Ethersay - Sarah L King

Title: Ethersay
Author: Sarah L King
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Published: 2017
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
The Book Depository


Review:
I had the privilege of reading an advance copy of "Ethersay" by Sarah L King prior to its release and was thoroughly entertained from start to finish. The book uses a dual narrative, to explore two periods in the life of Rebecca, a young political activist from Glasgow. The first follows her recovery on the mysterious island of Ethersay after a car accident strands her there. Whilst there she realises that there is something being hidden from her by the islanders and she is determined to find out what the secret is. The second narrative follows Rebecca's involvement in the Scottish Independence Referendum which results in the very accident which leaves her on Ethersay.

The pacing of this novel is spot on as the initial burst of action get the reader hooked before it slows down a notch as King builds the suspense and mystery up concurrently in both narratives. I found myself really looking forward to finding out what the secret of Ethersay was and how Rebecca would come to be there. It is quite hard to say much more without spoiling some of the plot but I suspect a few people will be surprised by the reveal at the end.

One thing I have to add in my review is that the depiction of the Scottish Referendum was spot on and whilst I didn't live in Glasgow, most of what Rebecca saw and experienced as a Yes activist was recognisable to me from my own involvement. I have seen a lot of non-fiction books charting the referendum from various high profile people but it was great seeing something written here which captured the hope and hard work of the regular activist even if the character themselves was fictional.

The best bit about this book from my point of view is that it was the first novel by King in which I have actually liked the main protagonist. Yes, Rebecca has her flaws as any realistic character would do but in this book those flaws didn't affect my ability to feel empathy for her. Rebecca being a Yes activist probably made it easy for me but I was actually quite happy to find that this time it was the main character I was supporting rather than one of the secondary ones.

Overall, this is a great first attempt at contemporary fiction from King. I can see this book really appealing to people who enjoy a good non-crime based mystery, but it should also appeal quite strongly to those people who were involved in the Scottish Independence Referendum. I can't sing it's praises enough as it entertained me but also brought back the memories of the referendum both good and bad.

Grail Mysterium: An Adventure on the Heights - Thomas Kaplan-maxfield

Title: Grail Mysterium: An Adventure on the Heights
Author: Thomas Kaplan-maxfield
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2012
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK
The Book Depository

Review:
“Grail Mysterium, An Adventure on the Heights” by Thomas Kaplan-Mansfield is a rather intriguing fantasy/mystery novel. The story follows a group of friends at Boston College who begin to notice strange things occurring such as high performing students just dropping out, ghost sightings and a rather virulent illness. When one of the group, Jack Knecht, a huge fan of Harry Potter begins to investigate he soon finds himself involved in uncovering the ancient secrets of the mythical Holy Grail.

Kaplan-Maxfield has created a very interesting story by mixing elements of fantasy and magic with religion and science alongside a mystery plotline which is full of twists and turns. I found myself completely unsure which characters I should believe or trust as the story progressed which was a credit to the mystery being told. Unfortunately I did find that the plot was little bit too convoluted at times. The amount of twists, red herrings, philosophical musings and characters were actually a little bit too much for me. It was quite a slow read as I worked through the novel trying to ensure I understood everything that was going on.

In regards to the characters, they are all well-crafted in a manner which ensures that they all seem like specific individuals. I easily found myself caring about what happened to them although I have to admit I found most of them quite juvenile in behaviour. Maybe I am just a grumpy old man with false memories of my own youth but I am sure that as a University student I had a bit more maturity than what we see in this book. If the story was based around High School seniors then I could understand their behaviour but these students are older than this and it just didn’t fit with me.

Overall, this is an entertaining enough book but at times the plot could be a bit over complex which slows down the pace. I also think the characters were a bit more juvenile than they needed to be but in a way I suspect this will ensure the book appeals more to teenagers.

Strange Circumstances - Marshall J. Stephens, Weston Kincade & David Chrisley

Title: Strange Circumstances
Author: Marshall J. Stephens, Weston Kincade & David Chrisley
Genre: Paranormal
Published: 2012
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK

Review:
“Strange Circumstances” is a collection of speculative fiction short stories written by Weston Kincade, Marshall J. Stephens and David Chrisley that take a look at fate and destiny. I was drawn to this collection because of Weston Kincaid’s involvement, a man who’s paranormal and fantasy books have kept me thoroughly entertained. However, it is obvious from reading the stories that both Marshall J. Stephens and David Chrisley are capable authors themselves and together all three of them have crafted some superbly entertaining stories.

What I enjoyed the most was that whilst there is an overall theme relating to fate and destiny, each of the stories vary substantially in subject matter although all of them have a speculative fiction feel. Each story is wonderfully well written and sucks the reader in before usually delivering an intriguing twist that left me wanting to read the next one. At times it felt like I was reading a collection of stories that would have worked in a TV series like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits or Black Book.

The only complaint I can level at the collection is that just as I am getting into the interesting worlds that have been created the story ends. A minor complaint for sure as there isn’t much you can do about this when you are using the short story form but it is still rather aggravating that none of the worlds explored here have been expanded upon.

Overall, this is a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable collection of stories. There is pretty much a story in here for anyone who enjoys speculative fiction so no one should be disappointed.

The Turn of the Screw - Henry James

Title: The Turn of the Screw
Author: Henry James
Genre: Gothic Paranormal
Published: 1898
Formats: Hardback/Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon - Free Ebook Available
The Book Depository
Amazon UK - Free Ebook Available

Review:
As part of the 2014 Eclectic Reader Challenge I was required to read a piece of Gothic fiction which is a piece of literature that combines elements of horror and Romanticism. The use of the word gothic in the description of this genre relates to the pseudo- medieval buildings in which these stories tend to take place. Some classic examples of Gothic literature are “Dracula”, “Frankenstein” and “The Turn of the Screw”. For the challenge I decided to pick “The Turn of the Screw” which is a paranormal mystery novella written by Henry James in 1898.

The story focuses on a young governess who is moves out to an Essex country house named Bly to look after two young children. Whilst the two children appear perfect there is some mystery behind why the young boy named Miles has been dismissed from his school. However, this soon becomes a secondary issue when the governess beginning to spot figures appearing around the estate. These figures appear to be supernatural in nature and before long the governess is drawn into a paranormal mystery that seems related to the children themselves and two former employees at the estate who are now deceased.

My first observation about this book is that Henry James’ writing style is not the easiest to follow. He writes in a complex 19th century prose that forces the reader too really work hard in order to get the story underneath. It wasn’t very fun having to work so hard to decipher what was going and I found that when I finished I couldn’t believe that such a short novel had taken me so long to get through.

In addition I can’t say the story creeped me out that much although some of that is probably due to the fact I spent more time trying to work through the text than in getting immersed in the story. I did however find it interesting to see James’ attempts at portraying a sense of menace emanating from the seemingly innocent and perfect children. The psychological effects of this on the various adults were cleverly told and it was in these sections of that I could feel at least some element of a subtle horror story coming to the fore.

One aspect of the book which I suspect could appeal to book clubs and those who analyse literature is that there is no clarification on if the ghosts are real or if the governess is really going insane and imagining it all. James leaves it completely up to the reader to interpret the information on the page and make up their own mind. Personally I find this a bit frustrating as I am a simple man and prefer to know what was actually intended by the author but I do still understand and appreciate the power behind leaving the real conclusion up to the reader themselves.

My final note on the novel is rather minor but it was something that didn’t make sense to me. Basically the prologue of the novel acts as a way to present “The Turn of the Screw” as a story within a story. We are introduced to a group of people sitting around telling each other Ghost stories and that is how the story of Bly house is brought up. Whilst this is all well and good, we never actually return to this group of people to see how it may have affected them. It just seems a waste of words and I don’t understand why James bothered to include this section at all.

Overall this was an interesting look at some late 19th century fiction but I think the writing style and lack of real clarity in the the story left me feeling a bit disappointed. I suspect that the popularity of the novel is actually driven by the fact that people want to argue the ambiguous meaning of the story ad infinitum rather than any of its plot. It is free in ebook form from various places so if you want to make your own mind up on what is actually happens then go pick it up and join the discussion that has been going on for years.

Clean and Floss - Scott Rhine

Title: Clean and Floss
Author: Scott Rhine
Genre: Paranormal
Published: 2013
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK

Review:
“Clean and Floss” by Scott Rhine is a rather frantic, non-stop paranormal/urban fantasy adventure set in the same Universe as “Foundation for the Lost” which I previously reviewed here. For those of you who aren’t aware, “Foundation for the Lost” is one of my all-time favourite indie books so I really was looking forward to reading this.

The plot is based around Nick Solace, a main who deals in favours and utilises his skills to help clean up various paranormal messes that the government does not want revealed. However, when one of his cleaning tasks goes wrong and all hell breaks loose he realises that this time he is going to need some help. And so he finds himself pairing up with a young man called Vince who he previously helped out in the past and the two of them attempt to unravel the reasons for the chaos that has been unleashed.

As I implied in my initial paragraph, this is a fast paced, busy and at times rather frantic story that covers multiple events, characters and issues. This type of action-packed fast pacing seems to be typical of Rhine as the previous novels I have read by him tended to be similar. Therefore if you have read his previous novels you will know what to expect. However, I will say that with this novel I found that there was so much involved to the point that it could be a little bit overwhelming and distracting with so much being thrown at the reader.

In addition, there was an element of the plot in which Nick travels to England which felt like a different story to what I read before or after. It was as if Rhine had created a short story regarding Nick and just wanted to cram it into this overall novel via a minor link to the rest of the plot. I will state that I did find it to be an interesting plot line and it was probably one portion of the novel where the pace felt perfect and there was a decent core to follow but in my opinion it just didn’t fit with the overall flow of the novel.

It isn’t all negative however as I still found the story to be entertaining with a good mix of humour, horror and fun. The writing is also clever, descriptive and well executed with some great character lines that had me smiling and laughing throughout. In addition, the characters themselves were all well developed and interesting to follow. Nick specifically was really intriguing with an air of mystery surrounding him that had both the other character’s and my own curiosity piqued.

Overall this was an enjoyable novel despite some of my negative comments in regards to the volume of “things” that Rhine has included. If you are someone that likes vast arrays of layers in their stories and enjoys a fast paced, action packed plots then this novel should really appeal. Personally, I am still happy to recommend it for people looking for a fun paranormal/urban fantasy novel to read but would probably still promote some of Rhine’s other work first.

A Life of Death: The Golden Bulls - Weston Kincade

Title: A Life of Death - The Golden Bulls
Author: Weston Kincade
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Published: 2012
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK

“A Life of Death: The Golden Bulls” is the sequel to Weston Kincade’s previous novel “A Life of Death” which I have previously reviewed here. As this is a sequel, I do need to warn people that this review is likely to contain minor spoilers in regards to what occurred in the previous novels. Therefore I would advise anyone new to the series that they should read my review of the first book and then decide if they want to give it a try which I strongly recommend.

The story follows Alex Drummond, the teenager from the first novel that has now grown into a man and works as a detective in his home town of Tranquil Heights. His investigative abilities are assisted by the various paranormal visions that occur when he touches various objects. However, there has been one serial killer who commits a ritualistic murder every year who has managed to elude him. Now though, he is closing in on the murderer and hopes that he can finally catch them and end the killings for good.

I need to start by saying that I loved the previous novel and when I found out about this sequel I was desperate to get my hands on it. Now that I have finished reading it, I am happy to say that it was another thoroughly enjoyable, well-paced book that had me hooked from start to finish. I don’t think it had a strong an emotional impact as the first novel but the overall mystery and the attempts by Alex to investigate were more than enough to keep me entertained. The writing was also clear, concise and without any major errors which could have interrupted the flow of the novel.

One aspect that I specifically enjoyed was the way in which the book delved into various side topics such as Egyptology and forensic pathology. The elements of the story dealing with these issues were both interesting and highly entertaining. At times I almost found myself wishing to see more of the visions that Alex had in regards to the ancient Egyptians than in following the present day murder investigation. I found that these side topics ensured that the story didn’t just get bogged down in a standard detective plot and enabled the reader to learn a little bit more about Alex’s paranormal abilities.

The only negative aspect I had is an issue that I find in many detective based stories such as this and it is in regards to the killer. It was far too obvious who they were, I basically think that Kincade gave away far too many obvious hints during their introduction. It all but ensured the reader would realise who the murderer was which of course does lesson the ability of the mystery elements to keep you hooked.

In summary, this was another enjoyable and entertaining read from Kincade which will certainly appeal to anyone who read and like “A Life of Death”. The continuation of Alex’s story was a pleasant experience and it was nice to see how he had grown and accepted his abilities over the year. To be honest, as is normal with sequels I do recommend that people try out the first book before reading this, especially as I feel it was emotionally much more powerful. However, if you decide to just to pick this book up without reading the first novel then you can be happy in the knowledge that there it is an enjoyable enough story in its own right.

Beloved of the Fallen - Savannah Kline

Title: Beloved of the Fallen
Author: Savannah Kline
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Published: 2010
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

To be honest, "Beloved of the Fallen" isn't a book I would normally read as I try to keep as far away from Paranormal Romance as possible. However, as I won this book in a giveaway I decided to give it a read anyway and see if I could finally find something to really enjoy within this genre. Now that I have finished reading it, I am sorry to say that I was left disappointed and underwhelmed.

The story is based around the actions of Valentin, a former angel who was ejected from heaven due to disobeying one of God's decrees. Now working for Satan, he is tasked with steering a young woman named Kira Castlemain towards becoming a member of congress prior to voting in legislation that could lead to a Nuclear War. And so, Kira and Valentin hold the key to either redemption or Armageddon.

The first comment I need to make is that the book is a really quick read. I couldn't believe how quickly I completed it even when I wasn't that engrossed. I suspect the quick speed is due to the author's lack of exposition in her storytelling, the reader is pretty much given the facts required to move the plot on and nothing more. Sometimes I quite enjoy that type of thing in a novel, but I don't think it worked that well in this case due to the plot itself being rather weak.

The weakest part of the plot in my opinion was around Kira's vote being important in deciding the future of the world. It just seemed silly to me as I couldn't understand why her one vote would matter more than anyone else's. Surely, if Satan and his followers wanted to ensure the vote went in their favour they would have been working on other targets as well? The entire thing just felt ridiculous and I just felt sad that the chance to create a good mix of political intrigue and paranormal influence had been missed.

The ending wasn't any better either, despite the build up to the crucial vote, it is over in a few pages and suddenly the reader is faced with finales for both characters that just seemed like a rushed afterthought. It really did feel like Kline had run out of steam and just threw together a positive outcome that lacked any real depth. It quite simply epitomised the entire plot as being one that was lacking in substance and exposition.

Sometimes, novels can be saved by interesting and dynamic characters that pull the reader in despite issues with the plot. Unfortunately, this isn't one of those cases as I found both Valentin and Kira to be rather juvenile in how their relationship works and in the decisions they take. I found it really hard to treat either of them seriously when they seemed to act and rationalise as I imagine a 10 year old child would.

Overall, I think that this novel has missed out on the opportunity to develop what was a really intriguing plot line. The entire story is played out in a rather weak and shallow manner by some rather childish characters. In all honesty, unless you are really interested in seeing an attempt at mixing politics and angels then you are probably as well just skipping this book.

Available at:
Amazon
The Book Depository
Kobo
Amazon UK

Challenges Book Counts Towards:
Ebook Reading Challenge (Workaday Reads)
Free Reads Challenge
Speculative Fiction Challenge

Project Ultra - James Michael White

Title: Project Ultra
Author: James Michael White
Genre: Paranormal
Published: 2011
Formats: Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Smashwords
Kobo
Amazon UK

"Project Ultra" by James Michael White is a relatively short paranormal thriller with some elements of Science Fiction thrown in. I am not sure it is something that I would have picked up normally but when the author asked to me give it a read I decided I may as well give it a go.

The story itself starts in 1947 and follows Victor Williams, an American CIA agent who was tasked with setting up and running a psychic warfare branch to counter the perceived threat from a similar Soviet programme. The story then follows Victor over several decades as he becomes a scapegoat, then a hero before he finally betrays the programme to help a friend.

I have to say that the book did have an interesting premise and it was enjoyable reading about some of the espionage attempts seemingly linked to psychic powers. However, I do think the short length actually harmed the book a little bit as it did feel like the book jumped very quickly between events and therefore I never felt the characters were built up to mean much to me as a reader. It does keep the book moving at a quick pace, but this isn't really an action book so I would rather have had the pace slowed and a little bit more character building included.

I am also going to admit that I didn't really understand the ending very well, there is a nice little twist in it that I didn't see coming but I then get lost as Victor rambles on some information to his interrogators that I couldn't follow. I am not sure if it was showing Victor having one last laugh or if it was meant to be some deep a meaningful truth. It was a shame really, as I do think the ending ruined some of my enjoyment of the novel. If anyone else has read this book and can explain what the ending is trying to be to me then please drop me a message.

Overall, I am quite torn on how to rate this book. I did enjoy it and was actually quite impressed with the little twist at the end regarding Victor's interrogators but the overall ending itself just didn't capture me. If you are interested in reading a short story about paranormal espionage over the previous decades then feel free to give this book a try as I suspect you will enjoy the majority of it.

A Life of Death - Weston Kincade

Title: A life of Death
Author: Weston Kincade
Genre: Paranormal
Published: 2011
Formats: Paperback/Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
The Book Depository
Smashwords
Kobo
Amazon UK

"A Life of Death" by Weston Kincade is an intriguing coming of age drama with a paranormal twist. However, there is more to the novel than just this as mystery, suspense and even a little romance help to make this a really memorable read.

The novel's plot is set around Alex Drummand re-telling part of his life to his son, specifically a period when he was a teenager that changed his life forever. In this period of his life, Alex has lost his father to a drunk driver and now lives with his mother and alcoholic step father who beats on him. He has become an outcast at school and his step-siblings are nothing more than an annoyance. However, one day he suddenly develops an ability that allows him to touch objects and re-live the deaths of the various people who were touching the same object when they died. Using these visions, he sets out on a mission to try and help those who had died in any manner he can, especially when one vision uncovers a possible threat to his new family.

The story is quite simply, absolutely superb and once I started reading I couldn't put the book down as it has some great intense scenes and an interesting tight plot. In addition, the tension has been conveyed amazingly well. The characters are also well-developed and realistic which really helps bring the story to life and illicit some great emotion in the reader. I have to admit that at one point the emotions raised within me almost had me in tears but as I am a "tough guy" I held them in!

Overall, I loved this book, it was an emotional and entertaining journey that had me hooked very early own. I have to say that this book is in my opinion, probably one of the best written indie books I have been asked to review. If you enjoy paranormal mystery of suspense novels then I think you would be mad to miss up the chance to read this. Personally, I hope that Weston Kincade decides to write some more mystery stories set in the world of Alex Drummand as I would be sure to pick them up.

Dragon Blues - Edie Ramer

Title: Dragon Blues
Author: Edie Ramer
Genre: Paranormal
Published: 2011
Formats: Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK
Barnes & Nobel
Smashwords

I actually won this book in a competition and it sounded rather interesting as this was the first paranormal novel I had seen that was about dragons and not vampires, zombies or werewolves. What I discovered was an okay paranormal romance novel with some decent action thrown in. However, in my opinion the fact he was a dragon didn't really feel much different than if he had been a werewolf or any other type of shape shifter but it was style nice to see something a bit more original in idea.

The story is about a man Noah who is a dragon that has lived as a human for the last 2,500 years. His reason for staying as a human for so long was that he discovered a love for music that wasn't really possible to be involved in when he had claws and not hands. He comes into contact with a strong willed martial arts woman named Lila and Noah discovers there is something more to love than music. At the same time however, someone has discovered how long he has lived and wants to use him to gain immortal life. The story follows Noah and Lila's romance alongside the risk and danger they face from the man trying to capture Noah.

The elements of action throughout the novel were fast paced and enjoyable. Edie Ramer also does seem to have a rather clear and concise writing style and she doesn't resort to overly flowery descriptions and waffle. I would like to note that there are some rather steamy sex scenes in the novel so I would recommend that it is read by adults only.

In regards to the characters, Lila came across as being stubborn and was rather irritating which made it hard for me to like her even if I could understand why she acted the way she did. Noah, however was completely different, he was actually someone you could feel for. The sense of loneliness he felt was palpable and it was obvious he had a good heart. I also found his obsession with his "treasures" to be a nice small amusing aspect of his dragon personality that the author had included.

In conclusion, I suspect this will appeal to most Paranormal Romance fans, especially those who like shifter novels and want to see something a little different in regards to the main character being a dragon. For myself though, it was an okay read, I just didn't really find the story itself truly gripping. Then again I am not a huge paranormal romance fan as I usually think that they are all very similar in overall plot. As I said though, people that normally enjoy this type of book will probably love it and Edie Ramer's writing style can't really be faulted.