Secrets of Ash by Josh Green; Brotherly Bond Uplifts Story of Vet With PTSD

 

Secrets of Ash by Josh Green; Brotherly Bond Uplifts Story of Vet With PTSD

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Josh Green 's Secrets of Ash is a bleak somber look at veterans with PTSD and a brotherly love that gives the book an emotional uplift.

Chase Lumpkin, a vet from Afghanistan, has left his home in Atlanta to the rural town, Cherokee. He can no longer bear the PTSD, flashbacks about a disastrous friendly fire incident, and his own struggles with his family, so he plans to take his own life. Meanwhile, his equally troubled brother, Jack, is recruited to look for him while dealing with his own personal demons as well.

This is a very dark book that specializes in getting even darker. It is a definite character study in veteran PTSD. Chase is a very disturbed individual. His flashbacks are harrowing especially when he remembers the friendly fire incident. He displays plenty of rage, remorse, and intense grief that is felt through the pages.

When he moves to Cherokee, he obviously has one thing in his mind. The book goes through the various stages in the mindset of a suicide. Chase shows detachment for the outside world and self-isolation. He gives away possessions and puts his affairs in order. 

The most sinister aspect of Chase’s character is in the certainty of his decisions exemplified by his changing moods. One of the signs is that when a suicidal person is ready for their final act is that they act fine, even jubilant. Sometimes Chase acts that way. As depraved as that thought is, he believes that his problems will soon be over.

A bright spot in this book is the bond between brothers, Chase and Jack. This isn't a “good sibling/bad sibling” dichotomy. In fact, Jack is just as messed up as Chase in many ways. Even though he is fairly well known as a radio sports commentator, Jack can't find personal happiness. 

He is a recovering alcoholic who often relapses. He hops from bed to bed with various women as though to fill a void in his life. He has a daughter that he never sees and a dysfunctional relationship with his mother. In fact, the only thing that hasn't unraveled is his relationship with Chase.

When Jack goes to look for Chase and Chase tries to carry his plan forward, they are behaving like two lost souls searching for love and support. Their childhood gave them an “us against the world” mentality and without one another, they can't function properly. In many ways, Jack just isn't trying to save Chase. He's trying to save himself. 

Weekly Reader: Moon Deeds (Book One of The Star Children Saga) by Palmer Pickering; Alien Invasion Science Fiction/Fantasy Has Strong Start on Earth But Gets Lost on The Moon

 

Weekly Reader: Moon Deeds (Book One of The Star Children Saga) by Palmer Pickering; Alien Invasion Science Fiction/Fantasy Has Strong Start on Earth But Gets Lost on The Moon

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Palmer Pickering's Moon Deeds features an alien invasion, a nice mixture of fantasy and science fiction, and a pair of twins who travel from Earth to the Moon to fulfill their destiny in a chosen ones prophecy. It has a strong start while the characters are on Earth but it kind of loses something when they get to the Moon.

We get a fairly decent exposition introduction to explain the history of what happens in the book. It's a very intriguing back story and says a lot about human nature and how we would act during an alien invasion. Some would welcome. Some would fear. Many would defend themselves with weapons or words when things go bad.

In 2038, a race of aliens called the Ceph arrived on Earth. The Earthlings were impressed by their advanced technology and willingness to share resources so they formed an alliance. Things went well at first. Cephs began working on Earth and integrated into Earth society. Children who were half Earthling and half Ceph were born.

One half-Earthling and half-Ceph, Djedefptah (Jed) Tegea, known for his military strategy and conquests, went to war against Earth mercenary leader, Jared Metolius. The two eventually formed a Global Alliance to unite the world under one government. They combined their armies to form one in which the soldiers were called "Tegs."

Various Earthlings have formed a resistance against the Global Alliance.

For example, the Free States of North America remained neutral until Pensacola, Florida was bombed. The Free States government surrendered but various state militias formed Gaia United.

This exposition is not only fascinating but is in such detail that Pickering could write another series. It would be interesting to get a first hand account of the Cephs arrival, the life of Tegea, and the formation of the Tegs.

What is particularly remarkable about this conquest is that Earthlings not only use technology and science to fight the Tegs, but magic, making the book take a slight detour from science fiction into fantasy. It makes sense. Many believe that science and magic use the same types of energy and may just be different terms to describe the same things. It's also telling that if the new scientific means cannot be used as safeguards and protection, many will turn to the old cultural ways. 

 The British Isles created a shield called The Druid's Mist. While in the country formerly known as the United States, the Shasta Shamans, a religious sect from Northern California, created the Shaman Shield as protection against the Tegs.

It's ironic in these cultures that races, ethnicities, and religions of people that had been almost wiped from existence because of colonization, genocide, the rise of Christianity, and laws forbidding these practices end up being the ones to help save the Earth's inhabitants from  extinction. (There should be a mass and smug "we told you so" along with a sardonic "you're welcome" from the Pagan and Native American communities after this.)

Most of the action is set in 2090 and involves twins, Cassidy and Torr Dagda. With the two main characters, we get an interesting outlook at the various ways in which people survive in this environment.

Cassidy and Torr were raised under the Shaman Shield by their devoted parents. Their mother and grandmother were once members of the Shasta Shamans, though their mother cut ties with them. Because of this, both twins have intuitive clairvoyant abilities.

Torr is fighting with Gaia United in a losing battle against the Tegs. While he had some prophetic dreams, he lives in reality.

He is part of Gaia United and is a ground soldier fighting the Teg Army.  He and his fellow soldiers are given the choice to become Tegs or go to a work camp. Instead, Torr and a few others take a third option: resist and get the Hell out of there as fast as they can.

Some of the most gripping passages are when Torr and his regiment are fighting and running for their lives against the Tegs. A particular moment in which Torr and his friends escape by boat reveals them using their strength, wits, skill with weapons, and subterfuge to evade capture and head for familiar territory.

Meanwhile, Cassidy is studying many of her family's shamanic practices such as herbology and having visions. She studies the various plants in her grandmother's studies and even has some fascinating visions of the souls that inhabit them. Through Cassidy, the old magical spiritual ways are not dead but continue to thrive. 

 Though she is not at the forefront of encountering the Tegs, Cassidy is in as much danger as Torr. One frightening scene depicts this as the Dagdas spend the night in a treehouse to hide from the approaching Tegs. Their encounters with them create important sacrifices and decisions from them..As the Tegs are getting closer, the Dagda family has to  contemplate a move. 

Cassidy and Torr inherited a deed to properties on the Moon so it's about time that they used them. Cassidy is also hearing whispers about a prophecy of a pair of twins called the Star Children. Could she and Torr be them?

The majority of Moon Deeds is set on Earth and these are the strongest chapters. Torr and Cassidy see the world that they once knew slowly change and die right in front of them and have to go to a new world to start over. They have to live every day with courage, survival, and sacrifice. Perhaps the prophecy of the Star Children gives them something to hope for, that things will change and that in the end they are destined for something greater.

The book is not as good however when the setting shifts to the Moon. There are some interesting clever touches that Pickering provides. The Moon is almost like a futuristic Western in which property is claimed, people work hard to build a new life, prospectors get rich from the resources, and women from the World's Oldest Profession obtain power. It's very well detailed particularly how the twins feel the intense culture shock and discomfort of being separated from family in a new place without the things that they once held dear.

However, there are some concepts and characters that probably should have been saved for the next book. There is a group of women who are interested in Cassidy and might be a cult or a coven of witches. There are members of various alien species, besides the Ceph, that their presences are brushed aside. 

There is also a mysterious character who could be a charming con artist/antihero or a full on villain ready to take all that he can get. Unfortunately, these characters are introduced too late to fill their fullest potential in this book. It's almost as though once things on the Moon got interesting, Pickering decided to end Book One when it would have been better to end Book One with their arrival on the Moon.

However, there is enough interest in the setting and characters of the Moon to make Book 2, a potentially good, possibly better, follow up to its predecessor.

Weekly Reader: Profiler by M.A.R. Unger; Multiple Subplots Mar Otherwise Decent Murder Mystery About Criminal Profiling and Military PTSD

 

Weekly Reader: Profiler by M.A.R. Unger; Multiple Subplots Mar Otherwise Decent Murder Mystery About Criminal Profiling and Military PTSD

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: M.A.R. Unger's murder mystery novel, Profiler, would be a decent mystery dealing with criminal profiling and the consequences of PTSD in military veterans. It may make a decent series where Dr. Tom Jessup uses his gift for criminal profiling to uncover the serial killer du jour while investigating his own background. The problem is that Unger does too much in one book. Unger puts too many subplots into one book making it difficult for the reader to focus on the main  story.

One night, trouble occurs around Jessup's property. Police arrive to inform Jessup that there has been a murder around his place. Jessup had the TV on loud and didn't hear a thing. Neither did his closest current neighbor, Liz, a nosy woman who is house sitting for a wealthy artist. Jessup becomes concerned when he discovers that the murder occurred near the trailer of Beau Travers, an Iraqi War Vet and Jessup's friend and patient who suffers from PTSD. Relieved that the deceased was not Beau, Jessup offers his services out of concern for Beau's welfare. A quick investigation reveals that the deceased was also a vet named Reddi Mercado and a picture reveals that he and Beau served in the same regiment. Other people in the picture have or will be killed, so if Beau isn't the killer, then he will soon be killed.

Meanwhile a serial killer dubbed the Southwest Killer is picking out college students. Jessup analyzes this case with the help of his girlfriend, Denver police officer Baxter. 

It's not unusual for a mystery or psychological thriller to have a few subplots to go with the main action. After all, where would we be without the mystery solver's relationship woes, problems with their troubled teen, or the suspect/potential love interest? Sometimes the subplot involves one of the suspects to give the character more depth and make them a red herring and false lead. However, what makes Profiler so unfocused is that Unger gives two thriller subplots that have nothing to do with each other.

By themselves, the Marine Vet plot and the Southwest Killer plot are both interesting. The Marine plot is particularly compelling, particularly in the interactions between Beau and Jessup. There is a very effective moment where Beau is in the grips of a PTSD flashback and Jessup has to talk him out of harming others or himself. This chapter reveals the tight friendship between the two characters and how the horrors of war are not always left behind on the battlefield.

We also see the toll war takes on soldiers and civilians alike when some characters can't let go of the things that were done during war time.

The Southwest Killer plot also has some genuine moments of suspense such as when Jessup gives his analysis on the killer's motives and behaviors and is not only proven to be right but a potential victim is accidentally put right in the killer's path. One character also takes advantage of Jessup in the worst way possible, jeopardizing both of their careers and possibly lives.

 The problem is not that these two plots exist. It's that these two plots shouldn't exist in the same book. Alone they would make compelling narratives as separate books in the series. However, together they cause the book to be weighed down. We don't have enough time  to focus on one plot when the narrative moves to Jessup and colleagues discussing the events of the other plot. This happens several times in the book, making the writing hard to follow.

There is a point where the plots converge in a way that suggests that they are related. But they veer off in opposite directions that have nothing to do with each other. The overall effect is that the book would have done just as well or better without either the Marine plot or the Southwest Killer plot and the book would not have suffered much without them. 

Profiler could be an engaging series. Perhaps that is what Unger was hoping for. But a quick word of advice: Don't throw all the volumes in one book otherwise the Reader won't care to read the other books in he series.

New Book Alert: Enigma (Road to the Breaking Book 2) by Christopher Bennett; Brilliant Pre-Civil War Era Novel Explores the Real Cost of Slavery

 

New Book Alert: Enigma (Road to the Breaking Book 2) by Christopher Bennett; Brilliant Pre-Civil War Era Novel Explores the Real Cost of Slavery

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Among the myths that the Southern states held in keeping slavery is "The Good Slave Owner Myth", that as long as the slave owner is good to their slaves, never has them whipped, separated, or sold, and had them educated and converted to Christianity, then they weren't doing anything wrong. Unfortunately, that myth was so strong that many Southern apologists, Confederate fan boys and girls, and devotees of the Southern "Lost Cause" (in other words racists with a Civil War grudge) still cling to that myth.

What they fail to acknowledge is that the institution of slavery itself was wrong. If one participated in the transfer, ownership, and purchase of human beings, then their so-called goodness had already been compromised. Their treatment of their slaves was nothing more than mere hypocrisy. That the phrase "good slave owner" is as much a contradiction in terms as the phrase "good Nazi." 

Enigma, the second book in Christopher Bennett's Road to the Breaking historical fiction series about the days before the American Civil War, tackles the "Good Slave Owner" Myth head on. It shows us a protagonist who has seen first hand the horrors of slavery and has returned to his family antebellum plantation home with no intention of repeating them.

In 1860,Mexican-American War veteran Captain Nathan Chambers returns to his childhood Greenbriar County, Virginia home, to take over the run of the plantation after the death of his father. Nathan isn't alone either. He brought six of his best and most loyal soldiers and obtained a completely different outlook on life.

Because of events in the previous book, Road to the Breaking, Nathan has formed a deep fire forged friendship with his fellow soldiers, a band of brothers if you will. Nathan has also experienced firsthand the horrors of slavery and he is no longer the ambivalent boy who left Virginia. Instead, he sees fellow human beings that are dehumanized by that deplorable institution. When he returns home, he has no intention of repeating the institution on a farm that is now his. He is not content to be a good slaver owner. Instead he wants to be a good man and to that, he wants to end the institution of slavery.

Nathan instead wants to free all of the slaves. However, Virginia laws states that that can't happen. However, if laws can't be broken, then they can always be bent. The slave laws say nothing about indentured servitude. So Nathan cleverly decides to change the status of his slaves to indentured servants. They will work on the plantation for a period of seven years for pay. Then at the end of that period will have the option to either leave or become regular paid workers.

During that time, the ex slaves will be given a small tract of land in which they will cultivate for themselves, become literate, be permitted to speak and question their treatment, and have legal marriages. Even Christian sermons will reflect this new outlook, no longer emphasizing white's domination over other races. Instead, the sermons reflect equality and humanity.

The reactions from the people on the plantation vary. Some are excited and supportive. Many former slaves are skeptical and a few are contemplating escape or a violent revolution. The white employees are incensed that they can't kick around the black employees any longer. An overseer is fired when he is caught venting his rage and assaulting a female slave. The neighbors are horrified and offended. It is going to be an uphill battle to implement these changes, that's for sure.

Enigma is filled with memorable characters. Nathan is a terrific lead character who has not only realized the error of his ways. He not only talks the talk in realizing how evil slavery is but he walks the walk in doing everything that he can to get rid of it. He is a leader who leads by example and that makes him someone who is worth following.

Another character who stands out is Evelyn Hanson, a young woman who Nathan's mother has set up with her mother, for them to go courting. Evelyn has been raised, almost brainwashed, to act like a typical Southern lady to the point that she doesn't know her own mind. When she first encounters Nathan, she parrots all of the talking points about slavery that her mother told her to say without thinking about them. Then when she is finally challenged and put on the spot, she reveals herself to be an intelligent and opinionated young woman who unfortunately has had to keep her thoughts to herself. Unfortunately, that conditioning has resulted in Evelyn carrying a lot of anxiety and insecurity. Her mental questions of "Who am I?" are repeated so often that she seems to hover towards an identity crisis or mental breakdown.

Supporting characters stand out in this book particularly Nathan's men and the slaves turned indentured servants. Nathan's fellow soldiers are an extremely loyal team to the point that when Nathan asks if they want to stay working with him, they all agree, citing having no family to return to, large families that wouldn't miss them, and living too far from their former homes. They are also well writtn individuals who stand out on their own right from Stan, the friendly giant Russian who is good with children, to Billy, the quiet tracker who spends this days out in the woods to familiarize himself with his surroundings, to Tom, Nathan's second in command who has a fine organizational and technological mind that enables the plantation workers to come up with innovative ways in which slavery will no longer be necessary.

The indentured servants are well written as well, particularly how they view Nathan and his new ideas. Not surprisingly not all of them are excited. Some like the fiery Tony remain unconvinced and practice shooting just in case they need it. Others like Phinn, think that Nathan's words are all talk and will believe the change when they see it. Megs raised Nathan since he was a baby and isn't afraid to call him out in public on his behavior as a child and when he oversteps his boundaries as an adult. A particularly memorable character is Rosa who becomes involved romantically with Tony and harbors a painful secret connection to the Chambers family.Through these characters, Bennett explores the painful cost of slavery on one's humanity and self identity.

Of course since Enigma predates the Civil War, there is plenty of foreshadowing about the conflict, some very blunt and obvious. Abraham Lincoln's candidacy is referred to with admiration and contempt. Rumors of succession get louder.

 Some foreshadowing bears many similarities to modern day. One character contemplates how the election of one President could cause so much contention that it would inspire people to commit an insurrection definitely calls to mind a certain modern insurrection on January 6. Good historical fiction allows us to draw those parallels between the old days illustrated in the work and modern day, but most let us do that on our own. They don't come right out and say it. In this instance, subtlety is lost to obviousness.

However, Enigma reveals a world that is on the verge of changing. When that happens, many take long looks at themselves and realize how wrong they were.