tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-207966272024-03-17T02:12:53.768-05:00POD Peopleveingloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03709708573358649383noreply@blogger.comBlogger1208125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-8904005090768586772019-05-02T15:33:00.002-05:002019-05-02T15:34:24.577-05:00Baltimore Mayor Accused of Self-Pub Payola<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh self-published <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005RSAU3W">Healthy Holly</a> in 2011.<br />
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Her efforts were a little more profitable than the average self-published children's book. </div>
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It has now emerged that she made $500,000 from sales to the University of Maryland Medical System <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/02/baltimore-mayor-resigns-after-book-sales-scandal-pugh-healthy-holly/3654247002/?csp=chromepush">while serving on their Board of Directors</a>. Other private companies made bulk book orders while bidding (successfully) on city contracts. </div>
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That's one way to do it, I guess. One person's "massive conflict of interest" is another's "No, they just really loved my insipid little book".</div>
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Psychehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069420469807481169noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-38551807953435887502019-03-07T15:07:00.001-06:002019-03-07T15:22:55.350-06:00Social Self-Publishing and Rights (Wattpad, What Rights?)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Websites for posting fiction online have been around for a long time now. Initially they were focused on clearly amateur and non-profit writing, especially in niche areas such as erotica and fan fiction. As such, the writers were often not very concerned with publishing rights and commercial publication potential. Over time the mainstreaming of online books has continued to be a lesser-thought-of corollary to the mainstreaming of ebooks. Reading online or through apps has become part of the lifestyle of many people, albeit a group that continues to skew to the younger generations.<br />
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In recent years many of these posting sites have developed hybrid schemes for compensation or graduation to a commercially published level. And in recent years the number of social publishing sites has greatly increased. <i>Wattpad </i>has been dominant since its 2006 launch, but inroads are being made by newcomers such as China-based <i>Webnovel</i>. Other apps are trying to bite off genre-specific market share, such as <i>Dreame </i>(romance).</div>
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<b>Social Self-Publishing May Use First Publishing Rights</b></div>
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One thing that is concerning is how these sites represent the impact of posting complete manuscripts online may have on the potential for future trade publishing. While most indie ebook authors are fully aware that self-publishing is publishing, and uses first publishing rights--online authors demonstrate more confusion in this issue.</div>
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It does not help that social self-publishing websites, deliberately or not, post questionable information to encourage participation. For example Wattprint saying no publisher will consider a manuscript on their site to be a "reprint" when, well, some will. With the work being fully accessible for free to thousands of people, being behind a member wall may or may not be enough to avoid it being deemed a reprint--depending on individual publisher's policies.<br />
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<b>Social Self-Publishing is Self-Publishing</b><br />
The exchange of information on these topics might be better if it was clearer that publishing online is a form of self-publishing. Essentially, format is not a defining feature of the activity and most of the needs and considerations of authors are the same whether they use a site, app, or e/book delivery method. In fact as a reader, the difference between reading an ebook on my phone and reading on the Wattpad app is barely noticeable.<br />
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With that in mind this blog, name aside, is open to reviewing books made available for online or app reading. I currently have a Wattpad and Webnovel account and I am willing to consider other platforms as well. Feel free to suggest books for review in the comments.</div>
veingloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03709708573358649383noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-18712428048271195922018-11-02T10:29:00.000-05:002018-11-02T10:29:06.469-05:00Cover Comment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W5moEWARYiY/W9xs9nhDOoI/AAAAAAAAHUc/v-25OqajHH8TDF6_pLidPnPydtomM-iqgCLcBGAs/s1600/cover148808-medium.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="256" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W5moEWARYiY/W9xs9nhDOoI/AAAAAAAAHUc/v-25OqajHH8TDF6_pLidPnPydtomM-iqgCLcBGAs/s320/cover148808-medium.png" width="209" /></a></div>
This little plant's tomorrows are probably going to suck, because it does have any roots. Which is probably some kind of a metaphor for one of the biggest problems with aggressive futurism.<br /><br />veingloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03709708573358649383noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-68922091493182054262018-10-19T12:28:00.000-05:002018-10-19T12:41:35.803-05:00What, if anything, is "Hybrid Publishing""Hybrid Publishing"* is a term I see bandied around a lot these days. Generally speaking it is being applied to any company that represents itself as combining the features of trade publishing and self-publishing.<br />
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(*This is completely distinct from the idea of a "hybrid author" who publishes both indie and trade books--but I have some thoughts about that too).<br />
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I don't really accept that definition because the one feature most commonly present is charging the author a fee, either directly or by a function such as requiring that they purchase or sell a set number of books before receiving any royalties.<br />
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Charging the author a fee is not a conventional part of either trade or indie publishing. It is a feature of vanity publishing which is another creature entirely. No matter how <a href="http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/what-is-hybrid-publishing-here-are-4-things-you-should-know">nicely or euphemistically</a> you try to phrase it, hybrid publishing is wholly within the category of vanity publishing for this reason.<br />
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Whether publishing in this manner might work for you remains a matter of individual analysis. Many hybrid publishers are just as undesirable as the worst vanity publishers, others may be worth considering for certain unique situations.<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #424242; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 17px;"><strike>“Hybrid publishing is a middle-ground between traditional and self-publishing in which the author pays for some of the services.” </strike></span></h4>
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However, I do think the existing definition of the term needs to be challenged, as I think it is simply not true that hybrid publishing occupies some metaphoric middle ground. Hybrid publishing is within the fence of vanity publishing (by this or some other name).<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #424242; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 17px;">“Hybrid publishing is publishing that is financially subsidized by the author but may (or may not) offer advantages to the author such as quality standards, favorable brand identity, or enhanced profitability with high volume sales. However this model puts the author at greater risk of financial loss.” </span></h4>
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See also:<br />
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<li><a href="https://www.janefriedman.com/3-reasons-not-to-go-with-hybrid-publishing/">3 Reasons Why You Might Not Want a Hybrid Publisher</a></li>
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veingloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03709708573358649383noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-18360311075988986052018-10-01T20:14:00.000-05:002018-10-01T20:14:11.726-05:00REVIEW: Power's Wrath by Stephen Shertall<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CngbhXwfOR4/W7LGQuaU2dI/AAAAAAAAHQg/MgdyVz2ftLsFGVxEL5Sfy90IK7fewfDPACLcBGAs/s1600/51fVEp3-4gL._SY346_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="224" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CngbhXwfOR4/W7LGQuaU2dI/AAAAAAAAHQg/MgdyVz2ftLsFGVxEL5Sfy90IK7fewfDPACLcBGAs/s200/51fVEp3-4gL._SY346_.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was the character of Calthus, as described in the blurb,
that caused me to request POWER’S WRATH from Netgalley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were some strong elements of Arthurian
myth in this character and some of the others from the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shortall’</i>s
writing style made the first few chapters a bit dull and had a wordy and
plodding style throughout the book.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The overall scope and direction of the book is broader and
more original than I had expected and the better qualities of the work became
apparent with each chapter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
echoing some of the familiar tropes of high fantasy, overall the complexity and
aesthetic of the world building is unusual in its quality. The story has some
echoes of Tolkien in setting up cycles of existence with the schemes of very
long lived beings intersecting <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>at
critical moments with the heroics of mortal champions and the women they love.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ultimately, I felt that my sympathy for the characters was
limited and the “type” of fantasy heroes set up by this opening volume do not
interest me to continue with the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Readers more fond of male fantasy archetypes and taking a leisurely pace
through even the most incidental of scenes may feel differently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><i>4/10</i> </span></div>
veingloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03709708573358649383noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-23296877234249340422018-09-16T11:39:00.001-05:002018-09-16T11:39:06.557-05:00REVIEW: How to Revise and Re-Release Your Book: Simple and Smart Strategies to Sell More Books Kindle Edition by Penny C. Sansevieri<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qQWzEIR1ZTs/W56HCQNDziI/AAAAAAAAHOA/51yGaSrk1swlKguiS01w0-GkE2psvSRpgCLcBGAs/s1600/51XM3nKz3%252BL._SY346_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="224" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qQWzEIR1ZTs/W56HCQNDziI/AAAAAAAAHOA/51yGaSrk1swlKguiS01w0-GkE2psvSRpgCLcBGAs/s320/51XM3nKz3%252BL._SY346_.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<span class="a-size-base review-text" data-hook="review-body">I was
pleased to be given the opportunity to review <a href="https://www.amazon.com/How-Revise-Re-Release-Your-Book-ebook/dp/B07C6V6NRF/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8">HOW TO REVISE AND RE-RELEASE YOUR BOOK</a>. I have been tinkering around on Kindle Direct for
a while, but also putting off re-releasing about a dozen books that had
reverted to me after the publishers closed.<br /><br />Any book on a ‘do it
yourself’ topic is going to have a certain scope that determines who it
will be useful to. In my case this book was a bit hit and miss on that
front. For example, the focus is very much on Amazon, which is fine
because I am currently Amazon-exclusive – but it is very much as open
debate as to whether that is the most profitable choice. In any case
most self-publishers are likely to want to start with Amazon. In the
majority of cases where the book made a recommendation it was one I
agreed with or was inclined to believe. However….<br /><br />On the other
hand the author really only address one option in relation to a lot of
other choices that don’t match my situation. For example: always
formatting for paperback first. In my case e-books are a heck of a lot
easier to start with and sell better so I always start there. The days
of most authors coming off print publishing and just starting to enter
e-publisher are probably pretty much over. The publisher that reverted
my rights were both primarily e-publishers (Samhain and Loose Id).
Also: use a freelancer for all internal formatting and cover design.
Not a bad rule for a beginner but formatting e-books is not that hard,
especially if you use a cheap generic service like Liberwriter. So I
don’t really see why directions couldn’t be on how to embark on that
part of it yourself. After all, the author does not hesitate to endorse
specific fee-charging formatters and cover designers. Why not also
point to good pre-made and automated sites and let the reader decide if
they will risk cutting that corner. After all, whomever provided these
services for this book missed a number of cases of misplaced punctuation
marks and typos (example “TThis is next-level bonus content. “) and in
the pdf format created a book with two blank pages in the middle .
Hopefully I saw a pre-pub version and further proofreading occurred
before release.<br /><br />Somewhat ironically given the topic some of the
topics seemed out of date. Considerable space is given to book bundling
which is a less effective method since it was over-exploited by
for-profit bundling companies. Use of bold and header font is mentioned
when Amazon no longer permits this in blurbs. There is a strong push to
contact Amazon top reviewers. I am an Amazon Top review—at least
enough to get a dozen emails requesting reviews every day. And I ignore
them all because Amazon’s rules, as of last year, would penalize me for
reviewing free samples and give any such review a low value
“non-verified” status. And publicly thinking people for spontaneous
Amazon reviews is something many reviewers now consider intrusive and
creepy—because the review is not for the author. The suggestion of
rewarding people for proof of reviews is particularly dangerous as it is
directly against Amazon policy—reviews that are incentivized before or
after posting is not allowed. And the value Goodreads giveaways (let
alone monthly) is very different now.<br /><br />And overall the advice is
not put in a wider context of the commercial value of books of different
types and therefore an appropriate budget to spend on packaging them.
It is also with some unease that I read they author promoting their own
fee-charging services in some parts of the book. It feels overall like
the focus is on things a professional book promoter would be good at and
focus on, and neglects the things a profession writer might be better
equipped to tackle on their own.<br /><br />Ultimately if you are planning
to outsource book production and rerelease on Amazon to maximum effect
this book is likely to be extremely useful for you. And it is very
important for self-publishers to open their minds on this topic. The
KDP forums are full of people who devoted decades to creating a book,
and then just threw it together and jammed it up on Amazon—and are now
sad and disillusioned because they have literally zero sales. Many
would never even think about re-categorizing, strategic pricing, or
effective promoting without advice such as this book provides. But if
your focus is (or possibly should be) more on evaluating your books
commercial potential and budgeting accordingly, producing your own book,
carefully balancing the value or time spent writing versus time spent
promoting, or going wide -- much of it will not apply.</span>veingloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03709708573358649383noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-71574610423726639282018-07-05T20:18:00.000-05:002018-07-05T20:18:04.640-05:00Austin AppallingGiven that Austin Macauley is a vanity press that<a href="https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2016/12/questions-for-vanity-publisher-austin.html"> charges thousands of dollars, has a terrible contract, and throws threatening letters from lawyers around like confetti</a>, I have one question....<br />
<br />
...What does that say about so-called indie publisher groups that they are officially "<a href="https://www.austinmacauley.com/">associated with</a>"?<br />
<ul>
<li>Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) -- <i>"IBPA's MISSION is to lead and serve the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success."</i></li>
<li>Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) -- <i>"The IPG helps publishers to do better business and become part of a real community"</i> </li>
<li>The Publishers Association -- <i>"Our objective as an association is to provide our members with the
influence, insight and services necessary to compete and prosper."</i></li>
</ul>
veingloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03709708573358649383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-61504855289226922162017-09-07T13:52:00.000-05:002017-09-07T13:52:15.660-05:00Unofficial Kinde Help FAQ #1: Why are my sales not showing in my reports<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NgZldKdPYpw/WbGUQutDu1I/AAAAAAAAHDw/G6vBk4b6fuseNlEtoZ_CFkSHMweuTNYGQCLcBGAs/s1600/5145998814_c4683d350d_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="111" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NgZldKdPYpw/WbGUQutDu1I/AAAAAAAAHDw/G6vBk4b6fuseNlEtoZ_CFkSHMweuTNYGQCLcBGAs/s200/5145998814_c4683d350d_z.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kodomut/5145998814/in/photolist-8QJAau-8QFvoK-8QFtek-8QJxs1-b23x8B-oAbjeJ-8QFgz8-9qmWx8-aAa8zu-8x5dKq-8x5eHN-8LmBKN-6hFChs-9d2dQy-4YnPRM-9gKbyJ-8iXojZ-4JkGE3-9QVjDL-63zzbq-8x5efd-8x2aLa-65pZn7-63Ar7G-8Q6F7c-75WHfv-4Jgujx-8NC9Kb-4Ys4CA-7CCSEp-pHoJC9-AnNKdh-8wTPE4-pHq9ox-9bQM99-eDwnnA-7xvQYT-65pZu9-caxrWU-arPh5j-aA7s5F-BkkUc8-6hFCxy-mvBwtq-bqxFn4-7aeAc9-9zADJH-7aezL7-7aaKV8-aG8TRF">Zhao!</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have been asked this one enough times that I thought it might be time to write a standard reply.<br />
<br />
Authors often feel they have had Amazon sales that are not appearing on their sales reports, and perhaps a suspicion they are being deliberately short-changed in some way. In my experience this is not the case. Here are some of the things that might explain the apparent discrepancy.<br />
<br />
1) Make sure you are looking at the <a href="https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/A1O64413IKUROE">right place in the reports</a>, after the sales has been shipped and charged.<br />
2) If it is an e-book you cannot buy more than one copy.<br />
3) If it is a CreateSpace paperback, those sales are reported on your Createspace account reports, not your kindle account reports.<br />
3) If it is a gifted book the sale occurs only when the the recipient uses it, and they have the option to use it on something other than your book--in which case you are out the money and do not get the sale.<br />
3) Friends and relatives lie more often than you would think. If they say they bought your book don't assume it is true unless you actually saw them do it.<br />
4) Occasionally there are glitches and reports of sales are delayed. If you can document the sale occurred and have waited about 2 weeks, ask <a href="https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help">Kindle Support </a>for assistance.<br />
<br />
If you know if other reason why people see these issues, please let me know and I will add them to the list.<br />
<br />
<br />veingloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03709708573358649383noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-9723543709996055982017-08-01T13:56:00.001-05:002017-08-23T14:19:00.488-05:00UpdateThings have been a little quiet around here. I have been busy at
work and also developing a lifestyle where I just hang out and enjoy
myself quite a lot. That's turned out to be the upside of being a woman
of a certain age. I have a sufficiency of money and have more-or-less
stopped giving a flock about a lot of things, so I spend more time just
enjoying myself. That said, I do plan to spruce things up and post some
new reviews soon.<br />
<br />
If you happen to have any interest
in reviewing, we are always open to people joining in on a one-off or
ongoing basis. Just drop me a line at veinglory at gmail.com<br />
<br />
There
is one thing I would like to mention regarding authors who request
reviews. Please don't spam us. I am getting increasingly bogged down
in mass mailings and newsletters from authors. A recent one ended with
the statment:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>"You are receiving this email either because you are a personal
acquaintance or you because you have read and/or reviewed one of my
novels. My intent is not to overwhelm you with emails but to keep in
touch with updates. Thanks so much."</i></div>
<br />
Just: no.<br />
<br />
Reading
or reviewing a book does not constitute agreeing to be put on a mailing
list. Going forwards any more emails of this type will be reported as
spam. This means, among other things, that any future requests for
reviews will be blocked.<br />
<br />
<b>Edited to Add:</b><br />
<br />
Re: <i>Instafreebie</i>--this is a service that requires provision of an email address and adds the user to a mailing list. As such, Instafreebie is not an acceptable method for offering review copies.<br />
<br />
<br />veingloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03709708573358649383noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-23411131420506708202016-03-28T20:13:00.000-05:002016-03-28T20:13:00.058-05:00Court Rules: Amazon is not a PublisherAn unfortunate couple found that their engagement photo had appeared, without permission, on the cover of a book suggestively entitled “A Gronking To Remember”. Recently a court ruled that <a href="http://www.law360.com/articles/772603/amazon-b-n-not-liable-in-erotic-book-cover-privacy-suit" target="_blank">they could not, as a result, sue</a> Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords. The reason being that these websites are not publishers... they are shops. Which is a reminder that when we self-publish in these venues we alone take on all the liabilities of a publisher, and should be correspondingly careful abut the choices that we make.veingloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03709708573358649383noreply@blogger.com166tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-50600355128764474192016-03-23T15:32:00.000-05:002016-03-23T15:32:11.591-05:00REVIEW: Ten Gentle Opportunities<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aq6Vuti4gic/VvL9Jzx92GI/AAAAAAAAAnI/X_MXVDim0WIlvxqawH8g3V2ElrnNC4MPA/s1600/28590106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aq6Vuti4gic/VvL9Jzx92GI/AAAAAAAAAnI/X_MXVDim0WIlvxqawH8g3V2ElrnNC4MPA/s200/28590106.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Title</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Ten Gentle Opportunities <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Author</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Jeff Duntemann<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Genre</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Fantasy / Science fiction<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Price</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: $2.99 (ebook) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Publisher</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Copperwood Press<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ISBN</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: B01AQ1549E<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Point of Sale</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AQ1549E/ref=x_gr_w_glide_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_glide_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01AQ1549E&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">Amazon </a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Reviewed by: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://chris-gerrib.livejournal.com/">Chris Gerrib</a><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">So I’ve been a fan of Jeff Duntemann’s writing
for some time. This, his newest novel
and first since 2006, was well-worth the wait. The novel opens with one Bartholomew Stypek on
the run from a magician in a fairly low-tech fantasy setting. The chief difference between this world and
the bog-standard Fantasyland is that magic can be bought and sold like salt,
and worked at least in part by non-adepts.
Stypek’s on the run because he stole ten “Opportunities” (raw magic)
from a magician, who wants them back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Desperate to save his hide, Stypek throws himself
at the mercy of the Continuum, and asks to be sent far away. This is where things get interesting, because
Stypek ends up in our immediate future (late 2020s’) in a small town
advertising agency. The ad agency has a
prototype AI-built copier, and in our world magic maps to software. Stypek has (or rather concocts) a Gomog as a
traveling companion. In our world, said
Gomog is an AI, and gets loose in the Tooniverse, a virtual space where various
AIs live. Unfortunately for Stypek, the
magician who’s after him can and will follow him to our world. Mayhem, entertaining mayhem, ensues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">A lot of the attraction of this book is the
clever writing. Several AIs of various
levels are point-of-view characters, as are a number of humans. Stypek keeps trying to map our world to his
kings-and-magic one, and the humans and AIs keep trying to map Stypek’s magic
to bits and bytes. The conflict and
confusion between these world-views is amusing and realistic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The interpersonal conflict and characterization
is also well-done. Two of the human
characters are a divorced couple, forced by economics to work together, and
then get sucked into Stypek’s life-or-death struggle. One of the AIs learns to dance, which proves
to be a critical skill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">There were two nits that bothered me in this
story. First, one of the AIs, Simple
Simon, is in charge of running a robotic factory in which the parts and the
finished products (copiers) are thrown in the air instead of moved via conveyor
belts. It felt a bit too convenient for the
author. The other nit was the AI dancing
– I saw that coming a mile away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Having said that, I was easily able to suspend
my disbelief and take a rollicking ride with Jeff Duntemann and his Gentle
Opportunities. Highly recommended.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Chris Gerribhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484367221527860100noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-68467481317277041532016-01-16T18:46:00.001-06:002016-01-16T18:46:10.000-06:00REVIEW: Holding Fire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BN1vaLb9bms/VprkOgIQ4bI/AAAAAAAAAy4/7bA6NKMAdoI/s1600/515hSrs7MBL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BN1vaLb9bms/VprkOgIQ4bI/AAAAAAAAAy4/7bA6NKMAdoI/s200/515hSrs7MBL.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><strong>Title</strong></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Holding Fire</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><strong>Editor: </strong>Scott Hughes</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Genre</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Anthology</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Price</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: $4.99 (ebook) / $12.99 (paperback)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Publisher</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Createspace</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ISBN</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: 978-1508859284</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><strong>Available via:</strong> <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelves/book.php?id=11070">OnlineBookClub</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><strong>Reviewed by: </strong>Psyche Skinner </span></div>
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Holding Fire edited by Scott Hughes is an anthology of ten stories with the theme of the destructive effects of holding onto anger or rage. I have to admit that my first reaction to the theme, intriguing as it is, is that it sounds like a bit of a downer. Stories of nasty instant karma, no matter how clever, might be a little too depressing to be good entertainment.
<br />
<br />
What I was overlooking was that the stories are pretty evenly divided between the main character being the person cursed with destructive rage, being their victim, or being a third party to the events of the story. And in some cases the person being consumed by their anger is ultimately saved. So there is considerable variety in the stories inn themes of characters, genre, and outcomes—although murder is the instigating even or outcome (or both) in nine of the ten stories.
Most of the stories were contemporary dramas, often bordering on melodramas. <br />
<br />
They had a lot of high stakes and emotional energy and generally a plot that held together. However most of them also had a lingering amateur quality where the balance between character angst and plot plausibility was a little shaky. Villains were often cartoonishly evil, with the evil stepmother trope getting more than one un-ironic outing, along with the alcohol abusive parents, and cute high school boyfriend/girlfriend savior. One of the stories (“Life is a Great Teacher” by John Mallon also suffered from questionable editing with multiple speakers being mashed together into the same paragraph).
<br />
<br />
I think people nearer high school age might enjoy these stories more, as young adult themes like bullying, first love, difficult families, and choosing the kind of person you want to be (when you grow up) occur in a number of stories. From my rather-more-middle-aged perspective the story “Dog Eat Dog” (by Joy Meehan) about and vindictive executive getting \ her just deserts from an underling is more resonant. I also appreciated he characterization of the failed writer in “Ghostwriter” by Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill.
I would give this anthology 6/10 for being an entertaining read but not providing any stories I am likely to want to revisit or ponder over.
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Psychehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069420469807481169noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-27817322247844307702015-11-25T15:31:00.004-06:002015-11-25T15:31:32.584-06:00REVIEW: Jupiter Justice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vpZVLYBXxlc/VlYof2l24KI/AAAAAAAAAms/fL3s6E2cUHo/s1600/jupiter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vpZVLYBXxlc/VlYof2l24KI/AAAAAAAAAms/fL3s6E2cUHo/s200/jupiter.jpg" width="124" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Title</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Jupiter Justice <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Author</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: <a href="http://www.donaldjhunt.com/home.html">Donald J. Hunt</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Genre</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Urban Fantasy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Price</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: $2.99 (ebook) / $11.74
(paperback)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Publisher</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Amazon Digital Services<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ISBN</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: 978-1516972548<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Point of Sale</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jupiter-Justice-Donald-Hunt-ebook/dp/B015QFTCY8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">Amazon </a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Reviewed by: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://chris-gerrib.livejournal.com/">Chris Gerrib</a><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Full disclosure – I am a member of the author’s
writing group and read partial drafts of <i>Jupiter
Justice</i> before it came out. Having
said that, I paid full price for my copy and really enjoyed reading it. It’s a great near-future romp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Set in a plausible mid-future Solar System, <i>Jupiter Justice</i> is the story of Rico
Schroeder. Thanks to fusion power, the
Solar System is open for business, but fusion power is slow – or at least
slower than humans would like. Rico is
part of one international team working on his generation’s X-Prize, developing
a working anti-matter space drive. It’s
a very high-stakes endeavor, not just for the prize money but for political and
economic control of the Solar System.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The stakes are high enough that people are
getting killed over the competition.
Rico has to make an abrupt transition from his test-pilot job back to
his previous profession – cop – and figure out who done it. That’s if Rico can stay alive long enough, as
his investigation puts him immediately in the murderer’s cross-hairs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Don writes in a brisk and clear style, and he’s
done a lot of research getting his facts right.
There’s a bit of romance thrown in, as Rico rekindles an old flame, and
plenty of action. I found the story
well-written and enjoyable. I think you
will too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">9/10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Chris Gerribhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484367221527860100noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-28115644497156379252015-11-13T19:23:00.001-06:002015-11-13T19:29:02.302-06:00The Indie Writers Support WebsiteCold Coffee Café Press has been <a href="http://coldcoffeecafe.com/forum/topics/fraud-alert-warning-regarding-the-indie-writers-support-website">sharing the information</a> that The Indie Writers Support Website (<a href="http://indiewritersupport.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;"></span></a><span style="color: #1155cc;"><a href="http://indiewritersupport.com)/">http://<wbr></wbr></a></span><a href="http://indiewritersupport.comwebmaster/"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">indiewritersupport.com</a>) webmaster 'Judd Miller', allegedly has the legal name of Korede Abayomi. </a><br />
<br />
Abayomi and is reported to be subject of a current arrest warrant. He is also the owner of highly questionable publisher <a href="http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?230026-ParaDon-Books-Publishing-Amazon-Book-Clubs">ParaDon Books</a>. <br />
<br />
As such any authors who have shared credit card information with The Indie Writers Support Website may wish to take precautions, and possibly rethink maintaining author pages on this site.veingloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03709708573358649383noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-28116675541566396262015-11-01T20:34:00.001-06:002015-11-01T20:34:09.438-06:00REVIEW: Void Contract<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1kkvQ0-PYp0/VjbLjP0eMMI/AAAAAAAAAmY/YIFc3AOxeUo/s1600/void.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1kkvQ0-PYp0/VjbLjP0eMMI/AAAAAAAAAmY/YIFc3AOxeUo/s200/void.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Title</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: Void Contract: Gigaparsec Book 1 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Author</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: Scott Rhine <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Genre</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: space opera<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Price</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: $2.99 (ebook) $8.99 (trade
paperback)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Publisher</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: Amazon Digital Servces<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">ISBN </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">B00VJEPHPE<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Point of
Sale</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Void-Contract-Gigaparsec-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00VJEPHPE">Amazon </a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Reviewed by: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://chris-gerrib.livejournal.com/">Chris Gerrib</a><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Void Contract</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> is the story of Max Culp, human
medic and assassin. In the fairly far
future, humanity has developed faster-than-light ships, made contact with
various alien races and in true human fashion fought a war with one race. Humanity won that war, although the alien
race defeated in said war still exists.
Oh, and there’s an over-race, the Magi, running around, who bestow
technology on other races as they see fit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">In this
very interesting world, Max, a !Kung tribesman descended from a group resettled
from a dying Earth, is trying to make a living. Max does so by killing sentient beings. In the first chapter, he’s doing so to repay
a debt to the aliens who protected his people.
Then, via a circuitous set of events, Max finds himself responsible for
a “Goat” (Satyr-like alien) named Reuben, and forced to kill people to save
Rueben. This is where things get
interesting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Frankly, I
like these kind of books. Who wouldn’t
want to travel the stars, cracking wise with various alien races? Personally, even if they are shooting at me
(and I’m highly allergic to bullets) I’d be glad to sign up. Having said that, I’m a sucker for these kind
of stories. It’s hard to do them wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Fortunately,
Scott Rhine understands what makes this fun, and he delivers. There’s the right amount of war-weariness,
wise-cracking and do-or-die in his story.
There’s also a nice refreshing bit of sex, and not one but two mysterious
aliens of difference species. This is
space opera, not science fiction, so the science is of the “I push this and X
happens” variety, but in this genre that’s frequently considered a feature, not
a bug. Overall, a nice romp through a
world that I’d like to visit, warts and all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Chris Gerribhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484367221527860100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-69728925701660842232015-09-22T20:41:00.000-05:002015-09-22T20:41:08.040-05:00REVIEW: An Heir to Thorns and Steel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ab6SyZn_sR8/VgIAE8DRUPI/AAAAAAAAAyE/7Goc5j266PI/s1600/51KXVY2KfSL__SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ab6SyZn_sR8/VgIAE8DRUPI/AAAAAAAAAyE/7Goc5j266PI/s200/51KXVY2KfSL__SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<strong>Title: </strong>An Heir to Thorns and Steel<br /><strong>Author:</strong> MCA Hogarth<br /><strong>Genre: </strong>Fantasy<br /><b>Price:</b> $2.99 (ebook) <br /><b>ISBN </b>978-0989263146<br /><b>Point of Sale</b>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010K8OUYI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o01_" target=""><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Amazon </span></a><br /><b>Reviewed by:</b> Psyche<br />
<br />
MCA Hogarth has a refreshingly idiosyncratic take on fantasy and this book is no exception. Morgan Locke is a university student in a fantasy realm that feels broadly Victorian but with radical difference in areas like the role of religion and the degree to which magic and mythological races turn out to be real.<br />
<br />
Locke has suffered a debilitating lifelong illness that is getting even worse. Some bizarre guests arrive to spin a wild tale that he is a prince from a distant land. This leads the hapless Locke through a serious of adventures where he acquires both allies and enemies and the stakes get very high indeed.<br />
<br />
While this is the first part of a trilogy and I enjoyed it, I feel strangely unmotivated to read the later parts. If you are embarking on a Hogarth book for the first time my recommendation would be to start with the more nuanced <em>Mindhealers</em> sci fi series or the almost-a-classic-already <em>Spots the Space Marine</em>.<br />
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7/10Psychehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069420469807481169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-14084971672848604722015-08-14T16:03:00.000-05:002015-08-14T16:03:30.059-05:00A Question of Book Reviewing Ethics: What Say You?<b>POD People</b> requests that authors interested in having a book reviewed<a href="http://podpeep.blogspot.com/p/how-to-request-review.html#.VcyvxpdchFs"> send a query email</a>, not a copy of the book. This is not something we do just to make authors' lives more difficult. This site has more than one reviewer so if the the query piques a reviewer's interest the book needs to be sent directly to the interested reviewer. Sending an e-book to our main address just maximizes the chance of it being lost, spam-blocked, or otherwise going astray. Of course people do it anyway. No biggie.<br />
<br />
In recent weeks, however, several authors have gone one step further and sent us a Kindle gift certificate for the book they want reviewed. <u>These queries are not forwarded to our reviewers.</u> I had hoped that if they were not accepted the author might get their money back (because even when sent by the author, these gift certificates are not free).<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EKBzeZhRscA/Vc5W9FE-_pI/AAAAAAAAGVE/xWU6D-okt0A/s1600/throwing-money-away.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EKBzeZhRscA/Vc5W9FE-_pI/AAAAAAAAGVE/xWU6D-okt0A/s320/throwing-money-away.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><small><b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/59937401@N07/5930043516/">Images_of_Money</a> / <a href="http://foter.com/">Foter</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY</a></b></small></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
However, Amazon Customer Service have informed me: <br />
<br />
<i>"Amazon.com gift cards don't have expiration dates. You can use your gift
card whenever it's most convenient for you. Though the seller will not
be credited back, once gift card is applied in your account, it will be
saved as an available gift card balance in your Amazon account."</i><br />
<br />
So if the author is simply throwing the money away, is there any reason I should not just take the transferable gift certificate and run? I would not do it just because it feels wrong, but whether I don't claim the gift certificate, or claim it and spend it on a box of pumpkin spice-flavored peeps instead, the author is out the same amount of money. So should it really matter to them?<br />
<br />
In any case, then I came across<a href="https://kdp.amazon.com/community/thread.jspa?messageID=825468&tstart=0"> this thread. </a> Based on what these Kindle users describe my advice to any author that sent a kindle gift certificate to the <i>podpeep </i>email account is to contact Amazon and ask for a refund. That is the only way you will recoup your pointless expenditure.<br />
<br />
<b>TL;DR version: do not send us Kindle gift cards of books you want reviewed. </b>veingloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03709708573358649383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-7974882376500583642015-08-13T02:30:00.000-05:002015-08-13T02:30:00.124-05:00REVIEW: Three Great Lies<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-on6yc3iIoCE/VcqeJyJHr6I/AAAAAAAACDg/oYC8ZYpeBfo/s1600/TGL-Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-on6yc3iIoCE/VcqeJyJHr6I/AAAAAAAACDg/oYC8ZYpeBfo/s200/TGL-Cover.jpg" width="133" /></a><b>Title: </b>Three Great Lies<br />
<b>Author:</b> <a href="http://vanmaclellan.com/" target="_blank">Vanessa MacLellan</a><br />
<b>Genre: </b>archaeological fiction<br />
<b>Price:</b> $5.99 (ebook) $16 (trade paperback)<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Hadley Rille Books<br />
<b>ISBN </b>978-0989263146<br />
<b>Point of Sale</b>: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Three-Great-Lies-Vanessa-MacLellan/dp/0989263142/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=" target="_blank">Amazon </a><br />
<b>Reviewed by:</b> <a href="http://chris-gerrib.livejournal.com/" target="_blank">Chris Gerrib</a><br />
<br />
In the tradition of <i>A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court</i> comes the debut novel of author Vanessa MacLellan, <i>Three Great Lies</i>. At the start of the story, American tourist Jeannette Walker, traveling in Egypt, decides to go off the beaten path to see a newly-discovered and thus unspoiled ancient tomb. Thanks to unknown powers, Jeannette is transported to a time when the tomb was fairly new, that of Old Kingdom Egypt. Fortunately, the same powers that transport Jeannette allow her to understand and speak the local language.<br />
<br />
But that’s about the only good thing going for Jeannette. The tomb’s occupant, a mummy, wants her to find his <i>ba </i>or soul. There’s a cat-headed girl, freshly booted out of her litter, sent to “help” Jeannette, and Jeannette’s managed to come afoul of the Slave Master of Thebes. She scoots out of town and heads upriver (which in Egypt is south) and tries to get her bearings.<br />
<br />
MacLellan spent a lot of time researching ancient Egypt, and it shows. The everyday lives and wardrobe (or lack of same) of the locals is painted in great detail. We discover that beer was very important to Egyptians, and at the time they made beer by fermenting bread in water, which means you needed a straw to drink your beer! <br />
<br />
In Mark Twain’s book, the title character used his knowledge of science to get out of trouble. Here, Jeannette’s modern knowledge is of little help. What is of help is her persistence and willingness to adapt to local customs. Jeannette’s curiosity helps, as it allows her to solve a local mystery and get right with the Slave Master, who is what passes for law in Thebes. <br />
<br />
I found <i>Three Great Lies</i> a fascinating book, and well worth the reading.<br />
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Chris Gerribhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484367221527860100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-30139117403181271662015-06-11T01:30:00.000-05:002015-06-11T01:30:02.677-05:00REVIEW: Justice Calling: The 20-Sided Sorceress Book 1 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PRel9Sui7KE/VXDDE_kDZUI/AAAAAAAAAls/Y21muTvvAvo/s1600/Justice-Calling-220x330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PRel9Sui7KE/VXDDE_kDZUI/AAAAAAAAAls/Y21muTvvAvo/s320/Justice-Calling-220x330.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Title</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Justice Calling: The 20-Sided Sorceress
Book 1 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Author</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: <a href="http://anniebellet.com/">Annie Bellet</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Genre</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Urban Fantasy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Price</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: $0.99 (ebook) / $8.99
(paperback)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Publisher</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Doomed Muse Press<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ISBN</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: </span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">978-1500629724</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Point of Sale</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">: various <a href="http://anniebellet.com/books/justice-calling/">via author’s website</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Reviewed by: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://chris-gerrib.livejournal.com/">Chris Gerrib</a><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I first heard of Annie Bellet via this year’s
Hugo brouhaha. Ms. Bellet had a short
story nominated, but, in her words, tired of being “both a conscripted player
and also a ball” she withdrew from consideration. Out of frankly appreciation, I bought Book 1
of her 20-sides Sorceress series. It’s a
good book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Jade Crow, narrator, heroine and sorceress of
the title, is enjoying a quiet life in (fictional) Wylde, Idaho, gateway to “The
Frank” (Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness). Jade, who’s of Indian descent, runs a game
shop there, serving the local population of fae and college kids who populate
the town. She’s also hiding out from her
ex-lover, a man who personally saw Julius Ceasar get stabbed, and who wants to
kill her and eat her heart. (That’s how
sorcerers get more magic.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Then a hunky blonde man walks in and says Jade
is a murderer. Oh, and he’s a Justice –
the fae’s police, judge and executioner all in one. Thus ends Chapter 1, and starts a very
entertaining if alas too-brief romp in Bellet’s entertaining world. Jade finds herself forced to make a decision –
stay and help or run – and do so quickly.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Justice Calling is really a novella – only 121
pages – but terribly entertaining. Jade
Crow is very modern, and speaks fluent Geek, as do her characters. I found Jade’s predicament believable, as
were both her and the other characters responses to same. Jade has some very useful magical powers, but
she’s not invincible, and neither is anybody else. This was really an entertaining romp, and at
least in the paper edition, there are two chapters from Book 2 of the series –
which I ordered immediately. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">9/10</span></div>
Chris Gerribhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484367221527860100noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-26817065767057754372015-03-25T04:00:00.000-05:002015-03-25T04:00:00.052-05:00REVIEW: Freedom at Feronia (Asteroid Police Book 2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KD9q6mYGf3I/VQySjMmW1nI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/nqj_3UD6r4c/s1600/Freedom%2BCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KD9q6mYGf3I/VQySjMmW1nI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/nqj_3UD6r4c/s1600/Freedom%2BCover.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Title</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Freedom at Feronia (Asteroid
Police Book 2)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Author</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: <a href="http://lockhand.org/index.html">Richard Penn</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Genre</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: SF<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Price</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: $3.99 (ebook) / $10.99
(paperback)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Publisher</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Amazon Digital Services<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ISBN</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: 978-1500830663<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Point of Sale</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Feronia-Asteroid-Police-Volume/dp/1500830666/ref=tmm_pap_title_0">Amazon </a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Reviewed by: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://chris-gerrib.livejournal.com/">Chris Gerrib</a><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I first heard of Richard Penn via another
reviewer, who made an off-hand comment about Penn’s second book, <i>Freedom at Feronia</i>. I reviewed Book 1 earlier, so here’s Book 2,
which is a close sequel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In Book 1, our heroine Lisa ends up with her
very own spaceship, or at least the core for one. After some not-terribly-interesting
discussions, she decides to take it out with a crew to Feronia, a real
asteroid, there to undertake a commission for the Asteroid Belt Police.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In Penn’s universe, space travel is awfully
slow, which causes the plot of this book to drag. Eventually, our heroes make it to Feronia, which
consists of two stations, a ground-based one and an orbital one. The two halves are in the midst of a cold
war, largely because the ground station has been overtaken by a group of
American libertarians from Tulsa, who are doing all sorts of quasi-libertarian
/ religious hijinks. Lisa’s problem is
to end the hijinks with her crew of six police in a way such that she can leave
without fighting returning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">One of my criticisms of libertarians in general
is that they don’t seem to understand how humans work. Much the same can be said of the author,
Penn. He comes up with an innovative
solution to the problem, which only works if people are much less stubborn than
they usually are. Considering that these
colonists are true believers (or they wouldn’t be there) I found that hard to
buy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I wish I could say that the breathless prose
and other stylistic points salvaged the story for me. They don’t.
The prose is workmanlike at best, and the dialog clunky. I also felt that the POV shifted around a lot
for no apparent reason. About the best I
can say for <i>Freedom at Feronia</i> is
that it provides a more solid ending than that of the first book. I would really consider both books as one
novel for purposes of plot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Interesting concept, not well-executed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Chris Gerribhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484367221527860100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-64698000635186753402015-03-23T04:00:00.000-05:002015-03-23T04:00:06.388-05:00REVIEW: The Dark Colony (Asteroid Police Book 1)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v2jl0dXv78Y/VQySAzBFofI/AAAAAAAAAlI/vb05lzPdYUc/s1600/Dark%2BColony%2BCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v2jl0dXv78Y/VQySAzBFofI/AAAAAAAAAlI/vb05lzPdYUc/s1600/Dark%2BColony%2BCover.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Title</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: The Dark Colony (Asteroid
Police Book 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Author</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: <a href="http://lockhand.org/index.html">Richard Penn</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Genre</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: SF<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Price</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: $3.99 (ebook) / $9.99
(paperback)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Publisher</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: Amazon Digital Services<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ISBN</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: 978-1500357252<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Point of Sale</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Colony-Asteroid-Police-Volume/dp/1500357251/ref=tmm_pap_title_0">Amazon </a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Reviewed by: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://chris-gerrib.livejournal.com/">Chris Gerrib</a><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I first heard of Richard Penn via another
reviewer, who made an off-hand comment about Penn’s second book, <i>Freedom at Feronia</i>. Since both books were $3.99 ebooks, I bought
them and read them in order. My overall
assessment is merely okay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
Dark Colony</span></i><span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">, today’s book, is set on a colony orbiting the
very real asteroid Terpsichore. Our
heroine, Lisa, is an 18-year-old junior cop in the very small colony (around
400 people all told) whom, in Chapter 1, finds a dead body. What’s especially shocking is that said dead
body is the first stranger Lisa has ever met.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Thus begins my many, many heartburns with the book. Penn, in an attempt to be realistic, has kept
his travel between points in space slow – arguably too slow, and too infrequent
to support a realistic economy. I have other
world-building issues, such as a colony spun to produce 1/100<sup>th</sup> of a
G gravity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">My biggest heartburn begins when the
investigation gets up to speed. Nobody
would reasonably expect the police department of a 400-person village to handle
a murder all on their own. So they call
for help from Mars. But because of the
travel issues, Mars is really just computer help and talking heads on a video
screen. Yet when Lisa is told by Mars to
arrest people she’s known her whole life, she does so without a peep! Moreover, the locals stand for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Now, I have to say I found <i>The Dark Colony</i> a refreshing change of pace from typical SF
asteroids of late, which seem to be infested with gun-toting libertarians. The economy and politics is much more
(realistically, in my view) collectivist.
But I do believe than Penn has tossed the baby out with the bathwater in
regards to how people would realistically behave. Simply put, if The Authorities can’t actually
put boots on the ground (or whatever passes for ground locally) they aren’t
really in authority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I wish I could say that the breathless prose
and other stylistic points salvaged the story for me. They don’t.
The prose is workmanlike at best, and a fair amount of the dialog is
maid-and-butler. I get the feeling that
Penn hasn’t ever lived in a small town, which is reflected in his characters. Like much self-published stuff<i>, The Dark Colony</i> is an interesting
concept not well executed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">7/10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Chris Gerribhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484367221527860100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-36356828576213646812015-03-02T10:02:00.003-06:002015-03-02T10:02:35.931-06:00Mark Lawrence publicity opportunityIf you have self-published a fantasy book you might<a href="http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/a-call-to-self-published-fantasy-authors.html"> be interested in this opportunity</a> to get some high quality blog reviews.veingloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03709708573358649383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-24020578556170243552015-02-21T17:24:00.000-06:002015-05-03T19:58:04.489-05:00REVIEW: A Sword Into Darkness<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3QOppgX2aD4/VOkTffE2qnI/AAAAAAAAAkY/PMDObCISe0w/s1600/sword.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3QOppgX2aD4/VOkTffE2qnI/AAAAAAAAAkY/PMDObCISe0w/s1600/sword.jpg" height="200" width="134" /></a><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Title</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: A Sword Into Darkness<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Author</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: Thomas A. Mays<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Genre</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: Military SF<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Price</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: $3.99 (ebook) $14.39 (paperback)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Publisher</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: Amazon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">ISBN </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">978-1939398086<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Point of
Sale</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Into-Darkness-Thomas-Mays/dp/1939398088/ref=tmm_pap_title_0">Amazon </a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Reviewed by: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://chris-gerrib.livejournal.com/">Chris Gerrib</a><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">There’s an ongoing debate in Science Fiction at the
moment. One very loud faction says
people are abandoning SF because all our stories are “social justice novels”
and we’re handing out awards not for good work but to hit a racial / ethnic /
gender checklist. Since I vote on one of
the awards (the Hugos) I found that argument rather unconvincing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">One of the gentlemen on the other side, I discovered, had
penned an SF novel entitled<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>A Sword Into Darkness</i></span>. The ebook
price was right, so I bought it and read it.<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Overall, it's a
pretty good book - I'd give it three stars. The action is engaging, the science
is solid, and his invading aliens have unique motivations and modes of travel.
(It's important to figure out why they are moving so slowly.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">But it's not a 4 or
5 star book.</span><br />
<br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Sword<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="background: white;">is in many ways old-fashioned. Chapter 1 is a
temper tantrum thrown when a wealthy alt-space guy can't convince NASA with
five (5) (five!!!!!) months of telescopic data that the aliens are coming.
After five months, with dozens of telescopes and hundreds of astronomers
looking,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>everybody<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>would know the aliens are coming. Yet NASA somehow keeps the
lid on the invasion for decades.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">So, in Chapter 3,
wealthy industrialist decides to invest his billions in developing and building
the type of tech we'd need to defeat the invasion. This goes surprisingly
smoothly, despite government interference (of course the government interferes
- ignore the fact that they're paying SpaceX and others) and has few technical
glitches. (It's only rocket science, after all.)<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Oh, and there's a
hijacking of a ship that I saw coming for a while. And the US Secretary of
Defense has to be fired in order to put a stop to his obstructionism. (It's
only an alien invasion.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Now, despite all of
this I did find the story entertaining. Also, the aliens were unique, so it's
not all recycled material. But there's a lot of recycling going on. It was
enjoyable, but cotton candy for the mind.
It will not be on my Hugo list.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">7/10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Chris Gerribhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484367221527860100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-10973218456764737532015-02-13T02:30:00.000-06:002015-02-13T02:30:03.632-06:00REVIEW: Death Stalks Door County<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DWz5xrdeCk4/VNeyyP1HAAI/AAAAAAAAAjs/E5DsHcNODFI/s1600/DSDC.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DWz5xrdeCk4/VNeyyP1HAAI/AAAAAAAAAjs/E5DsHcNODFI/s1600/DSDC.png" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Title</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: Death Stalks Door County<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Author</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: <a href="http://www.patriciaskalka.com/">Patricia Skalka</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Genre</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: mystery<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Price</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: $26.95 (hardcover) $10.49
(ebook)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Publisher</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: Terrace Books (University of
Wisconsin Press)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">ISBN </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">978-0299299408<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Point of Sale</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">: various, <a href="http://www.patriciaskalka.com/">listed at author's site</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Reviewed by: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://chris-gerrib.livejournal.com/">Chris Gerrib</a><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">My local
library held a local authors’ fair in January.
I attended the event, sold a couple of books, and of course bought a
couple. One of the books I bought was <i>Death Stalks Door County</i> by Patricia Skalka. It’s a contemporary mystery, but I firmly
believe one should vary what genres one reads.
It helps that Death Stalks is a very good book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Death Stalks</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> is Patricia Skalka’s first novel,
although the author enjoyed a long career in non-fiction writing. It’s set in Door County, Wisconsin, which is
a peninsula that juts into Lake Michigan.
For reasons cultural and geographic, when Chicagoans are looking for a
weekend getaway, they go north to Wisconsin, and Door County is a heavy recipient
of that traffic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The
protagonist is Dave Cubiak, a newly-minted state park ranger and former Chicago
cop. His wife and child were killed by a
drunk driver, and Dave crawled into a bottle.
In an attempt to help him get out of said bottle, his buddies set him up
with the job in Door County. It wasn’t
helping. Then, the brother of the man
who killed Dave’s wife takes a fatal fall (or was he pushed?) from the top of
the park’s observation tower, and Dave discovers the body. Thus ends Chapter 1.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">This is
the first of a number of suspicious deaths, all of them occurring just as the
county is getting ready for their annual “start of the tourist season”
festival. The big wheels in the county,
thinking tourists are coming to escape big-city violence not get dead in it,
want these murders to stop and things kept quiet. It turns out that there are other plans
afoot, some of which are even more threatening to Door County.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">It’s hard
to write a review of a mystery without giving it away. All I can say is, everybody is a suspect, and
Skalka plays fair with her clues. When
the final reveal happens, it’s fair and I could mentally go back through the
book and lay out the clues I had missed.
There’s an especially subtle touch towards the end with an Indian
feather head-dress worn during a parade.
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">All I can
say is, read this book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">8/10</span></div>
Chris Gerribhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484367221527860100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796627.post-45691689318527708302015-02-08T13:25:00.001-06:002015-02-08T13:25:53.954-06:00REVIEW: Riding the Red Horse<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d4Hdd97nJD0/VNe35COo36I/AAAAAAAAAj8/KbrxcDFje2U/s1600/RH1_256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d4Hdd97nJD0/VNe35COo36I/AAAAAAAAAj8/KbrxcDFje2U/s1600/RH1_256.jpg" height="200" width="125" /></a><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Title</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: Riding the Red Horse<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Editor</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: Tom Kratman and Vox Day<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Genre</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: military SF / military
non-fiction<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Price</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: $4.99 (ebook)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Publisher</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">: Castalia House<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">ISBN </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">B00QZD9H5K<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Point of Sale</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Riding-Red-Horse-Christopher-Nuttall-ebook/dp/B00QZD9H5K">Amazon</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Reviewed by: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://chris-gerrib.livejournal.com/">Chris Gerrib</a><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I am not a
fan of Vox Day. He holds views
diametrically opposed to mine on, if not everything, most things, and has a
tendency to be very controversial. I’m
also not a fan of Colonel Tom Kratman, although I do respect his service. Having said that, I've never felt that I
should restrict myself to reading only books written by people I like, and so I
took a flyer on </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Riding the Red Horse</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">In the
1980s and early 1990s, there were a series of anthologies entitled <i>There Will Be War</i>. The books were a
mixture of military SF and non-fiction. Red
Horse is a revival of the same concept, and some of the same authors (notably
Jerry Pournelle) appear in both anthologies.
The basic concept of both books is history has not ended, and Man (and
probably Non-Man) will always fight wars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Red Horse
has 26 separate works, half non-fiction and half short stories. I found all of them well-written and
thought-provoking, even if some of them I didn't agree with. In short, I can recommend this unreservedly
for fans of military SF. Some noteworthy
articles were:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Sucker Punch</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> – the fiction debut of Eric S.
Raymond, this is a near-future story in which China invades Taiwan. I had an issue with some of the naval tactics
employed, but the story as a whole was reminiscent of Tom Clancy’s better work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Understanding 4<sup>th</sup>
Generation War</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> – a
non-fiction article by William S. Lind, this was well-written and provided a
good summary of an important concept. I
(and I suspect Col. Kratman) don’t agree with the concept, but that’s in part
the point of an anthology like this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">A Reliable Source</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> – Vox Day’s contribution to the
book, which makes a point that should be obvious but apparently isn’t, namely the
weakness of aerial drone warfare is the base “back home.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The Hot Equations</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> – a non-fiction article by Ken
Burnside, a genuine Rocket Scientist ™, which says “there ain’t no such thing
as stealth in space.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The General’s Guard</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> – written by Brad Torgersen, this
is an interesting story on women in combat and on the idea that, as Stalin
supposedly said, quantity is a quality all its own. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> 8/10</span></div>
Chris Gerribhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09484367221527860100noreply@blogger.com0