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book reviews |
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Multi-volume, group author, Morgan R. R. Haze introduces us to book two in the Teragene Chronicles, “Alpha Convergence”: It was gone. Terra Prime – the cradle of humanity – was gone. One moment the center of the colonized universe, the next, a gaping emptiness that would come to be known only as The Void. Left without answers and without a tether to their shared humanity, mankind has continued. For hundreds of years, they have spread across the galaxies, colonizing planets, while the history of their home, the truth of Terra Prime, has fallen into myth and legend. But in every world, there are those who wander and search for more. There are those who long for a home beyond planets run by corrupt governments and flawed ideologies. There are those like Captain Singer and his crew aboard the Waylay, seeking a better life among the stars. With the Alliedcorp fleet behind them, Jason, Bree, and Mark are left reeling from their time in captivity with more questions than answers about those responsible. But while Bree struggles to process what was done to her during her capture, Ell’s recovery is taking longer than expected, leaving her family aboard the ship wondering if she’ll be able to find her way back to them. With unanswered questions and dangers mounting, the crew of the Waylay finds themselves facing an even greater threat than before with only the bond they’ve forged to protect them. But will it be enough this time?  This is a very worthy sequel to “Alpha Dawn”! I love the short chapters and rotating point of view; each chapter is devoted to a single point of view. The story moves forward smoothly. I recommend reading the books in sequence, the story in this volume will be much richer if you do. It could also be fun to read this one first, I do like reading a book more than once, in quick order, the second reading reveals more details. The scene setting is pretty good, the action is even better, but it is the dialogue that really makes the difference. The characters are fully fleshed out and they are growing. Like so many others, the major characters want to live in peace, while there are others who cannot allow that. The classic contest of wills. I award 4.8 stars to “Alpha Convergence”.  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Alpha-Convergence-Book-2-Teragene-Chronicles-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-alpha-convergence https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alpha-Convergence-Book-2-Teragene-Chronicles You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/Morgan_R_R_Haze https://www.instagram.com/morganrrhaze https://www.facebook.com/Morgan-RR-Haze You can find my review for the first book in the series, “Alpha Dawn” here: https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/alpha-dawn Copyright © 2021 Mark L. Schultz, except for the author’s introduction
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Multi-volume author, Cedrick E. Wilson, introduces us to his latest story, “Psychos Anonymous”: A serial killer thinks he overstepped his bounds on his last murder. He attempts to seek help on the serial killer website REDRUM. A psychiatrist who believes he can help psychotic killers through counseling sets up a group therapy meeting dubbed Psychos Anonymous. Six masked murderers attend the meeting but one of them is not there to be counseled.  So much passion and psychoses, murder and manslaughter. Whether physical or mental, the mayhem barely stops to take a breath. I am an old, retired guy and must be getting soft. I normally read in the evening, but I had to read this book in the mornings; it was giving me nightmares and disturbing my sleep. This book really drew me in quite deep. This is not just guts and gore; this book is quite well written. The main characters are fully developed and have serious struggles, some of them are in a lot of emotional pain. Some don’t handle the pain very well. Do any of us? The settings are pretty good, and the dialogue is excellent. The action is gruesome enough for serious fans of the genre. The squeamish might want to avoid the worst parts. I award 4.7 stars to “Psychos Anonymous”.  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Psychos-Anonymous-Killer-Network-trilogy-book-1 https://www.goodreads.com/-psychos-anonymous https://www.amazon.co.uk/Psychos-Anonymous-Killer-Network-trilogy-book-1 You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/WordsOfCedrick WordsofCedrick.com https://www.instagram.com/wordsofcedrick Copyright © 2021 Mark L. Schultz, except for the author’s introduction 2000 Years of Idiocy from Nero to Trump Multi-volume author, Adam Powell introduces us to his latest book, “More of History’s Worst”: Idiocy is the best form of comedy, and there is an inexhaustible supply. MORE OF HISTORY’S WORST: 2000 Years of Idiocy from Nero to Trump celebrates the mad, bad, and just plain mediocre. Generals are more dangerous to their own side, monarchs too looney to be let out of the palace, and politicians who make you weep for democracy. There have been plenty of “best ofs,” but MORE OF HISTORY’S WORST deals with the biggest butchers and buffoons from the ancient world to the bloodstained twentieth century—from the king who thought he was made of glass to the exploding dog regiment. Funny and provocative, this is the stuff you never learned in class. Not so funny to many, the fact that the United States is now pitied in some other countries because of Trump rather than admired, his character (or lack of character) is exemplified in the many quotes President Trump has said.  I love history, I love trivia, unusual and little-known facts, and I love to laugh. This book has it all! Most of what is in this book is downright funny, some of it is sad also. A little bit is somewhat gruesome, but not too bad. There are quotes and quotable events, all the worst of so many categories beyond political and military misadventures. There really is something for everyone. The worst sports and foods ever invented by human beings. Some of these staggers the imagination. I couldn’t invent most of this stuff. Could you? I award 4.6 stars to “More of History’s Worst”.  You can buy this book:
https://rdrpublishers.com/historys-worst-2000-years-of-idiocy-by-adam-powell https://www.amazon.com/Historys-Worst-2000-Years-Idiocy-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-history-s-worst You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/Adam0Powell https://powelladam0.wixsite.com/historysworst https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-powell https://www.facebook.com/adam.powell Copyright © 2021 Mark L. Schultz, except for the author’s introduction Multi-volume author, A. E. Faulkner introduces us to her third book in the Nature’s Fury series, “Devastation Erupts”: I’ve finally got my sister back. Now, if we can just catch up with our friends and find a way home...it’s only 300 miles away. When we’re offered a deal that seems to include everything we need to get home, the only choice is to accept. Never mind that the cost is our silence, along with taking a slight excursion along the way. The clock is ticking and we’re sworn to secrecy. Can we reach home in time and keep our promises? The road ahead is nowhere near easy. Tag along with Quinn and Riley as they attempt to reach their safe haven before Devastation Erupts.  This third volume is a great extension of this series. These characters have their highs and lows, wins and losses. The losses are bigger and hit more often than the wins, unfortunately for them. The sisters are finally reunited and very happily so. They barely have a chance to catch up before yet another problem appears. The author has done a good job of preserving the first-person point of view for Quinn. I love the intimacy that it brings to the story. No head hopping here, the author is quite expert at maintaining the purity. The author has also kept a certain amount of humor in the story as well, which is good; otherwise, it might be too depressing. Seriously, everything that can possibly go wrong does. About the only thing that hasn’t happened yet is being savaged by a pack of raging Chihuahuas. The dialogue is good, the action is almost non-stop, POV is held quite well, descriptions are just right and scene setting is excellent. You are going to love this book! I award 4.9 stars to “Devastation Erupts”.  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Devastation-Erupts-Natures-Fury-Book https://www.goodreads.com/-devastation-erupts https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/devastation-erupts-a-e-faulkner You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/AuthAEFaulkner http://authoraefaulkner.com https://www.facebook.com/authaefaulkner https://www.instagram.com/authoraefaulkner https://www.tiktok.com/@authoraefaulkner I have reviewed the first book in the series also: https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/darkness-falls Tags: Dystopian, fiction, coming of age, science fiction, YA, climate, catastrophe, family, relationship Copyright © 2021 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction Debut author, Timothy W. Sparks introduces us to his anthology of horror and science fiction, “Pipe Dreams and Nightmares”: Pipe Dreams and Nightmares explores the strange and impossible through stories of science fiction and paranormal. In one weird new world after another, Sparks lights up the page with chilling tales of death, hopeful stories of the afterlife, and strange accounts of the extraterrestrial. Be prepared for anything in the twist endings and surprising solutions to the unprecedented problems these characters face. From men pregnant by aliens to sentient invasive weeds to corporate manipulation in the outer space junk-collecting business, life is normal until it’s not and then what do you do? Table of Contents: Caged The Culling Cheaters Due Murder Me Please Mausoleum Madness The Ghost and His Dead Dog The Misadventure of Toby Spencer My Uncle’s Dog is a Dragon Space Junk Jockeys My Calamity The Heathen Weightless Weeds  There are some great stories here. I think most, if not all, could be expanded into a book, a good book. I like the author’s writing style quite a bit. It is quite down to earth and realistic. I think my favorite story is The Ghost and His Dog. I was in the military a long time ago and we had a German Shepherd as a family dog. He was dumb as a rock, but we loved him. Don’t ask me to choose my least favorite story. I can’t do it. Each story is so good on its own merit. Cheaters Due gives a chilling new meaning to close encounters. I award 4.9 stars to Pipe Dreams and Nightmares.  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Pipe-Dreams-Nightmares-Short-Stories-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-pipe-dreams-and-nightmares https://www.barnesandnoble.com/pipe-dreams-and-nightmares-timothy-w-sparks It is also available on many other fine platforms. You can follow the author: https://twitter.com/Timothy65447327 https://www.facebook.com/timothy.sparks.16 Copyright © 2021 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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