Month: July 2022

Flock Without Birds by Filip Dousek is an interesting concept followed by an interesting concept. Admittedly, unless you are an academic, the idea of picking up a book about a data scientist or a mathematician sounds like a massive chore. A painful experience for any right-brain creative type. But that right there is sort of the plot of much of this book. A young man with a science-based mind doing his best to cope with being a young man and finding a life and study balance. It is a concept many of us have had to wrangle.

However, we are also presented with other philosophical ideas. Is God dead? Did he ever exist? Did science kill other gods as well? Are we all just worshiping the leftovers of some dead cult? None of this will be answered for you when you read this book. What this book will give you, however, is a thought-provoking adventure as you read the story from the narration of young Adam by his older self, complemented by data analysis and old-world minds.

I will not try to tell you this is the perfect book for everyone. But it is a delightful view into a talented writer’s mind and worth picking up.

So I wanted to apologize for the odd spam earlier. I was trying out a new website theme and it came with some pages I did not intend to use, including example blog posts that automatically posted to the site. I have since adjusted the issue and that kind of spam wont be happening again!

On the bright side, we do have a brand new website look however, that I am hoping many of you will find easy on the eyes when you read my reviews.

What do you get when you send a military starship and a religious prophet into the deformed space around a black hole? Well, first, do not worry, this is not a cheesy joke your great-uncle is telling at a family barbeque. The answer is Infernum by Jayson Adams. Now, despite the catchy and totally click-baity way I started this paragraph, you are probably looking for some kind of in-depth explanation. Well, I will not be giving you that. I will tell you that inside this deformed space, the crew of the Avenger finds death, suffering, and mutiny. For more, well, you will just have to read this fantastic sci-fi novel.

So now that I have teased you about the story, let me get down to the other bits you may be curious about before you pick up this book. This is a sci-fi novel, so even the hints of religious aspects have heavy science involvement. I know I always enjoy the taboo integration and religious and scientific aspects. Beyond the bit that struck my curiosity the most, I was pleased that each character has a realistic background and personality. Though I have one trigger warning for readers, if you have an issue with alcoholism, you should probably skip this one. For everyone else, you will enjoy this heavy sci-fi adventure.

Nothing good happens near a black hole, except reading this book which you can happily allow yourself to be sucked in to without fear of wasting time.

The Beached Ones by Colleen M. Story is an exciting adventure, following Daniel as he tries to cope with what seems to be the end of his life. Having a terrible accident, he suddenly wakes up in a strange place with no memory of how he got there. An old flame and her boyfriend travel with him as he tries to reach his little brother in time to pick him up for a summer visit.

The Beached ones by Colleen M. Story is a great story, though it covers some tough topics. So if you are sensitive to death, suicide, domestic violence, child neglect, or have issues with your mother, this is probably not the story for you. However, for those who can enjoy the story and even the darker aspects of what they are, you are in for a fantastic treat. With well-rounded and realistic characters dealing with real, though supernaturally charged, issues the author has made it easy to relate to the characters. The story itself floats along at a comfortable pace, giving you just enough action throughout the book to keep you turning the pages.

This is a must-read for anyone who wants to touch the other side for a little bit. Pick up this novel and you will enjoy it.

True Crime Stories You Won’t Believe Volume 1 is exactly what it sounds like! This short but exciting book by Romeo Vitelli is filled with some of the most surprising true crime stories you are going to find. And that is saying a lot when it is so easy to find tons of information about crimes with the power of the internet. With 32 short but informative chapters giving all the information the author could find on these rarely known true crime tales, it is a fairly quick read, but also entertaining. The crimes read about in the book take place in the 1800 and 1900s though a few make mentions of people who died in the early 2000s.

As a fan of true crime content of all types, I was excited to pick up this book. I was even more excited when I started reading and realized that out of the 32 cases mentioned in this book I only knew two of them! That is right, despite my constant true crime intake I was only familiar with two of these cases. I would imagine that most true crime fans will probably be in a similar boat and that is why I am heavily suggesting this read for anyone who enjoys digging into the darker parts of humanity.

Hag of the Hills by J.T.T Ryder is the first book in The Bronze Sword Cycles. It is a prehistoric fiction novel. Now I am aware the average person may read that and think something like. ‘Oh geez, it’s a novel about cave dwellers?’ Don’t be silly. It simply takes place in a time before history was recorded in the written word. The story follows Brenn, a young man living in Celtic society, as he tangles with ancient mythical beings as they try to take over the island of Skye.

Hag of the Hills is an exciting story full of all the battle rage and drama one would expect of a historical fiction novel taking place in prehistoric times. The locations, history of the various people, and descriptions of their clothing are well researched, and the author has spent more time making sure that his book holds up in the hands of history lovers. Not only are we provided with a wonderfully researched world, but they also provided us with a guide at the start of the book explaining how to pronounce the various names of locations, beings, and people in the book. This comes in handy if you are not learned ancient Celtic languages and myths, as many of the pronunciations can be complicated.

Hag of the Hills is a must-read for fans of historical fiction. Pick up this story and look around the ancient world that J.T.T Ryder has displayed for us. You will love it.