Required Reading

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Monday, September 29, 2014

Gritty Kitty Half Past Curfew by Dan Taylor


A dystopian future characterized by intense urban sprawl is the setting for Gritty Kitty.
Kitty Kane, the daughter of a megalopolis police chief, runs contraband with a Robin Hood mentality.

Gritty Kitty has a lot of potential.   The story setting is colorful and memorable.   Taylor enables you to feel the filth and darkness with his excellent descriptions.   Kitty Kane is a stalwart teen who has a conscience.   She is not content to reap the benefits of her father's position and remain an indolent teen.  

The story, is so brief that it is hard to really identify with any of the characters.   There is substantial potential here for a good novel or a series of short stories.  I enjoyed it.


Web site:  none found

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Victoria Simcox's The Shard will be free 9/26 ~ 9/30 on Amazon.


FreeFree

The Shard, Victoria Simcox’s fast-paced, intricately woven sequel to the Warble, takes Kristina Kingsly and her schoolmates back to Bernovem … and into a thrilling, often dangerous adventure. 


The Shard FREE 9/26--9/30

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Black Book by Dylan Jones



This story is a tale of a enhanced warrior caught in a time loop.

Jones writes great action scenes.  His protagonist, Jack, appears to have memory losses each time his time loop occurs.  This transfers into a bit of confusion in the story line. 

The world of Jack's origin is grimly reduced to mere survival due to a nuclear holocaust of indeterminate origins.  I deduce that Jack has been sent back in time to "fix" whatever needs fixed to prevent the destruction of Earth.   I don't think this is a spoiler since it is just a deduction and I could be wrong.

Regardless of the minor confusion as to the exact direction of the story, Jack is being pursued by someone else from the future for some undetermined reason.  The pursuit and ensuing vignettes provide the entertainment of the book.

I liked the book.

Web site:  none found

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Fathom, Dawn of War Beginnings by Michael Turner


I credit comic books with jump starting my true love of reading.  Growing up, I read incessantly.  My discover of comic books was the nascent love that has permeated my entire life.  No doubt that love is what provided the incentive to write my own books.  I preface this review with these remarks for those of you who distain the graphic novel or comic books.  Do not underestimate the power they have to create the new generation of readers.

The art work was haunting in this book.   Although blue is often seen as soothing, the overuse of blue here set a watery, damp stage for the actors in this play.   Since I have never read any works of Turner before, I don't know how this compares to his other work.  I enjoyed the art, the story was so brief that it left me dissatisfied.   I suspect that is the emotion that is intended to thus drive you to the next edition. 

I subscribed to Analog for decades and would never start the continued stories until I had all the editions and all the parts of the story in my hands.   Then I would read, I'm not a patient reader.  Several long series have lost my readership as I became impatient for the next rendition.  

I was dismayed to discover that Michael Turner passed away at the age of 37 over six years ago.   The loss of such a talent is an obvious loss to his loved ones and a loss to the reading world in general.  My belated condolences to the family.  

The brevity of this work prevents me from being in love with it.  The story was too short to capture me.  The art work was impressive.

Web site: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16988

My thanks to DriveThruComics for offering this work. http://www.drivethrufiction.com/index.php


This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Islands of Rage and Hope By John Ringo


John Ringo has absolutely no problem depicting strong women.  I enjoy his military scifi and was not overly surprised to discover I enjoyed his zombie dominated Black Tide Rising series.   I started the series on the second book,  To Sail Darkling Sea .  This book takes up the story and once again the Wolf family is featured.  Faith, Shewolf and Sophia, Seawolf are butt kicking once more.  Faith is flat out crazy but I'm going out on a limb here and say that I have met many 13 year old girls who scared me more than the same age boy.  (My guidance counselor experience is wide and varied.)  Wolf Squadron, a family dominated militia type of navy that is attempting to rescue survivors and eventually re-take the world continues to grow and strive.

Ringo never fails to provide an orgy of action!  He wallows in the nitty gritty of providing reading thrills, gruesome and somewhat realistic.   This book also approaches the problem of rebuilding an infrastructure in able to rescue the survivors of the zombie apocalypse. 

One of the things Ringo also seems to infuse in his books are warrior characters who bring honor and ethics to often intolerable situations.  His heroes are heroic!

I recommend the book.

Web sites:        http://www.johnringo.net/Home.aspx

 This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

The House of the Four Winds by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory



This is book one of the One Dozen Daughters.   A small kingdom has a well loved ruler who has a dozen daughters and finally a son.  The son is to inherit but the kingdom is so small it will be impoverished if each daughter is provided with a dowry.   The girls are expected to seek their own fortunes.   This story is about Clarice, the eldest and her journey to become a sword master.  One surmises that their may be eleven more stories.

This was a delightful tale that has sorcery, magic, pirates, sea serpents and violence.   The violence is not terribly graphic so the book is fine for younger readers.   Clarice is a likeable character who has had a thorough upbringing that provides her with the tools to successfully navigate the outside world.

She befriends a ship's navigator, Dominick, and that leads to the seafaring adventure.   Typical Lackey, the book delves greatly into relationships.   She does a marvelous job of depicting complicated relationships.   If there are eleven more books, I will certainly try and read them all.


I recommend the book.

web site:  http://www.mercedeslackey.com/
                 http://merlinscribe.com/index.html

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Never Forget!


1
Please take 4.25 minutes to watch this remembrance of September 11, 2001.   Please offer a prayer for those who died that day, their families and for all those who are sacrificing themselves for the rest of us on a daily basis; especially our cops, firemen and troops. 

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Giveaway of The Watchers Book 1: Knight of Light by Deirdra Eden

The Watchers Book 1: Knight of Light




In England, 1270 A.D., Auriella (pronounced yurr-ee-ella) flees her village after being accused of witchcraft. Pursued by nightmarish creatures, she struggles to accept the truth about her powers.

“The Watchers” are supernatural beings in human form whose duty it is to protect and guard mankind from the armies of darkness. Unfortunately, some of these Watchers go bad.

Deirdra Eden’s The Watcher’s Series is written in a traditional fairytale style with a young girl’s discovery of incredible, but dangerous powers within herself, a cast of humorous side-kicks, (including a dwarf, pixie and dragon) a quest for greater self-discovery and purpose, and villains of epic proportions.

Watch the amazing Knight of Light book trailer on youtube.


About the Author


"My goal in writing is to saturate my books with intrigue, mystery, romance, and plot twists that will keep my readers in suspense. I want to see fingerprints on the front and back covers where readers have gripped the novel with white knuckles! Aside from writing, I enjoy jousting in arenas, planning invasions, horseback riding through open meadows, swimming in the ocean, hiking up mountains, camping in cool shady woods, climbing trees barefoot, and going on adventures."
-Deirdra Eden

Find Deirdra Eden and The Watchers Series online at AmazonDeirdra's website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Wattpad, and Pinterest.

FREE BOOKS
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Friday, September 5, 2014

Knight of Light by Deirdra Eden

The Watchers Book 1: Knight of Light



 In England, 1270 A.D., Auriella (pronounced yurr-ee-ella) flees her village after being accused of witchcraft. Pursued by nightmarish creatures, she struggles to accept the truth about her humanity. Filled with fairies, dwarves, pixies, dragons, demons, and monsters, Knight of Light is an enthralling tale that will capture the imaginations of readers young and old.

“The Watchers” are supernatural beings in human form whose duty it is to protect and guard mankind from the armies of darkness. Unfortunately, as the Book of Enoch mentions, some of these Watchers go bad. Although the mythology is based on these texts, Deirdra Eden’s The Watcher’s Series is written in a traditional fairytale style with a young girl’s discovery of incredible, but dangerous powers within herself, a cast of humorous side-kicks, a quest for greater self-discovery and purpose, and villains of epic proportions.

Watch the amazing Knight of Light book trailer on youtube.


About the Author


"My goal in writing is to saturate my books with intrigue, mystery, romance, and plot twists that will keep my readers in suspense. I want to see fingerprints on the front and back covers where readers have gripped the novel with white knuckles! Aside from writing, I enjoy jousting in arenas, planning invasions, horseback riding through open meadows, swimming in the ocean, hiking up mountains, camping in cool shady woods, climbing trees barefoot, and going on adventures."
-Deirdra Eden

Find Deirdra Eden and The Watchers Series online at AmazonDeirdra's website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Wattpad, and Pinterest.

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Monday, September 1, 2014

Knight of Light by Deirdra Eden Book Trailer

The Watchers Book 1: Knight of Light



 In England, 1270 A.D., Auriella (pronounced yurr-ee-ella) flees her village after being accused of witchcraft. Pursued by nightmarish creatures, she struggles to accept the truth about her humanity. Filled with fairies, dwarves, pixies, dragons, demons, and monsters, Knight of Light is an enthralling tale that will capture the imaginations of readers young and old.


The Watchers Series has been described as Braveheart meets Supernatural. The mythology for the series is based on many theological texts from dozens of sects with correlating themes. Ancient writings include The Dead Sea Scrolls, The Traditional Apocrypha, The Pearl of Great Price, and The Kabbalah.

“The Watchers” are supernatural beings in human form whose duty it is to protect and guard mankind from the armies of darkness. Unfortunately, as the Book of Enoch mentions, some of these Watchers go bad. Although the mythology is based on these texts, Deirdra Eden’s The Watcher’s Series is written in a traditional fairytale style with a young girl’s discovery of incredible, but dangerous powers within herself, a cast of humorous side-kicks, a quest for greater self-discovery and purpose, and villains of epic proportions




About the Author


"My goal in writing is to saturate my books with intrigue, mystery, romance, and plot twists that will keep my readers in suspense. I want to see fingerprints on the front and back covers where readers have gripped the novel with white knuckles! Aside from writing, I enjoy jousting in arenas, planning invasions, horseback riding through open meadows, swimming in the ocean, hiking up mountains, camping in cool shady woods, climbing trees barefoot, and going on adventures."
-Deirdra Eden

Find Deirdra Eden and The Watchers Series online on AmazonDeirdra's websiteFacebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Wattpad, and Pinterest.



This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.