Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Lunacy and Death by Tom Dombrock

Outside of a personal tragedy or affliction, the average person rarely gets a deep look into the complexities of mortality and mental illness. However, in Lunacy and Death, the insightful new book Tom Dombrock, readers are welcomed into the author’s world, which has been defined by these challenging topics for decades.

As both a Psych Aide in a locked psychiatric ward and a technician in a Medical Examiner’s Office, Dombrock has seen more shattered realities than most people could ever imagine. This book is not a flashy or dramatic vision of a psych ward, à la One Flew Over […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-22T15:12:54+02:00April 13th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Psychology, Social Science|

Review: Miguel Traveler: The Man from Texas by Daniel McFatter

Navigating the modern world is hard enough, but waking up and finding yourself in a bizarre and unforgiving future is a much greater challenge. In Miguel Traveler: The Man From Texas, author Daniel McFatter ambitiously takes readers into the future – a vision where society as we know it has broken down, the wasteland has overtaken the promised land, and survival is not promised to anyone.

When the Woman in Black wakes Miguel from his stasis slumber, he embarks on a journey to discover his own purpose – why was he put in stasis? What happened at the end […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-04-13T13:20:13+02:00April 13th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Daniel McFatter, Science Fiction, Western|

Review: The Building (Furnass Towers Trilogy Book 1) by Richard Snodgrass

The first book in Richard Snodgrass’ Furnass Towers Trilogy, The Building is an evocative work of literary fiction, in which the construction of an apartment tower acts as a pivot to unveil an eccentric cast of characters, allowing Snodgrass to deftly weave the stories of the people in this struggling mill town.

Usually, with a cast this big, it is possible to lose focus and drain tension. However, The Building works in the opposite direction: every point of view reveals a little bit more and every switch has the satisfaction of putting the right puzzle piece into place – slowly […]

SPR2019-01-22T11:00:06+02:00April 13th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Furnass Towers Trilogy, Literary Fiction, Richard Snodgrass|

Review: Elevator Quest by Emmanuel M Arriaga

Office life is the bane of many existences, and who hasn’t wished for the universe to throw them a magical curveball to save them from boredom? In Elevator Quest, a whimsical and creative novel by Emmanuel M. Arriaga, those wishes for an exciting escape are granted to a ragtag collection of corporate professionals who are transported from an elevator into a completely new and harrowing world.

Within the first few pages, readers are introduced to a dozen people facing the most terrifying experience of their lives – plummeting to their deaths in an elevator failure. However, the book doesn’t […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-02-09T05:24:42+02:00April 12th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Emmanuel M Arriaga, Fantasy|

Review: Culling the Herd by Edward R. Etzkorn

The seemingly innocuous phrase, “The few for the many,” proves to be a chilling mantra in Culling the Herd, a riveting thriller by Edward R. Etzkorn.

Tired of her four-year stint as women’s health editor for a second-rate magazine, Chloe Freestaff left the jungles of New York City twelve months earlier for the harshness of Kenya’s Mwenga National Game Reserve. Now nearing the end of her tenure, Chloe learns that an old African tradesman has stumbled upon “something evil” inside the game reserve. The long-suppressed journalist in Chloe smells a story, and she convinces him to show her what […]

Marta Cheng2018-06-19T06:09:55+02:00April 11th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Thriller|

Review: Portraits by Higgs Boson

Portraits is quite an achievement, as dauntingly detailed in its character descriptions as Shaw (who also wanted his actors to have particular heights, clothes, and eye colors, and his sets to have specific furniture), and as discursive in its stage directions as O’Neill.

This not to say Portraits is Shavian, or as steeped in naturalistic turmoil as O’Neill. Rather, as Higgs Boson (an amusing pseudonym) states in his author note, it’s an attempt, on the whole successful, to revive the Theatre of the Absurd, with its echoes of Ionesco, Sartre, and Durenmatt, and, farther afield, A Frolic of His Own[…]

Nolan Powers2020-02-21T07:30:55+02:00April 4th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Theatre|

Review: Rise and Run (A Broken Man Novel #1) by RJ Plant

From the first few pages of Operation Rise and Run, readers know they are in for a grim, mysterious, and well-crafted novel. Author RJ Plant has delivered a stunning introduction to her vision of the future, not one of atomic destruction or a zombie apocalypse, but rather a fate that seems disturbingly probable, where science fiction and geopolitical realities have brutally collided.

Following the destructive end to the war on terror, the world has turned a new page, one in which power is more centralized – in the Government Directive International (GDI). The reason this book sends shivers, however, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-06-14T06:44:13+02:00April 3rd, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction|

Review: Who Can Fix It? by Leslie Ann MacKeen

Who Can Fix It? is a delightful problem-solving picture book for young readers, written and illustrated by Leslie Ann MacKeen.

On his way to his mother’s house for Sunday dinner, Jeremiah T. Fitz’s car comes to a complete stop and then quits running altogether. Jeremiah wonders aloud who can fix his car and despite visits by the likes of Kara Kangaroo, Elmo Elephant, Gloria Gorilla, Petunia Peacock, Barnabus Bear and several others, all of whom offer Jeremiah encouragement and unique ideas to fix his car, no one is able to find a solution.

It’s not until the last animal comes […]

Marta Cheng2018-06-04T13:30:19+02:00April 2nd, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Children's Books|