Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Spirit Quest by Tim McRae

Spirit Quest by Tim McRae

The first book in the Shadow World universe, Spirit Quest by Tim McRae is a dramatic, romantic, and adventurous introduction to a gripping new fantasy series.

Suspended in a timeless and legendary past, the prodigious fighter and magician Niri must confront once again the terrible dark magic of the Witch. Niri is sworn to protect her world from evil, a promise that has sustained her through unimaginable danger and pain. Cooped up in her house in the Old Forest, and still recovering from a fight with the evil Witch that almost cost her life, she perceives a certain unrest in […]

Marina Dora Martino2024-12-09T15:15:12+02:00November 13th, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: The Soul’s Awakening by Shireen Anne Jeejeebhoy

The Soul's Awakening by Shireen Anne Jeejeebhoy

A metaphysical afterlife adventure that will have readers questioning the meaning of life and the permanence of death, The Soul’s Awakening by Shireen Anne Jeejeebhoy is a thought-provoking musing on mortality.

Facing a future of chronic disease and pain, Charlotte Elisabeth seeks out a dignified death from Dr. Veritas, who promises a final release and endless peace. However, immediately after the euthanasia takes hold, she discovers that death isn’t the end of consciousness, nor memory, nor the uncertainty and confusion of being human.

Navigating a hallucination that never seems to end, she is exposed to the Darkness of solitude, the […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-11-08T15:34:08+02:00November 8th, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Visionary Fiction|

Review: The Maredian by Susan B. Iris

The Maredian by Susan B. Iris

A futuristic sci-fi thriller with a wildly unique hook, The Maredian by Susan B. Iris delivers a riveting dive into human identity and the powerful threads that connect all life in the universe.

When Gracie Pinto goes out for a last-minute 80s-themed birthday celebration, little does she know that reality on Earth is about to irrevocably change. The Maredian, an advanced alien civilization, makes first contact that same night in a cataclysm of fire and destruction, killing billions outright and capturing countless others, including Gracie.

Onboard the alien megaship of mangled prisoners, torture, enslavement, and death, Gracie miraculously finds a […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-12-05T12:46:04+02:00November 6th, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: A Life’s Journey by Robert Furmaga

A Life's Journey by Robert Furmaga

Paging through the chapters of his own adventurous existence, Robert Furmaga delivers a thoughtful and nostalgia-heavy memoir in A Life’s Journey: Choice and Circumstance.

Revealing the seminal moments and unforgettable events that shaped him, this is a compelling anthology of essays and treasured memories, combined neatly with professional achievements and personal accolades. From even the author’s earliest years of life, he recounts clear-eyed scenes and nuanced details of his successes, failures, and hard-won lessons, from terrifying tumbles out of bed and touching instances of parental bonding to the overindulgences of his teenage years and those first stumbling errors of […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-12-03T14:28:38+02:00November 4th, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: The Monarchs by Mark Sabbas

The Monarchs by Mark Sabbas

Stunning in its messaging and epic in scale, The Monarchs by Mark Sabbas is a remarkable work of visionary science fiction.

A powerful young child with uncontrolled psychic abilities, Samuel Helen is unlike the other cognitively evolved children in the military research facility he begrudgingly calls home. Some people view these gifted “new youth,” born in increasing numbers each year, as the next stage in human evolution, while others see them as potential weapons. Isolated from the other research subjects in the facility, for fear of a rebellion, Samuel is experimented on like an animal, in an attempt to free […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-12-02T19:06:25+02:00November 4th, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Visionary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Conspiracy By Means of Natural Selection by Sherman P. Bastarache

Conspiracy By Means of Natural Selection by Sherman Bastarache

A poignant dissection of cognitive and cultural history and their dynamic relationship to fact and fiction, Conspiracy By Means of Natural Selection by Sherman P. Bastarache is an eye-opening contemporary thesis.

To achieve its stated purpose of interrogating how natural selection can create conspiring minds that, in turn, create conspiracy theories, this book delves deeply into cultural, evolutionary, and psychological trends across time, singling out points of overlap, conflict, and uncertainty before digging down into what those intersections and contradictions mean. Whether touching on Star Trek, quantum entanglement, Immanuel Kant, or anthropomorphic projection, this sprawling examination of thought, science, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-11-26T13:12:20+02:00November 4th, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Social Science Book Reviews|

Review: Quiet Love (& Growing It) by Matthew Hess

Quiet Love (& Growing It) by Matthew Hess

A guide for people who want to understand the intricacies of love and wish to better navigate their current relationship – or search for one – Quiet Love (& Growing It): 14 Rules to Find, Build, and Keep the Best Relationship of Your Life by Matthew Hess offers insightful, well-organized, and down-to-earth tips for keeping a long-term relationship.

Exploring the ebbs and flows of love, and revealing the chemistry behind our feelings, Hess elucidates on his titular concept of “Quiet Love.” Despite what Hollywood may tell us, we should not necessarily be looking for a flashy or overwhelming infatuation at […]

Marina Dora Martino2024-11-18T14:58:39+02:00October 31st, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Relationships Book Reviews, Self-Help Book Reviews|

Review: Mr. Average and the 12th Stone by Ben Run

Mr. Average and the 12th Stone: Watch Your Mandibles by Ben Run

A microcosmic drama with existential implications, Mr. Average and the 12th Stone: Watch Your Mandibles by Ben Run is a mind-bending work of experimental fantasy, told from a thoroughly unique perspective.

Ave may be the best optimizer in the Ant Nest ant colony, but even his eternal loyalty and devotion to Hari isn’t enough to make him forget about the woman who has been visiting him on New Year’s Eve every year for the past eleven years. She is the reason he has been saving up all of his reflection time – all those carefully guarded seconds and emo-seconds – […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2024-11-13T13:46:25+02:00October 31st, 2024|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|