John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

Shemar Frazier delivers a grim but entertaining vision of our future in Revolution: The New World. Humanity, friendship, and trust are the last bastions of hope for a doomed and undead world where survival is threatened on all sides. Boasting an eclectic cast of young heroes, as well as a sprawling sci-fi premise with zombies, spaceships, and plot twists galore, this is pulp fiction at its finest. The writing is undeniably rough around the edges, and the time-jumping plot can be jarring, so there is a serious need for a thorough edit. However, the story also has plenty of […]

A rookie ATF agent and a ruthless mercenary who was “born without brakes” team up to unravel a deep and deadly mystery in Black Rifle by Alex Davidson. This jaw-dropping novel could only be set in America, and takes steady aim at the national obsession with firearms, as well as the battle over gun rights. Through a twisted, transcontinental plot and a mismatched pair of protagonists carrying their own concealed secrets, this novel is riveting and unrelenting. With rapid-fire dialogue, larger-than-life characters, and a sinister but believable conspiracy, Black Rifle hits the mark as a high-powered thriller with some trenchant […]

Ray Keating takes a new angle on his long-time hero in Past Lives, the latest installment of the Pastor Stephen Grant series. A mysterious enemy from the past comes back to haunt the warrior priest in this uniquely styled first-person story. As the clues mount, so does the body count, giving Grant yet another baffling and high-stakes case to unravel. This quick read is an enjoyable diversion from Keating’s normal narrative style, but it often feels rushed, and the diary structure has limitations, making the prose inconsistent when it leans towards more traditional storytelling. That said, this condensed mystery […]