The author contacted me and sent me a digital edition of the novel in exchange of a honest review.
BACK TO REVIEW
I’ve been away from Goodreads for The author contacted me and sent me a digital edition of the novel in exchange of a honest review.
BACK TO REVIEW
I’ve been away from Goodreads for several months, along with reading anything in general, therefore, when Vani contacted me to make a review of her new book, I was hesitant, since I’ve been busy with familiar matters, but at the end I decided to read the book and I am truly glad of it, since I thought that it will be a cliche romantic tale but I was mistaken founding a very dark romantic story. which I found refreshing.
MISSING TWIST
Initially, when I read the prologue I expected a Gillian Flynn-like book, since I expected some twist since I think that the prologue is quite spoiling about how the book ends. Oddly enough, it wasn’t the case, since while the development is quite engaging and entertaining, what you may get from the prologue, it’s pretty much what you’ll get at the final cllimax. In my humble opinion I’d leave out the prologue.
ROMANTIC TRIANGLE… OF FOUR SIDES
You have the complex love story of Nikki, a rising TV personality; Cyrus, her boss; Sameer, an obsessive fan; and…
…Ali, yet another obsessive fan.
I think that one obsessive fan was enough and certainly Sameer is the interesting one. Sameer is an intriguing antagonist, with several layers to read about.
Don’t be mistaken, the angle of Ali is interesting enough but I think that two fans with dangerous tones in the same book is overkilling (kinda pun intended), leaving in a very dark light the fandom of a media personality. Having fans is an element of a media personality and certainly there must be some dangerous fans but I think that there must be a lot more positive ones than negative ones, but in the book you only get to know about two fans of the Nikki character and both are male and dangerous.
The romantic narrative involving Nikki, Cyrus and Sameer is quite good showing a rollercoaster of emotions, exposing very real characters where you don’t have cliche good or bad characters but real people able to take different decisions and having to find a way to live out of those decisions.
FATHER’S DAY
Fathers is the hightlight in this book, since Nikki’s dad, Cyrus’ dad and Sameer’s dad, all of them play key moments in the story.
Nikki, Cyrus and Sameer may not think high about their dads, and even it wouldn’t seem that they could be relevant in the general story but you can trust that it’s not about the quantity of time but the quality and how they are there in key moments in the lives of the three main characters, not pampering but showing the right path even if Nikki, Cyrus or Sameer aren’t able to realice that their fathers want the best for them.
So… …while I have my observations about the book, I enjoyed the time while reading it and I recommend it a lot to all of you.
The author sent me a copy of the book in exchange of a honest review.
DON’T JUDGE A BOOK FOR ITS COVER, BUT…Astonishing debut for this author!
The author sent me a copy of the book in exchange of a honest review.
DON’T JUDGE A BOOK FOR ITS COVER, BUT…
It’s true that you can’t judge a book for its cover, but I think that a cover is a priceless resource to inspire a reader to choose a novel.
If you’re looking for a classic or a mass-popular book, you won’t care about the cover, you are looking for the title, but when you’re deciding to read a book, especially a new book, if you watch a bad cover, with poor artwork, something that even a rookie in Adobe Photoshop could do better, well, you may think: “If the author didn’t care to present a profesional cover, what can I expect about the content?”.
So, when I watch the truly professional cover of this novel, Deceived, by the debutant writer, Heena Rathore P., the first thing to motivate me to read it, it was precisely the cover, since it told me in an instant that I was about to read a professional work.
And happily I wasn’t wrong about it, since indeed it was a great debut book.
INSPIRATIONS
Families are murdered and only one member survives, police suspects of the remaining family member, narratives in two different time periods…
…it’s no wonder that you may think in Dark Places, since the author, in an ingenious way, even she mentions that very book, but…
…trust me, while she got inspirations from that concept, this is a truly original tale, where you’d be reading a different kind of book.
Also, in the middle of the development, you may remember Psycho and Halloween, however, still is an original work.
(NOT) DECEIVED
While the title of the novel is Deceived, it’s about the game of suspicions that you’ll play with yourself, trying to figure out what’s going on, but…
…you won’t be deceived in choosing this book to be read, since it has an engaging narrative style, great character development, and a gripping mystery.
The book even has an introduction explaining the key differences between psychopath and a sociopath, that most people think that they are the same thing, and while both kind of actitude have similar features, at the bottom, they are two quite different type of persons.
It’s quite uncommon that you’d face a truly psychopath in your lives (thank goodness!) but you may find several sociopaths and you are able to interact with them, most likely with some friction, but still able to establish a social relationship with them (usually due having to work in the same place, having to study in the same class, sharing a common friend, etc…), even you may show some sociopath trait and that it doesn’t mean that you are an evil person, just being socially misfit at some level,…
…while the psychopath scenario is a totally other thing…
…and definitely something lethal to others…
…and the worse thing is that you won’t find it out in most cases.
You don’t have to be a sharp detective to detect a sociopath, but…
…the true psychopaths is a master to disguise themselves in the middle of the crowd.
So, be careful of being deceived!
Because, maybe it can be the last mistake of your life!
ARE YOU WHAT YOU READ?
An angle exposed in the book is that if you read a bunch of novels displaying common themes of stalking, torture and murder…
…Kapow! You must be a serial killer!
Really? Mmh…
So, if a person read a bunch of novels offering up common topics of space ships, alien worlds and advanced technology…
…Shazam! You must be an astronaut!
I don’t know you, but I don’t think that that works in that way.
And don’t get me mistaken, I am not saying that this was the intention of the author, I’m just commenting a developed topic in the narrative of the novel that leads to that kind of reasoning.
So, I found irresistible to comment about this angle in the review.
Obviously, having aside the books that you read in school (study texts or assigned novels), what you read in your own personal time, most likely will be stuff that you want to read, topics that you’re interested about, but hardly it’s something that it has to be used to define you as individual.
I can assure you that reading the Bible doesn’t make you a saint!
People read books for many different reasons (chance, curiousity, book club, a promise, a bet, etc…), even having certain books in your library (or even a creepy attic) doesn’t mean that you read them or are even yours, maybe it does, but also there can be many other scenarios to ponder about.
Excellent anthology about the horrors of the addiction.
The author sent me an Advanced Reading Copy of the book in exchange of a honest review.
TheExcellent anthology about the horrors of the addiction.
The author sent me an Advanced Reading Copy of the book in exchange of a honest review.
The general rating is an average sum of the ratings given to each story contained in this book.
This is an anthology of horror stories with the common theme of addiction.
A WICKED THIRST
Rating: ***** (Five stars)
by Kealan Patrick Burke
This is one heck of story to start up the anthology!
An alcoholic man believes that he always need to be drunk (who doesn’t?) but this guy takes his need for drinking something to be drunk to an awful extreme.
I can assure you that you’ll be left with a chilling ending with the image that the story pictured you in your mind.
THE ONE IN THE MIDDLE
Rating: *** (Three stars)
by Jessica McHugh
In a far future, a new kind of drug causes havok taking society to an unforeseen twist.
This is a plot too dense to digest easily but certainly is quite imaginative.
EVERYWHERE YOU’VE BLED AND EVERYWHERE
Rating: ***** (Five stars)
by Max Booth III
This is one of the strongest narratives in the anthology.
This is a story that is as captivating as awful to read if you’re a man (you’ll understand what I mean if you ever read it), but certainly the captvating angle wins and you are amazed with it.
A man has a very singular sickness but maybe it isn’t as singular as he may thinks but once he thinks that it isn’t as bad as it seems, it gets worse and worse, even he doesn’t know if he can trust his senses, so maybe just a little of dope can make things better.
FIRST, JUST BITE A FINGER
Rating: *** (Three stars)
by Johann Thorsson
The oldest tale in the field of addiction, that you can quit it whenever you want.
LAST CALL
Rating: ***** (Five stars)
by John F.D. Taff
Oustanding story with a very imaginative development, where a drunk man gets the best ever gift to leave the habit for good, however, as you may guess, there is a catch, or maybe certain rules that even if you quit the booze, your body can be free but your mind is another thing.
TORMENT OF THE FALLEN
Rating: **** (Four stars)
by Glen Krisch
A great tale with a heart-breaking finale.
A teenage girl can see demons, so she keeps on the move around the country (USA) but she founds out that her dad is in troubles and the kind of problems, only she is able to help him.
As the Lannisters, the demons always pay their debts…
…sadly.
GARDEN OF FIENDS
Rating: ***** (Five stars)
by Mark Matthews
This is the story which gives title to the anthology and written by the editor of it too.
While certain key elements in the narrative can make you to think in books like Elizabeth is Missing and/or Detective Galileo: The Devotion of Suspect X, but certainly this is one original tale where the rythmn of the action and the developments of characters is thrilling and a worthy story to be the titular one in the anthology.
RETURNS
Rating: *** (Three stars)
by Jack Ketchum
Addiction doesn’t end with death, and a ghost came back for something that he misses a lot in the other side but you’ll never guess what is.
The author contacted me and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
NEVER BORING, LFair option for fans of “The Martian”.
The author contacted me and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
NEVER BORING, LIFE IN SPACE
In a distant future, humankind went to live in the middle of the stars, and while Earth is still inhabited, many of the humans have never been there. Now entire populations of humans have made their lives in several planets through the galaxy.
In this scenario, the story at hand, is developed…
A maintenance crew must take care of the de-activation of a massive space facility which was mining a deep space world that due dramatic changes in that solar system, it’s time to move on and look for another place to mine valuable elements and minerals to the new kind of need of life in space.
They are experienced crew in what they do, and everything should be a boring routine work…
…but if so, we wouldn’t have a story to read, right?
So, you can bet that soon enough troubles risen.
A comet got into that solar system and an unexpected phenomenon involved, will provoke a lot of trouble for the maintenance crew and…
…from a humdrum process, the situation will turn into a matter of life or death.
They’ll need to press out all their expertise in space technology along with their knowledge in cosmic physics to find a way to survive, because the odds are against them.
TECHNOBABBLE ‘R US
If you enjoyed the technobabble in books like The Martian, I do believe that you’ll find amusing this short story since the employment of it, here, is quite in every single page, since the characters are literally in a futuristic ambiance, you’ll be surrounded by technical sci-fi terms along with well researched space physics concepts.
Also, since I know the author (but don’t let that to think that this isn’t a truly honest review) I can tell that I found some of her Star Trek influence here, along with her affinity to Icelandic culture, so, always it's good to notice when the authors put their personal marks in their works, but don’t get me wrong…
…since all the background and sci-fi presented here, in this short story, is truly original and quite mesmerizing.
The author contacted me and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
This is the third and final novel in An intense ending.
The author contacted me and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
This is the third and final novel in the “Adrift” trilogy.
DEAD, FROM COAST TO COAST
I mentioned before that in this book series, Adrift, first it was in a cruise ship, in the middle of the ocean, then in the second book, the action moved to England, mostly in London, now the story goes to the United States,...
...and in this occasion, it’s everywhere in the country!
The deadly menace isn’t taking any chances now, and the whole US is under attack!
And yes, there is the US army, sure, even Special Forces teams, however, while they have the ammo and numbers…
…the American branch of The Order has the knowledge of what they are facing.
So, if those two groups haven’t talk each other…
…the civilian population won’t see another daylight!
DAN, YOU’RE OUR ONLY HOPE
Dan Bellamy maybe is the best hope for human population of survival, but that doesn’t mean that he is all we’d hope for…
…since the very condition that it made him in the only one (so far we know, but be alert since some other may appear) with the power to have a chance of resisting the dark menace’s attack, is leading him into a dark path, into a dark river.
The action and chaos factor are fierce in this conclussion and you maybe not being prepared for the shocking ending!
Certainly I wasn’t, and I still would like another way to end this, but certainly it was bold!
I contacted the author and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
This is the second novel in the “AAn outstanding sequel!
I contacted the author and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
This is the second novel in the “Adrift” trilogy.
THE WORLD GOT LARGER
In the first book, Adrift, the story is developed in a luxury passenger cruise, and you really feel trapped there…
…now the story is expanded to London, a whole city,…
…and yet, you really feel trapped there too!
Not matter that you have a whole city where to run, since darkness is everywhere, and the true offspring of it are everywhere too.
Stay in the light.
But that simple advice won’t be easy to follow since the stakes are bigger, and the menace got larger.
So, now the safety of a passenger list isn’t in risk, but a whole city, where the population hasn’t a chance…
…or maybe they do have ONE chance…
…Dan Bellamy.
EVERYBODY WANTS DAN
Dan Bellamy isn’t normal, he knows that but hardly he could imagine how really special was…
…and now everybody is after him!
And in this story, isn’t so simple as a “good” side and an “evil” side, oh no!
There are a lot of sides, different sides, but neither is any “really good”…
…even you can take for granted Dan, since he has suffered a lot, and remained “good” isn’t in his priorities anymore.
Also, Dan is starting to get the hang of his “special skills” but hardly is all that is…
…Dan’s personal world is getting larger too.
CHAOS UNDER CONTROL
In other works by K.R. Griffiths, the author, I have mentioned his technique to control chaos, or in better words, his mastery to use in the precise way the “chaos theory”, where you can’t control what will happen,...
...but he can control when the chaos will get loose, and trust me that he knows to pick his moments with surgical precisión and in that way, you can’t predict what will happen,...
...even when you think that you already finished with the book!
I contacted the author and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
This is an anthology with three short A wonderful debut!
I contacted the author and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
This is an anthology with three short stories
The general rating is an average sum of the ratings given to each short story contained in this book.
The author is a very dear friend of mine, but don’t get mistaken that I wouldn’t rate the stories with the same criteria that I rate books all the time, if I give a full 5 stars rating that’s because I honestly think that the story deserves it, not matter who wrote it, the same case if I give a low rating.
THE MUTE SIREN
Rating: *** ( 3 stars )
I liked a lot the use of Greek and Scottish mythologies, with a clear approach of Gaelic lore, since due that, we don’t deal with a deformed vision of sirens that people usually confound with mermaids (half-woman, half-fish) but sirens aren’t nothing of the kind but instead half-woman, half-bird. Due their mischief alluring sea vessels and their (usually) male sailors, people don’t see any difference between mermaids and sirens. (Especially if you’re form a Spanish spoken country, like me (Costa Rica) where “mermaid” in Spanish is “sirena”, so you see that we tend to think that both mythical creatures are the same type.
Also the story brings along the selkies (half-man, half-fish) which would be more what people usually think about the topic of mermaids.
A great bond is forged between the main female character, “The Mute Siren” and a sailor, that it’s one of the best elements in the tale.
And you’ll like a lot “The Mute Siren” character since she is an avid reader (so who wouldn’t love a character that enjoys to read books?)
I think that while the short story has a proper development and a satisfactory ending, I would love a little more of interaction between the main characters instead of action scenes (but this is because in my personal case, I usually tend to apprecite more dialogues than action, in a book), and maybe going a little further beyond the finale.
But still is a wonderful tale and a 3 stars rating is still on the fair side of a positive reading experience with it.
THE BURNING TREE
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
I won’t spoil the first line of this short story (while I usually quote the books that I read), but…
…WOW!
Always it’s appreciated when a story, not matter if short or long, begins with a strong first paragraph. And trust me, this tale has a mindblowing one.
Since it’s a short story and my wish is to impulse the interest about this book, I opted of not spoiling that first line. So, you’ll be eager to read it.
A priceless journey in a very unique land, to understand the circle of life and death, the balance between good and evil, and how it’s impossible one without the other, in both cases.
But even more important, how relevant is to embrace those concepts, if you want to feel really alive.
THE WINTER CAROUSEL
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
This is the short story giving title to the anthology and for a good reason, since it’s the strongest and more solid of the three.
If you have watched the TV series Once Upon a Time you’ll be aware of a bittersweet truth when magic is involved…
…always comes with a price, not matter what.
Or in the anime Fullmetal Alchemist where there is the "Law of Equivalent Exchange".
But the principle is the same...
...magic is never free of charge.
Good intentions can lead to unpredictable developments.
And even in an “oral contract”, you must “read” carefully the small letters.
Experience, caution and common sense aren’t free gifts, but too hard-won acquisitions to survive in life.
The story is adequately set in an old age, when they still celebrated holidays such as Michaelmas, where people used to forget that it was a time of warning, a time to be extra careful; and Candlemas, than nowadays it’s more used to think of the Groundhog Day, that it’s not exactly the same original purpose of the ancient holiday.
The author contacted me and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
TITANBORN… BORN AGAIN!
This is a shGood fair reading.
The author contacted me and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
TITANBORN… BORN AGAIN!
This is a short story, part of the literary universe created for the novel Titanborn by Rhett Bruno.
In the middle of the narrative developed in the mentioned novel, you get to know about a big project of sending generational space arks into potential planet with chances of life, economically funded by Pervenio Corporation.
The short tale here is about one of those generational space arks during its voyage in deep space, far beyond the Solar System.
HAL & DAVID MEETS DAN & ORION
You can’t avoid thinking about 2001: A Space Odyssey once you began to read the tale since you find an artificial intelligence running the operations of the generational space ark which have a human helper to deal with certain tasks that the A.I. can’t perform by itself.
However, you will have here a interchange of personalities between computer and astronaut.
Not reaching certain dangerous extentions present in 2001: A Space Odyssey of course.
It’s good to have a computer functioning as it should be for a change in literature, and well…
…you can say a human reacting as he should be too. (considering his existence)
Dan, it’s the artificial intelligence dealing with Orion, its sixth (so far) human, doing monitor duty aboard the interstellar ark Hermes. It’s amusing having a computer with a name so normal as “Dan” while having a human with an odd name as “Orion”, but it’s not so odd at all, since Orion didn’t born on Earth, he born onboard of Hermes during its long trip to reach a planet, in a far distant alien planetary system, with fair chances of sustaining life.
FIXED FOR LIFE
Orion was picked by his predecesor for his lifetime duty to help Dan in any task that Dan can’t do by itself.
An interesting situation (giving you a lot to think) is that instead of your cliché cryogenics to keep the crew of 999 subjects under inanimated suspension, the crew here is technically alive, but sleep and getting old, floating inside of individual tanks. Even women will give birth out of controlled pregnancies, without waking up, and their children sent sleep to occupy a tank where some other crewmember reached the top accepted age. Since the ship’s voyage will take many, many, MANY years, it’s logically conceived that entire generations of humans won’t do anything but sleeping and getting sustenance through cables.
Like The Matrix but without stealing energy from the hosts, but actually, in the tale you aren’t explained how the vessel gets its energy to function. Mmh.
Orion is about to “retire” of his Monitor Duty due reaching the selected age, and he is starting to think about what he did in “life” and what he is supposed to do from now on.
It’s a smart tale with wonderful narrative, but without much “space” to be developed in the restraint boundaries of a short story. Once you’re confortable in the story, it ended.
The author contacted me and I received an ARC edition of the novel in exchange of a honest review.
CORPORATOCRACY
Do you realTitanic reading!
The author contacted me and I received an ARC edition of the novel in exchange of a honest review.
CORPORATOCRACY
Do you realize how vast our solar system is?
This novel by Rhett Bruno is an interesting detective story set in a far future when Earth has populated several places in the Solar System, such like Luna (Earth’s moon), the surface of Mars, Europa (one of Jupiter’s moons) and Titan (one of Saturn’s moons), and even sending far beyond of the Solar System, generational arks.
Earth suffered a meteorite hit which almost wiped out humankind, the old governments collapsed and while an United Sol Federation (USF) born, it’s a structure without real power, since now there is a Corporatocracy, in other words, the private companies are the real ones in command of human society, now.
Pervenio Corp and Venta Co. are two of the most powerful companies, but also there are several others trying to grasp all the possible power and control.
While the faith in God after suffering such disastrous event like the meteorite’s fall, the three major religions, Catholicism, Islamism and Judaism, merged into The Church of the Three Messiah.
When the corporations have a problem, a wanted criminal, a hostage situation, a hostile negotiation, etc… they resort to…
…The Collectors.
The Collectors are bounty hunters, guns-for-hire and peacekeeping agents, all in the same profitable package, with authority above USF’s forces.
The setting reminded me, similar scenarios like The Expanse and Blade Runner, but don’t get me wrong, the book possess enough original elements to be seen as a truly original stuff, since hardly anyone can claim the ownership of such sci-fi futuristic scenarios where private corporations took control of humanity. So, always there is space to enjoy another tale in the sub-genre.
MEET MALCOLM GRAVES
People have a way of thinking their mistakes are far more significant than they really are.
Malcolm Graves is a loyal Collector working for Pervenio Corp for several years, and one of the few to survive in his dangerous line of work for so many time.
While it wasn’t his plan, he used to work with a “partner” for some time, Aria, his daughter, but now he hasn’t heard of her in years, and while he prefers to work alone, his new mission will come with a forced new partner, Zhaff, a mysterious special agent of Pervenio Corp from the classified project Cogent Initiative.
The new mission is quite sensitive since involves a terrorist threat against Pervenio Corp, putting in lethal danger several of its operations and properties, including the ambitious generational arks sending chosen people into deep space with the intention to try to populate other alien worlds.
Malcolm Graves will need all his cunning, field experience and combat skills to deal with this particular mission which it’s way more than meets the eye.
Rhett Bruno, the author, brings this sci-fi tale with an engaging narrative, interesting characters and surprising twists.
The author contacted me and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
LILLY’S BODY
This noveThe lightning can strike twice!
The author contacted me and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
LILLY’S BODY
This novel is sequel to Milk-Blood also written by Mark Matthews, and this second visit to the raw environment of this story is as good as the first engagement.
A bold statement that a lightning of literary brilliance can strike (in the good way) in the same story that certainly deserved a follow up taking you to dark ambiances where nothing is safe and anything can happen.
You thought that you know Lilly’s story, but that was just the beginning.
Lilly’s story expanded as you couldn’t imagine where the diverse points of view of the characters show you that harsh web cobbed around the sad existence of a girl that her only sin was to born from the wrong people in the wrong place, therefore growing up in the wrong way.
However, the narration isn’t wrong, not in the least. Matthews’ engaging style is gripping since the beginning where he drop you a “bomb” in the table, making irresistible to keep reading to know what could happened.
But beware…
…as in the first book, this isn’t for the faint of heart, since the crude reality merges with the impossible stuff that only you can judge if it’s really happening or it’s the result of a messed trip.
I expected a different development due the premise.
I was contacted by the publisher, Sinister Grin Press, and I received a copy of this book in exI expected a different development due the premise.
I was contacted by the publisher, Sinister Grin Press, and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
NOT SO LONELY KID
Based on the premise that you can read in the page of this book, I expected a daring 12-years old girl facing alone terrible and dark dangers in the middle of a devasted city.
And I can’t deny that there was some of it, but...
...Janelle, the young heroine, is hardly alone in story!
Sure, maybe a moment here and there, but too brief, since she is always in the company of somebody.
It’s like in books like I am Legend (which it shares too many similarities), Robinson Crusoe and others were the hero should face all alone the dangers, and bam! Too soon, he or she gets company of somebody, and therefore, they aren’t never alone!
Also, there was an unexpected paranormal element here that it didn’t click me in the middle of my personal expectations for the story.
I won’t elaborate which kind of paranormal element is, since the premise definitely doesn’t comment it, and the virtual shelves of GR still isn’t indicative, so don’t worry, I won’t spoil it. I just will say that I didn’t expect and I didn’t enjoy it here, while it’s a kind of paranormal element that I am too familiar with and I have enjoyed it in other previous novels.
While, without spoiling key info, I can’t elaborate in the story, I found it not very original and like something that anybody can pull together if they have read a few of basic novels in the same genre.
The development of characters was aceptable, however this area involves the ending (please! Don’t worry! I won’t spoil it!) but what I can say it’s that definitely I didn’t like the ending and I found it like making kinda pointless the entire story.
I honestly try to enjoy the reading but sadly, this is my honest appreciation about the novel.
The author contacted me and I received a paperback edition of the novel in exchange of a honest revA bold and unique approach to a romantic story.
The author contacted me and I received a paperback edition of the novel in exchange of a honest review.
DOUBLE-EDGED COVER
I have no idea what is wrong with people today. All they think about is money, as if there’s nothing more to life than that.
When Vani, the author, contacted me telling me about her novel and I watched the cover, my first thought was “Oh, no! This book isn’t for me!” and I told her. She later explained me that the book wasn’t written thinking only in female readers. I thought then, about giving her the benefit of the doubt.
Certainly I enjoyed quite enough the reading of the book, but...
...not in a million years (and not even after that) I would pick this book due its cover. I know that a book shouldn’t be judged by its cover but no one can’t deny that if you aren’t looking for a specific novel and just trying to find an appealing cover, well, at least from my own personal heterosexual male POV, I would NEVER to choose this novel based on its cover.
Even I think that’s a double-edged cover since if female readers are looking for a story in the style of 50 Shades of Grey and/or something with sexual scenes with or without kinky elements, those readers will be totally disappointed since the book isn’t of the kind.
So, honestly I don’t know what the publishers want to accomplish here, since certainly heterosexual male readers would be alienated, and fans of erotic novels would be fooled.
The book is about the struggles of a man between work and love, with a lot of humor, in fact it could make an interesting romantic comedy film, but you wouldn’t have a clue about it, due this misleading cover.
THAT CHAOS CALLED LIFE
...there’s no good or bad moments for anything. Life has its own twists and turns, bends and curves. It tests us all. No exceptions,...
I needed time to think about the rating for this novel, since honestly it didn’t ended as I would like.
We accept that life hasn’t a script, therefore we can’t control how life goes, but even in the most realistic fiction novels we have the odd expectation of a certain degree of logic, of order, and when a story contains chaos on it, some of us, we have troubles to digest it.
Even I wouldn’t say that it doesn’t end well, however, I can tell that it doesn’t end as I would expect, as I would imagine, as I would like in my vision of a romantic story, not with the twists and turns that this story takes.
So, there was my dilemma.
Should I punish the book with a low rating due that the book didn’t end as I would like OR should I try to recognized the boldness of the author crafting this unique story, even bolder taking in account that it’s in the middle of the Hindu culture known for its conservative values?
I chose the second option.
I still don’t like how the story evolved, specially in what I call “the final lap”, BUT I was able to respect the courage of this author conceiving a story hard to foretell where even she found a way to get “the happy ending” of an unusual couple living in the convoluted globalized world of nowadays where maybe life isn’t possible to live as perfect as in a fairy tale BUT even an imperfect life is able to find its own way of happiness.
Stuff that I already learned before on my own, but I was glad to read here, that people shouldn’t mistake to do their work as best as they are able with compromising the time that they should dedicate to their families. Even “happy” companies will fire their best workers in a time of need, but really happy families never will “fire” their members (if they are really happy). Money can’t be your motivation to work. Money is just a tool in this material world to get things. No job denigrates anybody if they do it as best as they can, but without compromise their own personal happiness with family.
I like a lot how the author didn’t hesitate of showing not only the good things about Hindu culture, but also the bad things, but not making any statement, not pointing out which is which, and leaving to the readers to decide their own opinions about the rich culture of India.
I have to tell that one real disappointment is that Parshuraman Joshi, the main character never really evolves. He lives his life basically doing what other people say to him. And even in moments that some readers may think that he finally is doing decision on his own, I didn’t think that. I believe that he never stopped to live as a “robot”, a very kinda lucky “robot” that he found (or found again) the right people at the precise time. He doesn't change, in his personality. He may be in a different country, in a different job, even in a different romantic situation, but at the bottom, he is the same guy from the beginning of the story.
And honestly I don’t think that Parshuraman Joshi knows what love is. I don’t think that he ever really fell in love for any woman, not really, not for real. Maybe he thinks that he finally fell in love, but even having the huge luck of finding the perfect woman for him, I don’t think that he isn’t really in love with her, but merely taking yet “another decision” made for him by others, following the stream of the river of life.
But really in love? No, I don’t think so. I can’t feel it in him. He doesn’t know what really love is. But he was way lucky that love found him anyway.
As I told before, the novel isn’t ended in the way that I would prefer, but if they (the characters) are happy...
...why do I have to complain about their own kind of happiness?
Very well written but you NEED to read the second book
The author contacted me and I received a copy of the book in exchange of a honest review.
Very well written but you NEED to read the second book
The author contacted me and I received a copy of the book in exchange of a honest review.
CLOSURES & CLIFFHANGERS
Love is a strong word... ...you should be careful who you give it to.
This story has great potential and I have no doubt that the sequel will be quite interesting, but I’d like to have a choice of reading it or not. I mean, since this “first” book isn’t explained anything, there isn’t any closure, and even what you can a climax is the mother of all cliffhangers where it’s like forcing you to read the next book.
I am pretty sure that it wasn't the intention of Marilyn Grey, the author, so I am just expressing the feeling that left me after the reading of this first part.
I think authors must be really careful with cliffhangers. In a movie can work, only if there was some satisfactory closure on it. Even a TV episode can have the luxury of not explaining much and “ending” in an impacting cliffhanger if the second part will be shown the following week. As a tool to make the network to authorize a next season is a lottery since not matter cliffhanger or not, if current season’s rating were bad, the network won’t do a next season and the audience paid it not knowing how the story would end.
In a book, I think it should be managed like a movie, in the sense, that while you don’t have to explain everything, you should explain something, some stuff here and there, and definitely, giving a sense of closure to the current story, so even having a cliffhanger, you won’t feel like you have not other choice than getting the next book.
CLOWN’S LOLLIPOPS & LIFE RINGS
Every pain and joy that meant something to me.
While my reading experience with Young Adult series is limited, I starting to feel that many of them have an “ecological philosophy”, since they just recycle an established formula. It’s like if they took Ender’s Game, Harry Potter series and a cliché romantic angle (even better is it’s a triangle), and you have: a lead character (usually a female, but there are enough male ones too) who is chosen or forced recruited to some strange institution or teaching system (usually managed by a dystopian goverment), where they get some close friends (between one or two) and a romantic interest (which usually is in an upper level in the institution or even can be an instructor), and after having to do several dangerous life-risking tests, they realized that the system is evil and it must be beaten.
This one isn’t different.
In positive notes: This book is extremely well written with an elegant prose and finding many memorable phrases. The characters are interesting. And the general setting while it’s well under the range of your typical Young Adult story, what little you can get, it looks promising.
REFLEXIONS & TRASFORMATIONS
Conversations should be like a game of tennis.
Honestly, I am not sure how wise was to split this story in two books: Hold and Hide, since as I commented above, you really don’t find out any of the mysteries in the situation ( I wasn’t expecting a full exposition, but at least to begin to understand what’s really going on), and adding the fact of not having some climax, some kind of big action-packed final scene in the book, finding “the mother of all cliffhangers” as the final lines in this “first part”, is really disappointing.
I can understand that the "mood" on each part will be quite different, but still I think that publishing one single book, with clear separate "parts", "sections", whatever, to denote a strong change in how the character is reacting to the story could be a better option to fully enjoy the whole story in one single shot.
I can understand that publishing this short book, it can provoke uncertain reader to give it a shot, but giving them later a “forced required reading” of the second book, if they want to know the solution of the cliffhanger and also to understand what’s really about the story is like a unfair strategy to the readers.
However, as I commented too, the book is extremely well written, with an elegant and smart style, wonderful and inspiring phrases, etc..., so my best recommendation is that if you want to read this story (and so far, I think it will evolve into something really good), the best way is getting both books at the same time (honestly expecting that one will get a closure in the second book), so in that way, you will receive the whole reading experience at once, and I am sure that your overall opinion about the story will be highly positive.
I was contacted by the author and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
Fuí contactado por el autor y recibí unaFantastic!
I was contacted by the author and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
Fuí contactado por el autor y recibí una copia de este libro a cambio de una crítica honesta.
This review is bilingual. You will find first the review in English and after that, you will find the review in Spanish.
Esta crítica es bilingüe. Usted encontrará primero la crítica en Inglés y luego de esta, usted encontrará la crítica en Español.
REVIEW IN ENGLISH
The first two things that I celebrate about this novel are: One, that the story isn’t set in Costa Rica. Two, the story isn’t about anything related with farmers in rural areas or drug cartels or prostitutes or poor people in slums.
First, the fact that an author is from certain country isn’t an axiom to force the hand of the writer to have to use his/her own country as the scenario of the book. Some people tend to say that if a writer is Costa Rican and he/she doesn’t use our own country as the place of the narrative, then they are non patriotic. Ah? Why is that? Sure, I love to know that Costa Rica appears in the novel Jurassic Park, but that doesn’t mean that I want that my country has to be the scenario of any story that I’d read. Please!
Second, I think that Latin American literature (and even more in films) is saturated of the use of drug cartels, prostitutes and poor people in slums. Do we have that in Latin America? Sure! But even advanced countries have that too and not because of that, they use that in ALL their books or movies. It’s like: “Oh! We have so many bad things in our third-world countries! Look how miserable we are!”.
Well, I live in a third-world country and sure we have here drugs, prostitutes and slums, but believe me, my life isn’t miserable and I have never contact with those elements in my life. Third-world countries are so much more than only our bad things.
And for some reason, in local Costa Rican literature, it’s like a rule that we have to show the life of our farmers in rural areas, but to add “color” to the formula, they should be illiterate, poor (but not just your regular level of poverty, oh no! They should be incredible poor!), and of course they should be drunks too. Well, it was like that many years ago, and I am sure that some of them still may be like that, but hardly is an accurate portrait of our current people living in rural areas but more like a stereotype that people tend to think about.
Commenting all that, happily I can tell that this novel Mago Terrenal (that it could be translated as “Earthly Wizard”) is about a wizard from an age where magic was everywhere, but he ended stuck in our own age where magic isn’t anywhere. Eletorn, the wizard, is trapped in some modern city (without establishing any name of it or even the country), where he is helped by two young adults, Jen and Kevin, to look first for his lost book of spells and later to find a way to return in time to Onira, the magic land of the wizard.
So, having to know that there is a novel by a Costa Rican independent author about a topic of fantasy fiction set in non-recognizable scenarios is truly great. But again, you can trust that my rating was totally honest not caring that the writer happened to be from my country.
I can tell for sure, but I can guess that some inspirations of Jorge Carvajal, the author, could be The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, but also A Wizard of Earthsea and its sequels. Even, some stories came to mind like the novel Time Traveler’s Wife and the French film Les Visiteurs. Basically since some of the elements and characters in the story reminded me those sources. Again, I don’t know if he got inspiration from all that or not. Only I can say that it wouldn’t be odd if any of you’d read the book, you could came to similar conclusions. But clearly establishing that I only noticed inspirations, not plagiarism, I don’t want that people would get confused in that.
The narrative is told in a smart way with some humor without making it a comedy. It’s indeed priceless to read how Eletorn, the wizard describes situations of modern life, like using a computer, being in a hospital, etc...
Eletorn isn’t a wizard per se, but a very advanced apprentice of a wizard named Iandros, that in the middle of his “graduation test”, he got trapped in an era where the magic doesn’t exist, therefore he is facing a tragic fate of living in a world where all the studies and knowledge that he invested almost all his life to accomplish, now they are totally useless.
Jen, while she is a modern girl of our own era, hardly you can catalogue her as a common girl, since she has “a fire inside” with the same “frenzy of the Orcs from the Deserts of Chaos” and also she happens to “dream” unlike any other in this modern era.
Kevin is a gamer who met Eletorn in an adventure game in Internet, but soon he is eager to help the wizard in his quests.
There are several other characters but I prefer not commenting about them to avoid some spoiler in the narrative.
So, why then a 4-star rating (that still is a really good rate) instead of a full 5-star rating? Well, I think that while the first part of the story is quite engaging while the wizard is trapped in a world without magic and his interactions with people of this strange world to him, later in the narrative, the story expanded a little bit bigger to my taste, getting away from the original premise, making it more complicated that it needed to be. BUT still is a REALLY GOOD STORY that I am totally glad of having read.
CRITICA EN ESPAÑOL
Las dos primeras cosas que celebro sobre esta novela son: Una, que la historia no se encuentra en Costa Rica. Dos, la historia no se trata de cualquier cosa relacionada con campesinos en zonas rurales o prostitutas o carteles de droga o de gente pobre en barrios marginales.
Primero, el hecho de que un autor es de cierto país no es un axioma para forzar la mano del escritor a tener que usar su propio país como el escenario del libro. Algunas personas tienden a decir que si un escritor es Costarricense y si no utiliza nuestro propio país como el lugar de la narración, entonces ellos no son patrióticos. ¿Ah? ¿Por qué es eso? Claro, me encanta saber que Costa Rica aparece en la novela Jurassic Park, pero eso no quiere decir que quiero que mi país tiene que ser el escenario de cualquier historia que lea. ¡Por Favor!
Segundo, creo que la literatura latinoamericana (y aún más en las películas) está saturada de la utilización de los carteles de drogas, prostitutas y los pobres en los barrios marginales. ¿Tenemos eso en América Latina? ¡Claro! Pero incluso en países avanzados tiene eso también y no por eso, utilizan eso en TODOS sus libros o películas. Es como: "¡Oh! ¡Tenemos tantas cosas malas en nuestros países tercermundistas! ¡Miren lo miserables que somos!".
Bueno, yo vivo en un país del tercer mundo y seguro que tenemos aquí, drogas, prostitutas y barrios marginales, pero créanme, mi vida no es miserable y nunca he tenido contacto con dichos elementos en mi vida. Los países del tercer mundo son mucho más que sólo nuestras cosas malas.
Y por alguna razón, en la literatura local de Costa Rica, es como una regla que tenemos que mostrar la vida de nuestros campesinos de zonas rurales, pero para añadir "color" a la fórmula, deben ser analfabetas, pobres (pero no sólo su nivel regular de pobreza, ¡Oh no! ¡Deben ser increíblemente pobres!), y por supuesto que deben ser borrachos también. Bueno, eso era así hace muchos años, y estoy seguro de que algunos de ellos todavía que pueden ser así, pero difícilmente es un retrato exacto de nuestra gente actual que viven en zonas rurales, si no más como un estereotipo que la gente tiende a pensar.
Al comentar todo eso, felizmente puedo decir que la novela "Mago Terrenal" es sobre un mago de una era donde la magia estaba en todas partes, pero termina atrapado en nuestra época dónde no hay magia en ninguna parte. Eletorn, el mago, se encuentra atrapado en una ciudad moderna (sin establecer ningún nombre, o incluso el país), donde el mago es ayudado por dos adultos jóvenes, Jen y Kevin, primero para buscar su libro de hechizos perdido y más tarde para encontrar una manera de volver a Onira, la tierra mágica del mago.
Por lo tanto, saber que hay una novela de un escritor independiente Costarricense sobre un tema de fantasía ubicada en escenarios no reconocibles es verdaderamente grandioso. Pero pueden estar seguro que mi calificación es totalmente honesta sin importar que el escritor es de mi país.
No puedo asegurarlo, pero puedo adivinar que algunas inspiraciones de Jorge Carvajal, el autor, pudieron ser The Lord of the Rings y The Hobbit, además de A Wizard of Earthsea y sus secuelas. Incluso, me vienen a la mente, historias como la novela The Time Traveler’s Wife y la película Francesa Les Visiteurs. Básicamente, ya que algunos de los elementos y personajes de la historia me recordaron esas fuentes. Una vez más, no sé si las usó como inspiración del todo o no. Sólo puedo decir que no sería extraño si alguno de ustedes cuando lean el libro, podrían llegar a conclusiones similares. Pero estableciendo claramente que sólo son inspiraciones, y no un plagio, no quiero que la gente se confunda en eso.
La narración está contada de una manera inteligente, con un poco de humor sin llegar a una comedia. Es verdaderamente inapreciable leer cómo Eletorn, el mago, describe situaciones de la vida moderna, como el uso de una computadora, estar en un hospital, etc...
Eletorn no es un mago en sí, sino un aprendiz muy avanzado de un mago llamado Iandros, que en medio de su "prueba de graduación", queda atrapado en una época donde no existe la magia, por lo tanto se enfrenta a un trágico destino de vivir en un mundo donde todos los estudios y conocimientos que ha invertido casi toda su vida, ahora son totalmente inútiles.
Jen, aunque ella es una muchacha de nuestra era moderna, casi no se puede su catalogada como una chica común, ya que ella tiene "un fuego interior" con el mismo "frenesí de los Orcos de los Desiertos del Caos", y también "sueña" como ninguna otra persona en esta era moderna.
Kevin es un jugador de video juegos que Eletorn conoce en un juego de aventuras en Internet, pero pronto está dispuesto a ayudar al mago en sus búsquedas.
Hay varios otros personajes, pero prefiero no comentar sobre ellos, para evitar hacer “spoilers” sobre la narrativa.
Así que, ¿Por qué entonces una calificación de 4 estrellas (que todavía es una muy buena calificación) en lugar de una calificación completa de cinco estrellas? Bueno, creo que si bien la primera parte de la historia es bastante atractiva mientras el mago está atrapado en un mundo sin magia y sus interacciones con la gente de este extraño mundo para él, más tarde en la narrativa, la historia se expandió un poco más grande para mi gusto, alejándose de la premisa original, por lo que se vuelve más complicada de lo que tenía que ser. PERO aún así es una MUY BUENA HISTORIA que estoy totalmente contento de haber leído.
The author contacted me and I received a copy of the novel in exchange of a honest review.
THE FEAR BOAT
..Another great book by this author!
The author contacted me and I received a copy of the novel in exchange of a honest review.
THE FEAR BOAT
...the world was full of ordinary people; that everyone was ordinary, and terrible things happened all the same.
In this gigantic cruise liner, the Oceanus, you won't get to be entertained by "Your Cruise Director" or even get a refreshing drink from "Your Bartender", however mysterious creatures will be entertained with you and they certainly will drink...
...from you!!!
In Adrift, the chaos will be the captain of this voyage of fear where the entire crew and passengers will be trapped with terrible creatures able to manipulate our fear and they enjoy it while doing it!
Dan Bellamy and his wife, Elaine, are enjoying their honeymoon and they paid a sum over their own financial capacity just to get a basic cabin, in the maiden voyage of the luxurious Oceanus.
Steven Vega, Mark and Katie are some of the key members of the Security Detail aboard of the cruise liner that they are clueless that they will be tested beyond of their wildest nightmares.
The four Rennick Brothers: Edgar, Herb, Seb and Phil; they are unwanted passengers with a mission, that believe it or not, it's based on the premise of saving the humanity!
Chaos and fate will play with all these characters, crossing their paths in unpredictable forms, along this very dark night of fear.
A MASTER OF CHAOS
Funny how people decided that they needed leadership after all, when the shit was hitting the fan.
Adrift is another great horror novel by K.R. Griffiths, showing his versatility inside of the genre, since this novel is as great as his previous work, Survivor, BUT it's a totally different style, situations, elements, etc...
Always its refreshing to find authors that while they did novels with potential to create their own series, still they are willing to test themselves to avoid falling into "comfort zones".
Also, while the books have their own potential to generate a series, they have their own ending. You can feel a sense of closure on each novel that it's something that I highly praise in any book.
If you can find something similar in the previous book, Survivor and this novel, Adrift, is that K.R. Griffiths is a "master of chaos". I mentioned in my previous review of Survivor, that he must knew and use the "chaos theory" mentioned on Jurassic Park by Michael Chrichton, and definitely, K.R. Griffiths is able to release the chaos into his works showing the unpredictability of life, where you never will get your plans done as you pictured them on your brains. Life always make impossible to acomplish any plan exactly as you put it in paper.
So, in any moment that you think that you can predict how the storyline will go, chaos will show you that it's better to enjoy the ride as it goes without expecting anything.
Will some things happen in ways that you won't like? Sure!!! Life does that too.
A powerful topic but I couldn't enjoy the developing
I was contacted by the author and I received a copy of the book in exchange of a honest reviewA powerful topic but I couldn't enjoy the developing
I was contacted by the author and I received a copy of the book in exchange of a honest review.
I REALLY WANTED TO ENJOY THE BOOK...
Don't even get me started on what happens to my mind when I'm under stress. It's a madhouse of baboons.
I really wanted to enjoy the book but I couldn't since there were several elements that in my very personal opinion stopped me to be able to fully enjoy this reading experience.
I felt that in almost all the narrative, one got lost of the whereabouts of the characters, in special, Younsang, the main character that it's the voice of the story. I mean that in many moments, the narrative was producing it but one hasn't the slightest idea of where is the character or what is he doing. Suddenly, something is mentioned like morning exercise on school, or the home, or the cinema theater and then, and only then, one is aware of where is the character, at least in that particular moment of the narrative, but the telling extended again so much, that one can't feel that it's in the same place as before, and after a while, another place is mentioned, so it's like "teleporting" the character from a place to another, and that's quite baffling since in the middle of many narratives is like the character is "floating" in some empty white limbo since one hasn't a clue of where he is.
Also, I felt that Yunsang, the main character, is unable to express his feelings to the reader in a convincing way. Many times, people complain about a bad casting of an actor, but it's kinda odd to think something like it in a book character, but I felt something very much like it. Younsang's tone of telling the events is in a monotone way, like if he was telling the story of someone else and not his own life. Even when he is telling some situation, I can't feel his sadness or even his happiness. Curiously enough, I could feel his anger, almost in any moment that Younsang is angry, I hadn't any trouble to believe his rage.
The book is mainly about a young boy, living in North Korea, whose mother is sent by a gulag. I thought that was a powerful topic and I was really interested about it since I have been able to watch/hear many material from South Korea, like Dramas (TV series), films and music, along with the same kind of media from other Asian countries. And of course, one is aware about the socio-political situation in North Korea, so I was interested to read a novel about the topic.
However, I expected other kind of sub-themes exploited, but no, almost the whole book is only telling about how awful is the socio-political situation in North Korea, again and again, and even at some moment is explained how the ruling government was able to came to power!
Honestly, my impression is that that government indeed won, I mean that people is unable to think in something else but in their socio-political situation, how awful is and not thinking in something else. And I am not saying that it's like that, but the impression that this particular book gave it to me.
Examples, like The Book Thief and The Diary of Anne Frank show how people can't be sad and thinking 24/7 in how awful is their socio-political situation. They have lives of their own with priceless anecdotes totally unrelated to the country, time and political government, but in this book, you feel like the ruling government is indeed inside of the brains of the people.
Honestly, I felt the story quite depressing and tedious due the impossibility of really knowing the characters beyond of their socio-political opinions. People aren't their countries. Countries are their people.
Other thing that bothered me was the unnecesary use of "big words" like a show-off of how smart, the character is, along with unnecesary (and recurrent) comments that he is aware of who is who and what is what in the rest of the world, as in a statement, like proving something that at least I didn't need to be proved. It's a novel, not a random sample of Wikipedia.
I think that the story can be told in a simple way without injecting "big words" and uncalled showing of culture. But I was able to enjoy some bits of genuine intention of cultural ambiance, like the mention of the South Korean drama (TV series) Dream High, since I was able to watch that drama and I enjoyed it a lot, and it's kinda recent, so it was a good choice avoiding using other older and more popular known dramas.
So, I wished to be able to give to the novel at least 3 stars but in GR that means that "I liked" the book and honestly I couldn't think that that a reflection of my real personal reading experience. So, I hadn't any option but to give it a 2 stars rating, establishing that "it was okay" to me, pondering the overall developing of the general story from the beginning until the way that it was resolved.
And again, no two people ever have read the same book twice, so, I wish the best of luck to this young writer and I do hope that more people would be willing to read and even buy the book, to read for themselves, since the favorite novel of one person is the worst reading experience of another.
That's the unpredictable magic of the books.
Don't let that only my very personal review of the book would decide your own decision of reading this novel.
Check in other reviews. And at the end, always think for yourselves.
I contacted the author and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
RUN AND DON'T LOOK BACK!
ThThis is an awesome novel!!!
I contacted the author and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
RUN AND DON'T LOOK BACK!
This is an excellent horror book and one of the best examples that I can think of saying this, it's that the novel didn't end as I'd expected and even as I'd like it, but even so, it was written so well and the use of the words were so precise that I reached to the conclussion that it is indeed a great horror story.
Don't let fool you that the author isn't too known (yet) or that the book is only 210 pages, since popularity doesn't make good writers and thick books doesn't make good books.
I always thought that if a story is really good, it will be good even in 200 or fewer pages. And if a story isn't any good, extending it to 500 or more pages won't change that fact.
However, don't think that because of being of 210 pages, you won't have character development since then you will be wrong. This book has a great character development, even on characters with few presence on the story.
I totally enjoyed the reading experience since the narrative style is so mature and well crafted that it doesn't anything to envy from books written by the big names on the business of horror novels. Yes, I do think that.
It's curious that there some mentions to the book of Jurassic Park due the "flawed science" of that a predator won't see you if you don't move, since a factor that indeed I think the author used was the "Theory of Chaos". You can't control the environment, and not matter how well you may do a plan, the chaos factor will provoke unexpected paths.
Survivor has the perfect title to the story and a totally professional cover denoting that this is indeed a professional material, don't ever doubt that.
The author is able to "vocalize" each character and that's not an easy task since the thinking of the characters are totally opposed, but you will feel the authencity of how each characters rationalize and how they react to each situation.
CREEPY SMART
What can be your initial expectation? Well, it's like American Psycho meets I Spit on Your Grave meets Death Proof meets Malevolence. But I am not saying that it's a copy of all that. I only want to help you to picture an initial overall expectation about what kind of horror story you will read, and maybe, just maybe some influences for it. At least, some of the horror films that came to my mind while reading the book.
However, this is really an original story, with a different development.
Just in case, while the most of the book is kinda restrained on gross scenes (but still with a lot of killing horror stuff, just avoiding to be too graphic on the descriptions, but still tough to cope), you will certainly will meet a quite explicit gore and splatterpunk climax.
The author contacted me and I received a copy of the book in exchange of a honest review.
BLOODY MILK
ThA disturbing reading... in a good sense!
The author contacted me and I received a copy of the book in exchange of a honest review.
BLOODY MILK
This novel is exceptionally well written developing interesting characters in a raw scenario where anything can happens.
It's a story merging several genres where horror is the leading one but also you can found family drama, some bizarre romance, using paranormal elements, even adding brutally real stuff like drug use, home violence, etc...
This is not a story for the faint of heart, but while it has several gory moments (or the allusion of them), the book is so well written with a smart and elegant style that only if you are too sensitive to stuff like mentioned in the previous paragraph, you maybe would feel uncomfortable on the process of reading it.
The personal insight of Mark Matthews, the author, due his experience as social worker is priceless to the construction of believable characters living in a real but quite hostile urban enviroment.
Even during the reading you are able to experience many different points of view, sometimes about the same chapter but also the story is narrated by very different points of view of the main characters on it.
The insertion of paranormal elements is made in such nifty way that you have no doubt that it's really happening.
Also, in the early stages of the story you may think that some comments or scenes are kinda random but when you advance into the book, you realize how crafty and wonderfully are intersected the apparent separate lives of the main characters to form a sad but brilliant tale.
I was contacted by the author and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
DISCOVERING THE BOA strange reading experience.
I was contacted by the author and I received a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.
DISCOVERING THE BOOK
This is interesting reading which combines several genres in a fairly way. It's like Treasure's Island meets The Mysterious Island with far less pirates substituted by archaeologists.
The cover of the book is very well done guaranteeing a professional writing work.
The novel indeed is very well written with an entertaining rhythm. Creating colorful characters with ambivalent personalities which makes unpredictable their reactions on each scene.
Also, the author developed an alternate world where things are not the same as in our world's history, but with taste and not trying to overwhelming with too much differences. Just the right amount of details to establish that you are in a parallel dimension.
Maybe one of the criticisms is that while it's clearly that the storyline is expected that the main characters will engage in a journey by boat to some unknown island, well, the story took too much time to reach that point, overdetailing how they are able to acomplish that even narrating dead ends in those efforts. I think that a quicker starting point to the journey to the island could increase the possitive impact of the reading.
There are some elements that remain unexplained on the island after the ending of the book and certainly that it's kinda dissapointing since the whole point of the novel is the expedition to the island to discover the mysteries there.
But in general, is an entertaining novel written with style and good taste.
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