John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

A unique sci-fi thriller with storytelling roots in Mother Earth, Nascha: Episode One – New Worlds by Dani Cartwright is a smart and thought-provoking tale of galactic exploration and the boundaries of reality we have yet to break. When the starship Orien stumbles upon a rogue wormhole near the Kuiper Belt that could suck them through an Einstein-Rosen Bridge, the fearless and nanite-infused Captain Ron launches himself into the unknown of the Dragon’s mouth to protect his loyal crew. With a synthetic AI companion evolving beside him on the journey, the undaunted captain explores strange worlds, maps a new corner […]

A remarkably researched peek into the life of a determined public servant, South Dakota Crusader: Francis Case’s Road to Congress by Stephen L. Wilson details the impressive journey of Francis Case, a United States Representative and Senator who served South Dakota for over two decades. Despite humble beginnings, Case perennially proved himself to be an ambitious, intelligent, and hard-working student, teacher, journalist, and civic leader, all of which made him an effectual and respected member of Congress in the latter half of his life. This portrait offers an inspiring example of resilience, decency, and purposeful living in the expanding ideological […]

A detailed and fascinating plunge more than 2,000 years into the past, A Brief History of France: Empires, Kings, and Revolutions by Dominic Haynes is an accessible yet academic read on a perennial epicenter of Europe. From throwing off the yoke of empires to worshipping pampered kings as gods, the role of France in geopolitics and popular culture has often been outsized, and this meticulously researched look into the nation’s evolution explains why and how it achieved such global significance. Though the first third of the book can be somewhat dense with ancient history, it lays a foundation for Haynes’ […]

A manic sci-fi fling into truth, justice, and family loyalty, Benny Dubious: Hiding from the Feds is a wildly creative novella from Maxwell Hoffman. Suspension of disbelief is essential as Benny Dubious hides out with a suspicious group of his relatives, some of whom don’t appreciate his connections to a group of vigilantes gone bad in Los Angeles. However, if he can convince his brainiac cousin to build him a time chamber, he just might be able to outsmart the relentless Felix Fromm and the Feds, giving his crime syndicate the upper hand once again. While the unpredictable plot moves […]

A coming-of-age thriller packed with shadowy conspiracies and unburied legacies, Jordan Frost and the Awakening by J.A. Simmons is a YA adventure of slow-burning revenge and powerful self-discovery. Jordan, an orphan, has never met his parents, but after being swept into The Desert by a mysterious woman to avoid a malicious killer, he discovers the unbelievable truth of his ancestral origins. Quickly mastering the rigorous Ways of a secret warrior society, Jordan taps into a power he didn’t know existed to find the redemption he didn’t know he deserved. While the fast-moving story is undeniably exciting, the text requires a […]