Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: American Stew: Hope in a Toxic Culture by Stephen James

American Stew: Hope in a Toxic Culture

American Stew by Stephen James is a portrait of America that’s at once hopeless and full of promise. Chapter by chapter James attempts to diagnose America’s problems on a cultural level – sociological, psychological, and anthropological – rather than dealing with policy. The picture he paints is not a pretty one. Though America is oftentimes called “The best country in the world,” this is something of a misnomer, given where America ranks in satisfaction on a number of different fronts. It’s not so much a pessimistic outlook, as realistic, revealing a number of hard truths about what is and isn’t […]

Henry Baum2019-02-11T09:38:15+02:00February 9th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Politics Book Reviews|

Review: Handy Andy Saves the World by E.J. Altbacker

★★★★½

Handy Andy Saves the World by E.J. Altbacker is about handyman Andy who saves the Earth from a marauding band of aliens. Considered the “best” handyman, according to what’s written on the side of his truck, the aliens beam him up to fix their broken spaceship. The aliens say they they’re there to make “peace,” but it turns out “peace” means killing everything, not to mention kidnapping his family to be put in a zoo, and Handy Andy must use his handyman powers, limited as they are, to defeat the aliens and save everyone.

This is a professional book […]

Henry Baum2016-03-04T03:42:21+02:00February 9th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Children's Book Reviews, Middle Grade Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Missing by Peggy M. McAloon & Anneka Rogers

★★★★½

Elle Burton is a fairly normal girl in most respects. Ordinary, but extraordinary enough to catch the eye of the fairy-like creatures of the Fiori, who charge her with the protection of the Earth. She’s been successful in doing so so far, even if her mother is displeased at her regular disappearances. The problem is, this time it’s her brother who’s disappeared, and it’s up to Elle to find him and bring him back. With the help of Fiori, Elle’s about to go on an adventure to save her little brother in Missing, the second book in the […]

James Grimsby2016-03-04T03:42:48+02:00February 9th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: Stealing from Isis by Erik Mackenzie

★★★½ Stealing from Isis by Erik Mackenzie

Erik Mackenzie’s fictional short story Stealing from Isis tells of ex-SAS Brit Richard’s adventure in wartorn Northern Iraq. He is hired to locate ancient Persian treasures that have been hidden underground for over a thousand years. His mission takes him deep into ISIS territory, using his drone ‘Hornet’ to recover the treasure and keep it safe. Richard, a self proclaimed ‘action junkie,’ is aided by French comrade Charles, and the Kurdish warriors Diyako and his daughter Jiyan. But the mission is not all it seems, and they are double-crossed.

The story gets off to an interesting start – the […]

Helen Chenaf2016-03-04T03:43:16+02:00February 8th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Short Stories Book Reviews|

Review: Dark Horde Rising by Iain Hope

★★★★½

Content warning for some sexual and violent content.

Stories tell of the Elders, the powerful races of the northern lands who held fast and prospered. A thousand years have passed since they disappeared, and it has come time for mankind to leave the sanctity of their known settlements and strike out into the inhospitable world beyond, and the forgotten powers that lay sleeping. As one man’s lust for power ushers him into places best left undisturbed, a group of somewhat unlikely friends take to the roads of adventure, seeking riches, knowledge, forgiveness, stories, and revenge. Little do they know […]

James Grimsby2016-03-04T03:43:53+02:00February 5th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: Reason for Existence by Richard Botelho ★★★★★

The people of this land are a strange people, yet they possess a perseverance all their own, a perseverance like the hills themselves, unflagging and contrary to the evidence clearly in plain view.

Reason for Existence by Richard Botelho is an exciting sci-fi thriller that leaves a lasting impression.

When David Jordan, an extraterrestrial human in appearance, agrees to help U. N. Secretary General Nicholas Straka resolve an escalating nuclear crisis, he also learns he must defuse a horrifying plot to exterminate humanity by a hostile race of beings who despise human culture. In Reason for Existence, David Jordan […]

T B Markinson2016-02-21T07:11:06+02:00February 5th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Tricaillin by Steve Galley

Content warning for some violent and sexual content/nudity.

Tricaillin is a new graphic novel from Steve Galley, set in a post-apocalyptic society dominated by industrial overlords and torn apart by the horrors that sprung from an old war. A secret society works tirelessly for freedom, and they require help from beyond the pale to win it; meanwhile, a mysterious woman makes her way to answer the call. She must defend and assist the downtrodden and fend off the sterile tyranny of Fivecorp, all to cleanse her soul. The strange and the powerful must fight for their own ideas of order, […]

James Grimsby2020-02-21T06:32:02+02:00February 4th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Apocalyptic Fiction Book Reviews, Comics & Graphic Novels Reviews, Post-Apocalyptic Book Reviews|

Review: Stripping Down to the Bones by Merry Clark ★★★★

Stripping Down to the Bones by Merry Clark

Either you get a job, get married, and have kids, or you go to Hollywood. Or you join a cult. It appears there really aren’t that many options in life after all.

Stripping Down to the Bones: A Memoir by Merry Clark is an honest, engaging, funny, and heartfelt read.

This memoir is about a woman who grows up in the Midwest. She’s attractive, educated, funny, and caring, but she can’t seem to find her place in life. Her story takes place at the University of Michigan, Colorado, Los Angeles, and the backwoods in Michigan. During the course of the […]

T B Markinson2016-02-10T10:34:44+02:00February 3rd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|