Henry Baum | Self-Publishing Review

Puzzle Trees by Thom Mark Shepard

Puzzle Trees by Thom Mark Shepard is an entertaining coming of age novel with a bit of horror thrown into the mix. Joe Sheffield is an awkward but thoughtful high school freshman whose best friends move away. Entering high school is hard enough without having to tackle it alone. Joe begins looking for the principal’s missing cats in the area of the “puzzle trees,” a forbidding forest where it’s thought to be the home of strange aggressive primates. Along with his equally-tormented brother, Joe sets out to find the missing cats and locate the mysterious denizens of the Puzzle Trees, […]

Henry Baum2019-01-22T11:01:34+02:00July 2nd, 2015|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Middle Grade Fiction Book Reviews, Young Adult Book Reviews|

An Interview with Author Thomas Drago

Tell us something about your book. The basics: what’s it about?
Queensboro is the follow-up novel to Crow Creek. The story follows the search for a missing girl and ends with a biological experiment gone wrong.

How did you come to self-publish? Did you try to get published traditionally?
Since I self-published Crow Creek, I figured I’d do the same with my second book. I queried a couple of publishers and a few agents this time around. I didn’t pitch the complete novel until after I had already self-published.

What self-publishing service did you use? Happy with the […]

Henry Baum2015-07-01T12:10:20+02:00July 1st, 2015|Categories: Interviews|

Review: Face of Our Father by G. Egore Pitir

★★★★½ Face of Our Father

Face of Our Father by G. Egore Pitir is an exciting new entry into the burgeoning terrorist thriller genre. There’s a growing list of novels centered around the Middle East, so it’s tough to stand out. Face of Our Father is a unique and compelling addition to the genre, a thriller in which character development is a core part of the story, making it a multi-layered and satisfying read.

Captain Stu Pierce is an aging fighter pilot who’s past his prime though headstrong and principled. His wife, Angie, is still in the thick of it – a lawyer and […]

Henry Baum2016-07-15T11:19:51+02:00June 26th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: International Thriller Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Afterlife by Tim Gurung ★★★★

Afterlife Afterlife by Tim Gurung follows Enos Bronte as he travels through the hereafter meeting many challenges along the way. He battles loneliness, isolation, barren landscapes, trapped souls, and other dark and disturbing visions as he attempts to navigate this difficult wilderness. Ultimately, the journey is worth it. Enos hasn’t been trapped in hell, he must fight his way through this otherwordly landscape to reach safety and redemption.

This is not a traditional view of the afterlife, and it’s more a reflection of Eastern mysticism than Western depictions of heaven and hell. At the same time, Gurung covers most of the […]

Henry Baum2017-03-24T10:24:29+02:00June 22nd, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews|

Thought Shredder by Chris Elliot

Thought Shredder Thought Shredder by Chris Elliot is a powerful and unflinching look at Elliot’s damaged relationship with his father and how that has affected his behavior throughout his life. Far from this being a story about one man’s problems, Elliot’s story could apply to anyone, as everyone has at least some problems with their upbringing, no matter how idyllic their childhood. That Elliot’s childhood was horrific at the hands of an abusive parent makes his book all the more effective, albeit a difficult read. It’s raw and unnerving, but make no mistake: this is core to what makes the book so […]

Henry Baum2015-06-15T03:11:52+02:00June 15th, 2015|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Self-Help Book Reviews|

Please Fall In Love With Me (And Other High School Wishes) by Brandon Alvarado

Please Fall In Love With Me (And Other High School Wishes) Please Fall In Love With Me (And Other High School Wishes) is a refreshingly candid collection of essays, impressively written by an author still in high school. As there are few books for teenagers, by teenagers, the book aims to fill that gap, and does so effectively. Alvarado has an charming and spirited voice, and he’s not afraid to leave everything on the page. At times, the book tends to be a little too loose (stray grammatical errors), but overall it’s a strong and funny collection about trying to fit in and finding your true self.

It’s not an advice […]

Henry Baum2015-06-08T07:46:55+02:00June 8th, 2015|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Essay Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Young Adult Book Reviews|

Review: Spiritualized by Victor Levine ★★★★

Spiritualized is a raucous rock and roll mystery, part of Victor Levine’s Spec Time Trilogy series of books, which follow the exploits of Jon Cells, an aspiring rock star (based on a real person and real musician). Spiritualized acts as a kind of prequel to Vaporized, taking place four years before, over four days in 1978. This novel covers everything from coke deals, to cow mutilations, to New Age Buddhists, to rock stardom, to Hollywood filmmakers, and more in this spirited and literary epic novel.

As in Vaporized, the city is a character all its own. Whereas in […]

Henry Baum2019-01-22T15:46:19+02:00June 2nd, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Men's Fiction Book Reviews, Music Book Reviews|

The Street Called Straight by Elizabeth Polk

The Street Called Straight The Street Called Straight by Elizabeth Polk follows the lives of four snipers caught behind enemy lines by Al Qaeda sympathizers. This is an action packed, character driven piece that is impressively nuanced, given its subject. Given there are four different characters, Polk is able to really spread her wings and explore the Iraq invasion from many different angles: for and against, and somewhere in between. This gives the novel great depth and weight. There are no one-dimensional heroics here, though there is plenty of heroism.