Category: Reviewed

The Other Eight — Joseph R. Lallo

By 5t4n5

The Other Eight -- Joseph R. LalloI admit to not being into all this super hero stuff — a bit of batman is as far as it goes with me.   So why was i reading this book?   Because it was written by Joseph — nuff said.

The reason i don’t like the normal super hero thing is that it’s all just plain stupid: get bit by a radio active spider and suddenly you can climb walls and beat the hell out of super villains.   Yeah, whatevah!   But The Other Eight takes that just plain stupid thing to the most silly it can get and just has some fun with it.   And, i have to say, it actually works.

At last a super hero story that actually sets out to be silly, rather than a silly super hero story trying it’s hardest to be serious.

So yeah, i like it.   Because every now and again one needs a bit of silly in ones life and this book fills that spot exceptionally well.   And just to make sure you actually get that message, Joseph throws in a relevant quote from the great Willy Wonker:

“˜A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.’

Great writing, fun characters, fun story, just fun.

Enjoy.

Joseph’s Page

#josephrlallo

The Legend of Socket Greeny — Tony Bertauski

By 5t4n5

The Legend of Socket Greeny -- Tony BertauskiAnd so ends the Socket Greeny Saga, and what an ending it all turned out to be.

There was a point near the beginning of this final book where i thought it looked very clear how this was going to go, and i admit to feeling a little disappointed.

‘But wait, read on’, i told myself; ‘before jumping to conclusions.’

Tony does enjoy his plot twists and this one just seemed to keep on twisting, as further and further down the rabbit hole of Socket’s true nature we went.   My little disappointment didn’t last long at all — sorry for ever doubting you Tony.

And the final word is…

pause…

wait for it…

Awesome!

Yup, this whole saga has been totally enjoyable and very unputdownable.   Which, although it’s been quite a while since i read Halfskin, is what i remember feeling about that series as well.

Yes folks, Tony is a great writer who, if you’re into his kind of sci-fi, will certainly keep you engaged all the way until the last page.   Great characters, great writing, with a nice standard everyday lexicon that doesn’t leave you having to use look up at all: which does make the reading experience a lot more immersive.

All i can say is that i’m very much looking forward to next time the “Infinite Improbability Drive” picks one of Tony’s books to read.

Tony’s Page

#scifi #tonybertauski

The Training of Socket Greeny — Tony Bertauski

By 5t4n5

The Training of Socket Greeny -- Tony BertauskiOh wow, that was rather exciting.   I usually read for about an hour or so at bedtime but last night i picked up this story at 21% in and couldn’t put it down until i’d totally devoured the lot.

The first third of the book mostly deals with Socket’s training and how bad he’s getting it from his trainer, his mother’s interference, his own issues with it, etc..   Then, while supposed to be taking a break at home it all begins to unravel for Socket as he moves closer to his final test, and then, big badda kaboom!!!   The last third of this book is relentless, and, for me at least, totally unputdownable.

Tony is a fantastic writer with a great imagination and the writing ability to convey it.

So, with that said, i’m off to dive straight into The Legend of Socket Greeny.

Tony’s Page

#scifi #tonybertauski

The Discovery of Socket Greeny — Tony Bertauski

By 5t4n5

The Discovery of Socket Greeny -- Tony BertauskiSo after a good start with The Making of Socket Greeny this book continues in very much the same high paced, action packed way.

All super good fun, with young people creating merry mayhem while saving humanity from the evil things.   Well written and enjoyable — even for a 54 year old — so i’m just gonna dive straight into The Training of Socket Greeny and find out what happens next.

Tony’s Page

#scifi #tonybertauski

The Making of Socket Greeny — Tony Bertauski

By 5t4n5

The Making of Socket Greeny -- Tony BertauskiAs a short prequel to the main trilogy it sets the stage quite well.

We’re definitely dealing with teenagers running amok in full immersion virtual reality environments.   It’s got aspects of Ready Player One and Anthea Sharp’s Feyland, so if you enjoyed those Socket Greeny may just be your thing.

At the end of the day, a prequel should serve one purpose and that’s to get you wanting to read the rest of the series, and this has definitely served it’s purpose as i dove straight into The Discovery of Socket Greeny.   It could have used a little editing to get rid of a few typos, but other than that it’s well written with a fast flowing narrative.

Tony’s Page

#scifi #tonybertauski

The Monarch of the Glen — Neil Gaiman

By 5t4n5

The Monarch of the Glen -- Neil GaimanAn American Gods spin off novella which has Shadow getting mixed up in an ageless fight between Scottish monsters and those who want to keep them in their place.

All the usual Neil Gaiman excellence.

Available as a stand alone novella, as part of the Fragile Things collection and also included in the Kindle edition of American Gods.

Neil’s Page

#fantasy #neilgaiman

Melting Shlemiel — Jason Werbeloff

By 5t4n5

Melting Shlemiel -- Jason WerbeloffAn interesting allegorical novella that has as a good metaphorical dig at those who build walls of exclusion around themselves.

Set in a very pious Jewish area of Jerusalem, during 2054, it’s pretty obvious who the author is pointing at and why.   The Jewish state first build walls to separate and defend their country, then it’s walls to separate and defend each town, then each district, then each house, until each person has their very own impregnable, permanent second skin.

Can also be read as a fun little dystopian/cyberpunk thing if you don’t want to think too much.

Currently only available in the anthology, 2054.

Jason’s Page

#scifi #cyberpunk #dystopian #jasonwerbeloff

She Did It — JT Lawrence

By 5t4n5

She Did It -- JT LawrenceA really good short story about a murder, through the mind of the detective investigating it.

It’s written in a kind of freeze frame style, like each paragraph is describing an image, a feeling, a thought.   Each a separate entity, pieces in the puzzle.   A little strange at first as it’s different from the normal narrative flow we get so used to expecting, but once you get used to it it really works.

This is my first read of Janita’s work and i have to say that i like it and i’m looking forward to reading more.

Janita’s Page

#jtlawrence

Bella’s Journey — Joseph R. Lallo

By 5t4n5

Bella's Journey -- Joseph R. LalloSometimes a writer makes you feel that you should read everything they write, including the children’s stories — and hey, why not.

If you’ve got a young child, or an old one, especially one who likes unicorns, then this is a lovely little read.   Joseph does writes nice children’s stories.

Originally only available to Joseph’s Patreon subscribers but now also in the collection Paradoxes and Dragons.

Joseph’s Page

#fantasy #unicorns #josephrlallo

Castaway — Lucy Irvine

By 5t4n5

Castaway -- Lucy IrvineA very well written book that’s let down completely by whoever converted it into Kindle format.

As Lucy tells the story of her year on Tuin with G, she intersperses it with excerpts from the diary she wrote while on the island.   For some reason, the person who converted this book decided that the diary excerpts would be published in a print size that is so small it’s illegible, so one has to keep stopping and greatly increasing the font size for the diary excerpts and then reducing it back to normal for the rest of the writing.   You spend the whole book yoyoing font sizes in this way.   I have no idea why anyone would publish a book in this way, it isn’t clever, it isn’t artistic, it’s crass and completely ruins a good flowing read.

Ok, rant over, all the yoyoing aside, the writing is incredibly candid and Lucy really does bare it all.

Anyone familiar with Chris McCandless’ story from Into the Wild will be aware of how much negativity and lambasting that Chris received posthumously for his stupidity and unpreparedness.   The only difference between Chris in Alaska and Lucy and G on Tuin is that Lucy and G were lucky enough to be rescued by the kindness and generosity of their Torres Straight Island neighbours, and that the poisonous beans that Lucy stupidly ate just made here incredibly sick for a couple of days and didn’t kill her.   Yet those who survive against the odds, purely by the miracles that appear when least expected, are labelled as successful, applauded and celebrated while those whose miracle fails to show are labelled as idiots, lambasted and possibly given a Darwin Award.   But hey, at least both kind get films made about them.

I could get into a full on judgemental view of Lucy and G’s behaviour, attitude and outlook, both positive and negative, but i won’t.   Some might read this book and side with Lucy, some might side with G, and some might think both are as bad as each other.

All that aside, if you enjoyed Into the Wild, then you may find this just your cup of tea.

Lucy’s Page

#lucyirvine