Review: Planned Obsolescence by Lorin Brandon

 

Genre: Religious Satire

Description:

“The most hopelessly enslaved consider themselves free...

A mysterious, ancient manuscript is found two miles underground in a goldmine. Archaeologists are fascinated, and the story gains the attention of the Vatican.

Archaeologist Dr. Manuel Consuelo is intrigued by the artifact, and believes it will divulge information never previously accessible to humans. This other-worldly manuscript will confirm his notions, once he is finally able to examine it, under the watchful eye of the Vatican.

However, his conclusions outrage the clergy. Is humanity free, or are we the subjects of invisible overlords? Is control exerted on this earth through the reign of kings, priests and dictators, as shills for the overlords?

In this remarkable novel, author Lorin Brandon imagines human existence in a different light; one that establishes our true existence and allows us to imagine greater freedoms, instead of complacent control and manipulation. Perhaps this artifact possesses the potential to enable humanity to envision a more liberated, truthful existence.”

Author:

I was unable to find any information about the author.

Appraisal:

This novel is designed to make you think. It imagines that the world is controlled by what are described as “overlords.” We humans on earth are the equivalent to livestock to these overlords who use religion as a means of controlling their flock. But when an ancient manuscript is discovered that explains this, as you might expect, it causes some concern in the halls of power.

I enjoyed what I’ll describe as the main story thread, what was happening on the surface, the conflict between the scientists of academia and religious leadership, in this case the pope and other high ranking Vatican officials. That part of the story is full of conflict, obviously fictional, but easy to imagine and it makes a good story. But I probably enjoyed even more what I’ll call the subtle critique of religion, the logic (or lack thereof) behind it, and the ideas that might make a person who is religious question their beliefs. Or maybe not. I expect different people will react in different ways to the underlying questions raised by this story, and that’s okay. It will get you thinking, regardless of what you conclude.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 Words

Reprise Review: Being Travis by Melissa Bowersock

 

Genre: Science Fiction/Historical Fiction/Time Travel

Description:

“Two years ago, a weird trick of time sent Travis Merrill spiraling from 2016 to the year 1877. Committed now to his life in frontier Arizona, Travis is married with a child on the way and is homesteading a ranch. His knowledge of the future, however, keeps him at odds with his neighbors, his friends… and his wife. He finds it more and more difficult to protect his home without alienating his family, yet he can’t ignore what he knows is – and will be – true.”

Author:

“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of genres: action/adventure, paranormal, biography, fantasy, romance, spiritual and satire. She has been both traditionally and independently published, and is a regular contributor to the superblog Indies Unlimited. For more information, visit her website.”

Appraisal:

In the first book of this series, Finding Travis, the main character (in case you haven't guessed, a man named Travis), is transported back in time. In the first book he was adapting to his new environment, trying not to raise too many red flags, and wondering how, when, or whether he could get back to modern times. But then he fell in love and you know how that can mess with plans.

Being Travis picks up a couple years later. Travis is married, moving a few miles away from the army camp where he landed in the first book to settle down with his pregnant wife.

I typically find books and stories with a time travel element to be interesting thought experiments. When the person has gone Back to the Future it introduces some interesting things to consider. How does the person deal with advancements in knowledge that they're privy to, but the rest of their cohorts aren't? What things can they do safely without changing the future in some way that they'll regret? This book has some of that, as well as plenty of tense moments, balanced out by some feel good moments, and even a run in with a historical figure. It was a fun and entertaining read as well as provoking a bit of thought. I'm looking forward to the next series installment.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Although the second in a series and a situation where I think this story would be more enjoyable if a person has read the series opener, those who choose to read this as a standalone should be able to follow the story reasonably well.

Original review published March 14, 2017

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 45-50,000 words

Review: Suddenly Deadly by Lo Monaco

 

Genre: Detective Mystery

Description:

“Terry is hired by Naydeen, to find her cousin, Wayne. Naydeen’s brother, Artie, has been murdered and she needs to tell Wayne what happened. Artie’s lover, Sean, an old friend of Terry’s, has been arrested for Artie’s murder and begs Terry to find the real killer. He says the police don’t know that Artie had a carry-on bag full of money in his closet and he’s scared silly thinking that it was money from drugs.

When Terry finds Wayne, he’s terrified and says Naydeen only hired Terry to find him so Naydeen could kill him.

Can Terry find who killed Artie? Or is Sean really guilty? Has Naydeen used Terry to find Wayne to kill him?

Things become even further tangled by Terry's growing feelings toward Wayne and the questioning of her own abilities to unravel a convoluted and confusing case of deceit, betrayal and death.”

Author:

A Californian who lived in Italy for 16 years, has worked as an opera singer as well as a fingerprint technician for the local sheriff and a group counselor for juvenile offenders, Lo Monaco has lived an interesting life thus far. This is the third installment in the Terry Strong, PI, mystery series.

Appraisal:

An engaging mystery that kept me guessing to the end. Terry Strong starts out with one goal, to find Wayne, the cousin of her client Naydeen. She wants Terry to find him to let him know that Naydeen’s brother, Artie, was murdered by his lover. Terry realizes Sean, the accused murderer, is an old friend she’d lost touch with. Before long she’s questioning whether Sean is actually the murderer and wondering whether her client is telling the truth about what is going on. It isn’t long before Terry’s no longer trying to solve the mystery she was hired to (that didn’t take long to nail down), but instead trying to determine who killed Artie. She doesn’t lack in viable suspects and at some point I thought every one of them was the most likely, starting with Sean when we first find out about the murder and that he’s in custody, to the actual culprit. I don’t think it is a spoiler to say Terry finds the guilty party, but getting there keeps her guessing and will keep you guessing and entertained.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

This is the third book in this series, but it stands alone. I didn’t feel I was not following the story in spite of not having read the first two in the series.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Review: The Vast Clear Blue by Karen Winters Schwartz

 Genre: Contemporary fiction

Description:

Mark arrives in Belize, and almost at once becomes a catalyst for change among a love triangle of ex-pats already in country.

Belize is a big part of this book, to the extent one feels it could not have been set anywhere else. Only a flawed paradise like this could enable the way of life enjoyed by Kendal, Aaron and Charlie. When Mark blows in on a permanent bender, bringing with him a whiff of the real world, he precipitates an unravelling of the way of life the three other ex-pats have evolved together over a decade.

Author:

Schwartz’s publicity tells us, “Karen Winters Schwartz’s professional writing career began in 2010, when the first of three widely praised novels, Where Are the Cocoa Puffs?, Reis’s Pieces, and The Chocolate Debacle were issued by Goodman Beck Publishing. Red Adept Publishing released Legend of the Lost Ass in 2020, and her latest novel The Vast Clear Blue in January 2023. Both these last are richly emotional stories about love and relationships and take place in the exotic setting of Belize.

Schwartz now splits her time between Arizona USA, a small village in Belize, and traveling the world in search of the many creatures with whom she has the honor of sharing this world.”

For more, visit the author’s website. 

Appraisal:

The beautiful setting is rendered in some detail (but not so much as to waylay pace) and great affection. It is a place the author knows well. Her previous book was set there too.

The characters are attractively realised through what they say and do, and an occasional internal monologue. Their lives are slow and simple: and yet much happens. They are special, unique, people: and yet they are just like everyone else. I felt that an amalgam of the four of them (including the beer sodden Mark) would together make the ideal person one would like to be (although I wouldn’t want Mark’s liver). There is such warmth, loving, depth of understanding, caring and encouragement going on here. There is no sense of angst, rivalry, or jealousy such as underpins most relationships. Could such an emotional paradise ever actually exist? Even in a geographical paradise like this? Well, there is always the snake, in any Eden.

The action of the book is like the careful placing of jigsaw puzzle pieces. The construction is very skillful, and the finished picture has been a very satisfying read.

This would, indeed, be a 5* book for me, except for the Author’s Note which ends each chapter. I found the intrusion of the author in this way threw me out of the book every time. I had to read them (on your behalf) and could not understand why the author felt a need to include any of them, or why her publisher let her. The book, as is, is novella length, so perhaps it was decided to extend it to its current length through this ploy.

Fortunately for you, you don’t have to contend with the Author’s Notes: you can skip right over them and enjoy a cracking novel. And I recommend you do.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Plenty of F-bombs.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

Reprise Review: Chaos Unbound (The Metis Files Book 2) by Brian S. Leon

 

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Mythology/Contemporary

Description:

“The hunter becomes the hunted.

Framed for the murder of a high ranking member of the Unseelie Court of Fae, Steve Dore–also known as Diomedes, Guardian and protector of mankind–goes on the run. He’s determined to uncover the real culprit and clear his name.

But the assassination may be the beginning of a more sinister plot that involves not just the Fae and Humankind, but all the races of the world. And what if the real assassin is a boogeyman even the Fae don't believe is real?”

Author:

“Brian S. Leon is truly a jack of all trades and a master of none. He writes just to do something with all the useless degrees and skills he’s accumulated over the years. Most of them have no practical application in civilized society, anyway. His interests include mythology and fishing, in pursuit of which he has explored jungles and museums, oceans and seas all over the world.

His credentials include an undergraduate degree from the University of Miami and a master’s degree from San Diego State University, plus extensive postgraduate work in evolutionary biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he studied animals most people aren’t even aware exist and theories no one really cares about anyway… Brian currently resides in San Diego, California.”

Learn more at Brian's website, or follow his series page on Facebook.

Appraisal:

Steve Dore runs a private fishing tour business in San Diego. After a particularly strange day of dodging several selkies on a fishing tour with clients on board, Steve knows something is up. When his friend Ned, the Titan God of the Sea--Nereus--, greats him at the dock with a warning and rushes Steve off the boat. Steve learns his alter-ego, Diomedes, has been accused of murdering Lord Indronivay, a high ranking member of the Unseelie Court. To make things worse, Goibniu -- chief bladesmith for the Seelie Court – has been murdered as well. Now the race is on as every Unseelie and Seelie fae around the world are after Diomedes to bring him to justice.

The plot is fast moving. Diomedes' friend Duma, a Peri fae, is sent by Athena to assist Diomedes in clearing his name. Duma knows how to read the energy of the ley lines to the portals of the Telluric Pathways, known as the Ways, to speed through the human or Fairy realms searching for a mythic half-breed fae. 

Chaos Unbound is full of non-stop action and bloody battles as Diomedes and Duma try to unravel the conspiracy while eluding both fae courts to clear Diomedes of two death-worthy crimes he didn’t commit. The plot is a roller-coaster ride of twists and turns with the introduction of many unsavory fae monsters and a few unexpected allies. Their foray into the vampire realm was a startling surprise to me, which may give you nightmares. I wasn’t expecting that. *shivers*

Duma is an interesting character. He is more laid back than his brother, Ab, and he added bits of humor in this tension filled story. Diomedes’ self-deprecating humor is always funny for such a hero-type figure. I was glad to see Sarah Wright make an appearance as well. I’m glad to see her forcing the issue for a more inclusive relationship with Diomedes. This addition to The Metis Files series is entertaining on many different levels and it was easy to become enthralled with all the elements. I also believe enough background material is covered so Chaos Unbound could be read as a stand-alone novel.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Chaos Unbound is book two in The Metis Files series, book one is Havoc Rising. Contains adult language with several F-bombs.

Original review published March 1, 2017

Format/Typo Issues:

I believe I was given an advanced readers copy, however I found no significant proofing issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 115-120,000 words

Review: Murder So Sweet by Dave Vizard

Genre: Crime Fiction

Description:

“When bodies start to turn up on the rich farmlands of Michigan’s Thumb region, news reporter Nick Steele jumps on the trail of a serial killing family from Bay City. The victims, who come from cities across mid-Michigan, share one thing in common. As the reporter closes in on the murderous family, the cold-blooded killers are stopped in their tracks by the unlikeliest of smoking gun. Follow Nick Steele as he unravels the details of a murder wrapped in a murder mystery in this fast-paced novel you won’t want to put down.”

Author:

“Dave Vizard is a former award winning newspaper and magazine writer and editor. He has taught journalism and writing at the college level. Each of his murder mysteries is rooted in Michigan and revolves around the exploits of news reporter Nick Steele.”

Vizard and his wife live in Michigan’s Thumb region where his book take place.

Appraisal:

This is the second Nick Steele book I’ve read. My first (the fifth of Vizard’s books featuring Nick Steele) took place in Key West, Florida, so this is my first time reading one that is happening in Steele’s home territory. The rural area in what they call the “thumb” of Michigan and the culture of that area figure into this story and make it distinct from a lot of crime fiction or murder mysteries you might read. Actually, the normal “mystery” in a book like this, the whodunit part, is something the reader knows fairly early on in this book. But that doesn’t mean the tension is over, both because we don’t know if the authorities are going to figure who is committing the murders, on some level for part of the book the reader might have ambiguous feelings as to whether they even want the murderer caught.

All of this makes for an interesting read that keeps the reader engaged throughout. Just to keep things interesting, a teaser at the end might have you wishing for the next book in the series to come quickly.

FYI:

Although this author has several books featuring reporter Nick Steele, each book stands alone. Reading the prior books isn’t necessary in order to understand what is going on in the current story.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

My review is based on a pre-publication copy and may not be reflective of the final product, so I didn’t evaluate in this area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

Review: Sons of Isan by William Reyland

Genre: Travel Memoir

Description:

“What if someone born and raised in the American Midwest were suddenly immersed in the culture of a Buddhist monastery in rural Thailand? This is a true story told with unflinching introspection and honesty – along with generous helpings of humor and warmth. William Reyland’s vivid and detailed descriptions of people and places carry us instantly half way around the globe. An admittedly naïve aspiration leads, by a tortuous path, to deeper understanding—and along the way we are offered a glimpse behind the saffron robes into our common human predicament.”

Author:

“From a decade of living and studying abroad, part of which in Buddhist robes, William Reyland has contributed to religious studies research and published nonfiction and cultural reflections from across southeast and eastern Asia. His writing conveys a warmth and adoration for those other places and the beauty of living life fully. He currently lives in Kansas City, Missouri serving as an interfaith hospice chaplain.”

Appraisal:

Before reading I was told that this book was “tough to categorize” which is a fair statement. It’s definitely a memoir, in that it chronicles a period of the author’s life along with his reaction to what was going on with and around him. It gives a bit of a sense of what it is like living in a Buddhist Monastery in Thailand, complicated due to the immense cultural differences between the author’s American Midwest history and rural Thailand. You’ll also learn a bit about Buddhism in the process of reading.

In spite of the author spending the vast majority of the book sitting in one area, calling it a travel book doesn’t seem unreasonable. The author is far from home, experiencing a new area geographically and, as mentioned above, culturally. Those are the main things I’d expect from a travel book. That he didn’t spend a lot of time chronicling the trip from and back to the US is, I suspect, because it wouldn’t add anything to the story. One thing that I like to see in travel books is the adventures (often hassles) of dealing with various logistics of the trip. We do see a bit of that as the author has to leave the country and then return because he is initially there on a short-term visa which can be reset by leaving the country for just a short time and later what he does so that he doesn’t have to continue resetting his visa.

This was a unique, often enlightening, and fun book to read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

Review: Hostage Walk by Melissa Bowersock

 Genre: Paranormal/Mystery

Description:

“Paranormal investigators Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud face terrifying new challenges when Lacey is kidnapped and held hostage in return for Sam’s mediumistic talent. While Lacey tries to figure out a way to deal with the kidnapper and make her escape, Sam is forced to plunge into the role of researcher so he can uncover the reason for a ghost’s entrapment here on earth. But can either succeed in their diverse efforts before the situation spirals completely out of control?”

Author:

“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: paranormal, biography, western, action, romance, fantasy, spiritual, and satire.”

For more visit Ms.Bowersock’s website and follow her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

Books in a series like this one tends to have stories with a lot of similarities from book to book. Each instalment has certain basics in main characters, the kinds of things they get involved in, and some aspects in how the story progresses that fit the same basic pattern. If you like one of the series and the author does a good job with the unique parts of the story in others, you’ll probably like the others as well.

For the most part that’s what I found with Hostage Walk. I’ve read a few of the books in this series, liked the story and the premise behind them. In most ways this installment follows the basic pattern with Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud combining their different talents to solve a mystery. Sam’s ability to interact with human spirits (okay, we’ll call them ghosts) who need help resolving some issue before they can move on and Lacey’s ability to logically work things out to solve the underlying puzzle both figure into this. However, there are some twists to the norm that add to the story. Saying too much could be a spoiler, but I’ll say that Sam’s daughter, Kenzie, contributes to the eventual solution. An excellent read, as always, in this fun series.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Although this is book 37 in the Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud mystery series each story stands alone.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 30-35,000 words

Reprise Review: Ghost Cat by Christine Rains

Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Mystery/Adventure/Myths

Description:

“Bigfoot is rampaging through a small fishing town, and he has friends.

The whispers say a boy is missing. Kinley Dorn can’t ignore them. The last time she did, a giant almost killed her. Her investigation in the boy’s disappearance leads her and her boyfriend, Ransom Averill, to a village on Lake Iliamna. Unfortunately, that boy isn’t the only child missing.

Some folks claim Bigfoot is taking the children, but the gentle creature usually stays away from humans. Kinley believes a totem is making Bigfoot act strangely, but can she and Ransom find it before more kids are abducted?”

Author:

“Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not reading or writing, she's going on adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of S.C.I.F.I. and Untethered Realms. She has one novel and several novellas and short stories published.”

Check out her Amazon author page for all of her books or stalk her on Facebook.”

Appraisal:

Kinley Dorn is the middle sister, she has been the family caretaker since her mother died years earlier. She also inherited aspects of her mother’s gift. Kinley is competent and secure in her talent as an architect for their business. Their newest client wants her to do the interior design part of the job, primarily because he and Kinley share an interest in the same geeky, nerdy stuff. Ametta usually handles the interior design part of their jobs, but her style is more cutting edge modern. Kinley is excited to give it a try, but a seed of insecurity plants itself in her over her ability to handle the decor and it starts to grow into other aspects of her life. Namely her developing relationship with Ransom. Are they moving too fast? Why did Ransom let that woman kiss him on the lips? And why didn’t he introduce me as his girlfriend? Does he feel the same about me as I do about him?

When they see a flyer about a missing twelve year-old boy, and both Kinley and Ransom hear the whispered voice that says, “Find him,” they know they have to do all they can to track him down. Since Ransom grew up in the area where other children have also been disappearing without a trace, he is familiar with the area and the people who live in the remote fishing village by Lake Iliamna. Plus, there have been several Bigfoot sightings in the area lately. However, they are usually shy, docile creatures. Kinley and Ransom are both aware that if a totem token is in the area it will cause the creatures to act out of character and perhaps be aggressive.

Hearing the native myths and stories of the area was a bonus. There are a few surprising twists in this novella that I wasn’t expecting, which made the story more engaging and more personal for both Kinley and Ransom. I’m not sure why I was more emotionally involved in this story. Perhaps, I’ve decided that these two are my favorite and the most relatable couple? It was fun losing myself in their turmoil and hunt for the totem token. I must be more sadistic than I realized. I think everyone will enjoy Ghost Cat.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Ghost Cat is Novella Five in Ms. Rains Totem series. Contains adult language with several F-bombs. The Totem series of novellas build on each other and would be best enjoyed if read in order.

Original review published March 24, 2017.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Review: The Sixth Book by Jess Blenkarn

 

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Description:

Finn runs a book shop which makes very little money. This is largely because he is a dippy sort of young man whose priorities are mainly beer and girls. He is also a rare book collector. In one lot of rare books he acquires a puzzling set of six books which he can’t remember buying. They were all published in the nineteenth century (apparently) and detail history they ought not to know about – yet they are accurate in every particular. Finn becomes desperate to read them all and gets himself into some very peculiar scrapes in order to do so.

Surrounding this central thread is his developing relationship with Maia, who he meets at his best friend’s wedding.

Author:

The author is from Ontario in Canada (where the book is set). She is a graduate of Waterloo university and her day job is in Marketing. This is her fourth novel. Her website is here.

Appraisal:

The reader is given potted histories from each book as Finn proceeds with what quickly becomes obsessive reading. As they are standard school history book stuff, they don’t enhance plot development or pace, although the author does point out the horror of the apparently never-ending mass murders recent history has witnessed.

Finn’s increasing desperation to finish his reading does communicate itself to the reader: I felt his frustration, and need for haste, because of course it is the book which details his own time and beyond which he desperately wants to read.

Fortunately, at the point where Finn is finally ready to read the sixth book the story broadens out into a genuinely interesting mystery. Thus, as the Goons used to say, “this is where the story really starts”.

I found the two major protagonists, Finn and his girlfriend Maia, unsympathetic. Nor could I see why either one would date the other until the sixth book comes into its own, when the reasons for them being as they are, meeting, and becoming lovers make perfect sense. Both characters are essential to the story.

Finn never names a rare book he has bought or one that he wants to buy, and seems only to buy them in job lots. I confess I found it difficult to believe that this lad’s lad was a collector of them.

I have tried, but still cannot understand why Finn didn’t just dip into the first five books enough to satisfy himself that what they recounted was accurate. He could have done that in an evening.

So, for me, the novel could have had a lot of flabbiness removed from around its middle. But the denouement is certainly worth your time.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words