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The Death of Ink by M.M John

2/7/2016

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The Death of Ink
By M.M John
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For the love of Pete! The Death of Ink by M.M John is such a frustrating book to read; not because it was poorly written-because it wasn't-but because the storyline went everywhere yet nowhere all at the same time. I didn't even know that was possible. My frustration gauge has officially been blown up!!

Albeit a perfect example of sentence structure and lessons about the fiction writing process weaved into the book, the storyline was completely unfocused like a river with a million tributaries leading who knows where. Our two main characters are Paige and Devon, both fiction writers and journalists for the school paper. Although one focus of John's tale is the development of their relationship with one another while Devon edits and helps her on a book she is writing to submit to a contest, there was a complete lack of resolution leaving you wondering what the heck the is going on.

I don't want to say that The Death of Ink appears to lack focus or direction but it does. Along with their supporting cast of characters, Devon and Paige stumble upon a plethora of possible minor storylines they could partake in; yet none of them head anywhere. Ugh! And don't even get me started on the fact that I often felt like I was reading an instructional "how to write fiction" book.

Although well written grammatically and in sentence structure, the images seemed canned and worn out. Instead of showing the reader how things appear, John tells the reader - things like worn jeans or blond curls. I felt there was truly a lack of stimulating imagery and that makes it quite the bore to read.

Another thing that annoyed me about this book was that there seems to be so much hot and cold with Paige and her relationships with the males in her life.  From one minute to the next you can’t tell if you likes someone or doesn’t.  On one page she is eager to flirt with Matthew and then ten pages later she comes across like she doesn’t even like him as a friend.  I just don’t get this chick!!!

Ugh!  Enough of that book!  If you’re looking for a well-structured book then this one is for you. If you are a reader who wants a story that entertains or maybe has a storyline that doesn’t split off this way and that without any resolution then I suggest you choose a different book.

​A. Fae 
 
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My Gladiator My Ghost and My Desire My Death By K.J Babishov

2/7/2016

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My Gladiator My Ghost, Part 1 and My Desire My Death, Part 2
By K.J. Babishov
 
My Gladiator My Ghost is the first part of an occult/romance short story in a series of short stories. My Desire My Death is part 2 in the series. I actually read part 2, My Desire My Death first and frankly I was glad I did because it was much better than part 1.

My Gladiator My Ghost finds Sophia (our heroine?) about to be released from Clarion Psychiatric Hospital where she was committed 10 years earlier; after being overdosed by her parents when she was 8 years old and having been dead for an hour before being brought back. (If you’re confused now, just wait.)

Over her 10 year stay she meets Nero, Queen Mary I, Hannibal, Martin Luther King Jr., Sir Isaac Newton, Joan of Arc, the Queen of Sheba, Lewis and Clark, Rosa Parks and …. well who knows who else. Oh, and Achilles and Hercules are regulars in her life with Achilles being her Gladiator and (I think) her ghost? (Well one of them anyway.)

Meanwhile Hitler wants revenge on America and Sophia is in love with Aaron, the son of a doctor at the hospital who she has grown up with.

Okay! On to the main plot! Ghosts don’t like being ignored and crave human interaction, which they can only get from Sophia because she died and came back. But, if she leaves the hospital, she’ll forget them and then they will solidify. (Become non-ghosts?) So, the solution is simple. Overdose her and bring her back to life again.

It’s at this point I got a migraine headache and quit trying to make sense of things. Frankly, I should have quit after part 2. The part 1 story honestly makes no sense and is so contrived it’s impossible to believe. For the stories’ characters, it’s like the author just thumbed their way through every history book they had ever read.    

In part 2 Sophie is now married to Aaron and in her dreams, she runs into Hitler. Achilles and Hercules are still at her side and they not only rescue her but help guide her back to Aaron when something happens to separate them. (I don’t want to say any more as it would be a spoiler…If you can get this far.)

In addition to an unbelievable plot and characters, there are a lot of errors and spacing issues which didn’t help matters.  It could do with a much better job of proofing.

In summary, the plot is weird, confusing and hard to follow in part 1 but gets better in part 2. The character selection is way out there, makes no sense, and adds only to the story being extremely hard to believe. Honestly, part 2 was much better than part 1 and held my interest even though the errors and spacing issues were distracting.
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My recommendation is if you can get through part 1 and kind of make sense from it, part 2 is worth reading. Over all though, not something I would recommend reading.

​Bob Boze

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Castigation By Hubert Williams - Amanda Scott Review

2/3/2016

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Castigation
By Hubert Williams
 
Castigation by Hubert Williams is one of those short stories you hope to find when you start reading short stories in the first place. A tale of a man and a terrible secret he holds, then the repercussions of such, Castigation has got all the makings for a great ghost story. It incorporates old magic, religion, the power of love and family, and then weighs in on what it must be like for a human to carry around the burden of a terrible secret never told to any of his closest loved ones.

George Walker was involved in a situation that would never leave his conscience-- or his life. He's a man who doesn't believe in the hogwash of the supernatural, yet is unknowingly plagued by it. It wreaks havoc on him-- his heart and soul and mind all suffer-- but on his loved ones as well. Family members and friends become ill or die, unexplained things happen to people who are working on the properties in which he's involved, and inevitably all of these things come to a head that require the help of a local shaman.

Hubert Williams is undoubtedly extraordinarily creative.  You can tell he's a brilliant guy by the way he weaves religion and folklore and superstition all together to create an intricate, interesting weave, and Castigation is the kind of story I'd recommend to anyone who's interested in the paranormal. It's not *too* scary-- it didn't give me nightmares, thank goodness-- but it's definitely the kind of thing you'll think about for long after you put it down. I've already found myself wanting to tell friends about this cool story I read every time something reminds me of it.  My only complaint in terms of this story is the proofreading aspect-- it is, of course, always important to proofread and proofread again, to make sure those elements don't distract the reader from the story. But ultimately, that's just nitpicking. Castigation is a great story, and I really enjoyed it.
 
 
Amanda Scott
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Bad Blood Rising by Jake Jeffries - Bob Boze Review

2/3/2016

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Bad Blood Rising (The Dark Watchman Book 0)
By Jake Jeffries

Let me start with the fact that I have a love-hate relationship with this book. It is certainly not something I would select to read were it not for the fact that I was asked to rate it. Yet, I couldn’t put it down! Why? I’ll get into that.

The author lists his book as “fantasy, paranormal and urban.” The fantasy part I got. The paranormal part? Kinda. The urban? I have no idea what that means. (Books written for people living in the city? Wow, is that stuck up or what!)  Me? I would rate this book as; cheesy, vampire-ish, paranormal comedy, suburban. All meant in a good way! (I just threw the suburban in to have a little fun.)

Bad Blood Rising centers around Vangetsu Ocelot, a super powered vampire who is chasing Mathias, another super powered vampire who killed Vangetsu’s family way back when. Along the way he meets and couples up with: Ramona, Deputy to the Grim Reaper; Jason, a gay vampire; Selene, a witch full of magical power; and Odin, a one-eyed kitten who becomes his faithful companion and saves his ass several times.

In the beginning of each chapter there are cartoon like caricatures that will forever change how you view vampires (including the gay ones), witches, wizards and one eyed kittens. Along about chapter 5 or so they recruit him into the Legion of Light with the following plea (and bribes):
“Become an agent of The Legion of Light. We could use your help especially with the casualties from the factory and the troll attack last night. You get free housing, free nourishment, get to kill or capture bad guys and best of all you get a bitchin’ new duster.” (I especially like the “bitchin duster” and now I want one!)

Anyway, he soon finds out that his daughter isn’t dead and that Mathias and his organization (the Order of Darkness) changed her name from Eliza to Helena (Which is why he couldn’t find her?) and now they plan to kill her. During his quest he and his team run into werewolves, witches, wizards, arachnobots, ninjas, vampires electric bullets, ice bullets and…well a lot of things.

I could go on and on but instead I’ll tell you that the story starts a little slow and gets cheesier and funnier as it goes. Yes, it’s cheesy but in a good way. The writing is just so, so with a lot of unnecessary descriptions, short choppy sentences and errors that occasionally get to be annoying.
In summary this is not my kind of vampire book.  But if you’re into fantasy and paranormal books and live in the city (?), this book is for you! A cute, funny read worth your time!

PS Keep writing Jake! You’re a great story (fable) teller and with a few corrections, you’re going to make a wonderful author.

Bob Boze

(A note from A. Fae, For those who haven't figured it out, Bob enjoys writing certain reviews laced with humor.  And we love it!)
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