Toward the Double Rainbow (a Hawaii Travel Tale)

Gabriella West’s personal account of a 2005 trip to Hawaii with her girlfriend reads like pages from her diary. Rather than focusing solely on the places and attractions of a vacation like Hawaii, like any explicit travel log or guide book would do, West focuses on how these places make the couple feel. She gives us the emotional connection we often seek while on vacation, whether that be with our lover or with the place itself. The two go for a massage and each have a very different encounter. Her girlfriend is spoken to by a ghost in the guest house they are staying in. They run into two strangers, a couple they’d seen on the plane over, and Gabriella surprisingly admits to them that they’ve been fighting a lot. “That happens here,” one of the men tells her, “It’s a place where feelings emerge, where you have to be real.”

And isn’t it that way with any vacation you share with your significant other? You want it to be a trip that only movies are made of, with fond hand-holding walks on the beach and romantic evenings. You want to reconnect. But you usually end up complaining about the food or fighting about who’s going to drive and who wants to do what. I’ve been there! And that’s why I related to this story so much. Too many times I’ve put the blame on the other person as to why the vacation was ruined, but I still managed to walk away with some great memories and photos to prove it. It wasn’t the trip or the person who made it a learning experience; it was the place and just being there.

Gabriella has the perfect epiphany in the end that really sums up the way trips like this really are for couples: “It seems like we are always surrounded by people who tel us in subtle ways how they see us or who we are. Traveling, we seek acceptance in the eyes of strangers and sometimes we find it. In my experience, though, it’s places and not people who bring out the best in us. A place can be spacious and holding, embracing even, while a person can be judging, rejecting, classifying and labeling. I see that judging person in myself…”

The Doge’s Daughter
.99 cents Amazon Kindle
ASIN: B005MJG4JA
95 KB

After reading Gabriella West’s short story, The Doge’s Daughter, the reader may need a cold shower or a cigarette. Venice, 1600s. West has given us a periodic piece that, though boldly sad, rings true for the way innocent boys with falsetto voices were treated during this time. Just read Anne Rice’s Cry to Heaven for a more heavier look at the world of the castrati.

Young Piero is swept away from his poor family, chosen for the royal court choir. Soon, he is also chosen by the Doge’s young daughter who is about to be married off to a prince. And while the prince is away, his wife will play and she wants Piero to be her lover. Both explore new and exciting realms of their sexuality, as Piero becomes comfortable in matters of his own heart.

West has true talent for creating strong characters, giving them life on the page just as disturbing and true as our own situations that we find ourselves in sometimes. This rings very true in one brief encounter that Piero has with a male visitor to the castle as they discuss their tastes for male or female lovers, ultimately leading to a “satisfying” conclusion for Piero.

A touch of history, a naughty erotic relationship between three partners, and an exploration of a boy and girl gracing into adulthood and love, West treats her adult readers to a hot and worthy read!

The Truth About Jack and Ray
.99 cents Smashwords
ISBN: 0011343060
24 Pages
The Truth About Jack and Ray is a melodramatic memory story. Jack sees a well-established artist named Ray mentioned in a magazine and recognizes a piece of his work on display. Suddenly, Jack remembers a part of his life 40 years earlier when he knew Ray as a struggling artist.

Jack himself was trying to be a writer at the time and moved in with starving artists Ray and Dick. A blustering relationship forms between Jack and Ray with both physical and emotion consequences which play out through the story.

Jack doesn’t “get” Ray’s abstract work, but Ray doesn’t read any of Jack’s work either. Despite Ray’s sporadic physical abuse, Jack still longs for Ray’s attention. Ray’s cockiness and selfish focus on his own work intensifies when Dick sells a piece for $5,000. When Ray’s pieces finally begin to sell, Jack accompanies him on a trip to New York where he begins to accept just how alone in the world he is and how unhealthy his relationship to Ray really is.

Despite the alluring black and white image that represents the cover of this work, the erotica here is extremely light. Ray and Jack’s lovemaking is only briefly mentioned, and even then it is often just suggested. Instead, West gives us a dark glimpse inside the mind of Jack as he processes this memory.  We also pay Ray’s head a visit though it is a tough place to be despite even Jack’s own desire to be in there.

I told the author this piece reminded me of the song “The One That Got Away” by Katy Perry. Like hearing the song, while reading this story I related to it so much in that I remember passages in my own life where I cared deeply about someone but that feeling was not reciprocated. Or the need to be around other artistic people fueled my heart despite their lack of interest in anyone’s work other than their own.

This is, at times, a haunting piece about recollections of the past and the decisions we do and don’t regret.

A Satan Carol

Reviewed by Author C.V. Hunt

3 out of 5

ABOUT:

Nostalgic for the Inquisition and plague, Satan feels neglected by the modern world that no longer cares about heresy or blames him for disease and death. He plans to create a new genesis, a place where people will love him. For that, his son needs just the right soul.

A Satan Carol is a horror story with a message for those who want to understand God’s apparent absence as the intersection of freewill and choice. It is a story with religious themes written for a secular reader. It is, in the end, a tale about family values even if they originate in hell.

REVIEW:

A Satan Carol desperately wanted to grab my attention. The description of the book had me hooked at the word horror, but I failed to find any gut twisting horror in the story. Granted, it is about Satan, and there are a few bloody or obscene sections, but I don’t think this really fell into the horror category. If I had to classify it anywhere it would be dark satire.

Satan, aka Mr. Green, is jaded by God’s love for another son, Jesus. And in a search to find happiness for himself, Satan has decided to start a family of his own. The Anti-Christ has been born on another planet named Shineland 7, but the boy is physically unable to move around on his own. Satan enlists the help of several people to obtain a “golden soul” to empower his son through their own free will actions. The emphasis seems to fall heavily on free will, but I think the concept is thrown out the window when you are threatened with horrible things if you don’t follow a certain path.

The author takes great care to describe the story in detail, but seems to fall flat on dialog. Characters speak out loud to themselves to mill over their own thoughts, and there seems to be some confusing formatting as two characters have a telepathic conversation. It almost feels like you’re reading the script for a play.

The story is well written and heavily laden with religious undertones, which I find engaging, as I’m always curious to read a new take on any religion, but it just didn’t seem to pull me into the horror of the situation.

A Satan Carol is dusted with the horror of everyday living as we get to know the characters: An obedient wife, a promiscuous husband, a defiant teen, greedy doctor, and a man who sees visions. Somehow they are all linked to obtaining the “golden soul” and slowly the lines are connected through the book. Overall, it’s definitely an acquired taste.

ABOUT:

Jon Marshall is a Brisbane dermatologist who lasers bananas as well as he does skin and has a penchant for making even simple situations more complicated. From Ash–his running buddy–to Katie–his coffee friend–to Lily–his daughter known affectionately as the Bean–Jon tries to keep the women in his life in neat compartments but ultimately finds that poetry readings, errant cats, and the Lemonheads all make life what it is–messy and blurry and vibrant.

As he copes with the loss of his wife, attempts to avoid the dating scene, and puts off registering an obnoxious computer program, Jon is going to learn that the most important woman in his life will always be his daughter, and fatherhood is going to make him grow up–if not old.

REVIEW:

Perfect Skin is a slice-of-life contemporary novel about Jon, a dermatologist, who suddenly finds himself raising a baby girl all by himself after his wife dies during child birth.

Unlike the age spots and skin cancer that Jon can meticulously remove with laser precision at work, its the blunders in real life that he embraces and accepts.

We see Jon’s daily routines for what they are and for how they are different (or not) every day in some way – checking his email, running, walking the dog, hanging out with his coworkers, dating, and the interaction with his baby girl.

Ultimately it is the baby, nicknamed Bean, that comes first as it should be. Jon has plenty of pictures of her to prove it!  But it is the life happening in between the bouts of parenthood that give this book color.

Jon finds a running partner in his new neighbor next door, Ash. He goes out for coffee with Katie. He hangs out with his male coworker friends for “book club” night, though no book discussion ever really happens. He finds himself caught up in each of their daily lives, but always returns his focus to Bean.

The reader shares in the everyday habits and routines that make up Jon’s life, right down to that “Weasel” of a computer program that greets him every morning when he goes to check email.  But it is these mundane details of every day that also make up our own lives, and like Jon, we just have to laugh at ourselves and make the best of it…and take lots of pictures.

Though the book lacked a certain element of drama and conflict for me, I still enjoyed slowing down a bit to savor a nice light-hearted comical read. This was Earls’ first book I had read and I look forward to more.

Fractured Persona

Richard Fornek wakes up in a hospital after a car accident a completely different person.  Literally.  His mind is still his own, but he is in the body of Daniel Curtis, who was hospitalized after his wife attacked him.  Richard is in a different city (actually an entirely different state), has a different wife, different friends, a different family, and a different body and life.  He realizes that he must learn to live this new life, but runs into several problems along the way.

Daniel Curtis is suspected of murdering a woman with whom he was having an affair.  Only, Daniel is Richard, so he must piece together who Daniel really was, and where he was at the time of the murder.  What he learns is that Daniel’s life was coming apart at the seams, and he must figure out how to put it all back together so he can live his life- as a free man.  It is not an easy task, as Richard really has no idea who can be trusted, or if Daniel may have actually been the murderer.  Richard must also find out what happened to his body, and if this madness can all be righted.

There are a few times while reading that the pace lagged with just a little bit too much detail that was not relevant in the end, but the story being told outweighed those times.  While the ending may leave the reader staring at the book, hoping it may change, it quickly becomes apparent that it could end no other way.  There is no way everyone gets a happy ending, so those that can should take it.

Fractured Persona is a story of losing sight of who you are, learning through someone else’s eyes, and putting a life back together from the pieces that you find.  There are times when life seems as though it is living itself, and Krebs cleverly cloaks the idea of feeling like you are not yourself in a metaphor of switching bodies.  It is also a story of understanding that you never really know anyone else until you have lived in their shoes- an opportunity that is nearly impossible.

Krebs delivers a story that is part mystery, part fantasy, and entirely introspection.  Although the idea of switching bodies has been done before, there is something that is just enough different that will draw one in until the end.  He is able to delve into a world of despair, loss, and confusion, and bring the reader out on the other side with a feeling of hope, gain, and discovery.  Fractured Persona offers a different look into the lives of others, and will keep the reader turning the pages wanting more.

Aladdin’s Samovar

Genies are way cooler than vampires and a whole lot more fun.

Amber finds a genie named Jasper standing in front of her fireplace having just extricated himself from the samovar on her mantle. Think about that for a second. The book is full of stuff like that. Things go downhill from there in a hurry. Many of the world’s best comedians say that comedy is the hardest art form. Lauren Sweet has made it look easy. The book is funny throughout. She makes some of the jokes pay multiple times without their seeming tired. I laughed on almost every page. Some of the jokes work on multiple levels and pay on all of them.

The plot holds together well and I give it 4 ½ stars. The half star has to do with the number of times I thought “Tell me she’s not going there,” and she went there anyway. There were totally predictable parts and lots of surprises. It almost all worked. The bits that didn’t really didn’t matter.

I give five stars on characters. All the major characters are well thought out and intriguingly complex. Amber is the deepest with her conflicted emotions and shattered sense of reality. Jasper is nicely done as well. Indigo verges on stereotype, but she pulls away from the precipice in just the right level of insanity. Even the minor characters are clearly defined. To reveal any more would spoil the fun.

Style is four stars. Lauren has a habit of lumping action and dialogue together in the same paragraph. I find that confusing and sometimes it is hard to follow who is speaking. So, folks, I have just said the worst thing I can say about this book. How big a deal is that? Not very. If I were not also a writer, I probably would not have cared, but they asked my opinion, so there.

So the worst things I can say about this book are its paragraphs and its occasional obvious entanglements. For me that is high praise. I loved this book and recommend with only one caution. Do not drink coffee or tea while reading it. You will embarrass yourself.

My favorite quotes are at the end of the book, but to put them in the review would spoil the fun. Here is one from early on. Amber’s mother, Indigo, meets Jasper the Genie for the first time immediately after Amber has rescued Indigo from the police or the police from Indigo depending on your point of view.

“Stop cooking,” Amber said. Her stomach growled. Jasper remained focused on the gravy, though she thought she saw his lips twitch. “You have to get back in your samovar before someone sees you.” There were assorted thumps from the front stoop, and the doorknob rattled. “Right now!”

Jasper added flour and stirred. “I can’t go back in the samovar until you make a wish. I have to service you.”

“Service me?” Amber repeated, sure she had heard wrong. Her mind skittered off into various scenarios involving sculpted abs, adult themes and questions of whether genies were anatomically correct.

As if his clothes could read her mind, Jasper’s outfit suddenly grew smaller…and smaller… Amber watched in horrified fascination as it morphed into a stripper version of a tuxedo: jacket, bow tie, and thong. Yeeps. Amber thought she might be getting heart palpitations. She backed up another step. “Did you say service me?”

Jasper gave the gravy another stir and turned back toward Amber. She found herself staring at the front of his thong, which sported a red satin heart. Hot flash. Amber dragged her eyes to his face. “Oops,” he said, all innocence. “I meant ‘serve.’ My bad.”

“I don’t want you to service—uh—serve me!” Amber managed to squeak the words out while trying to find somewhere to look that wasn’t a satin thong pouch or nearly naked genie flesh. This was definitely not in the fairy tales. “My mother’s here, for God’s sake!” The doorbell rang. Impatiently.

“Excellent,” Jasper said. “We can ask her what she thinks you should wish.”

Not in a million years. Amber probably couldn’t even imagine the things Indigo would want her to wish for. Strike that. She’d just imagined a number of the things Indigo would want her to wish for. “Oh, no you don’t,” Amber said. “Serve—later. Go—now!” She pointed towards the dining room and the samovar.

“Can’t. That’s not the way it works.” Jasper half-turned, giving the gravy another quick stir. Then he leaned forward and raised the spoon to her lips. “Taste that.” She tasted automatically, realized that she was submitting to this ridiculous farce, and batted the spoon away. He tasted it himself, with a considering frown. “A little more salt, I think.”

“Go!”

Jasper put the spoon down. “Make your wish.”

“I’m not ready!” There was no way she could think under this kind of stress.

He shrugged. “Then I have to stay in your home and serve—” he drew out the word, silently adding the final syllable to turn it into ‘service’—“until you are.”

Amber stared at his lips, so mesmerized she didn’t hear the footsteps in the foyer until it was too late. She whirled around. Indigo was standing in the kitchen doorway, spangled caftan waving in the breeze from the front door, her hair wisping out like an aureole around her head. Of course. Why should a mere locked door stop the Mistress of the Universe? Indigo’s hands were clasped ecstatically to her breast, and she was gazing past Amber at Jasper, her mouth pursed in the same round ‘o’ of surprise and pleasure as when she first saw Amber at the police station.

Amber’s two worlds of insanity collided in her brain, causing synapse overload. She just kept looking from Spangly Mom to Stripper Genie and back again, mouth opening and closing, no sound coming out. How did one explain? Where did one start?

Indigo bravely stepped into the conversational breach. “A friend of Amber’s!” she exclaimed. “And a pot roast!”

Lauren will later make the “serve – service” pun work with a reference to the science fiction classic “Serving Man” in much the same fashion as she gets lots of mileage out of all the jokes.

And when was the last time you heard a vampire or a genie for that matter say “My bad.” And mean it?

I enjoyed the book. It is suitable for high school, but it is targeted at the mainstream adult reader. Read it on the airplane so everyone will wonder what’s so funny.

On a final note, I am so over vampires and it is nice to see the Genie angle work so well. In another era, this is what Barbara Eden should have been.

Reviewed by Author C.V. Hunt

5 out of 5

ABOUT:

Featuring fallen angels, demons, lycanthropes, monsters and a disembodied hand (or is it), Outside the Wire is a collection of six previously published short stories about things we don’t want to let in, all anthologized for your reading pleasure.

REVIEW:

Richard Farnsworth presents us with a collection of short stories in Outside The Wire. Two of these are just snippets of larger stories, Succumbing To Gravity (everyone who knows me, knows I will force you to read this book), and Gift Of The Bouda. Both of which show how well Farnsworth can write the internal struggle.

I found all of the other short stories just as engaging as Richard’s previous works. One story, B.E.K.s is about ??? The writer created some terrifying creatures. Who, or what, they are remain a mystery to the reader and the characters in the story. In other stories, it’s same with the mysterious creations. The Sacrifices Of Automated Tabulation a woman starts a new job, only to find out things are not what they seem.

The Long Road To Sanctum feels familiar. The rules and aspects of the story seem to coincide with the were-creatures of Gift Of The Bouda.

I absolutely love Farnsworth’s gift for writing the dilemma of the internal struggle, and he showcases the highlights of this in Dougies’s Hand. The story is about a young man with an uncontrolled hand, which reminded me of Idle Hands, or the fight Ash puts up in Evil Dead.

The last story of the collection, Virtual Huntress, brings the horrors of the very possible to light. I think I’ve already stated this a million times, but the real monsters are always the scariest.

Richard Farnsworth has proved yet again, whatever genre, or path he takes in his writing, he will always have my attention.

An electronic copy of this book was sent to me in response to a review request on the LLBook review site. I liked the book in spite of its flaws. The author posted the following teaser on LLBook:

THE 5 MOONS OF TIIANA is a kick-butt story and rollicking adventure.

Captain Rez Cantor is a diplomacy officer in the Imperial Army, and personal attaché to Princess Leanna, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the Emperor, and sole heir to the Melelan throne.

On the eve of a treaty signing ending the twelve-year-war between the alien-hybrid Relcor and the Empire, Rez Cantor learns that the Imperial family has been slated for death. Under orders from his Queen, Rez is given his final command–save the Princess at all costs.

Overcoming incredible odds, Rez abducts Leanna, and the two flee Melela along with others of the Imperial guard. Unfortunately, their ship is nuked as it enters warp creating an event horizon that sends the ship 128,000 light years across the galaxy to the Moons of Tiiana. It is on one of these moons that Rez awakens on a beach–injured and alone–without the Princess.

So begins the sojourn of Rez Cantor upon the Moons of Tiiana: Five moons stagnating from a 2000 year-old war that has left its alien races in limbo and decay. Five moons that crave a hero bold enough to lead its people out of the darkness. Five moons that hold the future of the Melelan Empire deep within the ashes of war.

I give the book four stars all around. Four stars for plot, four for characterization, and four for writing style although the technical execution was flawless. I found no typographical or spelling errors.

The story moves relatively well in spite of its frequently wordy and awkward sentence structure. It is a classic tale of the valiant good soldier rescuing the princess and saving the empire (can you say Star Wars?) but since it is told in the first person, it has a more personal feel than most space epics.

For those who follow the Joseph Campbell philosophy of plot structure, this is close but not slavishly adhered to the “hero” format. The story holds together as it moves from place to place and the hero faces one test after another. The tests make sense. The obstacles provide needed experience for the final outcome to work.

Characterization is erratic. Rez, being the first person narrator, is deep and well-thought through. While Princess Leanna is reasonably well drawn, I would like to understand more of her motivations. The line about Rez not understanding the thinking of a thirteen year old girl in love helps fill in her character, but it is not enough.

Let me digress to clichés. There are lots of them. How much do you care? Ahska, the wise old woman and Oolat, the Wookie-like companion, are classic characters. The Dolla are an analogue for the earthly dolphin. I guess I would have hoped for something more original. I lost track of how often “time was of the essence” at one critical juncture or another.

The character I most wanted fleshed out was Philip Golan. His character is tantalizing in the details given, but he remains an enigma even in the end. This is a very interesting complex character and I think he deserves more time than he gets.

The most serious failing in this story is its wordiness. The author uses too many passive sentences where active sentences would be better. The following quote is an example:

My hands were sore from climbing over piles of rock, but I was almost to the docks. I could hear the roar of the ocean, the waves beating against the shoreline–I wondered if I would find anything there. I was not overly optimistic. There had been nothing two years ago, why would it be different now? I ascended a hill of rubble, pulling myself up over the loose rock, hoping for a better view. Suddenly my attention was drawn to my rear. I heard an old familiar sound–a cascade of scurrying rat noise followed by low growls and yelps. I looked behind; it was like déjà vu. On the debris-laden streets below was a large pack of rodent dogs converging together into a cohesive unit. There were perhaps forty to fifty of the filthy, slathering vags following my trail. I pulled my blaster from my hip–I’d waited a long time for this.

 Without wasting a second I fired, centering my aim on the densest portion of the pack. I was eager to repay the disgusting wretched creatures a hundredfold for the pain they’d inflicted on me. My first shot obliterated at least half of them, and sent the rest scattering like leaves in the wind. I looked at the smoldering, burnt carcasses that lay in the dirt. Seeing the bulk of them dead felt good. I put my blaster back in its holster and made my way further up the hill–I knew the others would be back. I certainly hoped so. I wanted to kill every last one of them.

The best part is that I believed it. I believed in Rez and what he was doing. Except for the mass migrations toward the end, it retained my suspension of disbelief, and for me, that is hard to do.

I hope I have not dissuaded you from reading this book. I enjoyed it, but it’s not Azimov.

Shadow on the Wall: Book One of the Sandstorm Chronicles

Elih, Turkey has established its own set of laws that seek to control and dominate the population, in the name of Islamic law.  This does, of course, effect women’s lives most of all, as the regime of the RTK (the ‘Morality Police’) targets women in an attempt to keep them docile and subservient.

Recai Osman is the heir of a billionaire who lacks direction in his own life.  Then, the unthinkable happens and he is forced to wander in the desert, alone and helpless until a Jewish father and daughter take him in to help him recover from injuries he has sustained and has no memory of receiving.  While in Recai is in their care, the RTK brutally attacks Rebekah, the daughter, and Recai is left to pick up the pieces of his newly crumbled and torn reality.

After years wandering the desert in search of a new life, Recai is drawn back to the life he abruptly left years before.  He returns with a new consciousness and understanding of the brutality and oppression of the ruling class of Elih.  It is then that he discovers that he must fight against the system in superhero fashion by protecting the women who live there.  While carrying out his vigilantism, he inadvertently draws more people into his plan of protecting those who need it.  Soon, there is a complex network that is aiding him and encouraging his efforts.

Tyler gives us a triumph in feminist literature, while supplying a believable ‘superhero’.  Recai possesses no overt unearthly powers, but instead relies on his faith in knowing of what is right and wrong.  In reality, he is just a man standing up for what he believes in, within the confines of the predetermined regime.  The humanity which is displayed throughout the story is what makes it a success.  Tyler is also not apt to shy away from graphically violent scenes to save those who wish to hide from the realities she discusses in the story.  While the graphic scenes are not what one may want to read and have so forcefully pushed in front of them, they are necessary to be delivered in such a manner in order to keep us from hiding from the brutal truths in the lives of her characters.

Shadow on the Wall is a brilliant work, in that it is incredibly real and simplistic in its delivery.  Tyler masterfully weaves complex issues of violence against women, religious oppression, and vigilantism into a cohesive, straight-forward look at the issues.  Every one of the many characters is equally important within the story, and their position is easy to sympathize with on some level- even if their actions are not.  This is a work that shows the extremes to which the ruling class will go to keep their positions solidified, as well as the ability to control the population with fear, domination, and violence.  This is a success in what is sure to be an engaging new series from a powerful new voice.

I really really wanted to like this book, and I was totally enthralled by the first half of it. I love a good mystery where the lead character is not a police investigator or FBI detective. Here, we have Elle Bramasol who is a true crime writer who is elicited by a big Hollywood director named Eliot Kingman to write his story after he ends up in prison for the murder of one of his researchers. Elle is given access to a centuries old document in Kingman’s possession which turns out to be the diary of a vampire named Verland. And it is Verland’s story that Kingman really wants Bramasol to tell.

Despite the “not so new” elements of this story, like I said, I was totally intrigued. It’s hard enough to try to reinvent a vampire story these days. Much of the book is the diary entries themselves, so while you are given a detailed perspective of Verland’s life, it had a real close feel to Seth Grahame-Smith’s “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” to me. Unfortunately, the diary is what killed it for me, no pun intended. I found myself caring less about Verland’s war time efforts in Germany and wanting to get back to Elle and Kingman and their real purpose.

For me, the book also brought back elements of a classic fav of mine – Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs where we have a somewhat fragile heroine playing quid pro quo with a pompous genius behind bars in order to learn about a dangerous killer on the loose. Unfortunately, by the time we actually meet Verland he just isn’t as dynamic as any reader will expect and hope him to be.

While Kingman is the human bringing up references to immortality because he longs to be a vampire, he is stagnant as a character being behind bars. The book is thrown off balance when the attention is given to Kingman’s research assistants instead who also have an odd obsession with death. By the end, Bramasol gets her story handed to her without really having to work for it, and in turn the reader is spoon fed a drama built around a vampire diary which turns out to be more developed than the story itself.

Reviewed by Author C.V. Hunt

5 out of 5!

ABOUT:

When there’s no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the earth.

Three days. Not much time. Lilith, Queen of the Whores, has three days. That’s all the Prophecy will give her. Three days to build an army. Three days to unleash Hell.

Three days. Not much time. Certainly not to become a hero. That’s what Dee thought. Before the zombies. Before the dying. And the rising.

Three days until the end of the world.

What he would give to get those three days back.

Z Strain. Book one of the Zee Series Trilogy. Full of all the gritty realism any hard-core zombie fan craves. You know what I mean. Violence served cold. Sex served hot.

And Zees. A whole army of ‘em!

Be warned. This book isn’t for the faint of heart or easily offended. Buckle up and hold on to your brain pans! Here come the Zees!

REVIEW:

When God created Hell, He made it a tad too small. Over time it got really crowded down there… really crowded. The ranks of the damned found a solution to control their population.

Cannibalism.

And so zombies were born, and they’ve patiently waited for a prophecy to be fulfilled. One where they will have a bigger home. Earth.

There are only three days to bridge the gap between hell and earth, and there is a heartless warrior who could save the world. Hell erupts on earth as a cold Watcher keeps his distance in the shadows, making sure all the rules are followed.

Dee, an ex-military man, now a paramedic, has been thrust into a role that makes no sense to him:

Would you believe your city was being overrun by legions of the walking dead? Dead that consumed the flesh of the living. Dead who later rose and joined the ranks of their murderers? You gotta admit, that’s pretty friggin’ fantastic.

The Grim Reaper, demons, a succubus, vampires, and zombies… what more could you ask for in a story of hell and terror?

Rutger Klamor does a fantastic job tying all of these evil creatures together in Z Strain. He provides the reader with some mind-boggling prose, and a sarcastic and demented humor I love. Blood, gore, and sex combine to open the gates of hell. Because when hell is full, the dead will walk the earth. This is the first book of a trilogy, and I’m definitely looking forward to more.