Spilt Coffee

Rating: 

About the Author:

I was unable to locate a bio for this author.


Blurb:

SPILT COFFEE is about three aging, disillusioned, and lost schizoaffective men who live vicariously for their love of the beautiful, young Filipino female nurse who looks after them. This novella is spiced with humour but hits home like a hard rock with its terrifying despondency. Ultimately, it is a beacon against the dark stigma toward the mentally ill and it should ignite compassion amongst the most calloused person.

Review: 

This was a very compelling story of a man's descent into delusion and his attempts to overcome it.  The characters are unique and well-rounded, and the writing is wonderful!

There were technical issues with commas, and on more than one occasion, the author went into summary rather than fleshing very wonderful scenes out.  Even still, this earned a four-star rating from me.  Last night, I decided to read one chapter, but I couldn't stop.  One night's worth of sleep lost, delving into the mind of a person struggling to understand reality as it is presented to him.  It was utterly fascinating.

I will be reading a lot more from this author.

Purchase Spilt Coffee from Amazon.

Journey Back to Threa

Rating: 

About the Author:
(Taken from Goodreads)

Cindy L. Cowles was born in Louisiana. She has driven trucks over the road, sold tickets for a traveling carnival and even drove a dump truck to gather corn from a corn field before settling in Oklahoma where she drove for a construction company. Now, after 21 years she's back in Louisiana and spoils her grandbaby when she's not writing. (And even when she is ;}) She shares a home with her boyfriend, two grown kids, a grandchild and a bearded dragon. She enjoys writing science fiction, fantasy, erotica and romance.

Blurb:  

For two thousand years, there has been a spaceship hidden on the dark side of the moon. Very few know of its existence, and only one has known its location. That one was High Councilwoman and Captain Estelle Morgan, Lacy’s grandmother and one of the original survivors from the planet Threa. When Lacy’s grandmother chooses not to Rebirth again and passes away, Lacy inherits the house, a tantalizing letter about humanity’s true origins and...a FTL spaceship called Pegasus I. Forced to flee when her home is invaded by a group called the Chosen, and her life and the lives of her three closest friends are threatened, Lacy brings her friends aboard an atmospheric hopper - a small transport meant to shuttle explorers from Pegasus I to a planet’s surface and back - and escapes just in time. Now she’s taking them on the trip of a lifetime, going on a Journey Back To Threa.

Review:

This is a pretty good adventure story.  In the very first chapter, Lacy learns that she inherited more than a butt-load of money and a mansion from her grandmother — she also inherited a spaceship and a high status.  Soon after this discovery, Lacy and her friends are forced to flee Earth and wind up traveling in space.

While I enjoyed this story, it could have easily been three times longer.  There was a lack of details which really would have helped transport me fully into this universe, and on more than one occasion, I was confused by the characters' dialogues and choices.  

There were technical issues with the writing, but I can tell that this author is very talented with words.  Some of my favorite lines:

"Every speck of available light seemed to dance across its dark surface in a hypnotic show of rainbows and shadows, even though the only source of illumination was a flickering yellow safety light at each end of the room."

"After two millennia of staring through the lens of a camera and speaking through speakers, I find that I long for the experiences that can only be found in a body - the taste of fresh berries in cream melting on my tongue, the feel of grass tickling underfoot, the caress of a gentle breeze blowing through my hair on a warm day..."

I am looking forward to the next two books, but I do hope there is more exposition and description to allow me to really fall into the story and visualize the universe as the author sees it.

Purchase Journey Back to Threa at Amazon.

A Slice of Quietude

Rating:

About the Author:
(Taken from Amazon)

In a previous life, Sharon Cho was one of the good guys, a comic-book agent who fought for her clients' rates and royalties. Then she hit her 30's and realized she needed insurance and instead, became a minion of evil empires aka insurance companies. But she never forsook the arts, instead writing by night. Sure, her wife and three dogs cried out for love and attention but the creative gods had to be appeased. And this is the result of that appeasement.

Blurb:

The Quietude, a psychic realm accessible by only a select few, is Kat’s secret for improving her deadly focus. It’s how she became a high level Midnight Slicer, an elite assassin. But when she meets Tristien Waef inside the Quietude, Kat knows she’s outmatched. Tristien, scarred from head to toe both physically and emotionally, displays unheard-of abilities inside the Quietude! In a rare move, Kat throws caution to the wind, and joins Tristien and her two friends: the battle-hardened Cela and the almost-famous bard Kinjara, in their travels. But will the Midnight Slicers allow Kat to shift allegiances? And can a budding relationship with Kat get Tristien to move beyond her traumatic past?

Review:

At it's heart, this is a very fascinating book.  The main characters, Tristien and Kat, are falling head-over-heels in love, but their past demons get in the way of their ability to commit and fully open up to one another.  For Tristien, the past demons are physical; for Kat, they are mental.  I would love to go into depth about their issues, but it may spoil the read.

 

For me, the story is foremost a love story and the battles/fights are secondary.  I have always enjoyed stories where humans were the most important thing, and this novel delivers on that.

 

Alongside Tristien and Kat are two friends, Cela and Kinjara.  Their pasts are not delved into greatly, but seeing as how they are secondary characters, this is not necessary.  What they do have are unique characteristics that really help them leap off of the page and take on a life of their own.

 

While I did enjoy this book, there were some stylistic decisions that affected my read.  For one, each character was referred to in a multitude of ways.  For instance, Kat was referred to by nickname, full name, the olive woman, dark haired woman, the Slicer, the Midnight Slicer etc. (these names may not be exact).  I was pulled from the story every time one of these was used, and this happened for every character.

 

Another issue that I had was the frequent use phrases at the beginning of a sentence.  This would happen to a majority of the sentences in a paragraph, and it would create a rhythm in reading that would pull me from the story.

 

There were a few more issues that brought this to three stars.

 

Aside from all of those things, though, this was an engaging novel with some beautifully written sentences.  I will definitely be reading the next book!

 

 

Purchase A Slice of Quietude at Amazon.