SPR’s book reviews of new self-published books
Raging Falcon by Stephen C. Perkins
If the paranoia surrounding mind control and global-scale governmental conspiracies was ever shown to be true, this world could tear itself apart at the seams. In Raging Falcon, the debut novel of author Stephen C. Perkins, it just might happen. For readers who enjoy genre-bending fiction, this story makes for an adventurous and sometimes exhausting read for a premise that is at once fantastical and plausible.
In the world of this novel, magic is alive and well in the deepest core of global politics, and psychological sorcerers have managed to infiltrate every level of society, orchestrating the greatest trick […]
When a mad scientist uses television and junk food to stupefy the British populace, cartoonist Al Horowitz must clear his name of murder, and find the cure to the Genome 9X9 disaster. The people have run amok, and Horowitz enlists his genius nephew Dr. Grossman and his colleague, the mysterious and tenacious Dr. Kamaruzaman. Together, they plot, hide, and attack as they cross England to confront the evil Dr. Proctor, and seek the cure.
Dee Plecic’s autobiographical account of life in a war-torn city presents a world where racism and religious tyranny gradually replaced multiculturalism and tolerance is an amazing tale of one woman’s endurance.
Are You Happy?: A Guidebook to Earning Happiness is a wonderfully illustrated book that offers sage advice and some handy metaphors that distill our behavior in the pursuit of happiness. 
With the current saturation of superhero stories in films and television, 
Graphic novels may have spent decades in the shadow of comic books, but the genre continues to expand and progress, as shown in the electric new graphic novel, Genesis II, by Allan Ling and Christian Boe, a stunning artistic and storytelling achievement.
The challenges of being a young boy are uniquely showcased in Boys, Bears, and Bubblegum, an eclectic collection of short stories and poems for children written by Carolyn Madero and illustrated by Giovanni Munari and Jane Brusetti.