An Extraordinary Turn of Events: An Anti-Dystopian Novel by JC Hopkins; Science Fiction Novel is High on Character and Identity but Low on SF

 

An Extraordinary Turn of Events: An Anti-Dystopian Novel by JC Hopkins; Science Fiction Novel is High on Character and Identity but Low on SF

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: JC Hopkins’ An Extraordinary Turn of Events is that rare Science Fiction novel that doesn't want to be one.

With most Science Fiction novels, attention is based on world building by exploring the setting, the characters, the environment, and the problems that exist in that society. Perhaps it shows an overabundance of technology. Perhaps it's set on other worlds or planets and we get a look at some unique alien species. Perhaps we are shown a world surviving in a dystopia ruled by tyranny or a post-agrarian world trying to rebuild itself. The point is to write a Science Fiction novel, one must be creative and invest in world building. The world should not be seen as an afterthought. 

When one is reading a Science Fiction novel, they shouldn't forget that they are reading a Science Fiction novel. That is the problem with An Extraordinary Turn of Events which has an interesting lead character and focuses on his personal struggles but is almost unnecessarily thrown into a futuristic setting that practically does nothing for the rest of the book.

Geronimo Vang, a writer, has been brought back from the dead by someone who has purchased his identity and now must live as him. He develops a romance with Minh Vang, no relation, a Columbia University student. As Geronimo navigates his new identity, writing career, and relationship with Minh, echoes of the original deceased Geronimo’s life appear in the form of his daughter, Dorothy and her mother, Candace.

This is a strange example of Science Fiction that tries to merge the ordinary and commonplace with the extraordinary and otherworldly. On paper, it's not a bad idea to mix genres or to focus on character rather than setting. An Extraordinary Turn of Events captures character rather well, in some ways almost too well. The book focuses on the ordinary and commonplace of Geronimo's daily life and falters in describing the extraordinary outer world in which he lives.

Many of the best moments are when we get to know Geronimo as a character. His chapters connecting with Minh are low key romantic as he tries to build a relationship with her. Both authors inspire one another with his novel based on his own experience and her YA superhero novel.

 An Extraordinary Turn of Events is a story of two lost souls meeting, connecting, and going through the various stages of meeting, falling in love, living together, taking their relationship to a higher level, and arguing. They make a strong loving couple that are better together than they are apart.

There is also some real truth in Geronimo's relationship with Dorothy. Even though he is not her literal father and just has his identity, he still feels responsible for her and Candace. They are still a part of his life and while Dorothy is willing to go forward, Candace still has a lot of animosity towards the original Geronimo and the man claiming to be him. Hopkins explores real regret, guilt, and a desire to find some way to reconnect through this relationship.

When the book concentrates on real characters, it is brilliant but it falters when it tries to expand its world in Science Fiction. In the middle of these conversations with Geronimo, Minh, Dorothy, and Candace, Geronimo goes into these tangents about the dystopia in which he lives, the presence of AI, and other things that should be relevant to the plot but aren't. They aren't seen as important plot points, just meant to set the scene and remind the Reader that “Oh yeah, I forgot this is a Science Fiction novel.”

The most telling aspect of purchasing someone's identity is not elaborated upon in a way that usually would be done in such a novel. The means are such that the plot could just as easily happen through mundane means. Geronimo could have amnesia or stole his new identity and it still would have the same effect.

In fact, I imagined what the book had been like if Geronimo stole his predecessor's wallet or personal identity papers in a moment of impoverished desperation. It's not in the future just in the present and becomes a tender story of a reformed criminal trying to go legit and dealing with the consequences of his old roguish life, the current one that he is trying to remake,  and the life that came with the wallet. It was better without the futuristic angle and still kept much of the character.

It's ironic that the book is titled An Extraordinary Turn of Events because the best parts of the book are well-written and deep but actually very ordinary indeed.

Priceless Passion by Ary Chest; Historical Gay Romance Covers Love, Class Struggles, and Self-identity

 

Priceless Passion by Ary Chest; Historical Gay Romance Covers Love, Class Struggles, and Self-identity 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

This review is also on Reedsy Discovery 

Spoilers: When writing a Historical Fiction novel featuring a member of the LGBT+ community, it is important to write them accurately with how the time period affects their lives, relationships, and their feelings about the world and themselves.

 Yes there are some that minimize those struggles and are just as effective, The Shabti by Megeara C. Lopez for example. It is a Supernatural Horror novel set in the 1930’s which treats the romance between the two lead male characters as a nonevent as compared to the supernatural entity that is haunting them. That is a rarity. 

To realistically portray a character, particularly an LGBT+ in a historical time period, it is important to accurately capture that time period, homophobic and transphobic warts and all and how the lead character challenges those standards. Otherwise, there's no point in writing about that time period at all. Ary Chest’s novel, Priceless Passion excels in giving us a gay man's struggles with class division, poverty, homophobia, and romance on his journey towards self-reflection and discovery of his own identity.

In 1927, Baltimore, Eustice Mercidale is a son of external wealth and privilege but internal misery and despair. His father, Burton is a coal industrialist who rules his family and business with an iron fist, emphasis on fist. His mother, Jessica, is a non-entity who goes along with whatever her husband wants to maintain social standing. His sister, Ophelia, is a wild flapper who challenges her father's authority. Eustice himself is torn between behaving like the good obedient son and his own desires for rebellion and finding his own path.

The first few chapters give us the opulence, extravagance, and corruption during the Roaring Twenties, the flaws that would later lead to the Great Depression. The Mercidales live a seemingly enviable life of immense wealth. They have a large network of business partners, society matrons, and affluent young people. They go to parties to see and be seen. Eustice and Ophelia went to the best schools and traveled. They seem like the family everyone would want to be like. But it is all a front.

Eustice feels the intense pressure to excel and be the #1 son who will take over the family business. He can't rebel but Ophelia does. She wears short dresses, goes out all night, and has many affairs. She openly flaunts her flamboyant behavior defying a staid cold environment that is all surface but no substance. That wants but doesn't need. That has but doesn't deserve. That owns but doesn't love. That controls but doesn't understand. Eustice understands these feelings but can't yet find it in his heart to openly challenge his father like his sister does.

There are some hints that Burton’s staid, religious, overly moral personality is a front for corrupt and criminal activity. The employees who mine and separate the coal to support the Mercidale’s lifestyle work under horrible conditions which are augmented by Burton’s decisions to cut corners on safety and worker benefits. He encourages Eustice to become more involved with the business so he is able to see this darker, more hypocritical side of his father. 

Eustice’s standing within the family requires him to defend his father's actions, because they will soon be his, while inwardly hating what Burton has done and the abusive hold that he has on his family. Burton’s hold on Eustice at first works all too well. Outwardly, he is the rigid businessman to be but inwardly has longings and desires towards men which he is forced to suppress. However, it is this inward private life which allows Eustice to take some action and find a path separate from his family.

This call to action takes human form into that of Cyrus, a server that catches Eustice's eye at a masquerade party. Eustice has had previous affairs with men, but they were always clandestine, secret, a way of finding personal pleasure while denying his own emotional longings. 

Eustice's flirtation with Cyrus builds into something larger as they encounter each other at various social gatherings and exchange some witty saucy by play. Eustice fantasizes about this new presence in his life until those fantasies become reality and they engage in a physical ongoing relationship. 

What makes his relationship with Cyrus different from previous ones, is the emotional connection that grows through their encounters that reaches beyond sex and sees something more substantial. Cyrus becomes someone that challenges Eustice’s worldview and whom he can visualize spending a life with. 

Those secret fantasies end up becoming reality when Eustice discovers that his new boyfriend is a Communist. Instead of being appalled, Eustice finds a way out of the ornate but oppressive half life in which he is living. He understands Cyrus’s motives in an abstract sense, and has no personal love or loyalty towards his father. However, he is still caught between his old safe rich world and a new life that consists of unpredictability, potential poverty, and outright rebellion and activism. The answer is made for him in a heart stopping chapter in which Eustice says goodbye to his life as a Mercidale in the most definite, unpredictable, and violent way possible. 

It is the second half of the book that takes Eustice away from his creature comforts where he really comes to his own as a character. He and Cyrus move to another part of the country away from his wealth, connection, and resources and he discovers an inner strength that he didn't know that he had. 

He works in domestic and secretarial positions and for the first time really understands what it means to work hard and earn very little, how oppressive or simply thoughtless those in charge can be towards those that work for them, and what it means to go to bed hungry or to panic when he or Cyrus are sick or injured and can't afford a good doctor or medicine. He understands why people like Cyrus fight against their oppressors. Eustice now knows the reasons behind them, though he doesn't condone their more violent actions which ultimately becomes a deal breaker between him and Cyrus. 

 Unlike his previous life in which he and his family had material possessions but barely disguised revulsion for each other, Eustice and Cyrus have very few things but a stronger love. The hard times make them closer and smooth out their rough edges and previously conflicted views. They cling to, uphold, and support each other to keep the proverbial wolf at bay outside the door.

During his time with Cyrus, Eustice also openly embraces life as a gay man, as openly as he can in the 1920’s and ‘30’s. He and Cyrus live together but to most people, they are simply roommates or co-workers (because they are different races, they are unable to pass as brothers without creating an elaborate story). They meet other LGBT+ people in secret windowless clubs and arrange to exit them in small groups or with lesbian women so spectators don't get nosy. 

Many of the sexual encounters are hidden by people who have to otherwise pretend to be happily engaged or married as Eustice reveals to another man in an earlier chapter. They can live together in secret but can't openly talk about their lovers without using coded phrases such as nicknames, or gender neutral names. 

They never know if they will face arrest or murder, or the possibility that someone who might have been a supportive ally before would either turn against them voluntarily or reveal too much accidentally. It is a suffocating existence for people to identify a certain way or loving someone when straight cis gender people do without a second thought or concern whether they will face arrest, public scrutiny, ostracism, bullying, unemployment, or death.

Eustice and Cyrus do their part in helping their fellow LGBT+ community members. They take part in a series of elaborate vigilante actions that protect and defend others from potential arrest or ramification. Because society will not protect them, they have to protect themselves. That is the kind of life when one lives on the outer fringes of what is seen as acceptable society and is one which Eustice is willing to pay if it means being with the man that he loves.

Priceless Passion is very realistic in how it portrays the hateful atmosphere that surrounds Eustice and Cyrus and the courage that they have by not only living within it but defying it in their own way.

 

The Young by Nicholas John Powter; The Super Easy Mediterranean Diet Cookbook for Beginners by Wendeline Daalmeijer; The Super Easy Good Energy Diet Cookbook for Beginners by Astrid T. Rasmussen

The Young by Nicholas John Powter 

This is a short review. The full version can be found on LitPick.

This is a stirring novel of survival and the strong bond between Father and Son.

 In a post-Apocalyptic future, Fren Welp and his father, Sven are attacked in their village by beasts from a far away kingdom. After a fight in which Fren is threatened and a family friend has been kidnapped, father and son travel to the kingdom to face their sworn enemies. Unfortunately, the fight becomes personal when they learn that some of the kingdom’s subjects are closer to them than they originally thought.

There is a strong sense of survival. Sven and Fren exhibit a “kill or be killed” mentality. They live a hard, difficult life in which they have to fight against animals, other humans, even former friends and family members. 

The society in The Young is an agrarian society that has deteriorated into small enclaves or tribes, mostly just specific families and even they can be divided. We learn that  Fren’s mother and brother disappeared. Their reappearance is not a happy reunion as they no longer recognize the family members that they left behind.

Despite The Young carrying a theme of survival through adversity and decline in society, it is not completely dour. Heart and warmth lie within the relationship between Sven and Fren.Lacking anything else in life, all they have is each other.

The Young is dark with its theme of survival but light with the love between its deuteragonists. It shows even during the worst times, it's important to have someone to hold onto, care for, guide, help, and love.

The 2025 Super Easy Mediterranean Diet Cookbook for Beginners: 2000 Days of Quicky, Tasty, & Nutritious Recipes Book for Everyday Meals to Live a Healthier Life |No-Stress 30-Day Meal Plan by Wendeline Daalmeijer; 

The 2025 Super Easy Mediterranean Diet Cookbook is a detailed and informative book which explores the benefits and recipes for meals made along the Mediterranean Sea around Southern Europe, Northern Africa, and West Asia.

The introduction provides a history of Mediterranean style cooking, particularly the importance of olive oil and other flavoring to add taste and preservation. Benefits include reducing risk to chronic disease and improved cognitive function and longevity. The book describes the Mediterranean Diet as “a celebration of food” because it encourages family togetherness and holistic activities such as exercise and dancing as well as eating. 

The recipes vary in meals and styles including: Greek Egg and Potatoes for Breakfast, Domatorizo (Greek Tomato Rice) for Beans and Grains, Moroccan Chicken with Apricots, Almonds, and Olives for Poultry, Grilled Kafta for Beef, Pork, and Lamb, Oregano Tilapia Fingers for Fish and Seafood, Garlic-Lemon Hummus for Snacks and Appetizers, Caponata (Sicilian Eggplant) for Vegetables and Sides, Provençal Ratatouille with Herbed Breadcrumbs and Goat Cheese for Vegetarian Mains, Baklava and Honey for Desserts, Israeli Salad with Nuts and Seeds for Salads, Mediterranean-Pita Wraps for Pizza, Wraps, and Sandwiches, Fettuccine with Tomatoes and Pesto, Melitzanosalata (Greek Eggplant Dip) for Staples, Sauces, Dips and Dressings.

This book provides many suggestions to adapt an international cuisine that encourages healthy eating, diverse options, and emotional wellness.

 

The Super Easy Good Energy Diet Cookbook for Beginners: 150+ Tasty & Nutritious Recipes Inspired by Dr. Casey Means’ Teachings to Help You Lose Weight and Eat Healthier by Astrid T. Rasmussen

The Super Easy Good Energy Cookbook for Beginners is an excellent book that offers good recipes to increase energy levels and cultivate healthy eating habits.

The introduction covers Dr. Casey Means’ Dietary Philosophy which the book uses as its primary inspiration. Means endorsed a holistic approach to nutrition, focusing on the interconnectedness of metabolic health, inflammation, and overall well-being. Among the aspects that Means emphasized include low-glycemic eating, individual metabolic responses to foods, and using whole foods as a cornerstone. Among the tools are Continuous Glucose Monitoring by measuring glucose in real time and identifying sugar spikes.

The book gives a biography that lists Means’ experiences, research, philosophies, and guidelines that are implemented into the Good Energy Diet. The diet eliminates refined sugar, processed grains, and unhealthy fats and the inclusion of high-fiber foods, healthy fats, probiotic-rich foods, and micronutrient-dense foods. Lifestyle is also important in maintaining the Good Energy Diet by doing physical activity, getting enough sleep, and managing stress levels.

The introduction also provides case studies of people whose health improved by implementing the diet into their lives. Mary struggled with metabolic issues such as obesity, fatigue, and elevated blood sugar levels. Within a few months of committing to the diet, her energy improved, blood sugar levels stabilized, and she lost weight. There are similar studies like John who used the diet to improve his blood pressure and cholesterol levels and Lisa whose diet helped her manage her Depression and Anxiety.

Like any other cookbook, the recipes offer a good variety of excellent choices for healthy eating and living. They include: Banana Oat Muffins for Breakfast, Beef and Bell Pepper Stir Fry for Beef, Pork, and Lamb, Fresh Rosemary Chicken for Poultry, Curry-Glazed Salmon with Quinoa for Fish and Seafood, Cold Soup Smoothie for Snacks and Appetizers, Smashed Potatoes with Dried Herbs for Vegetables and Sides, Papaya Rice Bowls for Vegetarian Mains, Easy Summer Gazpacho for Stews and Soups, Greek Salads with Lemon-Orange Vinaigrette for Salads, Almond Butter Fudge with Chocolate Sauce for Desserts, and Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough for Staples, Sauces, Dips, and Dressings. 

The Good Energy Cookbook presents good eating to develop good energy.

 

Trigger Point (An Angela Hardwicke Science Fiction Thriller Book 5) by Russ Colchamiro; Angela’s Latest Adventure Gets Very Very Up Close and Personal

 

Trigger Point (An Angela Hardwicke Science Fiction Thriller Book 5) by Russ Colchamiro; Angela’s Latest Adventure Gets Very Very Up Close and Personal 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: If you are interested, please read my reviews of the previous volumes, Crackle and Fire, Fractured Lives,  and Hot Ash

The Angela Hardwicke Science Fiction Thriller Series is no stranger to bringing us mesmerizing settings. The series explores the universe of Eternity, where various citizens do their part to help control, create, and repair the Universe. Everything from Patches who fix the tears in the Cosmos, to Designers who decide where the stars, planets, and galaxies are arranged, to the Minders who oversee the entire Universe and beyond, to detectives like Angela, who keep criminals off the spaceways and from messing with the order of the ‘Verse.

 It seemed like with Trigger Point, the fifth book in the series there was nowhere else for Angela to go. Well, Russ Colchamiro, the author, pulled a fast one on us. There was somewhere else to go. When the outside is explored most thoroughly, the best place to go is inside. Inside the mind of his lead character. Here Angela is at her most personal and angst ridden as she explores her latest adventure which puts those closest to her at risk.

Angela is recovering from her last case which resulted in the death of a friend and where she ended up demoted, in debt, and technically working under her former partner turned boss, Eric Whistler. She is definitely not in the mood for a new case but that’s what she gets. She is hired to uncover the mysterious death of a sex worker. Even worse, she finds that Whistler has gone missing, well most of him. He seems to be stuck somewhere in time and space and she can make out his faint image and hear cryptic garbled messages but doesn’t know where or possibly when he is. These cases become intertwined and lead Angela right into a conspiracy concerning the Patches, where her estranged lover, Eddie works and her young son, Owen is being trained. 

This is definitely the strongest Angela Hardwicke volume in terms of character development, much of it is laid at the feet of Angela herself. She often referred to parts of her past in previous books but this is where it really comes forward, particularly in chapters where she talks to her estranged parents (this is the first volume that I can recall where we actually learn that Angela even has parents.), 

We learn that Angela's sister died of cancer and they still feel the grief leading to Angela's father to withdraw from the family and she to embrace a darker side. She also became pregnant as a teenager ending with the death of her infant daughter. These losses caused Angela to become obsessed with her detective career. She couldn't protect herself from death but could protect other people and the Universe from it.

Angela is also haunted by nightmares and memories which she lives on the edge of the Universe can be more real than most on Earth. She has conversations with her late friend where she reveals her remorse and missteps in the previous case. 

She also bears a lot of guilt for what happened to Whistler. Not only for his current predicament but leading him into becoming a detective, acquiring an overdeveloped sense of justice, and having a reckless attitude in solving these cases. She isn't proud of how far Whistler has come. She's worried about what she turned him into and where this life will lead him.

Angela's tenderest moments are when she reunited with Eddie and Owen. It's heartwarming to see the normally hard boiled cynical badass Angela figuratively melt into a puddle of maternal goo when she and Owen are together. He's a sweet smart kid who brings out an innocent protective warmth within his mother. They may be separated but mother and son are still devoted to each other.

Angela and Eddie's relationship is no longer romantic but they are still amicable towards each other. Eddie actually has more interactions with Owen since they are both Patches so he has the loving ex and parental caretaker that is often reserved for female characters in most private detective novels. 

He worries about Owen but also his ex putting herself in danger but also knows his concerns will be dismissed. Even though Angela is romantically involved with Darren, a rock musician, she and Eddie have retained a friendship almost like surrogate siblings that defend one another and have each other's backs.

All of this development towards Angela's character is used in dramatic ways, particularly when she faces the antagonist in this book. There are hints that this character has been around since the first book, Crackle and Fire, and has five books worth of material to use against her and boy do they. It becomes a battle of wills in which Angela's own self worth and sanity are at stake as she faces this character.

If this book is not the last Angela Hardwicke book, I would be very surprised. There are a lot of hints that indicate this is a final volume or if not that, certainly a change in format and formula. Many of the long time subplots such as Angela’s messed up home life and her and Whistler’s statuses are altered considerably.

 Many characters come to some raw conclusions that indicate their journeys will be coming to an end or they will be in different places in the next volume. It's safe to say that Angela Hardwicke Science Fiction Thrillers will not be the same again.

November Reading List

 November Reading List 

Last month started out well. Then the last couple of weeks, I got hit with some psychological problems so I ended up pushing back my final reviews for the month.

Trigger Point (An Angela Hardwicke Science Fiction Mystery Book 5) by Russ Colchamiro

Priceless Passion by Ary Chest

Sailing By Gemini’s Star (The Constellation Trilogy Book 3) by Katie Crabb

The Serpent's Bridge (The Serpent Series) by S.Z. Estavillo

Innocents, Immortals, and Amoral Gods by Harry Dehrian

Traumatization and Its Aftermath: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Treating Trauma Disorders by Antoineta Contreras 

The Young by Nicholas John Powter*

An Extraordinary Turn of Events by J.C. Hopkins 

The Candid Odyssey: Exploring India and The Philosophy of Life by B Johnny

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

Among Stars and Shadows by Diane Farrugia; Beautiful Romantic Fantasy Between An Elven Prince and Human Woman

Among Stars and Shadows by Diane Farrugia; Beautiful Romantic Fantasy Between An Elven Prince and Human Woman 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Diane Farrugia’s Fantasy Romance Among Stars and Shadows can be formulaic and predictable with its story of the love between a human woman and an Elven Prince. However, Farrugia does enough in terms of characterization and world building that she works well within the formula to make the book a standout.

In the kingdom of Lockhaven in the land of Encantraalm, Prince Declan is sworn to defeat his tyrannical father by any means necessary. Declan’s allies have discovered an artifact that could remove The King’s magic and potentially end his life. The only problem is that it's inside the domain of the High King. For Declan to gain access to the artifact, he has to receive admittance from the High King. To do that he has to offer his hand to the High King's daughter, Princess Myra. Oh well, some things are more important than Declan's personal feelings and whether he likes Myra or not is immaterial as long as his father is defeated. Unfortunately, a serious wrinkle in Declan's plans arrives in the form of Kayla Winters, a woman from London, or Humaynraalm to phrase the vernacular. After receiving some devastating news, Kayla is swept away by a mysterious vortex right into Encantraalm and Declan’s presence. The two are instantly attracted to one another despite Declan's misgivings about a human in the elven realm and also his growing awareness that Kayla might be his Lasai Cara, his twin flame.

The world building is that right blend of imagination and archetypes that can be found in this genre. When Kayla first stumbles into Encantraalm, she has a strange encounter with an underwater siren only to be rescued by a winged elf, also known as an avariel. Many of the characters display certain gifts like Declan's empathic abilities. In one very creepy chapter, The King displays his abilities of mental manipulation.

The backstory of Encantraalm is combined with the legend of Camelot connecting the mythical and the real worlds. Another clever bit is Kayla's astonishment at Encantraalm having electricity and appearing modern when in her mind, a fantasy realm would be Medieval in appearance. It is fascinating how the book plays with expected characters and situations but also has fun exploring new ones and concepts within them.

Declan and Kayla's relationship goes through the usual spots of difficult first meeting, arguments based on assumptions, and different worlds to the point where those spots are predictable but somewhat comforting in their predictability. It's like comfort food. You know what's going to happen but like it anyway.

There is a lot of depth in their relationship that takes the novel in interesting dimensions. One of the complications is that Kayla was diagnosed with lupus before arriving in Encantraalm. She is not just in danger from this magical world but also from her own body and is in a place where the people don't know about lupus and certainly don't have any treatment for it. It's also refreshing to see a character in an Epic Fantasy setting dealing with real world problems. 

Declan and Kayla's romance takes a long time to build and actually goes through several stages that take advantage of a long 900+ page book so they are fully developed as individuals and as a couple.