Author John Heldt provided an e-copy of The Patriots for review. Mister Heldt is one of my very favorite authors. His books are tight, engaging and entertaining. The Patriots continues his tradition of providing characters to become attached to and a story the reader can lose themselves in (into which the reader can lose themselves). 

Set in the months leading up to the American Revolution, readers get a history lesson along with a wonderful story of family, romance, tragedy, adventure, terror and humor. A lot to pack into one read, but Heldt is a master of balance. 

As always, I was absorbed by the story within the first few pages, and completely enthralled by the first few chapters. By the way, Heldts' chapters are always very short, a double edged tactic in my mind. Short chapters lend the ability to find good stopping points but at the same time, encourage the reader to read "one more chapter", which in my case means I often find myself way past my bedtime, reading well into the night. 

Perhaps secondary to the setting, this story comes across as more serious than his usual work. Though more serious we do not lose Heldts' talent for well developed characters, tight plot lines, humor and sub-plots drawing the reader deeper and deeper into the story. The story paints such a vivid picture in the readers mind. It is easy to "see" the story. Historic figures are introduced much as one would imagine. The founding fathers are introduced as regular people much as I imagine they probably were prior to their role in America's history. Set in and around Philadelphia there is no slack in presenting detailed accounts of the local culture, landscape, business and people. The level of research and accuracy Heldt puts into his work is clearly evident and appreciated. 

Personal relationships are another of the authors trademarks on display here. Romance is juxta positioned with adult responsibility. It is truly a tale that kept my interest throughout. I guessed a couple of details but as usual I was completely caught off guard by others. 

Heldt stated that this is one of his longest, if not the longest book he has written thus far. It did not feel long to me, like always, I was not really ready to finish. But the end always has to come ready or not. Thankfully, Mr. Heldt does not need to employ the dreaded cliffhanger to whet the readers appetite for more. He just provides a natural ending point which encourages the reader to want more. The characters are so engaging that we just naturally want to see more of their lives. 

Have I gushed enough? Do you get that I really like this book? It's true! I always look forward to new work by Mr. Heldt and getting to follow a new family is great. What is not great is the wait for the next installment. But such is life.

The Patriots continues John A Heldts' tradition of good clean ethical entertainment. Repeat readers know this already, I encourage new readers to find out for yourselves. Enjoy!

Mike

The Midnight Children is presented as a middle-grade book, okay, not a middle-grade reader but I really enjoyed this story. 

There were several messages here, but I focus more on story. If an author cannot present a story that holds and engages the reader, the message is less than effective. In my opinion, author Gemeinhart does this quite well, The Midnight Children engages the reader masterfully. I'll leave to others the discussion of messages.

The story is at times heartbreaking, heartwarming, scary, gross, and hilarious. Most of the children I know would not have a great deal of trouble with the more intense scenes. Kids often embrace a gross-out factor. Parts of the story are predictable, while others are surprising and inventive (you'll never look at cows the same way again I'll bet). The narrator does a good job keeping the reader centered and lessens the impact of the more intense scenes. A little humor can go a long way. 

The tale focuses on the difficulty of a lonely, only, child as he navigates bullies, finds friends and builds a new community. A very different but effective narrative style. It took a bit of getting used to, but works well.

An aspect of this story I appreciated was the fact that parents are not an enemy. The family was not grossly dysfunctional. What family does not have some mild dysfunction, often just miscommunication? I know, message talk, oh well.

If your looking for a book that encourages reading, engages the young mind and stimulates thought and introspection, The Midnight Children fills the bill nicely. 

Enjoy!

Mike

 

 

There baack!

Happy day! I was finally able to find the remaining books to complete my collection of Deathlands books. Aren't you happy for me? There are 125 books in the series and I was able to find the last 18 titles I needed. Deathlands books are my guilty pleasure. They are not politically correct. They are over-the-top graphically violent, less over-the-top, but at times still graphically sexual, actually quite diverse, more as a survival activity than any social identity. Fortunately, the books do not require being read in order. With one or two exceptions they are completely stand alone. They are set in an America some 200 years after the "Nukecaust" of September 1, 2001.

Homeward Bound is in fact, the fifth book in the series. It focuses on one of the main characters (Ryan Cawdor) return to his childhood home. Needless to say his childhood was less than idyllic. His older brother who now rules the old homestead and is crazy as an outhouse rat, tried to kill him as a child (he thought he was successful). Surprise! It is no spoiler to share that Ryan and his cohorts successfully resolve the old enmity in their own inimitable fashion. Since Ryan and his crew appear in 120 more installments in the series, fans know they are going to win, it's what inventive techniques are they going to employ to achieve their desired ends.

As I said before, Deathlands books are not for the squeamish. They are ultra-violent, ultra-graphic, at times overtly sexual, sometime violent sometimes romantic. Ryan and his crew have what can be called a moral compass,  it is more do unto others before they do unto you. If you don't mess with them you'll probably be okay, but if you openly antagonize them you are in for a most inventive and horrific end (Their term; chilling). The series does have it's own language that takes a while to get used to.

If you like the occasional non-politically correct, socially acceptable, escapist sex and violence adventure, pick up any Deathlands title. Homeward Bound is an excellent representation of the series. 

Enjoy! I do! No apologies.

Mike

 

Flame of Deception

The Wielders of Power

Book One

A "sword and sorcery" type story (one of my favorite genres). The opening entry of a series (I don't see any info as to how many books to expect), The Wielders of Power. And an excellent start it is. 

Set in a preindustrial, medieval land, our heroes are drawn into a situation in which the "fate of the world hangs in the balance" (my quote, not from the book). The four protagonists: Ron, the leader of the troupe, Grant, his best friend, Nora, Ron's romantic interest (If he can screw up the courage to tell her) and Shaw an older more experienced advisor.

The story is this bands quest to stop an evil practitioner of a long thought extinct power (the Flame). For an epic fantasy I find Flame of Deception to be more intricately crafted than most. The reader is treated to a tale filled with twists, turns, secrets and surprises. This supports my policy of not sharing spoilers; the reader deserves the pleasure of discovering these plot devices for themselves.

A morality tale; Flame of Deception leaves the reader to try and identify the good versus the evil. As in real life these concepts are not so clearly defined as one might think. Deciding where each character falls on the moral continuum is left to the reader. As a reader I appreciate this being left to me. I don't like to be led by the nose through a story. 

A couple minor points: first, I don't see a resolution of a particular conflict which is usually a part of a series, each book usually answers some minor part of the overarching plot. Thankfully, there is no cliffhanger to contend with (thank you Mr. Trevizo). Second, and infinitely less important, The name of our main hero "Ron", really, Ron?! He is following in the footsteps of mythic historic figures named Taroth and Thalom. Truly awesome names for epic figures. And now our new epic hero is: Ron?!! Oh well, who am I to question the author, it is after all, his story to tell. And I am glad I get to read it, so I'll shut up now.

I truly enjoyed Flame of Deception: The Wielders of Power Book One. If you enjoy "sword and sorcery" tales, I think you will enjoy this first installment of an epic fantasy series.

Enjoy!

Mike 

Fractal Noise

 

I won a print copy of Fractal Noise by Christopher Paolini in a Goodreads Giveaway.

This book is difficult to review. Based on the writing style and story line it is excellent. The reader is taken on an arduous journey of exploration on a foreign planet. Subplots are tight, conflicting motivations are well developed as are the characters in general. The writing kept me engaged through the entirety of the tale. It was not a quick read for me because the story was very dark and depressing. It was difficult for me to stay in it for long periods, but I was engrossed while reading. While the story was singularly focused on the exploration, there was enough variation to hold the readers interest.

So, you may be asking at this point: What is so difficult? Well, for me, the climax was seriously disappointing. In fact, in my humble opinion, there was no real climax. It is obviously the ending the author intended (he wrote it after all), but I have to admit: I don't get it. It was, if anything - anticlimactic. It just sort of ends. After hanging on for the long strenuous trek across a desolate yet violent landscape it felt like "okay we're done now". That was it, For me, Very unsatisfying. So, apparently I missed the point. Not something that usually happens to me. I have not read any other of this authors work, perhaps it is part of his style I don't know.

Anyway, Fractal Noise is not a waste of time by any means, but be prepared for a different kind of ending.

Enjoy!

Mike