Review: Come Take Me: A Celestial Satire by E.M. Skyler

 Genre: Satire, Dark Comedy

Description:

The time is now (almost), and some Americans have decided that Canada is not quite far enough from their roiling homeland. For them there is ComeTakeMe.com, a website where people advertise to get taken by aliens.

Author:

E.M. Skyler is a pseudonym. The author provides no personal information.

Appraisal:

Come Take Me is a delightfully wacky tale perhaps best enjoyed with an impish wine: Antihero notes of Confederacy of Dunces, plot hints of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and aromatic nuances of anything by Kurt Vonnegut. Overall delicious.

Besides the enjoyment of a nutty space odyssey, we learn what a giant telepathic centipede that is underemployed as a tour guide has in common with a semi sentient human from Earth. They are just alike in everything that really matters, as it turns out.

What is the worst possible punishment for weight-loss hucksters? Obvious, but still satisfying.

Can a human social misfit, in his intergalactic quest to prevent the destruction of 277 worlds, be aided by immortal zombie fish with a hankering for an orgy every hundred years? That’s a gray area. Perhaps it’s more important if the human saves them from ennui.

What happens when a human that had become a media star among the fully sentient races of the universe is returned to his prior dour existence? The answer might come along on the next bus.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Fish orgies are not suitable reading for young humans

Format/Typo Issues:

None

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Sam Waite

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 Words

Review: Who Let the Demon Out? by Naomi Bellina

 

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Contemporary/Dark comedy

Description:

“Not only is her suicide attempt thwarted by a stranger, but when she comes back from the dead, Sable is tasked by Lucifer to find and return to hell a demon she let loose. If she doesn't, she'll be sent to the darkest level of the afterlife when she dies.

The woman Jack pulled from a running car is obviously disturbed and her story about Lucifer and demons is bullshit. But she has the name of a dead man written on her arm and Jack wants to know why.

Since it's Jack's fault she's in this mess and his skills from a background in the security business are useful, Sable recruits him for her find-the-demon mission, which turns out to be all kinds of difficult. Not only can demons inhabit human bodies, they have other nasty tricks up their sleeves, like incinerating objects and people who get in their way.

It also turns out the inhabitants of hell lie and that things on Earth are not what they appear. Nor are things in her own world, Sable discovers, as she battles to complete her mission before time runs out and it's impossible to send the demon back.”

Author:

“Naomi Bellina lives in sunny Florida with the love of her life and the world's chattiest cat. She became a romance author because her characters insist on falling madly in love. So she lets them. She writes romantic suspense, light science fiction, and paranormal romance. Her interests include dancing, motorcycle riding, drumming and creating healthy meals. Her motto: Never pass up the opportunity to have an adventure!”

To learn more visit Ms. Bellina at her website or follow her onFacebook.

Appraisal:

Sable, riddled with guilt from a dark secret in her past, decides the world would be a better place without her. Jack, a tow-truck driver, sees a car running in an abandoned parking lot off the beaten path and pulls her out of her car. He is able to resuscitate her. As her life force returns to her body a demon catches a ride on Sable’s tailwind right back to earth, and he has an agenda.

When Indignus (Iggy), a dark angel, appears to Sable he tasks her to send the demon back to hell where he belongs. The trouble is demons and dark angels lie. I think Iggy just wanted to go back to the bar for a few more drinks, so he told Sable it was her responsibility to send the demon back. It also turns out that demons have a few tricks up their sleeves that are quite deadly. Since Sable figures she wouldn’t be in this mess if Jack hadn’t brought her back from the dead she recruits him to help her complete her mission. Jack is a good man and has some handy skills he is able to utilize in the demon hunting mission which I found a bit too convenient. Sable is smart, has a good heart, but is a little slow on the uptake.

After a wordy, bumpy start Ms. Bellina settles into a nice pace, aside from a few spots I would have liked more detailed information about, which would have added more depth to the story. Sable and Jack’s characters did show growth at the end, but I didn’t consider either of them badass. Perhaps the demons are the badasses, because the one in this book was. However, that is not the way I read the series title: Badass Demon Bounty Hunters.

If you are looking for a darkly humorous Urban Fantasy with a unique storyline and diverse characters you may enjoy Who Let the Demon Out?.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

*** TRIGGER WARNING *** This book begins with a failed suicide attempt. Also be prepared for adult language and several F-bombs.

Who Let the Demon Out? Is book 1 in Naomi Bellina’s, Badass Demon Bounty Hunters series. 

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

Review: Killing Harry Bones by Jonathan Harries

Genre: Adventure/Men’s Fiction/Dark Comedy

Description:

“In his first novel, Jonathan Harries flips the script and creates a world where the poachers are afraid of the animals—and then things really start to get weird.

Someone is slaughtering big-game hunters in Africa. And the deaths are particularly gruesome.

At the same time in Chicago, a disheveled and depressed Roger Storm, recently relieved of his duties as an ad exec, is also contemplating murder—that of his ex-boss, the despicable Harry Bones.

Then in what seems like a bizarre coincidence, Roger bumps into his supposedly dead childhood friend, the notorious arms dealer Freddy Blank, at a restaurant in Paris. Freddy and his ravishing partner, ex-Mossad agent Conchita Palomino, convince Roger to join them in a harebrained scheme to save Africa's wildlife and displaced people from a sinister global organization. In return Freddy promises to take care of Harry Bones.

Kicking, pleading, and dodging savage mercenaries while lusting after the voluptuous Conchita, a terrified Roger is hauled from Paris and London to the wilds of Ethiopia's Omo Valley, where under the darkest sky he has ever seen, an epic showdown takes place.”

Author:

Jonathan Harries, “grew up in Namibia, an extraordinarily beautiful and wild country where the desert meets the sea, with not a blade of grass in between. In my early teens we moved to South Africa where, after completing the perfunctory exercises necessary for entering adulthood, I began a career in advertising. While my love and fascination with wildlife began in Namibia, it grew into a passion in South Africa, and I spent every chance I got going to Botswana and other places where you could--and luckily still can--see animals in their natural habitat…

Since retiring, I've developed my passion for writing and storytelling into a second career--in fact, it is more of a vocation… The profits from all sales of my books are donated to animal charities. I hope they give you a laugh at the same time that they bring some awareness to the horrors of poaching and animal trafficking.”

You can see all of Mr. Harries books on his Amazon Author Page.

Appraisal:

First, I have a small disclaimer, I do not fit the demographic for this book so my opinion may slip through. However, it is only my opinion. I also confess I picked this book up because of the cover. I understand that is a big “No, no.” I expected something along the lines of Monty Python, I was mistaken…

Roger Storm’s life is in the dumps, he’s been let go from his job as a top ad-executive. He’s depressed and drinking himself into a stupor. When in a bar he spots a childhood friend who supposedly died years ago. Freddy Blank tries to recruit Roger into his campaign to save Africa’s wildlife. But he’s real sketchy about what he wants Roger to do or what part he will be able to play in Freddy’s scheme. Roger is a whiny nerd and Freddy is a masterful manipulator. Roger follows him around because Freddy’s business partner is a beautiful woman named Conchita.

The plot moves at a believable pace, until Roger reminisces about the trouble he and Freddy got into at school and growing up through the years. These steps back in time help us understand Freddy’s character. Of course there is an arch villain out to stop Freddy’s plan because he is making lots on money taking big game hunters on safaris to get trophies mounted on their walls.

What we have here are master conmen conning other conmen. There is espionage, double agents, and mercenaries working for the highest bidder. This is a real man’s man book full of alpha males and poor Roger is right in the middle of it all. His life will never be the same.

If you are a manly man who loves adventure and dark humor, you will probably love this book. The bonus is Killing Harry Bones is free, and if you enjoy it the other two books of this trilogy are waiting for you to pick them up. So, just go for it!

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Killing Harry Bones is book 1 of Mr. Harries, The Roger Storm Books. I will warn you that there are lots of strong adult language. But, if you are a manly man you can handle that, right?

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Review: Living the Good Death by Scott Baron

Genre: Dark Comedy/Satire/Paranormal Romance

Description:

“Have you ever had one of those days? You know, the kind of day when things just don’t go your way. Like when your botched suicide attempt and claims of supernatural powers get you hauled to the emergency room, placed under observation, then transferred to a locked-down psych facility.

The girl who thought she was Death had failed miserably in her efforts to shed the troublesome human body in which she was trapped. The result? Finding herself surrounded by nutjobs, locked in a mental ward ruled by a humorless doctor with a Napoleon complex and a penchant for sleight of hand. Sure, she did technically bring it on herself, but how was she to know that trying to off herself in public and using her outside voice to proclaim she was Death incarnate would result in a psych ward lockdown?

With that problematic little blunder behind her, the concerns now vexing her were pressing. Escape, both from the mental hospital, as well as from this plane of existence, was vital, but equally so was addressing the other issue haunting her. The big one. The one that could end the world. The issue that with Death missing, people would rather inconveniently no longer die like they were supposed to. Eventually, things would hit critical mass. She just didn’t know when.

The situation was, well, grim, to say the very least. An irony not lost on the girl claiming to be the Death.”

Author:

“A native Californian, Scott Baron was born in Hollywood, which he claims may be the reason for his off-kilter sense of humor. Before taking up residence in Venice Beach, he spent a few years studying abroad before settling into the film and television industry, where he has worked off and on for some time. Scott not only writes, but is also involved in indie film and theater both in the U.S. and abroad.”

Appraisal:

The girl who thought she was Death is having a very bad time. She has no idea if she has done something wrong to be banished to a human form when she awakens on a dirty carpet in a low rent motel with a foggy memory. She has tried to off herself in different ways and fails miserably each time to die. Her last attempt was the most horrific and landed her in a not so modern psych facility that needs patients to maintain their bottom line. It often frustrated Doctor Vaughan, head of the institution, to work inside certain reputable guidelines. He assigns the girl who thought she was Death the name of Dorothy who is an escapee from a facility out west.

The cast of quirky characters inside and outside of the institution are well developed and diverse. The story is unique, mostly entertaining, and a bit dark. There are a few times non-vital information was repeated, which made the story quite wordy. I felt like Randy and Andrea were cheated by being used as pawns in the story. And who the hell was Curtis? Was he a pawn as well, being used by a higher power to teach a lesson to Death? As you can probably feel by now I was a little disappointed in the way the story played out in the end. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad story. This is just my opinion.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

  

FYI:

There are a few F-bombs.

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of proofing issues.

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words