John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

Maddie Bennett is courageously healing both mind and spirit after being rescued from a regime of fanatics by her still-missing brother in Revealed Mercy: A Journey into the Tower of Trust by Eve M. Harrell, an inspiring second installment in her Christian coming-of-age series. To save his son, David Bennett must make a deal with the devil that threatens everything he stands for, while the divine fate of the world hangs in the balance. Weaving subtle lessons from Scripture into a suspenseful and enveloping plot, Harrell’s spiritual focus remains a sturdy foundation for the tenacious Bennett family as they seek […]

A multilayered journey into greater self-knowledge and spiritual confidence, Revealed Truth: A Journey from Fear to Faith by Eve M. Harrell is a Christian YA drama with wisdom for readers of all ages. Maddie Bennett is struggling with the anxiety and panic of teenage life, and the deep faith instilled by her family may not be enough to overcome the symptoms. Her father is fighting his own battles, serving his country by keeping cybercriminals at bay, but in such dangerous times, keeping both his family and his clients safe is a daunting task. Imbued with righteous lessons and relatable characters […]

A mischievous work of contemporary satire, Diamondback by D.R. Capp is a wild but shrewd commentary on the clash of business and culture. When greedy developers turn their eyes on Skyview County for a tourist-drawing mega-mall, disrupting the local culture and bulldozing rattlesnake habitats is just a necessary evil for another modern monstrosity. However, the local resistance is fierce in opposition, as well as unconventional in their retaliation, from monster truck vandalism to food court bombings, resulting in a bizarre yet trenchant David and Goliath novel armed with venomous critiques of appropriation, consumerism, and stereotypical thinking.

 […]

24th-century capitalism and life-draining technology have perfected a deeply dispiriting dystopia, but radical hope is still hard to kill, in Spreadsheet Cultists by Dane Sullivan, a prescient but ominous work of speculative fiction. When a half-educated machine intelligence engineer gets scooped up into the inner workings of a corporate police state, it’s a job that could dramatically change his life, but also an opportunity for rebellion from within the belly of the beast. A savage satire of contemporary society and the dangerous path of technological dependence, convenient fascism, and humanity as an expendable resource, this cerebral piece of dystopian fiction […]