Lead Story | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Ironheart: The Primal Deception by Dakota Kemp

★★★★½

An epic, violent, and grimy urban steampunk tale with a hero to cheer for and original mythology that any science-fiction fantasy fan will run at.

In a world of godlike deities and electrifying science fantasy, mortal man is like an ant in the modern jungles of an oppressive regime of the ultra-powerful. For the common folk, survival is the only thing that matters, no matter the cost, and no matter the will of the disinterested elite towering above. It’s lesson learned hard and fast by Jack Booker, an orphan who grew up in the ticking clockwork heart of the […]

James Grimsby2016-05-12T14:13:04+02:00May 12th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy, Steampunk|

Review: Prasvapa by Chand Svare Ghei

★★★½

Prasvapa by Chand Svare Ghei is a dreamlike collection of short stories that’s part fantasy, part crime, part universe entirely of Ghei’s vivid imagination. A Norwegian author writing in English, Ghei has created a fantastical world that has little relation to our own, past or present. Each story is introduced with an abstract epigraph, which invites the reader to explore the story’s deeper meaning. The word “Prasvapa” is Sanskrit for “dream,” and that dreamlike quality permeates each one of these evocative and mind-bending stories.

Ghei is a highly inventive writer. Without question, you won’t find another book of short […]

Henry Baum2019-01-22T11:12:19+02:00April 29th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Short Stories|

Review: In the Valley by Jason Lambright

★★★★½

In the Valley by Jason Lambright is a sci-fi military adventure that hits close to home.

It’s 2333, and Captain Paul Thompson faces terrorism in the Baradna Valley far from home on the planet Juneau 3. The crazy men he serves with in his battalion are wild and brutal – will he manage to hang onto his mind while fighting the enemy, and his companions?

The premise of this future world is unraveled slowly, allowing new tech and post-Earth jargon to slowly become natural and accepted by readers, making the premise far more accessible and enjoyable. Many futuristic or […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-02-21T06:19:01+02:00April 28th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Military, Science Fiction|

Review: Abednego by Devanye Hansen

★★★★

Abednego: Book 1 of the Guardians Series by Devanye Hansen is a mythical adventure through forbidden love and the unseen world around us.

The fascinating world of Abednego centers on the drama of the Pegasi, Fae, Guardians, Hunters and keepers engaged in an otherworldly power struggle. This novel is an ambitious and exhilarating ride through a fantastic new realm, replete with action, romance, mind reading, betrayal, suspense, and a fair dose of humor. The depth and complexity of the story is impressive, and the author, Devanye Hansen, has an obvious talent for world building within her deep well of […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-04-25T10:20:23+02:00April 25th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy|

Review: Girl Soldier by T.R. Horne

★★★★½

Girl Soldier by T. R. Horne is a page-turning action and adventure novel with heart.

Rain Wilson grew up in a small Colorado farming town. Her mother left ten years ago, but Rain never stopped loving her. When Rain learns that her mother is missing, she realizes that she doesn’t know everything about her father and mother. The young woman sets out to find her mother. Can Rain handle the truth, lies, and the forces who don’t want her mother found?

The prologue of Girl Soldier makes a few things clear. Rain is compassionate and respects life. Yet, she’s […]

T B Markinson2019-01-22T05:55:31+02:00April 25th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Action and Adventure, Spy Thriller, Thriller|

Review: The Adversary’s Good News by Israfel Sivad

★★★★

The Adversary’s Good News Israfel Sivad is a surreal, philosophical novel about Christian Michael Anderson who decides to end his life. He’s got the noose ready and aims to go through with it until he has a change of heart at the last minute. Fortunately, he’s rescued from his attempt by a mysterious stranger named Evius, who informs him that he has, in fact, died.

This leads Christian on an odyssey through the underworld, where he meets gargoyles, demons, a drug-dealing Tinkerbell, but most of all begins to confront the demons within himself.

Sivad is an erudite and ingenious […]

Henry Baum2016-04-27T01:23:26+02:00April 14th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction|

Review: Just Love Everybody by Greg Ware

★★★★½

The year is 2031, and while technology has advanced every field of science, there’s still many mysteries to solve and theories to prove. Enter Dr. Jake Love: a renowned obstetrician, a specialist in delivery, childbirth, and natal care. Dr. Love isn’t just lucky in the name department either, as by some kind of happenstance he is granted the chance to spend just one day with anyone in history.

With great power comes great responsibility: who would you choose? Who should you choose? Of course, Jake has to aim for the most unimaginable target, and he just has to ask […]

James Grimsby2016-03-23T05:31:58+02:00March 23rd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction, Visionary Fiction|

Review: Bodyguard of Deception by Samuel Marquis (Book 1 of the World War Two Trilogy)

★★★★

As the clock ticks down to D-Day, the Allies are secretly in a state of panic. The greatest secret the Allies had left to win the war with has been stolen by one of the top Nazi spymasters, en route to the Fuhrer as they scramble to form a plan to reclaim it. In Germany’s final days of Nazi rule, could this be the lifeline they need to extend the conflict by one more bloody campaign of resistance, or will the Allies swoop in just in time to save millions of lives? The world hangs in a delicate balance […]

James Grimsby2016-03-23T04:03:25+02:00March 22nd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Thriller, World War II|