John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

Review: The Humming Blade by Christopher Clark

★★★★

Fantasy readers love the promise of epic battles, inexplicable power, walking corpses, ancient cats, magic swords, and heroes with impossible destinies to discover. All of that and more is on display within the first 15 pages of The Humming Blade, the stunning new novel by Christopher Clark. The author wastes no time sucking readers into his fantastical world, and while the use of a dream sequence to kick off a novel isn’t unique, it certainly works for this book.

Wyatt Arden is an unremarkable kid living in the tiny town of Ven with his mother, working the farm […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-03-01T02:23:08+02:00February 8th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: The Game Changer by Dave Dröge

★★★★ The Game Changer by Dave Dröge

The Game Changer by Dave Dröge is a complex, character-driven portrait of individual revolution. To say this novel is unusual is an understatement, but certainly not a critique. The Game Changer has countless different angles and subplots for readers to devour, ranging from visceral descriptions of Rotterdam to complex familial relationships and tough moral quandaries.

The crux of the novel is the connection between Henk van Wijnen-Swarttouw, prominent businessman and entrepreneur, whose empire stands in stark contrast to his daughter’s progressive outlook on life. Julia is a passionate focal point, freshly graduated from high school, and using her interim […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-10-11T10:53:52+02:00February 3rd, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Don’t Go, Ramanya by Rush Leaming

★★★★½ Don't Go, Ramanya by Rush Leaming

Transporting readers to another world, a different time, or a new way of looking at things is the great task of an author, and in Don’t Go, Ramanya, author Rush Leaming does a marvelous job of doing all three. Packed with vivid descriptions and unique, unforgettable characters, this novel grabs readers within the first few pages.

The story centers on three men, Father Bob, Michael Shaw and Ramanya, an ex-rebel soldier from Burma, as they serendipitously join forces and attempt to smuggle Ramanya back into his home country. This simple premise goes far deeper, as Ramanya is also […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-02-17T04:43:17+02:00February 3rd, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Devil in the Dark by Chris Lindberg

★★★★★ Devil in the Dark by Chris Lindberg

If you’re looking for a relentless, action-packed thriller, Devil in the Dark by Chris Lindberg is the hit you’ve been seeking. This follow-up to the 2011 thriller Code of Darkness brings back the walking natural disaster named Rage, a priceless military asset with more fury and superhuman abilities than any one man should possess.

His new task, now that he has been successfully contained (and medically subdued) by the powers that be, is to end the reign of a vicious Mexican drug lord, Javier Oropeza. After a devastating attack on a key border crossing between the United States and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-02-17T05:37:32+02:00January 31st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: The Book of Moon by George Crowder

★★★★★ The Book of Moon by George Crowder

Cynical adults may often point to the angst of younger generations and claim that they are being overly dramatic, and that they haven’t experienced enough of life to truly know heartbreak or sorrow. However, in The Book of Moon, author George Crowder reminds readers that pain is relative, and the fact that our capacity for sadness grows as we age does not make it any less potent when we are young.

Moon Landing seems like a normal kid growing up in California, but his musings on misfortune parallels to Job, the biblical whipping boy, suggest that he sees […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-02-17T05:37:23+02:00January 31st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Young Adult Book Reviews|

Review: Professor Flintwick’s Dream Machine by Dominic R. Daniels

★★★★ Professor Flintwick's Dream Machine

In Professor Flintwick’s Dream Machine, author Dominic R. Daniels delivers an unforgettable young adult fantasy with the depth of a novel intended for adults. Blending the whimsical impossibility of “Spirited Away” with the pared down, yet surreal style of Murakami, this short book is an adventurous ride that will be difficult to put down.

Yoshi Flintwick, an eccentric inventor and loving grandfather, once built weapons for the government, but is now much more interested in his dream machine – an invention that constructs rather than destroys. When Professor Flintwick has a horrible vision of creatures under the cruel […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-02-17T05:37:14+02:00January 27th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: From Grief to Awakening by Steven Joseph

From Grief to Awakening by Steven Joseph

In From Grief to Awakening, author Steven Joseph explains the complex, personal and spiritual struggles he underwent as he tried to make sense of his ultimate loss – the suicide of his son – but there is far more to the story than that, offering a challenging and enlightening perspective on loss.

Prefaced with his admitted suspicion (years ago) of anyone claiming to have an understanding of life after death, the author begins by expounding his own reticence to accept that there is a way to find peace after tragedy. He recounts his doubts of religion, and the empty […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-02-11T09:51:58+02:00January 25th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Spirituality Book Reviews|

Review: The Oarsman by Zubin Mathai

★★★★★

Many authors attempt to bridge the gap between metaphysical, philosophical and narrative elements, but few succeed as effectively as Zubin Mathai in The Oarsman. This is a novel that stands out of time and space, and brings readers on a surreal journey back up the long river of the Man’s years, a nameless protagonist seeking meaning and validation as he nears the end of his life.

At the behest of the god-like Judge and with the help of the mysterious, titular Oarsman, the Man sails back upstream, through the many different lives he has led, including those abandoned […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-02-17T05:38:24+02:00January 19th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews|