Book Reviews

The latest indie book reviews from Self-Publishing Review

Review: The Old Way Of Winter (The Nimedian Ways Book 1) by M.P. Goodwin

★★★★½ The Old Way Of Winter (The Nimedian Ways Book 1) by M. P. Goodwin

When House Kérbholán is destroyed, purged by enemies and allies alike, only Kérbholán Néit seems to have escaped with breath in his lungs. Assisted by a scant few trusted friends and holding the lone item left to carry his ancestry, Néit pursues understanding, revenge, and above all, survival in The Old Way of Winter by M. P. Goodwin, Book 1 of The Nimedian Ways.

Firstly, the cover needs mention, as it is subtle and appropriate; the illustration (credited to Louis Lafont) is reminiscent of the covers and images in Tolkien works. The connection is perfectly suitable and the […]

2016-03-04T04:26:25+02:00September 21st, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: Fortune 69 by David Heath ★★★★

Fortune 69 by David HeathContent warning for depictions of suicide and sexual abuse.

On the Internet, there is a website that caters to every depraved and bizarre interest on the planet, mundane or otherwise. Like the Wild West of old, there are no rules, except that you never let what happens there cross into real life. Here on the anonymized “Fortune 69” dot com, reality is just what you make it.

Fortune 69 is David Heath’s debut novel, previously the writing talent behind Bilateral Comics and contributor to several short story anthologies. Heath describes himself as an author of “transgressive fiction,” which is apparent […]

2015-10-06T08:18:24+02:00September 16th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: Lazarus by Roderick Wood

Review: Lazarus by Roderick Wood

Lazarus is the autobiography of Roderick Wood, a fairly typical Englishman spurred into committing his life story to paper after a sudden heart attack in February 2014. This random tragedy had caused him to be declared medically dead for 27 minutes before a successful resuscitation. Following a several-month recovery period from which his family was told he may never function normally again, he defied expectation and found himself back on his feet and full of old memories and new ideas, “activated … from way back”. Both as part of his recovery process, as well as reignited by his experience, the […]

2019-02-11T09:23:23+02:00September 10th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: Doomed Soul: Reflections of a Man Without Faith by Robert Boomsliter ★★★★★

Doomed Soul: Reflections of a Man Without Faith by Robert BoomsliterThe delightful, whimsical cover of this book and tongue-in-cheek cover quote (“I am almost certainly going to end up in Hell”) alerts you right away to the fact that you are getting more—far more—than another of the currently popular anti-religion screeds. Boomsliter has tremendous respect, bordering on hero worship, for Richard Dawkins, Dan Dennett, and Sam Harris. But he wisely takes a slightly different tack in this book. Boomsliter, you see, has a sense of humor (in this he owes more to Christopher Hitchens than the triumvirate mentioned above, although Boomsliter’s wit is just a tad less acerbic than Hitchens’). […]

2015-10-05T03:58:50+02:00September 10th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , , |

Review: Ephialtes by Gavin E. Parker ★★★★

Ephialtes by Gavin E. ParkerIn the middle of the 23rd Century, the foremost military power of Earth – the United States and Nations or “USAN” – has drawn conclusion to World War IV. In the wake of victory, there are events occurring on the single human colony of Mars: there are motions in the small colony for a claim to secede. The move comes at critical time of resumed elections on Earth. Pressure to control the situation escalates circumstances quickly, the Secretary of Defense, Audrey Andrews, moves the president to send their new flagships Otus and Ephialtes to the colony as a show of […]

2015-09-30T06:03:24+02:00September 7th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: Blind Thrust by Samuel Marquis ★★★★

Blind Thrust by Samuel MarquisA Blind Thrust is the term that describes an earthquake that occurs on a fault that is hidden from view – these sorts of earthquakes can be the most destructive – and here Marquis uses this as a metaphor in his thriller mystery of the same name, in the vein of Dan Brown, but instead of religion we get science, and instead of Langdon we meet a protagonist in the form of geologist Joe Higheagle, a man passionate about his work, and the environment.

Are the blind thrusts across the Front Range in Colorado the result of fracking, or something […]

2019-01-22T15:09:30+02:00September 7th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: Nuclear Affairs by J. Albert Griffiths ★★★★

Nuclear Affairs by J. Albert GriffithsSet in 1952, Nuclear Affairs is the debut novel of author J. Albert Griffiths that explores the new and terrifying world of early post-nuclear global politics. As the US military struggles to understand and manage its own nuclear research in the first decade of the Cold War, the newly-formed United States Air Force bears numerous burgeoning roles in its struggle for legitimacy.

We follow the stories of several lives caught up in the numerous changes in the national, international, and American household status quo, including young recruits, aging veterans, housewives, and secret agents, and stumble upon a conspiracy that […]

2024-07-30T15:37:22+02:00September 4th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: Living Fulfilled by Lisa Thomas-McMillan ★★★★★

Living Fulfilled by Lisa Thomas-McMillanLiving Fulfilled: The Infectious Joy of Serving Others is Lisa Thomas-McMillan’s inspirational memoir about helping the plight of America’s hungry that is equal parts harrowing and uplifting. With a decidedly spiritual message, she tells of her life growing up impoverished in Alabama, settling down in Los Angeles, then traveling back to her hometown to help the plight of the poor. She is also a fierce advocate against the death penalty.

What makes Lisa Thomas-McMillan such an effective narrator is that she literally walks the walk. The book is punctuated by two long walks – one in Alabama, and a 900-miled […]

2019-01-22T15:43:56+02:00September 4th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |
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