Book Reviews

Guest reviewed by Susan Helene Gottfried, a writer interested in music-related self-published books.  She’s the author of Shapeshifter: The Demo Tapes — Year 1: “A band’s demo tape is intended to introduce listeners to their music. Likewise, this collection of short pieces allows readers into the fictional world of Trevor Wolff and his band, ShapeShifter.”  Check out her books and other output at WestofMars.com.

What’s not to love about a book whose concept is that a man from the past, cryogenically frozen to thwart cancer, is thawed out and becomes the hero of the ages, a rock star […]

The List by Carmen Shirkey identifies itself fairly quickly as chick-lit (light, upbeat fiction marketed toward young women). I point this out only because I don’t read much (any) chick lit, these days, so I was hesitant, at first, to critique the page. Someone who doesn’t read a particular genre may not necessarily be the best judge of that genre.

However.

Whatever the genre, the author should strive to grab the reader with her or his unique storytelling style, personal (creative) perspective, and grasp on writing.

I’m sorry to say this first page doesn’t really grab me in any of […]

There’s no reason this novel should not be traditionally published.  The only reason I could surmise is that maybe there were a number of novels surrounding the advertising industry coming out at the same time.  I have to plead ignorance that I have not read a lot of novels about ad execs.  But Commercial Break stands very well on its own – a great blend of both satire and realism.  Both totally outlandish and plausible, which is the most important aspect of a satire.

Commercial Break is about the Adam Glassman, an advertising executive who hates his industry.  A novelist […]

The Nine Lives of Clemenza bears a resemblance to C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy – a trilogy of science fiction novels with Christian parables. It would be totally inaccurate to call this book both science fiction and Christian fiction, as it revolves around the concept of reincarnation, which is not readily a part of Christianity unless you go all the way back to the Gnostics. The novel does originate in “heaven” so it has Christian echoes, but it is more of a general story about spirituality and morality with more universal appeal than a book that adheres to one religion.

What […]

Revolution of Flowers is the most unique book received by the Self-Publishing Review.  It is also the first art book.  I’m tempted to review this book as if reviewing for a skeptic, because to enjoy this book your mind has to be open.  If you’re able to do that, this book has a divine kind of poetry to it.  The book is something like a children’s book for adults – which is appropriate because children might be more aligned with the kind of imagination that’s inspired by this book.

As the name suggests, the book is about a revolution […]

[First-glance impression: the font looks like 14 point Arial, which gives the overall presentation an unprofessional/amateur appearance. Also, the page numbers are too close to the rest of the text.]

In Search of Aimai Cristen by Phillip Good does not begin with the page above, but with this personal ad on page one:

1.    The Ad

Young attractive girl, 24, searching for
love, compassion, joy from a man who can
provide financial security. Write Aimai
Cristen, Box 3689, Barb Office, 1234
University Ave, Berkeley CA 94709.

The ad is enough to pique my curiosity: a woman seeking what, I suppose, […]

I don’t know why the private eye genre is not more used more often – not in crime novels, but in general fiction. Most any book is an investigation – with the writer acting as a sort of investigator into the lives of his or her characters.  The private dick novel merely makes this more blatant by making it a literal investigation.  There are endless possibilities.

I’m a huge fan of noir fiction – particularly of Jim Thompson, more than Raymond Chandler, as Thompson’s characters are weirder and more damaged.  Philip Marlowe usually wins his fights, Thompson’s characters usually lose […]

First, I like the sun graphic at the start of each chapter. It fits the title, obviously, but also the genre (fantasy). It’s fun and mystical.

I began reading this page intrigued. I don’t read much fantasy and never have, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. I can’t really explain why I never read much of it—when I was younger, Archie comics took a lot of my time, and by the time I was one of those kids who never went anywhere without a book, I was reading mysteries (starting with ten Nancy Drews per week, followed later […]