Fiction
Review 139: Bublos by Billy Young
I first got a taste of Billy Young’s writing in October 2008 when I read his book Banshee Angel of Judgement. Having been an avid fan of horror in high school, I still enjoy the occasional read that can send shivers up my spine. Mr. Young has a talent for not falling into horror stereotypes where it’s easy to guess who will die first and who won’t die at all. His writing also appealed to me because he actually concentrates on building a strong plot rather than focusing on the fear factor of the story. His latest book, Bublos, is no different.
Bublos traces the journey of a hidden scroll from t
Review 138: Not Fit For Human Consumption by Elmore Hammes
When Henry watches news of a coup in the small territory of Jartanzia and sees (what could be) the picture of a hedgehog, he knows the end is near.
Review 136: I Miss Your Purple Hair by Robert Chandler
I Miss Your Purple Hair is a good book and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I’ve read 100 page books that felt like they’d never end, but this was a 300+ page book that was over before I knew it. I became invested in the characters and was genuinely curious how they would overcome their dilemma.
Review 135: Null_Pointer by Ken McConnell
Having been impressed with Ken McConnell’s first book, Starstrikers, I was more inclined to give his next book, Null_Pointer, a look. But after reading the blurb and the preview, I was immediately impressed with the subject matter and anxious to read it regardless of how much I enjoyed his first work.
Review 134: The Wrong Choice by Luke Jackson
I have to admit that I’m not usually a fan of historical fiction that takes place in time of war. Battle scenes and descriptions of armory bore me, but I decided to give Luke Jackson’s book, The Wrong Choice, a read mainly because I’ve been researching the Civil War a lot lately for a project of my own. I thought reading something else from that genre might help or inspire me.
Review 132: The Dogwood Murders by Stephan Zimmermann and Bill House
With no preview and a descriptive blurb consisting of only two sentences on Lulu, I took a chance on reading and reviewing Stephan Zimmermann and Bill House’s very short published work, The Dogwood Murders. It’s definitely a chance I’m glad I took as this is a very nice short story, and being that is probably it’s only drawback. It’s so good that it’s a shame that it is so short. This could definitely be developed into a nice novella or longer piece of work. I see it working great in a collection of similar short stories, that had I read, this particular story would have definitely stuck out with me.
Review 131: Okay by Katherine Marple
Sixteen is a pivotal age, stranded between childhood and adulthood. At sixteen life ranges from ecstasy to despair and the cause of the emotion can be trivial or momentous. I remember wanting to be taken seriously, to be treated more as an adult than a child.
Review 130: The Splendor of Antiquity by Cheryl Anne Gardner
It is ironic, is it not, how everything seems so poetic in death, yet we rarely see the poetry in life?
I couldn’t think of a more truer statement than this, spoken by a God-like king on the first page of Cheryl Anne Gardner’s book, The Splendor of Antiquity. True, we’d expect our Gods to say such profound things and the narrator of this book does not disappoint with such expectations. After all, he has been dead for centuries and our lead female, an archaeologists named Joliette Deneauve, is about to dig him up.
Review 129: Nowhere Feels Like Home by LK Gardner-Griffie
I was given the privilege of reading LK Gardner-Griffie’s new book, Nowhere Feels Like Home, while it was still in its infant stages before publication. I was first introduced to LK’s writing when reading her first book, Misfit McCabe, the first in a series of three books following the teenage days of Katie McCabe. Katie becomes displaced from her routine after her father gets sick and passes away and she has to go live with Uncle Charley and her cousins. The book came to a climax when Katie was kidnapped by her school bully, Harvey Denton Jr., and left in the hills all alone. After almost drowning, then getting bit by a rattlesnake and breaking an ankle, Katie finally made it home alive.
Review 128: A Cricket’s Christmas by David Hennessey
It was perfect timing that David Hennessey queried us with his book, A Cricket’s Christmas, last week. This time of year I usually enjoy searching Lulu.com for holiday publications, but I’ve somehow let this month get away from me without doing that. Once I’d read the preview of A Cricket’s Christmas, I immediately wanted to read more and was glad that David provided the manuscript so quickly. And who doesn’t enjoy a good holiday story where the main characters are all animals!

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