Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Quigsnip: The Untold Tale of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist by Sean Phillips

Quigsnip: The Untold tale of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist by Sean Phillips

It takes an impressive amount of confidence to write a sequel to a Charles Dickens novel, given his titanic status in the history of English literature. In Quigsnip, author Sean Phillips expands a seemingly insignificant detail from Charles Dickens’ classic Oliver Twist and delivers an entire novel in his legendary style.

Following Oliver Twist’s near-death experience and the subsequent discovery that he was a son of the aristocracy, his life has changed in innumerable ways. He is no longer begging for extra gruel, nor is he struggling to make ends meet in the criminal underbelly of London. Even so, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-03-05T12:28:07+02:00January 18th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Love, Time is Gone by Joseph Bartley Haltom III

Love, Time is Gone by Joseph Barley Haltom III

In Love, Time is Gone, a new collection of poetry by Joseph Bartley Haltom III, loneliness and heartbreak are encapsulated in raw and powerful verse. Written for a long-lost love, April, a woman whom he has not encountered for many years, this book is weighted down by pain and regret, yet there are also some moments of hope that sporadically push through.

Saudade is a Portuguese word, commonly used in Brazil, that represents the feeling of nostalgia, longing, or desire for something that has been lost. There is no direct translation of this word in English, nor does it appear […]

SPR2019-03-11T12:28:13+02:00January 15th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Poetry Book Reviews|

Review: Rideshares, Wrecks and Sex by Joe. F. N. Schmo

Rideshares, Wrecks and Sex by Joe. F. N. Schmo

In Rideshares, Wrecks and Sex: Confessions of a Convicted Uber Driver by author Joe. F. N. Schmo – a bold pseudonym in any genre – readers are given a front-seat view to the madness that can unfold between the doors of an Uber ride.

The interesting twist in this non-fiction tale is that the author is not your average ride-share driver: he is a convicted felon with a lot to lose, but knows that Uber may be a good game in town for a steady income that he can control. Gainful employment for ex-felons can be few and far between, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-03-04T11:56:46+02:00January 15th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Prince Must Die by Edward Anthony

Prince Must Die by Edward Anthony

In The Prince Must Die, author Edward Anthony pulls directly from the front pages of America and England, as well as the personality of President Donald Trump and the increasingly volatile issue of immigration and refugee movement. However, in this well-penned allegory, vampires exist, along with other mythical creatures, but they are the subject of extreme controversy in “Londarium” and “Great Bretan.”

When a decidedly Trump-like Colton Grant shockingly wins the election to become Grand Chancellor, he quickly institutes his brutal and merciless approach to the problem of vampires attempting to enter the country. He promises to build a massive […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-02-28T13:19:16+02:00January 11th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Satire Book Reviews, Vampires Book Reviews|

Review: Creating Christianity: A Weapon of Ancient Rome by Henry Davis

Creating Christianity: A Weapon of Ancient Rome by Henry Davis

Since there is very little historical evidence of the existence of Jesus of Nazareth, many researchers, including author Henry Davis, assert that not only his person, but also the religion founded around him, were invented after his passing. Such is the case the Creating Christianity: A Weapon of Ancient Rome, a fascinating and thoroughly researched examination of this contentious topic.

Davis’s main thesis is that the gospels and other New Testament books were written not by Jewish/Christian scholars such as Matthew, Luke or Paul, but were fabricated by an aristocratic Roman family with the name Piso, notably Arrius Flavius […]

SPR2019-02-25T13:17:13+02:00January 10th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Religious Book Reviews|

Review: The Dragon’s Harvest by Jason F. Boggs

The Dragon's Harvest by Jason F. Boggs

Once the boundaries of reality are broken, authors have a seemingly unlimited space to play, and author Jason F. Boggs certainly takes advantage of that in his writing. His latest book, The Dragon’s Harvest, the second installment of The Dragon Trilogy, is complete with moral dilemmas, space battles, savage dialogue and extraordinary characters that will expand your definition of strange.

Nearly a century in the future, the world is a very different place, and was recently controlled by a fascist New Era regime that sought complete control, by whatever means necessary, in order to protect against the alien threat. After […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-09-11T07:09:57+02:00January 8th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Demon Heart 2: Never Say Die by David Crane

Demon Heart 2: Never Say Die by David Crane

Mastering the demons within ourselves is a popular theme in literature, but in Demon Heart 2: Never Say Die by author David Crane, this battle is not contained to the philosophical realm. In the second installment of this series, the powerful and deadly Naoko Kitamura has a new life, but when you’re the descendant of an ancient, mystical tradition, it’s hard to leave the past behind.

Six years have passed since Naoko sacrificed herself in Osaka to save the city from a nuclear disaster. She has created a new life for herself and fallen in love, even sharing the secret […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-02-08T08:42:29+02:00January 8th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Urban Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: Unlocking the Natural-Born Leader’s Abilities by Salar A. Khan, MD, MBA

Unlocking the Natural-Born Leader’s Abilities by Salar A. Khan, MD, MBA

A successful example of what he wishes to convey, award-winning author Salar Khan uses his own life as an illustration of what constitutes leadership in Unlocking the Natural-Born Leader’s Abilities: An Autobiographical Exposé. Carefully presenting an objective picture, Khan shares his own memories to demonstrate the sorts of qualities a natural-born leader (NBL) would have, both innately and from training and experience.

Khan’s early life was rigorous: His parents were forced to migrate from India to Pakistan a few years before he was born, and six of his eleven siblings died by the age of four. When he was […]