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book reviews |
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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”, the score would have been higher except for the handful of spelling errors I stumbled across. These few errors have been corrected; your reading will be improved.  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
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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”; the score would have been higher except for the handful of spelling errors I found.  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, the score would have been higher except for a small handful of spelling errors.  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
January 2021
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