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book reviews |
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Multi-genre author, Ed Benjamin, introduces us to his short story “Mar: A Harry Miles Redemption Story”: An Iranian fighter jet flies high above the Line of Control, which marks the contested border between India and Pakistan. The airplane appears to be in trouble. The pilot seems to have a problem with the craft's flight control surfaces. Smoke trails behind its port engine. Apparently, it does not have the ability to emit any electronic signals and is unable to fire its missiles if required to do so. An enemy aircraft, smelling blood and sensing an easy combat victory closes in for the easy kill. Sometimes, appearances can be deceiving.  I really enjoyed this story! Since I am an Air Force brat and have served in the Air National Guard myself, this was right in my wheelhouse! Ed displays considerable understanding of the regional politics of India, Pakistan and Iran. Major Mar is the antagonist in the first book in the series, yet he is almost the hero in this short story. It takes good writing to accomplish that. I enjoyed the aerial dogfights and the interactions with the ground crew. Major Mar is a formidable opponent, a hero to Iran and a family man. Harry will be up for the fight of his life if he is allowed back in the cockpit, by his commanders. I hope we get to see this epic battle! I give “Mar: A Harry Miles Redemption Story” a score of 4.6.  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Mar-Harry-Miles-Redemption-Harrys-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-mar https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mar-Harry-Miles-Redemption-Harrys-ebook You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/colbenjamin http://edbenjaminbooks.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/edbenajmin https://www.facebook.com/EdBenjaminAuthor Tags: military, short story, fiction Copyright © 2019 Mark Schultz except for the author's introduction
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Debut author, Aimee Cabo Nikolov, introduces us to her memoir of growing up in the midst of severe dysfunction: “Love is the Answer, God is the Cure” is the story of Aimee Cabo, who was in the Miami news for almost five years from 1989 to 1994 in a case the media named “The Case from Hell.” This sexual abuse case pitted her and her sister against her parents who denied all culpability. As she fought court battles, poverty, abuse, and addiction, Aimee always turned to love and to God. Another near tragedy struck when her daughter was almost murdered by a tenant she found in Craig's list. This is the story of a woman who had all the odds against her and how she persevered to find true love and form a family that could withstand anything.  While reading this book, I was quite astonished by the abuse Aimee suffered at the hands of the people she should have been able to trust the most. When Aimee gained her independence, she went down the all-too-familiar deadly spiral of involvement in the sex trade and drug addiction. The story of how she found her way out is nothing less than a miracle. The reading is riveting at times and expresses great tenderness of the heart at other moments in the story. You will have a hard time laying this book down until you finish reading. I give “Love is the Answer, God is the Cure” 4.9 stars.  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Love-Answer-God-Cure-Unconditional-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-love-is-the-answer-god-is-the-cure You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/godisthecure1 http://www.godisthecure.com http://www.facebook.com/godisthecure1 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAyZyt-QXskkzEKGnSc_YqQ Tags: child abuse, sex abuse, dysfunctional family, love and romance Copyright © 2019 Mark Schultz except for the author's introduction Multi-volume author, Trina Jordan, introduces us to her second volume, How To Live: Change your path: Learn from my mistakes: There may be days when you want to give up. There may be days when you want to do something but your mind is telling you, do not do it. There may be days when you want to be with a boy and you know he is not a good person. My book talks about boyfriends, girlfriends (the difference in sisterly affection), peer pressure, and dating. I shared some of my life experiences. I hope my book helps teens understand themselves. If I was given half of the information I am sharing in my book, I would have made less mistakes in my life, which includes my relationships. You will face many situations in your life. I hope this book will help you make the best decision for YOU.  Trina has written a valuable book. She is a wise woman, like your favorite aunt, sharing ideas about how to conquer some of life’s biggest problems. You instinctively realize she loves you and has your best interest at heart. You know she is sharing from her life and has been down the road you are facing. Life is full of choices and Trina tries to lay them out for you and show you the path that will bring you the greatest chance of success. She readily admits that there is not a magic pill, it won’t be easy and will require a lot of hard work. She is not riding your case and you know she loves you. Her examples make a lot of sense for young people of all ages, especially girls. You realize that all her girl-talk is instructive for boys as well. Trina covers the important scenarios that we all face, at one time or another. School, family, friends, higher education, relationships, work and careers. I give How to live: Change your path: Learn from my mistakes a score of 5.0.  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/how-to-live-change-your-path https://www.goodreads.com/how-to-live https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Live-Change-Learn-mistakes You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/tjmb052010 https://www.amazon.com/trinamjordan http://www.linkedin.com/in/trinajordan Tags: self-help, self-esteem, hope, faith, family, school, relationships, work Copyright © 2019 Mark Schultz except for the author's introduction You can join us in our previous interview https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/how-to-live-to-live-is-hard-never-give-up-by-trina-jordan-mba Well respected high school educator and football coach, Ken LaVigne introduces us to his story of working with high school students and athletes, Coach the Soul: Today’s children, especially teenagers, live in a world that is much different than the one that existed just twenty years ago. A drastically changed family dynamic and the advent of social media have forced young people to grow up in a more fragile environment, one without the stability they need and with the constant pressure of scrutiny from peers and others they don’t even know. The effects of these factors have led to suicide becoming the second leading cause of death in teenagers in America! Circumstance has deprived these kids of the stability and perspective that they so desperately need. This is a crossroads moment. Coach the Soul is the first book that addresses these issues with real answers. It was born in Ken LaVigne’s classroom and on the football field during over thirty years as a high school teacher and coach. Its epiphany is just as unexpected as the dire circumstances in the lives of so many students. Coach the Soul sheds light on what today’s young people really need. (Ken LaVigne)  This is an amazing book on multiple levels. I don’t pretend to be qualified to analyze Ken’s writing from all angles. That being said, I loved this book! Inspirational stories about helping teens overcome difficult circumstances hits a lot of my hot buttons. Most of the chapters focus on a student’s experience in Ken’s class or as their football coach. These chapters also highlight a particular virtue or trait of personality. There are so many ways that children suffer as a result of the choices parents and others make. The destruction of the family unit has been going on for a long time and there is no easy answer. But Ken, and educators like him, demonstrate a method that works and helps these kids get on the right track. It takes a lot of work and that builds character for those who complete the plan Ken lays out. I award 5 stars for “Coach the Soul”!  You can buy this book:
https://rdrpublishers.com/products/coach-the-soul-by-ken-lavigne https://www.amazon.com/Coach-Soul-Ken-LaVigne https://www.goodreads.com/-coach-the-soul You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/coachthesoul http://www.coachthesoul.net https://www.facebook.com/coachthesoul Tags: teaching, counseling, at-risk, memoir, biography Copyright © 2019 Mark Schultz except for the author's introduction Multi-volume author, Travis Borne introduces us to his second volume in the Lenders series, Lenders II: The Time Tribulations: No hot-salsa competitions this time, but there’s more tacos and tequila. And guess who’s in the kitchen! Head back to Old Town, even Club Subterranean, and to the pushing, most pressing limits of existence itself, where there can be no escape. The system has you, it has, your mind. And seemingly forever: The Time Tribulations! Proofreading for Lenders provided by expert “Word Refiner,” Mark Schultz, who reads more than 60 books a year. Mark said, “This sci-fi story is a sweeping and epic tale! Can we call it sweepic?” Mark Schultz is not hard to find in the world of books! Read his entire review and interview of author Travis Borne. Travis Borne says, “Now, let’s dive back into LENDERS, saga number two!” A skin-striping, pillory-clamping, mind-twisting dive into the bowels of Hell. There’s Jewel City and the all-new, prismatically colorful, Midtown. And the punishing Underworld, brimming with beasts unimaginable, and little ones, red ones, hairy ones and blobs. Workers, officers, humans and beasts. And back to Vallecito, Colorado, the bunker, with all-new characters, against-all-odds rescues of some very special old ones, and adrenaline-surging, 90-mph rides in “Esperanza,” across the desert again with ol’ Felix. And glimmering bottles of Mezcal with the little gusanos traveling into throats like fingernails. Rico, Jim—and I mustn’t spoil the “who else”—again embark on their most tumultuous, skull-splitting, light-speed adventures. If you made it through Lenders I intact, and if you can stomach it, and if you are emotionally and mentally stable enough to endure it, then… No, Lenders II will still send your subconsciousness into perdition. Read only if you dare! There’s heat. There’re slabs of carne del puerco and blistering desert days. And you’ll never guess who’s servin’ the meat this time! Old Town Mexico and raging transformations that rip at the fabric of reality. An absorbing of souls, and cold steel stabbing hearts. And monumental plumes of dust. Legs burning, pushing, bulging, the enraged one speeding across the desert at sonic speeds! He’s back… The terrible machine city, green and purple haze and drones numbering in the billions, more. Surfing music and daring escapes from other dimensions, and otherworldly realms ruled by the mind. Omnipotent spheres in heads, inchoate wizards and mystical, virtual, dragon-like creatures. Plans gone awry and rides into space—and deep dives into the ocean. The Marianas Trench and hidden, secret cities. Arcs and slaughtered elephants, plesiosaurs and megalodons and giant jellyfish. Dinosaurs and old, three-legged sex-bots from Meddlinn, and almighty seaweed-green ones. Hyper-Millennials and reinvigorated minds. heli-jets, hover-jets, space-jets. Crazy old ladies, piloting, soaring, plummeting: Nanny, and Fran, yep, they’re back! And others hanging on for dear life, or lending in the deepest, darkest, hottest depths of the system—pitfalls of the mind! Lunacy and haunting screams, insanity and no way out! Lenders II has all of this and infinitely more. Buckle in, because if you thought Lenders I was a rush, well, you haven’t experienced anything yet!  Travis is right, Lenders II is a phenomenal extension of the story from Lenders I! This new book has not just blown me out of the water, it sent me over the mountain as well! This is some of the finest sci-fi writing that I have read in a very long time. Everything about this book is so good! Scene setting, dialogue, action, in-depth descriptions; because of the length the level of detail is wonderful! If you love rock-solid science fiction, with some grit, hair-raising action and great dialogue, then this book is made for you! I do recommend you get and read the newly revised, third edition of Lenders I first, only available in Kindle format at this time. Lenders II gets a score of 5.1 stars! It’s that good!  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Lenders-II-Time-Tribulations-Saga-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-lenders-2-time-tribulations https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenders-II-Time-Tribulations-Saga-ebook You can follow Travis Borne: https://twitter.com/Travis_Borne http://travisborne.com https://www.facebook.com/Lenders https://www.facebook.com/borneworlds Here is the link for the review of "Lenders, The Unlicensed Consiousness" also Travis and I had a lengthy conversation in the comments section: www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/lenders-the-unlicensed-consciousness-by-travis-borne Tags: dystopian, drones, killer drones, wormhole, artificial intelligence, lucid dreams Copyright © 2019 Mark Schultz except for the author's introduction Multi-volume author, Thomas S. Flowers, introduces us to his first vampire novel, “The last Hellfighter”: Ben Harker, Harlem native. WWI veteran. Vampire slayer. In the year 2044, reporters from the Public Relations Ministry gather at the home of Benjamin Harker, the last surviving member of the Harlem Hellfighters. At the age of 144, he is the oldest recorded man alive. Hidden among them, Clyde Bruner is looking for a different kind of story. Across the United States, despite the Great Walls and patrol drones built to keep America secure, something has found its way in. And now towns are vanishing during the night. Entire populations, gone. Only to return after the sun sets, changed, unholy, and lethal. And whatever this evil is, it’s spreading west. According to a bedtime story Bruner’s grandfather told him when he was a boy, Benjamin Harker has seen this before. He’s faced this scourge. Fought this evil. Survived them. Killed them. From the trenches of the Great War to the jungles of Vietnam to the sands of Iraq, Harker will search his past to save our future. But as each city light extinguishes across the country, is there no time left to stop what’s coming?  This is quite a powerful story; the writing will move you, it’s so beautiful. It fits well into the Horror genre without being overly gross most of the time. I am not into gross. The story really captivated me. The last vampire book I read was Stoker's "Dracula" and I enjoyed this so much more! I enjoyed the rhythm developed in the story. Ben’s need for music to trigger his memories was very realistic. The plot had moments of terror preceded by excellent scene-setting. A welcome chance to catch my breath. I relished the variety of complex characters a great deal. The dialogue was excellent. The book has received many 5-star reviews. I award “The Last Hellfighter” 3.4 stars.  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Hellfighter-Thomas-S-Flowers https://www.goodreads.com/-the-last-hellfighter https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Hellfighter-Thomas-S-Flowers-ebook You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/ThomasSFlowers http://www.thomassflowers.com https://www.goodreads.com/author/Thomas_S_Flowers https://www.facebook.com/ThomasSFlowers https://machinemean.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe Tags: African American, historical fiction, vampire, vampires, military, war Copyright © 2019 Mark L. Schultz except for the author's introduction |
Who am I?An avid reader, typobuster, and the Hyper-Speller. I am a husband, father, and grandfather. Archives
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