John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

Review: Miguel Traveler: The Man from Texas by Daniel McFatter

Navigating the modern world is hard enough, but waking up and finding yourself in a bizarre and unforgiving future is a much greater challenge. In Miguel Traveler: The Man From Texas, author Daniel McFatter ambitiously takes readers into the future – a vision where society as we know it has broken down, the wasteland has overtaken the promised land, and survival is not promised to anyone.

When the Woman in Black wakes Miguel from his stasis slumber, he embarks on a journey to discover his own purpose – why was he put in stasis? What happened at the end […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-04-13T13:20:13+02:00April 13th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Western Book Reviews|

Review: Elevator Quest by Emmanuel M Arriaga

Office life is the bane of many existences, and who hasn’t wished for the universe to throw them a magical curveball to save them from boredom? In Elevator Quest, a whimsical and creative novel by Emmanuel M. Arriaga, those wishes for an exciting escape are granted to a ragtag collection of corporate professionals who are transported from an elevator into a completely new and harrowing world.

Within the first few pages, readers are introduced to a dozen people facing the most terrifying experience of their lives – plummeting to their deaths in an elevator failure. However, the book doesn’t […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-02-09T05:24:42+02:00April 12th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: Rise and Run (A Broken Man Novel #1) by RJ Plant

From the first few pages of Operation Rise and Run, readers know they are in for a grim, mysterious, and well-crafted novel. Author RJ Plant has delivered a stunning introduction to her vision of the future, not one of atomic destruction or a zombie apocalypse, but rather a fate that seems disturbingly probable, where science fiction and geopolitical realities have brutally collided.

Following the destructive end to the war on terror, the world has turned a new page, one in which power is more centralized – in the Government Directive International (GDI). The reason this book sends shivers, however, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-06-14T06:44:13+02:00April 3rd, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Paradise Girl by Phill Featherstone

What dark places can a mind go when it is left alone in a world that is falling apart? This is a core question of Paradise Girl, a soulful and innovative work of YA post-apocalyptic fiction by Phill Featherstone.

This work is an intensely personal book detailing the inner thoughts of Kerryl, a young girl who has survived the death of her entire family. As a virus ravages the human population, Kerryl chooses to detail her experiences in what she assumes will be her final days. Written in the form of extended journal entries, diatribes and stream-of-consciousness ranting, this […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-22T05:36:42+02:00April 2nd, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Apocalyptic Fiction Book Reviews, Post-Apocalyptic Book Reviews, Young Adult Book Reviews|

Review: The Rising (The End Time Saga Book 3) by Daniel Greene

This third installment of Daniel Greene’s End Time Saga pushes the envelope even further in its post-apocalyptic hellscape, making The Rising one novel you should not miss, whether you’re new to the series, or you’ve been along for the ride in this oddly addictive work of zombie fiction.

The survivors from the first two books are still plowing through their harrowing missions, fending off the living dead and fighting for a cure. The virus that threatens the planet has laid waste to society and the rule of law has shattered. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and with the ultimate […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-21T09:37:19+02:00March 26th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Horror Book Reviews, Zombie Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Freeze by Ron DeBoer

In The Freeze by Ron DeBoer, readers are given a glimpse not only into the author’s own life, but into a dynamic and challenging period of American history.

In New York City, the late 1950s and 1960s were a time of social revolution, alternative lifestyles, alcohol, drugs, music and cultural change. Growing up in that era, and in that place, represents a seminal experience in American life, and this novel is an evocative portrait of both time and place.

The Dunn family takes center stage in this novel, particularly Kate, an ambitious and bold young girl who doesn’t accept limitations, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-04-13T14:05:32+02:00March 20th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews, Literary Fiction Book Reviews|

The Pinochet Plot by David Myles Robinson

Historical fiction often lends itself to a time that unfamiliar to the modern age. However, when historical fact is blended with modern fiction, as it is in The Pinochet Plot by David Robinson, a truly special book can be born.

With a rich cast of characters embedded within well-researched contexts, this book exceeds its categorization as a thriller and becomes an endlessly fascinating drama. As an ex-lawyer, Robinson imbues Will Munoz with brilliant believability, and the sheer depth of the main character carries this novel through its slower moments.

This novel tackles difficult topics like parental betrayal, suicide, nationalism, corruption, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-11-08T13:24:38+02:00March 19th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: The Separation by Thomas Duffy

The Separation by Thomas Duffy

A striking vision of an extraordinarily strange future, The Separation by Thomas Duffy imagines a world where the sexual divide has never been greater – a world where men and women are unaware of the opposite sex, and kept apart for the purpose of social advancement and peace. With a small but dynamic cast of fascinating characters embroiled in this bizarre premise, this novel sings with social commentary, both about present gender conflicts and how those issues may develop in the future.

Finn is a young man who has only recently learned of the existence of the opposite sex, and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-02-12T10:02:00+02:00March 15th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Dystopian Fiction Book Reviews|