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Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie

Category Archives: Read


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New Graphic Sci Fi Novel Worth a Look-See

Free

By E B. Roshan

Genre: Children’s comic/graphic novel

Pages: 126

Via: Author request

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How an interplanetary ex-bodyguard with a ray gun winds up as a fruit picker with an artificial leg is the focus of this light and fluffy graphic novel by E.B. Roshan.

When we first meet Rex he’s picking fruit on a farm in the Vega system. It seems an odd choice for a former bodyguard. Think Han Solo meets Lurch in the San Joaquin Valley.

But when Sir Sarpedon returns to the farm unexpectedly and sees Rex with a ray guy, the former pretty much freaks out. Apparently fruit pickers and ray guns don’t mix. That changes when Rex saves Sarpedon from an attack by a deadly tree viper, courtesy of some smokin’ hot shootin’.

Next thing ya know, Rex is offered a chance to join Sarpedon’s security team. He takes it. And joins Sarpedon and crew members Fido and Theo aboard the Black Stone. Their job is to collect “dues” from farmers on “harvest moons” for their boss, Lord Delta. Aka: Stealing.

Turns out Sarpedon isn’t exactly a warm and cuddly kinda guy. In fact, he’s a jerk.

When the ship lands on Delta Three to meet Lord Delta, said Lord can’t be found. So Sarpedon and Rex decide to cool their jets at a local watering hole. Rex tries to rein in Sarpedon’s rude behavior and gets zappified for his trouble. After Rex recovers from his injuries, he’s offered a temp job at the bar. We’re not exactly sure what happens to him or why after that. Cuz the story just kind of walks off a cliff and dives off.

This book is like an omelet – light and fluffy. The pacing is nimble and the story moves quickly. You can read it cover to cover inside of an hour.

We would’ve liked to have read a hard copy that included color illustrations. But the PDF version provided for our Kindle was black and white only. So we won’t be rating this book. However, young readers who enjoy sci fi and/or comic books will enjoy Free. It’s a sweet, uplifting story that’s worth a look-see. It launches on January 15.

Our Rating: 3.5

E.B. Roshan is the author of the Shards of Sevia series. Find out more here.

Visit E.B. Roshan Store on Amazon

Author E.B. Roshan.

Here are our reviews of other Roshan titles:

Wrong Place, Right Time

Love Costs

Judgment Calls


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‘Way of the Bow’ Leaves Room to Wander (and Wonder)

Kimber: Okay, Mom. Time for a pop quiz.

Mom (being her usual alert, coherent self): Huh?

Kimber: Whaddya get when you roll Ethan Hunt, Luther Stickell, and Kwai Chang Caine all into one, to the tune of Life Is A Highway?

Mom: Is this a trick question?  

It could be in this thriller where Zen Buddhist spook dude teams up with handy-dandy computer nerd while on the run from some uber bad guys in this up and down action/adventure tome. It called Way of the Bow. By Vince Fratello.

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sarge is a warrior with the NSA and the “Gray Consultants.” Very hush-hush. Very effective. He’s also 65 years old. Trying to retire. Bernie’s a computer nerd. Aka: expert hacker. Both skill sets come in handy. Especially when people are trying to kill you. 

This storyline is the strongest part of the book. What follows as Sarge and Bernie team up to get to the bottom of what happened and why and head for D.C. for answers is a mixed bag.

Most of the rest of the book is about the people and places Sarge and Bernie encounter as they make their way from the West Coast to D.C. This includes an extensive cast of colorful characters like the dude with the ultralight, Gwen the horse lady and the guys in the boxcar en route to Montana. Tough-as-nails with a heart of gold Catholic nun, Sister Rose-Carolyn. A ride aboard an eighteen-wheeler. A dash to Chicago with Carrie and her EV camper van, The Beast. A side run into MMNA, judo, jiu jitsu and aikido. Salem Sue, the World’s Largest Holstein Cow. It’s also a bit gastro pub on wheels. So you might want to bring a fork. Or two.

While eloquent and articulate, we felt the book loses focus and meanders into metaphysical sermonizing a little too often. And that’s too bad. Because it’s actually pretty well written, with sturdy characters, credible dialogue and generous doses of dry humor, which we totally love. But when it strays from spook thriller about uncovering a deadly conspiracy at the highest levels and wanders into Adventures in Zen Land, the action/adventure angle gets lost in the reeds.


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Why ‘Awake For Ever’ Will Put You to Sleep

Awake For Ever in a Sweet Unrest

By Chuck Rosenthal

Genre: Your guess is as good as ours

Pages: 102

Via: Publicist Request

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

No Sominex needed!

Cut to the Chase

Let’s just cut to the chase on this one, okay? What a dud. This book is so busy trying to be clever or hip or something, it forgets to create a coherent story. That kinda matters. Especially if you’re gonna pitch it to us for review.

Newsflash: We don’t do muddled and mussy. We’re just funny that way.

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‘Want Some Ketchup With That Crow?’

Yo! Wazzup?

 

Kimber: The ‘Ole Curmudgeon (TOC) can’t come to the blog right now. She’s hunting up the nearest plate and fork. So I’m gonna take over for a min, okay?

Now. You know that the OC is like, super-duper opinionated. On Pretty. Much. Everything. Especially books. We don’t apologize for that one bit. In fact, it’s one of Mom’s best features. (I can’t remember the other two at the moment. Can I get back to you on that that?)

Anyway, Mom’s been whaling away on the last few Kristin Hannah novels she read. Cuz they were like, lousy. Lookin’ at you, The Women. Distant Shores. Summer Island. The Four Winds. Barf-o-rama x4.

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Why ‘Dear Santa’ Needs Rudolph

So Mom and I are diving into that “Christmas reading” thing. With both feet. And four paws. I’m not quite sure what ‘Christmas reading’ means. But if Mom likes it, then so do I!

We have some perennial favorites. Like Richard Paul Evans’ The Christmas Box. Earl Hamner Jr.’s The Homecoming. The Polar Express. That green dude, Whoville, and his dog Max. Luke 2.

We also grab some new titles every year. That’s how we found Dear Santa. By Nancy Naigle. I’ll let The ‘Ole Curmudgeon fill ya in:

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Psychological Thriller Has Potential

Yesteryear’s Echo: A Historical Psychological Thriller

Book 1 of the Case 47 Series

By Jane M. Bell (Indie author, 2024)

Genre: Fiction – thriller

Pages: 346

Bia: Author Request

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Go to the oldest part (of the hospital archives). It is there where time stands still, but history continues to move forward.”

The Basics

Thomas Bauer, MD, PhD is an exhausted psychiatrist with a crumbling marriage and an estranged wife and young son. Thomas is also on the outs with the administration at Saint Elizabeths (sic) Hospital in D.C. And he’s trying to get out from under the shadow of his famous psychiatrist father, Dr. Harold Bauer. Thomas Bauer harbors nagging questions about his dad’s roll in some nefarious “research” at Saint E’s. Did Harold Bauer’s research partner, Dr. Matthias Levi, figure out a way to “send consciousness through time”? If so, at what cost? And what is “Case 47”?

“Secrecy always shrouded the tenure of Levi and his father. Mysteries that fueled a burning curiosity for years.”

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‘Hope Unleashed’ Warms Hearts, Wags Tails

Hope Unleashed: Coping with Cancer with Courage & Love: The True Story of an Animal Rescue Caregiver

By June Summers (Van Velzer Press, December 2024)

Via: Author request

Genre: Non-Fiction/Memoir

Pages: 179

We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Please note that we won’t be rating this book. Assigning a numerical rating to a memoir just doesn’t feel right.

If courage could shine through ink, these pages would glow.

Kimber: Mom and I? We don’t say the above about too many books. But June Summers’ Hope Unleashed isn’t just any book. Hauntingly beautiful and searingly elegiac, Hope Unleashed is based on the life of a real woman, Wendy, as told by her mother. It also has dogs. About 40+. And about 20 cats (Nobody’s perfect). And how Wendy’s limitless love for animals and her passion for saving lives became her own lifeline as she battled an aggressive form of cancer.

Mom says you might want to grab a box of tissue before diving into this one. Or maybe a whole pallet. I’ll let Mom tell ya more. As soon as I re-up her tissue supply. Take it away, Mom:

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Sparks’ ‘Dreamland’: Straight Outta Snoozeville?

Dreamland

By Nicholas Sparks (Random House, 2022)

Pages: 360

Genre: Fiction

Via: Library Book Sale

“So who are you and what have you done with Nicholas Sparks?” Her Momness asketh the other day. I’m pretty sure it’s a “rhetorical question.” Not sure what that means. Except that Mom’s been reading Nicholas Sparks since just after the discovery of fire. And apparently she was, shall we say, less than impressed with this tome? Here’s why:

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‘An Honorable Defeat’ Prodigious, Probing

You know how Mom and I love history, write? (That’s not a typo.)  So when we saw William C. Davis’ An Honorable Defeat: The Last Days of the Confederate Government at a library book sale recently, we snapped it up right quick. Thought we’d chew on it awhile. After all, it smelled like a good idea!

Here’s the 4-1-1:

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WWII Heroism Remembered in ‘Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island’: When Uncommon Valor Was a Common Virtue

Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island

The World War II Battle That Saved Marine Corps Aviation

By John Bruning

Via’ Library

Genre: Narrative Non-Fiction/Military History

Pages: 436 + Epilogue, Final Note, Their Legacy, Appendix, Bibliographic Essay, Notes, and Index

Note: We’re posting this review today because November 10 is a very important day in our household. Dad was a Marine. And November 10 is the Marine Corps Birthday. In honor of The Few. The Proud, we thought we’d look back at a historic battle in a long line of historic USMC battles via this book. From the Halls of Montezuma, to the Shores of Tripoli…

Hi, Dad!

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