Family Drama Set In India

Flame Tree Road
by Shona Patel
416 pages
$7.49 Kindle version

Flame Tree Road is apparently a prequel for Teatime for the Firefly. I did not read the first book written by Shona Patel, but I am definitely adding it to my reading list after reading Flame Tree Road. I loved everything about this story: the setting, the characters and the emotional drama. I just wanted to read something other than horror, and I came away with a literary experience that's left me wanting to read more in this genre.

Taking place in 1870s India, the story follows the life of Biren Roy in a village that follows a caste system. When his mother is shunned due to her status as a widow, Biren makes a conscious decision to change the quality of women's lives in his country. He eventually moves to England, where he learns more about fighting for women's rights, but when he returns to his own country, he feels like an outsider. He is able to make a life for himself, while working towards his goal, but it comes at a high cost.

The POV is told in third person, mostly following Biren and his thoughts, but also allowing readers to see Biren through the eyes of those around him. The story often read more like a family drama than the struggles of just one individual. It was interesting to see how changes in world politics, as well as local politics, affected members of Biren's family dynamics. What I found most intriguing is the way characters facing the same challenges handled them in completely different ways, emphasizing the qualities that make Biren endearing to readers.

You don't have to have an interest in the history of India or its customs to enjoy Flame Tree Road - you need only to have a heart.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Something For Sunday

Behold The Dawn
by K.M. Weiland
333 pages
$6.99 Kindle version

"Marcus Annan, a knight famed for his prowess in the deadly tourney competitions, thought he could keep the bloody secrets of his past buried forever. But when a mysterious crippled monk demands Annan help him wreak vengeance on a corrupt bishop, Annan is forced to leave the tourneys and join the Third Crusade in the Holy Land.

Wounded in battle and hunted on every side, he agrees to marry—in name only—the traumatized widow of an old friend, in order to protect her from the obsessive pursuit of a mutual enemy. Together, they escape an infidel prison camp and flee the Holy Land. But, try as he might, he cannot elude the past—or his growing feelings for the Lady Mairead. Amidst the pain and grief of a war he doesn’t even believe in, he is forced at last to face long-hidden secrets and sins and to bare his soul to the mercy of a God he thought he had abandoned years ago."

This is historical fiction that takes place during the Crusades, set in "the Holy Land" in 1192, blending fact and fiction with detailed descriptions. The story begins in Bari, Italy, from the point of view of a Scottish tourneyer named Marcus Annan. His traveling companion, Peregrine Marek, is indentured to him after Annan saved his life in Glasgow, and Marek believes Annan would be better off seeking absolution in the Third Crusade.

After a tournament, Annan is approached by a monk known as The Baptist. This monk tells the tourneyer he must bring the man called Matthias of Claidmore to the Holy Land to confront Bishop Roderic about the crimes committed at St. Dunstan's Abbey, sixteen years ago. Annan informs The Baptist that Matthias is dead; the monk suggests that the Earl of Keaton may also have knowledge of Roderic's unholy transgressions which puts him in danger of the Bishop.

Annan reluctantly makes the pilgrimage, but refuses to seek absolution by taking the oath of a Crusader, despite Marek's insistence to ask God's forgiveness. When Annan does find the Earl, he is asked to protect the Earl's wife, Mairead, from the Norman knight, Hugh de Guerrant, who is one of the Bishop Roderic's corrupt knights. It soon becomes apparent that Countess of Keaton's enemies are also Annan's. With the help of Marek, the tourneyer attempts to take Mairead to safety before the Bishop has all of them killed.

Weiland uses the flowery language of historical adventure, and the thoughts of multiple characters, to underscore the Christian themes of that period in history. It is a tale of betrayal and redemption that ascends time and location while remaining anchored against the backdrop of the Crusades. Weiland also includes a glossary of words that are unfamiliar in modern times.

K.M. Weiland does such compelling work of presenting a conflicted male character that many readers fail to realize she is a female writer. An old, but good story.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Interview With Lori Titus

The Bell House
by Lori Titus
166 pages
$4.99 Kindle version

I thoroughly enjoyed this story...I never knew what to expect at any point and that made it all the more thrilling. This is not your typical haunted house story, and the suspense is incredible. Titus does an excellent job of luring in readers with a love triangle involving brothers. The connections from one generation of the Bell family to the next added fuel to the fire, literally. Families have drama as it is, but when you involve curses and ghosts, you have the seemingly unstoppable force of the Bell house.

The Bell House is full of dark family secrets and angry spirits, pitting the living against the dead…one of the most frightening novels of 2015. Titus has taken the horror genre to a truly terrifying level. After reading her new novel, I invited the author to the Lair:

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Author Lori Titus

Q. Do you feel like you specifically write for the horror genre, or do you just write whatever story is in your head?

It seems that horror is what I have in mind! I can start off with any kind of story, but sooner or later, some kind of paranormal thing creeps in. I think on some level I have a fascination with things that are unexplained. But I also find that I can use it in a way to explain or make people think about real problems that go on in the world. Horror is a safe place to explore topics that would otherwise be taboo or uncomfortable, and I love that aspect of it.

Q. Do you have a specific message that want you want to get across to readers in The Bell House, or do you simply wish to entertain?

Well, my goal is always to entertain, but this one definitely has a moral.

My message in The Bell House was the importance of stories: the things that our loved ones and family say about us, the things we believe about ourselves, and the ideas that we believe about the world around us.  What we believe makes the difference between being a survivor or a victim.
Sometimes the most powerful stories are the ones that remain untold, gathering bitterness and grief under the surface. The inner stories, secrets, and unspoken beliefs we keep in our heads can uplift or destroy.

Diana’s life could have been changed in a positive way by choosing to be open to her son, her sister, and other people in her life. Travis believed that an ability that could have been thought of as a talent or a blessing was a curse. The negative consequences of their choices had a lot to do with perspective and the fact that they believed in the power of curses and negative entities.

Q. Who or what do you see as the influences on your writing?

I have a lot of influences, but as I mature, I realize that it’s not just the authors I read, but things that
I see in the world around me. I am more in tune with what people say, and images that I see in the media.  When you look around, there are horrific happenings going on in the world, and many of these topics can be explored in fiction. The early inspirations: Poe, Rod Sterling, King, Koontz, will always be favorites.

Q. Do you ever come up with anything so wild that you scare yourself that, leaving you to wonder where that came from?

Lazarus was definitely one of those stories that frightened me. That novella might have ended up being a full length novel, but I had started having nightmares by the time I was halfway through. It is still one of my favorites though, and I have plans to revisit that world and those characters again. It was a story idea that came to me fully formed, with plot, names, and atmosphere all intact. I still don’t understand how it happens that way.

Q. What do you think draws people to horror stories?

Horror stories are a thrill. It’s a vicarious way into danger that is still safe. And horror, when it’s done right always includes a bit of mystery too, so that the reader has some surprises in store. It’s all about engaging the reader with one thing while another is also going on, like a shell game. I think readers enjoy stories that pull them into the action.

Q. Do you have any upcoming appearances or other novels that you would like to tell us about?

I am very excited about my upcoming projects. I’m not sure when it will be released, because I’m currently working on the first draft, but the next novel is titled The Creed of Cain. It’s about a different group of people in the fictional town of Chrysalis, South Carolina, the same place that The Bell House occurs in. I can’t say too much about it, but the story deals with religious fanaticism and murder.

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I encourage horror fans to add The Bell House to their reading lists.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Dolls Are The New Scary Clowns

Porcelain
by William Hage
23 pages
$.99 Kindle version

The Whateley Bed & Breakfast, near the Pine Barrens in New Jersey, is home to a wide collection of curiosities for viewing, including a fancy porcelain doll. However, when the Whateley's latest guest purchases the doll, horrific events begins to unfold.

There are so many stories and movies about demonic dolls that finding a story that stands out is getting more difficult, but Hage did a great job of writing something full of surprises.

I wish the story had been longer, simply because I enjoyed it so much. I think the author could turn it into a full-length novel, especially if he included other character POVs. (There was something about the detective talking about the Jersey Devil that made me think he has his own story to tell.)

I would love to see the author write more stories centered around the bed & breakfast...maybe even a prequel to this story.

Hage is definitely an author to keep on your reading list!

As always,
AstraDaemon

Italian Drama

An Italian Wife
by Ann Hood
288 pages
$12.99 Kindle version

"An Italian Wife is the extraordinary story of Josephine Rimaldi―her joys, sorrows, and passions, spanning more than seven decades. The novel begins in turn-of-the-century Italy, when fourteen-year-old Josephine, sheltered and naive, is forced into an arranged marriage to a man she doesn't know or love who is about to depart for America, where she later joins him. Bound by tradition, Josephine gives birth to seven children. The last, Valentina, is conceived in passion, born in secret, and given up for adoption.

Josephine spends the rest of her life searching for her lost child, keeping her secret even as her other children go off to war, get married, and make their own mistakes. Her son suffers in World War One. One daughter struggles to assimilate in the new world of the 1950s American suburbs, while another, stranded in England, grieves for a lover lost in World War Two. Her granddaughters experiment with the sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll in the 1970s. Poignant, sensual, and deeply felt, An Italian Wife is a sweeping and evocative portrait of a family bound by love and heartbreak."

An Italian Wife is similar to historical fiction, with bits and pieces of what was happening in the world (ex: wars) trickling into the story because of the impact world events have on the various relationships. I loved the multiple POVs and they way they overlap storylines.

The family tree at the beginning of the book helped me keep track of everyone; I enjoyed how the story spans several generations. The book was divided into parts. The first part introduces readers to Josephine, the matriarch of the family in this novel, later to be called Mama Jo. Not only does her life have unexpected turns, but nothing turns out as planned for her children, especially the lives of her grandchildren. Of all them, Penelope reminds me the most of Josephine.

The title could apply to more than one woman in the family. None of the family members seemed happy with their relationships - always longing to be with someone else and/or BE someone else, but the ending was beautiful.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Pospartum Depression Leads To Missing Infant

Remember Mia
by Alexandra Burt
352 pages
$9.99 Kindle version

Estelle Paradise wakes up in a hospital with amnesia, She has suffered a gunshot to the head, and her infant daughter is missing. She is the prime suspect. (Available July 7, 2015)

I've been trying to expand my reading beyond horror into mystery-thrillers, but I've never had a story in this genre frighten me so much. From the beginning of this novel, I feared for 7 month old Mia Connor's life, and I couldn't read fast enough (I did read it in one sitting). How appropriate that the sections were divided by quotes from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland because, the more Estelle Paradise Connor revealed about her inner turmoil, the further down the rabbit hole I felt I was falling.

Not only do I appreciate the horror of a missing infant, as well as the mystery surrounding Mia's disappearance and Estelle's car accident, I also appreciate the attention the author gives to the issue of postpartum depression...not to mention, the detailed description of waking up in a hospital with amnesia is well-written. I felt as though I was experiencing Estelle's confusion and desperation as my own. This is one of the most emotionally charged novels that I've ever read.

The ending was unpredictable. I loved how Burt used seemingly random information from earlier in the story to connect the pieces of the past to the present. I couldn't believe how much Estelle changed from one section of the story to another...excellent character development. I would gladly read more from Alexandra Burt.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Family Forced To Fight

The Hopes of the Three
by Hudson Maness
19 pages
$.99 Kindle version

An assassin hunts a normal family in their sleep, but the three fight back.

This is a fast-paced piece of bizarro flash fiction mixed with horror. There are four POVs, describing the brutal attack from every angle. The writing style emphasizes the key differences between characters, as well as building up the suspense, leaving readers to wonder: how in the HELL is this family going to make it through the night?!

I hope the author writes more like this.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Saturday Shorts: Stories For The Weekend

Horrors from Cedarstone: A Collection of Short Horror Stories (Volume 1)
by Sean Stone
66 pages
$2.99 Kindle version

Cedarstone is not a normal town. There are a lot of supernatural elements at play. It gets harder to keep the secrets hidden as time goes by...dangerous woods, cursed wizards, frightening visitors, scary noises...a horrifying place after the sun goes down.

I love everything about this anthology: the setting, the variety of monsters and all the unexpected endings...I never knew who would survive. I would love for the author to write more about Henry Montford.

Sean Stone is a great storyteller, and he also has a second volume of Cedarstone stories available.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Zombie Dystopia

The Zombie Belt
by Gareth Latimer
57 pages
$.99 Kindle version

In the future of England, the south is divided between two warring factions: London and the South East belongs to the Islamic Caliphate of Britain, whilst the South West is the stronghold of the White Alliance. A multicultural promised land called PUK (People's UK) supposedly exists up north. Iwan Edwards is an operative in the White Alliance Army, and falls in love with Leanne Hussein, an activist within the Caliphate.

Set hundreds of years in the future, the United Kingdom has become a battle ground for various human factions, with the North and South divided by a "belt" of undead.

The beginning was a little weak, and some readers may find the stereotypes slightly offensive, but I enjoyed the story. It was quite different than most zombie apocalypse stories, especially with the futuristic setting.

The zombies are more background, with politics and soldiers taking front stage. There are also unanswered questions, such as: what happened to the rest of the world? Was the UK outbreak an isolated event that led to the internal warfare?

If you' re looking for something original, you've found it.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday Movie Review

I first saw this movie on the Sundance channel, and it was listed as "OK Garage." The TV listing had a more accurate description of the movie than this product description. I'm not sure which came first, the All Revved Up marketing or the OK Garage marketing, but they need to release the DVD under the OK Garage marketing...anyone who falls for the All Revved Up description will be expecting something else, and therefore disappointed with an indie movie that I think is surprisingly well done -- if you have the right expectations.

I had zero expectations the first time that I watched this movie, so I wasn't disappointed. The only reason I even watched it in the first place is because I love the three main actors (I thought it was great to see them all together in the same film): Will Patton as "Sean," John Turturro as "Johnny," and Lily Taylor as "Rachel." The plot is simple enough: a series of misfortunate encounters brings the three main characters together to demand a refund from a shady mechanic at the OK Garage. (By the way, I've watched it dozens of times, since then, and I still haven't gotten tired of it yet.)

I thought the title, OK Garage, worked on more than one level. There is nothing "ok" about anyone in this movie; for example, there is a small scene where a bartender who only has a few lines in the entire movie (who happens to be played by Turturro's cousin, an actress you might recognize from The Sopranos) tells Sean that she doesn't date...she'd sleep with him, but she won't date him (the way she blurts it out caught me off guard - I had to watch the scene more than once to catch what she says to Sean). Basically, everyone in this movie has some weird quirk about them, and it's refreshing; I get so tired of movies where everyone looks & acts perfect and live wonderful (unrealistic) lives. I also enjoyed the fact that the characters don't have the right answer for everything; they say disturbingly messed up things to one another (like Johnny admitting to Rachel that he watches his female neighbor undress), and it really propels the storyline in a unique manner.

Some of the scenes might seem unnecessary, such as Patton's scenes with Sean playing with his lizards as his boss accuses him of being a woman-hater, or Johnny discussing masturbating into a sink with another guy...but, not only does it add depth to the individual characters, it also helps you realize the personal obstacles they had to overcome to band together at the end, and right the wrong done to Rachel.

Johnny first meets Rachel through Sean, who lives in the same apartment building with Rachel. Johnny likes Rachel, but (even though the guy seriously needs to get laid) he sabotages himself if women show the slightest interest in him, and he's no different with Rachel (and Rachel likes to say crazy stuff as well, which makes for some great scenes between Turturro and Taylor). Rachel comes across as someone who doesn't like to rock the boat, even if she has every right to speak up and defend herself, but she doesn't want to be a troublemaker. As a result, Rachel is ripped off by a mechanic at the OK Garage, and Johnny convinces Sean that they have to do something to help her get her money back.

What none of them realize is that the mechanic is involved in a car theft ring, as well as some other a-hole characters that cause other problems for Sean and Johnny. In the end, by helping Rachel, Sean and Johnny end up helping themselves as well. I absolutely loved how all the various storylines came together at the end of the movie. Some of the scenes made me laugh; I'm not sure if they were supposed to be funny, but I found the characters to be very entertaining. Even the supporting cast did a fantastic job.

Will Patton has one of the absolute best lines/scene at the very end of the movie, as Sean poses a question to Johnny about Rachel. I don't want to give it away, but it is one of the best endings that I've ever seen in an indie movie.

Ignore the stupid "All Revved Up" marketing, and just watch this as a quirky indie movie to avoid being disappointed. If you are a fan of Patton, Turturro and/or Taylor, this is a must have for your movie collection.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Who Decides What Is Real?

Changing Realms
by Shona Bradbury
100 pages
$.99 Kindle version

Elizabeth has lived two different lives as long as she can remember. In one life, she was diagnosed as schizophrenic and institutionalized at a psychiatric hospital in northern California, and eventually released into out-patient psychotherapy. In her other life, Elizabeth lives as the daughter of an English nobleman in the mid-sixteenth century.

I chose to read this story because I was looking for something different. It came up during a science fiction search, but I think this was more drama and suspense than sci-fi. Regardless of which genre you would call it, the story is very entertaining. I was hooked from the beginning, with the idea of a woman living two lives in two different time periods. Essentially, when she goes to sleep in one life, she wakes up in the next. She thinks her soul has been split into two by some magic spell, but with the diagnosis of schizophrenia, readers will have to decide if she is really experiencing a time shift of sorts or if she is just mentally ill.

Towards the end, the main character has a revelation in her medieval life, which, I thought, is a fantastic twist. That same revelation, when brought to light during a therapy session, twists yet again. I was kept guessing right up to the last page, and I'm still not sure what to think about the woman's predicament. However, I am certain readers will appreciate the creativity of the author.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Jungle Zombies

Pray For Darkness
by James Michael Rice
328 pages
$2.99 Kindle version

In this novel, a group of tourists find themselves trapped with a tribe infected by zombie ants. Their riverboat captain is killed, leaving them stranded and they have to fight their way back to civilization with a tribe of hungry corpses on their trail.

I love how the book begins with the group in hiding from the infected, and then flashes all the way back to the beginning of their ill-fated adventure in the Amazon jungle. Knowing ahead of time that the group is going to be screwed big-time, and that they have already lost one of their fellow survivors, built up the suspense to a point where I felt I couldn't put the book down, at least, until I reached the part where they are in hiding. It proved to be an incredibly intense read.

Unlike many other authors, Rice does not depend on excessive violence or graphic sexual content to propel the story, but rather creates imagery and characters that will make readers feel as if they too are in the jungle. For the first time in my life, I was actually rooting for ALL the characters, and the ending left me devastated, but thoroughly entertained.

I'm sure there will be some debate on whether or not the infected could be considered zombies, but there is no doubt in my mind that zombiephiles will be pleased with the source of the infection. I also think this novel will appeal to horror fans in general, especially those who enjoy stories that feed on people's most basic fears.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Infected, Cannibals and Zombies: What's The Difference?

One of the oldest debates in the horror community is defining a zombie. Is it someone who simply doesn't have control of his or her free will? Is it someone who is alive but controlled by a virus? Do they have to have died at some point? If they eat flesh and have no self-control, but they are alive, are they a cannibal or a zombie?


The Liger Plague by Joseph Souza might possibly be a new angle in the zombie debate; if the living infected in 28 Days Later fall into the realm of zombies, readers should at least consider adding Souza’s latest creation to the list. The Liger infected are unable to control their actions, they feed on human flesh, and they “hunt” much like traditional hordes. Due to the mysterious nature of the deadly hybrid virus, it’s possible Souza’s first novel in his new series didn’t reveal the entire transformation of the infected.

The majority of the story takes place on Cooke Island, where Tag, an ARMY scientist who specializes in the study of biological weapons, owns a summer home. Just as he is about to join his wife and daughter on the island for an art festival, Tag receives a warning that a new deadly virus is about to be released on the island. What follows is Tad’s struggle to quarantine the island, find his family & fight the infected…not to mention all the survivors looking to gather supplies by any means necessary.

Tag’s two main companions on the island are Fez, a kid who can’t find his parents, and Versa, the most unpleasant character that lives on the island. (If I were Tag, I would have thrown Versa into a crowd of ravenous infected, and been done with her, right at the start.) Tag’s adversaries include a bunch of bikers, some religious nuts, the local law enforcement and the government agents on the mainland. Tag is not by any means the only capable survivor, but he appears to be the only one who understands how much worse the situation will be if the Liger virus finds a way off the island.

Souza somehow manages to paint a sickening picture of the infected (don’t bother eating while you read this novel), while drawing sympathy for the Liger victims at the same time. By allowing the infected to retain the ability to communicate, readers are given a chilling insight into the true horror of the Liger plague.

In the sequel, Lethal Chain, some time has passed since the end of the first novel. The terrorist has his own POV this time, and readers are shown some of his background. Some of the information is revealed through the investigation of two reporters. Swain is one of those reporters, and she believes that Tag has been framed...unfortunately, it appears that Tag's wife thinks he is guilty of unleashing the virus on Cooke Island. In fact, Tag has been blamed for everything, and he is desperate to contact his family, as well as clear his name, but the terrorist keeps playing games with Tag's life. Fez continues to help Tag, and proves to be a reliable back-up time and time again.

I wasn't as impressed with the characters as I was the first time, but I did enjoy the addition of Swain. She and the terrorist seem to have some similarities in their pasts, but she chose a completely different path in life. The multiple storylines keep things interesting, especially when they overlap, but the action isn't as exciting as the first novel, and it felt like the story dragged a little in a few places. When the storylines finally converge, it was almost anti-climactic, but Monica (Tag's wife) proves to be just as much of a bad-ass as her husband.

I didn't think of Lethal Chain as much of a sequel as an interlude...although it wasn't clear if there will be a third installment. I certainly hope there will be.

I also recommend The Living Dead series by Joseph Souza.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: Intrigue, Tragedy and Love

A Triple Knot
by Emma Campion
480 pages
$7.99 Kindle version

Joan of Kent, cousin to King Edward III, is going to be betrothed to a potential ally, but she is not resigned to her fate as a political pawn, especially after her father's execution at the hands of her own kin. She then pledges her love to another man.

Reading historical fiction has always been a personal indulgence of mine, but I get nervous selecting a novel by an author that is unknown to me. Luckily, Campion has an excellent writing style. She allows the emotions of her characters to tell the story, and this works quite well for a plot centered on the drama of personal relationships and unwanted love triangles.

Even when the POV switched between characters, there were no jarring moments as the story flowed between secrets, confessions, confrontations and revelations.

I wouldn't dare compare Emma Campion to Philippa Gregory...I think Campion deserves to be recognized as a talented storyteller in her own right.

As always,
AstraDaemon

A Buffet Of Horror

13 Turns
by Kevin Carr
138 pages
$2.99 Kindle version

This collection includes a dozen stories written by newcomer Kevin Carr: a trapped man, a dog with a special gift, necromancers, death by roller coaster, other dimensions - and that's only some of the stories.

This anthology is great. Several different types of horror are contained within these pages: supernatural, Lovecraft, murder, classic, sci-fi...you get the idea. As Carr explains in his intro, his horror is meant to entertain, and he delivers.

I use Stephen King's writing as a point of reference a lot in my horror reviews, so much so, I worry fellow horror fans will think that's all I read in the 80s, BUT this anthology reminded me of the collections of short stories that Stephen King used to write. Carr appears to be an author who writes horror because he truly loves the genre...he knows exactly how to appease those of us who have literally grown up with the ever-evolving horror genre.

I kind of wish he had left out his notes about his stories, but at least he put them at the end of the book. I'm absolutely recommending this anthology to all horror fans - especially if you want a break from zombies, vampires and werewolves.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Try Listening

Bums
by William Kent Krueger
narrated by Will Patton
27 minutes

Bums is a short story from the collection Twin Cities Noir.

There's something to be said for a talented actor providing the narration: Will Patton brings the characters to life, bringing attention to the various moods and emotions with every word.

As for the story itself, "The Professor" shares the tale of "Kid," a fellow homeless man that is unknowingly manipulated into a terrible situation. The Professor is an introspective man, torn between avenging Kid and using the incident to improve his own homeless situation. Readers are given just enough information about the characters to form a solid idea of what the people are like, but without wasting time on lengthy descriptions. Krueger shows his writing strength by revealing the dark side of human nature and the chance for redemption in just a small dose of storytelling.

If you enjoy stories by James Lee Burke, you'll probably enjoy this short by Krueger.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Prepare To Be Judged

JE Gurley is one of my favorite authors in the zombie genre, and his Judgement Day series is some of his best work:

Judgement Day: Zombie Apocalypse by JE Gurley is a rather exciting release from Severed Press. I thought Ice Station Zombies by Gurley was pretty good, but the author’s new series is far better. This time, through several POVs, readers are shown how survivors are further victimized by various groups after a flu vaccine and a mutated virus mix for catastrophic results.

One storyline follows a doctor trying to retrieve his wife and son from a camp holding people against their will, another storyline follows the escape attempt of some members of the same camp, yet another storyline follows a soldier struggling with his orders, and a fourth storyline follows a group of scientists frantically searching for a cure. Eventually all the storylines converge as all four groups realize that there is more to the zombies than meets the eye, and the military has horrifying plans for the immune survivors. I enjoyed the way the POVs overlapped, so readers get to view certain action scenes with incredible depth.

Judgement Day: Redemption by JE Gurley continues the story. In the sequel, readers find out what happened to the group that sought safety at the Biosphere. There is also an introduction of a new group: religious fanatics…ORGANIZED religious fanatics – and they are making life VERY difficult for the groups from the first book. The second installment has much more action than the first, as well as a fast-paced storyline.

What is most interesting about this series is how Gurley tackles the often-debated issue of rotting flesh (i.e., why the zombies don’t just fall apart): the zombies are a stage of evolution among the infected. Underneath their rotting skin, the former humans are transforming into something else far more difficult to kill. The groups of undead also have pack-like traits emerging, with alpha males, and…well, a critical development that I haven’t read in any zombie book in all my life. Basically, the survivors need to stop fighting amongst themselves because they are about to be royally screwed by the worst kind of STD.

Retribution reveals how personal relationships between main characters have unfolded, while adding new characters and storylines that widen the scope of this trilogy. The result is not just incredible action sequences, but also very emotional drama within a three-way battle to exist in a post-apocalyptic world…a battle between those who are immune, those who need a vaccine, and…The Children.

I’m good with how the trilogy winds down, rather than ending with a cut-and-dry finish. It leaves some unanswered questions, but touches base with the surviving main characters.
Gurley’s Judgment Day series does a spectacular job of exploring the mutating zombie virus from several angles.

Jake’s Law is another great zombie novel by Gurley, but the book description doesn’t do it justice. It was non-stop action mixed with the right amount of drama. The focus is more on the personal war between Jake, former law enforcement officer, and Levi, an escaped convict, rather than the zombies, but the undead do have a few key scenes.

The story begins with Levi’s POV, and rotates between the POVs of Jake and two other survivors, Reed and Jessica. Random events bring them together, but revenge motivates them all. Levi wants to rule over the other survivors, but Jake has already laid down the new law of the land, so, while the two men try to kill each other, Reed and Jessica find themselves unwilling pawns caught in the crossfire. What really stands out about Jake is that he is a Type 2 diabetic. I thought Gurley did a fairly accurate job portraying Jake’s medical concerns. I think fans will also appreciate a character that is less than perfect.

If you haven't read any of Gurley's work, I suggest you get started.


As always,
AstraDaemon

Shakespeare, The Womanizer

The Tutor: A Novel
by Andrea Chapin
368 pages
$11.84 Kindle version

This story is set in 1590, the year Queen Elizabeth’s Spanish Armada victory did nothing to stop her persecution of the English Catholics. Katharine de L’Isle is a thirty-one-year-old widow, in a household filled with turmoil. A new schoolmaster named William Shakespeare arrives and disrupts life at Lufanwal. Katharine is at first appalled by him, but soon finds herself drawn into Shakespeare’s verse, in ways that will change her forever.

If not for the drama of the supporting characters, I'm not sure I could have finished this book...the "relationship" between Katherine and William hardly progressed from one chapter to the next. I wasn't expecting them to jump into bed together or anything like that, but it was frustrating to watch two emotionally shutdown people trying to connect over poetry. Unlike other readers, I don't think anything built up between the couple other than heartache and bitter disappointment.

I would have preferred to read more about Katherine's interactions with the other characters; I realize that the point of this novel is the "romance" between Katherine and William, but their interactions always seemed so superficial, aside from their collaborations on the poetry.

If you are expecting anything like Philippa Gregory, don't...best if you don't have any expectations for this novel at all, and just enjoy it for whatever you can get out of it. Although, I am not sure fans of Shakespeare are going to enjoy seeing him portrayed in such an unflattering light. I do appreciate the thought the author put into accounting for Shakespeare's lost years.

My overall impression is that Chapin put too much into attempting to show readers how intellectual she is, rather than cultivating her creativity/imagination into entertaining story-telling.

As always,
AstraDaemon