Layton Green; "The Summoner"

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.

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.

By page 22, I knew this was going to be a five-medallion book. Editing aside (which was a marked win, 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... Ugh, love it. 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.

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.

So naturally, and obviously, Layton Green gets five medallions for this book.

Oh, and also, to the author's editor I award him/her 5 medallions as well. That is top-of-the-line editing work.

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 excellent independent author.

Sandra R. Campbell; "Butterfly Harvest"

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: lulu.com (September 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0557584671
• ISBN-13: 978-0557584673

Keith Knapp; Moonlight

Though Keith Knapp's debut novel Moonlight is almost 500 pages long, don't let that deter you from reading it. There is a lot of space and the font is large. If "Moonlight" had been printed by most of the mass market crew this book would probably be in the 330-350 page range. Beyond that...the almost 500 pages of this book are very good and the author managesto entertain from beginning to end.

Short Plot Summary: The power goes out, and along with it everything else stops working from cars to watches to anything you depend on formodern civilization. As if that isn't enough, suddenly people aren't acting right... in fact they have become downright homicidal, and for some reason when you knock them down, they just keep getting back up,alive or not. We follow a band of survivors as they try to figure out what is going on and how they are going to live through the madness.

Meanwhile we have the dark man in the trench coat who isn't thrilled about our crew of scrappy survivors. With echoes of "The Stand" and "The Rising" this novel takes off quickly.

"Moonlight" is a very easy read, it flows well and although at first it appears that this might end up being something we've all read before, it quickly turns down a different path. The author does a good job of keeping the tension up and not spoon feeding the reader all of the truth as to what is going on too quickly. I also really appreciated that no-one in the book immediately had the answer.

There were guesses all over the ball park, which is far more realistic than many other horror novels where someone always seems to know exactly what the problem is right from the get go. Knapp also does a wonderful job with his characters. Though I won't say they were all multi-dimensional, the ones we needed to care about, he was able to evoke enough emotion for.

The reader will be concerned for many of them, and not all of them will make it. Though for the most part it is pretty clear who is going to live and die, there were a few stray deaths in there that I wasn't expecting (which is always good). As far as the ending... It could haveu sed a little more umph and fireworks but other than that, I closed the book and felt satisfied with what I had read. My only real issue with the book was the title, which really didn't have anything at all to do with the story. In fact many readers may be confused at the lack of werewolves in the story.

Oh and a warning for those of you who are not familiar with the horror genre, there is a good bit of gore in this book and there IS profanity, though I didn't personally find it excessive or out of place. I would suggest this book to the standard horror fans (King, Koontz, Matheson), I don't know that the extreme horror crew will find enough of the truly disgusting moments to keep them satisfied. Also this book is PG rated when it comes to the nudity and sex aspect (which I was completely happy with) but if that's what you are looking for, head for some Laymon or Lee rather than this novel. I really enjoyed this read and will pick up others by this author when they come out. Highly recommended.

Publisher: Outskirts Press (October 30, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1432715658
ISBN-13: 978-1432715656

Eric D. Knapp; Cluck: Murder Most Fowl

Eric D. Knapp’s “Cluck: Murder Most Fowl” is one of the best books we’ve reviewed so far on Odyssey Reviews. This tongue-in-cheek (or beak) work of brilliance will surely make you laugh. The writing is on par with the likes of Terry Pratchett. The story is brilliant, the writing unbelievably good; and a nearly 100% spotless manuscript peppered with delightful egg-shaped illustrations by Ian Miller. The sheer professional sheen of the book itself, down to the artwork on the cover – is the standard all independent/self-published authors should strive for.

You will find yourself in a bizarre world of zombie chickens, Poultry Exorcists, hicks, an ancient secret organization of frauds, and a car with a bit of an attitude. There is a restless house, and something else, another force thrown into the mix just to keep it interesting.

Armand/Arnold, who is the first true “Exorciste de Volaille” in generations, discovers, after years of ridding the world of pesky undead fowl, that he’s possibly met his match. A convergence of mystical forces brings together a massive rooster who’s been to Hell and back, his flock of subordinate ghoulish chicken zombies; a mysterious, vengeful force; a fidgety house and a less-than-intelligent hick by the name of Bobby—and Arnold has just stepped into the filthy thick of it.

Rotten eggs, tomatoes and stumbling, rotting chickens… this bizarre world is waiting for you to discover it. I think it should be an obligation for all independent authors to add this book to their library as an example of a professional, self-published product.

This book has effortlessly earned its five medallions.

This book has inspired me to create a new award for books that raise the bar of excellence for independent works.

Paperback: 340 pages
Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (December 10, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1419682644
ISBN-13: 978-1419682643