Book Reviews

The latest indie book reviews from Self-Publishing Review

Review: The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden

The Casquette GirlsThe Casquette Girls by Alys Arden is eerie, magical and gritty, getting into the grimy seams of New Orleans in the tradition of Anne Rice or Poppy Z Brite. A taunting and mysterious chant haunts during the read,

Seven girls tied by time
Five powers that bind
One curse to lock the horror away
One attic to keep the monsters at bay

As Adele Le Moyne and her father make it back into the French Quarter following a Katrina-like storm; abandoned, musty streets stare back at them – with unfamiliar elements that send shivers through the Gothic South. When Adele […]

2019-01-22T05:59:04+02:00June 21st, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: Rocket Ship by C. O. B.

rocketshipRocket Ship, by C. O. B., is a moving story that offers profound insight into the world we live in now. While the story revolves around two boys who want to build a rocket ship to escape this world and their problems, the story isn’t so much science fiction as social commentary.

Lincoln and Gary, two best friends, come from different backgrounds. Gary’s parents are wealthy, while Lincoln’s father is in prison and his mother is an alcoholic. Yet, both are outsiders at their school and when Gary moves next door to Lincoln, the two become close friends.

Neither […]

2019-01-22T05:59:10+02:00June 18th, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: Mintaka by Brian M. Brownrigg

Mintaka reviewMintaka, the first book of the Road in the Sky Saga by Brian M. Brownrigg follows a young boy named Orion, joined by his friends including his loyal dog Sirius and a strange magician named Isis. They soon discover the plans of the Gods and what Orion must do to ensure the world stands against an evil conqueror whose seal may be breaking, gathering alliances and facing the inevitability of loss during their adventure.

Mintaka is fairly standard fantasy fare that doesn’t break very much in terms of new ground in setting or basic premise. A triad of gods […]

2014-06-17T10:55:39+02:00June 12th, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: Return of the Clonsayee by Elaine Bassett

return of the clonsayee reviewReturn of the Clonsayee is the second part of the Xidoran Prophecy series by Elaine Bassett.

Following the events of The Xidoran Prophecy, Charles Brookfield, a recent inductee into the coin-collecting, time-traveling organization of the Sojourners, who exist within and without the world we live in, returns to his life with sweetheart Caroline and a job at Jones’ farm.

After discovering the truth of the titular Xidoran Prophecy – the promise made by a furious sorcerer that someday the Sojourners would feel their power at the behest of a chosen one – Charles discovers new adventure in ancient writings […]

2019-01-22T05:59:17+02:00June 11th, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: The Xidoran Prophecy by Elaine Bassett

xidoranCharles Brookfield was just an ordinary boy with a life in the country that left him wanting for nothing. That is, until his fifteenth birthday. With a gift of a set of coins, his family leaves Charles heir to an unbelievable secret and a whole new world, one so dangerous that Caroline – the only girl he ever felt right about – must never be exposed, no matter how much the world of the Sojourners may intrude upon their lives. What follows is an epic tale of magic and intrigue for the best summer Charles has ever had.

Xidoran is […]

2019-01-22T05:59:24+02:00June 11th, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: Magic, Machines and the Awakening of Danny Searle by John McWilliams

Magic, machines reviewTyler Cipriani is a programming prodigy and prodigal son to two brilliant parents – a pushy philosopher-scientist who even used Tyler for his own studies growing up, and a mathematics professor whose ambition and love for her son overlap with her bitterness at her now-ex-husband. His life is by no means average, but despite his talent (whether natural or induced) he holds himself back from a proper education and the constant offers of work in his field, insisting on dreams of bike trips and a period of self-exploration.

The stalemate is broken the day Danny Searle stumbles into a chance […]

2019-01-22T15:57:31+02:00June 11th, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: The Gospel According to Yeshua’s Cat by C.L. Francisco

yeshuas catThe Gospel According to Yeshua’s Cat is a Christian fiction story by world religion expert C.L. Francisco.

Mari, a little black cat, travels with Yeshua, tucked inside his robe as he fulfills his destiny as the son of God. Through the eyes of a cat, details of his life and times are elegantly described to the reader for an especially spiritual Mashup Fiction experience.

There is a comparison to the bestselling book,  The Fire Gospel by Michel Faber, in which an Aramaic translator finds a lost scroll that turns out to be a controversial testament to Jesus’ life. In that […]

2014-06-03T14:28:45+02:00June 3rd, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: GunKnight by Cynthia & Scott Green

Gunknight ReviewGunKnight, the first part of The GunKnight Chronicles by Cynthia & Scott Green, is a quirky sci-fi story set in a world where guns are sacred tools which the desperate and the proud alike must live by. Colt, the only known surviving GunKnight – a technoreligious warrior clad in a powerful suit of biotech armor – wakes up in a dusty crater, alone, with only a crippling pain and a flickering heads-up display to jog his memory and guide his path through what may be a dead Earth.

As his memories return, his “mission” becomes more and more clear, […]

2014-05-30T14:11:07+02:00May 30th, 2014|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |
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