Alan Havorka | Self-Publishing Review

Shades of Thorne Creek by Alan Havorka

Shades of Thorne Creek by Alan Havorka is a fascinating social novel following the fate of a small town population in the mid-1970s trying to survive in the midst of industrial decline, for a searing and emotive portrait. Havorka brings to life the provincial frustration against a period backdrop, teasing out the delicate personal relationships that define people and the paths they take, with sometimes tragic consequences.

Our unnamed narrator arrives in Emery, South Dakota, a perfectly normal if somewhat barren Great Plains town that has clearly seen better days, organized around a local grain elevator. Having noticed with a […]

Within a Sheltering Darkness by Alan Havorka

I was fully prepared not to like Within a Sheltering Darkness. The cover had that dubious computer-generated look, the title was vaguely embarrassing, and the first two chapters gave every indication that this would be a self-satisfied yawner. But damned if it didn’t turn out to be an interesting read!

Alex Boten is an astronaut, or anyway he wants to be, but he narrowly failed the tests that would have allowed him to become a mission pilot. Instead, he’s called upon to field-test a prototype spaceship, which malfunctions spectacularly on what appears to be a routine maneuver, and blam, […]