Avery Dick; "Dick goes to the Bank"

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.

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.

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.

Publisher: The Larson Agency (October 2, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0615209351
ISBN-13: 978-0615209357

J. Timothy King; "The Conscience of Abe's Turn:"

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.

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.

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.

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.

3.5 of 5 medallions

The Conscience of Abe's Turn: The Birth of the Conscience, Volume 1 (Season 1, Episodes 1-4)
Paperback: 348 pages
Publisher: J. Timothy King (October 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0981692508

A.K. Kuykendall; Conspirator's Odyssey

The government is evil, they are sneaky, they are hiding things and we had all better beware. Starting in the future, and then leaping back and forth through the past, we follow Kalista Flaker, a special Ops soldier who has risen in rank due to her ferocious demeanor and obsessive nature. When she and her team are deliberately sent on a suicide mission, Kalista begins to dig into the nature of the government beast that has been controlling her for all of those years, and uncovers a disturbing truth. Determined to bring down the system and expose the lies, she makes it her mission to obtain proof of the vast conspiracy.

Kuykendall has a very distinct voice and an excellent writing style. For conspiracy theorists that border on obsessive, this book will be a goldmine. Beginning with the Area 51 cover up, to the Bay of Pigs, to the tragedy of 9/11, it almost feels as though the author was determined to cover every conspiracy known to man. The author has done their historical research, and much of this book does read as though you are in a history class, giving you almost too much background on events like the Bay of Pigs, or the History of different military groups. But the author weaves his own take on the events into the tale, giving the "truth behind the conspiracy" that he has invented, some times they are intriguing, other times they seem to go a bit overboard.

The opening of the book is a bit muddled in that we leap around in time so much that if you don't carefully read the dates at the top of thechapters, it will be easy to find yourself perplexed. When you get past the initial history lesson, and into the story of Kalista and her team,the book really gets moving. I flew through the middle of the book, which reads like a military espionage tale. I was a very happy readeruntil about the last 30 pages of the book, when the tale went a bit sideways in my mind. Truly, the Sci-fi aspect had been there from thebeginning, we are reading about an alternate reality... the government has created a serum from alien DNA to create super soldiers... I boughtit all, but when we came to the end my suspension of disbelief wouldn't stretch that far. I don't want to spoil it, but it seemed almost as ifit was a throwaway ending that dumped way too many new conspiracies and sci-fi aspects on the reader out of nowhere.

Now I'm not saying that it's a bad ending, it just wasn't to my taste. I can probably name a handful of people who will absolutely love theending of this book. Also the book leaves the ending open enough to imply that this may be the beginning of a series, following Kalista andher brother in their attempts to save mankind from ultimate destruction. I would be interested in reading additional entries in this series, the author's writing style is very fluid, and apart from a few lines that irked me this is a very well written book (on of my biggest pet peevesin reading is when siblings address each other as "Brother" or "Sister", I've never in my life heard anyone calling their sibling that).

Final summary: Though I would not recommend this book across the board, I would recommend it to the military/sci-fi crew and to the fans ofconspiracy theories. If this becomes a series I can see this book developing a small but rabid fanbase.

3.5 of 5 Medallions

Conspirator's Odyssey: The Evolution of the Patron Saint (Paperback)
227 pages
Publisher: PublishAmerica (March 3, 2008)
Language: English ISBN-10: 1604742755

Michelle LeBlanc; Belt Buckles & Pajamas

In the book Belt Buckles & Pajamas, you are introduced to the main character Daphne and you learn very quickly where she is and why she is there. Daphne’s universe is a mental institution. Daphne’s friends and fellow patients orbit around her—each one with their own demons and inner-turmoil haunting them. Their universe is disrupted by the arrival of a new Therapist. Andie is a stark contrast to her stoic and regimented predecessor, Martin, and she has a way of reaching these lost, harrowed souls that he never had.

There are the archetypes one expects in an institution like this; the sex-addict, the paranoid, the nearly catatonic, the one who sees invisible things; telling from the title; one can easily surmise Daphne’s issues. The author touches on this sensitive issue with finesse, while exploring the madness of the others with a humorous eye.

You begin to discover the depth of Daphne’s pain, and the events that brought it to her. As you read, you watch her; under Andie’s careful guidance begin the process of healing and coming to terms with her past. Daphne’s growing self-acceptance alters her perspective about her universe; including the people who surround her.

Belt Buckles & Pajamas in my eyes is the beginning of an insightful book. The first draft which needs to be fleshed out into something greater. I was a bit put off by the pat characters; the seemingly stereotypical nature of each patient. They seemed sometimes only two-dimensional and lacked depth to be truly believable. I feel like not enough time was spent further exploring Daphne’s healing process, and that it was too easily resolved.

It is still a good read; and easy one as well; no flourish or wordiness complicates the book; it still communicates volumes in far too few pages. I give this book 3.5 medallions.

Author: Michelle LeBlanc
Paperback: 180 pages
Publisher: Kanapolis Fog Publishing Emporium (May 31, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN: 0615147143