John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

Review: Soul Census by AJ Vega

★★★★ Soul Census by AJ Vega

Finding purpose after a life-changing event is something to which all readers can relate, and such is the fate of WWI veteran Willem Maddock, feeling the sense of despondency and alienation following the impossible tragedy of war. However, in Soul Census, written by AJ Vega, the story delves much deeper than a standard novel about post-war America. Instead, it penetrates the veil between mortality and spirituality, hinting at a form of existence that doesn’t end, but simply transcends.

Returning to find a cold world that doesn’t worship the right heroes, the tone is set for Maddock to be granted […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-22T15:17:08+02:00January 8th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Visionary Fiction Book Reviews|

Budland by Tom Kranz

While there is typically nothing funny about murder, author Tom Kranz manages to draw out more than a few smiles in his new novel Budland. The protagonist and a professional smart aleck, Bud Remmick, finds himself in jail after killing his intolerable boss, and he doesn’t seem to regret the choice in the least. The novel skips back and forth between life behind bars and the life Bud left behind, giving readers a better picture of why a seemingly smart and driven man would throw his freedom away for a single act of reckoning.

Bud is a fascinating character […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-12-07T10:12:54+02:00January 2nd, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Serendipity by Thomas J. Thorson

The big picture that we’re taught in school is rarely the completely accurate picture, and curiosity can bring you down some fascinating and unforgettable rabbit holes. In Serendipity: Seemingly Random Events, Insignificant Decisions, and Accidental Discoveries that Altered History by Thomas J. Thorson, readers are welcomed into a long and disparate list of historical tales that exemplify the uncertainty of life, and the unbelievable ways that luck has influenced our common existence.

The book is a series of stories about well-known historical events and figures, but these are stories that few have ever heard before. Did you know that Handel, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-12-22T03:32:20+02:00December 18th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: History Book Reviews, Social Science Book Reviews|

Review: The Last of the Sages (The Sage Saga Book 1) by Julius St. Clair

★★★

When the world is threatened by the sinister forces of evil, heroes always rise from unexpected places. In The Last of the Sages, the first book of the epic Sage Saga by Julius St. Clair, readers are pulled into the mystical world of Allay, where magic and danger are everywhere, and where the life of young James is about to change forever.

After being told by his father that he is being sent to the Sentinel Academy – the mysterious training center that shapes young men of the kingdom into warriors – he decides to run away, but […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-01-31T10:05:59+02:00December 18th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: HARDBARNED! by Christopher J. Driver

In Hardbarned!: One Man’s Quest for Meaningful Work in the American South, an amusing and insightful memoir by Christopher J. Driver, readers are invited to commiserate with a hardworking American in a tough world, trying to pursue the happiness of writing over potential riches doing anything else.

Before this book was born, Driver spent years staring down some of the hardest questions of the last generation, namely: What am I supposed to do with this degree? What do I want to do with my life? Am I ever going to find a job that makes me happy? While these […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-02-11T09:36:08+02:00December 14th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews|

Terror by Eamonn Hickson

Author Eamonn Hickson brings the fascinating, dingy, and complex streets of Boston alive in his new novel Terror, a probing novel of survival in the modern world.

In the uncertainty of a post-9/11 America, issues of patriotism and racism mesh every day with issues of unemployment, poverty, and rising crime rates. In the harsh streets of Boston, the eternal struggle between money, power, and influence are displayed in a microcosmic story that is beautifully told. Seemingly disparate characters come together and begin to overlap – from would-be bank robbers to dishonored heroes – which packs this urban tale with intention […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-07-05T09:53:15+02:00December 7th, 2017|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Terrorist Thriller Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Sundown by Carl H. Mitchell

★★★★½

When the world stops working and the oil runs out, no one is exactly sure what sort of chaos will unfold, but author Carl H. Mitchell has a pretty good idea. Sundown: Engineering Gives the Devil a Sunburn is an ambitious and entertaining peek into what lies ahead for the world. A corrupt Supreme Leader is pulling the world’s strings in dangerous directions, the fabric of American democracy has crumbled, and survival is becoming more important than maintaining any semblance of society.

The novel begins with a bang – or rather a strangle – of the vice president of […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-06-14T04:56:07+02:00December 6th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Speculative Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Soul’s Fury by Sattar Memon

★★★★

Blending spirituality, philosophy, suspense and engaging literature can be a tricky challenge for some authors, as it can lean too far in either direction – pedantic prose to promote a belief system or a convoluted narrative that doesn’t espouse a clear message. However, in Sattar Memon’s second novel, Soul’s Fury, the balance is surprisingly well done.

While the author has written a number of books in the past, the majority of these have been directly related to spirituality, healing through faith, or other alternative philosophies. That being said, his 2012 book The Ashram was another fictional narrative and […]