Category Archives: Reviews

Pet Peeves, Politics/Current Events, Reviews

Reviews Are the New Word-of-Mouth?

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I heard that suggestion recently and have been pondering it since.

Let’s glance at the Current Year literary landscape:

The population in the USA is about 340 million. Despite the growth of our population, the fewer literate people we wind up with. (IOW, recreational reading is a pastime only for a shrinking demographic.) Not trying to imply one is a cause of the other–just pointing out that our customer base is not related to the total number of living bodies within our borders.

  • The community of readers is not tight-knit.
  • In fact, most have never met, and never will.
  • Since they don’t know each other, discussions don’t take place.
  • “Word of mouth,” regarding books, is effectively extinct.
  • The substitute for literate conversation readers are stuck with are:
    • Online spaces like Goodreads, where you can make recommendations to strangers.
    • The product-featuring algorithms of online bookstores.
    • Online book reviews.

Can you see how the deck is stacked against indie authors, just from that?

Word-of-mouth would be our secret weapon to level the playing field with our tradpub counterparts…if word-of-mouth had not effectively withered and died since the advent of the World Wide Web. For 95% of literate America, there is no “word-of-mouth.” You can bump into other literate folks on social media or whatever, but when you do, it’s likely they’ve got something else on their mind besides discussing literature.

In my current job, I am fortunate to have some colleagues who have read books, voluntarily, in their life post-college. Occasionally we discuss one, if it comes up somehow in conversation. Our tastes don’t overlap all that much, but this is nice. And rare.

So how do readers find a book that looks interesting?

I’ll tell you how I do it, now that my days of browsing the shelves of brick-and-mortar bookstores  is ancient history: I pay attention to recommendations on social media (which I constantly curate,  keeping SJWs and most NPCs off my feed), and, when it’s time for the Big Based Book Sale, I go shopping there. Recently discovered is the Alchemy for Art Indie Library–also a good place to look.

When I’m intrigued by a book, I’ll click the link, read the blurb on the product page, and click “Read Sample” to get a feel for the prose. Lastly, I’ll peruse some of the reviews–positive and negative.

In the Current Year, that’s usually the extent of the vetting I’m capable of (and boy, is it necessary to vet in the Current Year!).

You may be thinking it’s risky allowing strangers to influence my final decision to take a chance on a book–and you’re right. But a well-written review is usually the closest I can get to word-of-mouth.

And there are dangers beyond the mercurial opinions of strangers who write reviews. I don’t necessarily share their tastes and pet peeves, for instance. Worse are the legions of reviewers who are deliberately disingenuous.

There are at least two demographics behind  drive-by one-star reviews. The first are Thought Cops for the Woketard Hive Mind, out to silence, cancel, or at least destroy sales of any book/author they disapprove of. Time was, their thought-policing often backfired. (If one of them reviewed a book I was already interested in, for instance, and complained that there was no sympathetic homosexual character or macho warrior womyn, that book was as good as sold.)

But now with ‘Zon’s “rating” option, the Hive Mind can sabotage a book’s overall rank without ever revealing the reason they don’t want you to buy it. (‘Zon abets the woke mob in many ways. One is, they sift through the books in their store every so often, and nuke reviews of books by the dissident right, without ever explaining why they did so. With my books, it’s always a five-star review they vaporize. I’ve quit tracking this because it’s too depressing.)

No less reprehensible than this leftist chicanery is similar behavior by who I suspect are fellow authors. I’ve met people like this, so my hypothesis is not entirely speculative: they assume they can build themselves up by tearing others down–unjustly in many cases. They, too, lack the courage to reveal their true motives. But that doesn’t hinder them from chopping down the rank of a book they feel competes too strongly with their own.

This brings to mind another hurdle facing indie authors I will hopefully address in another blog post.

I’m curious what others think:

  • Do you pay attention to book rankings?
  • Do you read customer reviews before making your decision to buy or not?
  • How much weight do you place on reviews?
  • Is there some other “word-of-mouth” substitute you trust better?
  • How is your opinion of an unread (by you) book affected when there’s only a handful of reviews (even if the reviews are all good…even if the book was a bestseller)?
  • How about when a book has a lot of ratings/reviews but most are negative?
  • Do you ever ponder the difference between ratings and reviews?
  • What if all the reviews are four and five stars, but most of the rankings are three stars and lower?

As always, I am grateful to all the readers who take the time to post honest reviews.

Historical, Military, Reviews

Napoleon – a Review

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If you didn’t see this movie in the theater, you might be tempted to watch it now that it’s streaming on Prime and possibly other services. Read this first.

For fans of military history, Napoleon represents an historical force. His accomplishments should be studied with respect, if not reverence.

It is safe to assume that director Ridley Scott is not a fan of military history.

Like nearly everyone calling the shots in Homowood, government, and every other institution, Scott is a geriatric leftist. There are exceptions, but his demographic is notorious for bad relationships with their fathers. Why Scott chose to treat the subject matter as he did  might have been guaranteed by his life-long contempt for strong patriarchal authority figures–especially those widely considered to be great.

This is not a film about Napoleon the strategist, Napoleon the Emperor, or even Napoleon the ambitious overachiever. It is a pedestrian screed against “toxic masculinity” which elevates the female (especially Josephine) to the Eternal Pedestal. Even Marie Antionette is granted a more sympathetic portrayal than the eponymous character.

Since this movie is about a man obsessed with a woman, it’s relevant to warn you that he is portrayed as emotionally unstable, egomaniacal (not just egotistical, which the real Bonaparte probably was), and sexually inept.

In reality, Bonaparte’s fixation on the sexually adventurous widow pointed to his own capacity for blunder in his personal life–if not a sign of ignorance, arrested development, some sort of fetish, or a character flaw. In the movie, it is inflated to carry the all-too-typical gynocentric trope that a man’s value as a human being depends upon the approval/acceptance of a woman.  The message comes across that (with the exception of Toulon) Bonaparte’s military successes were directly linked to his social credit score with Josephine. As their relationship soured, his great victories turned into colossal defeats. And when she died, that brought about his ignominious end.

Part of what was necessary to pull off this message (in a biopic about an historical figure defined by his military exploits, no less) was to simply ignore Bonaparte’s multiple campaigns and shove 95% of his military career off-screen. Only three battles are depicted–and only in part: Toulon, Austerlitz, and Borodino. The last was reduced to an half-assed montage of cavalry galloping through snow, in a half-assed  Russian Campaign sequence that amounts to an ambiguous afterthought.

Also painfully lacking is sufficient insight into why the battles (much less the respective wars) were fought.

C’mon, guys: the director has better things to do than spend that multimillion dollar budget showing you yucky military stuff in a biopic ostensibly about a military man.  The director’s primary role is an apologist for female behavior–in this case, a haughty royal blinded by her own privilege, and an unfaithful slut who married up about as high as she could go, but still drunk with entitlement to the point she delighted in making her husband miserable.

Creative license was used to the opposite effect  for the men, of course. There is not one single male character in the film that is likeable.

This is a cinematic hit piece, at most–a depressing one that leaves you wondering what the point was (other than “patriarchy bad”–gee, what a groundbreaking message).

Although there is an actor who wears funny hats who you see throughout the film, he he bears little resemblance to the Napoleon Bonaparte of history. I suspect he’s really a stand-in for a filmmaker’s father.

 

Adventure, Fantasy, Reviews

Citadel of the Seven Swords – a Review

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You may have noticed that Gio has been reviewing a lot of fantasy lately that may or may not qualify as Iron Age (depending on who you talk to). Well, I also have recently bought some new fantasy and sci-fi by based authors. Maybe I’m not knocking down my TBR pile as fast as Gio is chopping down his, but I’ll have some reviews coming your way, too.

This is Book One of Erik Waag’s Wandering Sword Series.

The story opens with the protagonist (the wily Northman, Skarde) a slave bending the oar on a ship–due to misfortune from a previous misadventure.

I know we’ve been making many comparisons to Robert E. Howard’s fantasy lately (and that’s a good thing), but I’m not done yet. The beginning of this adventure felt very Howardesque.

Skarde escapes from the ship, and enslavement to the Iron Brotherhood–but is doggedly pursued even after reaching the seeming safety of an island.

That island is ruled by a cult with some serious muscle at its disposal. A literal titan  dwells in the fiery bowls of the island’s volcano, forging the seven swords of the title. The adventure takes us through the island’s underground labyrinth where, with the help of other slaves, and a powerful sorceress, Skarde hatches a plan to defeat the titan and the cult leader, and secure his freedom.

Waag shoots for verisimilitude in his action sequences. Skarde is certainly clever, agile, and strong, but is not superhuman and far from infallible. And the tension runs high in between the action. My only complaint is that the story feels like it’s just finding its rhythm when the book ends. No character arc or development to speak of–the reader is just getting to know Skarde, in fact.

This is not unusual for the first book in a series. And, of course, the current market is friendliest to series fiction–so it’s no wonder so many authors choose to write them. I found enough promise in Citadel of Seven Swords that I do want to read the next book. But I expect it to delve deeper into characterization (at least enough to make Skarde stand out in some way from other fantasy adventure heroes) and provide a more immersive reading experience.

Fantasy, Reviews

Shades of Black: In Darkness Cast – a Review

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by Jonathan Shuerguer
Reviewed by the INFAMOUS REVIEWER GIO

 

The first thing that jumped at me when I read this book was how the author incorporated a monotheistic faith system in a world inhabited by warrior tribes resembling the Vikings which historically are known to worship multiple deities. I thought that created an interesting stage for the action to take place. Shuerger also does a very good job at baiting the reader into thinking this is going to be another ‘Conan the Barbarian’ kind of tale in the opening act, but then with the introduction of co-main character Ashkelon, things take a whole different path.

Who is Ashkelon? Imagine MCU’s Thanos and multiply by 100! Ashkelon is a warrior/wizard so powerful that he even seems to be bored in not finding worthy opponents to offer him a real challenge. Ashkelon takes young Gideon under his wing to train him up as the ultimate warrior of light. THIS is where the story excels, my fellow readers! The tension, the dynamics, the dialogues and moral debates these two characters engage in, all of that is where In Darkness Cast truly shines! 

Of course, we will witness battles for the ages, one-on-one combat that will keep you glued to your seat, and Gideon ultimately finding out who he really is and who he will become along the way. Oh, and big spiders, lots of ‘em!

The storyline is engaging and you feel like you want to keep reading because at any point in time this ride can take an unexpected turn!

There are a few secondary characters that felt too hollow and cliche`, particularly the elder Skald and the wolf-maiden Anya and her father. These characters come off as too one-dimensional, almost like ‘cardboard’ characters with not much to bring to the table.

The prose was probably my main issue. I understand that when we write fantasy inspired by ancient mythology we want to use a prosaic style that sounds appropriate, but we have to be careful not to slip and let some of our modern jargon taint this objective. For example, the use of the term ‘lactic acid’ to describe the onset of fatigue during a swordfight between two ancient warriors is probably not highly recommended, given the epic nature of the event!

Overall, I feel this book has:

  1. Great plot line  and dynamics between the two main characters
  2. A few superficial secondary characters that could have used more fleshing out
  3. A prose style that at times is not consistent with the world 

To wrap this up, I give this 4 stars out of 5 and if you enjoy a story that is not totally predictable and don’t care too much for solid prose, get yourself a copy today!

Fantasy, Reviews

Altar of my Fate by Michael R. Schultheiss – a Review

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By THE INFAMOUS REVIEWER GIO:

 

Sometimes a book is good, sometimes is average, a few other times is very poor. But every once in a while you find one that is plainly and utterly GREAT!

The Rosteval Saga book 1: Altar of my Fate is all that and then some! What can I say, this book’s got it all: excellent prose, characters, plot. The author was able to really capture the spirit of the ‘ancient warrior’ with a dash of fantasy lore. The result is a true epic, a ‘classic’ in my opinion. 

Too many times we’ve seen modern writers not being able to distance themselves from the world we live in to produce an epic that feels authentic. Schultheiss here was able to create not only an ancient world that feels tangible but an entire English language disconnected from modern urban English.

The pace is fast when it needs to be but also slower when characters or locations need to be further explored.

Now, this story might not be for the squeamish due to some violence and other subjects considered ‘taboo’ in modern society. But if you yearn for true ‘escapism’ and want to visit ancient exotic lands and witness men become demigods, this is a MUST READ!

 

*Note: the only issue I have with this book is the cover! That cover does the story no justice and it’s a disservice to the true spirit of this epic classic. Maybe I’m nitpicking but I just had to call it out!

 

Stay tuned for review of Book 2 coming soon!

Action, Reviews

Catskinner’s Book by Misha Burnett – a Review

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By THE INFAMOUS REVIEWER GIO:

 

“Yeah, it’s a trap, and we know it’s a trap, and they know that we know, and so on and so forth. We go anyway, or we run away. I’m tired of running.”

James Ozwryck 

 

Imagine a quirky, dark humored, action/sci-fi movie directed by David Fincher and starring Edward Norton and perhaps Margot Robbie as co-star….THAT is what Catskinner’s Book felt to me the whole time I was reading! 

Of course, if you ask author Misha Burnett, he will tell you that the concept of this story is based in part on himself as he was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder, and part of his motivation for writing this was an attempt to convey what D.I.D. feels like from inside.

The other main inspiration for this quite unique and peculiar tale was William S. Burrough, specifically his Nova Express trilogy. 

This story is about James Ozwryck, a seemingly ordinary store clerk who believes he has an entity or alien form residing within him which he calls ‘Catskinner’. James and Catskinner communicate and even ‘argue’ at times, but the interesting thing is that when catskinner takes over James’ body he can find himself achieving physical feats otherwise impossible for a guy his size. As far as James can remember, Catskinner has always been with him since birth.

The entirety of Book 1 revolves around James finding out more and more about Catskinner and its origins, and to be honest, I was HOOKED! The story has good pace, good prose style that brilliantly reflects the urban language of our times, some jaw-dropping action scenes, violence and a dry sense of humor that-in this context-is very spot on.

If you were wondering what the book cover was about, that cover is from a photo shoot of Burnett’s roommate and those are the author’s hands you see. What the image reflects is the main character James wanting to care for and protect Godiva, the co-main character.

Now that I highlighted some of the positive aspects of this book, let’s turn our attention to some of the negatives which lead me to score this more like a 4 out of 5 stars…

 

The Closing Act:

As I always advise authors, no matter how many sequels in one particular series you plan to write, you still have to offer a ‘complete experience’ to your readers in each individual book. Unfortunately, I feel like this book fails to accomplish that. The conclusion felt rushed, hollow, and disappointing. We basically end up where we started from and we realize we have learned close to zero about what we were seeking along with the main character. The end is abrupt, almost like the writer didn’t know what else to do and decided to just end it there. I am all for cliffhangers and creating expectations to read the next book, but at the same time, each book must deliver some sense of fulfillment or that at least we have moved on from point A to point B… I just did not see that here, although the entire ride was extremely fun and suspenseful. Actually that in itself made the end that much more disappointing for me personally.

Politics/Current Events, Reviews, TEOTWAWKI

The Creator – Predictive Programming?

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Did some major travelling over Christmas break, and saw some movies I hadn’t heard of and might never have watched otherwise. One of them was this sci-fi dystopian thriller.

You might have heard the term “predictive programming” in recent years. It’s a psyop strategy discussed by “conspiracy theorists.” There seem to be multiple explanations of what it is. One of them assumes that those in control of government, media, entertainment and all other institutions are somehow obligated or compelled to warn us peasants about what they plan to do to us in the future. They like doing this via entertainment, then snicker to each other about how stupid and gullible we are for failing to understand (and/or failing to resist).

I will analyze this movie using that explanation of predictive programming.

We have a future scenario which might remind you of the Terminator movies in that A.I. has become like Skynet. A.I. was taking over the world, and coming to see humans as pests, it nuked Los Angeles.

So the American  military (which, evidently, is entirely comprised of Delta Force and Seal Team 6, judging by the shaggy hair, face armor, and optional adherence to uniformity) is tasked with destroying A.I.–which is based in China. The US has built a gargantuan hovering weapons platform called NOMAD which can locate and target A.I. assets, and is invincible, up until it’s time for the plot climax.

There are a lot of nits to pick, but I’m gonna try to stick to the metaphorical message of the narrative, here.

Spoilers are unavoidable, so let me  give you the big plot twist first: A.I. didn’t nuke anybody. Los Angeles was a 9/11ish false flag. A.I. is not trying to wipe out humanity. A.I. is benevolent and has “more heart” than humanity. At least humans in America.

America is the root of all evil. Pretty standard worldview of anybody allowed to work in Homowood, Commiefornia, of course. Willfully blind to nuance, they make no distinction between the America that once existed and the Orwellian corporatist abomination that has replaced it in real life.

The important points:

With only one exception, Caucasians are all villains, or at best, part of the problem.

The only good guys are non-white.

America holds the world hostage, terrorizing people with its frightening technology–in order to eliminate other frightening technology.

The Chinese and robot victims of the American Bullies are just like the Viet Cong: wonderful people living in harmony who dindu nuffin until provoked by Yankee imperialists.

NOMAD is basically the USA itself–a huge, heartless machine using murder and intimidation to colonize the less fortunate and build empire. Maybe the similarity of “NOMAD” to “NORAD” is not coincidental. (Marxists love to conflate, and this would conflate America with the military-industrial complex and the globalist agents who have hijacked America.)

A.I. is a benevolent supervisor of humanity. It only wants the best for us. It’s like a protective parent or older sibling. You could call it “Big Brother,” I suppose.

Big Brother is trying to rescue the world from the diabolical running dog Americans who foolishly resist the Singularity. As part of this effort, A.I. has manufactured a child Messiah (complete with miraculous powers) who wants to set everyone “free.”

The Messiah Child is said to be developing a weapon that can destroy NOMAD. Not true, evidently, but the fear of such is used to justify an American military operation (shades of WMDs in Iraq, obviously) to  destroy the Messiah Child.

In some convoluted twist of movie logic, the Messiah Child is somehow the offspring of the black hero’s Asian wife. Big Brother used the woman’s genes to manufacture the robot, or enhance its CPU or something. Anyway, this Messiah has a Current Year Diverse Mary and Joseph as parental figures.

The hero turns coat (his commanding officer labels him a traitor) and becomes the Messiah Child’s protector. They get aboard NOMAD and plant an explosive device.

The child escapes.

The hero finally reunites with his wife; they embrace and kiss as chain reaction explosions consume them and everything around them.

NOMAD is destroyed and falls from the heavens to crash and burn on Earth. The world celebrates.

To put it in more simple terms:

  • America is a hated terrorist country.
  • Big Brother (headquartered in China, apparently) begins to take over the world. For our own good, of course.
  • Big Brother even produces a lovable Messiah figure to set robots free.
  • Most humans outside the US have been replaced by bots.
  • The bots are more altruistic than humans–especially Americans.
  • The reactionary USA sees all this as a threat.
  • America goes to war with Big Brother.
  • There are foreign nations living within the USA fulfilling key roles–including in our military and espionage agencies.
  • Those (non-white) nations will decide that Big Brother is more righteous than the USA, and switch allegiance when the chips are down.
  • POC, anchor babies and A.I. technology will sabotage America from within, bringing down the USA in spectacular fashion while it is engaged in an unjust foreign conflict.
  • Big Brother and its manufactured Messiah will escape destruction.
  • The POC/Trojan Horse nations within the USA will enjoy carnal pleasure right up until their evil American hosts are consumed in apocalyptic fire.
  • The “good” humans of the world will now be joyous and free of American oppression. Ding-dong, the Yanks are dead.
  • Now the world can live in harmony under the compassionate guidance of Big Brother.

The long-form message is  also in perfect alignment with the power behind Homowood. As members of the Hive Mind so often do, they use the catastrophes caused by its own mechanisms (in this case, the Globohomo Cabal controlling the US government–and its foreign policy in particular) as an argument for embracing more of its own mechanisms (in this case a global government under an A.I. Big Brother that will sweep away the last vestiges of the Old [American] Republic).

Fantasy, Reviews

ISLANDS OF LOAR: Sundered – a Review

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By THE INFAMOUS REVIEWER GIO:

 

When I first picked up this title, naturally I assumed it was probably going to be another Tolkienian type of tale, perhaps with a dash of Dragonlance mixed in it.

Boy was I wrong! To my big surprise, other than featuring fantastic creatures like elves, dwarves, and orcs (and many many more!) this story stands out for its originality and brilliance of execution.

By the time we wrap up chapter 4 we are made aware that this is an ambitious project with massive scope. Why? Well, for instance, Chapters 1 through 4 introduce us to three or four separate casts of both major and minor players in this saga. This is not the type of story you can just skimp through. The sheer number of characters and locations demands our focus. And  these are not shallow types of characters either. They have depth and a wide range of peculiarities that defines them.

The language is precise and to the point. Prose is straightforward and gets the job done without any awkward word selections or expressions that feel out of place. 

What really got me sucked into the story and emotionally invested in these characters is the fact that (this being a magic world, with magic used quite heavily all the time) the danger is real and people get hurt… or worse! Nobody is safe! This is a big puzzle that slowly unfolds before our eyes as we read on. Something truly catastrophic has impacted the world and all species and races–whether they be elves, orcs, dwarves, fairies or centurions–ALL have been affected. This is what is called ‘The Sundering’. What caused the Sundering? And why? Keep reading my friends for this goes from good to better!

Book 1 really hit its target, and that is to bring forward a new and original fantasy saga with good story and complex characters…Honestly, after reading this I immediately picked up book 2 because it is so engaging and exciting to see it all unfold.

Stay tuned for an upcoming Q&A with the author!

Espionage, Reviews, Socio-Sexual Studies

The Hidden Truth–a Review

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Author Hans G. Schantz and I run in some of the same circles, so we’ve bumped into each other before (he also organizes the Big Based Book Sales). But this book was recommended to me by somebody I know online who is not an author. I’ve become so gunshy about all the poorly written indie novels on the market that it took this little nudge for me to give The Hidden Truth a try. I am now thankful for the recommendation.

It doesn’t hurt that the subject matter is right up my alley. I’ve long been fascinated by hidden truths (behind myths, legends, history, common knowledge…but I repeat myself), so the title alone should have been enough.

For my money, the story lives up to the title. Of course, I hope the succeeding books dig deeper into the plot groundwork laid here.

Peter Burdell finds a strange reference while perusing an old book on electricity (I think it’s actually called “wave theory). The information has been censored from other editions of the book. Why? Naturally, our hero is curious, though at first this could all be chalked up to coincidence or inconsistent editing/revisions back in the Dark Ages before the Internet, personal computing, or even television. But when other people stumble across this hidden truth, they die under mysterious circumstances.

Peter is hooked, and just has to dig deeper. As a reader, I’m hooked, too. Again, I’m a sucker for hidden truths–like the missing song in Shadow Hand Blues. or “Rosebud” in Citizen Kane or “Calima” in Planet of the Apes.

I like the characters and never had trouble relating or sympathizing. There was a bit of mustache-twirling by Uncle Larry when he tries to recruit Peter, but overall the storytelling is strong enough that I won’t give this any less than five stars.

The author even dabbles in the socio-sexual hierarchy and the concept of game–and does so in an amusing way.

Seriously, this has been the most enjoyable book I’ve read in years. Strongly recommended.

Reviews

Coming Soon: Robert Victor Mills’ Man of Swords

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Just a heads-up that Gio will soon be reviewing RV Mills’ first Legends of the Wandered Lands book: Man of Swords. Sounds like there may be a follow-up interview forthcoming, as well.

The Wandered Lands. The crucible where legends are forged...

Atop a sacred mountain a young man discovers himself doomed with the cruellest of curses, ever to wander, never to find rest. So begin his adventures through realms of dark peril peopled with men and monsters both, his purpose unknown to all, save perhaps the Gods themselves.

Man of Swords chronicles the first six adventures of the mighty hero Rhoye of Khetaine, wanderer, wildlander, sellsword, as his legend begins. Contains six thrilling tales of dark heroic fantasy, including:
  • The Eye and the Dragon, where the young hero faces his first trial in the Cave of Rite.
  • The Knight Who Would Not Kneel, where Rhoye becomes unwillingly sworn to a dying king desperate to rescue his realm from monsters.
  • The Devil Out the Wych Elm, where Rhoye is saved from sure death only to face a peril all the greater – what is the strange secret of the old spirit’s tree?
  • The Queen of Scorpions, where Rhoye grapples savage pirates and priestesses of terrible purpose in a chase across the Wild Main.
  • The Ember Nixie, a drunken misadventure in the gambling underworld of a snowbound northern port.
  • The Beast Beneath Druihmkirk, where the only escape from an ancient walled city is through the sewers, through the belly of the beast beneath.
Across these six thrilling adventures of sword and sorcery, of chance and fate, and of great deeds, Man of Swords charts the rise of the newest hero to join the Legends of the Wandered Lands.