Ooga Booga



Rating:

About the Author:

(Taken from Amazon)

Gerry Walker is a writer living in Harlem. His debut novel, Pretty People Are Highly Flammable, was called “Fantastically twisted, deliciously get down dirty, gritty and real… seductively addictive and simply amazing,” by USA Today Bestselling Fiction Author Delilah Marvelle.

 

Blurb:

 

OOGA BOOGA by Gerry Walker is one of the first fictional renderings of the #BlackLivesMatter movement told via a speculative, futuristic lens: It has been a few years since the deaths of Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tanisha Anderson, Freddie Gray and Sandra Bland. A mysterious condition invades the U.S., erasing the Black individual’s ability to speak any known languages. A bizarre new dialect has surfaced instead. Unable to comprehend their surroundings, they take to the streets and do what they can to survive. This sparks nationwide panic, triggering a government mandate to capture Black people and transport them to isolation camps. Marketing executive Vanessa Landing risks everything to fight for their freedom, not realizing the web of deception awaiting her, nor the liberating love that will transform her from an insecure corporate pawn into the fierce warrior she was meant to be.

 

 

 

 

Review:

 

Ooga Booga is a fascinating speculative fiction, exploring what might happen if African-Americans suddenly developed a change in the way they think and speak.  The author does a wonderful job of examining how American society would react and how it would affect individuals on a personal level.

Along with the fascinating concept, I also really enjoyed the writing style.  It was smooth and incredibly gorgeous at certain moments.  I had no issue reading this novel in a single setting and finishing it in one day.

Some of my favorite lines:

Anti-rhythmic and multi-tones, it was what a modem might sound like if it sang to you.  Like programmer code being performed live beneath your skin.


Without warning, a loud, brilliant sensation of freedom exploded through her cerebral cortex, forcing her fear to compete for space.


She craved more and wanted to open herself up and pour him in like medicine.






While the story is being advertised as a novel illustrating the #BlackLivesMatter movement, I have trouble describing it as that, myself.  For me, it's about a person's struggle to regain control of her life and herself.  The main character, Nessa, has changed her life significantly and moved away from her family, pretending to be something she is not merely because her love ones insisted it was the best thing for her.  She falls into the lie and continues to act and behave certain ways just to gain the approval of those around her she admire.  Once the novel really picks up, Nessa finds her façade stripped away, and she has to finally come to terms with who she truly is.  But, is she now in control of her life, or has she fallen into her old ways, allowing other people to dictate who she should be and how she should behave?  I think at it's heart, this is a story that could speak to so many people on a deep, individual level.



I'm sure the main question is why four stars when I loved this so much!  There were a few aspects that took a star off for me.  The biggest for me is that there were so many scenes skipped and glossed over, and the lack of those scenes affected how much the story resonated with me.

For instance, the main plot of the story is that African-Americans were treated poorly by being locked up in camps.  While on the surface that sounds horrific, I couldn't ignore the fact that the change in how people thought and spoke also came hand in hand with confused cognitive abilities.  Being unable to think clearly or understand what something means can be dangerous not only for the affected individual, but also for passersby.  In otherwords, one wouldn't claim that a person suffering from Alzheimer's is being mistreated simply because they're not allowed to walk around in public alone... and there were thousands of African-Americans suffering from this ailment in the end.

I read through a majority of the books wondering what the big deal was, and what the main character had in mind to keep both the affected individuals and the general public safe once the camps closed.  Throughout the book, characters would state very plainly that the camps were horrible, but the audience is never shown that.

After the main character is released from the camps (and the audience is shown her in a confused mind frame with workers in the camp tending to her), the main character gives a speech about the camps, stating:  "I've personally heard the heartbreaking stories of hundreds of hardworking individuals who've lost their jobs... Stories of people like you who were chained up and banished to live in cold, dim, dirty camps miles away from your home."

While the audience is shown the main character losing her job (and I could get behind and cheer their attempts to create laws and prevent this from happening), I couldn't cheer for their abolishment of the camps because I wasn't shown the heartbreaking stories.  At some points, I wished the author had gone in scene for some of the information provided to the audience.  I wanted to, at the very least, hear the heartbreaking stories and the horrific things some people had to endure in the camps.



All in all, while a very good read, the story could have been twice as long and much more engaging.

And, although I had one major issue with one aspect of the story, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and being taken through all the twists and turns of the main character's journey.  This is a novel for my must-read list.


If this sounds like an interesting story to you, please purchase your copy at Amazon.

Evolution of Angels

 Rating:

About the Author:

(Taken from Amazon)

Nathan Wall is a husband, father, author and wanna-be part-time superhero (because new legislation limits the benefits and tax deductions he can receive as a full-timer) who lives in Texas. He's been creating stories since before he can remember. He says creating stories, and not writing them, because - as a boy - he had a healthy addiction to superhero action figures, and used to stage his own homemade adventures/movies in his room. His love for story telling morphed when he entered high school, as countless spirals of paper knelt before his pen. In college, that love for story telling morphed into other media. In 2010, he was nominated for an Emmy award. Nathan is the author of "Evolution of Angels," a science-fantasy/ action thriller. The ebook version was launched in June of 2014. The subsequent installments are set to be released soon, including a shared-world novella later this year. Other writing credits to his name is the highly praised "Money Ball for Fantasy Baseball," a non-fiction strategy guide series. The 2014 edition was featured by many independent fantasy baseball sites. When he is not busy writing, Nathan can be found interacting with his numerous fans on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Blurb:  

After finding angelic DNA characteristics hidden throughout the population, a secret agency decides to recreate angels of their own. The agency's "Double-Helix project" manipulates the DNA of certain humans, creating soldiers who can wield the armor and weapons of Angels, the Aurascales: a sentient armor that forms a symbiotic relationship with its host. In the pursuit of perfection, and the hopes of helping his wife conceive a child, William Sanderson clones an Angel, making a warrior far superior to anything they've seen before. The only problem is the clone's powers can't be controlled, so his memory is erased and a mental wall is erected to keep what lingers inside from breaking out. One day, to battle a force the likes which have never been encountered, this clone is recruited by the agency and his mental wall is broken.

Review:

Fascinating concepts reside in Evolution of Angels.  Nathan Walls blends mythology together to create an interesting story about a man being recruited to save the world from deadly threats.

The characters are interesting, although they all speak in similar manners.  At times, I found it difficult to keep up with who was talking and at what point.  That being said, I really enjoyed getting to know and following Jarrod!  His sense of humor and personality stuck to me.  I also found it interesting how he first came across like the fun loving side-kick, but by the end he is shown to be the hero.

My other favorite character is Oreios!  He's demented in a pretty fun way.

 

The writing is... efficient.  It wasn't bad and I could imagine the scenes fairly easily, but there was something missing.  This is definitely personal aesthetics, since I tend to enjoy more poetic writing.  A few moments, the type of descriptive writing I enjoy did pop up.

For examples:

"Saliva in his mouth strung together from tooth to tooth like spider webs."

Disgusting, but also vivid.

"... launched him thirty yards, causing him to skip across the ground like a smooth stone on a calm lake."

And my personal favorite:

"Jarrod jumped onto the railing, overlooking the bottom floor like a terrifying gargoyle."

 

There was one other issue that I had with the story, and that was the excessive use of backstory.  Most of it could have been discovered through narration and dialogue, but the reader is taken back to months and years in the past to relive certain moments.  The most frustrating part was with Episode 4.  Right after an amazing battle, an entire section (set up like a chapter, but a little longer) was dedicated to back story, and most of the information would have been perfectly acceptable if a character had sat down and explained one or two points to another character.  It wasn't hard to keep up with the time jumps, they just seemed to come at a time where I wanted resolution on something specific.  Essentially, they delayed satisfaction, which at moments can be very frustrating.

 

So, the reason for three stars is a combination of characters not being distinct enough, prose lacking a bit more flare, and backstory interrupting the much more interesting current story.

Other than those three things, however, I still have to recommend this book.  If you enjoy action-packed novels which explore fascinating ideas, you should enjoy this!

 

Also, extra kudos for this line and knowing the difference between the man and the monster!

 

"I feel like Frankenstein's monster," he joked...

If this title interests you, please check this novel out on Amazon.

A Vanishing Glow

 Rating: 

About the Author:
(Taken from Goodreads)

Alexis Radcliff is an author, gamer, unashamed geek, and history junkie who spent the better part of a decade working in tech before dedicating herself to her first love, literature. A VANISHING GLOW, her debut novel, is the opening book in her MYSTECH ARCANUM series, an exciting blend of steampunk and flintlock fantasy with mature themes.

Alexis lives and works in the Portland area with her adorable (if surly) cat and her equally adorable husband. When not writing, she spends her time reading, running, playing way too many videogames, and thinking too much about everything.

Even more of her writing can be found at her blog, Lexirad.com, and if you don't have enough sources of cat pictures and random fun in your life, you can follow her on Twitter (where she also spends too much time).


Blurb:

When the High Sovereign of the five kingdoms of Ghavarim is murdered by a mysterious assassin, the realm is plunged into chaos. Jason Tern, a noble captain with a tragic past, must battle shadowy assailants and untangle an ever-widening web of lies to discover the true identity of the killer before mounting tensions spark a bloody civil war.

Meanwhile, Nilya Valsu, a talented army engineer with a broken heart, finds herself used as an unwitting pawn in a plot that has deadly consequences. Wracked by guilt, her sole chance for redemption lies with a man who would loathe her – but only if he knew her secret.

As the conflict intensifies between the magic-fueled technology of the West and the disaffected rebels of the East, all must fight for what they hold dear. Who will reign victorious and who will lie bloodied on the ground in the light of a vanishing glow? 

Review:

A Vanishing Glow is a pretty compelling read.  The main, main characters (the two that are followed throughout the majority of the novels) are pretty well-crafted and compelling.

Jason is a soldier who is more comfortable with a weapon than in high society, but when his life-long friend, Nole, request that Jason takes a seat on the council, he decides to do just that.  The relationship between the two was set up really well from the beginning.  I could see Jason's level of comfort lower when with Nole is around.  From the beginning, I could tell that characterization was the strong point of the author.  I don't mean to take away from her writing, because that's strong, too, but her ability to craft characters is beyond good.

The next character I consider to be main is Nilya.  She is a sapper, but desperately wants to become a weapons engineer.  Her introduction has her frantically working on a device that could help make her dreams come true.

With both introductions, I found Nilya's more compelling.  She was working towards a goal, and the audience saw it from the very beginning.  Later on in the book, I found myself a little less interesting in what she was doing and way more fascinated by Jason and his search for a killer.  I think this is the first issue I really had with the story.  The balance was just a bit off with the plot, and there were too many lolls with either one character or the other.

Also, there was a missed opportunity in this volume, I think.  A lot of time was spent setting up the social dynamic between people and constructs, but when a character suddenly finds himself/herself as one, this dynamic is not fully realized.  I'm pretty sure this is going to be further explored in the next book, but it would have been nice to start that thread here.

Overall, there were things I loved and things I didn't, which brought me to a four star.  I'll definitely be reading the next book, if for no other reason than to see how our construct handles his/her new form.

Buy your copy on Amazon.

The Spiral Effect

Rating:

About the Author:

(Taken from Amazon)

James Gilmartin is the author of multiple short stories, three screen-plays (they'll eventually be movies, I promise), two novels, and a children's books. He has more in the works, and once he finds the time, will have them complete and posted on every e-book publishing site he can find. James Gilmartin also likes to create book covers, attempts blogging, has aspirations to start a podcast, and plans to film short video-films and a web series by the end of summer, 2015. ADD has it's perks and limitations. James lives in Muskogee, OK (ouch) with his wife, Christina, and their two children, Addison and Colin.

Blurb:

99% of the Earth’s population exhibits signs of telepathy and telekinesis. 

99% of the Earth’s population is dying from a mysterious new disease. 

The Collector, unaffected by the virus, has taken it upon himself to search for answers. Pushed by the single command: Find the Cause, Find the Source, Find the Beginning, he traverses through other minds, collecting memories in the hopes of finding a single clue that might lead to a cure. 

But it isn't so easy. Confused and frightened mobs attack hospitals. Jumpers steal bodies from the healthy. And some telepaths set dubious, mental traps. How will The Collector respond? What measures will he take to keep people from killing each other, all the while staying true to his goal? And what trouble lurks within his own mind? 

This is only the beginning. Follow The Collector in his search for The Cause, The Source, and The Beginning, continued each quarter with a new novella.

Review:

This is a very short read, but wow is it fascinating.  The novella is experimental in writing, but every time it does slip into unusual narration, it does so for a reason and plays well into the story itself.

The main character is a man searching minds for information to help cure the world of an illness.  Because he does traverse minds, the readers get setting, action, and dialogue, but it all takes place in people's minds.

Overall, I would highly recommend this story, and I'll be following the rest of the novels set in this universe.

Purchase your copy at Amazon.

Fossilized Gods

Rating: 

Author's Website:   http://majra.org/

Blurb:

Being a god isn't easy. Oh sure, you can crash the super-exclusive club at that hot new pyramid, but one little drought and your worshippers are suddenly burying you neck-deep in scorpions. Samantha never expected to wake from her long sleep. When she came to, mortals were riding around inside big metal cows, shooting invisible info-rays across the sky, and doing amazing things with cake frosting. They took cell phones for granted and thought nothing of a university where Physics stood between Inhumanities and Necro. Now, deep in the great museum, other gods have begun to wake—old gods, terrible gods, gods that would drown the world in suffering. If Samantha can just wake the dead, outwit a huge disembodied brain, and evade the Great Hunter who's after her head, maybe she can do something about it!

Rating:

"All right, all right, you can stop chanting my name! ... If I got any more gigantic and golden, you'd burst into flames just beholding my divine beauty!  Oh, all right, just a little more chanting - but take precautions, will you?  Something fire-retardant.  Spit on each other, maybe."

I had to start with a quote from this book, and could not, for the life of me, decide on which one.  I think the above gives an adequate idea of the type of humor in the book.  It is absurdist humor at it's best.

Because one quote just doesn't do this story much justice:

"What did orphans taste like, anyway?  I mean, say what you will about witches, but anyone who builds a candy house - and doesn't immediately eat it - must be pretty certain it'll bring them something even tastier."

Sammy is a long dormant... god of sorts.  She had worshippers and was well-known in her time, but after people stopped believing in her, Sammy went dormant for thousands of years.  Fast-forward to present day, and some strange power has brought her back to life, along with three of her friends.

Overall, I loved this story.  Every page was amusing to some degree, whether it brought me a pleasant smile or a hearty belly laugh.  Because of this, deciding on a rating wasn't easy.

Four stars:

There are typos throughout the piece.  Also, being the visual reader that I am, there were way too many times when I didn't know what to imagine.  There were some scenes that were fuzzy or I had to force an image or I just moved on not knowing what was supposed to be there.  Now, these things didn't leave me confused about the overall plot or characters, but it did make the reading just a little less enjoyable.

Five stars:

The fact that I couldn't put it down in the beginning, and the fact that I did just move on when something wasn't clear showed how enjoyable the overall novel was for me.  Who cares if those few things were problematic for a moment if the overall journey was incredibly loved?

I finally went with four stars because, IMHO, the story did go on just a tad too long.  I did find it lolling in the middle.

Once again, just because it's four stars doesn't mean this isn't a highly recommended book in my opinion!  If the quotes fit your humor, please read this!  You won't regret it!

Okay, okay... one more quote.

A character talking about the formula for writing romance.

"It's all arithmetic.  Mister A, a lordly B from time period C, D-ly kisses humble lady E, a mere F, on the G, while firmly swatting her H with a leather I.  You know.  Romance."

Purchase your copy at Amazon.

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.