John Staughton, Senior Reviewer | Self-Publishing Review

Mirror of Reality by Alexander Schmid

A sprawling fantasy world of magic, mana, mystery, and mythology, Mirror of Reality by Alexander Schmid is a sword and sorcery adventure like few others. Pulling from myriad sources of legend and lore, along with original godheads, alternate universes, and super-powered technologies, this epic quest to save the Empire of Geb is a nonstop ride. The breakneck pace and action-packed sequences would be far more impactful after a heavy edit to the writing, as grammatical errors, run-on sentences, repetitive prose, cliche, and idiomatic language, inconsistent formatting, and lack of essential exposition all make the reading experience challenging, but the story […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-03-09T06:42:42+02:00March 8th, 2022|Categories: Editorial Reviews|

Zeno’s Last Grain by Jay Gaskell

A comical spree of interstellar hijinks with genocidal stakes, Zeno’s Last Grain by Jay Gaskell is a wonderfully weird launchpad for the out-of-this-world Galaxy Marshals series. Spilling onto the page in a manic flood of sci-fi action, dumb luck, and unwarranted moxie, these are the misadventures of Jon Simmons, interstellar delivery man, as he rampages through space to clean up an epic mess of his own creation. The writing has as many plot holes as wormholes, the characters are goofy, and the prose would benefit from a merciless edit, but the endless stream of near-misses and sharply clever comebacks makes […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-03-08T09:50:30+02:00March 8th, 2022|Categories: Editorial Reviews|

Review: The Nosferatu Conspiracy: The Sommelier by Brian James Gage

The Nosferatu Conspiracy: The Sommelier by Brian James Gage

Author Brian James Gage pulls back the curtain on another sinister installment of historical horror with The Nosferatu Conspiracy: Book Two, The Sommelier.

Haunted by the specter of Franz Ferdinand, whom he set up for assassination, Kaiser Wilhelm II continues his mad military quest across Europe, desperately seeking the mysterious substance that will grant him and his wife immortality. The first step of the Nosferatu operation hadn’t gone exactly according to plan, although eliminating the Romanov family and destabilizing Russia did have its benefits.

The second objective of Prussia’s ultimate scheme is still within reach, somewhere in Paris, but seizing […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-03-29T08:17:59+02:00March 8th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fantasy Book Reviews, Horror Book Reviews, Vampires Book Reviews|

Review: The Frog Hunter by TB Stamper

The Frog Hunter by TB Stamper

Author TB Stamper launches a searing blast of wartime memory in The Frog Hunter: A Story About the Vietnam War, an Inkblot Test and a Girl, a relentless memoir of Vietnam and the aftermath it wreaked for those soldiers who managed to come home.

From the author’s very first steps into the unknown, the story is engrossing and immersive, plunging readers into the swampy murk of Vietnam, along with all its unknown horrors, both physical and psychological. This memoir is also revelatory on a personal level, revealing Stamper in his pre-war state of mind – a clever rascal and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-03-29T02:07:57+02:00March 7th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Military Book Reviews|

Review: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Elections by Lois Ann Nicolai

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Elections by Lois Ann Nicolai

Lois Ann Nicolai dives into another fascinating chapter of her own life in Ordinary People, Extraordinary Elections: A Memoir of International Democracy Builders, an insightful and passionately penned memoir.

Reflecting on political subjects and personal experiences that are both timely and timeless, readers are given a behind-the-scenes view into the nuances of contentious elections and culture in a myriad of countries, across Bosnia, Croatia, Sarajevo, Macedonia, Georgia, Kosovo, and more. This may not sound like a suspense-filled premise for a memoir, but given the particular locations and high-stakes geopolitical contexts of the author’s travels, many of the anecdotes are […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-03-25T10:23:22+02:00March 3rd, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Politics Book Reviews|

Review: The Spawn of Spiracy by Jesse Nolan Bailey

The Spawn of Spiracy by Jesse Nolan Bailey

Jesse Nolan Bailey unveils another epic journey in The Spawn of Spiracy, the second installment of his Disaster of Dokojin series, a high fantasy of the highest order.

After narrowly avoiding defeat in Book 1, the Sachem’s plans to turn on the Decayer Device and summon Spiracy remain alive. The dokojin in disguise has the Stone of Elation and is threatening to merge the realms, which would release untold darkness across the Unified Tribes. In the face of impending devastation, Jalice still believes she can heal the Sachem of his afflicted mind, but success may just cost her […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-03-25T05:51:15+02:00February 28th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: Utopia? by R.A. Rowlingson

Utopia? by R.A. Rowlingson

Author R.A. Rowlingson launches readers into an eerily familiar dystopian world with Utopia? The titular megacity may be a last bastion of humanity bulging behind massive walls, but there are dangerous powers growing both within and without, in this sinister work of speculative fiction.

The masses of the Commune outside the walls are beginning to realize that fighting amongst themselves isn’t the way forward, while the political stability within Utopia is being offered up to the highest bidder. In a shifting landscape of power brokers, blackmailers, and infiltrators, the smoking man and the pixelated man villainously vie for control of […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-03-24T05:37:40+02:00February 25th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Dystopian Fiction Book Reviews, Speculative Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Voice in My Head is an A**hole by Darryl Blake

The Voice in My Head is an Asshole by Darryl Blake

Author Darryl Blake offers raw words of wisdom on our lifelong inner conversation in The Voice in My Head is an Asshole: How to Tame Your Inner Critic. Utilizing personal anecdotes along with research in the realm of psychology and neuroscience, this tongue-in-cheek guru delivers a matter-of-fact masterclass on mastering your own mind.

The title of this book may come off as aggressive, but it reflects the dangerous and widespread condition of negative self-talk and a lack of self-love in the modern world. Current events seem to be perennially overwhelming, and after two years of a pandemic, increasing climate […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-03-17T07:51:46+02:00February 24th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Self-Help Book Reviews|