SPR’s book reviews of new self-published books
Zurga’s Fire (The Orfeo Saga Book 3) by Murray Lee Eiland Jr.
The great hero Orfeo faces one of the most deadly threats of his heroic career.
At the height of Greece’s heroic age, the ruthless Getae advance on new territory in their relentless expansion. Terrifying in their savage conquests, heralded by unflinching group assaults and hails of missiles, renowned for wiping out their foes and capturing their defenseless to fuel the war machine with minimal losses on their own side; it seems nothing will stand in their army’s wake. Will the great warrior Orfeo and his group be able to buck the trend and face down the Getae menace? The answers […]
Debt Cleanse: How To Settle Your Unaffordable Debts For Pennies On The Dollar (And Not Pay Some At All) by Jorge P. Newbery is just about the most comprehensive guide to getting out of debt without losing your credit rating you could possibly find. While most debt guides concentrate on one area of debt, Newbery has been through huge amounts of debt himself and came out the other side after going through the courts and dealing with banks and repo men several times over, so he knows how to navigate just about every single area of debt anyone could need […]
The Fantastic Travels of William and the Monarch Butterfly: Fly, Fly Away on the Wings of a Monarch Butterfly by Christina Steiner is about a young boy named William, a born explorer, who one day meets a talking butterfly named Anka and shrinks down to her size, then flies away with her as she makes her migration down south from North Dakota. Their journey mimics the real migration of the Monarch butterfly, so kids will learn fascinating facts about butterflies as readers follow William and Anka on their series of adventures.
Iapetus Shift by Jonas David is an innovative science fiction novella about a world where people can shape-shift by stealing people’s DNA via nanobots. Olan is falling apart due to his constant shape-shifting, and one last kill will put him together again for good. Unfortunately for Olan, it doesn’t go well, and to avoid prison he’s roped into a final job: kidnapping someone in a government facility on Mars and transporting her to Saturn’s moon, Iapetus.
Send Flowers (Shotgun John and Scorpion Book 1) by Mike Crowley is a pulse-pounding thriller about an ordinary man on the run from the CIA for a crime he did not commit. John Griffin finds his workplace, a pharmaceutical lab, in flames, which puts him on the terror watch list and hounded by government officials. The lab has been working on the cure for a disease, and a corporate executive thinks it’s more profitable if the lab never discovers the cure. John must find the cure and band together with a group of citizens to fight the highest trenches of […]
F*ck This Sh*t by Zed Dee is a novella-length memoir about a man in Singapore approaching thirty who’s still a virgin and struggling with autism, diagnosed late in his life. He finally ends up going to a selection of prostitutes and sex therapists, who cannot seem to help him, as his sexual dysfunction goes beyond his virginity. Dee cannot enjoy sex fully, and given his autism, he sometimes recoils at the human touch. Dee then goes on a quest to understand his past and present and find a new degree of contentment.
Seven Great Freethinking Philosophers by John C. Wilhelmsson is a compendium covering the biographies and the major tenets of philosophers such as Zeno, Augustine, Descartes, Spinoza, and others. Referencing the work of Charles Bradlaugh, a 19th century English politician and author, Wilhelmsson expands on Bradlaugh’s work to adapt them for a post-secular modern age. Including work by Bradlaugh, collaborations with Bradlaugh, as well as Wilhelmsson’s own work, it is a vigorous guide to freethinking philosophy.
Come Flutter Your Wings by Audrey Thompson is a passionate declaration of faith in the form of devotional poems, scripture, and stories from her life, in which she’s gone down a dark road and come out the other side with intense optimism and hope. It’s brimming with earnestness and sincerity, and should be a comfort for other religious devotees who have had to triumph over adversity.