Review: Fighting Words: Notes for a Future We Won't Have by Peg Tittle

 

Genre: Short Story Collection/Speculative Fiction

Description:

“Fact-driven speculative fiction.

What could've been. What should've been.

A collection of 18 stand-alone, but related, pieces”

Author:

Peg Tittle is the author of several novels, a few screenplays, and multiple non-fiction books as well as writing in other venues including a couple blogs and various publications.

Appraisal:

Each of the stories in this collection have something in common, whether showing how bad things could end up if we (as in the world in general, although focused on the US and Canada) continue with some of the current social and political trends that are engrained in our cultures. Think a dystopian world due to things like climate change that remains relatively unchecked and misogyny (yeah, I know “tough guy”, you don’t think it’s real, but people like you are a big part of the problem). Or wait, maybe if we make some big changes things could turn out okay. It depends on which story you read, but those changes are far from trivial. If you read this and it doesn’t get you thinking, pondering the issues that it illustrates, and recognizing some of the problems it is illuminating, then I don’t want to say you might be a big part of the problem, but …

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

A special note that while you’ll want to go to Amazon to get a paper version of the book, if you want an ebook version you can get that that for free from a link on this page on the author’s website: https://pegtittle.com/books/fighting-words

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Review: Gates of Polished Horn by Mark A Rayner

 

Genre: Speculative fiction

Description:

This sort of fiction skips between science fiction and literary. The subjects are usually those that engage people who enjoy reading about real people in the real world, but there is a twist. Not as in crime fiction where (shock, horror!) the butler did not do it, but something … weird. In Britain TTA Press, run by Andy Cox, was the prime exponent of the genre in short form. That, sadly, ceased publication in the Noughties. But here is a whole collection of speculative stories. Yum yum.

Author:

Mark A. Rayner is a Canadian author of science fiction, satire and humour, from London, Ontario. His most recent books are The Gates of Polished Horn (Donovan Street Press, 2025.), Alpha Max (Monkeyjoy Press, 2021) and The Fatness (Monkeyjoy Press, 2017). The latter won and IndieReader Discovery award for humor and an Independent Book Publisher Association (IBPA) award for humor (silver). He has been nominated for the Prix Aurora Award (for short fiction) three times.

The Gates of Polished Horn was selected by the Toronto Star as one of its 20 favourite fiction books of 2025. ^[1]

Rayner teaches in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at The University of Western Ontario. He is a member of The Writers' Union of Canada, and is a founding member of The Emily Chesley Reading Circle. He is also the co-host of the Re-Creative podcast. And he has cats.

He has a Wikipedia page here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_A._Rayner#References where you can discover his other published works.

Appraisal:

The first thing to say is that this short story collection is first class. Even if you don’t usually read short fiction, you should really give this a try.

The title is found in a quotation from Homer’s Odyssey (book XIX):

“The dreams that pass through the gates of polished horn are fraught with truth, for the dreamer who can see them.” Are you that dreamer? I bet you are.

There are 20 stories in this collection. Some tiny, some much meatier. Here are a few thumb nails to whet your appetite: Socrates and time travel: worms and Adidas: a mind meld with a deer: celebrity cooking (a far cry from Master Chef): in the theatre, the essence of character vis à vis the height of your leading lady.

Each story has a dichotomy at its heart. Some of them simply investigate the human condition, with a penetrating eye. Others bring in outré elements.

I recommend this to you.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

A very few missed proofing errors.

There is an odd tic throughout the book which is an underscore where one would usually expect a hyphen. Is it a badge of slipstream-ery? Or a trick of the file? Having just finished this book I am inclined to say that it means you shouldn’t try to explain _everything_.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

Review: Menagerie in the Dark: Stories by Chris Kauzlarich

 

Genre: Short Story Collection/Speculative Fiction

Description:

“In Menagerie in the Dark, Chris Kauzlarich immerses us in a speculative journey that explores the darker aspects of the human condition before bringing us back to the surface with the light of a new day. Through fourteen stories, this menagerie of characters faces trials of sorrow, death, loneliness, regret, deception, murder, delight, wonderment, and bliss, revealing what will either strengthen them enough to survive or plunge them to their demise. A boy’s home burns down, forcing him to confront a terrifying new world. A man enters a door where he witnesses his wife’s death, leaving him devastated; yet, he cannot stop returning to the scene, convinced he can save her. A nurse’s patients continue to perish under her care, but she harbors a dark secret—an administered cocktail for nefarious purposes.

These and other stories will stretch the limits of your emotions, from heartbreak to horror, leaving you yearning for more.”

Author:

Chris Kauzlarich lives with his husband and daughter, splitting their time between Chicago and Naples, Florida or traveling in their RV. He’s also written a horror novel called Lazarus.

Appraisal:

These were stories that were entertaining, thought provoking. While the characters often go through difficult things I still found myself amused and laughing at some of the stories, at least when they resolved in an unexpected and good way.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some mildly adult-ish content.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance copy, so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Review: Oddities by Thurdy

 

Genre: Short Story Collection/Speculative Fiction

Description:

“A dystopian vampire teenager, severed finger salad topping, disgruntled Teddy bears, and an army of Percivals. What do these all have in common? They are all trapped within the pages of this collection of stories, like a genie waiting to be released from a bottle. Oh, forgot to say, there’s a genie in there too, but not one like you’re picturing. This one is actually … well, you’ll find out.

So, for those of you who spend your life in a state of perpetual distraction, who want to buy everything in the art supply shop, whose co-workers don’t know you write poetry…

no more staring into the mirror wondering how nice it would be to have horns.

It’s time to grow a pair.”

Author:

You can find out what there is to know about Thurdy, the author of this book, on their website. The brief about page I linked gives you a bit of an idea, but for the tl;dr version, Thurdy is a slightly off-kilter artistic type who writes songs and now a book of short stories, among other things. That off-kilter part is the key.

Appraisal:

If there has ever been a book title more perfect for the contents of the book than this one, I don’t know what it is. This collection of short stories largely seems to fall within the speculative fiction umbrella that includes science fiction, horror, and fantasy among other genres. But the thing that sets the stories apart is that they are odd, along with being entertaining and unique stories. In addition to being odd, some stories challenge accepted wisdom. Maybe vampires do like garlic and being a zombie could be fun for two examples. The explanation for crop circles we’ve always heard is partly right, but mostly wrong, for another example. I haven’t read a short story collection that was this much fun in a long time, if ever.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 30-35,000 words

Review: The Santa Strike by Shana Hammaker

 Genre: Speculative Fiction/Christmas

Description:

“While home in Midland, Texas on a weekend visit with the eccentric uncle who raised him, Marion (‘Mary’) Waclawski discovers a long-forgotten letter Uncle Joe wrote to Santa Claus. Mary keeps it to share with his girlfriend Lindsay and best friend Tommy. At first they consider the letter to be nothing more than a silly lark—what kind of grown man would write a letter to Santa? But soon Mary and Lindsay find themselves caught up in a much larger mystery, concerning many, many more letters to Santa, all surrounding the crisis of gun violence in America.

It’s a problem bigger than Texas, and a mystery bigger than Mary and Lindsay can solve on their own. Thankfully they discover they have willing and eager partners at the North Pole: Sandra and Kris Kringle, better known around the world as Mr. and Mrs. Claus! But can the Texans and the Clauses solve a mystery and a crisis no one else seems able to?”

Author:

After growing up in California Shana Hammaker bounced around the country a bit before landing in Austin, Texas where she now lives with her husband. Shana is the author of several books including memoirs, a novel, and several shorter works.

Appraisal:

Imagine that the neighbor kid who told you when you were ten that Santa wasn’t real didn’t know what he was talking about. That’s right, Santa is real. Now imagine the kids in the US who are scared by the stories of all the mass shootings they hear about and the active shooter drills they go through at school deciding to take action in the only way they an imagine making their dreams come true, by asking Santa to do something about gun violence in America for their Christmas present. If enough kids ask for this same thing, Santa will have to do something, right?

Exactly what was going on and how it was going to shake out kept me guessing and intrigued through the entire book. Along with an engaging story is plenty of background to give perspective and get the reader thinking about the issue of gun violence in the US. Ideally, we would be able to make some progress in improving things in that area without having to enlist Santa’s help, but just in case I know what I’m asking Santa do for me this Christmas. Give this a read and see if you agree.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

This review is based on a preliminary reviewer’s copy of the book, so I can’t judge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

Review: The Sixth Book by Jess Blenkarn

 

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Description:

Finn runs a book shop which makes very little money. This is largely because he is a dippy sort of young man whose priorities are mainly beer and girls. He is also a rare book collector. In one lot of rare books he acquires a puzzling set of six books which he can’t remember buying. They were all published in the nineteenth century (apparently) and detail history they ought not to know about – yet they are accurate in every particular. Finn becomes desperate to read them all and gets himself into some very peculiar scrapes in order to do so.

Surrounding this central thread is his developing relationship with Maia, who he meets at his best friend’s wedding.

Author:

The author is from Ontario in Canada (where the book is set). She is a graduate of Waterloo university and her day job is in Marketing. This is her fourth novel. Her website is here.

Appraisal:

The reader is given potted histories from each book as Finn proceeds with what quickly becomes obsessive reading. As they are standard school history book stuff, they don’t enhance plot development or pace, although the author does point out the horror of the apparently never-ending mass murders recent history has witnessed.

Finn’s increasing desperation to finish his reading does communicate itself to the reader: I felt his frustration, and need for haste, because of course it is the book which details his own time and beyond which he desperately wants to read.

Fortunately, at the point where Finn is finally ready to read the sixth book the story broadens out into a genuinely interesting mystery. Thus, as the Goons used to say, “this is where the story really starts”.

I found the two major protagonists, Finn and his girlfriend Maia, unsympathetic. Nor could I see why either one would date the other until the sixth book comes into its own, when the reasons for them being as they are, meeting, and becoming lovers make perfect sense. Both characters are essential to the story.

Finn never names a rare book he has bought or one that he wants to buy, and seems only to buy them in job lots. I confess I found it difficult to believe that this lad’s lad was a collector of them.

I have tried, but still cannot understand why Finn didn’t just dip into the first five books enough to satisfy himself that what they recounted was accurate. He could have done that in an evening.

So, for me, the novel could have had a lot of flabbiness removed from around its middle. But the denouement is certainly worth your time.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Review: When It Rains by Mark Allan Gunnells

 Genre: Speculative Fiction/Political Satire

Description:

“When the rains started to fall, those who took shelter in the Friedkin University bookstore had no idea what awaited them. The mysterious, slimy rain fell on the entire world at once, and a fear quickly spread that it contained a toxin that would make those who touched it sick. Inside the bookstore, tensions arose between those who had been caught out in the rain and those who had not, finally culminating in a shocking ending that will surprise and disturb readers.”

Author:

“Mark Allan Gunnells loves to tell stories. He has since he was a kid, penning one-page tales that were Twilight Zone knockoffs. He likes to think he has gotten a little better since then. He loves reader feedback, and above all he loves telling stories. He lives in Greer, SC, with his husband Craig A. Metcalf.”

Appraisal:

This novella was an adventure in that I wasn’t sure where it was going, only that I wanted to go along to see what happened. The premise, that kicks it off, that a slimy rain starts falling and a bunch of people take refuge in the Friedkin University bookstore seems like science fiction. However, as we get into the story, we discover that this same thing happened before, specifically in Oakville, Washington on August 7, 1994. What caused it was never determined. Any side-effects, good or bad, were never identified from that event. Plus, there is one big difference here, the storm (or deluge as it becomes referred to), in this case starts in a few places, but quickly spreads all over the world. So, while fiction, it isn’t as out there as my first impression led me to believe.

However, ultimately the deluge is the cause for the real story here, how people react to being stuck in the bookstore, not knowing why the deluge is happening, when it might stop, and maybe most critical of all, are those who were exposed to it, getting “rained” on before they sought shelter, in danger. Or might those people cause danger to others, the theory that the slime might make those who contact it diseased or an equivalent as well as potentially contagious to those who were exposed.

It doesn’t take much imagination to compare what is going on here to what has happened during the Covid pandemic, with the story almost feeling like a bit of a mirror on society. Curiously, it felt like people that I’d perceive as taking certain stances based on my impression of them, as well as the stance I was instinctively taking myself on how people should react, was the opposite of what the Covid pandemic would have led me to expect. Probably needless to say, that got me thinking and evaluating why I was reacting that way. Ultimately, I think I figured it out for myself, but the self-searching was definitely a positive of reading the book, not to mention keeping me, at least figuratively on the edge of my seat the whole time. And then there was the ending, not what I’d have guessed at all. See if you agree.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

My review is based on a pre-publication ARC (advanced reader copy), so I can’t gauge the final product in this regard.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 30-35,000 words

Review: Bibliomancer by Frances Evelyn

Genre: Speculative fiction

Description:

The book is set in Oakham, principal town of Rutland (the smallest county), about 20 miles from Leicester, in the Midlands in Britain. It begins with a sensitively handled death, and consequent grief. Thereafter it settles on Emily’s volunteer work, reading to patients at a local hospice, and her best friend Lauren’s struggle with baby blues and losing her mum, who was also a sort-of mum to Emily. We watch the two young women gradually rally. When they do, they find their lives have quite changed. Of course. A threshold has been crossed. They are women now in a way neither was before. Thereafter other thresholds are crossed, experimentally and then more boldly. The book gets darker. The two women get more self-reliant. But is the darkness unstoppable now?

Author: 

Frances Evelyn is a British author living now in Rutland. She spent 20 rewarding years as an English teacher, then several interesting years in management. 

In her ‘The Changeling Tree’ series (currently four books), Evelyn combines tangled time-lines, family saga, and Faerie. There is also what I believe is a novella called Sarah Ward and the Lyddington Djinn. Bibliomancer is a standalone book, and her most recent. 

Appraisal: 

This is a clever book. The tagline to the title is “time to choose your last book”. For people who love to read (and we are those people, right?) that is chilling. This is also a book which celebrates the power of books and reading. In this book – OK, I’m actually going to use these words in the same sentence – ‘contemporary British fantasy’ is going to appeal to the same people who enjoy Jane Austen and George Eliot. And no, this is not some sort of zombie mashup. So, what is going on?

The premise is new to me. A fresh plot does not, frankly, come along very often. Half a dozen a year, if that. This is one of those half dozen. So I am going to tread very carefully, so as not to drop any spoilers.

It conceals its freshness under a Red Riding Hood opening which skips along like women’s fiction, giving no hint of the wolf to come. Then it has a short flirtation with police procedural. Thereafter, the wolf lifts its lip to show its teeth and the story hurls itself towards a most satisfying climax in a quite unlooked-for direction.

The blurb on Kindle calls this book ‘contemporary British fantasy’, I’ve deemed it speculative fiction above. It could also quite legitimately strut its stuff as science fiction. Suffice it to say that there is plenty of weirdness, which is thought-provoking. If you enjoy being provoked in that way, I believe you will enjoy this book.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

There are a few typos and some odd stylistic decisions which occasionally disturb the reader.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: The Finest Lies by David J. Naiman

 Genre: YA/Contemporary Fiction/Speculative Fiction

Description:

“High schooler Nicole Hallett has just about had it with her brother Jay, so when a mysterious man appears with an offer to replace him with a better one, she doesn’t hesitate. Nicole has always been impulsive, but this time, she finds herself in predicament far worse than anything she’s experienced. Just like that, an average snow day—usually filled with hot cocoa and snowball fights—is commandeered by the stranger, who forces the siblings into a dangerous game.

Confronted by past reflections, tested by present complications, and threatened by future possibilities, Nicole has until the end of the day to disentangle the riddle of her life.

This suspenseful, yet winsome novel by award-winning author David J. Naiman explores the power of family and forgiveness. But take heed. The truth can cut like shards of glass, especially for those who’d rather avoid it. Sometimes, only the finest lies will do.”

Author:

A physician specializing in internal medicine during the day, David J. Naiman writes books under at least two different names. The books are sometimes aimed at children, sometimes teens, and other times adults. He lives in Maryland with his wife and two kids. For more, visit his website.

Appraisal:

With two teen protagonists this book is obviously aimed at a reader many decades younger than I am. The lessons that the target audience might take from this story fit them like a glove, but are still applicable to some degree with those of all ages, even if the specifics might be a touch different. As for the story itself, it’s a fun read and I was never sure where it was going. There’s a twist to the story that takes this tale into a genre that I’m not sure what to call it. I’ll go with Speculative Fiction (a catchall that covers both Fantasy and Science Fiction) and stories like this that might not quite fit either of those categories, but still come close.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

The version of the book I read for review was a pre-release ARC, but I spotted no significant issues in this area regardless.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 65-70,000 words

Reprise Review: Murphy’s Luck by Benjamin Laskin

 

Genre: Speculative Fiction/Contemporary Fantasy/Young Adult/Comedy

Description:

“Master of a thousand hobbies, but jinxed from birth with horrendous luck, Murphy Drummer has developed some eye-popping abilities. When Murphy goes in search of a luck-free zone where the world might be safe from his puzzling disorder, charmed Joy Daley stumbles into his whammy-charged path. Churning out both miracles and mayhem, Murphy whimsically upends the lives of everyone in Joy's life.

At first, Murphy's victims question who he is; at last, they'll be questioning who they aren't. A comical love story of wood-tapping proportions.”

Author:

“Benjamin Laskin grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. He has traveled extensively and lived in a number of countries, including many years in Hamamatsu, Japan, where he taught English and wrote. Benjamin can now be found sauntering through the maze of narrow, stony alleyways in the ancient and legend-rich town of Safed, in Israel's upper Galilee, where he is currently at work on his next novel.” For more information, please visit Mr. Laskin’s website.

http://www.benjaminlaskin.com/

Appraisal:

I don’t read a lot of Literary or Speculative Fiction, however this was fun. It included just enough fantasy to keep me interested and the wordplay was entertaining. Poor Murphy feels like he is cursed and he has separated himself from society as much as possible for what he perceives as the greater good for all concerned. He has built his own sanctuary in and around his house. He fills his time learning new hobbies and writing about them in his syndicated newspaper articles. He also corresponds with his readers. When his devoted grandfather, who raised him from infancy, passes away he sees no other choice than to quit his job and move to an even more secluded environment. Of course he doesn’t make it very far before disasters start happening around him again.

The sequence of events and characters introduced into the storyline are unique but not out of the ordinary. They are all much more realistic than any of Murphy’s neighbors were in his old neighborhood. (They were all a lot of miserable people looking to place blame on anyone besides themselves for their misfortunes.) When Joy Daley, a journalist, encounters Murphy, she is intrigued and puzzled by what she sees happening around him. Joy is unlike anyone Murphy has ever met and he isn’t quite sure what to make of her. However, he finally accepts her kindness, and Joy is able to slowly bring a fresh perspective into Murphy’s life.

I loved Joy and Murphy's journey as much as I relished the well-developed secondary characters of Brock Parker, Joy’s straight-laced police detective fiancé, and the misty-eyed tarot card reader Freya who states, “The Universe works in mysterious ways…” as Brock’s world is turned upside down. I found this a relatively quick, light read with skillful levity in all the right places.

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A small amount of adult language, hardly worth mentioning. Original review posted March 25, 2016.

Format/Typo Issues:

I found this well edited.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

Reprise Review: Life After Dane by Edward Lorn

 

Genre: Horror/ Speculative Fiction

Description:

After serial killer Dane Peters, The Rest Stop Killer, is executed, his mother is haunted by … something. Could it be the ghost of Dane? As Dane’s mother, Ella, tries to find a way to “lay her son’s troubled soul to rest,” she also has to come to terms with what she did to contribute to his demise.

Author:

A nominee in the inaugural Books and Pals Readers’ Choice awards, this is horror author Edward Lorn’s fifth novel.

For more, visit Edward's blog.

Appraisal:

Of Edward Lorn’s previous novels I’ve read, two were much more to my taste than the third. When I pondered the reason, I realized that while Lorn describes himself as a horror author, there was much more going on in my two favorites. One was a mystery with horrific elements, the other, while primarily horror, had a strong coming-of-age theme as well. I guess this means that horror is okay with me, as long as it doesn’t feel like horror purely for shock value.

I can’t think of a fitting label to attach to Life After Dane other than horror, yet for me, like those other books that had something more going on, this story has a subtext that justifies the horror. I think it is a sense of karmic justice being served, at least it felt that way to me. Your thoughts might be different. And deciding how you feel about that will go far afield as you consider issues as far ranging as parental responsibility, victimization, and your definition of justice.

Another thing that stood out for me was the obviously conscious effort to keep the language acceptable to all except the most sensitive. The worst word I saw was damn. How Lorn did this while remaining true to the story with characters who would make a sailor blush, was an interesting touch. It wouldn’t work everywhere, but it did in this book.

And the ending. Oh, my. Didn’t see that coming.

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

The strongest language I saw used was the word damn. The author skirted around stronger language, implying, but not actually using it.

Added for Reprise Review: Life After Dane by Edward Lorn was a nominee in the Speculative Fiction (excluding fantasy) category for B&P 2014 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran July 18, 2013.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance reader copy.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Reprise Review: Schrodinger’s Telephone by Marion Stein

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Description:

“Lizzie Greene seems to have it all -- a great husband, a job she loves, a baby on the way, even a rent-stabilized two bedroom apartment on New York's Upper West Side. Then a random decision leads to a senseless act of violence, and it all disappears.

But what if things had been different? What if things are different? Could someone be both dead and not dead at the same time? Is it insanity to believe in mysteries that go beyond human understanding, in the evidence of things not seen?

Lizzie's sister, her best friend, and many others think she's lost her senses, but maybe she's gotten a glimpse of something most of us never get to see.

Schrodinger's Telephone is more for fans of The Twilight Zone than of Twilight.”

Author:

A native New Yorker, Marion Stein has two Masters Degrees, one in creative writing and the other in social work. She moved around the US and Mexico before returning to New York in September 2001. In addition to this novella, she has a novel, Loisaida, and another novella, The Death Trip, available.

For more, visit Stein’s blog.

Appraisal:

Speculative fiction is an umbrella that encompasses many subgenres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, dystopian, Horror, and Supernatural Fiction are just some. However, some speculative fiction doesn’t neatly fit into any of the subgenres, and Schrodinger’s Telephone is one of those. A case could be made that it is Supernatural Fiction, but that presupposes one specific interpretation of what happens to the protagonist, Lizzie, when there is at least one other possibility, that Lizzie is insane.

Regardless of what we call it or how we categorize it, Schrodinger’s Telephone is a quick and engrossing read that will exercise your mind. How would you react if someone you knew insisted that something impossible had happened?

What if that someone was you?

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI: Added for Reprise Review: Schrodinger’s Telephone was a nominee in the Speculative Fiction (excluding fantasy) category for B&P 2014 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran March 3, 2013

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Review: Undercover Siren by Ellen Mint

Genre: Romantic Suspense/Mystery/Speculative Fiction

Description:

“He was only supposed to be a job. Why can't she walk away?

Colton Davies, an ex-Marine turned cop, stumbles across a damsel in distress while working the beat and rushes to her aid. Unbeknownst to him, Kristen Trevelyan isn’t an old classmate who accidentally locked her keys in the car, but a spy working for a classified agency. She’s tasked with getting close to the police officer, but she never anticipated how close they’d become.”

Author:

“Ellen Mint adores the adorkable heroes who charm with their shy smiles and heroines that pack a punch. She recently won the Top Ten Handmaid's Challenge on Wattpad where hers was chosen by Margaret Atwood herself. Along with her husband and black lab, she spends a lot of time with her skeletons -- don't worry, they're just Halloween props.”

Appraisal:

Basically, this is a story of two broken people, in their thirties, looking for love and acceptance, which neither think they deserve. Lies and pride on both their parts get in the way of their relationship.

Ms. Mink has developed a war torn culture in which to weave racism, betrayal, espionage, intrigue, and romance. Then she throws in a large threatening fantasy element. This aspect becomes the fundamental storyline, which everything revolves around. Kristen feels like the weight of saving the world lies solely on her shoulders. Colton feels like it is his duty to try to protect Kristen, which is almost laughable. But, Colton has issues with Kristen that he won’t let rest. Colton spoke a little about being a Marine. However, towards the end of the book Colton said he was in the Army. Now that I’m getting picky I have to add a few other word oddities the author chose to use. Noses were describes as; puckering, curling, crumple, and crinkled inward. My nose can’t do any of those things. Also, here a few sentences quoted that I came across:

“…her lips began to crumble into what looked like tears.”

“That didn’t stop the woman from cranking her ruby red lips wide in a blinding smile.”

“Colton whiffled his lips while falling back into the seat.”

“Colton moaned while reverberating his forehead against the mirror.”

“Which was probably why he’d been suckered to his couch for the past three months.”

“Shrugging with a small swagger on her lips…”

“…and she smiled in her stomach.”

There is a decent, multi-faceted story here, but it requires a thorough editing job to polish up and remove the thesaurus puke.

Buy now from:     Amazon US     Amazon UK

FYI:

Undercover Siren is book 1 in Ellen Mint’s, Inquisition Series. This novel contains graphic sex scenes, violence, and lots of gore.

Format/Typo Issues:

Besides the regular missing, extra, or wrong words, are the problems I listed above in my review. The copy I received to review needs a good editor.

Rating: ** Two Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 160-165,000 words

Review: A Passport to a Nation of Talking Slugs and Other Stories by Andrew Kozma

Genre: Short Story Collection/Speculative Fiction

Description:

“A Passport to a Nation of Talking Slugs is a collection of weird, speculative fiction containing four stories of people exploring strange places and situations, from a newly-discovered civilization of six-foot-tall talking slugs to being haunted by a man in a dark chocolate suit. Whether waking up in a prison camp or navigating a city full of copies of themselves, the characters in these stories are bent on understanding their world, even if that understanding also means the end of the world they thought they knew.”

Author:

Andrew Kozma is an award-winning author based in Houston, Texas. For more, visit his blog.

Appraisal:

I’d read another short collection of four stories by Andrew Kozma early this year, so decided to give this one a spin as well. The results are much the same. I called it a change of pace last time and, unless you read a steady diet of strange, weird, unusual and whatever words your thesaurus has for offbeat and different speculative fiction, it will be a change of pace for you too. This guy has an imagination and can string words together fairly well too.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 9-10,000 words