Welcome to the Octagon / Gerard Brennan

Part 2 of a Double Shot. Don't miss Ryan Bracha's review of the same book from this morning.

Reviewed by: Keith Nixon

Genre: Crime/Sport

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Availability    

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

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

Author:

Gerard Brennan lives in Northern Ireland with his family and is currently studying for an MA in creative writing at Belfast University. Gerard has previously published several other works including the novel, Wee Rockets, a novella, The Point and contributed to a number of anthologies.

You can learn more about Gerard on his website.

Description:

Mickey ‘The Rage’ Rafferty is a bare knuckle fighter taking on unlicensed, underground fights to feed his family. However his trainer, Eddie Smith, thinks he’s better than that. Enter Swifty, a man with fantastic training facilities and money to spend on getting Mickey to the top – but at a price.

Appraisal:

The novella opens with Mickey going toe to toe in an unlicensed bare knuckle fight in a closed down primary school in West Belfast. His opponent - Psycho Sid. Written in the first person the description of the brawl is in-your-face raw, tough and uncompromising – just what I’ve come to expect of the author’s high quality writing.

However, Welcome to the Octagon is significantly more than a book about fisticuffs. Mickey is a single father. He takes on unlicensed fights to feed his eight year old daughter, Lily. His sister-in-law, Bernadette, hates Mickey with a passion and blames him for his wife Angela’s death. To deal with his anger management issues Mickey writes poetry.

To be fair Mickey isn’t equipped to do much more than fight, but he wants a legitimate career, specifically as a cage fighter, but he’s stuck, unable to go higher, forced to go lower, not really believing in himself. When dodgy Swifty turns up Mickey knows there’s something dubious about the arrangement, that the offer is too good to true, but what choice does he have?

Brennan keeps the character list small, key in writing a strong novella. Managing the word count to tell the story in a tight fashion with a very few pages is tough, but achieved with verve. The characters are very strong, the dialogue is sharp and to the point. The first person narrative really helps.

However, the underlying aspect of this novella is, for me, the strong connections the characters have. The love interest is generated by a fiery beauty, Mona. There’s Eddie the trainer, surrogate father to Mickey, Barry Boom Boom Boyd, a surprising friend in need with a hidden side and the touching father / daughter bond where the eight year old girl looks out for Mickey as much as he does for her. The spiky hate-hate relationship with Bernadette makes sense and adds value. I also like the fact that the author doesn’t turn Mickey into some undefeatable hulk, quite the opposite as he’s riddled with doubt in his own abilities, how he’s living his life and treating his friends. His only certainty is he has to look out for his girl.

The writing is, again, very high quality. The descriptive prose is excellent, little descriptive nuggets like:

“Sid wheezed like a stabbed accordion.”

“Swifty laughed. It sounded like a chainsaw chugging to life.”

Great stuff from Gerard Brennan. Again.

FYI:

Welcome to the Octagon is published as part of the Fight Card series, all of which are issued under the pen name of Jack Tunney.

Contains fight scenes.

Format/Typo Issues:

None.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Welcome to the Octagon / Gerard Brennan

Part 1 of a Double Shot. See Keith Nixon's review of the same book this afternoon.

Reviewed by: Ryan Bracha

Genre: Crime/Sport

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Availability    

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

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

Author:

Gerard Brennan lives in Northern Ireland with his family and is currently studying for an MA in creative writing at Belfast University. Gerard has previously published several other works including the novel, Wee Rockets, a novella, The Point and contributed to a number of anthologies.

You can learn more about Gerard on his website.

Description:

Mickey ‘The Rage’ Rafferty is a bare knuckle fighter taking on unlicensed, underground fights to feed his family. However his trainer, Eddie Smith, thinks he’s better than that. Enter Swifty, a man with fantastic training facilities and money to spend on getting Mickey to the top – but at a price.

Appraisal:

Welcome to the Octagon is a story that I entered with a mixture of anticipation and doubt. Anticipation because of the author, Gerard Brennan, whose previous works stand amongst my favourite discoveries this year, and is fast becoming an author whose work I'll look forward to for a long time to come. His big challenge then, comes in the form of my doubt, which was the subject matter. Good sports stories, be they cinematic or printed, are few and far between as far as I'm concerned, and will often fall into clichés as worn as a hobo's socks, regurgitated across tales of victory over adversity. As a man who reads for pleasure, then, the tale of an MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter who's not so much a has been, and more of a never been, would usually be the last thing I would pick up for a bit of light reading. This isn't my autobiography though, I just wanted to give you an idea of how difficult it would be for an author to get a thumbs up from me for a sports tome.

The story of Mickey 'The Rage' Rafferty, the recovering alcoholic widower struggling to cater for the needs of his smarter-than-her-years young daughter by taking part in illegal bare knuckle fights is one which took me by surprise. Mickey's defeatist attitude consumes him, despite the fact that he's winning in the ring, and that the people around him have no end of belief in his talent. His refusal to accept that he's worth anything more is what holds him back, and it's only when the slimy and mysterious ‘Swifty’ appears with seemingly golden promises backed up by hard cash do his aims begin to get higher, as the morals of those he associates with go lower.

The story does, aside from graphic and extremely well painted fight scenes, focus more on a man whose self-perception is so tainted by pessimism, but will do anything it takes to provide for his daughter, and the internal dialogue of Rafferty does a very good job of drawing sympathy from this reader. The dialogue between his characters has the trademark Brennan believability to it, and his enthusiasm for the subject matter shines like a light right the way through it, so much so that it's difficult not to get carried away in the emotion when the people that Mickey has alienated on more than one occasion return to save him from himself.

So it's one-nil to Gerard Brennan. I actually tried to not enjoy this, but once again with charm and wit, he's won. An excellent short read, recommended.

FYI:

Welcome to the Octagon is published as part of the Fight Card series, all of which are issued under the pen name of Jack Tunney.

Format/Typo Issues:

None.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Affinities / Chris Hollis

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Thriller

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Availability    

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

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

Author:

Thriller author Chris Hollis lives in the UK. He has one prior novel, Subculture, available for your favorite eReader.

Description:

“Andrew Goodwin hears voices. They wake him in the dead of night, lingering behind the walls, growing in strength until they take over.

Making him captive in his own home.

These voices are real. Andrew doesn't know who they are or what they want. Every time he approaches the door, they force him back. Whenever he wakes up, they put him to sleep, making him live on stolen moments in the darkness.

Desperate, he records his own movements, and discovers his entire life is a lie – Andrew is somehow leaving the flat each day as if things were perfectly normal.

So why doesn’t he remember? Who is in control?

And why are there bruises and bloodstains all over his body?”

Appraisal:

Affinities is a psychological thriller with a touch of the supernatural. Discussing this book without spoilers is a bit of a balancing act. Andrew, the main character, and eventually another point-of-view character, Ryan, are both having some nightmarish experiences they can’t explain and neither they nor the reader can understand. At first, it isn’t clear whether these are real or dreams. Are they delusions? Is some outside force that none of us understands responsible? As they (and we) put the pieces together, the question becomes, how can they be stopped?

This is the type of book I imagine would appeal most to horror fans. Not readers who are into blood and gore, but those who enjoy the psychological aspects of horror. It kept me off balance, along with the characters, the whole time. I was never certain where it was going or how it would conclude.

FYI:

Uses UK spelling conventions.

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of typos and other proofing errors.

Rating: **** Four stars

Guest post from Melissa Simonson, author of Blood Echo

The soft spot I once had for my first book, Blood Echo, is hardening rapidly.  I never thought it would happen—I thought I’d go to my grave holding it in a special place in my heart.  My very first, very dear characters are all in that book.  Two of them have been in my head since I was fourteen years old.  Sometimes I even have dreams about them.  If someone had told me a year ago that one day I would gnash my teeth at the thought of that book, I would have rolled my eyes.  Yeah, sure, whatever you say.  How could I hate the manuscript that started this whole writing obsession? 

Blood Echo has become that older sister you’re never better than.  I might consider renaming it ‘Marcia Brady’.  It’s always there, looming in the background, sticking out its tongue at me and laughing because nothing else I will ever come out with will be of the same caliber.

I’m working on my fourth manuscript right now.  I have the same beta readers for all my works in progress, and they all say the same thing: ‘This is nice…but it’s not as nice as your first book.’

It’s not a backhanded compliment; at least I don’t think it is, but it feels that way.  Whenever I think of that first book now, I grit my teeth and roll my eyes.  If it was a person I might consider punching it.  You wouldn’t be so pretty with a black eye, now would you?  I think.  ‘What’s so great about you,’ I wonder as I pound the keyboard while working on another manuscript.  ‘You’re not that great.  In fact, you suck, and I hate you.’

And it’s not that great!  When I started writing it, I was a wet-behind-the-ears naïve little youth, blissfully unaware of even the most basic rules of Writing 101.  I didn’t know the point of a semi colon or even the difference between a simile and a metaphor (I’m actually still a little fuzzy on the semi colon thing.)  The first drafts were emblazoned with the illustrious title of UNTITLED for the better part of three years.  They were Adverb Central, a heap of words with no concrete timeline or direction, a mess of disjointed flashback sequences and too many useless secondary characters.  I knew nothing about writing, and it was awesome—I didn’t second-guess myself then, because I was too ignorant to do so.  Then somewhere along the road the wet-behind-the-ears Melissa morphed into an annoying Nag Hag in the back of my head.  Now I can’t even write a sentence without thinking, ‘My son could probably write something better than this crap.  Delete that paragraph, it’s awful.  Better yet, trash the whole thing.  Yes, right now.’

I don’t imagine I’ll ever be able to completely hate it, but I shudder to think its cast a shadow over everything else I’ll ever write, and that every other character I come up with will always be stuck with second place. 

As I type this, I’ve realized my second book is called Doubles, which now seems horribly prophetic.  

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Gravid / Lynne Cantwell

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Urban Fantasy/ Contemporary/ World Mythology

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Availability    

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

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

Author:

Ms. Cantwell is a contributing author at IndiesUnlimited where she shares her knowledge about Indie publishing and promotion. Her Pipe Woman Chronicles include four volumes to date Seized, Fissured, Tapped, and Gravid. She is now working on the fifth book in this series Annealed. You can connect with her at her blog or on Facebook.

Description:

“Denial is not just a river in Egypt… Naomi has any number of things she doesn’t want to think about: she's pregnant and due any day; Joseph's grandfather needs a new place to live, but he won't move; and a Mexican drug lord's thugs are in town, looking for Jack. But what Naomi's really dodging is a talk with her mother....”

Appraisal:

When Naomi’s mom shows up on her doorstep things get very interesting on the home front. Naomi has no choice but to come clean about every thing with her mom because it looks like she is here to stay. Not only is Naomi dealing with ancient gods and goddesses, and the people they are controlling, but drug lords, thugs, police, doctors, and news reporters. The action starts almost immediately and doesn’t let up from one crisis to the next as the plot twists and turns.

I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the story as all the players are lining up for the final confrontation, even Jehovah said he would attend. Although when He tells Naomi “I gave you free will for a reason. You are free to reject Me and walk a different path. But… you must pay the price.” that statement, right there, tells me that he does not truly understand what will be asked of Him. Later He adds “Such a diverting human. I quite look forward to this.” Certain things are brought into the light in this installment and dealt with in a satisfying, and hopefully permanent, manner. I can’t wait to see how this all works out; Ms. Cantwell has me completely invested in the outcome.  

FYI:

This book contains adult language and situations that may be offensive to some.

Format/Typo Issues:

Excellent editing, I found no issues with editing or formatting.  

Rating: ***** Five stars

A Guest Post from Lin Treadgold, author of Goodbye Henrietta Street

What should you do when your career is brought to an abrupt end due to circumstances beyond your control? The short answer for me was to pick myself up and start again.

In 1978 I passed my exams as a driving instructor with the British School of Motoring. I felt very proud because I had never passed any exams during my time at school. In my teenage years, I had often felt a sense of failure. Within two years I became the owner of a driving school and spent the next year building my business with the help of a colleague who transferred his students over to me due to retiring. Twelve years later, I took further training and passed various other exams and became a tutor for driving instructors. I progressed as owner of a driving instructor training school in north east England.

After 25 years of teaching, it was a shock to find I had to retire early in favour of my husband’s new job in The Netherlands - a sign of the times at the turn of the millenium when redundancies and closures were to be expected. We now had the opportunity to begin a new life with improved financial gain.

In 2001 we moved to North Holland, a new adventure, a new working life, but I wasn’t sure where all this would take me, having given everything up. I missed my job. I learned a new language, or at least tried; most people speak English in Holland which slowed me down in the learning process and I began to feel some isolation. I realised I was going to have to be innovative and not only learn the language but push myself into learning mode once again.

First, I asked myself what I might have done if I hadn’t gone into the driver training profession. I always enjoyed writing poetry, but procrastinated on writing a novel. I now had the chance to get in there and do it! In 1987 I attended a creative writing course and still had my notes to look back on. After writing a few magazine articles based on driving, I realised that publishing my work wasn’t going to be out of reach after all. I knew I could do it because I now had lots of time.  

As a birdwatcher and nature conservationist, I wondered if I could combine my knowledge and write a novel. It wasn’t until I went to the Isles of Scilly in Cornwall with a couple of friends, did I realise that my aspirations could be possible. Romantic settings, nature, islands, and writing about what I know and love, would surely be something I could do. As an only child, I was always good at making things up in my fantasy world and I knew I still had the ability to tell stories.

My first romance novel Goodbye, Henrietta Street took a long time to write, as I had to learn how to produce a book to a standard suitable for publishing. At first I wrote too much and had to edit some of the unnecessary parts of the story. I sought help from the Romantic Novelists’ Association and soon gained the knowledge I needed to become a writer and eventually an author. I found it all very interesting and with each passing year, my writing became an obsession, but it wasn’t just about writing a story, I had to write something good enough for publishing. That was the hard part.

I thought I would begin with a poignant easy-read story of two people struggling to find happiness at opposite ends of the country. I had to find a hook in the story to bring them together.  I provided them with mutual interests and the story progressed from there.

Twenty publisher and agent submissions later, I found what I was looking for. Safkhet Publishing enjoyed my story and gave me that chance.  In the same month I had two other acceptances and was lucky to have the opportunity of choosing the most suitable publisher for my work.

Author and RNA President, Katie Forde, recently hit the nail on the head for me when she wrote ‘ I’m convinced if you want something enough you’ll achieve it, if you don’t mind how long it takes.’

Goodbye Henrietta Street is the story of Pippa, Rob, Joan and Terry who have been friends through their school days and into adulthood. Only when Pippa and Rob suffer  a tragedy in their lives and Joan discovers Terry is not the person she thought he was, do the relationships begin to change.  Pippa leaves her home in Whitby to find respite on the Isles of Scilly in Cornwall. She meets with  ornithologist, Sven Jorgensen, who shows her how to live again.  When she returns there are some serious decisions to be made. Will everything be the same as it was before she left home?

When I look back from the concept of writing a novel to the present date, the process has taken me ten years. My advice to anyone who wants to write, be patient, let the words flow from the heart and keep going until it's done.  Listen and learn from those who know. Each day you will discover something new.  Most of all enjoy the ride! 

Scheduled for release on July 1st. Paper versions can be pre-ordered now from Amazon US and Amazon UK.

Killing Nazis / Nikos Kalpakis

Reviewed by: Keith Nixon

Genre: Thriller/Short Story

Approximate word count: 10-11,000 words

Availability    

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

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

Author:

Nikos Kalpakis is a filmmaker and short story author who lives in Greece.

Description:

Themis is a painter struggling with his craft. One of his neighbours, a shopkeeper, is murdered. He spots two neo-Nazis nearby, assumes they are the perpetrators, and decides to take revenge on Ali’s behalf.

Appraisal:

I’m not sure where to start with this review. Killing Nazis is a literal title, the protagonist Themis is driven into this and in parallel paints. His justification seems to result from a story about his grandmother who took revenge on some Nazis who killed her husband during the WWII occupation of Thessaloniki where the plot is based. Themis gains additional motivation after a local shopkeeper, Ali, is murdered and scalped. Somewhat unhinged Themis blames the Nazis and then goes about hunting them down, almost like a nest of ants he decides to exterminate.

But there are problems. I got no feeling of the location, it could be based anywhere. The author didn’t explain why there were Nazis on the island and why they were at fault (okay the protagonist is clearly mad, but the links were too weak). The vast majority of the story was an internal monologue with virtually no dialogue, mostly from the protagonist’s point of view but sometimes, mid-scene, the perspective would jump from protagonist to Nazi.

The Nazis weren’t believable. One moment they were tough, the next weak and gay (literally) – I expect this is because Themis was seeing things from an unbalanced perspective, but even so... There was very little description of the other characters – in general I have no problem with this (Fleming never fully described James Bond, for example) but in the final scenes there’s a whole group of Nazis. They’re described as old, young, wearing a work shirt etc. Very confusing and led to a multiple use of the word Nazi (as I have).

Fairly early on Themis learns the Nazis are not responsible for Ali’s murder, but still he continues. I guess we have to assume he’s mad and this justifies the ongoing brutality. But it didn’t work for me.

On a technical basis there was a regular use of the same word in a paragraph, grammar errors, punctuation errors, spelling mistakes, incorrect use of words, tense changes, and mangled sentences. However I expect the author was writing in their second language which isn’t easy.

A couple of examples:

The Nazi pushed himself off the ground, cursing Jesus, Mary and all the holly saints of the Orthodox Church. He stood in his one leg and tried to put some weight on his right leg, a sheer amount of pain rushed through his body.

You ran at high school, you run at your spare time. You are the fasted among your brothers when we chase the Blacks and the Browns, this is nothing.

Overall I just didn’t get the point of the story, it clearly wasn’t sufficiently well developed. On the other hand it wasn’t the worst book I’ve ever read. 

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

None.

Rating: ** Two Stars

Thugs Like Us / John Carnell

Reviewed by: Keith Nixon

Genre: Coming of Age

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

Availability    

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

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

Author:

John Carnell used to write comic books for Marvel. He then created his own comic series followed by working on two movies. More recently John has written a screenplay, developed mobile apps, and published his first novel, Thugs Like Us.

You can learn more about the author on his blog.

Description:

Based on a true story, Thugs Like Us, is set in the late 1970’s Britain. Jimmy is a troubled teenager. He lives in a dead end seaside town and believes life holds nothing for him other than a life of substance abuse and sex. Then Jimmy’s brother goes AWOL from the army and plans a robbery which potentially gives Jimmy a way out.

Appraisal:

This is a decent story of a teenager living on a rundown council estate in a difficult period of British history. The scenes are played out against a backdrop of the rise of punk, a cultural reaction to the grey days of the time. The story unfolds through the eyes of protagonist Jimmy. The reader feels his angst at a life being wasted – he knows it and can do nothing about it. He and his friends, not the greatest of influences, pass the time by taking drugs, getting drunk, and getting into fights. Jimmy is a troubled soul, with a difficult home life and unable to form relationships with the opposite sex.

Thugs Like Us is apparently based on a true story and it certainly feels like the reader has dropped into a series of events in Jimmy’s life. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t. The characters are reasonably well drawn, particularly Jimmy himself who has a strong voice.

The writing is gritty, the language harsh and fits well with the period. The setting itself is strong, life on the estate is believable. There is a sense of humour running through the story which helps lift it from simply being a bleak tale. The ending is drawn together well, giving Jimmy a potential future but still a challenge ahead.

As a reflection on a period of history it is well done. Overall, a pretty good and relatively well written story.

FYI:

Adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

None.

Rating: *** Three Stars

The Origins of Disgust, Self-Hatred and Hostility / Ken Leek

Reviewed by: Ryan Bracha

Genre: Crime/General Fiction

Approximate word count: 40,000 – 45,000 words

Availability    

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

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

Author:

Ken Leek appears to be a very elusive character, but on digging I discovered him to be aspiring author hailing from San Diego. He plays in a band called Piglife, and describes himself as an 'Author of Gritty Realism.'

Description:

It's the mid-eighties in Southern California and our narrator, the teenage compulsive runaway Mike Hollister, charts his many adventures in a seedy underworld where his peers are drug dealers and addicts alike. When he turns to heroin he also turns his back on the criminal friends he once had, to simultaneously fall in love, and devise the most lucrative and imaginative operation possible, with violent consequences.

Appraisal:

I was attracted to the book initially, as an earlier review that I had seen on Amazon had compared this work to that of Chuck Palahniuk, and whilst I can see why that reviewer felt moved to compare to such illustrious talent, I don't entirely agree. Sure, a lot of the apparently well researched information is delivered in the assured and confident manner of a narrator that knows exactly what they are talking about, but my view on it is that where Palahniuk takes a small idea or concept and stretches it out of all plausible shape, the story that Leek is telling is still far-fetched, but remains plausible. It's a credit to Leek himself, that whilst he cites Chuck P as an influence, he also manages to retain his own voice in his storytelling.

Let me tell you now then, that the book itself is not for the faint hearted. It is, however, a funny, sickeningly violent, and brutally honest account of a young man in the eighties who makes various transitions from curious witness of uncompromising criminal activities, through small time drug dealer and canyon dwelling runaway, to a hardcore drug addict and willing result of an unorthodox upbringing. It starts out slightly unfocussed, as a series of loose vignettes, with the last sentence of each one acting as an introduction to the next. But, as the tale goes on, and begins to concentrate a lot more on the evolving anti-hero Mike, you realise that they are all well placed pieces of the back story jigsaw. Leek describes his world in such vivid and fantastic detail (he even goes so far as to include floor plans and school reports for added colour) that you know exactly who is where and what they're doing. Some of the more violent passages are told with great humour, and whilst the subject matter is grim, and gut-wrenching, Leek continues to keep his tongue firmly in cheek.

My advice is to enter this book with a completely open mind, and, once you've overcome an initial frustration with the vignette device and the story settles down, let Mike take you on a filthy and violent trip into the darkest depths of the human condition, and make sure you have plenty of soap to hand because you're going to need a shower afterwards. I understand that a sequel is in the pipeline, and I will personally be seeking it out. A very good read indeed.

FYI:

Adult language and content throughout.

Format/Typo Issues:

None.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Thoughts of a Common American / G.C. Gonzalez

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Politics/Current Events

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

Availability    

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

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

Author:

A “regular guy” who grew up poor, but through a long stint in the military followed by a college education, has established a solid, middle-class life. On politics, he says the following:

“Gil was not someone who paid attention to American politics earlier in his life, and he has come to the conclusion that his political ignorance is a fraction of the reason that government's run astray from representing the American people. He believes that if every American takes responsibility for their own fraction of the cause, then the American people would be able to force government to represent us as a whole.”

Description:

“Thoughts of a Common American is a short, accessible message written by a regular person—a husband, a father, a former Marine, and a guy with a 9-to-5 job—who got fed up by the apathy and disregard that he felt from the political leaders who were supposed to be representing his best interests, not their own. This is more than a journal of frustration, though. This is a book of recommendations for what we can do to win back our country.”

Appraisal:

Evaluating a book like this presents an interesting balancing act. Should I evaluate the overarching message, the specific suggestions, or both? How much weight should my own political beliefs have on the review? How should I handle things presented as fact, that I believe are incorrect? Last, how should each of these be weighted?

I’ll start with the first and the last of these. The main theme is that everyone should be paying attention to politics. That we should not only be investigating what our elected representatives are doing, but searching out multiple points of view on the subjects we feel are most important, weighing the facts and claims, and deciding for ourselves. He claims that neither party is right on every issue (maybe neither is right on some), that we need to decide on our own and, most importantly, let our representatives know our thoughts. If the people don’t do this, our representatives will decide based on those who are talking to them. He makes a good case for this and has a lot of good suggestions for how to go about gathering information. This aspect of the book is its most important and, I think, deserves the most weight in evaluating the whole.

Buying into the overall theme gives me an easy out in evaluating the specific suggestions and how they line up with my personal political philosophy. Some, I agree with; others I don’t. At least a few I’m not sure about or question, while at least a few I see as impractical. But those I have concerns with fit well within the concept of seeking out other opinions and challenging what you think you know, which makes even those worthwhile. However, when reading, follow the author’s advice and don’t believe everything he presents as fact.

I’ll touch on a couple of representative areas where I disagreed. The first is his suggestion of a specific website (FactCheck.Org) as a good source. I was set to argue that they actually lean right, politically, based on their funding, which is the Annenberg Foundation, founded by Walter Annenberg (a lifelong conservative Republican) and overseen by his family. However, many people claim it has a liberal bias. I would argue that, using any fact check organization, you should not only evaluate the case they present, but as the author says about checking any facts, refer to multiple sources. My personal favorite is the Pulitzer Prize winning PolitiFact, run by the Tampa Bay Times. Google “fact checking websites,” and you’ll find others.

Another fact the author pointed out was that through 2009 and 2010 the Democratic Party had a majority in the Senate and House of Representatives along with the President being in this party. A true statement. However, he also makes the claim that “having a majority allows the party to legislate how it chooses, with minimum obstruction within the legislative and executive branches of the federal government.” The reality is that the minority party can obstruct most bills in the senate unless the majority party has at least 60 members, which was only true for slightly more than four months (even this assumes that all members of the majority party are in agreement on all issues).

Although I have some quibbles with some of those things presented as facts and have reservations with some of Gonzalez’s specific suggestions, I can recommend the book with no reservation. Just remember to follow his suggestions to verify the facts and evaluate the case made by those who disagree.

Format/Typo Issues:

Although heavily footnoted (actually endnotes), these are not linked, which makes them difficult to refer to while reading.

Rating: **** Four stars

The Wrinkly / Paul Collis

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Humor

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

Availability    

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

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

Author:

“Born in Greater London.

Art school in the seventies.

The next few decades spent at ad agencies creating TV commercials in 

London, Milan, New York and San Francisco.

Some fishing here, some photography there.

Now thinking about the next project...”

For more, visit the author’s website.

Description:

“Mike Lewis wants 'out'. Out of his meaningless career, his shallow relationships, the big city rat race. On a whim, he signs a contract for a house in an idyllic retirement community in Florida that promises a peaceful life of golf and hobbies. Only later does he read the small print: he has to be over 60 to join the enclave. Trouble is, he's only 39. Welcome to the start of a whole new life...”

Appraisal:

All you have to do is read the book description and it should be obvious that the premise of this book is one ripe with comedic potential. That the twist is the opposite of the norm, most people would rather pass themselves off as being younger, not older, adds to the humor of the situation. A quick, light-hearted read that tickled my funny bone.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four stars