Agonising

Good Books You Probably Never Heard Of - Part 5

A year or two ago, I never thought of social media as the place where I’d find my next book to read. And I’m not talking Goodreads here.

I don’t particularly like Goodreads. The site is clumsy to use. The reviewers are often unnecessarily vitriolic. And there is a decided bias in favor of corporate publishers and their books.

No, I’m talking about Twitter primarily, although I’ve found some very good reads on some of the closed Facebook groups.

Three of the recent authors I’ve run across who write very enjoyable books are RH Hale, Joe Congel, and Richard Schwindt. In the past, I discovered Crispian Thurlborn, Ben Willoughby, and Steve Bargdill.

One of my recent discoveries was Agonising by Ernestine Marsh, who describes herself as “a woman who has written a book”. And what a book it is!

Agonising is written as a series of alternating advice columns between two rival agony aunts, Jean Price and Raine Vincent. Both of whom are characters in every sense of the word. We are treated to delicious humor, biting satire, and an insightful look at human nature. The advice they give to the answer seekers is usually ridiculous and frequently irreverent. And their acerbic comments about each other will have you falling out of your chair from laughter.

With a deft hand, Ms Marsh has pulled back the curtain on the façade that hides the reality of our times and who we are.

Not to overplay my own hand, but if Voltaire were alive today I think he’d be looking over his shoulder at this very worthy competitor.

There’s not much of a plot, but I don’t think you’ll miss it. You’ll be too busy laughing. And what plot there is, Ms Marsh brings to a very satisfying and hilarious conclusion.

Agonising is very highly recommended! And, as of this writing, a mere 99¢.

Comments are always welcome, and, until next time, happy reading!

The Stone Seekers

Good Books You Probably Never Heard Of - Part 4

A couple, three years ago I ran into Jack Tyler on a now defunct steampunk forum. We’ve kept in touch over the years. He’s a very interesting fellow and you can read his thoughts about books and life on his blog.

I read and reviewed Beyond the Rails a couple years ago. It’s a good book. I have the other two in the series and look forward to reading them.

However, I think the book that is truly the winner in Jack’s oeuvre is The Stone Seekers.

Over the years, I’ve drifted away from fantasy because, for the most part, the corporate publishers gave us nothing but Tolkien pastiches that weren’t anywhere near as good as the original. Or magic that just didn’t make sense because it was inconsistent.

If I see the words elf, or dwarf, that’s it. The book goes back on the virtual shelf. Or if I see pointy ears, the same — back on the shelf it goes. With very rare exception. The same goes for magic.

As a result, I was very surprised — pleasantly surprised — not to find even a smidgen of Tolkien in The Stone Seekers. There is magic, but it is well done.

Tyler has given us a new world of quests and high adventure. He’s given us new beings that are unique and mythic. Along with his straightforward and good storytelling.

In fact, I think The Stone Seekers could be turned into at least a trilogy, if not a series. And I think we readers would like that. But first, we need to get Mr Tyler some sales and reviews. The book is currently only 99¢. You can spend a buck on far worse than Jack Tyler’s book and not get the lasting satisfaction and enjoyment provided by The Stone Seekers. The book would also make for a fabulous movie.

The story line is a standard quest plot. Nothing new there. Where The Stone Seekers shines is in the well-drawn characters and the world that Tyler has created. The characters are complex, but not overly so. The world is richly drawn, but description doesn’t bog down the story.

As I stated above, Tyler is a good storyteller. He gives us enough so we keep on reading, right to the end. Where I, at least, was filled with sadness that there was no more.

The Stone Seekers is very much worth your time and money. The book is good old-fashioned fun and very satisfying entertainment.

Comments are always welcome, and, until next time — happy reading!

An Angel Fallen

Good Books You Probably Never Heard Of - Part 3

Somewhere in the social media world I ran into Andy Graham. From that encounter, I went on to read his novella An Angel Fallen. And I’m glad I did.

Graham is a superb writer. His command of the language, as well as his knowledge of literature, and his skill at telling a story — all add up to one fabulous read.

An Angel Fallen must be experienced. To try and tell the story in brief would do it an injustice. And the story is about justice. And retribution. And sacrifice.

An Angel Fallen could very well be the ultimate coming of age story. Even though it’s much more than that. It is a philosophy of life masquerading as a story — one that is haunting and stays with you long after you’ve read it.

I do not understand why this gem is not selling like the proverbial hot cakes. Because it needs to be. It’s that good.

What I didn’t realize is that An Angel Fallen is Book 2 of the Dark Fiction Tales series. So I went ahead and bought the first book and am looking forward to reading it.

Don’t miss this superb writer. His star, and ours, is rising.

Comments are always welcome, and, until next time, happy reading!

Entangled

Good Books You Probably Never Heard Of - Part 2

My purpose in writing this new blog series is to 

1. Share books I’ve read and liked, and
2. Promote those books to a wider audience

I’m not a “professional” reviewer. I’m simply a reader who appreciates good books. Reviewing isn’t my job. Writing is. However, when I come across well-written and entertaining books I will share them with you. Mostly, if not exclusively, these will be books that aren’t selling, or aren’t selling well. Books that, in my opinion, deserve a much wider audience. Books that truly should be bestsellers.

And, now, on with the show!

Entangled

The novel Entangled by J. Evan Stuart, as of this writing, sits at number 2,420,293 in the paid Kindle store. That essentially means no one is buying or reading this book. And that is too bad, because the novel is very well written and the story is one that you don’t want to end.

Supposedly, Entangled is the first in the Sonya Reisler series. However, the author has apparently disappeared. His blog hasn’t been updated since 2016, and his Twitter account hasn’t seen any activity since May 2017.

A very good writer, now apparently lost to the reading community. Just this one gem left behind. A shame. A very sad shame.

Entangled is, loosely, a police procedural mystery. I use the term “loosely” because the story does not focus on the procedure, but on the characters.

Connor is being framed for killing his parents and almost killing his sister, who he adores. Detective Sonya Reisler, a newbie on the detective squad, is supposed to look over the evidence and rubber-stamp the local sheriff’s decision. When she does, however, something doesn’t sit right with her and the more she digs, the more things don’t look right. Is Connor being framed? Is he the easy out?

Then to complicate things even more, Connor meets Sonya to tell her his side of the story. And as fate would have it, they like each other and Sonya finds herself protecting the fugitive.

Stuart brings the book to a very exciting and satisfying conclusion that easily leaves the door open for a sequel, or several sequels.

Let’s get this author some buys, KU reads, and reviews. Maybe, just maybe we will find out what happens in the rest of the series.

Comments are always welcome, and, until next time, happy reading!