John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

On the hunt for a brutal highwayman and a local scourge, William is a classic anti-hero on horseback in The Western Bounty Hunter by Samuel Ludke, a hugely entertaining classic western. This novella traces an exhilarating chase for justice, but the protagonist’s strict code when it comes to killing makes the story more nuanced and original than you’d expect. With a small cast of supporting allies, including the fiery Mauer, and brief side plots that add emotional depth, this is a compelling tale of morality, self-control, and redemption. Some of the dialogue needs polishing, as the characters are occasionally too […]

Mary Ann V. Mercer, Psy.D delivers an authoritative guidebook for surviving and thriving in Bouncing Back from Difficult Times. This well-researched and data-driven book not only examines contemporary beliefs and science surrounding personality, group dynamics, self-esteem, and mental health, but also humanizes these delicate subjects with a deft narrative pen. The general tips for optimism, and other practical strategies, balance the theoretical and more abstract elements of the book, for a well-balanced overview that reaches far beyond traditional self-help. For those who have suffered difficult times or will in the future – namely, all of us – this book […]

A fierce and confident collection of poetry from the prolific Samuel Ludke, Foreign Currency is a bold compendium of raw, personal verse. Seemingly born for a spoken-word slam, as with Ludke’s other work, these pieces have the flow and attitude of a hip-hop riff, but also the vulnerability of a confessional. Though the form is relatively consistent, the themes bounce from cocky praise of a partner to confused mourning, or from painful personal narrative to deep societal analyses, showing that Ludke’s skill as a wordsmith encompasses both style and scope. A bit more creativity in the imagery would help this […]