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: 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: |

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 […]

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 […]

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: |

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: |

Review: Coinman by Pawan Mishra

★★★★ Coinman by Pawan Mishra

Coinman: An Untold Conspiracy by Pawan Mishra is a quirky, heartfelt novel about finding your identity – and keeping it.

The search for personal fulfillment is a lifelong journey for most, and along the way, it is necessary to establish the identity you want, the work you cherish, the people you respect, and the love you deserve. In Pawan Mishra’s oddly charming novel, readers are welcomed into the strangely neurotic, passionate, and unfulfilled existence of Coinman, a simple office worker with a jangling passion for coins.

The title of the book suggests this slightly odd premise, but the majority […]

2016-04-15T02:29:44+02:00March 31st, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: The Empty One (The Fallen Conviction Book 1) by Matthew Stanley

★★★★½ (The Fallen Conviction, #1)

The Empty One by Matthew Stanley is an epic, fantastic tale in a very unique form.

Combining religious philosophy, vivid battle scenes, biblical undertones, political and social commentary, and incredible magical forces, The Empty One is much more than your typical fantasy. The plot base of Matthew Stanley’s story is the tale of two warring superpowers – one dedicated to mystical belief, the other to social order – but this epic story comes with a major twist. The entire text is presented in verse form, making it a highly unique reading experience, supported by a fascinating (albeit convoluted) plot […]

2016-04-07T06:58:03+02:00March 28th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: Phantom: Birth of an Arc by Gabriel Common and Christy Lea Wilkerson

★★★★½ Phantom: Birth of an Arc

Phantom: Birth of an Arc portrays the endless battle between good and evil in an incredible space adventure.

From the very first scene of the book, the fantasy aspect of this novel is clear, as Angels and Seraphim debate the fate of two half-mortal children borne of an Angel’s lust for a human. One of the children, Raven, was raised as an Arc, while Traiven was sent to grow up in rural Louisiana. However, it doesn’t take long for these two worlds to collide. Traiven’s small-town life is turned upside down when Shawn, a soldier in Heaven’s army, informs […]

2016-04-07T07:07:47+02:00March 25th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |
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