Tag Archives: Fiction

Autograph this

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Photo of A. G. Howard’s books, Splintered and Unhinged.

I stopped by the Amarillo Barnes & Nobel bookstore this past weekend. Author and Amarillo resident, A. G. Howard dropped in to do a reading of her book Unhinged, the sequel to her first book, Splintered. 

The week before, my and a friend dropped by the bookstore, just looking to kill some time. On the storefront, I saw a poster for a book signing along with a photo of the cover art for the book. The dark beauty of the covers were haunting and breathtaking. I had to see what they were about.

I left with a copy of the first book. I didn’t get a chance to read it until the day of the signing, but what I read seemed promising, so much in fact that I bought a copy of the second book and had them both signed by the author.

I spent most of the night Saturday – after I wrote my 2100 words for my own work in progress – reading. The next day, after returning home from church, I climbed back into bed to finish the rest of the book.

I have the second book on my desk, but I’m rereading the first book, trying to absorb the this world she created. In brief, it’s a reimagining of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. The main character, Alyssa Gardner is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Alice Liddell. When she returned from Wonderland, she came back with a curse, one that drives the Liddell women insane.

I’ll get more in-depth if I should I decide to do a review, which I’m thinking about doing. I rarely review books that are not self-published, but it’s not a hard and fast rule. I really think this is a great book. It’s so vivid that I had to reread it before moving on to the second.

The third book of the series, Ensnared, is set to be published early next year. Of course I’ll have to get a copy, then figure out a way to get it autographed as well. I’d like the complete set. I’m silly that way.

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Autographed copy of Unhinged.

Book Review: Back From Chaos

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Happy Monday everyone! I know many of you have trudged off to begin another week of endless merriment. Meanwhile, I’m relaxing at home, enjoying a well-deserved day off. I’ll begin my week tomorrow.

Back From Chaos © 2011 Yvonne Hertzberger

Back From Chaos © 2011 Yvonne Hertzberger

I stayed up late last night, reading today’s novel, Back From Chaos by Yvonne Hertzberger. Back From Chaos is the first book of the Earth’s Pendulum series, which I believe is a solid foundation to begin with.

The book begins with Marja, daughter of Cataniast, lord of Catania, hiding in the castle. Bargia, a country which borders Catania invaded and managed to overthrow Cataniast. Marja only thought was of survival, but also gave thought to killing herself to save herself the terror of being captured and raped. As a member of the ruling family, she knew that tradition dictated that she be killed.

She had begun her escape when a soldier of the invading force opened the door and caught her in the act. He announced himself as Lord Gaelen of Bargia, and requested that she put down her knife, promising that no harm would come to her. In spite of the danger to herself and her people, something in his voice makes her relent. She is taken captive and held prisoner in her own room.

Lord Gaelen, finding himself the only surviving heir of his people, his father and elder brother both tragically killed in the invasion, decides to take an unorthodox approach. He presents Marja with a proposal, one that would guarantee her safety and her freedom, that she join him as his wife. Seeing the logic behind the proposal, she agrees.

Unbeknownest to the pair, the fate of their peoples, of Cataniast and Bargia is bound to their success. Indeed, it is Earth who through the seer Liethis, who demands an end to violence and a return to balance. In restoring balance, it is neither Lord Gaelen nor Lady Marja who are destined to be the main players, but rather Gaelen’s chief spy, Klast, and Marja’s lady in waiting, Bresna, who become the focus of Earth and her desire for balance.

Klast, whose childhood had enured him to hardships, hardening him against the advances of women and the company of men, whose ability to blend into the crowd and disappear, who had fortified himself against his own emotions, now must come to terms with his destiny.

It is through Bresna that he must decide his fate, and the fate of the mankind. It is though the act of saving her that he himself might save himself. His destiny is bound by oath to the house of Bragia, first to Gaelen’s father and then to Gaelen himself. Can he save both Cataniast and Bargia, as well as Bresna and himself.

What does Earth demand of him and why?

First let me start off by saying I cannot do this book justice by trying to summarize it in such a short amount of space. How can I categorize this? There seems to be many ways to do so. Fantasy to be sure, but there are elements of political intrigue, stories of love and romance. There are issues of rape, child abuse and hints of sexual abuse as well. There are graphic details of death and executions. This is not a feel good book.

That being said, it is a well-written book, one that captivates the reader. Once cannot help but root for Gaelen and Marja as they try to unite their homes against the attack of treason member of their inner circle. One is hard-pressed not to feel for Bresna as she suffers the indignation of being attacked and seeing Klast rescue her, and by doing so, seeing his defenses fall away in spite of himself.

Yvonne has written a book filled with many elements that together make up an elaborate tapestry, a story of pain to be sure, but out of that pain the birth of something greater. Out of it, there can be found a peace, all the more richer for the trials endured to earn it. But first the character’s must find a way to surrender themselves to their destiny, and find a way despite their reservations.

Once I began to read it, I was loathe to put it down, which I had to when my Kindle died. I picked it back up once my battery had recharged, eager to see where the trials would lead, and I was not disappointed. I was both surprised and pleased, primed to pick up the next installment of the series.

In short, I give this 5 out of 5 stars. It’s a great book with a riveting story line, characters rich in detail and subtleties. I cannot recommend Back From Chaos enough!

List of Book Reviews
Next Review – Dark the Night Descending
Previous Review – Find My Baby

Gone on strike

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I think my voices have gone on strike. Thanks a lot, fellas! Why would they do this to me? Was it something I said? Do you think they heard what I said about them on my previous post? If so, yikes!

Okay, they are still there, just not as loud as they usually are. Well, except for Doubt. He’s always loud and obnoxious, kind of like the drunk uncle at family gathering, only Doubt never slurs his words. He’s always crystal clear. Also, Negativity never takes a holiday. I think Negativity and Doubt have a wager on who breaks me first. Bastards!

But the other voices have gone silent for the time being. Not that I mind so much. I had the day off, and I took care of a practical matter. I bought the engine mounts for my truck. I also spent to much money this morning downloading music from Amazon.

One song in particular had been driving me nuts for weeks. I would hear the song at work, but I couldn’t make out the words, and the few I could hear I would forget before I had the chance to look it up. Finally, after more than six months of hearing the blasted song, I wrote the words I could understand. Turns out that the song driving me nuts is sung by Paramore, Still Into You.

With that leading me off, I created a new playlist, though it’s far some done. I’ll buy a few more songs with my next paycheck. I still have a few more bills to pay with this one. Ah, the joys of responsibilities!

Speaking of, I have a book to read and review by Monday. I’ll have to spend most of my weekend, while not at work, doing just that. I made a commitment, and I intend to keep it. After that, I hope my voices will be ready to get back to work. It’s a little lonely without them.

I miss them.

And for the hell of it, here’s the video of the song that has been driving me mad. Enjoy!

Book Review: Find My Baby

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Save My Baby © 2014 Mitch Lavender

Save My Baby © 2014 Mitch Lavender

Happy August my friends! I can’t believe another school year will soon be starting, not that it affects me directly. Still, the summer will be waning soon, and all that will be left is to settle in for another fun winter, but cold is still several months away.

In the meantime, I have another book I would like to share with you. Find My Baby is Mitch Lavender‘s debut novel. Find My Baby follows a computer hacker turned IT security professional Zachary Foxborne as he is given the most complex case of his life. A mysterious email that was delivered to every email address that seemed to come from nowhere. Untraceable, a ghost.

The H@x0r Hoax, as it is called, leaves security professionals scrambling, trying to decipher the intent behind the message. No one can find anything malicious in the message, no Trojans or viruses, just a seemingly innocuous mailing, but whose implications seem crystal clear to many. A test run from someone unknown, who could wreak havoc on an unsuspecting world.

Through his work, Zachary become known to Ratmir, a Ukrainian who had figured out how to beat the system, to become invisible online. He had planned on selling the code, until Zachary came along and thwarted his plan. Now he wanted revenge, and he found the opportunity.

Lucy, Zachary’s wife had been unable to carry a child to term, and had lately become unable to become pregnant. After much searching, she settled on adopting a child from a foreign orphanage, one from Ukraine.

Once this becomes known to Ratmir, he devices a plan to keep the child hostage. In order to proceed with the adoption, Zachary has to pay a ransom, deciphering a manuscript that Ratmir desperately wants. Can he do so in time, or will he and Lucy lose the child that had hoped to call their own?

At the beginning of the novel, I was intrigued by the level of detail the author put in. Computer terms and explanations into what they meant, helped create the setting, which turned out to be short-lived. It wouldn’t be until the end of the book that Zachary’s computer knowledge would once again come to the forefront.

What I liked about the story was that Mitch Lavender displays his knowledge of the IT sector. Write what you know, and he did. Where it fell apart was that for all the build up of suspense, the rising tension between our hero and his antagonist, there seemed to be no payoff, no moment conflict where our hero is in mortal peril.

The danger is resolved in such a way that it left me unsatisfied. I don’t mind a happy ending, but it has to be earned, and felt that neither Zachary nor Lucy earned it. Too much promise and for naught. I liked the premise and the build up, just not the climax and resolution.

For this reason, I feel I would be doing a disservice to rate it highly, but I feel comfortable giving it a 3 out of 5 stars. There is some merit to the novel, and I truly believe the author shows promise as a novelist, but this first showing left me wanting more.

List of Book Reviews
Next Review – Back From Chaos
Previous Review – The Ship

Looking for books to review

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Happy Saturday everyone! It’s a dreary morning in the DFW area, though I’m not complaining. There’s a cool breeze, and the sun is not burning everything in sight. In short, it’s a perfect day to lounge around and relax.

At the moment, I’m at the Wolfe City Library where my friend is working. She volunteers one Saturday a month to give the residents of her hometown a place to go to read, use the public computers, and get out of the dreary weather. Since I came to visit her this weekend, I tagged along. If only I had something to read….

Which brings up the reason I’m writing. I’m looking for something to review and I’m hoping for suggestions. Preferably, I’m looking for self-published works of fiction, or those from smaller, independent publishers. If you have something that you want reviewed, let me know. You can email me at joe@joehinojosa.com.

You can read my previous reviews at joehinojosa.com/book-review/.