Redemption The Last Order by Anirudh Vaishya; A Broken Reflection by Shelly M. Patel

 

Redemption: The Last Order by Anirudh Vaishya 

Redemption: The Last Order is a screenplay that is both cerebral and thrilling. It is equally a mental challenge and adrenaline rush. It would be interesting to see how it resonates as a film for moviegoers who like action military movies and those who like psychological and political thrillers. 

On his first mission PFC John Brandt is the only survivor in a strategic fiasco that ended with the deaths of his crew, a base destroyed in a nuclear standoff, and injuries that put him in a coma for five years. When he awakens, he is informed that he was in a simulation and the memory was one of his lieutenant’s. He’s awake but the rest of his team are still in their comas and his CO has died. His superiors are very interested in how he broke from the simulation and woke up as though his brain is somehow immune to the computer interface that his teammates are still in. Meanwhile, his journalist girlfriend, Amanda, is missing while covering a high profile story in China and war between the US and North Korea seems inevitable because of interference from Su Hyang, a former US ally/informer turned traitor. Weapons threaten to rain down on both sides and one location hits a bit too close to home for Brandt, literally. 

This is a very effective Thriller. The opening is tense as Brandt is faced in a worst case scenario that is meant to have no positive resolution. Every decision is calculated for him to lose which puts him out of his element. It’s an overwhelming and traumatizing experience that plays on many of the fears and anxieties of being in a warzone and knowing that every decision that one makes could be their last. 

That this is a simulation offers no comfort. In a way, it is very similar to The Manchurian Candidate or other films that play on the plan of brainwashing military personnel. They study the fears and anxieties and don’t have any considerations about what it might do to the participants. It is a microcosm of the concept of war itself in which people in the higher echelons send those in the lower to fight and die, testing their resolve, physical endurance, intellect, adaptability, strategy, and survival instincts. They send them to die and consider the results either unfortunate mistakes, acceptable losses, or satisfactory when more on the other side are killed.

Brandt’s relationship with other characters flesh out his personality. While there are many characters such as his mother, friends, and colleagues who awaken Brandt’s protective nature, there are two in particular that serve as counterpoints to Brandt’s journey. The first is Amanda. Sometimes romances are a distraction or an unnecessary subplot in the genre but in this specific case and context it works. 

Amanda is just as dedicated to her journalism career as Brandt is to his military career. Their encounters are not a passionate romance between lovers but a partnership of equals who use their different talents to report the truth and protect the people doing so. Their relationship is a realistic coupling of people in high risk stressful situations. They gravitate towards each other as an emotional release so when things are settled, they have a hard time functioning with the day to day dilemmas and conflicts like where are they going to live or what their future plans are. 

The other emotional counterpoint is Brandt’s father, Charles. He seems like a quiet unassuming guy but we later learn that he is more involved than he lets on. In an extended flashback, one of the highlights of the script, we learn Charles’ backstory and his close connection to the current events. We see him as a young inexperienced brilliant student and his allyship with another character. We also see how these past decisions shaped his son’s future and those of other key players. The tragedy is human error caused this situation. Things were done and said at the wrong time,place, and circumstances. Decisions were made that only peripherally involved the lead characters but led to distrust, suspicion, and a lifetime of rage, despair, revenge, and compliance. 

Redemption: The Last Order is the kind of screenplay that keeps you at the edge of your seat but makes you think about what you just observed. It says a lot about patriotism, free will, mind control, domination, propaganda, and what it really means to fight, die, and live for your country.

A Broken Reflection by Shelly M. Patel 

This is a shorter adaptation of this review, the full review can be seen on LitPick. 

A Broken Reflection presents an absorbing investigation with multiple viewpoints and leads but ends with a resolution that is disappointing, overdone, and does very little to make this variation unique or stand out from others.

Claire and Stephen seem to have an idyllic affluent married suburban life but it's all surface. There are cracks in their home life that are becoming more evident. Stephen has had many extramarital affairs and Claire is being seen by many colleagues and acquaintances as unstable and temperamental. Stephen’s infidelities and Claire's characteristics become more evident when a woman known to the couple has been found murdered. Claire is seen as a primary suspect especially when it turns out that the deceased woman was Stephen’s mistress. As bodies pile up, evidence gathers, and Claire and Stephen become more suspicious towards each other, Claire conducts her own investigation to clear her name. Meanwhile a very devious pair observe the events with their own agendas. Jessica has a dangerous fixation for Stephen and Cole is stalking the object of his affection: Claire.

There are some engaging bits, particularly as the characters are introduced and the investigation consumes them. Since the book is told from multiple viewpoints starting with Claire's, we already see the imperfections but not outright. Our sympathies move back and forth between Claire and Stephen depicting one another as abuser and victim, innocent and guilty. This causes the Reader discomfort and suspicion as we search for the real answers.

We peer into the points of view from various characters and we experience quite a few obsessions and potential motives. No one in this book comes off particularly well or likable. When the murders occur, it's not necessarily a question of whodunnit and is more who wouldn't do it?

By far the two most intriguing characters are Jessica and Cole. It says something in a cast of unstable dangerous people, that these two are the worst. Jessica is conniving and manipulative in her approach while Cole is more immature, having an almost adolescent crush on Claire. They take different pursuits towards the objects of their affections. These two are not a mentally well duo.

Unfortunately as interesting as the investigation is, the resolution is every bit as disappointing. Because of spoilers, it won't be revealed but let's just say that it's a cliche that is often found in soap operas and Psychological Thriller.There is a final twist that salvages the reveal somewhat, but it undermines what had been revealed so far and could have done with it. 

The ending of A Broken Reflection shatters what would have been a clear image of a good suspense novel into pieces.

February-March's Reading List

 

It was late but I managed to complete last month's list. 

I am splitting this list into two months for a few reasons. Partly because of the late start and short month. Most importantly, is that I might be working on other non-blog related projects and I want to make sure that I have time for them as well as reading and reviewing. So February will have 5-7 reviews and March will have the others either split into two groups of 5 then 4 books or one group of 7.

Memories of MK Ultra by Bill Yarborough 

Redemption The Last Order by Anirudh Vaishya

Tangles by Kay Smith Blum

Girls, Crimes, and The Ruling Body by Barry Ziman

German But Not German by J.C. Berger

A Broken Reflection by Shelly M. Patel*

Shadow Runner by J.K. Fieler

The Hero Virus by Russell Dumper 

The Slither Queen by Tamera Lawrence 

The Towpath by Jonathan Walter

Lunch Ladies by Jodi Thompson Carr

The Gift (Book 2 in The Others Trilogy) by Evette Davis 

Weight of a Woman by Judith Jackson Pomeroy 

Chomp, Press, Pull by Elaina Battista-Parsons

Mantis Equilibrium (Book 2 of The Mantis Gland) By Andrew Adams Johnson

Folded Steel (The Forge Trilogy in The Shadow Guardians Series Book 3) by G. Russell Gaynor 

Blunt Force Rising (An Angela Hardwicke Science Fiction Mystery Book 4) by Russ Colchamiro 

Reaping By Numbers: A Dead End Job by Nicole Givens Kurtz

If you have a book that you would like me to review, beta read, edit, proofread, or write, please contact me at the following:

Bluesky

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Email: juliesaraporter@gmail.com 

Prices are as follows (subjected to change depending on size and scope of the project):

Beta Read: $35.00-50.00

Review: $35-50.00**

Copy/Content Edit: $75-300.00

Proofread: $75-300.00

Research & Citation: $100-400.00

Ghostwrite/Co-Write:$100-400.00

*These are books reviewed for LitPick and will only feature a summary and a few paragraphs. The full review is on LitPick's site.

**Exceptions are books provided by Henry Roi PR, Coffee and Thorn Book Group, LitPicks, BookTasters, Reedsy Discovery, Voracious Readers, and other noted book groups. Payments are already arranged through groups like Michael Cheng and Books Validator.

Payments can be made to my PayPal, Payoneer, or Google Wallet accounts at juliesaraporter@gmail.com

Well that's it. Thanks and as always, Happy Reading.

 

Return of the Weird #2: Merchants of Light and Bone (The Pentagonal Dimensions Book 2) by Erika McCorkle; A Family Drama From Another Dimension

 

Return of the Weird #2: Merchants of Light and Bone (The Pentagonal Dimensions Book 2) by Erika McCorkle; A Family Drama From Another Dimension 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: So we come to the next weird book continuation, the next installment in Erika McCorkle’s Pentagonal Dominion series: one of the strangest Fantasy/Science Fiction worlds put into book form, a world where few humans or humanoid characters exist so McCorkle was free to let her imagination run wild and wild it ran.

The first book, Merchants of Knowledge and Magic, is about Calinthe Erytrichos, a reptilian Merchant of Knowledge, and Zakuro “Pom” Rathmusen, a Godblood, demi-god and Merchant of Magic. The duo encounter many patrons, assignments, estranged family members, and totalitarian governments as they affirm their love for each other. While the Epic Fantasy/Science Fiction setting and world building was important, at heart Merchants of Knowledge and Magic was a Road Trip Comedy-Drama/Queer Romance set in a world of living gods and anthropomorphic people.

That's what is at play with its successor, Merchants of Light and Bone. It's not a direct sequel so much as it takes place in the same universe as Merchants of Knowledge and Magic. Besides one reference to Zakuro’s family name, those characters are not featured or mentioned. 

Instead this book focuses on The Last-Scrim-Den Family of Aloutia. They consist of Amiere Lasteran, his wife, Liesle Denwall and husband, Su Scrimshander (yes they are a throuple), and their seven children. They and their children are in mourning for their deceased daughter and sister, Tawny. They also have to deal with local bully Militico Svelt whose daughter, Usana Demiu, might be getting abused. Amiere, the eponymous Merchant of Light, notices that his crystal light business is expanding and going through some troublesome changes. Su, the Merchant of Bone and a Godblood, is keeping secrets about his history, gender identity, and divine ancestry. Meanwhile, Liesle, the Merchant of Faces, goes through extreme measures to protect those that she loves including her children and spouses. 

The approach to this book is similar to Merchants of Knowledge and Magic which is a Queer Romance set in a Fantasy/Science Fiction World. It is also similar to another previous favorite book of mine, To End Every War by Raymond W. Wilkinson which was a Feminist Women's Fiction Novel set in an Epic Fantasy Occult Academia world of Dwarves, Elves, Selkies, Fairies, Giants and others. Both novels put the prosaic and ordinary plots of regular people and dropped them into fantastic settings that turned the ordinary events into extraordinary circumstances.

Whereas the focus in most Epic Fantasy or Science Fiction novels is on quests or revolution, the majority of plots in this book like the death of a child, abuse, employment concerns, and spouse's hidden lives would not be out of place in a Family Drama. It's sort of like what would happen if The Waltons, or The Dunphys from Modern Family suddenly grew fur, sprouted wings, and gained electrolyte tails. After all, it happens. 

This book is comparable to other Fantasy novels when heroes go on epic journeys, spend a night in an inn, and the innkeeper rants about his marital problems or the dictatorial government is cutting into his business. Well Merchants of Light and Bone would be about that innkeeper and how he tries to live an everyday life in a world where magic exists and characters aren't human.

In fact the one journey narrative where characters go from one place to another has the more personal goal of saving a couple of children from slavery rather than a quest to save the entire world. 

There are some magical moments to remind Readers of the fantastic world that they are in. Su goes through a mesmerizing ritual where he communicates in person with a Water God. Liesle has conversations with a dark demon. Amiere is inflicted with a curse that when angered opens his more leonine side. But those are brief moments in a novel that captures the human, or human in personality though not in appearance, spirit.

The family goes through intense grief after Tawny’s death. They respond in different ways. One child, Kohaku, withdraws into her own private world. Others become more belligerent and quarrelsome. Liesle becomes physically ill and bedridden. Amiere tries to retain a brave front but can barely suppress his darker feelings. Su is the solid rock for the rest of the family but his vulnerabilities are present. The familial reaction to grief and how realistically McCorkle writes it would not be out of place in a traditional Earthling series. That the family has animalistic characteristics is almost immaterial.

Besides the grief, abuse is an ongoing theme within the book particularly in the story of Militico and Usana. Liesle and Amiere have to contend with the fact that Militico, a former childhood friend, has taken a darker, more violent turn as an adult. They have their suspicions that the caprine Militico is abusing his adorable leporine daughter. They recognize that the signs are there but as in the world of the Readers, it's not an easy thing to prove or stop. In many heart tugging moments Usana bonds with Su, himself a child trafficking and abuse survivor. The resolution leans to the fantastic elements but when removed from that angle, the real subtext brings up questions about self-defense, justice, and protecting the innocents at all costs.

The personal conflicts and struggles intermingle with the fantasy world in unique ways. Amiere’s occupation getting overtaken by bureaucrats who care more about the bottom line and getting rich than they do about the people working there is highly relevant even if the crystals are remnants of the gods. Liesle’s desire for vengeance and spell to protect her loved ones might be a magical solution, but it could also be seen as a metaphor for trauma survivors and how the trauma comes on them like a demonic figure. The trauma can be ignored, faced, or the survivor could attack the person who caused the trauma. 

Even the questions about Su’s origins carry a lot of resonance. Liesle and Amiere love their husband as he is and formally respect his privacy but still they are curious. They observe him and pick up clues about his powers to learn who his divine parentage actually are. Even though Su identifies as male and currently uses “he/him” pronouns, there are suggestions that this wasn't always the case so even his gender identity is a question. As much as he is a sweet, even tempered nurturing third parent to the children and loving spouse to his husband and wife, Su’s identity is a mystery that neither Amiere nor Liesle can entirely avoid. In a world where people’s identities are precious and are currently being held under scrutiny because of recent executive orders, the questions and acceptance of Su’s identity is very relatable to some Readers.

Merchants of Light and Bone tells Readers that even in a Fantasy or Science Fiction novel populated with non-humans, human Readers can still recognize the relatable struggles that are similar to their own.

Return of the Weird #1: The Penny Arcade Mother's Care Orphanage by David Neuman; Kaleidoscopic Shades Strangeness Continues With Some Clarity

 

Return of the Weird #1: The Penny Arcade Mother's Care Orphanage by David Neuman; Kaleidoscopic Shades Strangeness Continues With Some Clarity

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: For this and the next review, I am returning to the continuation of two of the strangest weirdest books that I read since beginning this blog, two books that were my favorites from 2022 in fact: Kaleidoscopic Shades Within Black Eternity by David Neuman and The Merchants of Knowledge and Magic(The Pentagonal Dominion Book 1) by Erika McCorkle. Both were bizarre, weird, eccentric, and unforgettable. Returning to those worlds with their sequels, Penny Arcade Mother's Care Orphanage for the former and The Merchants of Light and Bone in the latter could lead to more weirdness or more clarity. By and large they streamline the series by limiting the perspectives and giving some concrete and important information and exposition to make the series well slightly more comprehensible but still retaining their mystifying, unearthly, uncanniness.

In Kaleidoscopic Shades Within Black Eternity, a series of strange bizarre events occur particularly around the home of Bob and Susan Triplow and their son, Joshua. These seemingly random bizarre occurrences like people appearing and disappearing, a strange man haunting various children's dreams at once, balloons appearing in the sky, and the sound of disembodied bells were tied to Bob’s traumatic childhood growing up in a sinister orphanage with a history of abuse and neglect. He and Joshua traveled to Bob's childhood home of Kapunda, Australia and the Mother's Care Orphanage where he grew up and face some demonic forces and childhood fears that never really disappeared as he grew older. 

The sequel, Penny Arcade Mother's Care Orphanage is set three years later and things are far from settled. A new series of strange unearthly events are happening. However, instead of going global and affecting random parts of the world as before, they are mostly contained within the towns of Corona, California and Kapunda. This keeps this volume more self-contained and streamlined but also takes out the mystery and overall bizarre nature of its predecessor. It also makes the plot a bit easier to follow and understand though there still are plenty of frightening moments that make the Reader wonder what they just read and afraid to continue reading to find out.

Ralph Shaw, a young boy, disappears in a mysterious area in Kapunda called “The Playground.” A group of teens encounter a ghost car in which one teen later discovers is very similar to one in a photograph from almost 100 years ago, a photograph with a very disturbing message written on it. Constable Benjamine “Ben” McLevy’s investigation into these matters put her up close and personal with disturbing sounds and images. Meanwhile in California, Joshua Triplow is grieving for his missing friend, Sammy Debnar who disappeared in the previous book. He still feels Sammy's presence including having frightening audio and visual visions of and about him. Perhaps another trip to Australia is in order.

What Penny Arcade lacks in mystery and ominous energy when the scope is widened all over the world, it makes up for immediate urgency and personal connections to these strange events. The scary moments are plentiful but not as random as they were in the previous book. 

Many of the moments like the ghost car and the disappearance focus on the mental and physical torture of children. They center around the old orphanage and its former staff and residents and the terrifying moments are a reflection of the hatred and trauma that endured in the past. It even spreads to those who weren't there but are directly involved in protecting or investigating them like Ben. 

If there are sacred spaces which are filled with spiritual enlightenment and meaning, then The Playground is the exact opposite. The space inspires feelings of fear, anxiety, loneliness, and trauma. It is practically festered with a violent history which affected the entire environment. It's practically a gateway to Hell where if you don't lose your life, you are certain to lose your mind. It's a chilling setting just in thought let alone in action.

The presences that haunt this area and are responsible hover between the demonic and fanciful and the human and the painful realistic. One of those is a spirit that takes many forms and haunts people through various means like visions and whispers. Some of its more graphic moments are when it tortures the disappeared victims like Sammy and Ralph. Its most sadistic form is that of a grotesque jester that laughs at the pain that it inflicts on the young boys. It's also capable of changing shape and manipulating others for the added psychological and emotional torture. 

This creature is very similar to the Strange Man who haunted children's dreams in the previous book though clearly takes on a more active persona. Whereas the Strange Man was an observer who watched children, did not move or interact with them but still left an ominous eerie presence, the Jester is more hands-on. He gleefully tortures and abuses his targets, mocks people in their heads, and laughs at his unbridled cruelty. It is similar to other clown-like villains like The Joker or Pennywise but unlike the former who is human but psychotic, and the latter who is hampered by a chronological deadline to appear every 27 years, The Jester has those tendencies and all of the time in the world to use them.

The other sinister presence is found in a human being, Anthea who worked at the former orphanage. She has a history of abusing the orphans that were once in her care.

We are given something of her backstory that thankfully does not absolve her though it does provide some clarity and understanding towards the events in both books. In fact her history makes her actions appear worse. 

Since the previous book, Anthea’s rage affected her mentally and physically. She boils over with dreams of revenge that have taken a toll on her body. She becomes an ugly person in appearance and personality. Her hatred and abusive nature become the nucleus in which the strange supernatural events were formed. The land becomes the living embodiment of the pain that she once inflicted on innocent children and now inflicts upon herself. Though they are on opposite sides of human and supernatural, Anthea and The Jester are mirror parallel images consumed with the desire to hurt others and are collaborators in spreading pain in their own way.

Despite being an important character, the primary protagonist, in the previous book, Bob is mostly absent from Penny Arcade. Much of the main character energy is instead provided by Ben and Josh.

Ben is the standard cop protagonist found in these types of novels, tenacious, courageous, kind hearted, observant, and skeptical until they are face to face with the bizarre. Ben’s evolution through the book is that of someone who is confident in her career and the investigation process but is out of her element when encountering something inhuman, something that by nature cannot follow human standards and resists being caught or contained. It's always there and will always be there.

Since Bob takes a minor role, his son Josh inherits his Protagonist Genes and does a pretty good job. When he is haunted by memories of Sammy, he decides to enter a student exchange program to study in Australia with his friend, and potentially more, Ethan. 

Josh is experienced with this supernatural activity to the point that he acts like a jaded veteran with hard won wisdom and massive PTSD. His return to Australia is not just a rescue mission for Sammy, it's a chance to gain some closure for what happened to him last time.

Penny Arcade Mother's Care Orphanage brings some reason and logic albeit illogical logic, towards Kaleidoscopic Shades Within Black Eternity. It isn't necessarily better than its predecessor, but it clears up the events in both books and makes them understandable. 

 

Sinister Ascension by Marc L. Abbott; School Spirit (and Vampires and Mediums)

 

Sinister Ascension by Marc L. Abbott; School Spirit (And Vampires and Mediums) 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Sinister Ascension Marc L. Abbott’s graphic eldritch Supernatural Horror novel involves a coven of vampires that infiltrate a University and interfere with mortal’s lives for their goals.

Todd, a mysterious handsome charismatic newcomer enrolls in Bruckner University and catches the eye of Kim Morris. She is in a tempestuous relationship with her boyfriend, Eric Tucker which Todd takes full advantage of. However, Todd's not just there to be the third point in a love triangle. He's a vampire with a secret plan for “ascension” and needs a mate. He has many who oppose him including his fellow vampires and coven mates, Kevin and Zeborah, Eric, Dayton Conner, Eric's best friend, and Carmen Guerra, Kim’s roommate. Carmen actually has a secret weapon. She's a medium whose grandmother taught her how to communicate with ghosts and read the minds of otherworldly creatures.

Sinister Ascension has all of the usual earmarks of a decent Supernatural Horror: spiritual encounters, horrific monsters that are beyond description, love triangles gone fatal, and a confrontation between a sinister otherworldly creature with unbelievable abilities and a courageous worried human, often the Female Survivor/Final Girl, also with unbelievable abilities. There technically isn't anything new with what is done with the material, but it is an engaging ride with its ominous moments and genuine suspense.

Todd is a presence that alternates between charming and chilling. There are moments where he plays the role of the sympathetic potential boyfriend to the hilt, maneuvering Kim and Eric’s relationship in his favor. They have personality conflicts about missed dates, spending more time with friends, and mixed signals. These are often minor moments that create tension with any couples, but Todd is a master manipulator. He exaggerates Eric's flaws, builds up his own virtues, and plays on Kim's insecurities and sexual longings. 

Todd almost doesn't need supernatural abilities because he makes for a very effective manipulator and potential abuser. But he is a vampire and is capable of various powers like shapeshifting, hypnosis, and telepathy. As a 21st century vampire, he updates his technique. He spends a lot of time in labs breeding leeches and a subservient fellow vampire to extract the mortal blood. He goes through an eerie metamorphosis that strips away the handsome manipulative exterior to reveal the monster that had been lurking underneath.

The characters that fight against Todd are effective, particularly his rival vampires and Carmen. Kevin and Zeborah hover between being as antagonistic as Todd and justifiable in their fights against him. Kevin takes a more pragmatic approach towards humanity and Todd's fanatic megalomaniacal ambitions run counter to that. Even though he was willing to work alongside Todd on behalf of their coven previously, Kevin realizes that his colleague has gone too far and sides with the humans, specifically Carmen, against Todd. 

Zeborah also has his reasons to side against Todd. There are spoilers involved, but let's say his reasons are more emotional. He still has a soul despite his vampiric tendencies and is also tired of following Todd's orders especially when they led to much previous destruction. His journey towards atonement is one of the strongest aspects of this book.

By far Todd's strongest opponent and the primary protagonist is Carmen. She is beginning college just as she is discovering and developing her powers. Her conversations with her grandmother often consist of her asking questions about these growing powers that she doesn't understand and can't always control. Her abuela gives plenty of heartfelt advice born from a lifetime of using otherworldly talent in an ordinary world. 

Carmen's powers manifest themselves in different ways. Her encounters with ghosts are so mundane that she at first believes that she's talking to actual human students until something gives them away, usually when someone else does not see whom she is talking to. There is such an eerie chapter in which she talks to someone revealed to be a ghost during a stressful shocking night. 

Carmen also has the ability of sharing thoughts with some supernatural creatures most prominently Kevin. This skill allows these two unlikely allies to be on the same page as Carmen tries to protect Kim from Todd and Kevin fights against his one-time coven mate. 

With the ghostly encounters, telepathic conversations with vampires, and the migraines that often precede the use of her powers, Carmen is often on edge. Her abilities are amazing but they are clearly not a pleasant experience. They bring physical pain, mental confusion, and emotional loneliness when she can't tell anyone about them. Carmen recognizes the pain and discomfort but also realizes that it is a calling to help those in trouble particularly her friend and ultimately everyone around her.

Sinister Ascension is a worthy addition to any Supernatural Horror book collection. It has a lot of depth, scares, and plenty of spirit.

The Wallace House of Pain by S.M. Stevens; Muted Rage (The Forge Trilogy in The Shadow Guardians Series Book 2) by G. Russell Gaynor; In Search of Cognizance by Nabraj Lama

The Wallace House of Pain by S.M. Stevens

One of the best books that I read last year was Beautiful and Terrible Things by S.M. Stevens. It was a witty and insightful character study about a group of six friends: Charley, a bookseller, Xander, a political activist, Jessica, a financial analyst, Sunny, a solar energy systems sales associate, Terrence, Xander's fellow activist, and Buwan, an artist. The novel covers a period of several months where the friends face various personal internal conflicts, such as new romances, family drama,and shifting careers, and political external conflicts such as racial profiling, immigrant xenophobia, and income inequality. It's a wide reaching novel that covers various topics but also brilliantly captures its six protagonist’s traits, characteristics, and eccentricities that make them stand out as individuals and part of a group.

Stevens reentered that universe with the short novel, The Wallace House of Pain. Instead of an expansive novel about many things and having six leads, this one is shorter and more intimate focusing solely on one character. 

This time the lead is Xander Wallace himself. The short novel covers six chapters in which Xander brings each friend to his Conservative parent's house for dinner. The contrast between the fiery opinionated Xander, his rigid uncompromising father, Jim, his placid demure stepmother, Kathy, and his iconoclastic diverse friends is quite apparent.

Since this story is more compact, we get a closer look at Xander's background and experiences and how they contributed to his lifestyle and decisions in the novel. He is someone who saw a lot of artifice and superficiality. A home with plenty of affluent creature comforts but an inability to live his truth. He loves his parents and vice versa, but feels like he has to play a role for them.

 Xander can't discuss his work in any meaningful way. While he voices his political opinions, it can be very draining as he, and his parents especially his father, talk circles around each other never coming to an even ground. Xander has to hide his bisexuality, his political involvement, and even his name (His friends call him, “Xander” while his parents call him, “Alex”). Xander can't be his authentic self as he hides parts of himself from his family.

Much of Xander's real self is revealed by the family’s conversations with his friends. Terrence connects to his commitment to political activism. Sunny represents Xander's sexuality and gender identity. Jessica is indicative of the passion and talent that leads to finding a gainful career. Charley reflects his emotional and social connections with others. Buwan reveals Xander's self-expression and creative thinking as he uses his activism to shape the world into a better, more idealistic place with actual racial harmony and equality. 

Through the short novel, the larger aspects of Beautiful and Terrible Things are referred to particularly a Black Lives Matter protest that is a central climax in the previous novel. Xander's friends and his real self can no longer be denied as he reveals the real him to his father and stepmother, bisexual Liberal environmental social activist and all. He is able to be the open honest authentic person that we saw in the novel and be that person to his family.

The Wallace House of Pain is a small thread in the tapestry of the larger work but a very important one.

 

Muted Rage (The Forge Trilogy in The Shadow Guardians Series Book 2) by G. Russell Gaynor 

In The Blind Smith, the first book in G. Russell Gaynor’s The Forge Trilogy in The Shadow Guardians Series, tech billionaire genius John James “J.J.” Moore is severely wounded and rendered blind in an attack that kills his security team and his lover. He is recruited by a secret organization of spies and assassins and obtains the code name, “Augur.” He is able to use his new found abilities and organization to seek vengeance upon his enemies, including traitors to the organization.

The second volume, Muted Rage, elevates J.J.’s status significantly within the organization. Instead of being the rookie student, J.J. is now actively recruiting and training new members. His latest recruit is Sonya Bocharova, a Russian deaf woman. He sees a lot of himself in her. Her arrival can't come at a better or worse time because their enemies are closing in and ramping up their attacks.

This volume focuses primarily on action and plot which works well in the Political Spy Thriller subgenre. Sometimes the various characters and sides are disconcerting because it's hard to tell who is with which organization. Readers and characters are conditioned to be on the lookout for traitors and double crosses so just because someone seems on one side doesn't mean that they are going to stay that way. Sometimes it's a surprise twist but mostly because everyone is so suspicious, have ulterior motives, and live in worlds of morally gray, it's to be expected. Betrayal is the most logical step in their development.

The action also serves as a means for the various sides to show off their intellect. In the first book,  J.J., was playing 3-D chess while everyone else is playing checkers. In this book, everyone else is playing the same game of chess. Every character, including J.J., is trying to outfight and outsmart each other. As one organization gets an advantage, the next one fires back and so on. It keeps the Readers invested with its suspenseful tone.

While action is the primary facet to this book, there is some time for insightful characterization particularly in J.J.’s evolution from fresh newbie to hardened veteran. He was always somewhat arrogant in the previous book, though he had moments where his naivete was noticeable. There were also times when his conceit cost him dearly.

In this volume, J.J.’s character ascends to frightening levels. His Authoritarian streak is more paramount. Now that he is leader, his leadership style is iron will. In one chapter, one of J.J.’s colleagues calls him out on his personality and J.J. answers in a way that suggests that he is unapologetic and will only get worse. It raises the possibility whether in a future volume, characters may be driven to stop John James Moore rather than work with or for him.

So far though, J.J. still shows some glimmers of kindness. This is particularly noticeable in his dialogue with Sonya. They have a great deal in common, both have disabilities that they have or are in the process of using to their advantage as assassins. They both carry a lot of grief and anger.

 J.J. is at the point where he can guide someone else to channel that anger and put it to good use and Sonya sees a higher opportunity to protect others and unleash vengeance. With the help of sign language and technology that allows them to communicate, the two come to an understanding and partnership, perhaps even a friendship or more.

The action and lead characters help Muted Rage act on many of the things that were hinted at in the first volume. It prepares and keeps Readers in suspense ready for the next one.

In Search of Cognizance by Nabraj Lama 

It has been my pleasure to work with Nabraj Lama on his book, In Search of Cognizance. It is an evocative and insightful travel book about journeying to find a practical and spiritual path.

After a period of stress, frustration, and unanswered questions, Lama received a position from The Sacred Himalaya Initiative: Sacred Landscapes and Sustainable Futures. The project focused on studying and documenting the relationships between ecology and religion focusing on sacred spaces like Mount Kailash, a place that he studied on his own. The urge to travel to the Tibetan mountain consumed him so he decided to visit it. Lama had two objectives for the journey: to complete the project assignment and pursue a personal quest for spirituality. He describes this trip as one of “self-discovery and growth, as well as an exploration of the interconnectedness between humanity, nature, and the divine.”

This book is both rich in sensory detail and deep in spiritual meaning. It fills the senses with physical descriptions of the landscape and soothes the brain and emotions with its themes of connecting the physical plane with the spiritual. 

Lama’s gift for description is noticeable as he recounts the various settings before him. For example, he referred to Humla as “a hidden gem within the Himalayas (that) boasts breathtaking natural beauty, ecological diversity, and a rich cultural tapestry…a living testament to nature and culture.”

“With its towering green cliffs, cascading waterfalls, bountiful herbs, swift rivers, mesmerizing landscapes, and dense forests, Humla is truly remarkable,” Lama wrote.

The places that Lama and his companions visited were indicative of the countries and the people. One of the places that they visited was Dharipuri, a fish-shaped rock that according to legend were once a pair of real fish that transformed into rocks. When Lama observed the rock, he was struck between the obvious difference in the Tibetan and Hindu communities and the contrast of the downstream where fish were present and upstream where they were not. “The reasons behind the cultural and ecological divide remain elusive, but the fish-shaped rocks will forever stand as a testament to the mysteries of the region,” he said.

Besides places, Lama is adept at recounting the people that he encountered on his journey. His traveling companions, local villagers, officials, and hospitality workers are richly characterized. Among them was Ram Bhakta Sunar, a luggage handler. He owned three mules that carried tourist's luggage from one point to another. He cared for them so they provided for his family. During the off season, Ram let them run free in the forest and only retrieved them for work. He had goals such as wanting to get married at age 19 and one day have a family. Learning about Ram gave Lama some insight to what life was like for villagers, especially the ones that were dependent on tourism and the local environment to survive.

During the trip, Lama and his colleagues witness local concerns such as conservation, poverty, and the pinch of authoritarianism. Nowhere is this more prevalent than when they entered TAR, China. The travelers were ordered not to carry any items related to the Dalai Lama, wander off, enter, or take photographs of anything that they weren't allowed to. They were forbidden from bringing notebooks, books, cell phones, or other controversial items. It's a stark reminder that when traveling to other countries, one must be aware of the land around them and be careful when observing laws and regulations. 

The places that they visited reflected the local culture and folklore. Among those are the sacred lakes, Manasarovar and Rakshas Tal. Rakshas Tal is called the Lake of Demons and its black waters invited legends and stories that it was once frequented by demons. Manasarovar is considered sacred waters and is revered by various religions. It is believed that the waters purify the souls of those who bathed within it. 

The two lakes show the transformative power between the physical and spiritual world, that folklore is often used to describe nature and nature is often used to augment local lore.

Like many long travels, Lama writes about the problems which can occur. There was physical pain experienced by Lama and other travelers (particularly one woman who had menstrual pain while climbing a steep path). There were times where the groups separated and couldn't find each other for awhile. Of course there were times of complications like getting lost, missing a hostel, personality conflicts and all of the usual problems associated with travel. 

One of the most meaningful complications which led to some important lessons occurred while walking along the Dolma La Pass. It was a narrow but crowded path where travelers, locals, and animals teemed along the path. Lama opted to take small steps and opted for shortcuts rather than get in people's way. He was happy to see people helping each other, guiding, or pulling one another down the path.

 Lama himself decided to go through great effort on the path. He crawled through a narrow passageway to test his karma. He finally reached Mt. Kailash Kora to pay his respects, meditated, sang, and shared camaraderie with his companions and other visitors. The struggle of going through the pass was just as important as the destination of Mt. Kailash Kora. Lama said that the kora stands “as a powerful testament to the enduring human spirit and our unwavering pursuit of personal growth and self-realization.”

The trip was one where Lama wanted to seek spiritual fulfillment. His journey to Mt. Kailash gave him more than that. He wrote that he gained fulfillment and enrichment from this journey. 

Lama had “a newfound sense of serenity and inner peace, reflecting on the transformative experiences encountered along the way,” he said. “…The return journey transcended the physical realm, evolving into a deeply introspective and emotional endeavor… I realized that this voyage had left an indomitable mark on my soul, forever changing perspective on life, spirituality, and the power of nature.”

The journey allowed Lama to confront his fears and anxieties.He recognized kindness, respect, gratitude and selflessness that transformed his life and those around him. He recognized the interconnectedness of humanity, nature, and the divine. The experience gave him a stronger sense of purpose and spirit which he continues to share as a Research Scholar at Lumbini Buddhist University, and his articles and books on spiritual and cultural topics.

Lama's book shows Readers that the natural world can be the key for one to reconnect to the metaphysical world and to achieve mental, emotional, and spiritual clarity and peace.

The Emissary (The Selalian Chronicles Volume 1) by Peter Krausche; Immersive Science Fiction Puzzles and Enchants with Immense Plot, Superlative Characters, and Visceral Setting

 The Emissary (The Selalian Chronicles Volume 1) by Peter Krausche; Immersive Science Fiction Puzzles and Enchants with Immense Plot, Superlative Characters, and Visceral Setting 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: I know this is going to be a good year book wise (I can't speak for any other reason though, especially Presidential wise). But it will be a good book year when I have already found a candidate for the Best Book of 2025. Peter Krausche’s The Emissary first book in The Selalian Chronicles.

This book has everything that I love in a Science Fiction novel dialed up to eleven. An immersive visceral detailed setting. A wide spread plot that covers various situations, worlds, and time periods. Some puzzling points that hint at future revelations and hold the Reader's interest. A large cast of multifaceted deep characters. Strong themes that are relevant to their society and our own.

The book begins with a long prologue about Philip Brannon, the head of a religious order called The Selalian Society. He recounts a romance and short marriage with a mysterious beguiling woman, Silana who introduced him to her unique views.

This prologue is a self-contained story into itself which could be a separate novella. There are hints of a connection to the main plot but so far they are not expressly stated. It lends itself to speculation about its involvement in the overall book leading us to make our own speculations. It is also a nice romantic story of two very different people that shake up each other's worlds and make them think about things that they previously hadn't. 

Silana sees beyond her people's arrogance and prejudice to understand human concepts like love, devotion, and basic empathy. Phillip opens himself to deeper concepts of spiritual consciousness and universal connections. Silana settles into a marriage with Phillip and Phillip transcribes an account of her otherworldly origins. The events of the novel proper is the account.

The majority of the book is set on the planet Piral after an event called The Galactic Diaspora. Some strange ominous occasions that herald trouble are on the horizon. There are rumors that the Millennial Peace is coming to an end and greedy opportunistic monarchs want to stretch their rule to other kingdoms. The women of the spiritual Selalian Order are in disarray after the mysterious death of their High Priestess and a young inexperienced one was installed in her place. Catyana, a future acolyte for the Order, has frightening potentially prophetic dreams. There are a group of enchantresses with murderous violent intent who are responsible for mysterious deaths and misfortune. An amnesiac stranger, named Vilam Tavisan, arrives and befriends a small circle of women, notably Catyana and Nova, a woman with hidden powers and ties to the Selalian Order. There are hints that a figure from mythology called The Emissary might have finally arrived and what a coincidence, Vilam fits many of the signs. Could he be the foretold Emissary and if so what does that mean for the future of Piral and the rest of the universe?

The details in Krausche’s Piral setting are massive and quite impressive. He put together a timeline at the end of the book that illustrates the important events in the world’s history that are important to the text and some that the book hasn’t referred to at all (or rather hasn’t referred to yet since this is a series). They give background information to events like the forming of the Selalian Order and what caused the Galactic Diaspora and the results afterwards. It puts the book into a wider scope that involves the entire universe and no doubt carries important information from volume to volume. Also, it shows Krausche’s ability to create a complex history of his fictional universe.

This is one of those plots that involve a wide cast of characters and in this case various worlds. Even the prologue, which is seemingly unrelated, reveals that Earth is an active participant in this narrative. Things that happen in Piral are connected to things that happen on Earth. The fact that the religious society that is a large part of Piralian life has a small but growing sect on Earth suggests that these completely separate universes will soon have to unite on some future date. So this is unknown through most of the book but perhaps is acknowledged by Phillip’s time at least in some capacity. 

It’s also worth noting that there are some suggestions that time is not linear in this book. Philip is revealed to be the Earth Selalian Order head through a dialogue that identifies him as such in the early 90’s. In the prologue set in the early 80’s, he reads Silana’s account that we assume is most of the novel. It makes sense that Philip is reading historical documents of people that existed in the past. But what then muddies the water is within the text, Vilam begins to dream about Philip and Silana’s wedding and even indicates that he knew them. So he is having dreams in the past of the man reading about him in the future that he may have known or had even been in the past. Perhaps these are prophetic dreams. Perhaps this is proof of reincarnation. More than likely, time in this series is not linear but cyclical. Things that some characters remember are not just what happened in the past but what will happen in the future. These thoughts require Readers to pay attention to the details as they make their own interpretations. 

While the sweeping plot and intricate setting are well written, the heart of the book are the richly detailed characters. The characters go through various trials and challenges that bring out their complex motives and fluid personalities. Two characters for example, Soshia and Maralena start out as maids and comic relief characters. Soshia is particularly humorous when she openly and blatantly flirts with Vilam who is bemused but then receptive to her advances. Then she is put through a very traumatic violent situation and we learn about her and Maralena’s backstory. We find out that they are more than we originally thought.

Catyana is another character who evolves quite a bit both in terms of her gifts and through her own personality. She is a very shy, passive young woman with a large talented family. She has odd quirks that confuse and sometimes upset her so she tries to suppress them as much as she is able to. A shocking experience intensifies her power but also almost drives her insane. She is able to access a much higher power and receive training by the Selalian Order where hopefully she can learn to increase and hopefully control her abilities. This trajectory could lead her down a path of great wisdom, authority, but also insanity.

Many of the characters from opposing kingdoms or ideologies are also portrayed as understandable. Some are driven out of revenge over the deaths of loved ones. Others are motivated by a desire for power when they themselves are marginalized. Some want to maintain the status quo and are afraid of the changes on the horizon so are desperate to hold onto what they can. Some of their actions improve things and bring people together and others create more dissension and division.

Nova and Vilam are at the center of the various conflicts and become catalysts for many of the other characters to facilitate their own paths and personal journeys while reflecting and traversing their own. Nova is a leader with great power and wisdom which she contains or wields when necessary. Quite often she is an observer that mentors and guides others to achieving their potential but still has emotional ties to the people involved.

Vilam also goes through a brilliant journey, particularly when he begins to exhibit the traits of The Emissary. Many of the characteristics are done by accident or without meaning to. He is someone who befriends and defends various characters like Soshia, Nova, and Catyana. His protective nature towards those around him as well as his humility when confronted with this prophecy show that he is the right person. He is a simple but kind man who leads because it’s the right thing to do not to gain accolades or fulfill someone else’s prophecy. He fits the type of reluctant hero, someone who makes a good leader because he doesn’t want to be. 

Vilam’s regular guy persona briefly declines in one chapter where he uses one of the foretold weapons of the Emissary. His voice changes and speech patterns become more elevated. His posture and movements become more strident and he uses his weapons as though they were attached to him. Vilam briefly disappears leaving The Emissary in his place. It's an awesome but haunting transformation especially because it's only temporary and he reverts back to his original self. Vilam’s change might involve a complete evolution or overhaul of the man that he was into the man that he is destined to become. 

The Emissary is an immersive experience that captivates and puzzles Readers. The first book leaves a long-lasting impression which the next volumes are challenged to fill.

The Colonel and The Bee by Patrick Canning; Fun Charming Victorian Adventure That Ascends to Great Heights

The Colonel and The Bee by Patrick Canning; Fun Charming Victorian Adventure That Ascends to Great Heights 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Patrick Canning’s The Colonel and The Bee is a throwback to an earlier time of a 19th century Adventure Novel. Pastiches of Victorian Adventures are not unfamiliar with this blog. I reviewed Jon Stephen Jones’ Victorian Adventure Stories and B,G, Hilton’s Champagne Charlie and The Amazing Gladys. Where Jones used familiarity with the Victorian tropes to write stories that echoed them perfectly and Hilton used those tropes to write a novel that brimmed with quirky originality and bizarre goofiness, Canning walks a middle ground. He wrote a novel that presents a fantastic Victorian Adventure with a postmodern darker edge. 

The book is narrated by The Amazing Beatrix, a former acrobat, who instead of running away to join the circus is instead running away from the circus to join something, anything else. She resents the abusive treatment from the circus ringmaster, Ziro so during a private performance for a nobleman, Beatrix makes a dramatic escape to the protection of Colonel James Bacchus, an eccentric treasure hunter with a reputation of daring adventures and romantic escapades. The Colonel takes her into Ox, The Oxford Starladder his floating house (no seriously it’s a four story wicker house attached to a red hot air balloon). She befriends his colleagues, the Newlyweds, obtains a nickname, “Bee” and joins them on their latest hunt for The Blue Star Sphinx. Unfortunately, some dangerous characters are also looking for the Sphinx and the Colonel including an intrepid law enforcement officer and two feuding criminal families. 

The Colonel and The Bee walks a fine and interesting line between the fantastic situations of the past and the rich character development of the present. Canning captures both expertly by giving us realistic characters in a fantastic setting.

What stands out at first is the fantasy, the adventure, the outlandish fantastic tropes of the past. We know realistically that a hot air balloon can’t carry a four story house, but that doesn’t matter. In this book, it does. We know that buried treasure isn’t really found by searching for intricate clues and x doesn’t always mark the spot, but who cares? That’s part of the fun. The Colonel and The Bee opens up those childlike parts of ourselves that read comic books or old adventure novels and imagine ourselves as the characters. Characters like Indiana Jones, The Doctor, Jules Verne’s Phileas Fogg, Sherlock Holmes, Professor Challenger, James Bond, Nancy Drew, every superhero ever. Characters that we imagine wake up every morning wondering what adventure they will get into today. 

Canning captures that childlike wonder that these stories convey. The adventure is solid with many twists and turns. There are written clues that provide context to the Sphinx and its backstory. We are treated to various locations such as Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Gibraltar, Britain, and The Sahara where The Colonel, Bee, and their allies encounter dangers that require cunning, intelligence, stealth, strength, and daring to survive. It's an adventure that moves at a brisk pace but contains enough plot threads to go into different directions and hold the Reader's interest.This is a light hearted fun adventure for the most part.

While the majority of the book is fun and light, the way that most of these quaint Historical adventures are, there is some depth and attention to character psychology that give this book a postmodern edge. The Colonel and Bee reveal themselves as more than the flashy outlandish exterior that we see at first. 

Bee left behind a lifetime of abuse and degradation at the circus. The maltreatment takes its toll on Bee as despite trusting The Colonel enough to rescue her, she is incredibly cynical and suspicious towards his actions. She had been exploited and used so this is what she expects from people. She for a time is unable to trust The Colonel and suspects the worst from him, particularly because of his history with women. She is looking for an escape out of her situation, maybe some money, but nothing else. 

As she travels with The Colonel and his friends, Bee begins to relate to and bond with them. She sees their vulnerabilities, kindness, and acceptance towards her. Her agility is useful for getting them out of tough situations and her earthy nature provides a nice contrast to The Colonel’s flightiness. As she uses her skills to become a member of the group, she opens up to her new found friends. She also begins to let go of her earlier trauma from her time at the circus even to the point where she even bonds with some of her former colleagues when she recognizes their suffering as well.

Since Bee is the first person narrator, we see her various layers but it takes some time to see The Colonel’s. He lives a seemingly enviable life from land to land, adventure to adventure, and lover to lover. He has a charming flirtatious enthusiastic demeanor. He seems less drawn to search for the Sphinx because of wealth than he is for the thrill and excitement. As the book continues, The Colonel is revealed to have a past and troubles of his own that he hides under his gregarious devil may care personality.

The Colonel reveals that he comes from a very dysfunctional family and this adventure is not just a treasure hunt but a search for some family members. Now, his adventures are seen as means to fill the empty voids in his life. They give him some purpose and significance. He was made to feel like he didn't belong anywhere so he became a citizen of the world. His only real family and friends are those that travel with him on The Ox or aid him on his journeys from the ground. 

The Colonel and Bee move from flashy adventurers looking for treasure, to two lost individuals looking for familial connections. Through their journey, they find both.

 

Oliver's Travels by Clifford Garstang; Cerebral Introspective Plot About Writing, Traveling, and Searching for The Past

 Oliver's Travels by Clifford Garstang; Cerebral Introspective Plot About Writing, Traveling, and Searching for The Past

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Even though Oliver's Travels sounds like Gulliver's Travels, Clifford Garstang’s novel is not a fantasy satire of a man traveling to different weird lands that mock various aspects of 18th century life. Instead it is a cerebral introspective novel about a man trying to discover the answers to his past through philosophy, writing, and traveling.

Ollie Tucker just graduated from college with a degree in Philosophy. He leaves his troubled father and siblings behind to move in with his estranged alcoholic mother and teach at a community college. Ollie becomes obsessed with learning about his missing Uncle Scotty especially when he has disturbing flashbacks concerning their relationship. 

Oliver's Travels takes a thoughtful look at its lead character. His family is toxic with an emotionally distant father, an alcoholic mother, a Fundamentalist sister, and a brother who has PTSD since his return from Afghanistan. He looks inward for support and validation that his family weren't able to give him. Ollie enters into a romantic relationship with Mary, another teacher, a relationship that is fraught with frequent arguments, miscommunications, and Ollie's uncertainty about whether he loves Mary or her brother, Mike.

 It's obvious that Garstang made him a Philosophy major to show him as the type of character who would examine his life and choices. His present situation often segues into past conversations with his academic advisor, Professor Russell where they talk about things like guilt, free will, memories, and identity. These conversations focus on what troubles Ollie and propels him to do the things that he does. They also have dark edges in the later chapters when Oliver and Russell’s student-mentor relationship becomes more intimate and disturbing. It makes one wonder how many of their Q&A sessions were genuine and how many were used for seduction. 

Besides Philosophy, Ollie examines his life through writing and travel. He writes a novel about a man named Oliver who travels to exotic locations, lives as a free spirit, and has a troubled romance. There ends up being a lot of parallels between fiction and real life but it is also clear that Ollie's novel is a sense of wish fulfillment. Oliver is the person that Ollie wants to be: bold, assertive, and daring. He goes on similar journeys but the fictional Oliver isn't as bound by these concerns as his author is.

 Ollie asks questions that are never answered. Oliver gets those answers. Ollie waffles about whether he can afford to go to another country and worries about cost and his relationships. Oliver just goes without repercussions. Ollie has a troubled on and off again relationship with Mary. While Oliver has arguments with his partner, they are able to work through them. Oliver is what Ollie wants to be: Someone with many of the same problems but is able to face them and shape himself into a better person.

Besides writing, Ollie uses travel as a means of finding answers. He and Mary travel from Singapore, to Tokyo, to Paris, to Mexico City to work or vacation. Each leg of their journey brings new struggles and disappointments. Ollie and Mary might go to different places but they are the same people every time. They are filled with the same insecurities, worries, conflicts, and ties to their dysfunctional families. A new city where they have to teach a different class of students, see sights, and learn a new language does not change who they are. In fact the relocation only adds more stress to their fracturing relationship. The relocation and the real unspoken motives for the traveling. Ollie is chasing leads to where Scotty might have lived.

Ollie asks his parents and siblings about his Uncle Scotty because the family won't talk about him. They give him evasive answers and contradictory statements which only fuels his curiosity even more. He wants to know about him to see if his disturbing memories were real or fabricated. He believes that if he finds and interacts with Scotty, then Ollie can finally get some answers about why he is stuck in this place of insecurity and frequent conflicts. 

When Ollie learns the truth about why Scotty left, he realizes that everything that he thought about him and the rest of their family was wrong. At first, Ollie envies his uncle's nomadic life but the more he pieces together Scotty’s real story, he realizes that his romantic image was errant. Scotty wasn't living a carefree life or running away from a past crime, he traveled because he felt compelled to. He went to different countries to get away from his own traumatic memories and because he couldn’t find a place that felt like home. In his drive to learn about his Uncle through philosophy, writing, and travel, Ollie realizes that he is more like him than he originally thought and is destined to end up in the same place.

Disrupting The Power of Fear: A Journey to Challenge The Overlords of Earth by Alden Gray; Discovering The Problems With Flaws: A Quest to Criticize The Author of SF

 Disrupting The Power of Fear: A Journey to Challenge The Overlords of Earth by Alden Gray; Discovering The Problems With Flaws: A Quest to Criticize The Author of SF

 By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Note: This review is also on Reedsy Discovery 

I will just say it. I don't think Alden Gray’s Disrupting The Power of Fear is the book for me. It might be because I am not a conspiracy theorist. It might also be because I have read better Science Fiction and Fantasy novels, including two at the exact same time as this one so it pales in comparison to them. 

But I found this book to be less of a Science Fiction novel and more a treatise about a conspiracy, and a tedious treatise at that. It is more than likely written for people who follow and believe the more outlandish theories that the world is run by reptilian overlords, that every dead celebrity is secretly alive or were murdered for “knowing too much” (about what no one ever says), Satanic airports and daycares are real, or that children are murdered for their adrenochrome. At least if they aren't in the rabbit hole of conspiracy, the book might be for people who are curiously peering at the edge to see what all of the fuss is about. Unfortunately, it doesn't offer much to anyone else.

In Antarctica, Jin-Soo and Maya Kang discover hidden relics that reveal humanity's history that Earth was invaded by Reptilians called The Anunnaki since ancient times. They were worshipped as gods and their hybrid descendants have manipulated world history by waging war and encouraging avarice, greed, invasion, and conquest. Someday a “Child of Prophecy” will be born that will alert humanity of their captivity and bring enlightenment through knowledge and meditation. Maya gives birth to a daughter named Ashley that displays impressive intuitive abilities and might just be the Child of Prophecy that was forsworn.

The concept despite being frequent could work. A popular topic in and of itself would not be bad as long as the author finds something interesting to do with it. Let's not lie to ourselves: conspiracy theories are topics that are so frequent, practically cliches, that they are screaming for authors to find fresh approaches to them.

They could satirize it like Adrian Deans did with Asparagus Grass or go for the excessive laughs the way B.G. Hilton did with Mysterious Aisles. There can be humor found in a plot that involves reptilian overlords taking over every aspect of our lives.

 The author could also write it with sincerity and take the time to ask some interesting questions within the theme. Say what you will about The Da Vinci Code and the theories behind it, but no one can dispute that it got people talking and that Dan Brown wrote the book like he believed every word of it. That's the problem with Disrupting The Power of Fear. It is uncertain whether Alden Gray believes it or not or how the book should be perceived, a warning about things to come or taking digs at the warnings themselves.

The title alone makes it sound like a personal development nonfiction book and the writing almost turns it into one. Gray does not follow “the show don't tell” writing advice. He tells us the Hybrids are evil and manipulative but doesn't give us any examples of what they did in the past or are doing now. He just presents secret meetings between them and real-life political figures but doesn't show us the influence that they hold or the aftermath of their actions. We're just supposed to take for granted that they are evil because uh I guess the conspiracy says so. 

It’s probably just assumed that Readers are familiar with the Reptilian Conspiracy Theory so they take for granted that they are evil because they're there. 

Without any sense of the Hybrid’s actions or goals, we aren't made aware of how awful they are or why they must be stopped. The conflict is neutered and the characters fall flat as a result.

Flat characterization is a huge detriment in this book. The Hybrids and Anunnaki aren't the only ones who suffer from it. Gray throws real life people into the plot like Queen Elizabeth II, Barack Obama, and Mark Zuckerberg, but not for any meaningful purpose other than to give them cameos and say, “You see them huh? Aren't I cleverly mixing them with the conspiracy? They are bad Earthlings because they are with the conspiracy!” 

If you are going to put real people into your conspiracy either go all in and do something elaborate with them or don't do it at all. They are world leaders, and business CEO’s. There should be some stakes raised because of their associations with world conquering aliens.

With a couple of exceptions, the real people are just here and gone at a few meetings without any real effect on the overall book. Gray could have just as easily created fictionalized versions or composites of the real people and it would have had the same effect. I would even argue a better effect because he could pursue their story arcs to the fullest potential without being tied to known information about them. 

Ashley is also a prime example of flat characterization. If we can't understand why the Anunnaki and Hybrids are so bad, we definitely don't have much hope in rooting for Ashley to stop them. I am reading Disrupting The Power of Fear at the same time as The Emissary by Peter Krausche and Speechless in Achten Tan by Debbie Iancu-Haddad, the former even has a Chosen One narrative as well. But with those books, Readers are given rich vibrant characters. They have realistic interactions in fantastic environments where they get to know the people around them. They have goals and strive to pursue them. They make mistakes and learn from them. They display insecurities, frailties, arrogance, low self-esteem, confidence, courage, and perseverance. We see them in their highs but most importantly we see them in their lows and how they have to adapt, adjust, survive, and live in these strange worlds. They change their minds and spirits, so their journeys are complete as they transform their worlds but also more importantly themselves.

Ashley is not like those characters. She is hidden and educated in secret to become the Child in Prophecy but she isn't really affected by anything around her. She shows very few flaws or moments where she needs to develop her character. She is one of those precocious types who show wisdom beyond her years, the kind of wisdom that should come across as profound but instead seems more pretentious and ingratiating. She has some intuitive and healing abilities but it's nothing spectacular. In fact, for a Future Leader of the World, she's kind of dull, a mere sketch of what that character would be like than an actual character herself. Similar to how Gray wrote the Hybrids, we aren't told why Ashley is the Chosen One or deserves to be just that she is. If that's okay for the Prophets then by all that is sacred, it should be for us. She almost becomes a Mary Sue of a character rather than an actual person.

There are glimpses of good characterization. Senator Mira Grant is an idealistic politician who leads the Resistance even at the expense of her own life. Jin-Soo still suffers from the trauma of living under government oppression as a child and is concerned whether his memories and experience affect his upbringing of Ashley. There is even an interesting story arc with one of the real people that encounters the Hybrids. They are caught between their legitimate desire to help people and the realization that they were manipulated by forces beyond their control. Unfortunately glimpses are all that we get.

It seems like Gray was not interested in writing a novel as much as he was interested in writing about these conspiracy theories. It seems more like a Nonfiction book with plot and dialogue rather than an attempt at writing a Science Fiction novel. It could be that Gray sincerely believes in what he wrote and wanted to build a story around it but there could be another possibility.

The book repeats itself constantly about the secret conspiracy, the evil Anunnaki, and the good Ashley. The adjectives and situation of the characters discovering something new, sharing it with others, and this information affecting Ashley's training is repeated to the point where it goes from tedious to self-parody and it does make one wonder if Gray was being serious or ironic.

It could be his standard good vs. evil dichotomy is not meant to be sincere but an intentional shilling meant to make us question the concepts and if we are meant to believe what the narration tells us about these events. In writing this book as a conspiracy theory, could he be trolling his intended Readers the theorists themselves? If so, it's not a very good troll. It runs on far too long, meanders, and ends too abruptly with several remaining chapters left to go. It might be real or it might be a joke, but it definitely needs to be a better book.

If you want to satirize conspiracies go ahead but again go all in and do so. Make the concept as far fetched and ridiculous as it sounds. Put in some laughs and parody it for all of its worth. It's a weird concept and weird people spread it. Have fun with it.

If you believe in this stuff and are serious, then make it challenging and thought provoking. Don't be timid and just tell us what is happening, show us. Make us fear this secret organization and hope that there are heroes to fight it. Make the protagonists worth rooting for. Make us aware of the high stakes and what needs to be done.

Gray’s writing style is detached, not trying for satire or sincerity. It's unclear whether he believes it or not and is instead keeping the world in the book at arm’s length instead of wanting us to be invested either way. Worst of all, this approach makes Disrupting the Power of Fear completely forgettable. Instead of Disrupting the Power of Fear, maybe Gray should have been Developing the Process of Good Writing.

Gittel by Laurie Schneider; Speechless in Achten Tan (Book 1 Of The Sands of Achten Tan) by Debbie Iancu-Haddad; Slumber Nevermore by R.J. Garcia

 

Gittel by Laurie Schneider 

This is a brief summary of my review. The main review can be found on LitPick 

Gittel by Laurie Schneider is reminiscent of many coming of age books like Anne of Green Gables and The Little House books. It's not long on plot. It prefers instead to focus on various individual conflicts in Gittel’s life that test her character and teach her various lessons.

13 year old Gittel Borenstein is part of a Jewish family that emigrated from East Europe because of a pogrom to Mill Creek, Wisconsin with 12 other Jewish families. The book focuses on various events in Gittel’s young life such as bullying from Antisemitic classmates, conflicts with her more traditional Orthodox family, a budding romance with a local boy, and her participation in a Chautauqua.  

The book is strong on character, time, and place. The Borensteins emigrated for their safety but still feel out of place in this rural American country. Gittel has to suffer from insults and threats from other students, particularly Karl Leckner, whose religious Antisemitic father takes every opportunity to compare them to demons. Gittel shows her strengths by using witty comebacks and verbally challenging her antagonists. She even describes her mouth as the sharpest weapon that she and her friends, Irene and Emily, have.

Gittel struggles with not only societal conflicts but those within her own family. Gittel is a maturing young woman who is fascinated with the American way of life while her traditional Orthodox family mostly clings to the tight-knit Jewish community around them. Gittel makes gentile friends, develops her interests in singing, dancing, and reading, and uses her talent in public speaking during a Chautauqua. She nurtures aspirations to continue her education and become an actress or writer despite some of her family's concerns and soft objections. 

The most heartwarming moments are when Gittel and her family come to an understanding about her aspirations and interests and she recognizes their own adaptability as well as her own. She recognizes loving bonds which while hidden and not always expressed out loud, but are always felt. 

Gittel is the Yiddish word for “good” which is a decent description of the book. However, it's more than good. Gittel is great.

Speechless in Achten Tan (Book 1 in The Sands of Achten Tan) by Debbie Iancu-Haddad

This is a brief summary of my review. The main review can be found on LitPick. 

Speechless in Achten Tan is a Fantasy novel that will appeal to YA and Adult Readers with its captivating lead character and her search for her personal power.

 Mila, a mute cavern gnome, goes through a test to be considered worthy to study magic. After she fails the test, her mentor, Nora, sends her to the desert world of Achten Tan to study magic under Gerwyn, a wise and powerful witch. While in Achten Tan, Mila finds romance and friendship, becomes involved in a power struggle against the despotic Bone Chief Opu Haku, and discovers her strength and voice.

After her test, Mila is in despair because she doesn't conform to what her community believes are their standards of maturity. She is deprived of the ability to speak and to practice magic. She cannot ascend in their world so she is deprived of her agency. The dramatic irony is the reason behind her failure. Mila’s brother, Turosh, drowned over the same waterfall where she was being tested. She was temporarily overcome with grief, lost control, and failed the test. A moment of emotion remembering a traumatic event that shaped her youth and motivated her to continue studying ended up becoming a barrier in her pursuit of magic and full acceptance into her society.

As with the heroes in many legends and books in the genre, Mila is sent to continue her journey elsewhere. She has to leave to continue her studies. Her journey to Achten Tan also allows her to connect with her past, present, and future. Her boyfriend from the village, Geb, is also in Achten Tan to train as a healer. He provides an emotional center and keeps Mila focused as her abilities increase.

She also befriends Kaii, son of Opu Haku, the Bone Chief. Mila's friendship allows the son to step out from his father's tyrannical shadow and fight against him. Mila widens the scope of her magical pursuits to make long lasting changes with other kingdoms including her own. 

Mila is even able to reconcile her grief over Tarush’s death. She comes to terms with the loss and its aftereffects. While death and loss are still painful for her, she is able to set them aside and move forward on her path to maturity.

This is a Fantasy novel that many, especially young people, will relate to as they follow their own paths, discover their own abilities, and gain their own voices.

Slumber Nevermore by R.J. Garcia

R.J. Garcia knows how to keep Readers up at night. With the anthology, Slumber Nevermore she crosses genres to give the Readers a full effect of dark twisted tales that deliver on chills, ominous energy, and unforgettable mental images. 

There are seven stories but the best are:

“The Stolen Child”-This story is a Dark Fantasy that plays on those frightening magical creatures: Fairies.

Garcia refrains from the wholesome fairytale Disney image of fairies and focuses instead on the variations from myth and legends where they are powerful, capricious, demand to be respected, and should be kept at a safe distance. 

Mae is anxious about her sister, Emmie, who disappeared right in front of her. She has this sensation that they had been watched and out of the corner of her eye, she thinks that strange figures appear and disappear. She always suspected that there were fairies in the woods. Could she be right? Spoiler Alert: She is.

The fairies are written as ominous and secretive. They appear as orbs of light, shrill whistles, or silhouettes. Mae isn't sure if they are dreams or if they are real. Then when she finally talks to them, she isn't sure if they are good, evil, or neutral with their own moral code. They could go either way. Their ambiguity is their strength and while she is with them, Mae is completely at their mercy. As long as she is in their world, they could do whatever they want to her and no one would know about it. 

“The Stolen Child” is a modern fairy tale told to a Horror loving audience. Anyone who reads fairy tales knows that fairies can be sinister or helpful but are rarely the main antagonists. Instead the real villains are often a lot closer to the protagonist’s home than that. Those villains are cruel, malicious, and bring the worst misfortunes. 

“Lipstick”-This story is a Paranormal Horror that should not be read by anyone with coulrophobia. 

10 year old Billy sneaks out one night to see a carnival. The night of rickety rides, junk food, and fun to be scared thrills turns to terror when he encounters a demonic looking clown. The clown not only makes a formidable impression but makes him an offer that haunts him for years.

Dark carnivals might be cliched and scary clowns even more so, but they are used so often because they work. Carnivals can give off a sinister vibe when one thinks about it. These places of supposed amusement contain rides that are quickly put together by people who might have dubious reputations and are certainly in a hurry. A guest’s safety depends on them. Is it any wonder that they inspire fear? If you read books like Something Wicked This Way Comes or saw movies like Freaks or Carnival of Souls among others, you know what I am talking about.

Then there are clowns. They hide their true faces, come up close and face to face with children, seem impossibly cherry, and wear garish makeup. Lest we forget fictional clowns like Pennywise or real ones like John Wayne Gacy who certainly had dark sides. A clown can be terrifying. A carnival can be spooky. A clown in a carnival is frequent but also can give you that instant chill down the spine, the chill that warns you that maybe you should have stayed home.

Billy ignored that chilly warning and ultimately paid a huge price for it. This brief moment changes his life in many disturbing ways that leaves him traumatized and alone. The final paragraphs show the complete impact that this demonic clown had over his life to the point that Billy can't separate himself from him.

“Sister Witches”-It’s rare to have a Horror short story told from the point of view of the monster, but this story does and turns a story that would normally herald fear for the victim instead invites pity and regret for the monster. 

Cassandra is one of three witches. The other two are her sisters, Sheba and Celeste. The trio kill mortals and absorb their youth to remain forever young and beautiful. Their latest victim is Tommy, an aging man who is residing in a nursing home. 

The witches' goal is to preserve their youth. Their absorption of others’s essences is graphic but is comparable to an addiction rather than an unexplainable supernatural or demonic force. It ruins the mortals but also the witches as well.

Cassandra and her sisters absorb the essence not because they want to, but because they think that they have to and are unable to survive without it. This takes a toll on Cassandra in particular. She has become someone who isn't terrifying or frightening. Instead, she's weary and tired of life. She is ready to die but is unable to. 

In a way the fear doesn't come from an outside source, but from within. If we compare their immortality to an addiction, the fear comes from feeling forced to get that immortality and what it would be like to live without it. Cassandra fears what they have done, what they will do, and what would happen if that eternity would end. She is simultaneously longing for death and afraid of what happens if it comes. 

“The Axeman Among Us”-Of the stories, this is the most realistic. Instead of Dark Fantasy or Supernatural Horror, this is more like a Psychological Thriller. It features an infamous real life serial killer. The Axeman of New Orleans was a serial killer who murdered mostly Italian immigrants or Italian-American men from 1918-1919. Most notably, a letter allegedly from The Axeman said that he would not kill anyone on a certain night in homes where jazz played. Musicians played in hundreds of homes that night. The Axeman was never identified and no arrests were made.

Vincent and his friends, Mikey and Dupree are startled one night by the sound of a scream and a dark mysterious figure hastily leaving a building with an ax in hand. They suspect that he might be the Axeman. The trio become obsessed with the case and go to extreme lengths to stop the Axeman's reign of terror.

This story’s tone and atmosphere are on point. The Axeman is certainly human but he carries a demonic aura. He haunts Vincent's dreams and is described more of as an otherworldly presence than an actual human being. He invites the possibility that he might not be human at least in this version. But the fact that he is, somehow makes him even more chilling. He has a human way of planning and analyzing how to commit the murders without getting caught and an inhuman desire to hack a human body to pieces.

There are some interesting twists to the story. Since it is set in New Orleans, we get motifs like voodoo and jazz. Voodoo presents the only supernatural link in the story and even that might just be within the minds of those who believe in it. It also makes sense that in absence of any physical legal help to stop the Axeman, the boys would turn to more esoteric means. Voodoo is a large part of New Orleans life but it is also held in suspicion by non-practitioners. There is something supernatural and eerie about it, the type of thing that would draw someone like the Axeman. The boys are using one unusual potentially dark path to capture one unusual dark person. 

Jazz music also plays a large part most prominently practiced by Vincent's brother, Peter. It not only plays into the physical location but the time period as well. Jazz is improvisation mixed with deep emotion like pain, anger, sadness, and love. While popular, it was also controversial and considered an outsider’s choice of music like rock or rap would be later. The kind of music someone who stands on the outside fringes of society would listen to.

It's also worth noting that Peter is a WWI veteran. This is the time of the Lost Generation, when soldiers returned home with deep trauma. Where flappers and college kids decided to live freely without a care. It was a time where people were aware that life could end at any moment, so might as well grab all that you can. This deep emotion is played by someone who saw death up close and killed people because his government told him to. Maybe Peter feels a disturbing connection to the Axeman, an understanding about what it's like to live on the outside fringe, with longing and emotions that he can't express openly, and living with a violent and bloody past. 

These stories deliver scares to the characters and the Reader making their sleep a truly unpleasant one.