really that irresistible or does this broad have a fetish for soon-to-be dead guys?"
Get used to it: Tequila Assassin: Malinalli Way is unpredictability at its best, the story line cemented by a feisty, gritty, talented and funny protagonist whose ongoing observations are spot on and involving.
Anticipate brutal encounters, equally passionate, steamy sex scenes, and a circle of violence that begins in a bar and ends the same way. Justice, retribution, and finally Jack's evolving role as the avenger of his sister's death in Mexico all meld to provide a riveting, absorbing story that grabs the reader from its first line and captivates to its last.
Novels
Ambrose:
A Modern
Rendition
M. W. Wolf
Saints on Bicycles, Publisher
978-0-9892737-0-1 $17.49
www.saintsonbicycles.com
Readers of historical fiction should be prepared for something different in Ambrose: A Modern Rendition. For one thing, it's not just the story of an fourth-century man living in the aftermath of the Roman Empire's heyday, but probes the politics of a respected lawyer and governor who is unwittingly elected to the position of bishop after he tries to settle a dispute between church and state. It offers not the anticipated biographical history of this historic figure, but translates his life into a modern setting (thus, 'A Modern Rendition').
Using the politics and religious conflicts of his day as a foundation, Ambrose: A Modern Rendition, focuses on the specific challenges the saint experienced in his life from his secular beginnings as a relatively non-religious man to becoming the center of a controversial debate over the Trinity which lead to a splintering between church factions.
Catholic readers (especially those with a little prior knowledge of Ambrose and his times) will find Ambrose replete with religious insights based on fact - but the novel doesn't begin in your usual historical setting (the century in which Ambrose resided), and that's just one of its surprises.
It opens, instead, with a near-future setting: the U.S. is experiencing the throes of spiritual and political conflict: possibly the last gasp of its centuries-long status as a world force.
In this future world firearms have been outlawed by Congress, the government is split between East and West with two rulers, and popular public games include lion fights and gladiators. Sound like ancient Rome? It actually is: and against this alternate history backdrop modern-day Ambrose emerges with many of the same religious concerns as his predecessor.
From social injustices and government involvements to Vatican concerns, anticipate a novel replete with disparate elements of past and present worlds. In this world Ambrose emerges (as did his namesake) as a wild card in the changing nature of social, political and spiritual order: an unwitting contender in the struggle for liberty and freedom which permeates all segments of society.
Against this backdrop the first chapter introduces a quiet couple and their family dynamics as they contemplate political changes in the air, then moves forward over thirty years to future Italy, which is still immersed in Catholicism. Here an aging archbishop hears confessions centered around military insights and individuals whose names he can barely recall, and is frustrated that his spiritual mission is going largely unrealized: "Auxentius sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. He felt satisfied knowing he had helped her emotionally unburden. But he also felt disheartened knowing she couldn’t cognitively grasp the meaning of his question—that God the Father created Jesus, the Christ. He had tried different ways over the years to introduce Arian Christianity to his parishioners, but few seemed ready, or sophisticated enough, to grasp its meaning."
When the venerable archbishop is killed, handsome attorney Ambrose would seem an unlikely replacement.
Spiritual debates centered on the Trinity mirror real debates the historical Ambrose struggled with, while back in the States political snafus and even coups are treated as jokes. At the center of it all is Aurelius Ambrosius, a good lawyer who receives an unexpected - and unwanted - political appointment: "…this office doesn’t require someone who knows how to get things done. It needs someone who can move people, someone who can speak eloquently and motivate others to do things . . . things they may not want to do.”
In a split second of one of life's ironies Ambrose becomes the next governor of Dionysius - and a chain of events begins that will change not just his piece of world, but the entire world.
Now for some side notes: Ambrose: A Modern Rendition is peppered with black and white photos (by Dreamstime) throughout which illustrate protagonists and lend a vintage feel to this saga. From generals and politicians to family members, these help the story line to feel more like a biographical sketch than fiction: a nice device that lends authenticity to characters and settings alike.
Secondly, the ample cast of characters varies widely in names, from Roman-based classics such as Aegidius, Ambrose's law firm Agripa, Leontius & Drusus, and fat wife Agatha Leontius to Mexican drug cartel Los Zetas and altar server Max. This lends a multi-era feel to the story, placing past and present trends alongside one another and emphasizing that the novel's setting is, after all, as much fantasy as historical in nature.
And while events in this Ambrose's life parallel that of his Roman predecessor, they still follow the timeline of a futuristic world changed by political and religious decisions. The focus on how Ambrose resolves disparate special interests, influences, and his own unexpected position in this new world makes for a story particularly recommended for Catholic readers of alternate history; especially those well grounded in historic Catholic religious debates and issues.
This audience will not only recognize (or learn about) the real Ambrose; they'll come to appreciate the significance of debates about The Trinity and will learn how one man stepped up to the plate to make a difference in his world - and how these actions are duplicated in similar courses by those who stay true to their religious commitments.
Solid characterization, a diverse group of protagonists who clarify political and religious milieus, and gripping action (to include violence: be forewarned; this is a quasi-Roman future world ruled by the sword as much as by ideals!) make Ambrose: A Modern Rendition a novel hard to neatly categorize but equally difficult to put down.
M. W. Wolf
Saints on Bicycles, Publisher
978-0-9892737-0-1 $17.49
www.saintsonbicycles.com
Readers of historical fiction should be prepared for something different in Ambrose: A Modern Rendition. For one thing, it's not just the story of an fourth-century man living in the aftermath of the Roman Empire's heyday, but probes the politics of a respected lawyer and governor who is unwittingly elected to the position of bishop after he tries to settle a dispute between church and state. It offers not the anticipated biographical history of this historic figure, but translates his life into a modern setting (thus, 'A Modern Rendition').
Using the politics and religious conflicts of his day as a foundation, Ambrose: A Modern Rendition, focuses on the specific challenges the saint experienced in his life from his secular beginnings as a relatively non-religious man to becoming the center of a controversial debate over the Trinity which lead to a splintering between church factions.
Catholic readers (especially those with a little prior knowledge of Ambrose and his times) will find Ambrose replete with religious insights based on fact - but the novel doesn't begin in your usual historical setting (the century in which Ambrose resided), and that's just one of its surprises.
It opens, instead, with a near-future setting: the U.S. is experiencing the throes of spiritual and political conflict: possibly the last gasp of its centuries-long status as a world force.
In this future world firearms have been outlawed by Congress, the government is split between East and West with two rulers, and popular public games include lion fights and gladiators. Sound like ancient Rome? It actually is: and against this alternate history backdrop modern-day Ambrose emerges with many of the same religious concerns as his predecessor.
From social injustices and government involvements to Vatican concerns, anticipate a novel replete with disparate elements of past and present worlds. In this world Ambrose emerges (as did his namesake) as a wild card in the changing nature of social, political and spiritual order: an unwitting contender in the struggle for liberty and freedom which permeates all segments of society.
Against this backdrop the first chapter introduces a quiet couple and their family dynamics as they contemplate political changes in the air, then moves forward over thirty years to future Italy, which is still immersed in Catholicism. Here an aging archbishop hears confessions centered around military insights and individuals whose names he can barely recall, and is frustrated that his spiritual mission is going largely unrealized: "Auxentius sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. He felt satisfied knowing he had helped her emotionally unburden. But he also felt disheartened knowing she couldn’t cognitively grasp the meaning of his question—that God the Father created Jesus, the Christ. He had tried different ways over the years to introduce Arian Christianity to his parishioners, but few seemed ready, or sophisticated enough, to grasp its meaning."
When the venerable archbishop is killed, handsome attorney Ambrose would seem an unlikely replacement.
Spiritual debates centered on the Trinity mirror real debates the historical Ambrose struggled with, while back in the States political snafus and even coups are treated as jokes. At the center of it all is Aurelius Ambrosius, a good lawyer who receives an unexpected - and unwanted - political appointment: "…this office doesn’t require someone who knows how to get things done. It needs someone who can move people, someone who can speak eloquently and motivate others to do things . . . things they may not want to do.”
In a split second of one of life's ironies Ambrose becomes the next governor of Dionysius - and a chain of events begins that will change not just his piece of world, but the entire world.
Now for some side notes: Ambrose: A Modern Rendition is peppered with black and white photos (by Dreamstime) throughout which illustrate protagonists and lend a vintage feel to this saga. From generals and politicians to family members, these help the story line to feel more like a biographical sketch than fiction: a nice device that lends authenticity to characters and settings alike.
Secondly, the ample cast of characters varies widely in names, from Roman-based classics such as Aegidius, Ambrose's law firm Agripa, Leontius & Drusus, and fat wife Agatha Leontius to Mexican drug cartel Los Zetas and altar server Max. This lends a multi-era feel to the story, placing past and present trends alongside one another and emphasizing that the novel's setting is, after all, as much fantasy as historical in nature.
And while events in this Ambrose's life parallel that of his Roman predecessor, they still follow the timeline of a futuristic world changed by political and religious decisions. The focus on how Ambrose resolves disparate special interests, influences, and his own unexpected position in this new world makes for a story particularly recommended for Catholic readers of alternate history; especially those well grounded in historic Catholic religious debates and issues.
This audience will not only recognize (or learn about) the real Ambrose; they'll come to appreciate the significance of debates about The Trinity and will learn how one man stepped up to the plate to make a difference in his world - and how these actions are duplicated in similar courses by those who stay true to their religious commitments.
Solid characterization, a diverse group of protagonists who clarify political and religious milieus, and gripping action (to include violence: be forewarned; this is a quasi-Roman future world ruled by the sword as much as by ideals!) make Ambrose: A Modern Rendition a novel hard to neatly categorize but equally difficult to put down.
Breakfast
with the Dirt Cult
Samuel Finlay
The Red Dirt Syndicate
978-0615622996 $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/Breakfast-Dirt-Cult-Samuel-Finlay-ebook/dp/B009R4S9IU/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1397228718
Cover illustrations typically aren't a compelling reason for reading further, but this one just must be mentioned: it features two men in army gear; one pointing a rifle at the other, the other sticking his finger defiantly in the muzzle.
Seeking the source of this image in the first chapter, one immediately finds an incongruity in its heading 'Joe Takes a Holiday' - and with that the snare is set, capturing readers with a saga revolving around one Thomas Walton, called to service in Afghanistan as an infantry soldier and determined to make it home alive.
Breakfast with the Dirt Cult is a gritty, you-are-there account of Tom's life and is loosely based on the author's own experiences 'in country' nearly a decade ago. As such, the story has a realistic feel that many a story of wartime experience simply doesn't capture, from its opening in Montreal (where Tom is on military leave from training before deployment) to his relationship with the saucy Amy (who becomes his pen pal after he leaves.)
From basic training to the front lines of Afghanistan, Breakfast with the Dirt Cult simply shines when it describes military experience; especially when foreign policy snafus are revealed. Encounters between military men range from humorous to dead serious; especially between the brass and those under them: "“How is it that your job warrants levity?”
“It just does. I try to find the levity in the situation, First Sergeant. These guys are under a lot of stress, and
when we ain’t training I try to keep things light.” “You’re a team leader not a stand-up comedian! You know, Corporal, I like you as a person, but I think you’re a horrible combat leader and I don’t want your Joes to turn out like you. Corporal, do you take anything in the military serious at all?”
Walton's efforts to survive his stint with dignity, meaning, and personal best are often not part of the 'party line' and he finds himself both admired by colleagues and dressed-down by those above him; but he persists in using every vehicle at his disposal to survive not just physically, but mentally - and this is one of the many strong points of Breakfast with the Dirt Cult: that close attention to how participants survive challenging environments under military combat situations.
Now, let's be clear: Tom Walton enlists; he isn't conscripted into service. And let's also be clear: his motivations for doing so and his anticipations are different from what evolves to become his experience, which tests his mettle beyond anything he could have imagined.
How does one not merely survive, but thrive, under military service? And how does the daily specter of combat, death or worse become offset by changes in attitude?
Don't expect any sugar-coating here: there's a lot of profanity, a lot of back-and-forth between protagonists that could sometimes become confusing, and a lot of unexpected fun (yes, fun!) woven into the process: "Walton passed a team from Bravo Company as they left the perimeter and when he heard the song they sang and clapped to, he
laughed loudly and made it his mantra for the march. Allah, Allah, you’re so fine, You’re so fine you blow my mind, Hey, Allah! Hey Allah!"
Is Breakfast with the Dirt Cult an easy read? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Is it involving? Always. Is it linear and clear? Not always.
What it boils down to is a feisty read that peppers its story with unexpected profanity and humor and, in the end, centers on the nuts and bolts of life itself: confrontation and survival methods: "Walton had suddenly seen the faces of all the smiling children who had waved at him while on patrol and had made him proud to be a soldier and a human being trying to protect their lives and what innocence growing up in a war zone hadn’t already stolen from them. In that moment, he’d known that somewhere out there, one of them had just lost her world."
Any reader seeking a multifaceted 'war story' of a soldier's struggle to 'live another day' despite it all will find Breakfast with the Dirt Cult ultimately (and at once) challenging and satisfying.
Samuel Finlay
The Red Dirt Syndicate
978-0615622996 $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/Breakfast-Dirt-Cult-Samuel-Finlay-ebook/dp/B009R4S9IU/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1397228718
Cover illustrations typically aren't a compelling reason for reading further, but this one just must be mentioned: it features two men in army gear; one pointing a rifle at the other, the other sticking his finger defiantly in the muzzle.
Seeking the source of this image in the first chapter, one immediately finds an incongruity in its heading 'Joe Takes a Holiday' - and with that the snare is set, capturing readers with a saga revolving around one Thomas Walton, called to service in Afghanistan as an infantry soldier and determined to make it home alive.
Breakfast with the Dirt Cult is a gritty, you-are-there account of Tom's life and is loosely based on the author's own experiences 'in country' nearly a decade ago. As such, the story has a realistic feel that many a story of wartime experience simply doesn't capture, from its opening in Montreal (where Tom is on military leave from training before deployment) to his relationship with the saucy Amy (who becomes his pen pal after he leaves.)
From basic training to the front lines of Afghanistan, Breakfast with the Dirt Cult simply shines when it describes military experience; especially when foreign policy snafus are revealed. Encounters between military men range from humorous to dead serious; especially between the brass and those under them: "“How is it that your job warrants levity?”
“It just does. I try to find the levity in the situation, First Sergeant. These guys are under a lot of stress, and
when we ain’t training I try to keep things light.” “You’re a team leader not a stand-up comedian! You know, Corporal, I like you as a person, but I think you’re a horrible combat leader and I don’t want your Joes to turn out like you. Corporal, do you take anything in the military serious at all?”
Walton's efforts to survive his stint with dignity, meaning, and personal best are often not part of the 'party line' and he finds himself both admired by colleagues and dressed-down by those above him; but he persists in using every vehicle at his disposal to survive not just physically, but mentally - and this is one of the many strong points of Breakfast with the Dirt Cult: that close attention to how participants survive challenging environments under military combat situations.
Now, let's be clear: Tom Walton enlists; he isn't conscripted into service. And let's also be clear: his motivations for doing so and his anticipations are different from what evolves to become his experience, which tests his mettle beyond anything he could have imagined.
How does one not merely survive, but thrive, under military service? And how does the daily specter of combat, death or worse become offset by changes in attitude?
Don't expect any sugar-coating here: there's a lot of profanity, a lot of back-and-forth between protagonists that could sometimes become confusing, and a lot of unexpected fun (yes, fun!) woven into the process: "Walton passed a team from Bravo Company as they left the perimeter and when he heard the song they sang and clapped to, he
laughed loudly and made it his mantra for the march. Allah, Allah, you’re so fine, You’re so fine you blow my mind, Hey, Allah! Hey Allah!"
Is Breakfast with the Dirt Cult an easy read? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Is it involving? Always. Is it linear and clear? Not always.
What it boils down to is a feisty read that peppers its story with unexpected profanity and humor and, in the end, centers on the nuts and bolts of life itself: confrontation and survival methods: "Walton had suddenly seen the faces of all the smiling children who had waved at him while on patrol and had made him proud to be a soldier and a human being trying to protect their lives and what innocence growing up in a war zone hadn’t already stolen from them. In that moment, he’d known that somewhere out there, one of them had just lost her world."
Any reader seeking a multifaceted 'war story' of a soldier's struggle to 'live another day' despite it all will find Breakfast with the Dirt Cult ultimately (and at once) challenging and satisfying.
Burn:
A Love Story
Colton Lawrence
Colton Lawrence, Publisher
978-0-9658322-2-9
www.MemphisandMelrose.com
While author Colton Lawrence may be known for his young adult fiction writing, it's quite evident from the start that his racy new novel Burn: A Love Story is written for a very different, adult audience: as such, it may best be described as a humorous survey of love gone awry, and is a recommendation for romance and general novel readers alike.
Playboy Gerry would seem to have it all: finally divorced, he already has girlfriends, a possible fiancé, money, and status. What he doesn't have is his ex-wife Erin - which doesn't bother him until she falls for somebody new, who treats her far better (despite the fact that in Gerry's judgment, the replacement is a poor substitute for his good looks.)
Faced with an even greater shift (Erin's proposed marriage to another man), Gerry goes off the deep end and finds himself on a long, dangerous road mixing past and present with increasingly uncertain goals, ideals and desires.
Most romances are pretty cut-and-dried: boy meets girl, romance evolves, and there's a few sticking points before all swings full circle to satisfying resolution. But don't expect anything pat, easy or linear in Burn: A Love Story: it's all about unconditional love (or not), feeling the 'outsider' (even when appearances would have it that one is thoroughly connected, fortunate and immersed in one's life), and regaining a sense of family.
For Gerry has lost not only his wife, but his daughter - which lends to a questionable logic for his next move: "If he and Erin were back together again, Joy would have to love him again. Erin would make sure of it…He had to get Erin back so Joy would love him."
Fueled by this fire - this desire for re-connection in his life - Gerry embarks on a mission to gain back what he has lost, in the process confronting his life, his ideals, and even testing new elements added to his persona from unlikely sources, such as a gay bar encounter designed to identify a guy Gerry can use as an 'intervention' for diverting Erin's infatuation: "Gerry liked his voice. It had bass. Erin would love that. A few tweaks here and there in terms of clothing and mannerisms, and he could get Erin to fall in love with him. “Nah, just kidding. Just broke up with a long-term person I’ve been seeing and thought I might like to see what’s out there.”
It's interesting to note that at every turn of his exploration, ex Erin is never far from his thoughts and assessments: "Rex smiled. He had a great smile. Erin was all about good teeth and hygiene." Gerry more than knows his ex and her preferences and his plot to circumvent her latest romance evolves with this knowledge at the forefront.
And where's Erin in all this? Why, she's making her own appearances in chapters that juxtapose her newfound life with Gerry's fixation; from her uncertain relationship with an alcoholic mother who has found her own new love in a man who only likes to eat and drink to admitting her own tendency to obsess over men: "The more she wanted to sleep, the more she couldn’t stop thinking about him. It was 2:00 am, and he hadn’t called or texted or anything. He said his plane arrived in Geneva at midnight, her time. She obsessed – that was her thing. She always obsessed over men. She thought Jaime would be different. Surely, he would want to hear from her as much as she wanted to hear from him?"
In a peculiar manner, Gerry and Erin are perfect for one another, sharing traits of obsession and infatuation and moving from one person to another in search of elusive romance.
Expect steamy love scenes, calculating moves on both sides to further personal goals, and self-destructive patterns that just won't quit: "It felt like the whole Scott situation all over again, only now she was a grown woman in love with a short, fat, hairy and balding man. How could a man like that reduce her to those old, immature feelings? Had she not grown emotionally at all? Had her time with Gerry been like a ten-year coma offering zero emotional growth? Was she irredeemably defective? She couldn’t deny she was in love with Jaime. Her feelings were so strong, she wanted the feeling to go away before it was too late."
Can dual paths that diverse so widely come together, or will they somehow destroy one another in an antimatter explosion?
Burn: A Love Story will keep romance readers guessing, laughing, and crying until its satisfying conclusion.
Colton Lawrence
Colton Lawrence, Publisher
978-0-9658322-2-9
www.MemphisandMelrose.com
While author Colton Lawrence may be known for his young adult fiction writing, it's quite evident from the start that his racy new novel Burn: A Love Story is written for a very different, adult audience: as such, it may best be described as a humorous survey of love gone awry, and is a recommendation for romance and general novel readers alike.
Playboy Gerry would seem to have it all: finally divorced, he already has girlfriends, a possible fiancé, money, and status. What he doesn't have is his ex-wife Erin - which doesn't bother him until she falls for somebody new, who treats her far better (despite the fact that in Gerry's judgment, the replacement is a poor substitute for his good looks.)
Faced with an even greater shift (Erin's proposed marriage to another man), Gerry goes off the deep end and finds himself on a long, dangerous road mixing past and present with increasingly uncertain goals, ideals and desires.
Most romances are pretty cut-and-dried: boy meets girl, romance evolves, and there's a few sticking points before all swings full circle to satisfying resolution. But don't expect anything pat, easy or linear in Burn: A Love Story: it's all about unconditional love (or not), feeling the 'outsider' (even when appearances would have it that one is thoroughly connected, fortunate and immersed in one's life), and regaining a sense of family.
For Gerry has lost not only his wife, but his daughter - which lends to a questionable logic for his next move: "If he and Erin were back together again, Joy would have to love him again. Erin would make sure of it…He had to get Erin back so Joy would love him."
Fueled by this fire - this desire for re-connection in his life - Gerry embarks on a mission to gain back what he has lost, in the process confronting his life, his ideals, and even testing new elements added to his persona from unlikely sources, such as a gay bar encounter designed to identify a guy Gerry can use as an 'intervention' for diverting Erin's infatuation: "Gerry liked his voice. It had bass. Erin would love that. A few tweaks here and there in terms of clothing and mannerisms, and he could get Erin to fall in love with him. “Nah, just kidding. Just broke up with a long-term person I’ve been seeing and thought I might like to see what’s out there.”
It's interesting to note that at every turn of his exploration, ex Erin is never far from his thoughts and assessments: "Rex smiled. He had a great smile. Erin was all about good teeth and hygiene." Gerry more than knows his ex and her preferences and his plot to circumvent her latest romance evolves with this knowledge at the forefront.
And where's Erin in all this? Why, she's making her own appearances in chapters that juxtapose her newfound life with Gerry's fixation; from her uncertain relationship with an alcoholic mother who has found her own new love in a man who only likes to eat and drink to admitting her own tendency to obsess over men: "The more she wanted to sleep, the more she couldn’t stop thinking about him. It was 2:00 am, and he hadn’t called or texted or anything. He said his plane arrived in Geneva at midnight, her time. She obsessed – that was her thing. She always obsessed over men. She thought Jaime would be different. Surely, he would want to hear from her as much as she wanted to hear from him?"
In a peculiar manner, Gerry and Erin are perfect for one another, sharing traits of obsession and infatuation and moving from one person to another in search of elusive romance.
Expect steamy love scenes, calculating moves on both sides to further personal goals, and self-destructive patterns that just won't quit: "It felt like the whole Scott situation all over again, only now she was a grown woman in love with a short, fat, hairy and balding man. How could a man like that reduce her to those old, immature feelings? Had she not grown emotionally at all? Had her time with Gerry been like a ten-year coma offering zero emotional growth? Was she irredeemably defective? She couldn’t deny she was in love with Jaime. Her feelings were so strong, she wanted the feeling to go away before it was too late."
Can dual paths that diverse so widely come together, or will they somehow destroy one another in an antimatter explosion?
Burn: A Love Story will keep romance readers guessing, laughing, and crying until its satisfying conclusion.
Farewell
My Country
A. J. Harris
Murder Mystery Press
978-0-9847825-1-2 (paperback) $16.95
978-0-9847825-2-9 (ebook) $2.99
978-0-9847825-3-6 (hardback) $24.95
http://www.amazon.com/Farewell-My-Country-J-Harris-ebook/dp/B00GHSHBWY/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1396193722
One might expect that a press called 'Murder Mystery Press' would only produce genre works, but Farewell My Country in no way can be labeled as such, with its powerful coverage (based on history) of political events that took place under McCarthyism. Many novels have captured the social and political sentiments of this time, but Farewell My Country offers a twist with a focus on the author's brother, Dr. Jack S. Harris, who fought in World War II only to be one of McCarthy’s targets.
While the chronicle might best be described as a biography, added embellishments (recreating events that couldn't be documented) turn its format into a novel. Either way, it's a recommended pick for readers who enjoy political history cradled in dramatic reading.
Jack's actual words, drawn from his journal entries, are in italics throughout with insights from family members and journalists providing a factual foundation.
The ideal reader of Farewell My Country will have some prior knowledge of the era's events and processes. Such an audience will more readily appreciate Jack's unique story as he evolves from being a super patriot to one who is bedeviled by a committee that operates outside legal safeguards.
From the start, Jack is critical of the McCarthy approach; never mind that he's become a target: "Those creatures aren’t looking for the truth. They’re not protecting any freedoms. They’re trying to condemn people—as many as they can. They want the world to think they’re some kind of saviors. I’ll tell you what they really are: they’re grandstanding sonsofbitches without a conscience—totally amoral and arrogant. Do you think they care that two people have committed suicide because their lives were ruined by these jackals?”
His carefully-honed academic career is under fire, his own wife even checks with him to be sure he never ascribed to Communist memberships or ideals, and Jack worries about the impact of the investigation on his family as well.
In the process of considering how he came to this point, Jack's life is reviewed and readers are treated to an in-depth series of vignettes on his childhood, his growth, and his achievements.
During the course of this review readers receive insights on wartime actions and interactions on a personal as well as military and political levels, and come to understand Jack's options and decisions against the backdrop of his times.
There's some back-and-forth to the timeline which may seem abrupt or confusing to some; but one needs only to step back and look at the bigger picture to find that each seemingly-puzzling movement of time and space contributes its part to a larger portrait of Jack. It's like a jigsaw puzzle that, in the end, comes together with a satisfying click of interlocked pieces.
Another unusual note feature of Farewell My Country is a centerfold of vintage black and white photos of Jack and his family: these contribute to the feel that this is a biography, not just a fictional piece; and they personalize the story with real people and images that readers can carry forward as they continue to learn about Jack and his life.
From military protocol to how 'communist traitors' were pinpointed and prosecuted to popular sentiments of the era, Farewell My Country personalizes events through the interactions of Jack, his attorney, and notorious Senator McCarran, who fosters such an atmosphere of terror that his bullying word alone can break an innocent suspect.
The storm that evolves eventually drives Jack to desperate measures, especially for a military man who fought for his country and returned home filled with new ideals for building a better world.
Without giving away the conclusion, suffice it to say that Farewell My Country successfully documents how patriotism can be warped by social and political influences - and how even the most acclaimed hero can become a refugee from everything he once believed to be true.
Especially recommended for any who want a novel bringing to life McCarthyism's tactics and impact.
A. J. Harris
Murder Mystery Press
978-0-9847825-1-2 (paperback) $16.95
978-0-9847825-2-9 (ebook) $2.99
978-0-9847825-3-6 (hardback) $24.95
http://www.amazon.com/Farewell-My-Country-J-Harris-ebook/dp/B00GHSHBWY/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1396193722
One might expect that a press called 'Murder Mystery Press' would only produce genre works, but Farewell My Country in no way can be labeled as such, with its powerful coverage (based on history) of political events that took place under McCarthyism. Many novels have captured the social and political sentiments of this time, but Farewell My Country offers a twist with a focus on the author's brother, Dr. Jack S. Harris, who fought in World War II only to be one of McCarthy’s targets.
While the chronicle might best be described as a biography, added embellishments (recreating events that couldn't be documented) turn its format into a novel. Either way, it's a recommended pick for readers who enjoy political history cradled in dramatic reading.
Jack's actual words, drawn from his journal entries, are in italics throughout with insights from family members and journalists providing a factual foundation.
The ideal reader of Farewell My Country will have some prior knowledge of the era's events and processes. Such an audience will more readily appreciate Jack's unique story as he evolves from being a super patriot to one who is bedeviled by a committee that operates outside legal safeguards.
From the start, Jack is critical of the McCarthy approach; never mind that he's become a target: "Those creatures aren’t looking for the truth. They’re not protecting any freedoms. They’re trying to condemn people—as many as they can. They want the world to think they’re some kind of saviors. I’ll tell you what they really are: they’re grandstanding sonsofbitches without a conscience—totally amoral and arrogant. Do you think they care that two people have committed suicide because their lives were ruined by these jackals?”
His carefully-honed academic career is under fire, his own wife even checks with him to be sure he never ascribed to Communist memberships or ideals, and Jack worries about the impact of the investigation on his family as well.
In the process of considering how he came to this point, Jack's life is reviewed and readers are treated to an in-depth series of vignettes on his childhood, his growth, and his achievements.
During the course of this review readers receive insights on wartime actions and interactions on a personal as well as military and political levels, and come to understand Jack's options and decisions against the backdrop of his times.
There's some back-and-forth to the timeline which may seem abrupt or confusing to some; but one needs only to step back and look at the bigger picture to find that each seemingly-puzzling movement of time and space contributes its part to a larger portrait of Jack. It's like a jigsaw puzzle that, in the end, comes together with a satisfying click of interlocked pieces.
Another unusual note feature of Farewell My Country is a centerfold of vintage black and white photos of Jack and his family: these contribute to the feel that this is a biography, not just a fictional piece; and they personalize the story with real people and images that readers can carry forward as they continue to learn about Jack and his life.
From military protocol to how 'communist traitors' were pinpointed and prosecuted to popular sentiments of the era, Farewell My Country personalizes events through the interactions of Jack, his attorney, and notorious Senator McCarran, who fosters such an atmosphere of terror that his bullying word alone can break an innocent suspect.
The storm that evolves eventually drives Jack to desperate measures, especially for a military man who fought for his country and returned home filled with new ideals for building a better world.
Without giving away the conclusion, suffice it to say that Farewell My Country successfully documents how patriotism can be warped by social and political influences - and how even the most acclaimed hero can become a refugee from everything he once believed to be true.
Especially recommended for any who want a novel bringing to life McCarthyism's tactics and impact.
Finding
Sagrado
Roger E. Carrier
Xlibris
9781462861958 $3.99 Kindle; $17.99 Paperback
http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Sagrado-Roger-E-Carrier/dp/1462861954
www.xlibris.com/contactus.aspx Xlibris email: info@xlibris.com.
Finding Sagrado is recommended for adult and mature young adult readers and is a complex novel set in 1971, revolving around a runaway teen's lofty goals: to re-create the life-sized stone heads described by author Richard Bradford in his 1960s classic Red Sky at Morning.
Shane's unusual dream brings him into contact with a host of disparate individuals from all walks of life. While these are everyday people, they also represent a wide range of lifestyles and perspectives, from a half-Navajo teenager and her white, widowed lesbian mother to Vietnam vets who (like Shane's father) served their country (but unlike Shane's father, survived to come home to a very different atmosphere).
Within the course of Shane's exploration of the world at large lie social issues of his times that may be sideline themes to a larger coming-of-age story, but which add depth and social insights on how travel brings young people in contact with new ideas.
A Taos sweat lodge, for example, is steeped in not only New Mexican traditions but in sacred awakenings that introduce Shane to very new worlds of Indian belief and spirituality. Through Shane's eyes, readers gain newfound knowledge and acceptance of indigenous peoples and New Mexican culture.
Another difference: Shane is no average boy, but comes from wealth - and so his road trip doesn't exactly begin with a lack of funding, but with $3200 he's stolen to finance his 2,000 mile bus journey.
His encounters with people are the heart of a novel that profiles bigotry, promotes tolerance and understanding, and highlights the importance of maintaining a positive attitude against all odds.
This message is embedded in a survey of what it means to 'walk out of your world' (however comfortable it is) and take risks. It's also intrinsic to the idea of remaining open to life's challenges and changes, and to learning how to translate grief and angst into positive perspectives on life.
There are other characters who also find their lives changed in the course of meeting Shane and learning about his mission, from Dave (a detective whose son was also killed in Vietnam, and who has been hired to locate Shane) to a wheelchair-bound veteran who refuses to let his disability become his whole life and, of course, to first sex partner Sandra, who finds her own life transformed as a result of her relationship with Shane. Sandra's own inner strength will both challenge and change both of them, and is a satisfying contrast to the typical diminutive female protagonists that often juxtapose strong male counterparts in coming-of-age sagas.
Shane's experiences with both art and sex are those of a novice: fumbling, uncertain, and emotionally charged. Roger E. Carrier's descriptions of Shane's evolutionary process are precise and realistic: "They talked about everything except their petite lovemaking. It was as if they had forgotten the heart they had scraped on the ground…Shane sensed it was more than first-time embarrassment holding them back. It was the tenderness and fragility of the experience. He sensed that anything he might say about it would be wrong."
It's this focus on navigating emotions, places, and people that keeps Finding Sagrado a vivid coming-of-age story with the ability to embrace both individual and wider-world perspectives. Add doses of humor and spiritual insight and you have a well-rounded story indeed.
It's all about settling on a dream, reaching for it - then accepting the transition points life throws at that dream, before forming another. Finding Sagrado's focus is on identifying and striving for change, acceptance and ethical responses to life's slings and arrows.
When Shane realizes all three goals in the course of grasping his dream, he evolves to become a richer person, ultimately more appreciative of diversity: "…it came to him that his silence about the spying had proven to be more profound than he had thought at the time. Until this moment, he hadn't realized how much he had grown by refusing to participate in the ugliness of the world."
In conclusion (and in a nutshell), Finding Sagrado is a compelling, evocative story that immerses readers not only in Shane's journey and evolution, but in the basic transition points of a life well-examined. Mature young adult readers and those seeking powerful coming-of-age sagas will find it simply engrossing.
Roger E. Carrier
Xlibris
9781462861958 $3.99 Kindle; $17.99 Paperback
http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Sagrado-Roger-E-Carrier/dp/1462861954
www.xlibris.com/contactus.aspx Xlibris email: info@xlibris.com.
Finding Sagrado is recommended for adult and mature young adult readers and is a complex novel set in 1971, revolving around a runaway teen's lofty goals: to re-create the life-sized stone heads described by author Richard Bradford in his 1960s classic Red Sky at Morning.
Shane's unusual dream brings him into contact with a host of disparate individuals from all walks of life. While these are everyday people, they also represent a wide range of lifestyles and perspectives, from a half-Navajo teenager and her white, widowed lesbian mother to Vietnam vets who (like Shane's father) served their country (but unlike Shane's father, survived to come home to a very different atmosphere).
Within the course of Shane's exploration of the world at large lie social issues of his times that may be sideline themes to a larger coming-of-age story, but which add depth and social insights on how travel brings young people in contact with new ideas.
A Taos sweat lodge, for example, is steeped in not only New Mexican traditions but in sacred awakenings that introduce Shane to very new worlds of Indian belief and spirituality. Through Shane's eyes, readers gain newfound knowledge and acceptance of indigenous peoples and New Mexican culture.
Another difference: Shane is no average boy, but comes from wealth - and so his road trip doesn't exactly begin with a lack of funding, but with $3200 he's stolen to finance his 2,000 mile bus journey.
His encounters with people are the heart of a novel that profiles bigotry, promotes tolerance and understanding, and highlights the importance of maintaining a positive attitude against all odds.
This message is embedded in a survey of what it means to 'walk out of your world' (however comfortable it is) and take risks. It's also intrinsic to the idea of remaining open to life's challenges and changes, and to learning how to translate grief and angst into positive perspectives on life.
There are other characters who also find their lives changed in the course of meeting Shane and learning about his mission, from Dave (a detective whose son was also killed in Vietnam, and who has been hired to locate Shane) to a wheelchair-bound veteran who refuses to let his disability become his whole life and, of course, to first sex partner Sandra, who finds her own life transformed as a result of her relationship with Shane. Sandra's own inner strength will both challenge and change both of them, and is a satisfying contrast to the typical diminutive female protagonists that often juxtapose strong male counterparts in coming-of-age sagas.
Shane's experiences with both art and sex are those of a novice: fumbling, uncertain, and emotionally charged. Roger E. Carrier's descriptions of Shane's evolutionary process are precise and realistic: "They talked about everything except their petite lovemaking. It was as if they had forgotten the heart they had scraped on the ground…Shane sensed it was more than first-time embarrassment holding them back. It was the tenderness and fragility of the experience. He sensed that anything he might say about it would be wrong."
It's this focus on navigating emotions, places, and people that keeps Finding Sagrado a vivid coming-of-age story with the ability to embrace both individual and wider-world perspectives. Add doses of humor and spiritual insight and you have a well-rounded story indeed.
It's all about settling on a dream, reaching for it - then accepting the transition points life throws at that dream, before forming another. Finding Sagrado's focus is on identifying and striving for change, acceptance and ethical responses to life's slings and arrows.
When Shane realizes all three goals in the course of grasping his dream, he evolves to become a richer person, ultimately more appreciative of diversity: "…it came to him that his silence about the spying had proven to be more profound than he had thought at the time. Until this moment, he hadn't realized how much he had grown by refusing to participate in the ugliness of the world."
In conclusion (and in a nutshell), Finding Sagrado is a compelling, evocative story that immerses readers not only in Shane's journey and evolution, but in the basic transition points of a life well-examined. Mature young adult readers and those seeking powerful coming-of-age sagas will find it simply engrossing.
Go
Away Home
Carol Bodensteiner
Rising Sun Press
978-0-9797997-5-4 $14.95
http://www.carolbodensteiner.com
Pre-World War I Iowa is the setting for Go Away Home, a novel centered around one Liddie, who has always wanted to escape the family farm but who finds a series of circumstances tie her down ever more to a lifestyle she doesn't want to inherit.
For Liddie dreams of travel: a passion that evolves from a desire to escape to a yearning to see the world (or at least, to experience a different kind of life): "When a train whistle sounded in the distance, it triggered the dreams that were never far from her mind. She imagined standing on the platform, handing the porter her bag, stepping up into the car, and waving good-bye. Sometimes, she visualized a man traveling with her. Often, she traveled alone. The boldness of the idea thrilled her."
But Liddie's dreams seem to move ever further from reality and there comes a point where there is little choice on whether to go or stay. A sudden death in the family changes all their lives and unexpectedly affords Liddie new opportunities against the backdrop of grief: "Looking at the cottonwoods and the lean-to now, Liddie realized with a painful jolt that everything she knew about the woods, the fields, the weather, she learned from Papa. And now he was gone. She drew her knees up to her chest, buried her head in her arms, and wept."
All seems lost with her father's death, including her dreams of pursuing her sewing skills with a journey to Maquoketa, until a chance circumstance restores the lost dream to reality. Supported by the encouragement of her family, Liddie sets off to a new life - and that's really what Go Away Home is all about: evolution, change, and transition points.
For the first time Liddie faces possibilities not defined by her environment: "She had never spent even one night away from family. Every day, she was surrounded by people she’d known her whole life. Her life was attuned to the rhythms of the farm, where each day was much like the day before. Even the changing seasons brought on the same familiar tasks."
One journey leads to another and Liddie finds no singular route to her travels or her opportunities in life. At the heart of many of her choices is the family she's left behind: remember, Liddie lives in a world without jets and without the instant links of modern times: thus journeys take months rather than hours, and separations are often life-changing: "She also thought about writing Amelia, but telling her sister that she was moving thousands of miles away, virtually assuring they would not see each other for years, maybe ever again, felt like a millstone on her chest."
Through all of Liddie's travels the atmosphere of the heartland, of family ties, and of new opportunities permeate this tale of choices, dreams realized and rejected, and how values evolve. Liddie's journey really involves finding out what things really matter to her in life - and then, integrating them into her wider dreams.
Without spilling beans, suffice it to say that in the end it takes another tragedy to help Liddie solidify the disparate threads of her choices, leading her full circle to a different set of revelations that will set the tone for the rest of her life. In the end Liddie finds a newfound place for family within her desire to seeing the world and embrace its new experiences - and finds a way to save the family farm in the process.
As a coming of age novel, Go Away Home holds more complexity than most, making it a recommendation for mature teens as well as adult readers who will find it gently compelling and highly believable.
Carol Bodensteiner
Rising Sun Press
978-0-9797997-5-4 $14.95
http://www.carolbodensteiner.com
Pre-World War I Iowa is the setting for Go Away Home, a novel centered around one Liddie, who has always wanted to escape the family farm but who finds a series of circumstances tie her down ever more to a lifestyle she doesn't want to inherit.
For Liddie dreams of travel: a passion that evolves from a desire to escape to a yearning to see the world (or at least, to experience a different kind of life): "When a train whistle sounded in the distance, it triggered the dreams that were never far from her mind. She imagined standing on the platform, handing the porter her bag, stepping up into the car, and waving good-bye. Sometimes, she visualized a man traveling with her. Often, she traveled alone. The boldness of the idea thrilled her."
But Liddie's dreams seem to move ever further from reality and there comes a point where there is little choice on whether to go or stay. A sudden death in the family changes all their lives and unexpectedly affords Liddie new opportunities against the backdrop of grief: "Looking at the cottonwoods and the lean-to now, Liddie realized with a painful jolt that everything she knew about the woods, the fields, the weather, she learned from Papa. And now he was gone. She drew her knees up to her chest, buried her head in her arms, and wept."
All seems lost with her father's death, including her dreams of pursuing her sewing skills with a journey to Maquoketa, until a chance circumstance restores the lost dream to reality. Supported by the encouragement of her family, Liddie sets off to a new life - and that's really what Go Away Home is all about: evolution, change, and transition points.
For the first time Liddie faces possibilities not defined by her environment: "She had never spent even one night away from family. Every day, she was surrounded by people she’d known her whole life. Her life was attuned to the rhythms of the farm, where each day was much like the day before. Even the changing seasons brought on the same familiar tasks."
One journey leads to another and Liddie finds no singular route to her travels or her opportunities in life. At the heart of many of her choices is the family she's left behind: remember, Liddie lives in a world without jets and without the instant links of modern times: thus journeys take months rather than hours, and separations are often life-changing: "She also thought about writing Amelia, but telling her sister that she was moving thousands of miles away, virtually assuring they would not see each other for years, maybe ever again, felt like a millstone on her chest."
Through all of Liddie's travels the atmosphere of the heartland, of family ties, and of new opportunities permeate this tale of choices, dreams realized and rejected, and how values evolve. Liddie's journey really involves finding out what things really matter to her in life - and then, integrating them into her wider dreams.
Without spilling beans, suffice it to say that in the end it takes another tragedy to help Liddie solidify the disparate threads of her choices, leading her full circle to a different set of revelations that will set the tone for the rest of her life. In the end Liddie finds a newfound place for family within her desire to seeing the world and embrace its new experiences - and finds a way to save the family farm in the process.
As a coming of age novel, Go Away Home holds more complexity than most, making it a recommendation for mature teens as well as adult readers who will find it gently compelling and highly believable.
Her
Turning Point: Her Divine, Glorious, Happy Divorce!
Nelly Cotto
Her LifeZest Institute
978-0-9960175-0-3
Softcover - $15.99 EBook - $11.99
http://www.amazon.com/Her-Turning-Point-Glorious-Divorce/dp/099601750X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396973769&sr=8-1&keywords=9780996017503
Her Turning Point: Her Divine, Glorious, Happy Divorce! provides a story that reads like a memoir: a device which involves readers in a realistic saga centered around one Puerto Rican immigrant Isabel Gomez, who winds up in the projects in Bridgeport, Connecticut with old-world values and new-world challenges that don't quite match.
So what does this have to do with divorce? Plenty, as readers will learn: for Isabel is well versed at hiding to protect herself, has literally divorced herself from life's slings and arrows, and yet experiences destructive patterns time and again that culminate in a dangerous marriage that forces her to literally choose between life and death: "I should be dead by now. I certainly had arrived at that particular doorstep. But then I got saved. Then I got saved again and again. Then divorce came. Then I woke up."
It might be better to point out that this novel is as much about Isabel's awakening process as it is about a bad marriage, though said marriage serves as the impetus for her transition. After thirteen years of endurance, Isabel has had enough; and when it boils down to life or death, she ultimately chooses life.
Now, one might anticipate a messy divorce scenario; but Her Turning Point doesn't take the easy way out with a predictable focus. Nor does it simplify the results of a hard decision (although initially Isabel imagines she'll write all about her divorce as a positive experience.)
It takes her therapist to point out that a lot led up to her 'glorious divorce', and that writing about this lead-up might be more honest than extolling the ease of her separation: "My life that I now refer to as “my divine, glorious, happy life” was once hell—the real deal with dragon-breath fire, scorching heat and agonizing torture. I was so deeply grounded in a happy divorced life that I had very cleverly blocked out my painful experience pre-divorce; and certainly pre-marriage. It seemed that as soon as I allowed myself to think about the hell, the memories immediately gushed out of hiding."
And so Isabel is prompted to embark on a re-creation of events that closely examines the shackles of her past, involving readers in a series of vignettes that begin pre-birth and layer on decades of hell leading up to the 'glorious life' she has today.
Be prepared to follow Isabel's journey into anguish and back again - and be prepared to recognize patterns in her choices and perceptions that repeat these bad scenarios over and over. Her story is narrated in the first person, which lends an immediacy and intimacy to her memories. Nelly Cotto's use of the first person memoir format is just brilliant, contributing realistic emotional experiences to the saga of her protagonist's evolution and growth in a way the third- person format could never achieve.
These patterns solidify when she marries: "In the years to come, he would say or do one thing one minute and then he’d make a complete about face on me the next, saying or doing the complete opposite. I would stand there dumbfounded, time and time again. And, oh dear lord, in those early days, I was so unseasoned about how much Harry relied on destruction to ensure chaos ruled his world. Still, I called him “Mr.-Too-Good-To-Be-True” to everyone I talked to."
It's all about how familiar patterns (even destructive ones) prove strange attractors between people who find themselves choosing negative reinforcements in life. Much like a jigsaw puzzle, these pieces may seem to fit smoothly together, but ultimately they mar the bigger picture.
As Isabel faces life-changing events that move her away from her self-destructive tendencies, she comes to understand Harry's role in her world and slowly learns to make the kinds of choices that celebrate life instead of stifling it: "That had been my sign that I was meant to live, and live big…really big after a horrific thirteen years. I still hadn’t awakened to how I already was taking the first steps to healing the whole of my life, and that my thirteen-year marriage to Harry Fielding was only an extension and not the whole."
Readers are treated to a wide-ranging view of Isabel's life and choices, from racism and living a hidden life to blossoming to recognize what she wants from the world for herself and her family.
In a nutshell, this book is simply about Isabel's reinvention: "…my divine glorious happy divorce was really about the precise moment I woke up to the real me."
Lively, realistic, and involving, readers will come to feel Her Turning Point is more than just a survival story: it's about blossoming, personal growth, and getting the most out of life. As such, it's an inspirational and uplifting story recommended for any who want a sense of joy added to their reading.
Nelly Cotto
Her LifeZest Institute
978-0-9960175-0-3
Softcover - $15.99 EBook - $11.99
http://www.amazon.com/Her-Turning-Point-Glorious-Divorce/dp/099601750X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396973769&sr=8-1&keywords=9780996017503
Her Turning Point: Her Divine, Glorious, Happy Divorce! provides a story that reads like a memoir: a device which involves readers in a realistic saga centered around one Puerto Rican immigrant Isabel Gomez, who winds up in the projects in Bridgeport, Connecticut with old-world values and new-world challenges that don't quite match.
So what does this have to do with divorce? Plenty, as readers will learn: for Isabel is well versed at hiding to protect herself, has literally divorced herself from life's slings and arrows, and yet experiences destructive patterns time and again that culminate in a dangerous marriage that forces her to literally choose between life and death: "I should be dead by now. I certainly had arrived at that particular doorstep. But then I got saved. Then I got saved again and again. Then divorce came. Then I woke up."
It might be better to point out that this novel is as much about Isabel's awakening process as it is about a bad marriage, though said marriage serves as the impetus for her transition. After thirteen years of endurance, Isabel has had enough; and when it boils down to life or death, she ultimately chooses life.
Now, one might anticipate a messy divorce scenario; but Her Turning Point doesn't take the easy way out with a predictable focus. Nor does it simplify the results of a hard decision (although initially Isabel imagines she'll write all about her divorce as a positive experience.)
It takes her therapist to point out that a lot led up to her 'glorious divorce', and that writing about this lead-up might be more honest than extolling the ease of her separation: "My life that I now refer to as “my divine, glorious, happy life” was once hell—the real deal with dragon-breath fire, scorching heat and agonizing torture. I was so deeply grounded in a happy divorced life that I had very cleverly blocked out my painful experience pre-divorce; and certainly pre-marriage. It seemed that as soon as I allowed myself to think about the hell, the memories immediately gushed out of hiding."
And so Isabel is prompted to embark on a re-creation of events that closely examines the shackles of her past, involving readers in a series of vignettes that begin pre-birth and layer on decades of hell leading up to the 'glorious life' she has today.
Be prepared to follow Isabel's journey into anguish and back again - and be prepared to recognize patterns in her choices and perceptions that repeat these bad scenarios over and over. Her story is narrated in the first person, which lends an immediacy and intimacy to her memories. Nelly Cotto's use of the first person memoir format is just brilliant, contributing realistic emotional experiences to the saga of her protagonist's evolution and growth in a way the third- person format could never achieve.
These patterns solidify when she marries: "In the years to come, he would say or do one thing one minute and then he’d make a complete about face on me the next, saying or doing the complete opposite. I would stand there dumbfounded, time and time again. And, oh dear lord, in those early days, I was so unseasoned about how much Harry relied on destruction to ensure chaos ruled his world. Still, I called him “Mr.-Too-Good-To-Be-True” to everyone I talked to."
It's all about how familiar patterns (even destructive ones) prove strange attractors between people who find themselves choosing negative reinforcements in life. Much like a jigsaw puzzle, these pieces may seem to fit smoothly together, but ultimately they mar the bigger picture.
As Isabel faces life-changing events that move her away from her self-destructive tendencies, she comes to understand Harry's role in her world and slowly learns to make the kinds of choices that celebrate life instead of stifling it: "That had been my sign that I was meant to live, and live big…really big after a horrific thirteen years. I still hadn’t awakened to how I already was taking the first steps to healing the whole of my life, and that my thirteen-year marriage to Harry Fielding was only an extension and not the whole."
Readers are treated to a wide-ranging view of Isabel's life and choices, from racism and living a hidden life to blossoming to recognize what she wants from the world for herself and her family.
In a nutshell, this book is simply about Isabel's reinvention: "…my divine glorious happy divorce was really about the precise moment I woke up to the real me."
Lively, realistic, and involving, readers will come to feel Her Turning Point is more than just a survival story: it's about blossoming, personal growth, and getting the most out of life. As such, it's an inspirational and uplifting story recommended for any who want a sense of joy added to their reading.
In
the Mirror
Kaira Rouda
Real You Publishing Group
978-0-9849151-6-3 $15.00
www.KairaRouda.com
Amazon: http://ow.ly/vZHPb
Barnes & Noble: http://ow.ly/vZHsC
Kobo: http://ow.ly/vZIGK
iTunes: http://ow.ly/vZKji
What would you do if you knew your death date: would you live your life differently … even if you already had the perfect life?
That is the crux of In the Mirror, a story revolving around Jennifer Benson, whose life is nearly perfect until she receives a diagnosis of deadly cancer and a prognosis that indicates she may be dying rather than living.
As she examines the relationships and choices that make up her world, Jennifer is forced to consider what she would do differently in the time remaining to her - and thus embarks on a journey of self-inspection that carries the reader along with her.
Surprisingly, the start of In the Mirror is not about life, but the end of life: for Jennifer now resides at Shady Valley, a place where "Mondays meant nothing at Shady Valley. We lived in the “pause” world, between “play” and “stop.” Suspension was the toughest part for me. And loneliness. Sure, I had visitors, but it wasn’t the same as being always surrounded by people in motion."
And yet even there Jennifer's finding a way to live, and plans on throwing a party for herself to recapture a sense of 'life's motion', now missing from her life. This party will celebrate her life while she's still there to enjoy it - and is something, at least, that she can still control. It also gives her something to hold on to that's part of the living; not her uncertain future in the world: "It seemed perfectly reasonable, because while I knew I should be living in the moment, the future seemed a little hazy without a party to focus on."
Through a series of flashbacks readers receive insights on how Jennifer's led her life before and after the cancer diagnosis and the factors that keep her alive and hopeful, which largely center around her family: "I needed to be in the future. I needed to hold out a few more years. I’d call my doctor, see if anything new had come around. If I could last five years, that would be like fifty years to Hank and Hannah. Kid time moved so slowly."
Eventually what seems like a doomsday diagnosis and a life experiencing its last stages turns around. In due course readers are treated to a newly-reborn Jennifer who discovers different a focus beyond her formerly-perfect, pre-cancer world. And, ultimately, readers enjoy a saga that celebrates life over terminal illness: "For the first time in months—fifteen months to be exact, from the time of my diagnosis—I felt lucky. No matter what. The last two years had been lost in a sea of morning sickness, labor, delivery, surgery, radiation, chemo, and lately, experimental immunotherapies and gene therapy. I was alive and in love. Most important, I had been given a second chance."
The factors that keep us human - and hopeful - against all odds are slowly revealed in an emotionally charged story fueled by first-person experience.
Without spilling beans, suffice it to say the end is unpredictable, satisfying, and provides no pat answers. It's purposely a bit ambiguous so that readers can fill in their own definitions of 'what ultimately happens'. So if you're looking for an emotional read filled with life and purpose, struggles against poor odds, and revelations surrounding definitions of love and family, then In the Mirror is for you.
Kaira Rouda
Real You Publishing Group
978-0-9849151-6-3 $15.00
www.KairaRouda.com
Amazon: http://ow.ly/vZHPb
Barnes & Noble: http://ow.ly/vZHsC
Kobo: http://ow.ly/vZIGK
iTunes: http://ow.ly/vZKji
What would you do if you knew your death date: would you live your life differently … even if you already had the perfect life?
That is the crux of In the Mirror, a story revolving around Jennifer Benson, whose life is nearly perfect until she receives a diagnosis of deadly cancer and a prognosis that indicates she may be dying rather than living.
As she examines the relationships and choices that make up her world, Jennifer is forced to consider what she would do differently in the time remaining to her - and thus embarks on a journey of self-inspection that carries the reader along with her.
Surprisingly, the start of In the Mirror is not about life, but the end of life: for Jennifer now resides at Shady Valley, a place where "Mondays meant nothing at Shady Valley. We lived in the “pause” world, between “play” and “stop.” Suspension was the toughest part for me. And loneliness. Sure, I had visitors, but it wasn’t the same as being always surrounded by people in motion."
And yet even there Jennifer's finding a way to live, and plans on throwing a party for herself to recapture a sense of 'life's motion', now missing from her life. This party will celebrate her life while she's still there to enjoy it - and is something, at least, that she can still control. It also gives her something to hold on to that's part of the living; not her uncertain future in the world: "It seemed perfectly reasonable, because while I knew I should be living in the moment, the future seemed a little hazy without a party to focus on."
Through a series of flashbacks readers receive insights on how Jennifer's led her life before and after the cancer diagnosis and the factors that keep her alive and hopeful, which largely center around her family: "I needed to be in the future. I needed to hold out a few more years. I’d call my doctor, see if anything new had come around. If I could last five years, that would be like fifty years to Hank and Hannah. Kid time moved so slowly."
Eventually what seems like a doomsday diagnosis and a life experiencing its last stages turns around. In due course readers are treated to a newly-reborn Jennifer who discovers different a focus beyond her formerly-perfect, pre-cancer world. And, ultimately, readers enjoy a saga that celebrates life over terminal illness: "For the first time in months—fifteen months to be exact, from the time of my diagnosis—I felt lucky. No matter what. The last two years had been lost in a sea of morning sickness, labor, delivery, surgery, radiation, chemo, and lately, experimental immunotherapies and gene therapy. I was alive and in love. Most important, I had been given a second chance."
The factors that keep us human - and hopeful - against all odds are slowly revealed in an emotionally charged story fueled by first-person experience.
Without spilling beans, suffice it to say the end is unpredictable, satisfying, and provides no pat answers. It's purposely a bit ambiguous so that readers can fill in their own definitions of 'what ultimately happens'. So if you're looking for an emotional read filled with life and purpose, struggles against poor odds, and revelations surrounding definitions of love and family, then In the Mirror is for you.
Kokopelli's
Thunder: Fall of the Anasazi
Sean M. Cordry
iUniverse LLC
ISBN: 978-1-4917-1981-7 (sc) $18.95
ISBN: 978-1-4917-1983-1 (hc) $28.95
ISBN: 978-1-4917-1982-4 (e)
http://www.amazon.com/Kokopellis-Thunder-Sean-M-Cordry/dp/1491719818/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395865176&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Kokopelli%27s+Thunder%3A+Fall+of+the+Anasazi
Kokopelli's Thunder: Fall of the Anasazi is set in 1938 in New Mexico's Chaco Canyon, where Zed Moonhawk is helping to train Civilian Conservation Corpsmen to excavate and restore the Anasazi ruins. At first glance this would seem to be a novel about archaeology and history; but look again: Zed is actually immortal and he and his pre-teen son are the last of the Anasazi. And Zed actually embodies the legendary Kokopelli, charged with battling Mayan witch Rooshth, who has virtually obliterated his people from the world.
This complex background is imparted deftly and clearly in the first three chapters, which move from past to present with ongoing supernatural encounters between evil forces and humans, Southwest Indian cultures, and events that foretell the return of an ancient threat.
Don't expect a linear read, however: action continues to fluctuate between past and present worlds, contributing to an evolving story line that links disparate eras and peoples, rituals and perceptions.
At first these switches may prove challenging to readers, but their overall purpose serves to create important connections between the spirit forces of olden times and present-day events. And this even proves a benefit in the case of character names which are close enough that they could (initially) be mixed up, as with the twelve-year-old Turq and the supernatural Tuhj, who exist in different times.
Attention is given to the evolution of demonic forces and their purpose as well as to the inhabitants of 1938, who uncover more adventure than they bargained for when an archaeological excavation turns into a bloodbath.
Readers should be prepared for a plethora of bodies and violent encounters that sweep through this epic tale of ageless, classic conflicts between good and evil. The ongoing focus between past and present (in alternating chapter viewpoints) offers an earthy evolution of obsessions and confrontations that follow a tenacious evil spirit's movements across time and space.
Readers should also be prepared for treachery, sorcery, and opportunities for transformation and change. All this is steeped in Native Southwest culture and perceptions of spiritual overlays on everyday life: "In that moment, he became shoshteweh kina shoshteh—that is, “between strangers.” The phrase described someone experiencing profound transformation. The old version of the person was now a stranger to them, yet the person they were becoming was also a stranger. It could be a terrifying experience, a tumultuous freefall between releasing the known of the past and embracing an unknown future. It was a grand gamble with one’s life."
The constant changes between twelfth and twentieth centuries moves from possible confusion to anticipated delight as each pass fills in blanks about the protagonists involved and the human and mystical worlds they inhabit.
Add pterodons and a paranormal investigator into the mix and you have a gripping, thoroughly unpredictable adventure story that will keep even the most seasoned action reader immersed to the end.
Sean M. Cordry
iUniverse LLC
ISBN: 978-1-4917-1981-7 (sc) $18.95
ISBN: 978-1-4917-1983-1 (hc) $28.95
ISBN: 978-1-4917-1982-4 (e)
http://www.amazon.com/Kokopellis-Thunder-Sean-M-Cordry/dp/1491719818/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395865176&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Kokopelli%27s+Thunder%3A+Fall+of+the+Anasazi
Kokopelli's Thunder: Fall of the Anasazi is set in 1938 in New Mexico's Chaco Canyon, where Zed Moonhawk is helping to train Civilian Conservation Corpsmen to excavate and restore the Anasazi ruins. At first glance this would seem to be a novel about archaeology and history; but look again: Zed is actually immortal and he and his pre-teen son are the last of the Anasazi. And Zed actually embodies the legendary Kokopelli, charged with battling Mayan witch Rooshth, who has virtually obliterated his people from the world.
This complex background is imparted deftly and clearly in the first three chapters, which move from past to present with ongoing supernatural encounters between evil forces and humans, Southwest Indian cultures, and events that foretell the return of an ancient threat.
Don't expect a linear read, however: action continues to fluctuate between past and present worlds, contributing to an evolving story line that links disparate eras and peoples, rituals and perceptions.
At first these switches may prove challenging to readers, but their overall purpose serves to create important connections between the spirit forces of olden times and present-day events. And this even proves a benefit in the case of character names which are close enough that they could (initially) be mixed up, as with the twelve-year-old Turq and the supernatural Tuhj, who exist in different times.
Attention is given to the evolution of demonic forces and their purpose as well as to the inhabitants of 1938, who uncover more adventure than they bargained for when an archaeological excavation turns into a bloodbath.
Readers should be prepared for a plethora of bodies and violent encounters that sweep through this epic tale of ageless, classic conflicts between good and evil. The ongoing focus between past and present (in alternating chapter viewpoints) offers an earthy evolution of obsessions and confrontations that follow a tenacious evil spirit's movements across time and space.
Readers should also be prepared for treachery, sorcery, and opportunities for transformation and change. All this is steeped in Native Southwest culture and perceptions of spiritual overlays on everyday life: "In that moment, he became shoshteweh kina shoshteh—that is, “between strangers.” The phrase described someone experiencing profound transformation. The old version of the person was now a stranger to them, yet the person they were becoming was also a stranger. It could be a terrifying experience, a tumultuous freefall between releasing the known of the past and embracing an unknown future. It was a grand gamble with one’s life."
The constant changes between twelfth and twentieth centuries moves from possible confusion to anticipated delight as each pass fills in blanks about the protagonists involved and the human and mystical worlds they inhabit.
Add pterodons and a paranormal investigator into the mix and you have a gripping, thoroughly unpredictable adventure story that will keep even the most seasoned action reader immersed to the end.
Mateguas
Island
Linda Watkins
Argon Press
978-0-9910554-4-9 (PB) 978-0-9910554-5-6 (EB)
Native American folklore blends with a tale of suspense and horror in the multifaceted Mateguas Island, the story of the Anderson family who is forced to relocate to rural Maine where they face a rising evil that could destroy not only their family, but the world.
Be forewarned: this is first in a projected trilogy of novels about the Andersons: being first, it properly sets the scene and builds protagonists - but also being first, it offers no neat or set conclusion but leaves the door ajar for another offering.
With this caveat in mind, embark on a journey of terror and challenge, cemented by the relationships and personalities of the Anderson family members. There's father Bill and his eight-year-old daughter Terri who know relatively little about their new island home and its legends. There's wife Karen and other daughter Sophie. And all of them are about to embark on the ride of their lives, taking readers along for the show.
Their move to the island has been anything but smooth: Bill's job loss has led to this transition and Karen resents him for it despite her efforts to be fair. Underneath it all she just knows Bill has contributed to their dilemma and to the choices that have brought them to this remote outpost, far from everything she knows. What he optimistically views as a fresh start is less certain to Karen, and as events unfold she comes to realize that this new beginning involves more than uncertainty and will introduce terror into their lives.
Readers are drawn in from the start by a variety of elements; from innuendos about the island's Native American myths to your typical story of relocation and adjustment and especially its effects on the two Anderson children, who find that their explorations uncover dangers they couldn't have seen coming.
The movement back and forth between the girls' perceptions and their parents is well done in alternating chapters that provide a changing focus, neatly tying together any loose ends of events and their impact and drawing readers into the motivations and perspectives of each character.
Now, most stories of terror involve elements outside of the family: Mateguas Island employs a device other authors (most notably Stephen King in his classic novel The Shining) have successfully used in placing danger both outside and within the family structure.
Without giving away the plot's surprise twists, let's just say that despite challenges to its structure the family discovers resources that enable it to bond and face the threats that come from without and from within. As each family member finds themselves involved in something inexplicable, they realize they are not alone but have a support system that will ultimately either save them or destroy them: "Suddenly frightened, Sophie put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Terri, I'm scared. What are you doing? Answer me." At her sister's touch, Terri shuddered and shook her head slightly, as if awakening from a deep sleep. "Soph," she said in a whisper. "How'd I get here?" "Don't know. You were reciting that prayer - the one to the dad of the dead."
What seems a beneficial inheritance will prove to be a deadly legacy if the Andersons can't overcome what's affecting their lives. Eventually it takes a letter from deceased Aunt Janie and a willingness to read it and accept its contents to confront the true legacy that is Mateguas Island.
Surprising twists and turns and a powerful old box filled with magic: these are the elements of a fine horror story that slowly builds its plot with believable protagonists and engrossing color.
Any who like horror stories and gothic fiction will find Mateguas Island an exceptional read.
Linda Watkins
Argon Press
978-0-9910554-4-9 (PB) 978-0-9910554-5-6 (EB)
Native American folklore blends with a tale of suspense and horror in the multifaceted Mateguas Island, the story of the Anderson family who is forced to relocate to rural Maine where they face a rising evil that could destroy not only their family, but the world.
Be forewarned: this is first in a projected trilogy of novels about the Andersons: being first, it properly sets the scene and builds protagonists - but also being first, it offers no neat or set conclusion but leaves the door ajar for another offering.
With this caveat in mind, embark on a journey of terror and challenge, cemented by the relationships and personalities of the Anderson family members. There's father Bill and his eight-year-old daughter Terri who know relatively little about their new island home and its legends. There's wife Karen and other daughter Sophie. And all of them are about to embark on the ride of their lives, taking readers along for the show.
Their move to the island has been anything but smooth: Bill's job loss has led to this transition and Karen resents him for it despite her efforts to be fair. Underneath it all she just knows Bill has contributed to their dilemma and to the choices that have brought them to this remote outpost, far from everything she knows. What he optimistically views as a fresh start is less certain to Karen, and as events unfold she comes to realize that this new beginning involves more than uncertainty and will introduce terror into their lives.
Readers are drawn in from the start by a variety of elements; from innuendos about the island's Native American myths to your typical story of relocation and adjustment and especially its effects on the two Anderson children, who find that their explorations uncover dangers they couldn't have seen coming.
The movement back and forth between the girls' perceptions and their parents is well done in alternating chapters that provide a changing focus, neatly tying together any loose ends of events and their impact and drawing readers into the motivations and perspectives of each character.
Now, most stories of terror involve elements outside of the family: Mateguas Island employs a device other authors (most notably Stephen King in his classic novel The Shining) have successfully used in placing danger both outside and within the family structure.
Without giving away the plot's surprise twists, let's just say that despite challenges to its structure the family discovers resources that enable it to bond and face the threats that come from without and from within. As each family member finds themselves involved in something inexplicable, they realize they are not alone but have a support system that will ultimately either save them or destroy them: "Suddenly frightened, Sophie put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Terri, I'm scared. What are you doing? Answer me." At her sister's touch, Terri shuddered and shook her head slightly, as if awakening from a deep sleep. "Soph," she said in a whisper. "How'd I get here?" "Don't know. You were reciting that prayer - the one to the dad of the dead."
What seems a beneficial inheritance will prove to be a deadly legacy if the Andersons can't overcome what's affecting their lives. Eventually it takes a letter from deceased Aunt Janie and a willingness to read it and accept its contents to confront the true legacy that is Mateguas Island.
Surprising twists and turns and a powerful old box filled with magic: these are the elements of a fine horror story that slowly builds its plot with believable protagonists and engrossing color.
Any who like horror stories and gothic fiction will find Mateguas Island an exceptional read.
The
Roving Tree
Elsie Augustave
Akashic Books
9781617750229 $15.95 www.akashicbooks.com
Blend history with social and cultural issues and weave it into the form of a novel centered around a cross-cultural adoption and you have a vivid assessment of adoptee and ethnic issues alike in The Roving Tree, which presents the perspective of a young black Haitian woman adopted by a white American family.
Use of the first person injects readers directly into the heart and mind of protagonist Iris, whose initial introduction to life is to a world of poverty and prejudice. Under such circumstances her mother gives up her child to an eager American family who promise her a better future; but even with such a plan, there are no guarantees in life.
And thus The Roving Tree is about a life whose course isn't set from birth, but winds through complex avenues of other cultures. One might anticipate this will take the form of a coming-of-age story but, in fact, it comes from the mouth of a dying woman: Iris's last wish is that the story of her life be related to her daughter, and The Roving Tree captures this life and its purpose in no uncertain terms.
Iris is, indeed, raised in a privileged family by a wealthy couple who already has one adopted daughter; but her need to understand her Haitian roots takes wing when a Haitian dance class reconnects her to her ancestry. And this eventually leads her to join the Black Students Union in college, where she meets a Haitian boy and in due course returns to Haiti itself, where she becomes involved with its culture and her family's closely-held secrets.
Iris' entire life becomes a journey of self-discovery, immersing readers in Haitian culture and providing vivid impressions of everything from Haiti's people and politics to Iris's personal world and experiences: "My soul was wrapped in darkness when I woke up in the middle of the night. I sat on the porch, staring at the leaves shimmering on the trees in the front yard. The whisper of a cool breeze, flirting with the leaves, broke the stillness of dawn. I felt Lamercie's presence next to me and wished I would communicate with Nlunda a Kinkulu's spirit, the way she could do. My restless spirit suddenly woke from despair and echoes of ancestral drums vibrated in my mind as a river of determination flowed in my veins."
Now, there are plenty of coming-of-age novels on the market, and plenty of novels about cross-cultural encounters and adoption. What sets The Roving Tree apart is a multi-faceted focus on all these elements and the cultural milieu of Haiti, a small country not often given its own focus and analysis.
Some chapters take place in America and some are centered in Haiti, with Iris serving as a focal point for insights about each culture, their similarities and differences, and the trials and journey of an adoptee who enters new realms when she investigates her roots more closely.
It's fair to say that many would not visit a country renowned for poverty and struggle; but Iris has been well prepared for her journey by her friendship with one of the few Haitian students at her college, and she's determined to uncover answers about her past. What she finds will not only change her world; it will recreate her own identity and sense of purpose.
The Roving Tree doesn't stop at social issues, either, but delves into the politics and spirituality of Haiti and her peoples and its evolving impact on all their lives: "Africa has her own traditions," Bolingo's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Why should we allow the West to dictate our way of life? Polygamy is a long-standing tradition and wasn't considered a problem until the missionaries arrived. I have opted to live the life of my ancestors because I am the product of my culture. Since women outnumber men, it is unfair that only some should have the privilege of having a family of her own."
The conclusion holds a revelation, an ending, and new beginnings; all of which will delight readers who enjoy elements of surprise and change throughout the story.
It's this attention to a blend of social issues, politics and transformation that enrich The Roving Tree and give it the kind of dimension and depth missing from singular stories of either adoptees or immigrants from other cultures.
Elsie Augustave
Akashic Books
9781617750229 $15.95 www.akashicbooks.com
Blend history with social and cultural issues and weave it into the form of a novel centered around a cross-cultural adoption and you have a vivid assessment of adoptee and ethnic issues alike in The Roving Tree, which presents the perspective of a young black Haitian woman adopted by a white American family.
Use of the first person injects readers directly into the heart and mind of protagonist Iris, whose initial introduction to life is to a world of poverty and prejudice. Under such circumstances her mother gives up her child to an eager American family who promise her a better future; but even with such a plan, there are no guarantees in life.
And thus The Roving Tree is about a life whose course isn't set from birth, but winds through complex avenues of other cultures. One might anticipate this will take the form of a coming-of-age story but, in fact, it comes from the mouth of a dying woman: Iris's last wish is that the story of her life be related to her daughter, and The Roving Tree captures this life and its purpose in no uncertain terms.
Iris is, indeed, raised in a privileged family by a wealthy couple who already has one adopted daughter; but her need to understand her Haitian roots takes wing when a Haitian dance class reconnects her to her ancestry. And this eventually leads her to join the Black Students Union in college, where she meets a Haitian boy and in due course returns to Haiti itself, where she becomes involved with its culture and her family's closely-held secrets.
Iris' entire life becomes a journey of self-discovery, immersing readers in Haitian culture and providing vivid impressions of everything from Haiti's people and politics to Iris's personal world and experiences: "My soul was wrapped in darkness when I woke up in the middle of the night. I sat on the porch, staring at the leaves shimmering on the trees in the front yard. The whisper of a cool breeze, flirting with the leaves, broke the stillness of dawn. I felt Lamercie's presence next to me and wished I would communicate with Nlunda a Kinkulu's spirit, the way she could do. My restless spirit suddenly woke from despair and echoes of ancestral drums vibrated in my mind as a river of determination flowed in my veins."
Now, there are plenty of coming-of-age novels on the market, and plenty of novels about cross-cultural encounters and adoption. What sets The Roving Tree apart is a multi-faceted focus on all these elements and the cultural milieu of Haiti, a small country not often given its own focus and analysis.
Some chapters take place in America and some are centered in Haiti, with Iris serving as a focal point for insights about each culture, their similarities and differences, and the trials and journey of an adoptee who enters new realms when she investigates her roots more closely.
It's fair to say that many would not visit a country renowned for poverty and struggle; but Iris has been well prepared for her journey by her friendship with one of the few Haitian students at her college, and she's determined to uncover answers about her past. What she finds will not only change her world; it will recreate her own identity and sense of purpose.
The Roving Tree doesn't stop at social issues, either, but delves into the politics and spirituality of Haiti and her peoples and its evolving impact on all their lives: "Africa has her own traditions," Bolingo's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Why should we allow the West to dictate our way of life? Polygamy is a long-standing tradition and wasn't considered a problem until the missionaries arrived. I have opted to live the life of my ancestors because I am the product of my culture. Since women outnumber men, it is unfair that only some should have the privilege of having a family of her own."
The conclusion holds a revelation, an ending, and new beginnings; all of which will delight readers who enjoy elements of surprise and change throughout the story.
It's this attention to a blend of social issues, politics and transformation that enrich The Roving Tree and give it the kind of dimension and depth missing from singular stories of either adoptees or immigrants from other cultures.
The
Unorthodox Ox
Thomas Morison
Editions Zorzal
ASIN: B00HYYJLU0 $4.99
http://www.amazon.com/The-Unorthodox-Ox-Thomas-Morison-ebook/dp/B00HYYJLU0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394985154&sr=8-1&keywords=thomas+morison
It's rare to find a novel where the protagonist's name is never revealed and which centers around his personal and professional lives; both headed towards a collision of ideals and the mass destruction of everything familiar. With the hero facing catastrophe at home and at work (where all his environmental research points to an impending disaster) there seem to be few moves he can take towards positive change - and yet, The Unorthodox Ox is all about these moves, providing readers with a series of familiar scenarios that involve soul-searching rituals, and uncertain interactions.
How does one get to the point of no return, where all choices seem to lead to dead ends? The Unorthodox Ox follows the protagonist's evolution (or lack of it), questioning the meaning of life and its routines: "He was listening to him and was thinking maybe that it was going to be no different for himself one day. He would be a solitary figure, disconsolate, without faith, powerless, questionably loved, and what he would have to say for himself would be nothing more than what it was in actual fact."
Now, the protagonist isn't necessarily a 'hero', especially in the beginning. He's just a man trudging through life and facing its inevitable obstacles with a wry combination of observation and dread: "…maybe it’s better to do nothing than to find out afterwards that there was nothing we could have done. I believe that? And you know, today, I read the Endangered Species Report, and so you and others ought to be aware of the fact that it’s getting indisputable how the natural world is becoming unnatural, and so I wasn’t surprised how I figured out what was what, and when doing so, I realized as I was checking over old extinctions, that I’ll never have the opportunity to see a number of long gone dead ducks, neither will you, for that matter. Then I’d have liked to have seen a Labrador duck or a Great Auk. And it will be worse when we see the ones gone that we have seen in our lifetime. That will be one day to forget or never forget."
While ennui leads him to continually choose watching over action, eventually he comes to acknowledge choices that will make a difference and which could ultimately result in a better marriage partner and a better world.
How he comes to this realization (and how he finally takes action) is the subject of a slow, quiet 'come to Jesus' kind of novel. That's not to say The Unorthodox Ox is spiritual per say; just that the kinds of life-changing revelations the protagonist evolves to understand are those that ultimately involve us all in choices surrounding rebirth, change and death.
One consistent theme here is death and its impact: "He listened to requiems throughout the night and on other nights and for the rest of what was a lifetime he opened his ears to requiems, that were not a part of the repertoire of the woman he loved and was to go on worshipping, and they were not joyful requiems. No. They were the large important and dramatic requiems of loss and endless sorrow, full of somber cellos and double basses and bellowing ox-like wind instruments, and choruses of voices calling out for a shred of forgiveness."
A novel's usual elements of action and surprise are relatively lacking here. Think 'Saul Bellow' and a story line very much centered around the protagonist's self-inspection and slow evolution, and think 'old memories, old habits, and new beginnings' as you follow The Unorthodox Ox's saga of a fumbling man's interactions with a woman who is difficult and bitter in her own way.
Readers who enjoy Bellow's approach will find much to like in the slowly-evolving nature of the characters of The Unorthodox Ox. Those seeking vivid action and high drama should look elsewhere; for like a slow simmer, The Unorthodox Ox is more interested in the fruits of hours of slow cooking than the immediacy of fire and passion.
Thomas Morison
Editions Zorzal
ASIN: B00HYYJLU0 $4.99
http://www.amazon.com/The-Unorthodox-Ox-Thomas-Morison-ebook/dp/B00HYYJLU0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394985154&sr=8-1&keywords=thomas+morison
It's rare to find a novel where the protagonist's name is never revealed and which centers around his personal and professional lives; both headed towards a collision of ideals and the mass destruction of everything familiar. With the hero facing catastrophe at home and at work (where all his environmental research points to an impending disaster) there seem to be few moves he can take towards positive change - and yet, The Unorthodox Ox is all about these moves, providing readers with a series of familiar scenarios that involve soul-searching rituals, and uncertain interactions.
How does one get to the point of no return, where all choices seem to lead to dead ends? The Unorthodox Ox follows the protagonist's evolution (or lack of it), questioning the meaning of life and its routines: "He was listening to him and was thinking maybe that it was going to be no different for himself one day. He would be a solitary figure, disconsolate, without faith, powerless, questionably loved, and what he would have to say for himself would be nothing more than what it was in actual fact."
Now, the protagonist isn't necessarily a 'hero', especially in the beginning. He's just a man trudging through life and facing its inevitable obstacles with a wry combination of observation and dread: "…maybe it’s better to do nothing than to find out afterwards that there was nothing we could have done. I believe that? And you know, today, I read the Endangered Species Report, and so you and others ought to be aware of the fact that it’s getting indisputable how the natural world is becoming unnatural, and so I wasn’t surprised how I figured out what was what, and when doing so, I realized as I was checking over old extinctions, that I’ll never have the opportunity to see a number of long gone dead ducks, neither will you, for that matter. Then I’d have liked to have seen a Labrador duck or a Great Auk. And it will be worse when we see the ones gone that we have seen in our lifetime. That will be one day to forget or never forget."
While ennui leads him to continually choose watching over action, eventually he comes to acknowledge choices that will make a difference and which could ultimately result in a better marriage partner and a better world.
How he comes to this realization (and how he finally takes action) is the subject of a slow, quiet 'come to Jesus' kind of novel. That's not to say The Unorthodox Ox is spiritual per say; just that the kinds of life-changing revelations the protagonist evolves to understand are those that ultimately involve us all in choices surrounding rebirth, change and death.
One consistent theme here is death and its impact: "He listened to requiems throughout the night and on other nights and for the rest of what was a lifetime he opened his ears to requiems, that were not a part of the repertoire of the woman he loved and was to go on worshipping, and they were not joyful requiems. No. They were the large important and dramatic requiems of loss and endless sorrow, full of somber cellos and double basses and bellowing ox-like wind instruments, and choruses of voices calling out for a shred of forgiveness."
A novel's usual elements of action and surprise are relatively lacking here. Think 'Saul Bellow' and a story line very much centered around the protagonist's self-inspection and slow evolution, and think 'old memories, old habits, and new beginnings' as you follow The Unorthodox Ox's saga of a fumbling man's interactions with a woman who is difficult and bitter in her own way.
Readers who enjoy Bellow's approach will find much to like in the slowly-evolving nature of the characters of The Unorthodox Ox. Those seeking vivid action and high drama should look elsewhere; for like a slow simmer, The Unorthodox Ox is more interested in the fruits of hours of slow cooking than the immediacy of fire and passion.
Yellow
Light of Dusk
Roger D. Plothow
Amazon Digital Services
978-0-9856338-2-0 $4.99
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JPTYH0Q
Yellow Light of Dusk is Book II of a trilogy: as such, it's recommended that prospective readers partake of Book I to get a thorough sense of setting and characters, which will enable a smooth transition to Yellow Light of Dusk. Yes, some trilogies can be begun mid-series and yes, readers could pick up Yellow Light without having prior access to Blue Light Of Dawn: Murder And Dirty Laundry In A Small Town - but that would be a shame.
One would be missing the background mystery and romance surrounding protagonist Dan Pittman's life, making the opening chapter of Yellow Light less powerful than for those with such familiarity, who will instantly recognize the dilemma involved when Dan receives a mysterious package from a former lover: "Why would she write to me now? I had moved on. My reaction to the letter, however, made me realize that I had been kidding myself. My heart rate was up, my palms were sweating. These were not the reactions of a man who had moved on."
Well, admittedly it was Dan who first betrayed Nicole, after falling in love with her. Then she betrayed him back, unceremoniously dumping him with only a short note. Under such circumstances, it's no wonder he hasn't entirely recovered from the relationship.
What is a wonder is that she's not gone forever; she's back in his life against his will … and about to bring with her issues he thought long buried.
And so, steeped in the enticing aroma of Cuban cigars, the adventure continues as Dan, Nicole, and a host of characters begin their complicated dance of special interests.
Atmosphere is intrinsic to the drama here, providing readers with a heady mix of emotional flavor and environmental observation: "I selected a Cohiba corona, small enough that it wouldn’t take all night to smoke. Henry closed the box and held out his hand. I placed the cigar in it and he clipped the end. I lit it as I had the first. It was milder than the first, generating gorgeous white smoke. We sat in contemplative silence, except that the frogs seemed to have increased their volume. Dusk turned to evening and a low mist grew along the ground in the distance."
This ambiance permeates a mystery that is enticing, well woven, complex, and rich in interpersonal relationships depth. At every step of the way Dan (and the reader) is challenged. Forgiveness between the protagonists for past wrongs is quickly achieved: which is a good thing given that they soon will embark on an adventure that will leave no room for animosity and unresolved angst.
Deaths by asphyxiation that at first seem unrelated are quickly identified by Dan as having possible connections, chance encounters no longer seem a matter entirely born of circumstance, and even evolving romance becomes one more element of mystery in a dangerous web of intrigue.
Even the police come to agree that it all boils down to Dan taking some dangerous risks in the cause of a greater good: dangers clearly outlined by a skeptical Brewer, who emphasizes the choices: “Can you do this? Because it’s damn scary. And it’s dangerous. You could be killed. You could be hurt. This sort of thing has been known to go all wrong. People die. If you aren’t absolutely serious about doing this, and if you haven’t seriously considered all the potential consequences, just walk away now and I’ll completely understand, no hard feelings, no need to explain.”
So what's the name of this game, how do Dan and Nicole's evolving relationship fit into this bigger picture, and how can Dan determine once and for all Nicole's true nature and meaning to his life?
That's for you, the reader, to find out; preferably starting with Blue Light Of Dawn and moving to the unfolding saga's new twists in Yellow Light of Dusk.
Roger D. Plothow
Amazon Digital Services
978-0-9856338-2-0 $4.99
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JPTYH0Q
Yellow Light of Dusk is Book II of a trilogy: as such, it's recommended that prospective readers partake of Book I to get a thorough sense of setting and characters, which will enable a smooth transition to Yellow Light of Dusk. Yes, some trilogies can be begun mid-series and yes, readers could pick up Yellow Light without having prior access to Blue Light Of Dawn: Murder And Dirty Laundry In A Small Town - but that would be a shame.
One would be missing the background mystery and romance surrounding protagonist Dan Pittman's life, making the opening chapter of Yellow Light less powerful than for those with such familiarity, who will instantly recognize the dilemma involved when Dan receives a mysterious package from a former lover: "Why would she write to me now? I had moved on. My reaction to the letter, however, made me realize that I had been kidding myself. My heart rate was up, my palms were sweating. These were not the reactions of a man who had moved on."
Well, admittedly it was Dan who first betrayed Nicole, after falling in love with her. Then she betrayed him back, unceremoniously dumping him with only a short note. Under such circumstances, it's no wonder he hasn't entirely recovered from the relationship.
What is a wonder is that she's not gone forever; she's back in his life against his will … and about to bring with her issues he thought long buried.
And so, steeped in the enticing aroma of Cuban cigars, the adventure continues as Dan, Nicole, and a host of characters begin their complicated dance of special interests.
Atmosphere is intrinsic to the drama here, providing readers with a heady mix of emotional flavor and environmental observation: "I selected a Cohiba corona, small enough that it wouldn’t take all night to smoke. Henry closed the box and held out his hand. I placed the cigar in it and he clipped the end. I lit it as I had the first. It was milder than the first, generating gorgeous white smoke. We sat in contemplative silence, except that the frogs seemed to have increased their volume. Dusk turned to evening and a low mist grew along the ground in the distance."
This ambiance permeates a mystery that is enticing, well woven, complex, and rich in interpersonal relationships depth. At every step of the way Dan (and the reader) is challenged. Forgiveness between the protagonists for past wrongs is quickly achieved: which is a good thing given that they soon will embark on an adventure that will leave no room for animosity and unresolved angst.
Deaths by asphyxiation that at first seem unrelated are quickly identified by Dan as having possible connections, chance encounters no longer seem a matter entirely born of circumstance, and even evolving romance becomes one more element of mystery in a dangerous web of intrigue.
Even the police come to agree that it all boils down to Dan taking some dangerous risks in the cause of a greater good: dangers clearly outlined by a skeptical Brewer, who emphasizes the choices: “Can you do this? Because it’s damn scary. And it’s dangerous. You could be killed. You could be hurt. This sort of thing has been known to go all wrong. People die. If you aren’t absolutely serious about doing this, and if you haven’t seriously considered all the potential consequences, just walk away now and I’ll completely understand, no hard feelings, no need to explain.”
So what's the name of this game, how do Dan and Nicole's evolving relationship fit into this bigger picture, and how can Dan determine once and for all Nicole's true nature and meaning to his life?
That's for you, the reader, to find out; preferably starting with Blue Light Of Dawn and moving to the unfolding saga's new twists in Yellow Light of Dusk.
Young Adult
and Children
Moonfall
Vanessa Morton
WeBook
ISBN 978-1-909958-08-1 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-909958-16-6 (hardback)
www.webook.com
It's rare to receive a novel that blends romance, history, and adventure with an added dose of fantasy; and even rarer to find all this reinforced and introduced from the start with a good-quality black and white line political map (of 'The Levant circa 1400 B.C.') But with one simple introductory illustration, Vanessa Morton sets the stage for her story, recommended for adult and young adult readers alike.
With this map (and listings defining characters and places in Moonfall) the reader is off and reading a lively story about teenage identical twins who face the wrath of a king when a sip of forbidden Moon Temple wine results in disaster (a story actually rooted in the reality of archaeological findings, historical documents from ancient libraries, and the Holy Bible.)
Rachav is sentenced to the Moon Temple for life for her transgression, but her twin Zaron takes her punishment; only to discover the Queen of the Night's evil threatens everything.
There's a journey, there's danger, there's sibling interactions from rivalry to love, and there're political and spiritual threads throughout to keep readers riveted on characters and confrontations.
It's a pleasure to see quasi-history reinforced with a believable scenario (naughty teens stealing something forbidden, caught, and paying for their transgression); and it's also satisfying to see Moonfall evolves into a much wider story than that of simple teen rebellion.
One of the pleasures of Moonfall is that you don't have to take it as 'Biblical fiction' per se. Neither will the reader who follows historical fiction, fantasy or romance feel out of their element there: there's trappings of all these genres woven into a character-based saga that will keep all kinds of readers engrossed … and that's one of its strengths.
Now, something as multifaceted as Moonfall may enjoy audiences from a much wider readership than your usual book can offer.
Young adults, for example, will readily identify with the twins and their increasing involvement in 'adult' worlds of politics and intrigue, while romance readers will appreciate just a touch of love (albeit, it's not the steamy sort of wild passion adult romance reads often overdo, but the tender affection of a blossoming young adult).
Those immersed in Biblical fiction will find enough solid basing in the Bible to understand where the plot is going (with a few extra twists); while readers looking for fantasy will find enough of this in the plot to prove intriguing. And of course, there's plenty of tension revolving around a dangerous journey, close encounters with evil, and an evolving story that seems to point to only one twin surviving in the end.
It should also be noted that Morton focuses on a 'you are there' approach to describing the twins' journeys and experiences: thus readers will also find themselves immersed in the sights, sounds, and experiences that make up Moonfall's world: "Rachav awakened to the piercing whistle of a bee-eater. When she sat up, something tugged her back to the ground. She lunged away and her scalp ripped. Suddenly released, she whirled around. Nothing. No movements save several straggles of her hair, gaily waving from the hawthorn bush. Heart rate slowing to a reasonable pace, she inhaled the riverbank’s earthy, damp smell. As a child, she loved making mud pies, even venturing to find out if they tasted as good as they looked. Once was enough to cure her, but she forever associated muddy earth with the taste of wilted greens and bitter roots."
These interludes enhance the story with full descriptions of place and time and add to a vivid chronicle of adventure and challenge that will attract any age reader, from teens to adults.
Vanessa Morton
WeBook
ISBN 978-1-909958-08-1 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-909958-16-6 (hardback)
www.webook.com
It's rare to receive a novel that blends romance, history, and adventure with an added dose of fantasy; and even rarer to find all this reinforced and introduced from the start with a good-quality black and white line political map (of 'The Levant circa 1400 B.C.') But with one simple introductory illustration, Vanessa Morton sets the stage for her story, recommended for adult and young adult readers alike.
With this map (and listings defining characters and places in Moonfall) the reader is off and reading a lively story about teenage identical twins who face the wrath of a king when a sip of forbidden Moon Temple wine results in disaster (a story actually rooted in the reality of archaeological findings, historical documents from ancient libraries, and the Holy Bible.)
Rachav is sentenced to the Moon Temple for life for her transgression, but her twin Zaron takes her punishment; only to discover the Queen of the Night's evil threatens everything.
There's a journey, there's danger, there's sibling interactions from rivalry to love, and there're political and spiritual threads throughout to keep readers riveted on characters and confrontations.
It's a pleasure to see quasi-history reinforced with a believable scenario (naughty teens stealing something forbidden, caught, and paying for their transgression); and it's also satisfying to see Moonfall evolves into a much wider story than that of simple teen rebellion.
One of the pleasures of Moonfall is that you don't have to take it as 'Biblical fiction' per se. Neither will the reader who follows historical fiction, fantasy or romance feel out of their element there: there's trappings of all these genres woven into a character-based saga that will keep all kinds of readers engrossed … and that's one of its strengths.
Now, something as multifaceted as Moonfall may enjoy audiences from a much wider readership than your usual book can offer.
Young adults, for example, will readily identify with the twins and their increasing involvement in 'adult' worlds of politics and intrigue, while romance readers will appreciate just a touch of love (albeit, it's not the steamy sort of wild passion adult romance reads often overdo, but the tender affection of a blossoming young adult).
Those immersed in Biblical fiction will find enough solid basing in the Bible to understand where the plot is going (with a few extra twists); while readers looking for fantasy will find enough of this in the plot to prove intriguing. And of course, there's plenty of tension revolving around a dangerous journey, close encounters with evil, and an evolving story that seems to point to only one twin surviving in the end.
It should also be noted that Morton focuses on a 'you are there' approach to describing the twins' journeys and experiences: thus readers will also find themselves immersed in the sights, sounds, and experiences that make up Moonfall's world: "Rachav awakened to the piercing whistle of a bee-eater. When she sat up, something tugged her back to the ground. She lunged away and her scalp ripped. Suddenly released, she whirled around. Nothing. No movements save several straggles of her hair, gaily waving from the hawthorn bush. Heart rate slowing to a reasonable pace, she inhaled the riverbank’s earthy, damp smell. As a child, she loved making mud pies, even venturing to find out if they tasted as good as they looked. Once was enough to cure her, but she forever associated muddy earth with the taste of wilted greens and bitter roots."
These interludes enhance the story with full descriptions of place and time and add to a vivid chronicle of adventure and challenge that will attract any age reader, from teens to adults.
The
Note Hunter: The Case of the Haunted Swamp
Cliff MacGillivray & Kelly Ward
Beet Fizz LLC/Amazon Digital Services
978-0-9891213-0-9 (Black & White), 978-0-9891213-1-6 (Color) $4.99
www.notehunter.com
While The Note Hunter: The Case of the Haunted Swamp may seem a single adventure, it comes with a history and the promise of becoming a series, and revolves around a three-inch tall mouse who goes by the name of T.W. Strouse
The adventure begins over two hundred years ago, when Wolfgang Mozart composed his Perfect Symphony, using gold ink to create every note. So extraordinary were these golden notes that they jumped off the pages of the manuscript and ran away, seeking adventure across the globe.
Because Strouse is a Private Ear who keeps fastidious notes on everything involving music and mystery, he’s the perfect one to investigate the spooky noises coming from a swamp near his grizzly bear client, Lionel Hollingsworth’s family homestead.
Strouse suspects it's a case of some of Mozart's renegade Golden Notes finding a new home; but it turns out to be much more in this whimsical, inviting adventure, enhanced by Phil Mendez's color illustrations throughout (Hunter Wolf digitally painted them, bringing them to life in this adventure).
Kids in grades 4-6 will be the mostly likely readers here (although let's not omit higher grades and even some adults, who will find the inclusion of classical music clues a quirky, fun addition to an animal-based detective story). Despite its ability to reach into lower grades with animal protagonists and fun mysteries, The Note Hunter: The Case of the Haunted Swamp provides enough classical music references that it injects a note of complexity into matters - and thus will be enjoyed by older readers looking for light, engaging, quick leisure mysteries.
These audiences will find there's plenty to love about The Note Hunter. Characters are well drawn and fun, the setting of the Louisiana swamp is vivid, and interactions are clear and involving, often permeated with a sense of humor and irony that even younger readers will understand: "Strouse felt a light breeze on his ears. It carried with it the strange distant music that echoed over the meandering waterway. His ears told him exactly where the music was coming from. But as mouse and ‘gator made their way through the sleepy swamp, Strouse could tell that Shukula was swimming in a completely different direction. Now, it’s never wise to make an alligator angry, even one without any teeth. So, as politely as he could Strouse asked her why she was going the way she was going."
Now, this is NOT a picturebook; nor even a simple chapter book (though each chapter is about three or four pages in length and all are accompanied by large color drawings by Phil Mendez, digitally rendered by Hunter Wolf, that are notable for their imaginative cartoon style.) It simply provides more complexity than your usual chapter book format.
Also: one might anticipate a story featuring a swamp encounter to be anything other than a puzzle revolving around an entire lost classical symphony.
But, note by note, T.W. Strouse is on a mission to recover the complete lost symphony work - and so The Case of the Haunted Swamp is first in a series of symphonic investigations that will lure young readers with mystery and delight them with many departures from typical, one-dimensional approaches to problem-solving.
Will Strouse succeed in what is evolving to be one of his most complicated cases? Kids will be guessing to the end and will find this a fine predecessor to others that might evolve, featuring the mouse p.i. in a unique, music-based detective series.
Cliff MacGillivray & Kelly Ward
Beet Fizz LLC/Amazon Digital Services
978-0-9891213-0-9 (Black & White), 978-0-9891213-1-6 (Color) $4.99
www.notehunter.com
While The Note Hunter: The Case of the Haunted Swamp may seem a single adventure, it comes with a history and the promise of becoming a series, and revolves around a three-inch tall mouse who goes by the name of T.W. Strouse
The adventure begins over two hundred years ago, when Wolfgang Mozart composed his Perfect Symphony, using gold ink to create every note. So extraordinary were these golden notes that they jumped off the pages of the manuscript and ran away, seeking adventure across the globe.
Because Strouse is a Private Ear who keeps fastidious notes on everything involving music and mystery, he’s the perfect one to investigate the spooky noises coming from a swamp near his grizzly bear client, Lionel Hollingsworth’s family homestead.
Strouse suspects it's a case of some of Mozart's renegade Golden Notes finding a new home; but it turns out to be much more in this whimsical, inviting adventure, enhanced by Phil Mendez's color illustrations throughout (Hunter Wolf digitally painted them, bringing them to life in this adventure).
Kids in grades 4-6 will be the mostly likely readers here (although let's not omit higher grades and even some adults, who will find the inclusion of classical music clues a quirky, fun addition to an animal-based detective story). Despite its ability to reach into lower grades with animal protagonists and fun mysteries, The Note Hunter: The Case of the Haunted Swamp provides enough classical music references that it injects a note of complexity into matters - and thus will be enjoyed by older readers looking for light, engaging, quick leisure mysteries.
These audiences will find there's plenty to love about The Note Hunter. Characters are well drawn and fun, the setting of the Louisiana swamp is vivid, and interactions are clear and involving, often permeated with a sense of humor and irony that even younger readers will understand: "Strouse felt a light breeze on his ears. It carried with it the strange distant music that echoed over the meandering waterway. His ears told him exactly where the music was coming from. But as mouse and ‘gator made their way through the sleepy swamp, Strouse could tell that Shukula was swimming in a completely different direction. Now, it’s never wise to make an alligator angry, even one without any teeth. So, as politely as he could Strouse asked her why she was going the way she was going."
Now, this is NOT a picturebook; nor even a simple chapter book (though each chapter is about three or four pages in length and all are accompanied by large color drawings by Phil Mendez, digitally rendered by Hunter Wolf, that are notable for their imaginative cartoon style.) It simply provides more complexity than your usual chapter book format.
Also: one might anticipate a story featuring a swamp encounter to be anything other than a puzzle revolving around an entire lost classical symphony.
But, note by note, T.W. Strouse is on a mission to recover the complete lost symphony work - and so The Case of the Haunted Swamp is first in a series of symphonic investigations that will lure young readers with mystery and delight them with many departures from typical, one-dimensional approaches to problem-solving.
Will Strouse succeed in what is evolving to be one of his most complicated cases? Kids will be guessing to the end and will find this a fine predecessor to others that might evolve, featuring the mouse p.i. in a unique, music-based detective series.
Oliver
Jones: The Code of the Guardians
Jedil Perry
Lidej Publishing
9780979851711 $17.95
http://www.amazon.com/Oliver-Jones-Guardians-Jedil-Perry/dp/0979851718/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396652069&sr=8-1&keywords=9780979851711
Oliver Jones: The Code of the Guardians is the first in a projected trilogy, will appeal to adult and advanced young adult audiences alike, and centers around Oliver, who uncovers a journal with a message that was transcribed to him some fourteen billion years ago. He can't read the message initially, but his efforts to decode the book introduce him to the presence of invisible beings that coexist in his world: beings only he can see.
When an evil gang (Canakers) tries to kill Oliver's twin brother, events spiral out of control as he and three teens try an experiment with witchcraft that goes horribly awry, trapping Oliver in a parallel world away from his friends.
Readers shouldn't expect a simple story: that's evident from the start. As Oliver finds an increasingly complex series of worlds that challenge his perceptions, so he discovers new connections and parallel friendships that will help him in his quest to return to his world, save his brother, and protect the secrets of the journal. Oh, and don't forget the new powers Oliver must master … plus a missing mother. Not to mention thousands of children held captive in an old mansion.
That's a tall order for anyone to handle and Oliver needs all the help he can get. The evolving identities and purposes of parallel friends in parallel worlds enhances and extends Oliver's ability to keep all these balls juggling in the air as he faces numerous dangers and challenges from unexpected (and unfamiliar) areas.
It's no surprise that this amount of complexity results in an adventure read that packs in nearly 500 pages. What is a surprise is the book's lively tone and readability: with so many characters, such a complex plot, and so many subplots, you'd think any reading would quickly become bogged down in confusing details.
Not so: from its very first paragraph The Code of the Guardians demonstrates a rare ability to draw readers in with snippets of information and intrigue: "There is nothing unusual about the old Victorian house at 435 Redwood Drive, where Oliver Jones and his family live. However, fifteen years ago, something strange happened there, something the citizens of Lafayette to this day have not been able to piece together. A story that began thousands of years ago."
As Oliver's story evolves from an ability to see weird things to an epic quest to save his family and world, he finds himself dodging monsters and using magic to win battles. And as readers are drawn into worlds on a collision course, they come to find Oliver an exceptional hero of the very best kind: unpretentious, courageous, and willing to fight for what he loves.
All the elements of a superb fantasy are here (even a wardrobe that brings C.S. Lewis' classic Lion, Witch and Wardrobe to mind - but with many differences.)
Readers of all ages who enjoy epic adventure, fantasy, other worlds, and many puzzles will find Oliver Jones: The Code of the Guardians an epic, involving read.
And be forewarned: there's no tidy conclusion to Oliver's story: the door is left wide open for more adventure. And if Jedil Perry's second book holds the same elements as this, it's refreshing to note that the adventure doesn't end here!
Jedil Perry
Lidej Publishing
9780979851711 $17.95
http://www.amazon.com/Oliver-Jones-Guardians-Jedil-Perry/dp/0979851718/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396652069&sr=8-1&keywords=9780979851711
Oliver Jones: The Code of the Guardians is the first in a projected trilogy, will appeal to adult and advanced young adult audiences alike, and centers around Oliver, who uncovers a journal with a message that was transcribed to him some fourteen billion years ago. He can't read the message initially, but his efforts to decode the book introduce him to the presence of invisible beings that coexist in his world: beings only he can see.
When an evil gang (Canakers) tries to kill Oliver's twin brother, events spiral out of control as he and three teens try an experiment with witchcraft that goes horribly awry, trapping Oliver in a parallel world away from his friends.
Readers shouldn't expect a simple story: that's evident from the start. As Oliver finds an increasingly complex series of worlds that challenge his perceptions, so he discovers new connections and parallel friendships that will help him in his quest to return to his world, save his brother, and protect the secrets of the journal. Oh, and don't forget the new powers Oliver must master … plus a missing mother. Not to mention thousands of children held captive in an old mansion.
That's a tall order for anyone to handle and Oliver needs all the help he can get. The evolving identities and purposes of parallel friends in parallel worlds enhances and extends Oliver's ability to keep all these balls juggling in the air as he faces numerous dangers and challenges from unexpected (and unfamiliar) areas.
It's no surprise that this amount of complexity results in an adventure read that packs in nearly 500 pages. What is a surprise is the book's lively tone and readability: with so many characters, such a complex plot, and so many subplots, you'd think any reading would quickly become bogged down in confusing details.
Not so: from its very first paragraph The Code of the Guardians demonstrates a rare ability to draw readers in with snippets of information and intrigue: "There is nothing unusual about the old Victorian house at 435 Redwood Drive, where Oliver Jones and his family live. However, fifteen years ago, something strange happened there, something the citizens of Lafayette to this day have not been able to piece together. A story that began thousands of years ago."
As Oliver's story evolves from an ability to see weird things to an epic quest to save his family and world, he finds himself dodging monsters and using magic to win battles. And as readers are drawn into worlds on a collision course, they come to find Oliver an exceptional hero of the very best kind: unpretentious, courageous, and willing to fight for what he loves.
All the elements of a superb fantasy are here (even a wardrobe that brings C.S. Lewis' classic Lion, Witch and Wardrobe to mind - but with many differences.)
Readers of all ages who enjoy epic adventure, fantasy, other worlds, and many puzzles will find Oliver Jones: The Code of the Guardians an epic, involving read.
And be forewarned: there's no tidy conclusion to Oliver's story: the door is left wide open for more adventure. And if Jedil Perry's second book holds the same elements as this, it's refreshing to note that the adventure doesn't end here!
Orion
Poe and the Lost Explorer
Will Summerhouse
Shake-A-Leg Press
Publisher website link: https://www.facebook.com/ShakeALegPress
9780986061400 $8.99
www.amazon.com
Orion Poe and the Lost Explorer is a gripping adventure fantasy tale for young readers ages 9 and older, and opens with a line no young reader could resist: "If you read what Mr. Lumpkin wrote in the newspaper about my adventure at the top of the world, you only got half the story. I don’t know why but he left out some of the best parts, like how I got chased all over the place, and shot at, and knocked out, and almost eaten."
In order to set the record straight protagonist Orion decides to tell his own version of what happened on his search for a lost explorer; a story that begins innocuously enough with his sedate life with a quiet grandfather in Maine. The last thing Orion ever dreamed of was embarking on a voyage; but adventure has a way of knocking on one's door, and when Orion stumbles upon a shipwrecked, unconscious man on the beach and drags him home, his action sparks a series of events that leads to a fantastic journey.
Young readers will find the chapter headings support this adventure feel, from "The Terror! The Terror!" to "I Get My Sailing Orders" and "What I Heard in the Study". The reader is swept away with an epic series of events that offer many twists and turns and little predictability: elements that will satisfy even those well used to adventure stories.
H. Rider Haggard employed many of these strategies in his writings for adults: the same kind of approach here lends a 'young Indiana Jones' feel to the tale as Orion is continually tested and displays an ability to be flexible and strong given the amazing circumstances which challenge him at every turn.
One device Will Summerhouse employs to involve readers is use of the first person: through this approach, Orion's concerns and experiences spring to life. Orion faces challenges head-on and his ability to improvise and change with circumstances makes his adventure all the more realistic and fun: "I could see I had to resort to more drastical measures; so I dropped my chin, and sniffled, and said I wasn’t lying, and it was the hardest kind of work being a messenger boy, because they took half my wages to pay for the uniform and most of the rest for taxes, and no one ever tipped, and everything up there cost an arm and a leg, and—and— Then I broke down and started dropping tears all over my shoes."
Orion Poe and the Lost Explorer is all about exploration and discovery, and even the most reluctant young reader will find this saga promises an energetic, vivid read.
Intrigue, action, and even a 'Devil's Graveyard': all this and more promise a journey that any young reader will find engrossing, with the character of Orion a solid and believable pairing to a plot that centers on a strange expedition with a professor and its haunting impact on everyone involved.
Will Summerhouse
Shake-A-Leg Press
Publisher website link: https://www.facebook.com/ShakeALegPress
9780986061400 $8.99
www.amazon.com
Orion Poe and the Lost Explorer is a gripping adventure fantasy tale for young readers ages 9 and older, and opens with a line no young reader could resist: "If you read what Mr. Lumpkin wrote in the newspaper about my adventure at the top of the world, you only got half the story. I don’t know why but he left out some of the best parts, like how I got chased all over the place, and shot at, and knocked out, and almost eaten."
In order to set the record straight protagonist Orion decides to tell his own version of what happened on his search for a lost explorer; a story that begins innocuously enough with his sedate life with a quiet grandfather in Maine. The last thing Orion ever dreamed of was embarking on a voyage; but adventure has a way of knocking on one's door, and when Orion stumbles upon a shipwrecked, unconscious man on the beach and drags him home, his action sparks a series of events that leads to a fantastic journey.
Young readers will find the chapter headings support this adventure feel, from "The Terror! The Terror!" to "I Get My Sailing Orders" and "What I Heard in the Study". The reader is swept away with an epic series of events that offer many twists and turns and little predictability: elements that will satisfy even those well used to adventure stories.
H. Rider Haggard employed many of these strategies in his writings for adults: the same kind of approach here lends a 'young Indiana Jones' feel to the tale as Orion is continually tested and displays an ability to be flexible and strong given the amazing circumstances which challenge him at every turn.
One device Will Summerhouse employs to involve readers is use of the first person: through this approach, Orion's concerns and experiences spring to life. Orion faces challenges head-on and his ability to improvise and change with circumstances makes his adventure all the more realistic and fun: "I could see I had to resort to more drastical measures; so I dropped my chin, and sniffled, and said I wasn’t lying, and it was the hardest kind of work being a messenger boy, because they took half my wages to pay for the uniform and most of the rest for taxes, and no one ever tipped, and everything up there cost an arm and a leg, and—and— Then I broke down and started dropping tears all over my shoes."
Orion Poe and the Lost Explorer is all about exploration and discovery, and even the most reluctant young reader will find this saga promises an energetic, vivid read.
Intrigue, action, and even a 'Devil's Graveyard': all this and more promise a journey that any young reader will find engrossing, with the character of Orion a solid and believable pairing to a plot that centers on a strange expedition with a professor and its haunting impact on everyone involved.
The
Overending
Rick Johnson
Amazon Digital Services
ASIN: B00J8YA838 $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J8YA838
Usually this reviewer doesn't bother mentioning e-book 'covers': they often appear in black and white, don't exist, or aren't overwhelmingly memorable. But here The Overending's otherworldly color cover (designed by Pepper Graphics) is simply captivating, serving as a surreal invitation to all who view its wooden bridge to 'nowhere' leading to an icy mountain drop-off and a brilliant green-rayed sunrise beyond the peaks. And do take a look at the black and white map prefacing the story: it's a handy reference for the epic journey that is to come.
The Overending is part of 'The Wood Cow Chronicles' - in fact, it's book two (Book One not seen by this reviewer), so you've been forewarned that this is not a single-volume title, but a series. Keep this in mind, because you're in for a real treat, here.
Would that all books in series open with such a succinct roundup of events leading up to the next, for newcomers! The setting is nailed in one paragraph: "After rescuing PorNart-1604 from certain death on the sacred climb, Emil’s desperate escape from Maev Astuté—the great castle of the High One—goes better and worse than expected. Finding himself and PorNart on an out-of-control balloon blasted by ferocious winds and subzero cold, plunging deeper and deeper into rugged, unknown lands, a battle for life and deliverance begins..." And with this, the epic continues - a satisfying introduction for prior young adult readers and newcomers alike.
Teen Helga's revolution is in full swing and far beyond what she could have imagined (events outlined in Volume One, Helga: Out of Hedgelands), and is starting to get way out of her control. The story begins with Emil's pending crash in a hot-air balloon, with the setting strikingly and deftly designed to immerse readers in the experience: "Snow swirled around the balloon as it passed over the ridge with a few feet to spare. Sailing clear of the ridge, the mini-blizzard ended, and a breath-taking panorama spread out below. The seemingly unending wastes of snow and glaciers reached the summit of the ridge and went no further. The mountains suddenly ended, dropping off sharply as if a gigantic spade had simply turned the earth at a sharp angle, leaving the rest of the earth behind. Running like an immense rip in the earth, a snaggy line of dizzying clefts and crags traced the mountains’ edge."
Emil may succeed in saving himself and his companion, but they face new dangers in a wilderness packed with challenge: their odyssey is just beginning.
Chapters unfold surprises and sequences like a blossom, revealing political connections, sea voyages, attacks and confrontations, and epic struggles that take place on harsh, rugged land and challenging seas alike.
The juxtaposition of nautical and land settings produces an uncommon (and satisfying) range of characters and settings throughout that keep the story line fluid and changing and mature young readers (…'mature' because of the complexity of the adventure, not because of any special violence or sexual overtones) engrossed.
The ideal young adult (and many an adult) reader will already be a fan of science fiction and fantasy, and will already have read Book One for a thorough grounding in the background politics of a kingdom at odds.
New readers will find this story of rebels working against slavers to be thoroughly engrossing and accessible, however; even though The Overending will prompt a desire to go back and read Helga.
At the heart of events is the expulsion of the Wood Cows after they attacked the High One - and also at the heart of proceedings are protagonists who see even their beloved Tilk Duraow endangered by these confrontations.
What happens when a revolution gets out of control and threatens to destroy what it's trying to save? And what about the abilities of sentient cows and young beasts who take up arms in a struggle beyond their abilities?
Don't expect easy answers or a quick read in The Overending: it's deliciously complex, engrossing, and offers an open-ended conclusion that paves the way for Book Three (…and this surely will require knowledge of the prior series events to prove the most satisfying to new readers, given the complexity that unfolds here!)
Rick Johnson
Amazon Digital Services
ASIN: B00J8YA838 $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J8YA838
Usually this reviewer doesn't bother mentioning e-book 'covers': they often appear in black and white, don't exist, or aren't overwhelmingly memorable. But here The Overending's otherworldly color cover (designed by Pepper Graphics) is simply captivating, serving as a surreal invitation to all who view its wooden bridge to 'nowhere' leading to an icy mountain drop-off and a brilliant green-rayed sunrise beyond the peaks. And do take a look at the black and white map prefacing the story: it's a handy reference for the epic journey that is to come.
The Overending is part of 'The Wood Cow Chronicles' - in fact, it's book two (Book One not seen by this reviewer), so you've been forewarned that this is not a single-volume title, but a series. Keep this in mind, because you're in for a real treat, here.
Would that all books in series open with such a succinct roundup of events leading up to the next, for newcomers! The setting is nailed in one paragraph: "After rescuing PorNart-1604 from certain death on the sacred climb, Emil’s desperate escape from Maev Astuté—the great castle of the High One—goes better and worse than expected. Finding himself and PorNart on an out-of-control balloon blasted by ferocious winds and subzero cold, plunging deeper and deeper into rugged, unknown lands, a battle for life and deliverance begins..." And with this, the epic continues - a satisfying introduction for prior young adult readers and newcomers alike.
Teen Helga's revolution is in full swing and far beyond what she could have imagined (events outlined in Volume One, Helga: Out of Hedgelands), and is starting to get way out of her control. The story begins with Emil's pending crash in a hot-air balloon, with the setting strikingly and deftly designed to immerse readers in the experience: "Snow swirled around the balloon as it passed over the ridge with a few feet to spare. Sailing clear of the ridge, the mini-blizzard ended, and a breath-taking panorama spread out below. The seemingly unending wastes of snow and glaciers reached the summit of the ridge and went no further. The mountains suddenly ended, dropping off sharply as if a gigantic spade had simply turned the earth at a sharp angle, leaving the rest of the earth behind. Running like an immense rip in the earth, a snaggy line of dizzying clefts and crags traced the mountains’ edge."
Emil may succeed in saving himself and his companion, but they face new dangers in a wilderness packed with challenge: their odyssey is just beginning.
Chapters unfold surprises and sequences like a blossom, revealing political connections, sea voyages, attacks and confrontations, and epic struggles that take place on harsh, rugged land and challenging seas alike.
The juxtaposition of nautical and land settings produces an uncommon (and satisfying) range of characters and settings throughout that keep the story line fluid and changing and mature young readers (…'mature' because of the complexity of the adventure, not because of any special violence or sexual overtones) engrossed.
The ideal young adult (and many an adult) reader will already be a fan of science fiction and fantasy, and will already have read Book One for a thorough grounding in the background politics of a kingdom at odds.
New readers will find this story of rebels working against slavers to be thoroughly engrossing and accessible, however; even though The Overending will prompt a desire to go back and read Helga.
At the heart of events is the expulsion of the Wood Cows after they attacked the High One - and also at the heart of proceedings are protagonists who see even their beloved Tilk Duraow endangered by these confrontations.
What happens when a revolution gets out of control and threatens to destroy what it's trying to save? And what about the abilities of sentient cows and young beasts who take up arms in a struggle beyond their abilities?
Don't expect easy answers or a quick read in The Overending: it's deliciously complex, engrossing, and offers an open-ended conclusion that paves the way for Book Three (…and this surely will require knowledge of the prior series events to prove the most satisfying to new readers, given the complexity that unfolds here!)
Rocket
Ship
C.O.B
Grey Line Press
9780983002833 $10.00 Paperback; $5.00 eBook
www.greylinepress.com
Young adult readers who enjoy stories of fantasy centered upon magic will find Rocket Ship holds all the elements of an exceptional read, but be forewarned: it opens slowly, with a beautiful star-lit night in Miami and best friends who discuss possibilities of dreams and reality, and it isn't your traditional fantasy story of aliens and spaceships.
Gary was born into wealth and lives in the richest house on the street; but he is also best friends with Lincoln, who lives next door. There's magic in the skies for those who would believe, and one of the things cementing Gary and Lincoln's friendship is a belief in fantastic possibilities, which brings with it joy and the ability to see wonders in everyday life.
The problem is, faith is beginning to wane - and with it, the magic. For each of their families is losing life and color: one to alcoholism, the other to parental conflict. And both believe that they can have a better life elsewhere - and that a rocket ship is the key to reaching something unimaginable.
As the boys become engrossed in planning their escape, so they come to involve others in their dream: "We're not running away….we're just…going somewhere better. You need to know that, you have to understand that it's what you really need for yourself. In order for all of us to make it, you need to believe that leaving is the only way things will get better."
What begins as two best friends planning a getaway evolves into a group of children who each have their own reasons for believing that something better lies beyond their lives. And as the school days go by and close encounters evolve, the dream of a rocket ship and escape comes to embrace more than a few with the equal promise of freedom and the desperate acknowledgement of possible failure: "…the kids look forward in such grave disappointment, accepting that it was never going to happen, deciding that it was all a big lie, that the life they've known is all they have in store, and that they are just stupid little kids who believed in a stupid little dream, still believing that the stars in the sky stupidly hear and can and will deliver their wishes."
Surreal chapters that are the trademark of Rocket Ship's atmosphere cover the kids' expanding hopes and diminished beliefs and provide gentle insights into a world where dreams may become reality and reality is (possibly) a dream of the past: "There is darkness, and there is being in the dark. One is without hope; the other just needs the light turned on."
In the end two friends are changed by their experience: one achieving his dream for the stars, the other discovering a different meaning in his life, his friendships, and his connections with the world.
Rocket Ship is surreal adventure at its best. It's about magic (and the absence thereof), dreams, hope, striving, and finally, about the changes good friends go through in the effort to reach a seemingly-impossible goal. It's also about how that effort changes an entire circle of people, and about the forces that drag lives down.
Any reader looking for a blend of fantasy and magic with everyday reality, held together by the bonds of close friends and a widening circle of others, will find Rocket Ship filled with promise and light despair.
It's often not a straightforward, liner journey when one dares to reach for the stars or realize dreams: Rocket Ship captures all these facets and more in a saga recommended not for hard science fiction and fantasy fans (despite its title), but for those who like elements of each blended into a gentle story of love and leaving.
C.O.B
Grey Line Press
9780983002833 $10.00 Paperback; $5.00 eBook
www.greylinepress.com
Young adult readers who enjoy stories of fantasy centered upon magic will find Rocket Ship holds all the elements of an exceptional read, but be forewarned: it opens slowly, with a beautiful star-lit night in Miami and best friends who discuss possibilities of dreams and reality, and it isn't your traditional fantasy story of aliens and spaceships.
Gary was born into wealth and lives in the richest house on the street; but he is also best friends with Lincoln, who lives next door. There's magic in the skies for those who would believe, and one of the things cementing Gary and Lincoln's friendship is a belief in fantastic possibilities, which brings with it joy and the ability to see wonders in everyday life.
The problem is, faith is beginning to wane - and with it, the magic. For each of their families is losing life and color: one to alcoholism, the other to parental conflict. And both believe that they can have a better life elsewhere - and that a rocket ship is the key to reaching something unimaginable.
As the boys become engrossed in planning their escape, so they come to involve others in their dream: "We're not running away….we're just…going somewhere better. You need to know that, you have to understand that it's what you really need for yourself. In order for all of us to make it, you need to believe that leaving is the only way things will get better."
What begins as two best friends planning a getaway evolves into a group of children who each have their own reasons for believing that something better lies beyond their lives. And as the school days go by and close encounters evolve, the dream of a rocket ship and escape comes to embrace more than a few with the equal promise of freedom and the desperate acknowledgement of possible failure: "…the kids look forward in such grave disappointment, accepting that it was never going to happen, deciding that it was all a big lie, that the life they've known is all they have in store, and that they are just stupid little kids who believed in a stupid little dream, still believing that the stars in the sky stupidly hear and can and will deliver their wishes."
Surreal chapters that are the trademark of Rocket Ship's atmosphere cover the kids' expanding hopes and diminished beliefs and provide gentle insights into a world where dreams may become reality and reality is (possibly) a dream of the past: "There is darkness, and there is being in the dark. One is without hope; the other just needs the light turned on."
In the end two friends are changed by their experience: one achieving his dream for the stars, the other discovering a different meaning in his life, his friendships, and his connections with the world.
Rocket Ship is surreal adventure at its best. It's about magic (and the absence thereof), dreams, hope, striving, and finally, about the changes good friends go through in the effort to reach a seemingly-impossible goal. It's also about how that effort changes an entire circle of people, and about the forces that drag lives down.
Any reader looking for a blend of fantasy and magic with everyday reality, held together by the bonds of close friends and a widening circle of others, will find Rocket Ship filled with promise and light despair.
It's often not a straightforward, liner journey when one dares to reach for the stars or realize dreams: Rocket Ship captures all these facets and more in a saga recommended not for hard science fiction and fantasy fans (despite its title), but for those who like elements of each blended into a gentle story of love and leaving.