Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Between Eden And The Open Road By Philip Gaber

An unusual train of poetry and prose, this stimulating and raw work from Philip Gaber is compelling and almost dangerous to read – dangerous because it touches so many nerves in the reader that it becomes both painful and addictive to carry on.

This is not quite a collection of shorts and not quite a poetry book – more a slice of modern psychology into the lonely hearts of those around us. Set on subways, in homeless shelters, whorehouses, streets, the cloying sense of being alive and flailing in doing so is steeped in these words throughout as we travel […]

Review : The Art of Forgetting by Peter Palmieri

The Art of Forgetting by Peter Palmieri primarily follows the story of Lloyd Copeland, a charismatic assistant professor spending his days chasing high-class med student flings when he’s not blowing students away in his rare case of successful ‘cool teacher’ lectures.

To outsiders he has everything to look forward to and nothing to regret, but beneath his veneer of success and boyish charms, his “feigned nonchalance” hides a desperate hidden struggle against something that threatens to swallow his life as it has his family generations before him: a struggle against a memory loss and dementia which runs in his family, […]

James Grimsby2014-06-19T12:19:03+02:00September 3rd, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Roan – The Tales of Conor Archer by E. R. Barr

Many years ago, the Tinkers went into exile. Hailing from Ireland, the men had dalliances with the shape-shifting Roan. These sea-wives appeared as seals with their pups. As soon as the pups touched the land, they changed into human children. The Tinkers called these offspring the ‘dark ones’ and took on the duty of raising them. Once they arrived in the New World, they settled where two rivers converged and steeped in mythology. For 150 years the Tinkers hid the ‘dark ones’ and their town never divulged their secrets.

In present-day Chicago, Conor Archer is experiencing one of the weirdest […]

T B Markinson2013-08-19T05:13:46+02:00August 19th, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Book Reviews, Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: One Short Year by Diane Dunning

In an oft riffed on passage, Blaise Pascal—probably himself riffing on Pliny the Younger— wrote, “I made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter.” Diane Dunning, the author of the novella The River Secrets, took the time to write a small collection of very short fiction (the selection “The Sun Always Wins” is only 128 words). This is much harder than it looks, and Dunning has pulled it off with style. In the introduction she explains that these stories are popular posts from her blog, selections she describes as “entertaining reading for […]

Avery Hurt2014-05-05T21:45:35+02:00August 8th, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Short Stories Book Reviews|

Review: Red Hot Internet Publicity by Penny C. Sansevieri

Are you a struggling self-published author, “non-techie newbie” or just a marketing specialist looking for the latest tips and tricks in the ever-changing world of Internet marketing? Red Hot Internet Publicity: The Insider’s Guide to Marketing Online by Penny C. Sansevieri is the book written with you in mind.

A self-published author herself, Sansevieri offers the latest know-how from her own experiences, written especially to ease you into the intimidating waters of the medium. If jargon like “Web 2.0”, “media drivers”, “blogging” and “social networking” has you saying “I’m totally lost”, this book will give you both the basics and […]

James Grimsby2020-02-21T03:54:32+02:00August 7th, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Book Marketing Advice and Tips|

Review: Infinite Book 3: My Truest Fiction By D. C. L.

‘Infinite Book 3: My Truest Fiction’ is a memoir of author David Christopher Lawrence, a sufferer of paranoid schizophrenia, and his life surrounding his experiences with it, episodically. The book is part of the ‘Infinite Book’ series and is implied to have a later follow-up that details more aspects of the author’s experiences and recovery, completing his memoirs.

The author views his ‘illness’ as a part of him that cannot, and should not be silenced (“cured is the wrong word, integrated is the right one”), instead embracing the “truths” that are revealed to him by his voices and inner revelations, […]

James Grimsby2014-05-05T21:47:30+02:00August 5th, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: A Change in Management by RJ Johnson

RJ Johnson’s Change in Management: A Jim Meade Martian PI Novel, is an interesting mix of science fiction and detective story. Jim Meade, a Runabout, doesn’t have much going for him. He has no money and is trying to make ends meet by competing in Zero-G fights. These contests, which often result in death, entertain the colonists on Mars. Meade doesn’t concern himself too much with the political situation in the world. In 2097 there are two main powers: The Consortium and Coalition. All Meade cares about is winning his next big fight.

When that fight goes awry, Meade finds […]

T B Markinson2019-01-24T19:46:04+02:00August 1st, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Action and Adventure Book Reviews, Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Breakfast with the Dirt Cult by Samuel Finlay

Breakfast with the Dirt Cult is a vivid and raw look into a young man’s term serving in the U.S. Army. It takes place over the span of his arrival into the army and his time spent serving in the war in Afghanistan. Reading from a non-military perspective, having never served before, I was very eager to dive into this book and see from what perspective of the war it would be written. The story is Samuel Finlay’s writing debut and it follows the life of Tom Walton, an American around the age of 20 who recently graduated from college. […]