The book starts with a prologue which I found was helpful. Then, we are gently immersed as smooth as silk into the story of a gifted singer Angelina, aged 11, her hopes and dreams are cruelly dashed by a fear, The fear of facing an audience. Having been gifted with an angel's singing voice, Angelina has the potential to become one of the world's greatest singers, But fear snatches any chances of success from her hands.
Angelina, expresses her love of music and people by becoming a singing teacher. Angelina, then discovers a gifted singer Lisa, the relationship between teacher and student is deep and emotional. The two women are so intertwined that the spirit of Angelina almost inhabit's the body of Lisa when she sings. Lisa's star rises, and Lisa becomes a star, The trappings of fame and fortune are thrust upon her.
Then fate strikes a cruel blow, and Lisa's hugely successful singing career is brought to an end. The way we fragile human beings deal with set backs, fear and trauma, is what this book is all about.
The writing style is exquisite, this is top quality writing. The story would not be half as good if the emotional intelligence, sensitivity and empathy written from a female perspective were taken out. In other words, I find it hard to imagine a man being able to write this book, but all men should read it. That is why it is special.
The book's message ? It's all about how we react to a sudden changes for the worse in our lives. We need a positive mind set to beat the fear, that is holding us back. When you are young you feel invincible, then suddenly you may find you have cancer, MS or epilepsy, all of which, can just strike out of the blue. Then what ? I enjoyed reading this book,
Europa Rising
by Stephen Fahey
Europa Rising ; By Stephen Fahey
This is a debut book from British author Stephen Fahey. Europa is moon of Jupiter. (I know you all knew that). Our hero Paul (a school boy), this book is for the young reader market.
Europa has a thick sheet of ice covering it's entire surface but underneath is a liquid sea, in this sea, mankind or womankind finally discovers alien life forms, This alien life and the new DNA is of interest to companies back on Earth. There school boy Paul finds himself at the centre of an odyssey to find out about the mysteries of the universe.
Europa overtakes over from Mars as the main space tourist attraction. And then there is this prison ship and lots of adventures for Paul.
There is a lot of interesting science in the book nano bots that work in swarms. The social engineering of the regs and the de-regs, two groups or classes. Genetic screening is a reality in this future world. Society is structured to deal with and control population. Brain computer interfaces are fitted at birth, but only to one class of people.
The best bit about the book is the description of the silver sphere the wormhole communication / matter transport part of the story. That aspect, got this book it's five stars, created in a doughnut shaped magnetic chamber. The plot is in the PD so I won't repeat it. I liked the book it was entertaining and value for money, in my opinion.
My five star rating is, as ever encouragement to new or indie authors and I liked the idea of the silver particle that folds in on it's self, Interesting, reminds me of CERN research in Switzerland where two proton implode and create a new dimension that grabs energy from the collision. That is 2011 science fact.
I look forward to reading Stephen's next book.
Recommended
Paul Kendall (Leeds UK)
RAVENOUS DECAY
by Rebecca Morsman
I like a good zombie film and this would make a good zombie film. Claire our heroine, gets what seems to be a dream job as a horse trainer. The location is 20 miles out of town. That’s right the location is isolated oh no, you know what this means in a horror story.
The author is good at creating all kinds of fear, stress and anxiety and this book delivers all three. The house, or ranch, has horses, pigs, cows and chickens dogs and people. The House is set in rural Oklahoma. The plot is outlined in the PD, so I won’t repeat that. But here is what got me, the graphic imagery has turned me into a vegetarian, I can’t eat meat. (I love steak and chips but this made feel uneasy eating any meat last night)
Needless to say the writing is good, warning it may induce fear and nightmares in those of a nervous disposition ( all the kids will buy it now I have said that) The animals on the ranch are, vulnerable and penned in, so are the people. The imagery is shocking everything about the book is class. The length is perfect, the cop that shows up, the dogs the wild rural setting all conspire to throw you off balance.
All the elements of this book work together and keep the reader on edge, Remember. Blood in a book is real blood, If I am sat watching a movie I know it’s fake blood. then enter the Zombies, this book is so terrifying. Entertaining oh Yes.
This book is highly recommended
Try the free sample of the book on Amazon if you are a horror fan and check out the video book trailer search "Ravanous Decay" on YOUTUBE
Review by
Paul Kendall
To buy the book goto Amazon.com >> click HERE
Click here to see all my reviews >>> http://tinyurl.com/66zjv6r
I have given this book Five Stars on Amazon UK/USA
This is the second Noah Murphy book, the first was so good I just had to get the free sample for the second book. From the sample it’s another good read 5 Star read, I am a fan, of the k23 Detectives Alfonso & co are in the city of Sands. this time sorting out a megacorp. There is some blackmail kicking off, but don’t worry K23 Detectives are on the case. I will edit this review when I have read the full book.
Paul Kendall
Find out more vist >> www.k23detectives.com
( K23Detectives Logo above)
(C) 2011 Noah Murphy.
K23 Detectives are on the case.
New Delta is the location, the story is set way into the future. Alfonso Deegan is a PI and K23 is the agency, New Delta is series of gigantic towers and the super tower K23 is where you will find the K23 Detectives agency.
New Delta has a problem, it is run by a mob of gangster birds, Yes.. Birds.. called, "the avians". These are nothing like your common or garden budgie type birds. They are five foot tall, with stubby arms located just under the wings. and they pick people up with their beaks. The avians, aren't just involved in the usual run of the mill criminal activity, they also have ambitions to take over the New Delta government, But don't worry, Alfonso Deegan (love that name) and K23Detectives are on the case. Few agencies can take on a massive gang of five foot tall purple birds.
Anyway the activates of the avians, comes to the attention of the powers that be and they see the avians as a "clear and feathered danger" Alfred Hitchcock knew this would happen back in the 1960s, but who listened ?. To sum up, The aliens and the mixed species creatures and characters together with the story line are so original and quirky, that the book makes it into my top five star group.
The test I have is subjective (i) Was it entertaining ? Answer : YES and (ii) Did I enjoy reading it, Answer : YES.
I listened to this book while sat in the garden on a lovely summer's day. ( I was doing some other work on product design at the same time) The book was a joy to listen to, in kindle text to speech mode. I burst out laughing on more than one occasion. This is maximum yield, nuclear powered full strength Salvador Dali level surrealism mixed with science fiction. The author is a genius, his next book is out NOW.
This book is highly recommended.
The review was of the kindle edition.
Paul Kendall (Leeds, Yorkshire UK)
This is the latest book review To see all my reviews on Amazon.com click HERE To see all my reviews on Amazon.co.uk | click HERE
Secrets of the CitySpire : A familiar Love Story (Book 1),
by Nathan Reese Maher
The first thing to say is, this is a really massive book. That said, I really, enjoyed reading it, it's value for money, of that there is no doubt. The writing is top quality from beginning to end, each sentence has impact. A lot of thought and hard work must have gone into this book. It is packed full of highly memorable and quotable lines.
The CitySpire, is a magical island, as in Shakespeare's. The Tempest. it's also a kind of city-state of mind, in fact, It's many things at the same time. The book is full of symbolism and clues. The CitySpire acts as a kind of stage where dark truths emerge and unfold the moral of the story is weaved into a larger story of betrayal and revenge. The love affair between the two main characters is set against a backdrop of constant mystery and terror.
Some reader will understand all of the clues, other won't, (I didn't), the important point is, I enjoyed reading the book. The unfolding narrative rolls out at a steady pace which takes some getting used to. The thing is the book keeps you reading and re-reading. so...Warning this process can be addictive. but you will enjoy it.
People will read and then re-read, a book of this size anyway, each time you read it, you will see new meanings. This is a sign of great art, if it has multiple meanings. Not just one.
The CitySpire is a dark and sinister place, like a virtual split-reality. The CitySpire can seem almost normal at times, there is a hospital. It has a police force, then it changes back into to a sinister terrifying dream-scape. The villain lurking in shadows of the CitySpire is this deranged Count.
Then, there is this Wizard or Witch of OZ type character hidden behind the title of, the Arbiter, he or she may be God or the controller of fate ? The arbiter has control over control the Golden ships that have gone away, leaving Mr Bell condemned as a castaway inside CitySpire.
Samuel Bell is our humble narrator in love with Emily. This is a Gothic science fiction horror story with a twist. I saw The CitySpire as a kind of 3D emulated world, the book creates a kind of blade runner type vibe. Together with flying cars, the electromagnetic sabot firing gun and the red eye, soul scanner. CitySpire is very real, and it's well drawn. The CitySpire is such a terrifying place precisely because we can't compare it to anything that we know about, or have ever experienced before.
As previously mentioned, the story draws on themes from Shakespeare's, the Tempest and other works outlined in the product description. This book is highly entertaining and highly recommended, the review was of the Kindle edition.
Paul Kendall (Leeds, Yorkshire UK)
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