Kingdom / Anderson O’Donnell

Reviewed by: Pete Barber

Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopian/Noir/Punk

Approximate word count: 75,000-80,000 words

Availability    

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Author:

Anderson O’Donnell lives in Connecticut with his wife and son. Kingdom is his debut novel.

Description:

Set in a possible North American near-future at two main locations. Tibor City, a gritty metropolis where anything is available if you have enough money and life is unbearable if you don’t, and the New Mexico desert where Morrison Biotech pollutes the air and ground as it bio-engineers products, and where, in secret underground laboratories, project Exodus is run, with the objective to clone a perfect president for North America. 

Appraisal:

Some aspects of this novel are stellar. Particularly the descriptions of Tibor City. I could feel the grit catching in the corners of my eyes. I could see the fumes and smoke. I felt the pulsing music in the exclusive nightclubs where Dylan, our twenty-something protagonist hung out, smoked hash, snorted coke, and mingled with the ‘beautiful people.’ As the author builds and then takes us though this future world, he fills the pages with vivid images and profound, thought-provoking social and political commentary. I was solidly in the ‘sold and convinced’ camp regarding Tibor City and the socio-economic environment presented to me.

The story follows two primary threads: Dylan, son of a recent presidential candidate who committed suicide, and Campbell, who founded the biotech corporation along with his partner Morrison. When Campbell realizes (too late) what project Exodus is all about he bails on the corporation, and, in the main, on life as well.

Dylan is well drawn. The process by which he learns the truth about his father’s suicide, and indeed about the very nature of his father, is well managed and compelling.

Campbell was always distant to me. His life is saved by an underground order of Monks, who turn out to be scientists trying to identify the human soul through technological examination. This ‘soul’ resides in a specific gene, lacking in the cloned humans produced by Morrison Bio. For me, this concept was ill defined. I found it hard to root for Campbell, because I didn’t really know what he wanted to achieve. Morrison, the evil, all-powerful corporate baddie was stereotypically bent on achieving his aims regardless of costs, but his aims were also unclear. I knew what Morrison wanted to achieve, but I never really understood why.

I read every word, nothing skimmed, which is a credit to the writing quality because there were long narrative descriptions within the story, but the imagery and concepts were always strong enough to hold my interest.

Overall, a fascinating read--hard to believe this is a debut novel.

FYI:

There is one gratuitously violent scene that I didn’t enjoy. And one gratuitous sex scene which I enjoyed very much. So I’ll say they offset.

Format/Typo Issues:

Too few errors to complain.

Rating: **** Four stars

#Free for your #Kindle 2/28/2013

The author of each of these books has indicated their intent to schedule these books for a free day for the Kindle versions today on Amazon. Sometimes plans change or mistakes happen, so be sure to verify the price before hitting that "buy me" button. 

No Good Deed by M.P. McDonald

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Mom Con / K. Morris

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Comic Crime

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

Availability    

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Author:

Details about the author are non-existent. His or her small publisher has a website, but even it has very little content beyond descriptions of their books.

Description:

“Meet Anita Henry, a hard-working, single mom trying to launch her own business after losing her job. The only problem is a nasty lawsuit charging her with stealing secrets from her ex-employer.

Corporate espionage? Please. Her single greatest offense was a fashion felony. But when a shady court ruling forces Anita to cease and desist, she’s determined to set things right.

Her plan involves launching the hippest night spot in town, but can she work her scheme while juggling her brother the musician, who likes her couch just a little too much; his manager, who’s prone to some sketchy accounting practices; an ex-husband who can’t seem to remember those child support payments; and an old flame who wouldn't mind heating things up again?”

Appraisal:

Mom Con and I got off to a rough start due to my inner armchair lawyer, which questioned the premise that kicked the whole thing off. Specifically the protagonist, Anita, and her two sidekicks, Chris and Renée, had developed a new product for the company where they worked. When the three were all let go, they decided to start their own company to develop the product and were sued by their former employer. Although the three had spent weeks “determining the feasibility of bringing the product to market, much of the time off the clock,” it was clear that legally, they didn’t have a leg to stand on. That their (now former) employer might have played fast and loose with the rules to win the case wasn’t credible, because he didn’t have to, the law was on his side.

In spite of this shaky foundation, I loved the three main characters and hated (or at least strongly disliked) their ex-boss, so I managed to suspend my disbelief and start pulling for them in their attempt to get even. He’d still done plenty to deserve it. The story of how they extract their revenge was a fun one (think The Sting or some other con game like that) and, with the exception of the too frequent typos and other proofing misses I kept tripping over, it was a fun, well-written, and relatively quick read. Readers who don’t have an inner editor or lawyer aching to get out should eat this one up.

FYI:

A very small amount of adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

A moderate amount of typos and other proofing/copy-editing misses.

Rating: *** Three stars

Artificial Absolutes / Mary Fan

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Science Fiction

Approximate word count: 120-125,000 words

Availability    

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Author:

“Mary Fan lives in New Jersey, where she is currently working in financial marketing. She has also resided in North Carolina, Hong Kong, and Beijing, China. She has been an avid reader for as long as she can remember and especially enjoys the infinite possibilities and out-of-this-world experiences of science fiction and fantasy.

Mary has a B.A. in Music, specializing in composition, from Princeton University and enjoys writing songs as much as writing stories. She also enjoys kickboxing, opera singing, and exploring new things—she’ll try almost anything once.”

For more, visit the author’s website.

Description:

“Jane Colt is just another recent college grad working as an Interstellar Confederation office drone—until the day she witnesses her best friend, Adam, kidnapped by a mysterious criminal. An extensive cover-up thwarts her efforts to report the crime, shaking her trust in the authorities. Only her older brother, Devin, believes her account.

Devin hopes to leave behind his violent past and find peace in a marriage to the woman he loves. That hope shatters when he discovers a shocking secret that causes him to be framed for murder.

With little more than a cocky attitude, Jane leaves everything she knows to flee with Devin, racing through the most lawless corners of the galaxy as she searches for Adam and proof of her brother’s innocence. Her journey uncovers truths about both of them, leading her to wonder just how much she doesn’t know about the people she loves.”

Appraisal:

In order for science fiction to work for me the characters and the conflicts the characters have to overcome has to be something I can relate to. Technology that (if it ever really happens) is too far in the future to seem possible does nothing for me. Cities on other planets and space ships traveling through space don’t either. If it feels like that’s the majority of what the book has to offer, I’ll take a pass.

Although Artificial Absolutes has plenty of space travel and the Earth is only a distant memory, it also has some engaging characters and a story with conflicts and struggles that are universal to all humans across time. The characters experience familial clashes and learn lessons about being true to yourself. There are questions about faith, reality, and resolving conflicts between the two. Given the right characters and story, the setting doesn’t matter. That’s the way I felt about Artificial Absolutes.

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four stars

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The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back / Sariah Wilson

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Contemporary Young Adult / Romance

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

Availability   

Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: NO Smashwords: NO Paper: YES

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Author:


Sariah Wilson lives in Utah and is a fervent believer in happily ever afters, which is why she writes romance. She grew up in Southern California and graduated with a degree in history from Brigham Young University.

 

For more, visit her website or her facebook page.

Description:

A contemporary view from the ugly stepsister set during her senior year of high school. Mattie Lowe is a rebellious teenager who feels like all the odds are stacked against her. This story is homage to the movies Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, and Sixteen Candles.

Appraisal:

This twisted fairy-tale is nothing like I expected and I was thoroughly delighted. Sariah Wilson has developed Matilda into the quintessential, slightly rebellious, teenager who feels like things will never work out for her. The story starts with a list of grievances that give us a feel for this misunderstood character and the people in her life. I had to giggle at her voice; it’s fresh, quirky, sarcastic, and witty.

Mattie is intelligent but insecure and I loved the way she decided to start making changes in her life. During her journey, her perspective changes to open her eyes to the realities surrounding her. This story has a nice pace and it kept me turning the pages late into the night. I became totally invested in Mattie finding her happily ever after, bless her heart, she did not believe she was worth it. There are a few valuable lessons to be learned from this story and therefore, I think this book would especially be enjoyed by preteens and young adults, although I fit into neither of those categories and I loved it.

Format/Typo Issues:

I found no significant errors.

Rating: ***** Five stars

The Second Internet Café, Part 1: The Dimension Researcher / Chris James

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Science Fiction

Approximate word count: 90-95,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: YES

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Author:

Author Chris James lives with his family in Warsaw, Poland (although I swear I’ve read he’s a native of the UK, I’m too lazy to verify that.) In addition to this novel, he’s written its sequel and a comedy/picture book, The B Team and Me. James is also a regular contributor to the Indies Unlimited website.

For more, visit James’ website.

Description:

“Lucas Hunter has the best job in the universe: exploring and investigating alternative realities. But from the first trip he realises something is wrong. A strange American is chasing Lucas across the continuum; from Soviet Warsaw in 1944, to Muslim-dominated Europe in 1911, and on to Nazi-controlled England in 1967. Lucas soon understands that his superiors have betrayed him, and the world is on the brink of the first trans-dimensional war.”

Appraisal:

Science Fiction and I have a strange relationship. If asked, I’ll say I’m not much of a sci-fi guy, but when I think of the genre what I picture is the space opera subgenre, full of futuristic space battles, advanced technologies, and life spent entirely in space: Star Trek or Star Wars like stories. Yet I’ve still read some of these and if the characters appeal to me I’ll enjoy them, even though they’ll never be my first choice for reading material.

Obviously, my concept of Science Fiction is way too limited. The truth is, many books I read and enjoy have some Science Fiction elements, although not always enough to fall into the genre. M.P. McDonald’s Mark Taylor series is a good example. What that series and other books which are clearly Science Fiction (but not space opera) that I enjoy have in common is some kind of question that starts, “what if?” In the example of the Mark Taylor books it is, “what if someone had a camera that could show a future negative event, and the camera owner could potentially prevent it from happening?” The Dimension Researcher explores the question of “what if there were alternate realities, and we were able to explore them,” and a second question, “what could go wrong?”

The concept of alternate realities or other dimensions is a common idea in Science Fiction. I’ve encountered it before and expect most sci-fi readers have. In case you’re not familiar with it, the concept is that each time someone makes a decision an alternate reality is created for each of the possible outcomes. The Dimension Researcher can explore the differences between these realities and how alternate decisions, both large and small, could affect the course of the world. It’s an interesting mind exercise. I think any book that makes you think is a good one, and this one did that for me.

But no story is going to work without good characters and, when the story takes place in a world that is changed from our own, in describing and defining that world so it becomes real for the reader – often called world building. It is in these areas where James excelled. The main characters were well-formed with enough detail to feel as if you understood their personalities, both the good and the not. And the world where most of the story took place, a gigantic building with many different areas, each with distinct functions, was described very well. Enough so I could picture it, put myself in the story, and imagine the setting.

The Dimension Researcher is a good read for both sci-fi fans and those who, like me, could benefit from expanding their reading diet as a reminder that the genre is much broader than they think.

FYI:

Uses UK spelling conventions.

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of typos and proofing misses.

Rating: **** Four stars

A Patriot’s Betrayal / Andrew Clawson

Reviewed by: Keith Nixon

Genre: Thriller

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES

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Author:

Andrew Clawson lives in Pennsylvania. A Patriot’s Betrayal is his debut and was followed up by The Crowns Vengeance.

You can learn more about the author at his website.

Description:

Joseph Chase, world renowned scholar and expert on George Washington, is murdered. Within moments, his killers are blown up in their getaway car.

Joseph’s nephew, Chase, receives a mysterious letter from his uncle days after the murder. The contents set him on the trail of a secret society who will do anything to keep their secret hidden.

Appraisal:

This was a reasonable story with several good points, however there were a number of negatives. On the positive side it was a real page turner, the characters were okay and the scene setting not bad.

But when I started A Patriot’s Betrayal I already had a problem. The premise is that George Washington hid a series of clues to a momentous document two hundred years ago that no one until now had been able to find. Yet two people, Parker and his ex-girlfriend Erika (who just happens to be a brilliant historian herself), are able to unwind it whilst being chased by a shadowy group. Somewhat of a stretch for me.

On a technical perspective there was an over use of tell rather than show. A couple of examples:

With a groan he collapsed onto the desk, blood pooling from his mouth and nose onto the table. The phone fell from his lifeless hands. The gunman moved to the desk, but there was no need. The man was clearly dead. He checked for a pulse and found none.

It’s pretty obvious the guy is dead. Why say so repeatedly? And:

Cold brew in hand, he sat down and took a long pull from the ice-cold bottle, savoring the lager’s crisp taste as it washed down his throat.

These examples also demonstrate the prose was on the descriptive side with many words used where few would suffice just as well, if not better. There are multiple descriptions throughout the book about the colour and texture of blood. Crimson one minute, sticky and black the next. An example where pretty much every item in a setting is described:

Recessed lighting cast a soft glow over the deep red paint of the room, reflecting off the gleaming hardwood floor.

Did it really add anything to the tale?

Then, the single largest issue with this novel, the repetition of the same events within scenes from all the perspectives of the characters involved – words on paper for the sake of it. A number of examples. Parker’s father died in the past by falling out of a tree. We’re told about the event three separate times, almost word for word. Parker and then Erika are separately interviewed by the police and a government agent. The interviews and descriptions are pretty much identical, we don’t learn anything we didn’t already know.

There’s a shooting in a flat. We see the action in entirety from Parker’s perspective, he escapes and someone is shot in the process. Then we see it from one of the attacker’s viewpoint, then all over again from a government agent’s. We already know what’s happened, why go over it again and again? The worst element is the tension is relieved the first time around because we know Parker escapes. The rest is just explanation of the run up. We don’t need to go over the whole shooting match two more times. Unfortunately, this continues to happen until about half-way through when the agent joins Parker and Erika.

I didn’t really take to the characters. Parker just seems too lucky to repeatedly survive all the attacks on his life. The secret society really is just a society that has a secret and some money to pay people to shoot others up. It’s not quite as shadowy as first made out and their henchmen are somewhat incompetent. The leader of the society is only concerned that if the secret comes out it will affect his finances to the tune of $20B (also repeated several times).

All of that said, the rating for A Patriot’s Betrayal initially hovered around two stars, however the second half of the book pushed it up. This was once the scenes merged and the multiple perspectives decreased. I’d probably pick up Clawson’s books in the future, just to see if some of the above had been dealt with.

FYI:

Adult language and violence.

Format/Typo Issues:

None.

Rating: *** Three Stars

The Baker’s Man/ Jennifer Moorman

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy/ Fantasy/ Chick-Lit

Approximate word count: 65- 70,000 words

Availability   

Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: NO Paper: Yes

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Author:

Jennifer Moorman was born and raised in Tifton, Georgia and now lives in Nashville, Tennessee. She majored in English/Creative writing at MTSU. I picked this up from her website. “My life is a writer’s journey through the ramblings in my cluttered mind, the stories demanding to be written, my travels along forest pathways, and my search for the ever-elusive unicorn and the end of the rainbow.”

The Baker’s Man is her debut novel.

For more, visit Moorman's website.

Description:

“Moorman weaves the tale of a young woman whose grandmother’s secret—and the ancestry of her grandfather—are about to change her life forever.”

Anna O’Brien has inherited more than her grandmother’s talent for baking and her bakery. When her boyfriend of two years accepts an architectural job with a firm in Napa Valley, with no plans to include her, she is forced to face an uncertain future. One late night in the bakery with her best friend, Lily, they have a little too much to drink and follow a mysterious recipe of her grandmothers with a secret ingredient. The next morning she wakes up to find Elijah, a handsome stranger, baking donuts in her kitchen and things rocket out of control.

Appraisal:

I found this book to be a magically enchanting tale that weaves in just enough reality to suspend my disbelief. Anna has always lived her life to please others, but when Baron decides to take a job across the country, she decides she needs to take charge of her own life and follow her heart. Anna has internal and external forces pulling her in different directions; she knows she wants to continue making pastries, but perhaps not in her hometown of Mystic Water. There is a perfect place by the sea and an offer has been made, but to move there will disappoint the hometown folks, her mother, and her friends. The relationship with Baron is also unsettled, they were both comfortable with each other and neither is ready to give it up, although they know it is over. Anna’s biggest problem is she is not ready to believe this mysterious force that draws her to Elisha is real, she doesn’t trust the magic. When her friend, Tessa, falls head over heels for Elisha, Anna tries to take a step back. This story explores friendship, forgiveness, and the possibilities of following your own heart. When Elisha, her dough-boy, starts growing into his own person things get very complicated and there are a couple of unexpected twists. The dialogue reads true and humor is expertly woven into this heartwarming journey.

I couldn’t help but love Jennifer Moorman’s prose, each of her characters and places had distinctive smells that Anna identified with them. Her mother smelled of ripe cherries or rotten cherries depending on her mood, her father like green pine or freshly cut grass. Elisha smelled of rosemary, cinnamon, spicy chocolate and melted sugar. How could you not love that?

This is one of those stories I had trouble assigning a genre to, so I went back to Donna Fasano’s guest post defining romance and chick-lit. I decided it was chick-lit with a strong romantic element, although I do not claim to be an expert on this subject. But I will tell you, if you like foodie fiction or chick-lit you will love this story.

Format/Typo Issues:

I found no significant errors or issues.

Rating: ***** Five stars 

Grave Digger Blues (Bare Bones Edition) / Jesse Sublett

Reviewed by: Keith Nixon

Genre: Dystopian / Crime

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

Availability

Note: The “Bare Bones Edition” is available only on Smashwords. The “upgraded edition” with photos and graphics is available only from Amazon.    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: YES  Paper: NO

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Jesse Sublett is an author, musician and artist. He lives in Austin, Texas with his family. Jesse formed a band called The Skunks in the 70’s which still plays today. His works of fiction have been widely published.

You can learn more about Jesse Sublett on his website.

Description:

It is the near future, the world as we know it has utterly changed. The social and digital infrastructure has been mainly wiped out by a terrorist plot and a coup. Humanity is nearing its end. Enter Hank Zzybynx, a damaged war vet private eye and contract killer with a job to fulfill…

Appraisal:

If there was a continuum with ‘unusual’ at one end and ‘downright weird’ at the other then Grave Digger Blues would tend very heavily towards the latter. It follows two characters, the aforementioned Hank and the Blues Cat, a musician, as they tour across the shattered world with quite different missions.

I still don’t know what to make of this book. It’s the ‘lite’ edition, the other populated with photographs and other supporting elements apparently. Even this edition has a sprinkling of songs throughout. In other words, it’s not your average book.

The narrative proved very confusing and meandering at times with regular breaks, shifts in time and place and bizarre occurrences that seemed only connected by the fact that the world has gone mad. It even made this review difficult to construct.

I quite liked Hank as a character, he’s hired to track someone down and he does this relentlessly. The guy never forgets a face but the army messed with his head, erasing his memories in particular when he left the army. Blues Cat I struggled with, I wasn’t quite sure of the point of him (but again the whole thing is confusing). There are a number of bizarrely morphed characters from real life like Dick Cheney (who now wears drag and talks to himself) and Marilyn Monroe.

Here’s an example of the writing. Hank is in a bar with another character called The Artist:

The level of noise in the room increased sharply again, for no apparent reason, like a cat mewling in his sleep. The Artist found a friend, then another, then another. The bass walked a crooked trail and Hank saw himself driving a car down a curving mountain road at night. Marilyn snuggled up to him.

A bear came out of the woods and blocked the road. Hank hit it with the car. Had to back up and take a run at it three times before the beast finally lay down.

Marilyn and Hank, cuddling down together on a bear skin rug.

What’s that all about? I’ve really no idea.

All in all a surreal story that confused the hell out of me.

FYI:

Swearing and graphic images of violence.

Format/Typo Issues:

A few spelling and grammar mistakes.

Rating: ** Two Stars

Universal Forces / Monica Shaughnessy

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Coming of Age/ YA/ Romantic Thriller

Approximate word count: 65-70,000 words

Availability   

Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: NO Paper: NO

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Author:

Monica Shaughnessy has a degree in marketing and worked for a variety of companies, while they let her be creative they didn’t allow for much personal expression. When she became a mother she decided to stay home and create what she loved most. While she primarily writes children’s fiction, she says she is going to write an adult novel that promises to be the love child of Tim Burton.

Ms. Shaughnessy says this about herself on her website: “In addition to being a writer, wife, and mother, I’m also a stargazer, yogi, (bad) piano player, Tim Burton fan, vegetarian, jazz aficionado, tree hugger, film noir buff, spiritual seeker, manhattan drinker, Hemingway / Fitzgerald worshipper, and wishful thinker. Oh, and I love the deliciously dark side of life.”

For more, visit the author's website or blog.

Description:

Sixteen-year-old Cassie Vogler, who describes herself as an uber-nerd, is convinced she’ll spend junior year dateless until Jake Gunderson moves to her tiny West Texas town. Cassie is the daughter of Dr. Theodore Vogler, an esteemed astronomer that works at the McDougal Observatory in the Davis Mountains high above their town, Fort Nesbitt. Cassie has been raised to evaluate using science and logic. Jake Gunderson has been raised in an extremely strict religious cult and is being groomed for ascension to become cult leader. Logic and faith turns out to be a caustic combination for these two star-crossed lovers.

Appraisal:

This is a strangely dark thought provoking story. It is obvious that a lot of thought went into building the relationship between all of the characters. I really liked Cassie’s relationship with her father and her best friend Daniel, as well as some of her other classmates. Although these were not as well defined or explored, their dialogue rang true. I appreciated that Cassie’s naïveté also rang true for her age, she really felt like she could save Jake by just separating him from this religious cult. I wish a little more detail from Jake’s view point had been explored, I found his position fascinating as he learned more about science and logic, but never giving up on his faith. The plot is driven forward by some surprising twists in this budding relationship between these two students of life. I also appreciated the little bits of humor that were sprinkled into the story that lightened the heavy subject matter.

FYI:

This book contains relatively mild offensive language, although two F bombs are dropped.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four stars 

Shark On Line / Carla Allen

Reviewed by: BigAl with input from The Princess

Genre: Non-Fiction

Approximate word count: 15-20,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: YES  Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“Carla Allen is an award-winning reporter for The Vanguard, a community newspaper in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Some of her happiest moments have been at sea, including working for a week banding lobsters on her cousin’s boat, the Scalded Witch; sailing across the Gulf of Maine aboard an 80-foot ketch in the Yarmouth Cup race; travelling from Yarmouth to Bar Harbor with Spike Hampson as part of his riverboat odyssey; or simply paddling about the local harbour in her kayak.”

Description:

“How did a giant shark caught in 2004 end up as an urban legend? The answer to that question, as well as fascinating details about shark attacks around the world, shark research, and much more can be found in Shark On Line. See these fearsome predators up close in a collection of photos snapped by this award-winning journalist.”

Appraisal:

The blurb for this said it was “an easy read and highly recommended for all ages.” Kids love animals, birds, and fish, right? So I had The Princess, my nine year-old granddaughter, read it before I did and give me her impressions. If I’d read it first, I might not have assigned it to The Princess. Not because it was a hard read (it may have stretched her reading skills a touch, but not all that much and she felt it was of appropriate difficulty for her age and up). Nor because there was anything she shouldn’t have been allowed to read. But because it really isn’t going to be that great a read for someone who isn’t really into sharks. Her verdict agreed, saying it would be good for someone “interested in sharks” and she gave it a letter grade of C, the low score primarily because, as she told me, “sharks died … I don’t like animals dying.”

The content is a mishmash of original material with other material reprinted from articles that appeared elsewhere, comments from the internet (about an urban legend revolving around one of the largest sharks ever caught), and new material. At times, it felt like it didn’t make up a coherent whole, with some subjects being discussed in multiple sections from multiple perspectives or two chapters that felt like a newspaper or magazine “round-up” article with different facts about sharks, each getting a paragraph or two’s discussion. These chapters (the last two, one on “Shark Attacks” and the other, reasonably called “Shark bits & bites”) seemed to be there as much to pad the word count as any other reason.

In the final analysis, The Princess was right: if you’re really interested in sharks, you’ll like Shark On Line, and if your interest isn’t that intense, you’ll probably still find some things of interest. (I especially enjoyed the discussion of shark fin soup as well as the section discussing a series of shark attacks in New Jersey that was said to have inspired Peter Benchley’s book Jaws.) The included pictures also add a lot and look good in black and white on an eink Kindle, but much better on a color reader.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues proofing.

The font in some sections randomly changed from regular to light gray and back.

Rating: *** Three stars