Review: Doctor Benjamin Franklin’s Dream America by Damien Lincoln Ober

Publisher: Skyhorse

Publishing Date: January 2018

ISBN:9781597809191

Genre: SciFi

Rating: DNF

Publishers Description: It is 1777, in a colonial America where the internet, social media, and ubiquitous electronic communications are fully woven into the fabric of society. Hours after a top-secret Congressional sub-committee uploads the Articles of Confederation, a mysterious internet plague breaks loose in the cloud, killing any user who accesses a networked device. Seven in ten Americans are dead, the internet is abandoned. Seizing the moment, the British take control of New York and Philadelphia, scattering what little remains of the rebellion.

Review: I just could not get into this novel. The idea that our forefathers had technology of a high order but still live in an era of mostly non-tech, is a big stretch. Besides the gaping plot hole this was really boring. Boring characterization coupled with a real lack of movement made Jack a Dull Boy. 

Review: The One-Eyed King by Kenny S Rich

Publisher: Booksgoscoial

Publishing Date: November 2015

ISBN: 9781517627645

Genre: Dystopian

Rating: DNF

Publishers Description: in a futuristic world still reeling from the ashes of protracted nuclear warfare, resources are scarce and survival of the fittest is once more the way of the world – that is until one ruling order decides to take charge. Now equality is history and oppression is the new norm.

Review: I just could not get into this novel. Adjectives to describe the writing style and story line would be: overtly effusive, self-congratulatory and perhaps smug.  The dialogue rambles on and on in a way that you should be wholly on board with the shared perspective. If the introduction was any hint as to the content, I would have stopped there. Kind of a “shame on you” that you know nothing about blind people. 

Review: Age of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan

Publisher: Del Rey

Publishing Date: July 2017

ISBN: 9781101965368

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 1.5/5

Publishers Description: Raithe, the God Killer, may have started the rebellion by killing a Fhrey, but long-standing enmities dividing the Rhunes make it all but impossible to unite against the common foe. And even if the clans can join forces, how will they defeat an enemy whose magical prowess renders them indistinguishable from gods?

Review: This is my second review, the first as a Beta reviewer and this review has been re-drafted as well.

The anticipatory suspense that canvasses each scene and rides the story line like a gay linebacker, is never resolved throughout the entirety of the novel. When scenes finally culminate in epic fashion, they are wholly unbelievable. I think that every chapter I reviewed I kept asking the question “what happened to this story line?”.  So what makes it suck? Persephone and a dreary story line that never moves in a direction to develop the characters in a way that draws interest. In short, you don’t care what happens to them.

 I was mildly disappointed by a few things. The final version did not change hardly at all from the Beta which leads me to believe that a) the author dismissed input in favor of his own ideas or b) most of the comments ran parallel with his approval. It is hard to believe that I am not all knowing BUT I know entertaining fantasy, and I know when a novel is derailed by a host of instances. In this case it was a combination of an uninteresting quest coupled with forced movement and characters that were unable to develop under the yoke of stilted scene progression.

This re-write is due in part to me coming down off being put off from Beta reading subsequent novels. Boo-hoo, yeah I know. But I take it seriously and consider it an honor while doing my damnedest to provide good input.  I felt summarily cast aside without consideration for past efforts and my little ego got bruised in the process. Beta reading is a thankless job and you really have to love reading and the author’s work in order to provide some avenues not considered when constructing a novel. I still believe this author is one of the best I have ever read so it is still unclear to me what happened. If I had to guess, I would say his wife is taking a stab at writing. 

Review: The Silent Shield- The Kingfountain Series, Book 5 by Jeff Wheeler

Publisher: 47 North

Publishing Date: August 2017

ISBN:9781611097535

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 2.8/5

Publishers Description: Courtly intrigue and rumors of invasion plunge Kingfountain into turmoil as the search for Trynne’s father begins in earnest. But Trynne’s quest to learn the truth of Owen’s sinister disappearance is sidetracked when tragedy strikes her family once again. Suddenly, the future of the kingdom rests in her hands as she struggles to learn—and control—the power that can keep the threatening Deep Fathoms at bay.

Review: Well here is my second re-write of this novel and while not being my favorite thing to do, I thought it required more discernment.

So despite the speshul 16 year old main character and her stoopid magic that saves her in every desperate situation and the 7 suitors that want to bang her, the story line does captivate. The ability to travel across realms through ley lines does add some much needed movement.

Most of the scenes were rendered in larping dialect and the princesses “tremble”, “shudder”, “shiver” while training to be the most fearsome only women warriors (trained by a man) in the known world. It is just endless the amount of high brow buffoonery that occurs. From a plethora of Kings and Princesses to mighty wizards and convenient magic for all.  

I really hate to admit that I liked the story line. Unstable Kingdoms, war, betrayal, quests (check) and I started to pull for dumb ass to make it, despite her super speshulness. While I thought this would be like opening a box of farts on Christmas day, I did reluctantly finish. 

 

 

Review: Milijun by Clayton Graham

Publisher: Books Go Social

Publishing Date: January 2016

ISBN: 9780994495600

Genre: SciFi

Rating: 2.5/5

Publishers Description: Laura Sinclair and her son, Jason, witness aliens descend to Earth. The extraterrestrials endeavor to form a symbiotic relationship with humankind, and choose Jason as a genetic link in a bizarre trial involving the mystical impregnation of human females with hybrid embryos.

Review: This was at times really un-interesting do to Laura Sinclair’s constant refusal to recognize the reality of a multitude of situations. The only reason I can come up with as to why, is that it creates scene tension through the process of negative denial of all things evident. As a result her character halts good movement and drags the story line down to a screeching halt.

Although Laura Sinclair sucks, there are some major redeeming qualities to this novel. The question of whether the aliens are good or bad and from where they ultimately come from is tantamount to an ideal (how’s that for b.s.). This process seesaws its way through your mind from one page to the next with an ever evolving perspective. This sits right in the middle of the numerical rating. Some good characters, some bad. Great movement then derailed. Overly long scene descriptors and consistent repeated phrasing also did this novel no favors. Good aliens though.

Review: White Trash Zombie Unchained by Diana Rowland

Publisher: Berkely

Publishing Date: April 2016

ISBN:9780756408244

Genre: SciFi

Rating: 1.0/5

Publishers Description: Angel Crawford has finally pulled herself together (literally!) after her disastrous dismemberment on Mardi Gras. She’s putting the pieces of her life back in order and is ready to tackle whatever the future holds.

Review: Wow man. I mean really a slow, slow slog through the chasm of dialogue and stilted movement. This was an epic push to read, chapter to chapter. Forget Angel and her “zombie with a heart of gold character” while being oh so hot and productively captivating.

This was like watching two turtles fuck while eating nails. The characters are forgettable and because there is no movement you care even less what happens to them. What I was expecting was a zombiefied baddass punker gnashing her teeth while ripping out the throats of the deservedly criminal element while feasting on their brains. What I got was a co-ed hottie not-really- zombie with the perfect friends that love her so and her undying humanistic nature that bludgeons you on every page.

The writing is patterned and scripted and leaves you wanting something visceral. The ‘shivers down spines” and other phrasing fillers read like a paperback romance novel. If only the cover lived up to the content. Don’t waste your time, especially when all the 5 stars reviews out there have no written reviews.

Review: Alien Innkeeper by Roxanne Barbour

 

Publisher: Wild Rose

Publishing Date: may 2017

ISBN: 9781509213795

Genre: SciFi

Rating: 1.6/5

Publishers Description: Sylvestine Amera is the manager of the Mars Best-Tycho Basin Hotel. When her first alien visitors arrive on planet, Syl is faced with solving numerous challenges. Not the least of having Dedare Sath  rubbing her cheeks in a gesture she is curious to understand.  Irion customs are different than what she is used to, but when Dedare who owns a hotel on Irion asks her to leave Mars and manage his flagship hotel, she is more than ready to leave her home planet behind.

Review: This whole reading experience was just too too patterned and slick. Everything was predictably perfect, down to the characterization and story line. Almost like it was written in hopes of getting a movie deal. There is nothing close to being believable about the characters, including the the aliens.

In this novel everyone in Syl’s circle is the best of friends and everything works out wonderfully. If you’re outside this gilded circle, you are an unforgivable miscreant bent on ruining Speshul Syl’s new life on an alien planet. Really? This whole novel was really patterned after a controlling narcissist. How someone on an alien planet has three alien men that want to marry/bang her after a week, is beyond reasoning.

This novel’s main shortcoming was the lack of world building and alien development. Aliens that are really humans, only bald with blue blood and strange mannerisms does not an alien make. The one alien that was murderous had scales but was not built in any memorable way. The idea that a space fairing alien lacks the reasoning skills to disassociate criminals of his own species from a lone alien on another planet, is pretty weak.

Towards the end of this novel I really despised Syl and her band of all knowing,Uber Rich douche bags.