John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

An exploration of faith, independence, temptation, and purpose, He Should Know by Mike Greene is an affecting novel about growing up, showing up, and standing up for what you believe in. As Kevin moves through the world, he must balance his unique relationship with God and his desire to connect meaningfully with the people in his life. While the powerful messages of unity and personal fortitude behind the story are clear, the execution of the prose has a number of issues, including grammatical, syntactical, and spelling errors. Additionally, the writing style is flatly declarative and the heavy-handed dialogue lacks compelling […]

Tapping into the grim recesses of human nature and imagining what new shadows the future might hold, Computer Love: A Digital Anthology by Ricardo Pierre-Louis is an unsettling but deeply affecting collection of stories. In an age of increasing disconnection as humans face a global existential crisis, Pierre-Louis asks difficult questions about morality, progress, responsibility, resilience, and love through this collection of powerful tales. The stories are subtle and fearless, gritty and clever, ranging from flash fiction to character-driven drama, parodies of capitalism, and intimate portraits of sorrow. There is some room for technical improvement in the prose, or further […]

Whimsically blending Regency style with a touch of the fairy tale, My Cousin Darcy by Robin Elizabeth Kobayashi is a smart, fun, and creative installment of her Sofia-Elisabete Stories, which reimagines characters from Pride and Prejudice. The historical dialogue, cultural touchpoints, and deep dive into the sporting side of British life suggest significant research by this detail-oriented author, along with skillfully balancing social intrigue, romance, and relatable vulnerability. Moreover, the writing contains beautifully woven allegories that bind the rich and descriptive prose with layers of meaning. Building on Austen’s storied protagonist, Kobayashi imbues this inventive series with authenticity, […]

A dark and spiraling mystery that probes into human nature, violence, and the supernatural, The Hook by James Pack is an original, dialogue-driven thriller. Searching for his mysteriously vanished wife after returning from his tour of duty as a Navy medic in Vietnam, Earnest Kemp is a determined and increasingly desperate man. His arrival in small-town Maine coincides with a bizarre and brutal murder, but he shakes off suspicions as he becomes enmeshed in the investigation, praying that it will lead him to his wife and child. Penned with a gritty grace that blurs the line between reality and something […]

Author Sheldon Greene pulls readers into a post-collapse prophecy of America with his stark and cautionary novel, After the Parch. Half a century in the future, the United States has dissolved and resilient pioneers of the ensuing chaos seek little more than stability and safety in a dry and burned-out world, as a young man journeys through California to secure land and hope for the future of his small clan of survivors in the face of perpetual environmental exploitation. Bran’s wide-eyed wonder at the dangerous world before him gives this dystopian slice of on-the-road storytelling an original and authentic […]