Thanks to author Mark Rounds for providing an ecopy of This Thing of Darkness I Acknowledge Mine.
This Thing of Darkness I Acknowledge Mine is the third entry of the Plague Years series. Trilogies seem to be de rigeuer these days and I was operating under the belief (erroneous it appears) that this was going to be the conclusion of the story. Reading with this preconception I kept waiting for the turn that would signal that conclusion. WRONG! Fortunately the story does not end here. I for one am glad because the story is so broad and complex, to end this soon would leave a lot unsaid. So it appears that we will get more. I have to say though, I haven't any official confirmation.
The story is one of a plague creating zombies who naturally wreak havoc on the general populace. This third installment focuses more than others on specifically the military response and its' attempts to re-establish control.
One of the better aspects of this chapter in the series for me is how similar both groups of combatants are. Without giving spoilers, both sides have power struggles within their hierarchies. Within the ebb and flow of the conflict we see the range of human emotions, positive and negative, altruistic and self-serving.
A lot more action oriented that the earlier books with a little less focus on relationships and general survival. It is more military action and strategies employed by both sides of the conflict. Mark Rounds does a great job of keeping the suspense level high without feeling the story is dragging. I enjoyed This Thing of Darkness I Acknowledge Mine every bit as much as I did the first two books. The story is evolving in such a way as to keep me interested in what comes next. It's just a drag that we will have to wait for it.
If you have not read the first two books in the Plague Years series you need to, This Thing of Darkness I Acknowledge Mine by Mark Rounds, is not a stand alone by any stretch, but the whole is very much worth reading, and I recommend it. Enjoy!
Mike
Monday, December 11, 2017
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Raindrops
Author Ayo Ajumobi provided an ecopy of Raindrops for review.
I have very mixed emotions about how to approach my review of Raindrops. Fortunately, here on my blog I do not use a star system, but other sites want such a rating. When I post this review on those sites I will try to bypass stars. Either way I go will be less than representative of my reaction to this book.
"Reaction" is the most appropriate word I can use here: I had a visceral reaction to Raindrops.
First, the positive reaction. The story started out as a nice idyllic setting involving a forest world. Ayo Ajumobi does a wonderful job of painting the verbal picture. The characters are well presented. The story line hooks the reader. Very well written.
Now the other reaction. A little back story; the description of Raindrops on Amazon presents a story of nature, wildlife and the arrival of humans. Fair enough. The Goodreads description starts out with the sentence..."Guilt can be a good thing...". That is the crux of my reaction, Raindrops paints humans as basically an evil that is destroying the harmony of the planet. Now, I am not an environmentalist, but I do believe in living responsibly as it pertains to nature. But I do not give credence to the idea that an anthropomorphic tree has equal moral standing to a human. I do live in a house made mostly of wood, I have sat around a campfire burning wood for the sheer enjoyment of the moment. Guess what, I don't feel the least bit guilty!
Raindrops, in the end hit me as just another attempt to make the reader feel guilty for existing. I am a man, I am white, and I am a human. As I recall I was not consulted or given a choice as to whether this was what I wanted. I am quite tired of people pointing the finger of accusation at anybody based on criteria they had no say in. Had the author been interested in presenting a story that could help the situation perhaps he could have included ways for that to happen in his book. As it is all he provided was another example of finger pointing.
"Guilt can be a good thing...", not this time. Raindrops by Ayo Ajumobi is a well written book even if I find the premise faulty, but I can't recommend it.
Mike
I have very mixed emotions about how to approach my review of Raindrops. Fortunately, here on my blog I do not use a star system, but other sites want such a rating. When I post this review on those sites I will try to bypass stars. Either way I go will be less than representative of my reaction to this book.
"Reaction" is the most appropriate word I can use here: I had a visceral reaction to Raindrops.
First, the positive reaction. The story started out as a nice idyllic setting involving a forest world. Ayo Ajumobi does a wonderful job of painting the verbal picture. The characters are well presented. The story line hooks the reader. Very well written.
Now the other reaction. A little back story; the description of Raindrops on Amazon presents a story of nature, wildlife and the arrival of humans. Fair enough. The Goodreads description starts out with the sentence..."Guilt can be a good thing...". That is the crux of my reaction, Raindrops paints humans as basically an evil that is destroying the harmony of the planet. Now, I am not an environmentalist, but I do believe in living responsibly as it pertains to nature. But I do not give credence to the idea that an anthropomorphic tree has equal moral standing to a human. I do live in a house made mostly of wood, I have sat around a campfire burning wood for the sheer enjoyment of the moment. Guess what, I don't feel the least bit guilty!
Raindrops, in the end hit me as just another attempt to make the reader feel guilty for existing. I am a man, I am white, and I am a human. As I recall I was not consulted or given a choice as to whether this was what I wanted. I am quite tired of people pointing the finger of accusation at anybody based on criteria they had no say in. Had the author been interested in presenting a story that could help the situation perhaps he could have included ways for that to happen in his book. As it is all he provided was another example of finger pointing.
"Guilt can be a good thing...", not this time. Raindrops by Ayo Ajumobi is a well written book even if I find the premise faulty, but I can't recommend it.
Mike
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Fun & Games
I received an ecopy of Fun & Games from author David Michael Slater.
Fun & Games starts out as a slice of one man's family, or in this case, one boy's. We have an evil genius sister, a hot sister who knows how to put her looks to use, a writer father trying to not be Jewish, a mother trying to preserve Jewish tradition, holocaust survivor grandparents, and of course our hero Jon, trying and often failing, to keep up with it all.
His group of friends are the usual mix of teenage boys fixated on girls and marathon games of D&D. Jon is forever being bullied, coerced and manipulated by one or both of his sisters. He is one of those people who try to go with the flow, a very difficult task in this particular family.
Mixed in with typical adolescent male hormone fueled goofiness are sometimes heartbreaking and life altering events. Family secrets abound and as Jon matures (at least chronologically), he is forced to deal with them. For the most part Fun & Games is a comedy, and a hilarious one at that. But the end leans more to the serious end of the spectrum.
It does evoke a bit of a nostalgic feeling: the stupid teenage tricks, the determination to lose that pesky virginity ( I didn't lose mine, I know right where I left it) and the rocky transition from adolescent to adult.
Fun & Games can be viewed as a coming of age tale but it's more the antics of the family that puts the "fun" in dysfunctional. David Michael Slater has written a fun and funny story that fans of American Graffiti style entertainment should like. Enjoy!
Mike
Fun & Games starts out as a slice of one man's family, or in this case, one boy's. We have an evil genius sister, a hot sister who knows how to put her looks to use, a writer father trying to not be Jewish, a mother trying to preserve Jewish tradition, holocaust survivor grandparents, and of course our hero Jon, trying and often failing, to keep up with it all.
His group of friends are the usual mix of teenage boys fixated on girls and marathon games of D&D. Jon is forever being bullied, coerced and manipulated by one or both of his sisters. He is one of those people who try to go with the flow, a very difficult task in this particular family.
Mixed in with typical adolescent male hormone fueled goofiness are sometimes heartbreaking and life altering events. Family secrets abound and as Jon matures (at least chronologically), he is forced to deal with them. For the most part Fun & Games is a comedy, and a hilarious one at that. But the end leans more to the serious end of the spectrum.
It does evoke a bit of a nostalgic feeling: the stupid teenage tricks, the determination to lose that pesky virginity ( I didn't lose mine, I know right where I left it) and the rocky transition from adolescent to adult.
Fun & Games can be viewed as a coming of age tale but it's more the antics of the family that puts the "fun" in dysfunctional. David Michael Slater has written a fun and funny story that fans of American Graffiti style entertainment should like. Enjoy!
Mike
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
The Covens of Elmeeria
I won a print copy of The Covens of Elmeeria by Miguel Lopez de Leon in a Goodreads giveaway.
The Covens of Elmeeria is a nice, short, middle grade (in my opinion) story set in a medieval type world of kingdoms replete with kings, queens, princes and princesses and the always accompanying political machinations.
The characters are straight forward for the most part and not particularly complex. But then again, this is a book directed towards a younger audience where too much complexity may be a negative. The Covens of Elmeeria was fun for what it was intended to be; a short, fairy tale kind of story with a likable heroine who has to think for herself to save the day.
As you know I don't get into "message" books, but it doesn't take much to see that the author is encouraging readers to think for themselves and face up to problems. Okay, enough of the soapbox.
It is refreshing for me to read a book where the young person is not the only one with a brain. Parents are for the most part good and their child is neither spoiled nor disrespectful.
Is The Covens of Elmeeria by Miguel Lopez de Leon fantasy on a par with Lord of the Rings? No, but it is not claiming to be. It is a story that I wouldn't have a problem with my grandchildren reading. Enjoy!
Mike
The Covens of Elmeeria is a nice, short, middle grade (in my opinion) story set in a medieval type world of kingdoms replete with kings, queens, princes and princesses and the always accompanying political machinations.
The characters are straight forward for the most part and not particularly complex. But then again, this is a book directed towards a younger audience where too much complexity may be a negative. The Covens of Elmeeria was fun for what it was intended to be; a short, fairy tale kind of story with a likable heroine who has to think for herself to save the day.
As you know I don't get into "message" books, but it doesn't take much to see that the author is encouraging readers to think for themselves and face up to problems. Okay, enough of the soapbox.
It is refreshing for me to read a book where the young person is not the only one with a brain. Parents are for the most part good and their child is neither spoiled nor disrespectful.
Is The Covens of Elmeeria by Miguel Lopez de Leon fantasy on a par with Lord of the Rings? No, but it is not claiming to be. It is a story that I wouldn't have a problem with my grandchildren reading. Enjoy!
Mike
Monday, November 27, 2017
The Elixir: A Bud Hutchins Urban Fantasy (Bud Hutchins Thriller Book 2)
JB Michaels sent me a print copy of The Elixer, the second Bud Hutchins Urban Fantasy. He did not ask for a review, but hey, it's what I do.
The Elixer is an excellent follow up to The Order of St. Michael. While the first book has a lot of background on our hero, it is not necessarily necessary to have read it first (but you really should). Our heroes get caught up in another paranormal life and death adventure.
The action takes place in and around Chicago where Bud is responsible for more damage than a Bruce Willis movie. We have several plot lines, not all of which are resolved by the end of the book. Which means there must be another book in the works (YAY!). We have all the trappings for a good paranormal story; zombies, werewolves, ghost bad guys, ghost good guys, robots, and monks to name a few.
The Elixer is a bit more mature than the previous book (mostly language wise, that Bud is developing such a mouth). The action is great, Bud is still an enigma; is he a jerk?... a poorly socialized genius? ...or just plain clueless. Whatever he is, he is still a lot of fun to follow. He is loyal to his friends and dedicated to his scientific pursuits.
Although predominantly a YA/middle grade book, I find myself enjoying this series a lot. So is my wife. When the book arrived, she snatched it up to read before I could get to it.
The Elixir: A Bud Hutchins Urban Fantasy (Bud Hutchins Thriller Book 2) (whew, that's a lot of title) by JB Michaels continues the series admirably and keeps us wanting more. Enjoy!
Mike
The Elixer is an excellent follow up to The Order of St. Michael. While the first book has a lot of background on our hero, it is not necessarily necessary to have read it first (but you really should). Our heroes get caught up in another paranormal life and death adventure.
The action takes place in and around Chicago where Bud is responsible for more damage than a Bruce Willis movie. We have several plot lines, not all of which are resolved by the end of the book. Which means there must be another book in the works (YAY!). We have all the trappings for a good paranormal story; zombies, werewolves, ghost bad guys, ghost good guys, robots, and monks to name a few.
The Elixer is a bit more mature than the previous book (mostly language wise, that Bud is developing such a mouth). The action is great, Bud is still an enigma; is he a jerk?... a poorly socialized genius? ...or just plain clueless. Whatever he is, he is still a lot of fun to follow. He is loyal to his friends and dedicated to his scientific pursuits.
Although predominantly a YA/middle grade book, I find myself enjoying this series a lot. So is my wife. When the book arrived, she snatched it up to read before I could get to it.
The Elixir: A Bud Hutchins Urban Fantasy (Bud Hutchins Thriller Book 2) (whew, that's a lot of title) by JB Michaels continues the series admirably and keeps us wanting more. Enjoy!
Mike
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Tales of His Words. Cruel Angels Pass-by, Disgusting Angel Smile
Author Keishi Ando provided ecopies of three of his short stories. As they are stand alone stories and not part of a larger anthology I will review them separately.
Tales of His Words is a paranormal romance set outside an ancient castle in (I believe) Japan (Keishi Ando is Japanese after all). A young woman attending cooking classes enters into a romantic liaison with a man she meets while siting outside the local castle. As the relationship progresses we get glimpses into the girls mind and her at times ambivalence and even anger towards her suitor. The conclusion is an interesting twist.
Cruel Angels Pass-by is a rather bizarre story of a victim of terrible abuse at the hands of society. This abuse seems to be the accepted behavior of the local inhabitants. Then our main character meets an angel. This may seem like a spoiler, but I guarantee I haven't told you anything that would spoil the story. You need to read it for yourself to find out what I mean.
Disgusting Angel Smile is the tale of what we might refer to as an urchin, a child on the edges of society who has connected to her favorite toy an angel and a devil. They bear witness to the child's bleak existence, but don't seem to get too involved. Again we have a somewhat strange ending.
Although not presented as connected, these three stories represent a very bleak outlook on life. For sure a very dark tone. This is not inconsistent with the authors biography, which I leave for you to read. They definitely have a different flavor from what many readers are accustomed to. Part of this is no doubt due to English not being the authors first language. I don't know if the stories have been translated from Japanese or written directly in English by the Japanese author. Enjoy!
Mike
Tales of His Words is a paranormal romance set outside an ancient castle in (I believe) Japan (Keishi Ando is Japanese after all). A young woman attending cooking classes enters into a romantic liaison with a man she meets while siting outside the local castle. As the relationship progresses we get glimpses into the girls mind and her at times ambivalence and even anger towards her suitor. The conclusion is an interesting twist.
Cruel Angels Pass-by is a rather bizarre story of a victim of terrible abuse at the hands of society. This abuse seems to be the accepted behavior of the local inhabitants. Then our main character meets an angel. This may seem like a spoiler, but I guarantee I haven't told you anything that would spoil the story. You need to read it for yourself to find out what I mean.
Disgusting Angel Smile is the tale of what we might refer to as an urchin, a child on the edges of society who has connected to her favorite toy an angel and a devil. They bear witness to the child's bleak existence, but don't seem to get too involved. Again we have a somewhat strange ending.
Although not presented as connected, these three stories represent a very bleak outlook on life. For sure a very dark tone. This is not inconsistent with the authors biography, which I leave for you to read. They definitely have a different flavor from what many readers are accustomed to. Part of this is no doubt due to English not being the authors first language. I don't know if the stories have been translated from Japanese or written directly in English by the Japanese author. Enjoy!
Mike
Spine Chillers: Book One: Hair Raising Tales
I received an ecopy of Spine Chillers by Q. L. Pearce. Although I'm not sure who provided it, my ereader identifies another author of similar books, but the file itself identifies Pearce as the author. Looking at the goodreads page for Q.L. Pearce does show the book to be hers.
As the title says; book one. I haven't seen how many more are projected.
Spine Chillers is a fun set of short stories aimed at middle grade readers but are enjoyable for older readers as well. The stories are in the mode of a Goosebumps or, for older readers, a Twilight Zone feel. Great stories to curl up with on a dark and dreary day, or to share with younger readers. The stories are sufficiently spooky to keep mature readers hooked while short enough to fit younger attention spans. Enjoy!
Mike
As the title says; book one. I haven't seen how many more are projected.
Spine Chillers is a fun set of short stories aimed at middle grade readers but are enjoyable for older readers as well. The stories are in the mode of a Goosebumps or, for older readers, a Twilight Zone feel. Great stories to curl up with on a dark and dreary day, or to share with younger readers. The stories are sufficiently spooky to keep mature readers hooked while short enough to fit younger attention spans. Enjoy!
Mike
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