Review: Hot Ash by Russ Colchamiro

Genre: Detective Mystery/Science Fiction

Description:

In the far future when technology has the power to repair tears in the fabric of space, private investigator Angela Hardwick is hired to resolve a case as old as civilization: infighting over family wealth.

Author:

“Russ Colchamiro is the author of the sci-fi mystery novels Crackle and Fire and Fractured Lives, featuring his hardboiled intergalactic private eye Angela Hardwicke. He is also the author of the rollicking time travel/space adventure, Crossline, the SFF backpacking comedy series Finders Keepers, Genius de Milo, and Astropalooza, editor of the sci-fi mystery anthology Love, Murder & Mayhem, and co-author of the noir anthology Murder in Montague Falls.”

Appraisal:

Hot Ash uses science fiction as a backdrop for a private investigator yarn that would be as much fun to read if were set in the Pinkerton’s wild west or Raymond Chandler’s mid-twentieth century America.

The locale is a place called Eternity, which is home to people charged with preventing the universe from unravelling, but that’s not the focus of the story. It’s all about greed, jealously and betrayal. A world of ultra-high tech does not purge humanity of its deadly sins.

PI Angela Hardwick is a hard-shelled, wry-witted absentee mom with a tender side. She can kill bad guys even as she worries about her protegee losing his youthful innocence. Their relationship mirrors a parent’s angst at seeing a young-one come of age, challenge parental authority, and ultimately become the caretaker to some degree.

Lest readers focus on the SF elements, author Russ Colchamiro brings them home to the story’s theme with the presence of laptop and tablet computers and the enduring popularity of zombie movies.

The novel has the requisite plot twists, white-knuckle action and sardonic conclusion of a hard-boiled mystery, all told with consummate skill.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Hot Ash is Colchamiro’s third Angela Hardwick novel and is the only one I’ve read. It reads fine without the backstory of the first two.

Format/Typo Issues:

None

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Sam Waite

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: Pirate Booty by E.Z. Prine

Genre: Humor/Thriller

Description:

“You think you got problems? Try being a rock star, mate.

It’s 1984, and lead singer Jack St James is on cloud nine. He’s met the woman of his dreams and his rock band, Pirate, is on track to finish its sold-out American tour in four days.

If only he hadn’t done some foolhardy things—things that threaten to derail the end of the tour and wreck his plans to retire to the English countryside. Namely, leaping from one hotel balcony to another eight stories above the ground, attracting the attention of the mainstream news media, and having his true identity revealed to the world.

Now his all-powerful father knows exactly where he is and will move heaven and earth to punish him for calling himself ‘Jack.’ How dare he use the name of his brother, his father’s heir and favored son who died a senseless and terrible death? And how dare he shame his father by becoming a rock star, instead of assuming his rightful place in English society?

As Jack and band manager Dunk batten down the hatches, little do they know that they face not one but three rich and powerful men colluding to derail the final concerts in the tour: Jack’s evil father, their coked-up A&R executive, and a smarmy swami intent on kidnapping Jack’s new woman.

Jack is finally facing the enemy of a lifetime, one he cannot predict or control, and the dream life he’s worked so hard to attain hangs in the balance.”

Author:

“E.Z. (‘Easy’) Prine writes about the escapades of Pirate, a fictional eighties hard rock band out of Manchester, England. The Beatles’ appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 sparked what has become E.Z.’s lifelong devotion to ‘classic rock’ and fascination with those luminaries we call rock stars.

The Pirate series is E.Z.’s love letter to rock ’n’ roll and personal thank you to all the artists and supporting others who brought this amazing contribution to our world. May we always rock on.”

For more visit the website for Pirate and follow their Facebook page.

Appraisal:

Presumably you’ve read the first book in this series. If not, do that and come back.

In my review of the first book in this series I mentioned that some story threads were left open while others got tied up. This book, while the second of what I believe is a trilogy (it is thus far for sure), brings the major threads to a point where you don’t feel like you’re hanging from the cliff. At least for a moment, things appear to have reached a resolution, but with a third book out there, presumably this isn’t reality. Getting to that point, the story chronicled in this book, is pretty intense. It is full of humor, I’d say almost satirical and a bit over-the-top in the way it presents the rock-and-roll lifestyle of a popular 80s rock band like the fictitious Pirate. However, this volume also has some things that almost fit the thriller mode, with lots of potential for things to go sideways for the protagonist and those characters we care most about. Figuring out how to safely proceed and who is going to help them rather than help their enemies is sometimes unclear, to both the book’s characters and the reader.

Like the first book in the series, this was fun and entertaining. However, you can also add intense to that description as Jack attempts to get through this one last tour unscathed.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

On my review of the first book in this series I suggested that adult language and content was to be expected in a book focused on an 80s rock band. If anything has changed in this second book in the series it is that this happens more often. It falls well shy of erotica, but if the mention of grownup things bothers you, this book isn’t for you.

While it might be possible to read this book and figure out what is going on I’d advise against it. Instead, get the first book in the series and read it first. Too many things going on that you’ll only half understand otherwise.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 105-110,000 words

Reprise Review: Cloak of Snow by Christine Rains

 Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Mystery/Adventure

Description:

“No one messes with Saskia Dorn’s family and gets away with it.

The same murderous shifters who had hunted her sister have attempted to steal a magical totem pole. Since the pieces are scattered across Alaska, Saskia, a polar bear shifter, takes her search to the tundra for any signs of the lost totems.

Instead she finds Sedge, the latest reincarnation of the old Inuit Bear god, who just happens to be the man who broke her heart.

They come across a small native village tormented by the Jinxioc, evil gnomes with an appetite for human flesh. Sedge declares he will rid the people of the menace, believing a totem token is nearby affecting the devils’ behavior. At his side, Saskia battles to save the tribesmen, but it could mean sacrificing herself.”

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.”

Please check out her Amazon author page for all of her books or stalk her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

Cloak of Snow follows Saskia to the northern tundra of Alaska in search for the fox totem token. Time-wise this novella takes place at the same time as book two, Silent Whispers. Saskia is the oldest of the Dorn sisters and the most hard-headed. She almost makes the youngest sister, Ametta, seem meek by comparison.

This story moves at a good pace. The characters are well defined and we get some insight into Saskia and Sedge’s past relationship which started when she was accepted to train as a Black Shaman. It’s been seven years since she walked away from Sedge and fully becoming a Black Shaman. Sedge, being the latest reincarnation of the old Inuit Bear god, is a typical Alpha male but seems to be able to exercise an extreme amount of patience with Saskia. He is definitely biding his time with her. However, she remains steadfast and refuses to give any sway for him to work with, despite the passion she still carries for him.

When they both come across a small remote village and learn of the tribes recent troubles with the Jinxioc, evil flesh-eating gnomes, Sedge pledges to help his people. The problem is they have no idea how horrifically evil and strong these little devils have become. The twists are clever and surprising. Sedge and Saskia are both faced with challenges that affect them both in a personal way.

Totem is turning into an enthralling series, the odds of recovering the totem tokens are beginning to look insurmountable. The stakes are getting higher and more deadly for all concerned. I can’t wait to see what the Dorn sisters have to face next to secure the sacred totem pole for the sake of all shifters.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Cloak of Snow is book three in the Totem series. I believe this is supposed to be a six book series. Book four, Shattered Spirit, has been released, books five and six are set as pre-orders at the time of writing this review.

Contains adult language with several F-bombs and some graphic violence.

Original review posted February 10, 2017.

Format/Typo Issues:

I came across no proofing or formatting issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ? wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Fast Fiction: Book 1 by Scotty Cornfield

 Genre: Short Story Collection

Description:

“In Fast Fiction, you'll enter a cafe where the menu is loaded with nothing but literary appetizers, designed to be quickly consumed and easily digested. You'll meet people with secrets and others who wished they knew how to keep them; characters looking to exact revenge and others getting their just desserts when karma calls. Fans of the combo platter will see it all here, from the dark to the darkly comical; the laugh-out-loud funny to the thought-provoking; offering more twists and turns than a pretzel—more ups and downs than a souffle. Designed to be picked up and perused at any time—Fast Fiction is perfect for those impromptu moments while you're waiting in line or otherwise find yourself with some extra time to kill--not long enough to get deeply engaged in a novel but just right as a fun alternative. Even if you do have time to put your feet up, get comfortable and grab a book, these 101-word tales will keep you entertained, briefly encountering characters you will never see again--if you're lucky.”

Author:

An “ex-cop” turned magazine writer and newspaper reporter, now working as a private investigator as well as making movies and writing fiction, Scotty Cornfield obviously has a wide range of talents and experience. Oops, forgot to mention performing stand-up comedy as well.

For more, visit Mr Cornfield’s website.

Appraisal:

If you aren’t familiar with flash fiction contests or how they work, do an internet search for Indies Unlimited, and you’ll find one approach. In their weekly contest a photograph is shown as a “prompt” and contestants are expected to write an extremely short story (no more than 250 words) as their entry to the weekly contest.

Scotty Cornfield who wrote this book participates in a contest that is apparently sponsored by the Monterey County Weekly newspaper in Monterey County, California. They give a “prompt” of a few words, sometimes as few as one. Contestants are expected to tell a complete story inspired by that short prompt. But their expected word count is more difficult and extremely precise. The story must be exactly 101 words. No more, no less. Exactly 101 words. I tend to ramble. I’m just barely getting started at 101 words. I’m way past that in this review already. To write a 101 word story, making the tale entertaining and well written is an admirable skill for sure.

Here we have around 100 of these stories with a title, 101 words of story, and then (just in case we’re curious) the prompt used as the story’s inspiration. They tend to be fun and while reading the 90-something words prior, what you expect is rarely what you get when the ending comes. No doubt with as much variety as these stories have there will be some that you’ll love and some that you won’t like as well, but with only 101 words to finish, you’ll be eager for another one after reading the good ones and won’t feel like you wasted a bunch of time on those that you didn’t. A fun, quick read.

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: 10-15,000 words

Review: The Girl from Belgrade by John L. DeBoer

 Genre: Thriller

Description:

“A young girl’s life is torn apart when her parents are killed in the NATO bombing of Belgrade, Serbia, during the 1999 Kosovo War. An embittered Katarina Petrovic grows up with a hatred for Americans and becomes a willing candidate for special training by Russian agents.

Alex Baker commanded an Air Force Office of Special Investigations unit until an incident forced him to resign his military commission. Still in his thirties, he finds a new career as the owner of a Manhattan-based travel agency specializing in tour packages. When his father is assassinated, Alex is promised to be kept in the loop regarding the investigation. The OSI, FBI, and CIA begin a global hunt for a female assassin who appears to be targeting American pilots involved in the Belgrade bombing.

Alex is suddenly thrust into the middle of the investigation when events suggest he could also be on the assassin’s kill list. Is the woman making threatening phone calls the one who murdered his father? Or is she the alluring Dee Norton he meets supposedly by chance? Piece by piece, the mystery is unraveled, culminating in a thrilling conclusion on the island of Key West.”

Author:

“After graduating from the University of Vermont College of Medicine, John L. DeBoer, M.D., F.A.C.S. completed his surgical training in the U.S. Army and then spent three years in the Medical Corps as a general surgeon. Thirty years of private practice later, he retired to begin a new career as a writer. When not creating new plot lines for his novels, Dr. DeBoer pursues his interests in cooking, the cinema, and the amazing cosmos. He’s an avid tennis player, and his yet-to-be-fulfilled goal is to achieve a level of mediocrity in the frustrating game of golf. The father of two grown sons, he lives with his wife in North Carolina.”

For more, visit Mr DeBoer’s website.

Appraisal:

In the first chapter a young girl, Katrina, loses both her parents and is lucky to dodge death herself as NATO forces, primarily American, bomb the area of Serbia where she lives. She didn’t understand why it was happening, but was very aware of who was doing it. When that chapter ended, I commented to myself that in her place I’d have an extreme hate for Americans. It turns out I was right although her hate was more focused, for the most part aiming her desire for revenge at people actually involved in the attacks on her town.

When the killings start happening, just which character is this girl, now grown up, isn’t apparent to the reader. Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and even the CIA get involved. The primary protagonist, Alex Baker, gets drawn in quickly when his father who was the commander of the bombing mission years earlier is killed and there is a fear that Alex might be a target as well. Although not acting in an official capacity, Alex finds himself acting as a detective, trying to put the pieces together and stop the deaths. Figuring out what is happening, who potential victims might be, and how to catch the culprits keeps Alex guessing and the reader trying to anticipate the answers along with him, right up to the end. An intensive and entertaining read that I enjoyed very much.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

My review is based on a pre-publication version, so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Review: The Sound of Patriarchy and Other Stories by L. F. Roth

 Genre: Short Story Collection

Description:

“A collection of stories that runs the gamut from serious to comic. Relationships, and reactions to traumatic experiences or change, all come under scrutiny. Life-changing events play out against a counterpoint of minutely observed details.

Though you won’t meet any bears in this volume, you will come across the real Dylan, delve into a literary feud, partake in preparations for a funeral rehearsal, share a musician’s musings, find out the importance of gender-neutral watches and, perhaps, learn to stay clear of tigers, at least in the form of tattoos.”

Author:

L.F. Roth’s bio indicates a history of bouncing around from job to job and country to country, spending time living in the US and Sweden as well as what appears to be his native country, England. He’s had many short stories appear in various anthologies over the years with many of them finding their way into this collection.

Appraisal:

More than 20 short stories. The Sound of Patriarchy is one of the stories, but don’t assume that this title is indicative of what the majority of stories are about. In fact, the actual story with that title didn’t turn out quite like what I would have anticipated. However, the stories were generally entertaining, sometimes thought provoking, and had enough variety to keep things interesting. If you’re into short story collections this one is definitely worth checking out.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Uses British slang and spelling conventions.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 60-65,0000 words

Reprise Review: Domination by Imogen Rose

 Genre: YA/Paranormal

Description:

“Years of hard work preceded her entry to the Oval Office. She attended the right prep schools and right colleges. She made sure to make all the right contacts, ingratiating herself into the right circles. But all those rights hadn’t been enough.

In the end, she’d needed her mother.

And now it was time to repay that debt.”

Author:

Globetrotter Imogen Rose is Swedish by birth, went to college in London (where she received a PhD in immunology), and is now a Jersey girl. After her eight-year-old daughter insisted she write down her stories, Rose wrote the first of her Portal Chronicles series and decided to let it out into the world. The response was so positive that she’s continued writing. With the addition of this one she now has eleven books available, plus foreign translations of many.

For more, visit Rose’s website.

Appraisal:

It's been almost two years since Imogen Rose's last book. I found myself slipping easily into her world and hearing about the latest adventures of the characters (at least the likable ones) was like catching up with old friends.

In each installment we learn a little more about Rose's paranormal creatures, not just their personalities, but their capabilities or powers. We understand the world they live in a bit better, which is partially our world, but things are going on that we aren't aware of or misinterpret based on our limited knowledge.

In this latest installment two of the main characters are having a baby. This is complicated not only by the child-to-be's genetic makeup (a combination of fairy, demon, and wanderer, the last a paranormal creature that might be unique to Rose's story worlds) which is unique enough as to be hard to predict how it will work out, but also due to some issues with the grandmother-to-be. Then there is the US President and the wrath her mother is trying to unleash on the world. Needless to say, tension is high and how or if it will turn out okay is in question right up until the end.

Those who have been waiting for this aren't going to be disappointed. Those who haven't, now is as good a time to hop on board, either reading Domination or going back to the start of the series.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Although part of a series, reading this book as a standalone would work fine as the author gives enough grounding in past events to get new readers up to speed while refreshing the memories of those who have been around since the beginning.

Original review posted January 17, 2017.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance copy and I can't judge the final version in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Review: An Empty House by the River by Robert Hays

 Genre: Literary Fiction

Description:

“Life has been good in the old Prather house on the bluff overlooking Singleton’s Branch. Then the second ‘once in a hundred years’ flood in a decade brings changes that will affect the Prather family for years to come. Lacy, who sees beauty wherever she looks and expects others to be as good as she is, can no longer count on her big brother to protect her from an abusive husband, and the family learns a hard truth: No one is immune to the quirks of fate, be they blessings or tragedies, and the river takes more than it gives.”

Author:

“Robert Hays is the author of six previous novels and a book of short stories and has written, edited, or collaborated on a half–dozen works of non–fiction. His short stories have appeared in anthologies and he has published numerous academic journal and popular periodical articles. Selections from three of his novels have gained Pushcart Prize nominations. He is a U.S. Army veteran and, though retired from classroom teaching, holds professor emeritus rank on the faculty of the University of Illinois. He lives in the beautiful southern Illinois wooded hill country about which he often writes.”

Appraisal:

I found this story interesting and engaging for a couple different reasons. It tells the story of a family over several decades, with more than a few times of crisis and conflict that keep the reader engaged as the family members deal with these issues. (If everything went perfect, it would have been boring, right?) However, along with the obvious story I found myself thinking about a few other things that the story seems to be setting up. One is family and how a family’s relationships evolve and change over time. Of course, I found myself thinking about my own family relationships and comparing them to the Prather family. The other thing I found myself pondering was the house that the book is named after and how it made the family members feel they had roots in that community. Any book that gets me thinking, comparing my life to those of the characters, understanding the similarities or helping me to better grasp the reasons people are different is a book I can appreciate and enjoy.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Review: Doctor Alien, Three Tales by Rajnar Vajra

 Genre: Science Fiction

Description:

An alien species, the ‘Tsf’ has begun trading with Earth. They find single members of three other alien species adrift in space and bring them aboard their own space craft. The three appear to have no physical injuries, but perhaps some mental defect? The psychiatrist of the title is deputed to travel up to the Tsf ship and see what he can make of the aliens they have rescued. The three interlinked tales deal with what he finds when he gets there, how he helps the three aliens, and others. They also explore the problems that accrue when the Tsf reward him for his help.

Author:

Rajnar Vajra has been a regular and delightful voice in Analog magazine for many years. He also contributes to Tor.com (including their anthologies). One can only wonder why it has taken him so long to collect some of his stories together as he has done here.

Appraisal:

I have been an Analog subscriber (and also Asimov’s), and always enjoyed the stories enormously. It contains hard SF of a most satisfying kind. The only thing you might say against it is that you can still see its origins in the Fifties: it isn’t particularly ‘slipstream-y’ or modern. Things (often space ships or medical equipment) get built, alien races are interacted with, the way our lives might be in the future is explored. There is very often a clever twist at the end which makes the reader ask ‘why didn’t I think of that?’, or preen quietly if s/he did.

These three stories were originally published as long stories (possibly serialised) in Analog. They build up one upon another and have an internal chronology. If you enjoy hard SF you will enjoy these. There are intriguing puzzles to solve before the clever twists I refer to above (what is wrong with the aliens? Why does the Doctor keep assembling and disassembling the same robot?); there is an interesting take on life in the future; there are well-imagined, seriously weird aliens; and the stories are funny. What more could one ask for?

Perhaps an interesting introduction to the three stories such as that provided by Stanley Schmidt (editor of Analog 1978-2012)? That latter date is perhaps a clue to one of the few problemettes with these three tales: they were all written between 2009 and 2012. They stand up pretty well, considering the youngest of them is 10 years old. One always fears – especially with near future stories such as Vajra claims these to be – that they may quickly become a mere historical curiosity because the real world has moved in a direction one’s authorial brain did not foresee.

Technology hasn’t overtaken these stories, human nature hasn’t changed, answers to the fundamental questions of the universe are still being sought. Which is presumably why these particular stories were chosen for this project. Nevertheless, I hope Vajra issues some more recent tales in this format soon.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

I was working from an ARC, so cannot comment on the final accuracy of the book.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Review: Dead Winner by Kevin G. Chapman

 Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Description:

“Be careful what you wish for . . .

Rory McEntyre is a lonely trusts & estates attorney who plays the hero inside video games. Then, his old flame, Monica, walks into his office with a $60 million winning lottery ticket and a world of trouble.

Monica’s husband, Tom, is dead, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot. A homicide detective considers Monica a suspect, so Rory must be her criminal lawyer. Thugs from Tom’s shady business think Monica has incriminating evidence Tom stole from the company, so Rory must be her protector. Most importantly, Rory must be Monica’s private detective, because the winning lottery ticket is missing. As Monica and Rory search for the ticket, their relationship heats up well beyond attorney and client. Rory has the chance to win the girl of his dreams, but does he have what it takes to be a real hero? And is Monica everything he wants to believe she is? If he’s not careful, Rory could end up like Tom – a Dead Winner.”

Author:

A lawyer specializing in labor and employment law by day, Kevin Chapman describes his real passions as playing tournament poker, rooting for the New York Mets, and writing fiction. For more, visit Mr Chapman’s website.

https://kevingchapman.com/

Appraisal:

I’ve read a few of Kevin Chapman’s Mike Stoneman thrillers which feature a police detective investigating a crime. A detective novel, while fun and entertaining, also has more restraints on the kinds of things that might happen and still be credible. This story gets outside of that when Rory, an attorney who typically deals with estate planning, finds himself in the middle of a situation that is well beyond his normal case. What causes this to happen and the multiple parties involved in the situation brings more complications to figuring out what is really going on. Wondering whether Rory and his client could bring the situation to a satisfying conclusion kept me guessing to the very end. While cliché to say, it’s the truth, I never saw that ending coming. Definitely one I’d recommend if you’re into thrillers.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language and adult situations.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an ARC (advance reader copy), so I can’t judge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Reprise Review: The Obvious by J. Cassidy

 Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Description:

“An alcoholic father, her mother missing since she was a child, all Sammy has are her friends. When their deceit starts to tear into their group Sammy must decide whether doing the right thing is worth losing everything.

Friendships can be fleeting, family can’t be chosen and the choices she makes will stay with her until the day she dies."

Author:

Here’s the only author description I could find, and I like it:

“I'm J. Cassidy and I used to be an oak tree growing in a park in England. I still like to be decorated once a year.

I like pink, sparkly fluffles and rainbows.”

Appraisal:

This novel is chock-full of F-bombs and sex with a constant undercurrent of violence, and I loved every word.

On the pages without a sex act or a reference to one, you’ll find a twenty-year-old girl--Sammy--who is thinking or talking or being asked about sex. Yet this is in no way an erotic novel. Sammy uses sex. Sometimes as a weapon, but more often as a shield to insulate her from the internal damage of an abusive childhood, suffered at the hands of her alcoholic father who raised her alone after her mother walked out on a four-year-old Sammy.

Most of the swearing from Sammy is colloquial, intended not to insult, but to reinforce the tough shell she has built around herself. Only her close friends are ever allowed to peek inside Sammy’s emotional bubble, and even then, it is only a peek.

Sammy is a broken person. She doesn’t smile, she turns up the edges of her mouth. This story is a snapshot taken over a short period of her life. It’s sad, poignant, and wholly believable.

The writing is sharp, and fits the mood of the piece. There is a lot of colloquial spelling in the dialogue, but it works well, without getting tiring. The novel is set in England, in a blue-collar environment, but I believe American readers can soon catch the conversational rhythm.

If you have no problem with sex and swearing and unvarnished real-life drama and you are yearning for something “different” to read. You should check out this unique story.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Heavy on F-bombs, graphic sex. English spelling and situations.

Original review posted February 8, 2017.

Format/Typo Issues:

Our review copy had some formatting issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Pete Barber

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Review: The Fable Ferrets: The birth of magic by Eric Wolf and Noah Wolf

 

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Description:

The first of a planned series of children’s pictures books featuring a group of seven ferrets, each with their own unique personalities and quirks.

Author:

Eric and Noah Wolf are in their twenties. Noah is the artist of the two, doing the drawings for this story with the words appearing to be a group effort since both are listed as authors.

Appraisal:

I read this book with my 9 year-old granddaughter who I typically refer to as LBG in my reviews. LBG enjoyed the story, getting to know each of the ferrets and their unique personality as well as vicariously experiencing their little adventure in this story. We both thought the pictures fit the story well. However, I had a few concerns.

The first were a few grammar issues that snuck through the proofreading process. Not a lot, but with a book as short as the typical children’s picture book the errors stand out that much more. The book also uses a strange, at least to me, technique of using dashes rather the quotation marks to delineate the dialogue or words a character is saying from the other text. While different and not exactly standard, it works okay. Last is a bit too much of a propensity to replace the word “said” (as in she said or he said or Kenny said) with an alternative (“declared Kenny” is one example) or even more troublesome, trying to get too much information into a phrase like that, for example “said Teo confused” or even more extreme “declared Kenny, while analyzing what June said.”

Odds of a younger kid that this book would be aimed at taking issue with any of the concerns I have are slim, but the parents and grandparents who buy the books and sometimes read them to the kids might feel differently.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

Some concerns in this area discussed in more detail in the appraisal section.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 27 pages

Review: Alligator River by Jackson Banks

 Genre: Thriller

Description:

“Public defender Chase Blanchard has been assigned the biggest case of his career. Jeremy Martin, his new client, is a local fisherman with a troubled past accused of murdering a young tourist in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge on North Carolina's Outer Banks.

As Chase begins to think his client couldn't possibly be innocent and pushes him to take a plea, Chief Ranger Brandon Maddox begins digging into the murder on his own and finds evidence that could exonerate Martin. Maddox's trust in the system is betrayed, however, when the lead detective on the case and prosecuting attorney try to bury the exculpatory evidence.

Chase and Maddox begin to suspect a serial killer is at large in the community as more people turn up missing or dead. Unable to trust local authorities, the two form an unlikely alliance to find the real killer before time runs out for the next victim.”

Author:

“Jackson Banks is the pen name for a writer and trial lawyer who lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his family. He writes stories across multiple genres, including thrillers, humor, and romance.”

For more, check out his website.

Appraisal:

While a thriller, in the beginning this feels like a mystery as public defender Chase Blanchard is assigned a client for a murder that the client insists he didn’t commit. The evidence available to Chase doesn’t appear very good for his client, but the reader fairly quickly becomes aware of things that appears to indicate the client really wasn’t involved. As the reader we’ll stay ahead of Chase the entire way, constantly hoping he and those who become involved assisting him will figure things out and minimize the suffering caused to others by the actual guilty party. In spite of suspecting and then knowing who the guilty party is for much of the book, not an uncommon situation in a thriller, this knowledge only increases the intensity. If you’re into thrillers, definitely worth your time to give this one a try.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an ARC (advanced reader copy) and thus I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Review: Wyrd Gods: Timelessness Book 1 by Susana Imaginário

 Genre: Myth and legend

Description:

The author says this book “combines mythology with science fiction and slipstream fantasy in a strange and introspective way.”

This is the first book in a tetralogy. Susana Imaginário wrote all four as a single 300,000+ word novel, then took pity on readers and cut the result up into more manageable chunks. She has set two major, ancient pantheons against each other: the Aesir (Norse) and the Olympians (Greek) now in competition for worlds and worshippers after The Merge.

The Aesir and the Olympians seem to know surprisingly little about other religions, including the Egyptian pantheon. Kali is mentioned. A stray Egyptian goddess turns up, who nobody apparently recognises. Buddhism and the Abrahamic religions do not feature.

There are suggestions that the two pantheons need to co-operate to avoid being subsumed by Chronos, the primal god of Time. This they find difficult. Gaea, the ancient mother goddess of all life, has got herself into a bit of a pickle with Chronos. She has been playing politics and things have gotten somewhat out of hand: the Underworld has gone missing.

The central character is Psyche, a human elevated to become the goddess of the soul. However, she has transgressed against the gods, been cursed, and imprisoned (as a wyrd god) inside the mind of a dryad called Ileanna.

Author:

Susana Imaginário describes herself as “a misfit from Portugal”. She says of her tetralogy, “what started as an exercise to improve my English ended in the realisation of a twenty-year-old dream.”

She moved to England to pursue a career as an aerialist and now runs a Tabletop Gaming retreat in Ireland with her husband. Her hobbies include reading, playing board games, hanging upside down, poking around ancient ruins, talking to trees and being tired. She loves a good story, and claims not to talk much.

Appraisal:

This is a complex book. This first volume is just the tip of its iceberg. The action gallops along in short chapters. These are from a variety of different viewpoints: the Wyrd, Psyche/Ileana; Gaea; Chronos; Ideth, another dryad who Chiron the centaur calls ‘unbridled one’ for reasons still unclear to me; Chiron himself; another confined Wyrd God who is actually Odin; Loki, freshly broken out of Hades’ (now missing) realm; Hel (Loki’s daughter); a ‘Dharkan’ (a sexy, icy assassin); the Egyptian goddess of writing, Seshat; Iosh, a k a Judoc, a local lothario cum priest; and a human queen, Arianh. There may be a couple of others I’ve forgotten. It is a LOT of narrators. As the jump into a new narrator at the beginning of the chapter isn’t signposted for the reader, it means a couple of paragraphs of floundering before one establishes whose head we are in now. The author could have been kinder to her readers in this regard.

If you enjoy the sort of complex use of characters, pantheons and world building such as you encounter in Tolkien and George RR Martin, then although there is a bagginess about this first book, you will like it a lot, providing you can keep who is doing what to whom straight in your head. The beings to whom we are introduced in this first volume are very entertaining. The tone is witty and light. And the Dharkan is very sexy indeed.

No huge amount of progress towards whatever the over-arching goal of the four books is has been achieved by the end of this first one. Imaginário asks, in her author’s note, for patience from her readers and promises everything will make sense in the end.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some (mainly light-hearted) F-bombs

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words