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John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

About John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

Providing exceptional writing, editing and publishing services to hundreds of international clients, ranging from nutritional copywriting and long-form ghostwriting to substantive editing, assessment/analysis of academic texts and structural/content editing for bestselling novels.

Review: In the Valley by Jason Lambright

★★★★½ In the Valley by Jason Lambright

In the Valley by Jason Lambright is a sci-fi military adventure that hits close to home.

It’s 2333, and Captain Paul Thompson faces terrorism in the Baradna Valley far from home on the planet Juneau 3. The crazy men he serves with in his battalion are wild and brutal – will he manage to hang onto his mind while fighting the enemy, and his companions?

The premise of this future world is unraveled slowly, allowing new tech and post-Earth jargon to slowly become natural and accepted by readers, making the premise far more accessible and enjoyable. Many futuristic or […]

2020-02-21T06:19:01+02:00April 28th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |
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Review: Daddy Dearest by Paul Southern

★★★★★ Daddy Dearest by Paul Southern

Daddy Dearest by Paul Southern is a sinister thriller with countless twists.

By the time you finish reading Daddy Dearest, you’ll have shivers down your spine and a new appreciation for the dark depths through which an author can drag you. This chilling novel tells the story of a father who is far more than he seems, and the sinister series of events that end up forever changing his life – and the life of his young daughter.

From the outset of this endlessly twisted story, it’s clear that the authorial voice is a unique one, and the […]

2016-06-02T04:55:22+02:00April 27th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |
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Review: Abednego by Devanye Hansen

★★★★ Abednego by Devanye Hansen

Abednego: Book 1 of the Guardians Series by Devanye Hansen is a mythical adventure through forbidden love and the unseen world around us.

The fascinating world of Abednego centers on the drama of the Pegasi, Fae, Guardians, Hunters and keepers engaged in an otherworldly power struggle. This novel is an ambitious and exhilarating ride through a fantastic new realm, replete with action, romance, mind reading, betrayal, suspense, and a fair dose of humor. The depth and complexity of the story is impressive, and the author, Devanye Hansen, has an obvious talent for world building within her deep well of […]

2016-04-25T10:20:23+02:00April 25th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |
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Review: Parched by Andrew C. Branham

Parched by Andrew Branham

Parched by Andrew C. Branham is about one family’s desperate struggle for survival in a sun-blasted future.

The opening scene of Parched largely sets the tone for the remainder of the book – water is incredibly scarce, people are desperately afraid, and the basic foundations of humanity are disappearing. This post-apocalyptic novel by Andrew Branham is set in a future Earth where the sun has swollen to a red giant, wreaking havoc on the planet’s geography, drying up the water, and baking the human species to the edge of extinction.

As is the case in many apocalyptic novels, movies, or […]

2019-02-11T07:01:47+02:00April 25th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |
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Review: God in My Head by Josh Grisetti

God in My Head by Josh Grisetti

God in My Head by Josh Grisetti is an honest and occasionally irreverent look at religion and the existence of God.

There has been a growing market for “spiritual tourism” books in recent years, particularly as religion once again comes to the forefront of our political and cultural attention. God in My Head, an unexpectedly poignant memoir from Josh Grisetti, doesn’t follow the traditional pattern. Rather than buttressing and confirming what many people already believe about religion and the existence of God, Grisetti recounts his bizarre story with a number of controversial elements, a fair bit of humor, and […]

2019-02-11T09:43:45+02:00April 14th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , |
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Review: The Stratosphere: The Birth of Nostradamus by Brian Cox

★★★★ The Stratosphere: The Birth of Nostradamus by Brian Cox

The Stratosphere: The Birth of Nostradamus by Brian Cox is a complex sci-fi epic depicting a chilling future.

In The Stratosphere, readers are welcomed into a bleak and dangerous future where humanity’s desire for an alternate reality has led to the complete demise of organized society. The book taps directly into recent growing fears regarding technology’s rampant rise by depicting our corrupted world far in the future, turning our modern molehill anxieties into futuristic mountains of prophetic prose.

The Stratosphere is an alternate reality platform where people can live out their every fantasy, be whoever they want, become […]

2020-02-21T06:40:03+02:00April 8th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |
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Review: Smart by Joel Mentmore

★★★★ Smart by Joel Mentmore

Smart by Joel Mentmore provides a tangled knot of conspiracy, technology and corporate intrigue.

Armed with a bizarre cast of characters and a twisted knot of a plot, Smart definitely lives up to its name. While there were a few weak points and the occasional stumble in continuity, the rabbit hole of this strange narrative is too fascinating to avoid. The ambitiously complex plot, full of shadowy goons, threatening government agents, artificially intelligent (homicidal?) technology and backdoor business interests, is the strong foundation of this truly riveting and prescient ride.

Jon has gone missing, his sister Jac is on […]

2020-02-21T06:40:10+02:00April 6th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |
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Review: Tangled Shadows by Xavier Richards

★★★ Tangled Shadows

Tangled Shadows by Xavier Richards is a dark, brutal, and self-reflective novel of modern life.

For readers seeking a painstakingly honest, post-modern crawl through the life and times of a nearly lost soul, Tangled Shadows is an excellent choice. However, for those expecting a traditional narrative with peaks, valleys, growth, and a satisfying conclusion, it might be best to look elsewhere. Xavier Richards delivers a probing and thought-provoking look into a listless and seemingly depressed man, Alex, who is caught in the sludge of Chicago’s millennial class – broke, alone, uncertain of the future, and relatively certain that he […]

2016-04-11T04:18:27+02:00April 5th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |
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