tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89412816993575287092023-11-16T03:11:28.995-08:00Odyssey ReviewsHerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-76891230238355152072011-12-27T12:09:00.000-08:002011-12-27T12:10:57.400-08:00More excuses...Sorry authors, I'm overwhelmed. I'm working through it tiny bit by tiny bit--I have your books, but it's going to be a while before I can actually sit and finish them. I'm the lone reviewer, trying to find time to write myself, to commute, to work at my job, and to deal with all the craptastic wonders of my life. But fear not... I will post again soon.<br />
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I hope you all had a delightful holiday. Let's hope this new year will bring something good for all of us.<br />
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StephHerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-15259256982372140642011-09-29T09:36:00.000-07:002011-09-29T09:44:31.558-07:00Layton Green; "The Egyptian"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Dominic Grey is at it again, hunting after the mysterious. In The Egyptian, a secretive substance connected to aging has been stolen from a lab, and Dominic has been hired to find it. Once more, Dominic is carried to all sorts of unexpected places around the globe, and once more, the author hints at the paranormal. He has a new lady-lead, and he is still a slick, modern-day gumshoe with the same demons and the same gritty past driving him forward.<br />
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I confess, I was not quite as absorbed in this book as I was in The Summoner. I’m not sure if it’s just my personal stress-levels lately, or it’s just that the suspense was quite as intense as it was in the previous book. That doesn’t mean this isn’t a good book. Layton Green did not disappoint me. He upholds his high standards as an independent author, and once again this book is as professional a package one could hope for. Edited beautifully, written beautifully, presented beautifully. Even the cover is better this time around.<br />
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Once more, his characters are creepy when they need to be creepy, they’re intriguing when they need to be intriguing, he leaves a great deal to the reader’s imagination, which is wonderful because it plays with the reader’s own demons; which makes it all the more compelling to read. His characters are motivated, written with depth and interest, and yes, sometimes a smidge cliché, but with paranormal gumshoe novels, you have to have a little of the traditional mixed in for good measure. Heh! I enjoyed this book, in spite of my taking forever to get through it (along with all the other books I’ve accepted for review recently). <br />
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As an independently published author, Layton Green is quickly establishing himself as a sure thing when it comes to producing a quality product for your bookshelf or your eReader. You can’t go wrong with this author. He cares about what he’s writing, he cares how he writes, he cares about how the manuscript is treated, and he cares that his readers, who he appreciates as his bread and butter, receive something of quality from him so they come back. That puts him in a special class of Self-Published author. These guys are few and far between, so if you find an independent author that does it right, stick with them. I can say that for all the five-medallion authors on Odyssey.<br />
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I give this book five medallions. I didn’t give it all the bells and whistles that The Summoner earned, because I just didn’t get quite as absorbed in this book as I did the Summoner. I blazed through that book and was watching the little progress bar move towards the last page with increasing sadness. But The Egyption still earned five Odyssey medallions nonetheless—and it comes highly recommended regardless of my own lack of enthusiasm these days.<br />
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<strong>Note to authors and readers:</strong><br />
I am slowly plugging my way through a short list of books as we speak, but things are slow-going these days when I don’t have backup reviewers nor the time to spend reading. But I am working on it, I promise. Authors who have submitted materials waiting, I do have your stuff, I am reading, but it’s going to be a bit before I can find my stride again. Life gets in the way sometimes. Sorry.HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-56769114520234404412011-04-27T11:39:00.000-07:002011-09-29T09:48:24.650-07:00Marcia Colette; "Bittersweet"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL78mYKfXeUy0JdWrz-h-evIGnITE4fPKoNp2dogb89vVKJc7bSQ2JYo8ripyaOdURgb3XrtUxGlkpmonC55LQ0aZ3gC0LTcG5J01N_eV2fikS8qUZsecFpoHWYp2y3Qc5XO_aCBzmkKQ/s1600/mcolette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL78mYKfXeUy0JdWrz-h-evIGnITE4fPKoNp2dogb89vVKJc7bSQ2JYo8ripyaOdURgb3XrtUxGlkpmonC55LQ0aZ3gC0LTcG5J01N_eV2fikS8qUZsecFpoHWYp2y3Qc5XO_aCBzmkKQ/s320/mcolette.jpg" width="183" /></a></div>
It can’t be said that Bittersweet lacks originality—because it certainly does not. With concepts like demon-like hags, demon-demons, psychokinetic powered-schizophrenics, voodoo priestesses and all number of other supernatural things, the book has its own flavor, for sure. A lot of the familiar, overly-covered stuff are just peripherals in this book on the most part. Vampires and werewolves are mere mentions. This book focuses on a whole new crowd of big bad.<br />
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Phaedra is a teenaged girl burdened with the responsibility of being the parent in her household, which is a difficult weight to bear on its own. She takes care of her little sister and her mother. However the challenges don’t end there. For this unfortunate girl, her mother is a crazed schizophrenic with psychokinetic powers who must be locked in the attic because consumed by her madness; she is bent on harming her children. In her brief moments of lucidity, she works with Phaedra to help arrange for finances and planning but leaves everything mostly up to her daughter. Phaedra too shares the same powers which she can barely control. She fears her future holds little more than succumbing to same madness as her mother and dismisses any hope for herself, moving forward only for the sake of her little sister.<br />
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The only thing that brings normality to the household and gives Phaedra a break are the Bittersweet leaves that she obtains from a magical healer. They bring her mother respite from her madness only temporarily, but Phaedra and her little sister can enjoy a brief taste of what life could be like were they normal. Abandoned by the eldest son and the father, the three women manage to scrape by on their own. This is largely due to Phaedra’s efforts to construct a façade of normality. They avoid raising too many eyebrows or attracting attention from the real world. But everything is tenuous at best.<br />
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But things get a lot worse when Phaedra’s brother reappears. He claims to know a cure for their mother’s illness and brings Phaedra a promise of a future she is to incredulous to hope for. Phaedra discovers that Kurt’s promises of positive change come with a price; for at his heels; an army of trouble and danger have followed in his wake threatening to destroy everything and everyone.<br />
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One thing I can say outright is that Miss Colette is an excellent writer. She is by far a better writer than Amanda Hocking or Lauren Burd. However, she is not always consistent and that is a bit of a bummer. It took me a while to work my way through this book. It had its moments where I couldn’t put it down, and moments when I could barely keep my interest engaged and found myself skipping pages of conversations and realizing that even doing that, I was still not losing any vital information in the progression of the story; which isn’t good. But she is not the first author to make this mistake.<br />
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It’s a lesson all indie authors should learn: scenes are deleted for a reason. Sometimes authors get too hung up on interactions between characters; they work too hard on the smoldering attractions, the exchange of witty banter or whatnot and they lose track of the story and often numb the reader’s brain and lose their interest. Authors who write for themselves rather than their readers often make this blunder. Edit yourselves! Read and cut out what isn’t immediately relevant to your story, cut out what has already been established, cut out the conversations and interactions that add nothing to the character’s personalities, story or the whole. If the story can live without it, and the characters lose nothing if it’s taken away, then it probably shouldn’t be here. That’s my advice.<br />
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In this book there are some editing issues, however they are fairly minor. Some misused words, some missing words; a couple sentences that look like chunks of them were accidentally cut out. But all in all, as packages go; this one is professional and the writing is quite high-quality. There’s a gritty quality to it that brings it down to the real world. Phaedra’s motives are believable, and the characters are who the author says they are and remain so throughout the book.<br />
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Don’t get me wrong, Bittersweet is not a bad book by any means, it just wasn’t a knock-your-socks-off excellent OMG I can’t believe this is an indie-book. But what I think does stand out is the author’s skill with language and description. I’m confident that the author’s future endeavors will only get better and better. I give this book 4 medallions.<br />
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HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-77477516023127093522011-04-01T14:54:00.000-07:002011-04-01T15:32:26.790-07:00Being a cry-baby will not sell books.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWLRtQLhgoZYZEmVG4NtsC_SGITOJXh-hWa7lqveT33t0bQcTW-NLYlL74UOZWXnsoFAZIOvgkyeyKl74k_a73rvsvjF0tIVhNFsAJ8Lg2oSt4Fb7gb_RIEo1VMNeZdG1Kjugad4prVkU/s1600/crying-baby.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 350px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590738678656419362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWLRtQLhgoZYZEmVG4NtsC_SGITOJXh-hWa7lqveT33t0bQcTW-NLYlL74UOZWXnsoFAZIOvgkyeyKl74k_a73rvsvjF0tIVhNFsAJ8Lg2oSt4Fb7gb_RIEo1VMNeZdG1Kjugad4prVkU/s400/crying-baby.jpg" /></a>In the past few weeks, I’ve been sent links to various negative review articles by other reviewers where the authors being reviewed popped a vein in reaction to it. This is a rare occurence at Odyssey Reviews, mostly because of our policy of not posting reviews for anything that earns only 2 medallions or lower. I'm sure if we panned the bad books in our posted reviews, we'd get more negative reactions from some authors. I usually just tell the author in the kindest way that their book was not readable. I did however have one author react like such a big baby to the review; I changed some of the ways we do things around here at Odyssey Reviews, starting by disabling comments and writing this rather harsh post: <br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://herodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/10/author-notice.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">Author Notice</span></a> </div><br /><div align="center"></div>The hard truth is this; if you write to publish, you are exposing yourself to opinion. Period. If you don’t like negative opinions, then you should either make sure that you write like Austen, Steinbeck, Twain, Shelley, Dickenson, Whitman, Keats (None of whom were immune to criticism and negative reviews, by the way), or don’t write at all. My point is... <em>Criticism Happens people!</em> You are giving your work to the public and they are going to read it. Some may love it, some may despise it; it is par for the course; and authors, if you are not prepared to take criticism, you shouldn’t be publishing your work! It’s as simple as that. <br /><br /><div>It does absolutely <em>NOTHING </em>for your credibility to send lengthy, whining emails to your reviewers listing all the wonderful things other readers said or trying to sway the opinion of your reviewer by imposing other views on them. It’s not going to happen; you can’t <em>MAKE</em> someone like your stuff. I can assure all authors that reviewers are not purposefully sitting about, wringing their hands and smacking their lips; delighting in the notion of tearing your book to shreds for no good reason. If a reviewer is making a criticism, it’s 99.99999999% likely they have been given a reason to. Some reviewers might be more finicky than others, granted, but they are not setting out to make you cry. They are setting out to give an objective, but still personal view of a book.</div><br /><br /><div>Posting lengthy diatribe-comments on blog-reviews, or writing novella-length blog posts in rebuttal, arguing with the reviewer’s final opinion makes you look like a huge, snotty-nosed, blubbering baby and the readers who come along will be doubly-convinced not to buy your book. I personally have been known to buy a book in spite of some harsh reviews.</div><br /><br /><div>Let’s face it, if everyone listened to negative reviews, would Stephanie Meyer be a successful as she is? I don’t think so. People are still downloading Jessica Black's 'Friday' song in spite of HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of well-deserved negative reviews.</div><br /><br /><div>If the author has sold the package to me correctly, then even with a few negative words about it, I will still take that extra step and decide for myself. Amanda Hocking’s troll books are a perfect example of that. I read a number of bad reviews before I got them. But buy them I did. I downloaded all three books and found them worthy of 4 medallions. But if one of those bad reviews had a personal response from Amanda Hocking in the comments, decrying the review and proclaiming that the reviewer is victimizing her by forming and declaring unjust opinions about her work, and following her comments with nine more comments which are pastes from other reviews that were positive... Yeah... I’d arch my brow and shake my head and NOT buy anything by her ever again.</div><br /><br /><div>By acting that way, the author is blatantly telling their potential readers that they don’t trust them to decide for themselves and what’s worse; they are telling the reader that if they don’t like the book and they think it was bad, then the reader is wrong, wrong, wrong... Not exactly the best weay to show respect one's readers, is it?</div> <br /><br /><div>If someone gives your book a negative review, to coin a perfectly apt internet acronym... <strong>STFU</strong>. Let your book stand up for itself. One or two negative reviews isn't going to be its end. If it gets nothing but negative reviews... then maybe that is destiny telling you that you should take up some other form of creative art.</div>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-72884298045450400602011-03-15T13:59:00.000-07:002011-03-15T14:23:16.480-07:00Bring 'em on, authors. :)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kBHvsdzN-q7W7LvfAQn_HAMcvYN20FGFuF6P7VYr0zZ1rN4HX8GKabgWjGmPCi-ALbkdilzihDqlfODSPWtBlhqYvPvPHoDxx3Ja-D9ylV-waZGpzEH2yt_W7wltWppapDSqvEQOAGs/s1600/Untitled-TrueColor-01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 269px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 211px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584416320276451474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kBHvsdzN-q7W7LvfAQn_HAMcvYN20FGFuF6P7VYr0zZ1rN4HX8GKabgWjGmPCi-ALbkdilzihDqlfODSPWtBlhqYvPvPHoDxx3Ja-D9ylV-waZGpzEH2yt_W7wltWppapDSqvEQOAGs/s400/Untitled-TrueColor-01.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Layton’s ‘The Summoner’ is certainly a hard act to follow; this I know. It was AMAZING. I *still* can’t believe that’s a self-published book, it was so excellent. I am now reading in tandem, <a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/43938">‘Blackroot’</a> by Miranda Mayer and ‘<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Discovery-Witches-Novel-Deborah-Harkness/dp/0670022411">A Discovery of Witches’</a> byDeborah E. Harkness. Blackroot is short and I am almost finished with it. It’s a rush-job book, unedited (but still fairly decently written despite some glaring issues with timeline, some full-on name-errors and other things). The story is really raw and gory in places and quite erotic in others. It’s like an outline rather than a story—it needs padding and some character development. It’s also kind of all over the place. I plan to give the author a full report of this; she published it to Smashwords.com—but I think she needs to take it down and submit a revision. She didn’t submit it for general review to me, she talked about it with me during writing group. She said it was the source of many themes for <a href="http://herodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/07/miranda-mayer-tinnas-promise.html">Tinna’s Promise</a>, a book reviewed by an Odyssey reviewer from Florida who gave it five medallions and an excellence award. MM and I got into a little tiff on Twitter about it being unedited, so I told her I’d read it and rip it to shreds. I'm still working on the reading part, the shreds bit might come later. Blackroot is <em>no</em> Tinna’s Promise by any means. It’s like a shadow of it. But I can’t deny that MM knows how to write compellingly. If you like dark fantasy mysteries with a touch of erotica, then go to Smashwords and find it. Even at in its rough form; 99¢ doesn’t seem so bad to spend on it. Besides, you’ll have access to any revised versions made by the author once you buy it. That goes for all Smashwords books you buy.<br /><br />A Discovery of Witches is a commercially published book, and is just wonderful so far. Yes, it’s formula, yes it’s predictable, but yes, it is also well-written, gloriously edited and it is the package one expects from a traditional publisher. I can’t believe I paid $14.00 for it as an e-book, but what the hell... I had a gift card. I have a hard time putting it down at night, even though my eyelids are heavy with sleep and I have to be up for work in four hours. I’ve a ways to go to finish it, but so far, I’m delighted. So a recommended read in either format, for sure.<br /><br />Other e-books I’ve been reading lately; I devoured the books by HP Mallory. This includes two books of the Jolie Wilkins series (<a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Fire-Burn-and-Cauldron-Bubble-A-Paranormal-Romance-Urban-Fantasy/H-P-Mallory/e/2940011812651/?itm=1&USRI=hp+mallory">Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble</a> and <a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Toil-and-Trouble-A-Paranormal-Romance-Urban-Fantasy/H-P-Mallory/e/2940011844416/?itm=2&USRI=hp+mallory">Toil and Trouble</a>) and the book <a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/To-Kill-A-Warlock-a-Paranormal-Romance-Urban-Fantasy/H-P-Mallory/e/2940011812644/?itm=3&USRI=hp+mallory">To Kill a Warlock</a>. The freakin’ brilliant covers aside (beyond excellent choice of cover artist on the author’s part) these self-published books are excellent. There are a few editing points here and there, but ultimately, they are wonderfully packaged. They sell off the ‘e-shelf’ and I can see why. They’re quirky, fun, well written and occasionally inappropriate in a good way. It’s not my usual genre... I do like Fantasy, and vampirey things can be fun to a point... but these books were so fun and campy it was a light and quick read. I recommend all three of these books quite highly. The first two-book series is about a witch named Jolie and her romantic trials between her hot warlock boss and a sexy vampire. Annoying love triangle! Oh, there’s a whole war thing over her as well, but that’s an aside. The second book is about a fairy detective named Dulcie. Really cute.<br /><br />After that, I have<a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Land-of-Painted-Caves/Jean-M-Auel/e/9780307886651/?itm=1&USRI=jean+auel+book+6"> Jean Auel’s final book </a>in the Earth's Children series to read, once it’s fully released (I pre-purchased the e-book). I am hoping I’ll get something tasty from Odyssey Reviews to follow. Come on Authors... Bring ‘em on. Where are the good books to follow in Layton’s footsteps? I haven’t got any really compelling queries lately. If you think your book is good, and you know it can stand up for itself, then here I am, waiting to review it.<br /><br />I’ve been told I’m the harshest of all the Odyssey Reviewers by certain authors. I’ve been told that I am cruel. I don’t think honesty is cruelty. I think criticism is an opportunity for improvement. If you fear it, then you probably shouldn’t be publishing your work. It’s as simple as that.<br /><br />Anwyay... bring those queries on writers. I need reading material.<br /><br />Oh, and by the way... <strong>I REALLY NEED REVIEWERS</strong>! Life has been a greedy hog and stolen all my reviewers from me by throwing a bunch of challenges their way. So if you like to read, and you can write a somewhat coherent sentence describing your opinion of a book, then please contact me at herodyssey (at) msn dot com. I can' t do it alone, even with a Nook. </div>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-78988129728088235912011-02-09T15:18:00.001-08:002011-02-10T13:44:47.973-08:00Layton Green; "The Summoner"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGX1iRc4pfGhyphenhyphenV8_WFXEPy7iXj1OIBkKS-yez7It2ak-DGPCq9pfmkGjEFVc55cJ1ZnM3xao1L0TJvtxb19cc6FMoIWKQ8qnHL40F4HxwHbb-VhPm3SZl-iHGHT7Bv4Vu7NHJqMtz0cs/s1600/lgreen.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 183px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571835644538219170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGX1iRc4pfGhyphenhyphenV8_WFXEPy7iXj1OIBkKS-yez7It2ak-DGPCq9pfmkGjEFVc55cJ1ZnM3xao1L0TJvtxb19cc6FMoIWKQ8qnHL40F4HxwHbb-VhPm3SZl-iHGHT7Bv4Vu7NHJqMtz0cs/s400/lgreen.jpg" /></a>It isn’t often that I get really excited about doing a review. It isn’t often when doing reviews for Odyssey that I find myself forgetting that this is an independent author, that it’s an Odyssey review, and that it’s work. It isn’t often I get something of such quality; I truly believe it should be sitting on the shelf at any bookstore. But it happens, it does. Of all of the reviews I’ve done, I can count three or four books that are shining examples of independent publishing. The Summoner by Layton Green is one of those.<br /><br />I’m going to be naughty and start with the not-so-good things, and that is one thing, and one thing alone... and that is the cover. I received the book in epub format and did not see the cover until I was preparing to post this review, and I was somewhat disappointed at the sight of it. It’s...well... self-publishy looking. Sorry. I imagined something quite sophisticated, based on the writing, and I was bummed. But hey, I’m here to tell you that you should not judge this book by its cover. The meat of this book is what makes it excellent.<br /><br />By page 22, I knew this was going to be a five-medallion book. Editing aside (which was a marked <em>win,</em> by the way), the writing is unbelievably good. The description of characters for instance, is excellent... more than excellent. They paint three-dimensional images of characters with backgrounds, motivations, depth and significance. The book has that classic detective story feel to it. It has that mood... the jaded investigator, his complex and deliciously dark past, the dank and eerie places where the story and the clues lead him... <em>Ugh, love it</em>. But what makes this book really exceptional is the rugged African setting which is written with detail and vivid imagery. There are wonderful the cultural nuances. The author’s knowledge, experience and obvious careful and excellent research add interest and ‘texture’, bringing a new level of believability and realism. Of course, the paranormal side to it makes it all the more intriguing. I could hardly put the damned book down. I forced myself to leave my Nook at home so I wouldn’t be tempted to read on the clock at work. This book is going to stay in my Nook library.<br /><br />The story is centered on the experiences of Dominic Grey, a dogged investigator for the Embassy/Consulate in Zimbabwe. He has been asked to look into the mysterious disappearance of an American diplomat. What Grey uncovers is a dark and terrible chain of clues and characters that lead him headlong into an encounter with the occult. From animal to human sacrifice, the Grey is drawn into a world of horrors he never knew existed. I will not elaborate more than that. The eerie tale aside, this story carries the reader smack into the meat of Zimbabwean culture, into the diplomatic communities, into the struggles between the privileged and the destitute. This book is a wonderful study of culture and anthropology alike, and this book is above and beyond in its narrative, its cohesiveness, the depth of its characters and the quality of the writing. This is one of the best books I've ever read for Odyssey Reviews. I didn't want it to end. This author should be on a big publishing house's frontlist. No doubt.<br /><br />So naturally, and obviously, Layton Green gets five medallions for this book.<br /><br />Oh, and also, to the author's editor I award him/her 5 medallions as well. That is top-of-the-line editing work.<br /><br />In addition; a while back I began bestowing the Odyssey Reviews ‘Award of ‘Indie’ Excellence on books that were of exceptionally great quality and purchase-worthiness. Layton Green’s ‘The Summoner’ is a clear candidate for this award. This book is the kind of work that all self-published authors should strive to emulate—well, except maybe a little improvement on the cover. I truly look forward to more work by this <em>excellent </em>independent author.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXxpgVQnPPdh_3vU9Axv8pcZiHYRJMwVSns6XA5LoS565CNcd-4z9pcKp5tbb6EaIz60lNgUGPhyphenhyphenTWiB_qkRrgSPGGM-y72gpGEWPc9PkAROS1-7pvwzNvIp_X_iVm-fWxyrHLyq1kYA/s1600/sum.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 202px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571833273967438802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXxpgVQnPPdh_3vU9Axv8pcZiHYRJMwVSns6XA5LoS565CNcd-4z9pcKp5tbb6EaIz60lNgUGPhyphenhyphenTWiB_qkRrgSPGGM-y72gpGEWPc9PkAROS1-7pvwzNvIp_X_iVm-fWxyrHLyq1kYA/s400/sum.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><p align="center"><iframe style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginheight="0" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=herodysssblog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B004FN2CLS&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-76850915005498768782011-01-30T20:51:00.000-08:002011-01-30T21:20:03.288-08:00Sandra R. Campbell; "Butterfly Harvest"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNGlGvkzCMAMPJiKee4fYs8_BVvzLlSDKMIup47P5HE5RhqYY8KijYzQdLLoWcb-Ag2wORV6swRFnyKCuDN5QT-r_PGjYsMOnIzwkPknNZrrtmoAXxP41VemgwU_3vAmOt3jqAm3wRXI/s1600/scampbell.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 186px; height: 325px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNGlGvkzCMAMPJiKee4fYs8_BVvzLlSDKMIup47P5HE5RhqYY8KijYzQdLLoWcb-Ag2wORV6swRFnyKCuDN5QT-r_PGjYsMOnIzwkPknNZrrtmoAXxP41VemgwU_3vAmOt3jqAm3wRXI/s400/scampbell.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568208373952385570" /></a> Butterfly Harvest is admittedly not my cup of tea. It’s just not the kind of story I actively seek to read. BUT, I did read it, and I don’t have awful things to say about it.<br /><br />The first thing that struck me, seeing that I am always looking at the whole package of a published book, was the cover. The design could have been distilled down to just the butterfly with the soft diffused glow on a black background with the title and it would have sufficed. There just seemed to be too many elements in the picture, the faded silhouette, the soft hit of a skeletal structure, the forest background, the foreground trees… I dunno… a little editing wouldn’t have hurt.<br /><br />I honestly don’t know what to make of this book. Here are the positive points: It’s well written. The author is a good writer. The text is stunningly edited and it’s a clean, professional looking book. I didn’t find too many errors to halt my eye as I read. I was also compelled to read forward, even though the story itself wasn’t exactly the sort of thing I devour on a daily basis.<br /><br />The story is about sixteen-year-old misfit Seanna. A product of a dysfunctional home, Seanna has a hard time fitting in with life. She spends time rescuing animals, skipping school to day-dream and avoiding her less-than-stellar life with her food-addicted mother, alcoholic and abusive father and slightly slutty sister. In a moment of crisis during a violent encounter with her abusive father, a handsome, powerfully attractive figure comes to her aid. The fellow named Samuel manages to insinuate himself into her life, and in doing so, turns it into a surreal succession of catastrophes. She seems powerless against this creature, and as those around her fall, she seems further and further enmeshed in this bleak destiny at the side of this mysterious Samuel.<br /><br />The story was a little all over the place. There were SO many characters that came and went it was hard to keep track of who was who and how they were significant to the story. There was also the fact that frankly, the heroine of this book is really not very likable. She is weak-willed, harsh and horrid about her mother's food addiction, self-absorbed and lacking some depth as a character. There were people who were crucial to the plot who I learned very little about, and some relationships that were suddenly remarkably close despite there being very little to motivate them to be so. The book seemed more like a framework rather than a completed work. The book could benefit from the author sitting down to pad it out some more with more descriptive writing, paring down her characters a bit, adding depth to those she does keep, and adding in some flesh around the bones of the characters' relationships.<br /><br />In the end, it was still a really readable novel. For those who read King and Koontz, this thing might be right up their alley. I give this book a solid 4 medallions—I won’t dock it medallions just because I’m not a fan of thrillers/horrors. For a piece of independent work, it’s a professional, excellently presented package, and I recommend it to the fans of eerie books.<div><br /></div><div><div><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=herodysssblog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0557584671&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; "><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><li style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 0em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0em; "><b>Paperback:</b> 224 pages</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 0em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0em; "><b>Publisher:</b> lulu.com (September 28, 2010)</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 0em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0em; "><b>Language:</b> English</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 0em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0em; "><b>ISBN-10:</b> 0557584671</li><li style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 0em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0em; "><b>ISBN-13:</b> 978-0557584673</li></ul></span></div></div>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-78713592504473006682011-01-16T15:23:00.000-08:002011-03-15T14:27:56.288-07:00Amanda Hocking; "Switched", "Torn, "Ascend"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVNTNaSIhtYjf1iolUUDuGq1C2uDMWQPkL2BmwhjfJV5kKaf8w1mY2zE4VFO0sxel2ishOaTA0m3s54YIKNMBYPYD21e5PG3nzpL1dmclFNQiSUOCSevILM8Ru6k8MTsRBdRqQUamoFk/s1600/hocking.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 233px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562931950614773458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVNTNaSIhtYjf1iolUUDuGq1C2uDMWQPkL2BmwhjfJV5kKaf8w1mY2zE4VFO0sxel2ishOaTA0m3s54YIKNMBYPYD21e5PG3nzpL1dmclFNQiSUOCSevILM8Ru6k8MTsRBdRqQUamoFk/s400/hocking.jpg" /></a>In these three little novels, trolls exist (and we’re not talking the kind of troll you find on the internet trawling for attention…), they can pass for human except for their unique powers, and they are still switching out their babies for human ones as changelings where they are raised by rich families. The trolls are using humanity to sustain themselves. The troll changelings come of age and return to the Troll communities to bring their hefty inheritances home to fund the Troll communities that await them.<br /><br />Wendy is such a changeling. She was raised by a mother that actually tried to kill her because she knew Wendy wasn’t hers. Sometime after her mother is placed in a mental institution and she becomes her aunt’s ward along with her brother, Wendy is astonished to discover she has a real mother who also happens to be Queen of the Troll ‘Trylle’ enclave. She discovers in book 1, that she is a princess and she has her own Tracker (protectors and servants of sort) named Finn with whom she finds herself enamoured., She also meets a human boy who turns out to be the foster-family’s child with whom she was switched. She also discovers that her new community over which she may reign someday is practicing traditions she’s ashamed of—and that she’s being hunted by another group of trolls from a different enclave known as the Vittra.<br /><br />Wendy walks out of a difficult childhood into a confusing life with a mother who is cold and demanding, a future that is daunting and fraught with danger, and a bleak prospect for romance considering that trackers are untouchables to the royalty class.<br /><br />These books are fun. I devoured them. I bought them with little hope for them being anything decent, but I was surprised. There is the taste of youth in the books, but they are not hideously written, and the writer has acquired the skill of drawing her readers in and keeping their attention. She does repeat phrases again and again sometimes, but her manuscripts are very well edited and clean, which is always a relief whenever I pick up an indie book. Thank you, Miss Hocking for being thoughtful and considerate to your readers.<br /><br />The covers are wonderful in their simplicity and artfulness. I think they’re beautiful, and they don’t scream self-published like many others do. After a little poking about, it looks like Miss Hocking has a really great tact for being a prolific writer, for producing professional books, and for marketing herself nicely. She is actively managing a blog and website. It’s quite impressive, and I think a lot of indie authors could learn from what this young woman is doing. I think this girl has a strong chance of attracting attention from a traditional publisher.<br /><br />There are some things about the books that do bother me, but that's likely because I'm not fourteen. The author's skill for description needs work, but that will come with more experience. These books read as very simple... the writing is basic. The stories are really fun and original... but these are definitely books for tweens and teens.<br /><br />I give these books all a good, solid 4 medallions each -- I feel inclined to give one of them less than that, but I am rating them as a package. So 4 it is.<br /><br /><iframe style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginheight="0" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=herodysssblog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1453688935&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><iframe style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginheight="0" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=herodysssblog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1456355791&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><iframe style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginheight="0" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=herodysssblog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B004ISLS24&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-66739621796155398272011-01-16T14:46:00.000-08:002011-01-16T17:02:51.619-08:00Lauren Burd; "Immortal"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj34hvrQjMFVr6z8c4Bc2RkmyZCqw-h7fdwpuHTbtZ2tAZxGPIqmoP1UkmuTDYcPZQFVjYrq-t3fcg68g1pNf4-YCbLmBjUdoGgConi8N4OnH7yklAdtV3YnjMQPccwDBKzYPL_5rUcdks/s1600/lburd.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 186px; height: 325px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj34hvrQjMFVr6z8c4Bc2RkmyZCqw-h7fdwpuHTbtZ2tAZxGPIqmoP1UkmuTDYcPZQFVjYrq-t3fcg68g1pNf4-YCbLmBjUdoGgConi8N4OnH7yklAdtV3YnjMQPccwDBKzYPL_5rUcdks/s400/lburd.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562919402408737282" /></a> The gift of a B&N Nook has been both a gift and a bane, because I find myself reading fifty times more than I used to; and my free time is already so limited. ::sigh:: I also tend to browse the nookbooks and buy whatever suits my fancy, since the nookbooks are so cheap and so easy to breeze through.<br /><br /><b>Immortal</b> is one of four books I’ve read by independent authors that I’ve decided to do non-queried reviews on. The next three books will be done in one post because they are all three in one series. I already had an idea that Immortal would be very closely aligned to the Twilight saga. The story reflected much of Bella’s story.<br /><br />* Pale, seemingly complicated heroine who has no idea how incredibly beautiful and attractive she really is, and thinks herself quite ordinary and plain against her friends [check]<br /><br />* Parental relationship problems [check]<br /><br />* Irresistible to supernatural creatures. [check]<br /><br />* Misunderstanding and lack of communication. [check]<br /><br />* Rivals fighting over her (what girl in her late teens and early twenties doesn't fantasize about that?). [check]<br /><br />* Sudden threat appears in middle of book. [check]<br /><br />There are some efforts to make this story its own ‘being’ so to speak, to separate itself from the collection of what is essentially Twilight fan-fic flooding the nookbook and kindle lists. It’s a tolerable story that I was compelled to read, so it shows that the author knows how to tell a story… and she knows how to draw in a reader. As independent books go, it's really readable. Like the three books to follow this review, I devoured it. That’s good, especially coming from me, considering that if a book doesn’t draw me in by the first few pages, I’ll huck it aside and forget about it. I’ll sometimes grudgingly drag myself through some particularly bad books, but rarely. If I already feel like I’m going to rip it to shreds with a scathing review, I’ll forget about it.<br /><br />But what Miss Hurd has done that does make me bristle, is that she published something that was not polished or ready for publication. And this is my usual gripe about independent books… Authors… GET AN EDITOR!<i> God damn it</i>! It can take a good book and bring it down to nothing if you don’t have it polished. I don’t care what you do, take it to an old professor, do SOMETHING, but have it proofread. I simply despise reading along and coming along a ridiculous error that immediately ruins the experience. The flow of the writing is instantly marred when I come across typos, bad grammar (this is really irritating to me… the use of apostrophes is really not so complex as it cannot be learned), misused words, overly-repeated phrases and descriptions, and inconsistencies. It is my biggest pet peeve and it should be one of the primary considerations before anyone decides to hit that ‘submit’ button on PubIt!.<br /><br />As for the story… well, I think the author needs to work a bit harder on adding a smidge more sophistication to her work, but I really cannot find too much fault with her writing in general. Sure she repeats a lot, sure it’s simplistic, as is most YA material… but it can be simple and still have a tiny shred of maturity to it. Also she should go back and secure the services of a good, experienced editor… and she should work harder to try to keep her story original. I imagine if Miss Burd was writing something that wasn’t based on the standard framework of the vampire teeny-angsty book, her writing style with some originality could really take her places.<br /><br />I also am feeling a bit cheated. Miss Burd showed some promise at the beginning of her book, hinting at a complex relationship between Alina and her mother. It was the sort of thing I hoped the whole thing would be framed around… her choices, her reactions, her behaviours, influenced by her mother’s abandonment of her. But I was very disappointed. She never expanded upon it once she hinted at it. I wanted to know why they were not getting along—and how that affected Alina’s choices. It's like as soon as Alina left she completely forgot about her except to mention her a bit during one conversation. It was not explained at all, and I think it would have added some serious depth to what is a fluffy story otherwise. Her relationship with her father also… very vague.<br /><br />I know it’s hard to juggle a lot of characters… and that’s something all independent and new authors have to think about.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If you connect people with too many relationships, it’s impossible to carry them all through the story. You have to just drop people, and keep the story going, and leave the reader wondering what the hell happened to them. You should not invest your readers in someone, and then just forget about them.<br /><br />This could be an excellent story if she took it down from web-sale, and sat down on a nice, warm weekend, and started padding out some of the bones of the story, adding some complexity to her characters, giving them depth and motivations, and raising it a level from the rest of the chaff. She could also work on padding out the brief encounters with the hero, so that the love that they feel for one another is actually based on more than a few chance encounters and chemistry (which the heroine seems to share with more than one fellow through the story) She could really do it too, because her writing is actually quite good.<br /><br />This is why I’m not going to give the book a bad rating. It isn’t a bad book… it just needs more work. Four medallions.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=herodysssblog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00427YQEI&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-50885513236055719492010-12-11T12:49:00.000-08:002011-01-16T17:02:11.481-08:00Wil Wheaton; "Dancing Barefoot"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgraV0OiBwyn3HjONDSPnijjP-d3fz2cNESYVPNbtwPvZYimIkjahm3TEqvGfpRHkWtTNkE3xT09YnY1hnKIueOo3onMihBG5myzfdl1jYNir6uzJHo-65-HVW7fSTwNfQUbgDldDaJklQ/s1600/wheaton.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 183px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgraV0OiBwyn3HjONDSPnijjP-d3fz2cNESYVPNbtwPvZYimIkjahm3TEqvGfpRHkWtTNkE3xT09YnY1hnKIueOo3onMihBG5myzfdl1jYNir6uzJHo-65-HVW7fSTwNfQUbgDldDaJklQ/s400/wheaton.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549529808215145026" /></a>Since I have been bereft of queries to draw my interest, I decided to read Dancing Barefoot, a book written by Wil Wheaton; the young man who played Wesley in Star Trek the Next Generation. It was given to me by one of my prior-reviewed authors who’s become a good friend. She follows a lot of the geeky stuff on the web, because that’s what she does, and she brought me this small book when I complained about having nothing good to read.<div><br />I was dubious, to say the least. One, because it’s not the first time I’ve picked up a book by a celebrity. Many times I’ve been often disappointed by the product; most of which are usually ghost-written testaments to their amazingness, or a ‘woe-is-me, look what I’ve overcome to become the awesomeness I am today’ sort of diatribe. But what encouraged me to go ahead and read it was how thin the book was; I figured I’d have to suffer only a little.</div><div><br />I was astonished, to be honest. I was surprised by the honesty in the tone and the level to which Mr. Wheaton was willing to open up about his insecurities, his vulnerability and his humanity—all in a very short book. What a great guy. That’s what I came away thinking after devouring the 115 pages of font size 14 text in two hours. I have decided to post a quick review of the book on Odyssey because Wil is an independent author who published his own work, and so a review of his work is not out of place here. FYI: Wil apparently has a few more books on offer, which I now plan to purchase and enjoy.</div><div><br />Dancing Barefoot is a collection of five stories from Wil’s life. The stories include memories of his young life, starting with memories of a beloved aunt; which is an incredibly raw and touching piece, written in such a superb, heartfelt voice; and ending in a lengthy missive about a Star Trek convention, where he makes you laugh and then mists you up in the span of a few paragraphs.</div><div><br />Wil has a natural writing style that is incredibly readable and filled with warmth and vulnerability. There’s no pretence, no airs, it’s him in his most human state, including even his cutting sarcasm and unique perspective growing up on the set of a Sci-Fi show. His descriptions are excellent, and his wit and humour is wonderful. I’m now a fan. I recommend this book to anyone; trekkers or non-trekker alike. It’s a realistic glimpse into how difficult it can be to grow up in the public eye, and how hard the approval and disapproval of the famous and the fan alike can be life-changing.</div><div><br />Read this book. It’s great. Five medallions.<br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=herodysssblog-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0596006748&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><br /><br /></div>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-79824374834554463162010-11-17T11:40:00.000-08:002010-11-17T11:45:49.349-08:00Yes, we are still alive. But barely.<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwjPp9WsrKzpA9R72eNrDipUjNvDYVySLS-5BeGfldSGRwwX6bl1FPp-EZi5PyI7nvPejfQCcqyJWgL6L3YpJrUr2h3j5oRMDCeUgjJjr5XNXMQ4wU5DfI6pv5UYJ1NrxPyUf6fROVz4/s1600/6.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540606086040464322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwjPp9WsrKzpA9R72eNrDipUjNvDYVySLS-5BeGfldSGRwwX6bl1FPp-EZi5PyI7nvPejfQCcqyJWgL6L3YpJrUr2h3j5oRMDCeUgjJjr5XNXMQ4wU5DfI6pv5UYJ1NrxPyUf6fROVz4/s400/6.JPG" /></a><br /><em>This is what I am doing when I am trying to keep sane. </em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="left"></div><br />Yes, it’s been forever since we’ve posted a review here on Odyssey. It doesn’t mean the site is inactive, it just means life has gotten rough for both me and the people who were kind enough to supply reviews. Seeing how the economy has been, adding to additional stressors and things you cannot control, it’s not surprising we haven’t had reviews in a while. Personally, I am hoping, after this year’s loss of my father, the subsequent illness of my mother and my assuming guardianship of my developmentally disabled adult brother, that things will settle down for me in this coming year enough so that I can focus on things like reading and recruiting new reviewers. Suffice it to say, I haven’t taken time to read a lot of mainstream books, let alone Indie review books lately. I barely have time to ride my cinnamon tank pictured above.<br /><br />Please note that I am still receiving queries, many of which do not meet our <a href="http://herodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/06/welcome-to-odyssey-reviews.html">already fairly strict criteria</a>. A lot of authors are using promotional companies to do all the review requests, and it’s gotten so annoying that I’ve started deleting anything coming from certain promoters, because they blatantly send out blanket emails with our address amid a dozen others without regard to what we requested. So sorry, authors, but if you are relying on a promoter to get reviews for you, and they are contacting Odyssey, it’s likely I won’t even look at the query honestly. Their bulk emails are becoming seriously annoying to someone whose stress levels have been already pushed beyond capacity—I got tired of replying: ‘we are sorry, but this book does not meet our review criteria’ over and over again—so I’ve taken to just dismissing them as they come.<br /><br /><a href="http://herodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/10/author-notice.html">I may sound grumpy</a>, but many reviewers can become so, it’s demanding for a voluntary task, and many times, it’s overwhelming and thankless. Most of the time, authors are never quite ready to hear the truth about their work or they think they’re special and deserve more attention than other authors. I’ve even had authors request that we change a review because it wasn’t what they expected it to be. Reviewing is hard work. We have all striven to provide honest reviews, and have been kind to those whose books were downright terrible and spared posting the harsh opinion.<br /><br />I am now going to send out a tentative call for books to review. I am alone, and have little time, but I can do some reading each night before bed, and I want to read things that I like, Fantasy and Sci-Fi, and maybe the occasional mystery. I want to read something that is clean and edited… I don’t want to be distracted by hellacious typos and bad formatting. I want something that will make me smile, and make me look forward to more work from that author, like our 5-medallion books.<br /><br />So if you truly believe your POD, Indie book meets the above criteria, please send a query as outlined on our submissions page, and please be patient with me if I do not review quickly.<br /><br />If you’ve sent us a book already and it did not get reviewed, I apologize. It was for one or more reasons: 1) the reviewer flaked out on me (many do) and did not return the book to pass onto another reviewer or myself, or 2) the book was awful and we didn’t have the heart to tell you that’s why we didn’t post a review.<br /><br />I intend to start afresh and start slowly. I am seeking new RELIABLE reviewers to assist me in the task, so if you think you can do this (it’s hard work, I am warning you) then please do feel free to petition me, I would be grateful for the help and infinitely less grumpy about the whole process. I will invite new reviewers to be contributors to this blog page, and they will be able to post their reviews freely, along with other articles and discussions as they please (as long as it’s not awful). :)<br /><br />Have a lovely thanksgiving. Looking forward to new queries … I will sort through some of my old ones that I haven’t lost or deleted to see if there are any early contenders for review during the holidays; if possible.HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-56290030117211389092010-01-25T13:06:00.000-08:002010-01-25T13:18:18.971-08:00Help!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicR9q-364vp4xIVQYaMCO7D6Ohby0nWIRAgcHnysKqfHhTXfa1GbxajHGpg7m326VMmoowdA8UJ2ofROjpLNiFsXlY6NAESp8Ecxood5zxxsUkBSA7SihzJvtYGqAF4OrVpE6wK-uL8HM/s1600-h/drowning.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 392px; height: 358px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicR9q-364vp4xIVQYaMCO7D6Ohby0nWIRAgcHnysKqfHhTXfa1GbxajHGpg7m326VMmoowdA8UJ2ofROjpLNiFsXlY6NAESp8Ecxood5zxxsUkBSA7SihzJvtYGqAF4OrVpE6wK-uL8HM/s400/drowning.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430789119518674194" /></a><br />Odyssey Reviews was happily chugging along for a while there with two wonderful, reliable reviewers. But we've all run up against life... and lots of problems have cropped up that have taken out our little panel of reviewers, including me... Odyssey's owner.<br /><br />My papa is dying, my life is crazy, my work is insane, and my other endeavors are not only taking over, but also being neglected. I need help. I need reviewers! Help keep this site up and running for the sake of the long list of queries sitting in my inbox... for the sake of authors who could use exposure. For the sake of books. :)<br /><br />If you're interested in becoming a reviewer, please contact me via the email herodyssey at msn dot com. You will be much appreciated. :) All you need is a love of books and the ability to write an intelligible, well-rounded review. That's all there is to it.HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-72771548793979584952009-10-28T14:05:00.000-07:002009-10-28T14:20:56.338-07:00An update...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkDUtsClU5W_bywYY9KFh1iMbjg_wbmooLG5EXemcOOpyzap9O6yKlgUzG-HIluprU-eVqJvnUrIeBNIbh0_6BzDocyFO6sgydE4Y9AyZmrCcbmvrkKHdX_xXFHBV1tcCcXJF529C9v0U/s1600-h/patience.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397763328456715682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 343px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkDUtsClU5W_bywYY9KFh1iMbjg_wbmooLG5EXemcOOpyzap9O6yKlgUzG-HIluprU-eVqJvnUrIeBNIbh0_6BzDocyFO6sgydE4Y9AyZmrCcbmvrkKHdX_xXFHBV1tcCcXJF529C9v0U/s400/patience.jpg" border="0" /></a>Yes, we are still alive here at Odyssey Reviews, however... barely. Two of our most active reviewers are 'down for the count'--personal matters and family emergencies can do that to people. Odyssey needs reviewers! Badly. If you are interested please contact us using the info from the submission guidelines.<br /><br />If you have submitted a query and haven't gotten a reply, sorry, but we are doing our best to follow-up. Right now, manpower is so limited, I am only accepting submissions from books that are strictly in our preferred genres, and that have stellar queries. If you have non-fiction, bios, or self-help books, you're not going to be accepted for review. I am just being honest. So if you are contemplating submitting your work for review to Odyssey Reviews, just a warning, we are being <em>extremely</em> selective. Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Supernatural/Horror books are preferred. Your query must be coherent, not too blibber-blabby, and decently written. Keep it simple.<br /><br />The Management. ;)HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-32536677564481011102009-06-29T13:32:00.000-07:002009-06-29T13:37:30.185-07:00InStock Conference Features Successful Self-Published Authors<a href="http://instockconference.com/"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352850628963855346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 108px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtYXQ7ctJWxsHW9i8h-S0pBmEp2T88IfbQwmLpocikOMsav0Syzz9ZhMEkvrvgqLtMmKlem2Sv79N5jktXdKGrI0KeTtY0a0QwUL-3LISpWwqdpCuwiP8YRXaVlW9Iheb8nMk7QwIu3kk/s400/instocklogo.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>The InStock Conference premieres July 18, 2009 in San Francisco and focuses on marketing and the business of self-publishing</strong><br /><br />SAN FRANCISCO, California - InStock, a one-day conference for authors and those interested in self-publishing, will premiere July 18, 2009 in San Francisco. The Instock Conference features panels on topics of interest to self-publishers, with a focus on marketing and the business of self-publishing books.<br /><br />Speakers will include successful authors and self-publishers, independent publishers, and representatives from the traditional arm of the book industry. The panels and conversations will include information on marketing self-published books, finding an audience, publicity outreach and tactics, product pricing and more.<br /><br />Speakers include Melinda Roberts, who runs the successful website The Mommy Blog and who has self-published the book Mommy Confidential: Adventures from the Wonderbelly of Motherhood. Ms. Roberts has been quoted in publications including The Washington Times, and recently appeared on Oprah. Also speaking is Deborrah Cooper, also known as “Ms. Heartbeat”, Editorial Director and Columnist for AskHeartBeat.com, who has self-published Sucka Free Love: How to Avoid Dating The Dumb, The Deceitful, The Dastardly, The Dysfunctional & The Deranged!<br /><br />The “Getting The Word Out” panel features Micha Berman, author of Permanent Passenger: My Life on a Cruise Ship, which recently was the highest ranking book on Amazon for a title released through the popular self-publishing service Lulu.com; journalist Mark Curtis, who authored Age of Obama: A Reporter’s Journey with Clinton, McCain and Obama in the Making of the President 2008; and Patricia Volonakis Davis, Editor-in-Chief of harlotssauce.com, and author of Harlot's Sauce: A Memoir of Food, Family, Love, Loss, and Greece.<br /><br />Panels will include "Do Judge A Book By Its Cover” which looks at the importance of design in book marketing; "Beyond The Sale" which discusses branding yourself; and "Successful Self-Publishers" which features authors who have effectively and successfully self-published.<br /><br />A discount rate of $145 is available through June on the website. For further information about the conference schedule, sponsorship opportunities, or to register, please go to the website <a href="http://instockconference.com/">http://instockconference.com/</a>.<br /><br />CONTACT: Abuzz Productions<br /><a href="http://www.instockconference.com/">http://www.instockconference.com/</a><br /><a href="mailto:info@instockconference.com">info@instockconference.com</a></div>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-34836624544485918142009-04-23T12:51:00.002-07:002011-02-09T15:16:02.925-08:00R. Scot Johns; The "Saga of Beowulf"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMpuQIvydGFwkylmnb6-1UvEOulEOHr_MvtCGsybMh5CyQOyTbxZM9BmF_SB2fOsyiQtztNwVvdsvHXDi4UtI9leO7BywS6HGNnoj0jOqwpnJNG1_Db1KOTh6-TkO12wUfiaDRUgDlC8/s1600-h/johns.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 183px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327977663224168002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMpuQIvydGFwkylmnb6-1UvEOulEOHr_MvtCGsybMh5CyQOyTbxZM9BmF_SB2fOsyiQtztNwVvdsvHXDi4UtI9leO7BywS6HGNnoj0jOqwpnJNG1_Db1KOTh6-TkO12wUfiaDRUgDlC8/s400/johns.jpg" /></a>I have now had this book FOREVER! And finally made it through all 600+ pages. Did it take me this long because it was slow or boring? Not at all! It took me that long because it was simply too big to fit in my purse.<br /><br />Beowulf has long been one of my favorite stories of all time. In eighth grade we had to read the original poem in old English. Even though the language made me want to cry, I still loved the story. I have read and re-read various translations, and stylizations of the tale over the years. There is nothing more thrilling to me then following Beowulf and his men as they face the beast Grendel, then have to do battle with the Sea Witch and finally at the end of his life, to do battle with the Dragon. But in this book there is so much more to the story, so many little gaps filled in, more back story and so much more life to it.<br /><br />This book, though huge and daunting to look at - is FANTASTIC. If you have ever wanted to read Beowulf, but hated the idea of ancient English verse - THIS is the book you need to read. Honest to the source material, and simple to read and comprehend without a translation key. Even if you love the tale in verse, you should still pick up a copy of this book and re-read it, the story and the character are given a whole new life. Beowulf becomes what we imagined he was between the lines of the old poem.<br /><br />I have one complaint - and it should give you an idea of how much I love this book - The cover does not do it justice. This book should at least have a faux-leather cover, an epic tale like this deserves better then the 1980's Dungeons and Dragons looking cover it currently has. I highly recommend this book to everyone!<br /><br />5 of 5 medallions.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 202px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571832395789054834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-P67ZtxNPgBlFgl12dm0CtslBRHNk2nKfSj7hDVFg2Lj689waYyJkJxwiQ6LMlEHH9RwgQwLfb3zBcD81QfQCCRGP3dIItsj6nSBJ48CyQEG5xNIZ4slWmBhCFi5mfBrAvEr4xjoco4/s400/beoaward.jpg" /> <p align="center"><iframe style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginheight="0" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=odyssrevie-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0982153805&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>Paperback: 640 pages<br />Publisher: Fantasy Castle Books (October 1, 2008)<br />Language: English<br />ISBN-10: 0982153805<br /><br /><p align="center"> </p>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-52959609878536420332009-04-23T10:05:00.000-07:002009-06-29T13:36:17.017-07:00Carl Wiley; "The Ring of Knowledge"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-T2yBxIRPNENHwUnzhev4jxpcKnn83CF42e2U9ImlBlLduNgXB3QjwYaAE1Im3WKx3NwXFKuosB7SQX525Sgzh8mYbGQo565UROL2bHxeTR9PnajxV3MPcXjCQ4d7PXacNel2sCU3Hw/s1600-h/wiley.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327934765925403666" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 179px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-T2yBxIRPNENHwUnzhev4jxpcKnn83CF42e2U9ImlBlLduNgXB3QjwYaAE1Im3WKx3NwXFKuosB7SQX525Sgzh8mYbGQo565UROL2bHxeTR9PnajxV3MPcXjCQ4d7PXacNel2sCU3Hw/s400/wiley.jpg" border="0" /></a>Prince Corwin, who is without his parents due to their untimely death by the hands of an evil man, is living in a far away kingdom ruled by his Uncle and Aunt. He learns that he is the rightful [heir] to the throne in the kingdom where he was born and decides that he must return there despite possible danger to his own life. Corwin embarks on the return journey accompanied by two young citizens from Plyorth who assist him in overcoming wild obstacles, including coming face-to-face with horrid creatures, faeries and his parents' killer.<br /><br />The Ring of Knowledge adequately depicts the universal theme of good versus evil and affords young readers a chance to root for the underdog main character as he perseveres through many adversities in his quest to return to his kingdom of Plyorth. Unfortunately, readers may be quite unsettled by the similar nature this story has with the famous Harry Potter series. Specifically, both main characters have deceased parents who were killed by an evil character and both are on a quest to find a specific powerful object with their two friends (one male, one female) at their side through the adventure. Perhaps this was an honest coincidence not purposely intended to mimic the Harry Potter series and ride on it's successful coattails, but the strange similarities makes it hard to concentrate on the unique positive merits in the story.<br /><br />I give this book 2.5 medallions.<br /><br />Hardcover: 176 pages<br />Publisher: Eloquent Books (January 19, 2009)<br />Language: English<br />ISBN-10: 1606933604<br /><br /><iframe style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=odyssrevie-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1606933604&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-66560170387827867502009-04-01T11:07:00.000-07:002011-02-09T21:49:27.796-08:00Odyssey Reviewers... Our Lessons Learned<div align="left">Once again, Odyssey Reviews is posting a 'harshicle'. Having read a good measure of self-published books for this review site, Odyssey reviewers have learned that there are several common mistakes that a self-published author makes when generating their product. These mistakes will affect your sales, your reviews and your marketability as an author. The more we read, the more compelled we are to note these issues. Gird your loins, authors--and read on. These may seem harsh, but they are helpful tips.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><strong>When submitting your book for review:</strong></div><div align="left"><br />~ Your query summary should be as compelling as the copy on the cover. Don’t fill it up with character names and silly, irrelevant details that give the whole story away or hang out of context like dangling, freak-limbs. Hack them off.<br /><br />~ Edited query: If you cannot submit a query that is somewhat free of grammatical errors, it’s likely we won’t want to read the book itself.<br /><br />~ Please try to form a coherent sentence. Disjointed summaries don’t bode well for the book they’re pitching.<br /><br />~ Follow the basic guidelines for submissions. We didn’t put the submission guidelines up there as suggestions. No attachments please. Ever. </div><div align="center"><br /><strong>When you’re hoping to sell your book:</strong> </div><div align="left"><br />~ <em>Too Much Title</em><br />* No matter how much work you put into your book, your title can be an instant turn-on, or turn-off. Having a title that is an epic novel in and of itself is not a good choice. Generally, if you require punctuation in your title, your book either be self-help or probably be re-titled with something catchy and strong.<br /><br />~ <em>Ridiculous-sounding title that makes no sense...</em><br />* Bad idea. What might make 100% sense to you may sound like blather to someone else. Run your title by objective people before you settle on it.<br /><br />~ <em>Bad Cover Copy<br />*</em> Not unlike your review submission summary, this is what is supposed to sell your book to the reader. If it’s badly written, you’re in trouble. Refer to <a href="http://herodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/11/your-promotional-copy.html">this post</a> for more details.<br /><br />~ <em>Bad Cover Art</em><br />* I’m sure it’s charming that you have a child or a friend who can do some basic graphic ‘art’ on Photoshop who you'd love to credit; or you have a low-resolution picture of something—you need to put a lot more thought into your cover than just throwing it together. Your cover is your ‘shop window’—it’s what’s supposed to draw your eye. If it looks pixilated, is a Photoshop hack-job, drawn by a second-rate artist or whatever, it will detract from your book more than you can possibly know. Don’t make it too busy, or too over-thought. It needs to make some sense in context of the book too.<br /><br />There are examples of both really great, and really bad book covers on this review site. Browse away. I’m sure the design alone affects how many people will click the link through to Amazon from here. See these posts for more tips on cover design: <a href="http://herodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/07/cover-is-crucial.html">Cover Art Article</a>, <a href="http://herodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/10/ten-questions-for-cover-designer.html">Interview with a Cover-Art Designer</a>.<br /><br />~ <em>Lack of editing</em><br />* Editing is an old song here at Odyssey Reviews. We are anti-unedited books here. Our belief is that since POD books are more expensive than standard commercial publications that authors owe it to their readers to insure that what they’re paying more for is a professional, well-presented package. MSWord is a fairly helpful tool for spelling, however it misses a lot. You need to come up with creative ways to clean up your manuscript before you publish. <a href="http://herodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/08/to-edit-or-not-to-edit.html">Here is a post</a> with some suggestions. We also interviewed an editor who gave some <a href="http://herodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/08/ten-questions-for-editor.html">very helpful tips</a>.<br /><br />~ <em>Lastly, be realistic and objective about your own work—because if you don’t… the reviewers will.<br /></em>* Ask yourself this: Are your friends and family just being nice? Is my book really any good? It could be like American Idol; where the singer sounds like a cross between a dying cat and a police siren, but their well-meaning family hurts them more than helps them with their encouragement and kindness. You need to know that there is a strong possibility your book just isn’t very good. It could be entertaining to you, but could be impossible to get through for another. Can you look at your book from a marketing perspective? Can you picture people resonating to it?<br /><br />Be prepared. Reviews can be harsh. Sometimes we will receive a book and it’s so bad, we cannot review it. We’re not haters here at Odyssey; but we are realistic—and we are honest in our reviews, <strong>BUT we will not post a review with a less than a 2 medallion rating because we don’t want to be evil.</strong> Your book could be <em><strong>that</strong></em> unreadable, that is a distinct possibility. Sometimes, if authors send us a book, and don't see a review, it's probably because the book rated very low. No amount of money paid to marketing companies is going to make it good. It’s painful and harsh when you get bad reviews—but instead of taking it personally, you should take it as a reason to improve as a writer, and reevaluate your style and your voice.<br /><br />Some people write entirely for themselves; and discover the hard way that other people can’t always sync with their imagination. We recommend all authors considering self-publishing to do a few test-reads with complete strangers; preferably people who know what they’re doing, and allow the readers to give you a strong, objective review. Take classes. Join a writer’s group. Subject yourself to growth—don’t ever assume that just because you wrote a story from the beginning to the end, that you are instantly qualified to publish your book. You owe your book-buyers a little more consideration than that—especially since you’re asking them to pay a lot more for your book than normal books cost.<br /><br />Read <a href="http://herodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/10/author-notice.html">this post</a> to be aware of what's in store when you submit a query to this or any other review site.</div>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-30807927148821807832009-03-31T11:15:00.000-07:002009-03-31T11:25:54.456-07:00Avery Dick; "Dick goes to the Bank"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCn2FB7Wjjwu-akZtp9AiC6_wALBn-qxmYEeSysRXyahhYUP0WWvwIlLNlt3J7QKeh1TiQy-ksaY4sWvTDBEEr4ZtgWiUallF0Ud4CnkzMiwK6WVP-vR1Xc5tgRbk2ibUvev8Wys7jD1c/s1600-h/dick.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319418917167321346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 186px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 325px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCn2FB7Wjjwu-akZtp9AiC6_wALBn-qxmYEeSysRXyahhYUP0WWvwIlLNlt3J7QKeh1TiQy-ksaY4sWvTDBEEr4ZtgWiUallF0Ud4CnkzMiwK6WVP-vR1Xc5tgRbk2ibUvev8Wys7jD1c/s400/dick.jpg" border="0" /></a>Avery Dick is a retired special agent who specializes in getting the bad guy and speaking in puns. He smokes, drinks and attempts to womanize... he speaks in bad puns and thinks in repetitive sentences. However he has a job to do, he has been enlisted by the World Bank to head off to Romania - land of vampires and witches - to determine the cause of a sudden epidemic that is killing the locals. Why does the World Bank care about a few Romanian peasants? Because they recently sent them a gift of grain and seed - and the superstitious peasants are blaming the bank for the sudden plague.<br /><br />What starts out as fairly straight forward ends up a rather dangerous mission for Mr. Dick. Though he never seems overly concerned with his safety, and some of his decision making leaves a little to be desired. This is a short book, only 150 or so pages and can be read in a single sitting. On the whole it is well written, but it is written for a specific type of audience, though it is not laugh out loud funny, I imagine fans of "Ace Ventura" or "The Jerk" would enjoy this book. Not that the book is meant to be silly, it is sort of short attention span - light hearted with a dash of heroics thrown in for good measure. We don't spend a lot of time on description or intense action, the book is first person with Mr. Dick's mind speaking directly to the reader. If bad puns make you groan, steer clear... if you hate repetition - this in not the book for you, as the author ends each of the short chapters with a variation of the same line.<br /><br />Final summary - read before giving this to the kiddies, as there is murder, profanity and some sexual innuendo. Those looking for a fast, straightforward read that won't take too much out of them or require a whole lot of effort - this is a great relaxing book to pick up. Only a few minor typos and a simple, but clean layout make this a fairly attractive book. 3.5 of 5 medallions.<br /><br />Publisher: The Larson Agency (October 2, 2008)<br />Language: English<br />ISBN-10: 0615209351<br />ISBN-13: 978-0615209357<br /><br /><iframe style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=odyssrevie-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0615209351&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-56777383687281432372009-01-22T19:23:00.000-08:002009-03-31T11:12:08.193-07:00J. Timothy King; "The Conscience of Abe's Turn:"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOY3FStVOsCjAZta7GeugJ9yWN2i3ULH2baydH9UHgV9hbIvptopeEgFNqXBDw9Zkk0ykFzgGOGYJRYxJjFjJBsdzhqFXZT9ShucPeEveN_4W-2DQnmhXEWpcukUWDwwUAdjGJEEmAMOQ/s1600-h/king.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294326910414785714" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 186px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 325px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOY3FStVOsCjAZta7GeugJ9yWN2i3ULH2baydH9UHgV9hbIvptopeEgFNqXBDw9Zkk0ykFzgGOGYJRYxJjFjJBsdzhqFXZT9ShucPeEveN_4W-2DQnmhXEWpcukUWDwwUAdjGJEEmAMOQ/s400/king.jpg" border="0" /></a>Based off of the title of this book ending with "Volume 1, Season 1, episodes 1-4" I am led to believe that there are probably many more books to come in this series. To be honest I don't know if I will read any of the follow up novels.<br /><br />Short Summary: In a small fictional town, a sheriff holds the town under his thumb by abusing his power and smiting his enemies with brute political and police force. Our four main characters, Ted, Clydene, Mira, and Michael, fight the sheriff's power through protests. They find themselves in a quagmire of trouble as one is falsely arrested. They encounter several individuals who need their help in fighting the Sheriff and his abuse of power.<br /><br />The writing style in this book flows well and is very easy to read for the most part. At times the technical jargon and step by step wading through of the computer process that Clyde goes through becomes tedious and it becomes quite easy for the reader to tune out. However, on the whole this is a very simple book to get through, and I notice only one typo through the entire book. The cover and printing is attractive enough, and the writer is skilled. At the end of the book I did have trouble when we started leaping backward and forward in time, predominantly because the story had been linear up until the last 50 pages where we begin leaping backward and forward in time for no real discernable purpose. I didn't feel that the "back in time" bit added anything at all to the rest of the story. Perhaps this will become more important in a follow up book; however as a standalone, I felt that it should have been cut because it adds more confusion then important information.<br /><br />I wish I could rate this book higher, because the writing style is very effective and the author has a wonderful flow of words. The tale itself however was a fairly overblown story that my mind could not completely wrap around. Perhaps it is supposed to be an allegory to other current world events, but for the life of me I can't understand why a group of professionals who are supposed to be so brilliant are holding protests and playing hippy saboteurs rather than just contacting the Feds and getting their problems solved. While I was reading I just kept shaking my head at how overblown the plot seemed to be, and at the same time how self-important the characters were that they were willing to break the law, and endanger themselves rather then just going to the proper authorities and letting them take care of it all. I almost felt that rather then fixing the problems in their little town, they were dragging it out in the attempt to make themselves saviors. Others may not read it that way, but to be honest, it's how it came across to me. As I said, this is a well written book, but in my opinion, it just was not a very interesting book.<br /><br />3.5 of 5 medallions<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Conscience-Abes-Turn-Season-Episodes/dp/0981692508/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232681271&sr=1-1">The Conscience of Abe's Turn: The Birth of the Conscience, Volume 1 (Season 1, Episodes 1-4)</a><br />Paperback: 348 pages<br />Publisher: J. Timothy King (October 1, 2008)<br />Language: English<br />ISBN-10: 0981692508<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=odyssrevie-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0981692508&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-11684339069824717792009-01-22T19:14:00.000-08:002009-03-31T11:11:25.757-07:00Ray Spengler; "Not a Good Time to Die"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuBPwB9VnMaEZGh8ejQ18JcP3UKJnZCavUGsBe96h9MARX6V62fvOqRqHrtmEbRlXfekCf6Feng0w58SEkcH3_fLBHu8eTLq9Xf9edBvM1Bj2cbRGKl8ISSIGehYNQgdForv0s5TYIs7o/s1600-h/spengler.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294322782157324338" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 186px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuBPwB9VnMaEZGh8ejQ18JcP3UKJnZCavUGsBe96h9MARX6V62fvOqRqHrtmEbRlXfekCf6Feng0w58SEkcH3_fLBHu8eTLq9Xf9edBvM1Bj2cbRGKl8ISSIGehYNQgdForv0s5TYIs7o/s400/spengler.jpg" border="0" /></a>What is the worst thing about this book? The fact that the synopsis does no justice to the tale contained within. After reading the back of this book I thought to myself - "dear Lord I really don't want to read this" but once I opened it up and started reading, the book was wonderful. Sure the idea is very similar to the movie "The Butterfly Effect", but the story is different enough that there is very little comparison.<br /><br />A more accurate summary: Douglas has just lost his wife; Jane, to Cancer... in his grief he considers taking his own life, and suddenly discovers that time has stopped... only its two hours before his wife's death. Now he has the ability to go back in time to different scenes in his life and relive them, can he find a way to save her? Or is there a deeper meaning to this sudden gift of time?<br /><br />So as a reviewer I'm going to tell you, ignore the cover art which makes this look like a gothic horror - there's no horror here. Ignore the title, which sounds like a James Bond film - there's not much action here. And most of all, Ignore that little blurb on the back of the book that makes this sound like a bad sci-fi channel movie. What you DO have here is a story of a man who is very much in love, trying to go back and right the wrongs of his past, to save life of the woman he loves. As we go back in time with him (he's an old man now) there are 35 years of marriage, ups and downs, joy and pain. The readers relive all of this with him, hoping that this time he'll say the right thing, or make the right choice to change the course... or if nothing else to be a better husband. He never doubted his love for her... but when traveling through your life in high speed... your negatives glare out at you. And maybe this time he can to it? His time is running out, and his options are running thin... why would God give him this gift to relive if it wasn't to save her?<br /><br />Douglas is a very human character... at times we love him, at times we want to slap the bejeezus out of him. Many times we'll wonder why Jane stayed with him at all. The story is very human... something that perhaps we all wish we could do after the loss of a loved one. For a first time author, this is a very good book. As far as an age rating - this one is not for the kiddies, minor instances of foul language, infidelity, a couple of lives lost, some bad behavior, alcohol abuse, basically think of bad things in your life that you wish you could change, and determine if you want your child reading about it. This book is NOT graphic, but the subject material might offend some parents. Also there are religious themes in this book that may upset non-Christians.<br />Either way, I recommend reading this book.<br /><br />4.5 of 5 medallions<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Not-Good-Time-Die-Spengler/dp/0741449641/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232680591&sr=1-1">Not a Good Time to Die<br /></a>Ray Spengler<br />Paperback: 305 pages<br />Publisher: Infinity Publishing (November 17, 2008)<br />Language: English<br />ISBN-10: 0741449641<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=odyssrevie-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0741449641&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-79292935267869932212009-01-22T18:57:00.000-08:002009-03-31T11:10:42.272-07:00Robert G. Brown; "The Book of Lilith"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJI59ZK18Yt6Quv9y-8sz7mWbVlyW2DfScf7JgHPmKyhHK_G3_Hebfh6EEzIHRoXCPBEx75OwcJpdACkorjP-nBLKbFKg4fPUtc9oUZh8AC5aTzh6h5w4eYoRYE0uoHQbp-0zmg1eP80/s1600-h/brown.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294318632021004786" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 186px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJI59ZK18Yt6Quv9y-8sz7mWbVlyW2DfScf7JgHPmKyhHK_G3_Hebfh6EEzIHRoXCPBEx75OwcJpdACkorjP-nBLKbFKg4fPUtc9oUZh8AC5aTzh6h5w4eYoRYE0uoHQbp-0zmg1eP80/s400/brown.jpg" border="0" /></a>I've come to think that author Robert G. Brown might be one of those guys who really likes to hear himself talk. This isn't said with any malice, of course. He’s invested a good deal of his wild ideas and ruminations into this work. It is the product of an active, imaginative and thoughtful mind; taking an existing mythos and making it his own. I normally dislike this genre of book; mostly because they just come off as a blatant show of the author’s brilliance and wit; smug and lofty. But I couldn’t bring myself to hate the Book of Lilith. Trust me, I tried. The truth is, I kind of liked it. I kind of really liked it actually. ::sigh:: I know… The horror!<br /><br />It’s the dawn of days… and God’s a-creatin’… Contrary to popular belief, God creates Lilith first. Lilith is vastly intelligent, but the moment she opens her eyes she is full of questions and confusion… and then God gives her Adam, a narrow-minded, prideful man, and things just get more impossible for Lilith. Their new home, the Paradise of Eden is a ticking time bomb—and then boom, ground zero—it goes up in a mushroom cloud. The effects of Lilith and Adam’s stormy relationship balloon outwards like a shock wave across the known world and the fallout washes over unsuspecting and unenlightened people.<br /><br />It really is elegantly written on the most part. A couple of duplicated duplicated words are the only grammatical issues I happened upon. The style and voice is really quite excellent. Lately, I’ve had a hard time keeping focused on reading, yet this book had my attention whenever I had it in my hands. I kept reading it; I wanted to keep reading it, despite the fact that I don’t even like books about spirituality or etudes related to religion beliefs. This book was far from mind-numbing.<br /><br />Problems? As a mean, I tend to have an issue with men writing in the voice of a woman. Mostly because men tend to write masculine traits into them; including the male sexual being. That irritates me, because there is pretty much always a failure to make it believable. You see, apparently, all it takes is a glance at a ‘well-formed’ turkey neck and wattle to get her motor revving—she doesn’t need anything else. Pardon my crudeness, but it's a thing I find very common in books where men create heroines... They are pretty much men when it comes to the libido. I also found that Lilith's emotional being is a bit stunted. She experiences various moments of deep introspection, and is faced with tragedy and horrors that would break anyone, yet Lilith’s emotional essence just isn’t there save for the occasional breakdown. It is the thing that bugged me the most about this book. Lilith behaved much of the time like a man. Even her motherly instincts were weak. It's possible the author is trying to stay true to the frame of Lilith's various more unseemly incarnations in myth, but still, he could have padded her out a bit more. She is a woman after all; a highly emotional creature.<br /><br />I confess that for me, the most entertaining part of the book was the introduction; an email supposedly received by the author from a much-molested Iraqi girl who had apparently stumbled across the most profound archaeological and spiritual discovery ever found… That bit had me giggling out loud. It drew me right into the book. It was an intelligent choice to open the book with it.<br /><br />All in all the Book of Lilith is up there in the ranks of self-published books. The quality of writing, the style and voice of the author made the book quite compelling and a good read. It gets a bit preachy in some areas, but it’s not slathered on too thickly. It did also run on a bit at the end too. A nice neat, elegant exit would have done well to finish up what is in all, a very professional package.<br /><br />I give this book 4.5 medallions<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Book-Lilith-Robert-G-Brown/dp/1430322454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232679485&sr=1-1">The Book of Lilith </a><br />Robert G. Brown<br />Paperback: 240 pages<br />Publisher: Lulu.com (July 31, 2007)<br />Language: English<br />ISBN-10: 1430322454<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=odyssrevie-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1430322454&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-66285088235725647432009-01-22T18:45:00.000-08:002009-03-31T11:09:56.475-07:00Patrick M Garry; "A Bridge Back"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXTj54whCnpOlzbLHunjIayRPK05tzNbmVG7uYm-mxoAOSg8PnMUiVVNRPUGQRrZPvi7wlViZ07_e48O4twFq_XuvfexklIRmSGovQxyAjyuiCZeAGSjoSD0gBw6F1BqG1xOw0zt7nRg/s1600-h/garry.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294316191841516098" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 186px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXTj54whCnpOlzbLHunjIayRPK05tzNbmVG7uYm-mxoAOSg8PnMUiVVNRPUGQRrZPvi7wlViZ07_e48O4twFq_XuvfexklIRmSGovQxyAjyuiCZeAGSjoSD0gBw6F1BqG1xOw0zt7nRg/s400/garry.jpg" border="0" /></a>Nate Morrissey has hidden from his life and his past amongst the millions of people in NYC. Now a high profile lawyer, Nate has been asked to take up a new case. This case will lead him back to his hometown of Mount Kelven, a sleepy town he has avoided for over 19 years. He has hidden from that town and everyone in it since the funeral, the accident that changed his life forever, and the event that he was never able to forgive himself for. Now Nate must go back, and dig into the accident that claimed his parent's lives, and destroyed his. But what will he find when he returns after a 19 year absence?<br /><br />A Bridge Back is a very quick read, the prose flows smoothly allowing the reader to fly through page after page without even noticing it. The characters we encounter are fairly multidimensional, each of them with their little quirks and their own past. Garry (our author) spends much of this book focused on our characters and their inner selves, which I truly enjoy. I wish he had spent a little more time giving physical details about the people and places though that is only a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things.<br /><br />In the end this is a very enjoyable book about dealing with the pains of our past, and getting through them. Forgiveness, love, charity, and trying to make a better future rather then running from previous hurts. Being an avid horror and thriller fan, I did not expect to truly enjoy this book, and I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. I would consider it more of a Drama than anything else... I mean sure there is a bit of legal intrigue and some mystery in there, but the focus is on overcoming the past. And in the end who DOESN'T have pains from their past that they would rather just run away from? That is primarily why this book is so accessible.<br /><br />As far as age ranges go I don't recall any undue profanity. Due to some of the themes involved I would probably hold off on the under 15 crew. This book is geared for adults but should be accessible to 15 and up. If you are a fan of redemption tales, then pick yourself up a copy of this. It is an excellent book with very few flaws. And the flaws it has are so minor that you probably won't even know they are there (example - missing closing parentheses). Again I highly recommend this book, enjoy!<br /><br />4.5 of 5 medallions<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Back-Patrick-M-Garry/dp/159299332X">A Bridge Back</a><br />Patrick M. Garry<br />Paperback: 232 pages<br />Publisher: Inkwater Press (February 15, 2008)<br />Language: English<br />ISBN-10: 159299332X<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=odyssrevie-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=159299332X&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-52314147203538066762009-01-22T18:22:00.000-08:002009-03-31T11:09:14.664-07:00Dennis Dufour; "Child of Darkness Child of Light"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy59GRcjUby6UNiN_bbGOPeLSNfjtH5sLVntUv2A2uLeTEAE7bfGIUZPRDelhblc6ePAqJVNnIDVtDDfeDjlYPuEKghb0XMLzo6umSlcVr1UfGJ49M5dY1UNQ6Sr1WmubrB1UnRq2cCs0/s1600-h/dufour.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294313889859677410" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 186px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 325px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy59GRcjUby6UNiN_bbGOPeLSNfjtH5sLVntUv2A2uLeTEAE7bfGIUZPRDelhblc6ePAqJVNnIDVtDDfeDjlYPuEKghb0XMLzo6umSlcVr1UfGJ49M5dY1UNQ6Sr1WmubrB1UnRq2cCs0/s400/dufour.jpg" border="0" /></a>I know there is another book with this same title, and no, I haven't read it. But I did read this one, cover to cover, in about 45 minutes.<br /><br />"NO WAY" you say?<br /><br />"Yes Way" I reply.<br /><br />First of all, the book is only 171 pages, and it's not like they packed the text in there tightly. So is it good or bad that I read the whole book while waiting for a meatloaf to cook? I guess it depends on the reader... whoever they are, they will fly from beginning to end. The text flows well, the majority of the characters are stereotypes that we know (sure they are multifaceted stereotypes, but they are stereotypes none the less) so we don't have much trouble figuring out who is the good guy and why we like him.<br /><br />Short Synopsis (but better than the back of the book): We have a nasty serial killer on the loose, and he has a very specific agenda... harming our hero - Simon Reynolds. Good thing Mr. Reynolds is a detective! We follow Simon through the investigation as the case gets personal, and he discovers that everyone he holds dear may be in jeopardy if he cannot catch the killer... a killer who knows him better than he should.<br /><br />Ignore the back cover because it makes this book sound like a bad rehash of Law and Order. In a way this IS like most of the cop books/movies you've seen/read. You feel like you know all of the characters, you feel fairly comfortable that you know where this is headed, and right from the beginning you feel safe with how this book is going to turn out. For having a serial killer, the book is very low on the gore scale... though we see one of the murders, the truly disgusting aspects are kept from us. The focus of the book is instead on Simon and his search for the killer.<br /><br />So is this a good book? I will say that this is a wonderful author capable of writing a very fast paced and fun novel. This book IS fun. Where is the problem? Well, from the second he walked across the page I knew who the killer was... but I thought - maybe he's a red herring... but... he wasn't. There WERE a few red herrings but none jumped out at me like the true killer... which kind of took a lot of the fun out of the ending for me. On the whole this book was very safe, it played it safe in every sense of the word, it never strayed out of it's genre, it never pushed the envelope, and it wrapped up just how the reader wanted it to. Sometimes you need a book like that. Lucky for me I was in the right mood for the book, on a different day I might have hated it. But as it stood, it was a very enjoyable 45 minutes spent reading.<br /><br />If I could change anything about this book, I would cut out the paragraphs from the serial killer's point of view, and then smash this book together with another as a double feature having both run at about 120 pages or so. That would be in my ideal world. But even if that never happens, this is a fun bus read, or short plane trip read. I wouldn't mind checking out more from Mr. Dufour in the future.<br /><br />4 of 5 medallions.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Child-Darkness-Light-Dennis-Dufour/dp/1425141056">Child of Darkness Child of Light </a><br />Dennis DuFour<br />Paperback: 174 pages<br />Publisher: Trafford Publishing (June 30, 2008)<br />Language: English<br />ISBN-10: 1425141056<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=odyssrevie-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1425141056&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-23012726410940543292008-11-21T14:44:00.000-08:002009-03-31T11:08:18.854-07:00G.R. Grove; "Flight of the Hawk"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdl_2VfLZ4Cpc4XlHB76aLqRVdTbdNxjzo1H8Lmu9AAubDqQw3cTmN5ieCClq_2tAMZlahBb8VKxhpnpeiSYUokoO3kwTiAx_VlTM8LB_O_d4jHp18c9LweirsE7tP4tpw2SMdmOpDMA/s1600-h/grove2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271246795547679602" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 183px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdl_2VfLZ4Cpc4XlHB76aLqRVdTbdNxjzo1H8Lmu9AAubDqQw3cTmN5ieCClq_2tAMZlahBb8VKxhpnpeiSYUokoO3kwTiAx_VlTM8LB_O_d4jHp18c9LweirsE7tP4tpw2SMdmOpDMA/s400/grove2.jpg" border="0" /></a>The tale of Gwernin the bard continues on in this next installment of the Storyteller series. Flight of the Hawk, a historical fiction book set in medieval Wales, brings back a cast of familiar faces, including the intrepid hero and Welsh bard, Gwernin. I likened the first book to the Canterbury Tales, and I will reiterate it for this one. Unlike the High School required reading, however, this is actually something you would enjoy.<br /><br />Gwernin continues his travels through 6th century Wales, however in this installment, the political atmosphere is turning sour and there is the rumour of war simmering over the countryside. Gwernin and his companion and fellow-bard Neirin are sent to the northern Wales to discover what they can about the unrest. But as expected, that particular task becomes secondary against the myriad adventures they encounter along the way. And those adventures are the best bits.<br /><br />Flight of the Hawk takes up very well where the first book left off--possibly even better; not just in the story, but in its quality of writing, its engaging nature and cohesiveness of the story. The style is delightful. As with storyteller, the story stands well on its own, but what sells this book best is the voice in which it is told--in the stories told within the story. There is a musical, lyrical quality to it, but it is not by any means a labour to read. You'll fly through this book and close it wishing for more. As I reread my prior review of "Storyteller", I realize how similar my views are on this new book nearly a full year after I reviewed the first. How's that for consistency?<br /><br />What I feel obligated to point out, is that this author respects her readers. It is obvious by the professional appearance of the book itself, the simple but elegant cover design, the well-edited, well thought out content within. This is a quality book and I recommend it to any and all who enjoy a good medieval backdrop, and those who appreciate well-researched books that almost make you feel as if you're there. I must also confess to you that I tore through this book. I read it in 'gulps'. I have had it in my possession for a long time, and I let life get in the way, and I spent last night and a good part of today finishing it because I promised the author. I was able to 'gulp' it up without a problem.<br /><br />The Storyteller books are a unique type of book. They are not typical by any means in their presentation, they are artful. You need to keep that in mind when you pick it up.<br /><br />I give this book 5 medallions.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Flight-Hawk-G-R-Grove/dp/1430328517">Flight of the Hawk</a><br />Author: <a href="http://tregwernin.blogspot.com/">GR Grove</a><br />Paperback: 296 pages<br />Publisher: Lulu.com (September 19, 2007)<br />Language: English<br />ISBN-10: 1430328517<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=odyssrevie-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1430328517&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941281699357528709.post-54662808560244294372008-11-19T11:36:00.000-08:002011-02-11T09:02:09.679-08:00Michael J Sullivan; The Crown Conspiracy<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgey2fsy0NLx4ViXqcOM4T7eXLfOmv-XbjuLfFzrTuE0qw7Bv6_PhHDCkBOCtvnybsbfMbHB7o88ZYyBwtAFq6dElWx-fB6Cn7rBktO5qcYTHA74qf8F2vya7IAEwCjZ8SWont5ts36-Xw/s1600-h/sullivan.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 183px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270457278174743922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgey2fsy0NLx4ViXqcOM4T7eXLfOmv-XbjuLfFzrTuE0qw7Bv6_PhHDCkBOCtvnybsbfMbHB7o88ZYyBwtAFq6dElWx-fB6Cn7rBktO5qcYTHA74qf8F2vya7IAEwCjZ8SWont5ts36-Xw/s400/sullivan.jpg" /></a>I will admit, that over the last few years I have grown away from the fantasy genre, so this book sat in my "to be read" pile a bit longer than it should have. However once I opened it up, I was thrilled with the story. What we have here is a very well thought out tale of intrigue... regicide, battles over the throne, conspiracy, and two thieves thrown into the mix keep the story line moving at a rapid pace.<br /><br />A short summary: To expert thieves are commissioned to steal something from the castle, little do they know that they are to take the fall for the murder of the king. When faced with the executioner's block, they are approached by an unlikely person to commit another crime which will possibly save their lives and possibly the kingdom. I hate to tell you any more than that lest the story be spoiled. The author has gone to such great care to weave this tale with just the right amount of suspense as to keep the reader glued to the book. As far as the fantasy aspect of this novel, I was thrilled that true fantasy was very rarely employed. Sure there is a bit of magic, and an elf or two, but they are simply background to an excellent tale about a kingdom in trouble that seeks help from the unlikeliest of its subjects.<br /><br />The characters are almost instantly loveable, they are all stereotypes but I wouldn't really hold that against the author. Sometimes a good stereotype is what a book needs. We have the benevolent thieves, the whore with the heart of gold, the reluctant prince, the evil nobleman... so much of this book will be very familiar to the reader, but for some reason this really didn't bother me. I did feel that there were are few areas which could have used a little more umph, or a bit more follow through, however I feel that this is probably the first of at least 3 novels following our new king and his thieving friends. If that is the case, then there is still plenty of time to wrap up these dangling ends.<br /><br />Would I read these follow up novels? It is highly likely. This is by far one of the most well written independent novels I have had the pleasure of reading. I highly recommend it to both lovers of fantasy, and also those who like stories along the lines of the King Arthur legends, and the tales of the Green Knight.<br /><br />As far as age appropriateness, there is violence however it is not overly descriptive, there are prostitutes but their job is never detailed and then there are the questionable jobs of our heroes. I would say that this is probably readable by the 12 and up crew, however I would read it first to determine if it would be okay for your specific 12 year old. I would guess that by 15-16 they would be capable of fully enjoying the intrigue that is entailed. Again I highly recommend this book.<br /><br />5 of 5 medallions<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crown-Conspiracy-Michael-J-Sullivan/dp/0980003431">The Crown Conspiracy</a><br />Author: <a href="http://www.michaelsullivan-author.com/">Michael J. Sullivan</a><br />Paperback: 310 pages<br />Publisher: Aspirations Media Inc (October 1, 2008)<br />Language: English<br />ISBN-10: 0980003431<br /><br />Additional notation from reviewer Stephanie J: The cover art is exceptionally well done.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 202px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572478193732319794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYjgh6txDu5vHcMjPm857KudyH_suWE3rL3aA54I0jGYVSnn7OXntGKpXYXddAdVX-9zeM4QHV8CqW8T2IuZqOqfvAlSA-br1v3dCfBhHQ2D53YUDTbnahonAjuV5oOjdIUHO8Y7P9B3o/s400/crown.jpg" /> <p align="center"><br /><br /><iframe style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginheight="0" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=odyssrevie-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0980003431&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>HerOdysseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09709545443639410804noreply@blogger.com