SPR’s book reviews of new self-published books
Autonomy by Jude Houghton
It’s the year 2035, a decade after a series of cataclysmic environmental events led to the breakdown of society and its resurrection by a global corporate/political force called “The Autonomy.” The Autonomy’s elite upper class rule with an iron fist, keeping the masses starving and working 14 hour factory shifts until their bodies become deformed. Everyone is forced to wear government-issued “iNet” glasses which supply mind-numbing entertainment and access to “The Faith,” the government-sponsored religion, while having their locations and activities monitored.
Deep in the sewers of the world’s wealthiest city, a rebellion is brewing. One girl with special abilities […]
In her latest collection, Still Dreaming, Ellie Rose McKee weaves together poetry and prose to consider themes of loss and longing, dreams, and family secrets. One story concerns a coffeehouse with a mysterious regular customer, while two different stories deal with young women in distress, one on the verge of losing her sight, another considering ending her life after suffering a traumatic event.
Gideon Quinn is a man with many enemies, and he’s not afraid of making a few more in pursuit of his goals. Wrongly convicted of treason and sentenced to an often-short life of hard labor, an uncommon deal is struck that grants Gideon one last chance to clear his name, or at least get back at the ones who sent him to his death. Traveling to Nike City with his pet draco, Elvis, Gideon uncovers a plot to fracture his world that runs deeper than anyone could imagine. The planet Fortune has Gideon on a short supply of its namesake, […]
Fishing In Valhalla by Rodney Lynch is a comic novel about a nowhere town in Minnesota, centering on Reno who works for a former male pornstar, Ramrod McKenzie. Over a hot, 90’s summer, the convenience store run by Ramrod is robbed, throwing Reno’s life into disarray. An arresting and very funny book peopled by a list of eccentric, but believable, characters, Fishing in Valhalla is an entertaining and surprisingly touching novel about striving to be the best you can be when your world is falling apart.
When Are You Leaving by Melissa Powell Gay is a twisted mystery of hometown and heartbreak.
In Items May Have Shifted: How to Travel With Your Baby or Toddler, journalist NJS Kaye presents a “guerrilla guide” to traveling with young children based on copious experience and scholarly research.
In Doggy Drama by Andra Gillum, a fluffy white dog named Riley, adorably rendered by illustrator Andy Case, puts on a brave face while confronting an escalation of changes in her household.
When protagonist Jeffrey Porter’s father Randall suddenly goes missing, he moves his wife and children back to the family ranch in Santa Cruz to investigate. While searching the cellar, Porter uncovers a portal to the past where he meets the Kimbralls, the family who lived on the ranch in 1870. Porter and the Kimbrall patriarch Augustus embark on a mission to find Randall but the unpredictability of time travel and the portal itself make this a perilous pursuit. When they hear rumors that Randall is involved in labor disputes that have angered local farmers, they realize his life is in […]