Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: The Growth and Collapse of One American Nation by Donald J. Fraser

The Growth and Collapse of One American Nation by Donald J. Fraser

Donald J. Fraser has created a detailed view of the early years of the American republic as it gradually narrowed towards the turmoil of civil war in The Growth and Collapse of One American Nation.

In the first decade after the founding of the nation, political parties – Federalism and Republicanism – developed almost immediately. In the mix, the fascinating George Washington was slightly right of center, believing that governance couldn’t rely on people’s nature since we often cannot control that nature, as he sometimes had trouble controlling his own.

By contrast, Thomas Jefferson, more to the left philosophically, […]

SPR2023-06-30T17:22:03+02:00March 10th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: History Book Reviews|

Review: Blowback ’94 by Brian Meehl

Blowback '94 by Brian Meehl

Author Brian Meehl brings his Blowback Trilogy to a compelling close with Blowback ’94, where Iris Jongler-Jinks finally gets her wish to hop through time, landing her squarely in the heart of the Belle Epoque in Paris, determined to find her mother and reunite the Jongler family.

Iris is joined by Arky, her time-traveling brother who just recently evaded death in the American Civil War, and the pair boast a brilliant dynamic as they try to unravel the last great mystery of their family’s cor anglais. Although neither of them planned to be tossed backward this time around, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-03-10T10:36:13+02:00March 9th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Time Travel Book Reviews, Young Adult Book Reviews|

Review: Memoirs of an Angel by Jim Huggins

Memoirs of an Angel by Jim Huggins

How much do animals know? What can pets offer and share if given the chance? These are questions that are explored and answered in Memoirs of an Angel by Jim Huggins.

Having had a beloved dog in his life – a German Shepherd named Smokey who passed away in 2002 – Huggins began to feel lonely after Smokey was gone. Drawn to the breed and also driven by a passion for animals that have suffered abuse after his own childhood of feeling unwanted, Huggins began searching for a possible replacement. That’s when he learned about Cadie, a “boomerang” award winner […]

SPR2020-03-11T10:59:23+02:00March 8th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Pets Book Reviews|

Review: Time’s Musicians by Mark Paul Oleksiw

Time's Musicians by Mark Paul Oleksiw

A bizarre, mind-bending story unfurls on the pages of Time’s Musicians by Mark Paul Oleksiw, an author with an imagination only matched by his delicate and authentic style. In this decade-spanning novel, the idea of connections across time and space mix with our boundaries of mental health, love, and reality itself.

When Billy meets Dieter, a young boy with an unfinished comic book who claims he can travel through time, he has no idea that it will set him on a life-defining course. Dieter disappears under mysterious circumstances and Billy’s family moves to give him a fresh start, at which […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-04-02T05:56:08+02:00March 2nd, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Time Travel Book Reviews, Visionary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Nosferatu Conspiracy: The Sleepwalker by Brian James Gage

The Nosferatu Conspiracy: The Sleepwalker by Brian James Gage

Dripping in drama and a grim, sinister pall, The Nosferatu Conspiracy by Brian James Gage is a dark piece of fiction that defies categorization. While there are certain elements of historical fiction, gothic romance, horror, and suspense, the author plays with form and uses language as a paintbrush, poetically scribbling on the dungeon walls of this striking novel.

Much of the action centers on a fictional alternate reality at the end of the Romanov Dynasty in Russia, a mysterious piece of history that has compelled storytellers and historians for generations. A supernatural angle takes the forefront in this novel, in […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-03-07T09:40:11+02:00March 1st, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fantasy Book Reviews, Horror Book Reviews, Vampires Book Reviews|

Review: Evolution Tested by CS Stephens

Evolution Tested by CS Stephens

Author CS Stephens presents a delicately worded takedown of widely accepted truths related to evolution and natural selection in Evolution Tested: Evolution & Empiriism Viewed through Engineering Standards. Employing a unique engineering angle on empirical evidence and objective truth, this book attempts to challenge even the staunchest believers in the Darwinian tradition.

In the more than 160 years since Darwin released his theory of evolution through natural selection, there have been countless books tackling the validity and universality of the theory. The overwhelming support for and perennial buttressing of the theory through evidence of speciation events, genetic markers and […]

SPR2020-03-26T09:47:57+02:00February 27th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Book Reviews|

Review: A Death Lived by Martha Calihan, MD

A Death Lived by Martha Calihan, MD

Recalling the final months leading up to her husband’s death, author Martha Calihan explores the spiritual meaning of death – its sorrows and blessings – in the moving A Death Lived.

The author’s husband Charles, who had survived cancer and a major heart attack, was rushed to the ER one fateful morning with pain in his right foot. Calihan, a physician, knew his condition could lead to an amputation, but after many complications, Charles returned home, seemingly recovered. The couple, who had known each other for most of their lives and been married more than thirty years, went back […]

SPR2020-03-19T11:15:36+02:00February 26th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Health Book Reviews, Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: Spirit Calling by Kathleen A. Heitkamp

Spirit Calling by Kathleen Heitkamp

An inspirational calendar with many unique features has been created by writer Kathleen Heitkamp to emphasize that there is a Supreme Being who watches over our lives, and that we can make a difference for ourselves and others by aligning our understanding with that universal force, in the inspiring Spirit Calling: Jump-Start Awareness, Meaning, and Joy Over 365 Days.

The author composed this book for a 365-day period, and has constructed an organized format for each day. Beginning with citing the date, she gives the segment a title, offers a quotation from the Bible or other wisdom source, and […]

SPR2020-03-18T11:05:33+02:00February 24th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Religious Book Reviews, Spirituality Book Reviews|