Benjamin Jones's Blog - Posts Tagged "review"
Review for Dawn of the Shadow by Peter Kelly
I first became aware of author Peter Kelly through Twitter. I followed him and he sent me a message telling me that I was his 150th follower and, due to that, he offered me a free copy of his book Dawn of the Shadow and who am I to turn down a free book.
Dawn of the Shadow is a superhero origin story which immediately piqued my interest because, me being a 7 year old in a 33 year old's body, I love!
So, about the book. It opens with a prologue set 50 trillion years ago with an ongoing war between two races called Sumerians and Cromanuts. Fast forward 50 trillion years to present day Philadelphia and our main protagonist, a 21 year old college student named Pete, is riding bikes in the woods with some of his buddies and it's on this ride that Pete's life, and those who know him, change forever. For the sake of not spoiling the story, Pete stumbles upon, quite literally, an underground "bunker" where he accidentally flips a switch and undergoes some "changes". Of course I'm leaving out some things but those things are best left for the reader to find out on their own.
First things first, the book was a pageturner - I was able to finish it in about 4 hours as I was always wanting to know what was going to happen next. Major plus right there! If you're a fan of comic books then this book will be something that you'll want to read and I anticipate that, since this is the origin or "dawn" of the Shadow that their will be more adventures to come for him, which I am looking forward to. There are some things that I didn't see coming (which is another plus) and the author is clearly passionate about and is a fan of the genre. Not only is this a story about a young man becoming a hero and fighting a villain he is also fighting the darkness within him (a la Spider-Man 3 though I am not listing that as a knock) which provides for some of the most interesting parts of the book.
The book is not without it's flaws, though. Before writing this review I looked at some of the other reviews that people had posted for it on Amazon.com and I found that I have the same problems as they did with the book. The book is clearly not a draft that is print ready as it is filled with a lot of errors that took me out of the story sometimes. For example, one of the main characters, our antagonist actually, is named Bocchio. There are a couple of times in this book where this character's name is misspelled - sometimes as Bocchip and sometimes as Boccchio. There are awkward sentences and phrases (which I assume are there to minimize the cursing - for example "jerk" for ass) scattered here and there which break up the smoothness of the story. One of the main characters uses the word "Hecko" to answer the phone and I can not for the life of me tell you why that is. At first I thought it was a typo when I first read it but it happens, at a minimum, three or four times again in the story. Also, it's a story where the main characters are all in their 20's (or older) but there's one point where one of them is told that a file is "restricted" and one of the characters has no idea what that word means - I found that quite odd since this character is in college.
This is a very solid effort by Peter Kelly but some of the exgood ideas in the book are burdened down by the unnecessary errors that permeate through the book which reads more like a first draft than anything else. With a little bit of editing/proof reading this has the potential to be a very promising series.
Dawn of the Shadow is a superhero origin story which immediately piqued my interest because, me being a 7 year old in a 33 year old's body, I love!
So, about the book. It opens with a prologue set 50 trillion years ago with an ongoing war between two races called Sumerians and Cromanuts. Fast forward 50 trillion years to present day Philadelphia and our main protagonist, a 21 year old college student named Pete, is riding bikes in the woods with some of his buddies and it's on this ride that Pete's life, and those who know him, change forever. For the sake of not spoiling the story, Pete stumbles upon, quite literally, an underground "bunker" where he accidentally flips a switch and undergoes some "changes". Of course I'm leaving out some things but those things are best left for the reader to find out on their own.
First things first, the book was a pageturner - I was able to finish it in about 4 hours as I was always wanting to know what was going to happen next. Major plus right there! If you're a fan of comic books then this book will be something that you'll want to read and I anticipate that, since this is the origin or "dawn" of the Shadow that their will be more adventures to come for him, which I am looking forward to. There are some things that I didn't see coming (which is another plus) and the author is clearly passionate about and is a fan of the genre. Not only is this a story about a young man becoming a hero and fighting a villain he is also fighting the darkness within him (a la Spider-Man 3 though I am not listing that as a knock) which provides for some of the most interesting parts of the book.
The book is not without it's flaws, though. Before writing this review I looked at some of the other reviews that people had posted for it on Amazon.com and I found that I have the same problems as they did with the book. The book is clearly not a draft that is print ready as it is filled with a lot of errors that took me out of the story sometimes. For example, one of the main characters, our antagonist actually, is named Bocchio. There are a couple of times in this book where this character's name is misspelled - sometimes as Bocchip and sometimes as Boccchio. There are awkward sentences and phrases (which I assume are there to minimize the cursing - for example "jerk" for ass) scattered here and there which break up the smoothness of the story. One of the main characters uses the word "Hecko" to answer the phone and I can not for the life of me tell you why that is. At first I thought it was a typo when I first read it but it happens, at a minimum, three or four times again in the story. Also, it's a story where the main characters are all in their 20's (or older) but there's one point where one of them is told that a file is "restricted" and one of the characters has no idea what that word means - I found that quite odd since this character is in college.
This is a very solid effort by Peter Kelly but some of the exgood ideas in the book are burdened down by the unnecessary errors that permeate through the book which reads more like a first draft than anything else. With a little bit of editing/proof reading this has the potential to be a very promising series.
Book Review - Bitemarks by Drew Cross
I first became aware of Drew Cross via an interaction on the site Getfanged.com *shameless plug* and, through a conversation, we agreed to "swap" books and I would read/review his book while he did the same for mine.
Drew's book, Bitemarks, is the story about police officer Shane Marks who has a lifestyle that is a little "different" from most and one that a person wouldn't normally come out and say upon introductions. I won't ruin it but through the course of the book Shane is on the trail of a killer who is essentially the same as him only with a slight penchant for murder, hence the "killer" that I mentioned a few words above.
I was able to run through this book in about 3 hours as it is a remarkably good book and a page turner to say the least. While in the middle of reading it I kept thinking to myself on how "fun" this book was which isn't something that I often say when reading a book, especially one that deals with murder and suspense. The interaction between Shane Marks and his partner Marcus are great and are one of the many highlights of the book.
Another thing that I enjoyed was the detail that Drew uses when writing; he writes in a style that I could only call artistry, the words seeming to flow effortlessly with amazing clarity.
I highly recommend this book and look forward to future works from Mr. Cross. Go get this book!
5 out of 5 stars!
Get your copy at the following:
US - Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_nos...
UK - Amazon.co.uk
http://www.amazon.co.uk/BiteMarks/dp/...
Smashwords
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
About the author:
Drew Cross is a 30 year old former model and ex-police officer (but regrettably never a model police officer!) from Nottingham, England; he is married with two small children (The Zeds - Zac aged 4 and Zara aged 3) and a weimaraner dog. When he's not reading, writing, toddler-wrangling or dog-wrestling, he enjoys martial arts, running, cooking various global cuisines and meditating. He has an interest in Eastern philosophy and the Goth subculture, and hopes one day to break the habit of writing about himself in the third person!
Drew's book, Bitemarks, is the story about police officer Shane Marks who has a lifestyle that is a little "different" from most and one that a person wouldn't normally come out and say upon introductions. I won't ruin it but through the course of the book Shane is on the trail of a killer who is essentially the same as him only with a slight penchant for murder, hence the "killer" that I mentioned a few words above.
I was able to run through this book in about 3 hours as it is a remarkably good book and a page turner to say the least. While in the middle of reading it I kept thinking to myself on how "fun" this book was which isn't something that I often say when reading a book, especially one that deals with murder and suspense. The interaction between Shane Marks and his partner Marcus are great and are one of the many highlights of the book.
Another thing that I enjoyed was the detail that Drew uses when writing; he writes in a style that I could only call artistry, the words seeming to flow effortlessly with amazing clarity.
I highly recommend this book and look forward to future works from Mr. Cross. Go get this book!
5 out of 5 stars!
Get your copy at the following:
US - Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_nos...
UK - Amazon.co.uk
http://www.amazon.co.uk/BiteMarks/dp/...
Smashwords
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
About the author:
Drew Cross is a 30 year old former model and ex-police officer (but regrettably never a model police officer!) from Nottingham, England; he is married with two small children (The Zeds - Zac aged 4 and Zara aged 3) and a weimaraner dog. When he's not reading, writing, toddler-wrangling or dog-wrestling, he enjoys martial arts, running, cooking various global cuisines and meditating. He has an interest in Eastern philosophy and the Goth subculture, and hopes one day to break the habit of writing about himself in the third person!
New H.U.B. Volume 1 & 2 Review
Humanity’s Ultimate Battle is waged on the pages of the first two volumes of a unique series penned by Benjamin Jones. HUB follows the struggles of humanity coming to grips with a secret that has been kept for thousands of years. Vampires are real. They’re so real, in fact, that they hold key political positions. They operate just like normal humans. They have jobs, houses, families and bills.
I think that’s what hit me the most with HUB. The vampires have a very human element that is missing from most vampire literature. And it’s not the Rice or Meyers way of providing the human element of incessant whining. HUB shows what it’s like for a society of people who live on the outside of the world that they have a direct connection to. There are vampire children that are actually born, not just a creepy “stay a kid forever” turning.
The sun doesn’t always shine, though. The book begins with an opening scene showing crushed humanity living like cattle on an island. The fear that is expressed in one short introduction is palpable. For me, that island is always on my mind while I’m reading through the books. It’s not often that you anticipate the final battle, but damn, you know it is coming and it’s going to be good.
This is a vampire book. It’s not a main character struggles to live and love with a vampire. There are very few humans that are introduced that aren’t slaughtered a mere page later. Instead of the old routine of vampire vs. human that shouldn’t be able to compete with a vampire, we get a story that shows how far above the humans the vampires are on the food chain. The vampires are divided, with most wanting a peaceful integration into normal society. However a rogue group is determined to turn humans back into the cattle that they were meant to be. Every action by this group leads us closer to the final showdown. Every time they force a hand, you can feel the pressure of the humans to take it back to them. There are more and more humans that aren’t happy with sharing their world with bloodsuckers. The acts of violence rendered on innocent vampires just because they are different hearkens back to a time in our own country’s history where people were treated differently due to their not being “normal” in comparison to the majority. It is a darkness that lends strength to the story, though. You realize that there are bad people on both sides. You also realize that it’s all going to come to a head and when it does, there’s no guarantee for humanity.
The vampires themselves are pretty standard fare, with pale skin, usually attractive, fingers that elongate into claws, silver eyes and long fangs. They don’t sparkle, so that’s a definite positive. They also regenerate wounds quickly, have super strength and speed. The vamps don’t have to have the blood to survive, but some of them relish in the joy of the hunt. There have been many vampire takes presented throughout the years, but one small part of Jones’ foray that stuck with me is the “stake in the heart” death. It’s not there, woe to the one who tries. But there is hope for humanity as the vamps can be killed and the government is organizing a new weapon against the bloodsuckers. Want to know what it is? Well, read Volumes 1 and 2 to find out.
All in all, HUB is a fresh take on a theme that has been put through the wringer time and time again. The words flow quickly and effortlessly, allowing the works to be consumed rather quickly. Benjamin Jones (pictured above) has a hell of a start on a good series that could easily be transferred to other media. It’s nice to see vampires back as the demi-gods they are, not playing fetch the pale grunge girl with a bunch of Native American werewolves. Check out the details and even get a free PDF copy of Volume 1 on www.whatishub.net and keep an eye out for future installments to be released later this year. It’s not every day that you get a free copy of a book. Use it to introduce yourself to a world that sees humans on the receiving end of some brutal violence. The books balance the action with a sense of determination and despair, love and hate from both humans and vampires. What more do you need?
~Scofield
Many thanks to Mr. Scofield and the good folks at www.bettergeekthannever.wordpress.com for their awesome review; so glad you guys (and gals liked it). You can read the full review at the source by visiting www.bettergeekthannever.wordpress.com to go to their site (show them some love!).
I think that’s what hit me the most with HUB. The vampires have a very human element that is missing from most vampire literature. And it’s not the Rice or Meyers way of providing the human element of incessant whining. HUB shows what it’s like for a society of people who live on the outside of the world that they have a direct connection to. There are vampire children that are actually born, not just a creepy “stay a kid forever” turning.
The sun doesn’t always shine, though. The book begins with an opening scene showing crushed humanity living like cattle on an island. The fear that is expressed in one short introduction is palpable. For me, that island is always on my mind while I’m reading through the books. It’s not often that you anticipate the final battle, but damn, you know it is coming and it’s going to be good.
This is a vampire book. It’s not a main character struggles to live and love with a vampire. There are very few humans that are introduced that aren’t slaughtered a mere page later. Instead of the old routine of vampire vs. human that shouldn’t be able to compete with a vampire, we get a story that shows how far above the humans the vampires are on the food chain. The vampires are divided, with most wanting a peaceful integration into normal society. However a rogue group is determined to turn humans back into the cattle that they were meant to be. Every action by this group leads us closer to the final showdown. Every time they force a hand, you can feel the pressure of the humans to take it back to them. There are more and more humans that aren’t happy with sharing their world with bloodsuckers. The acts of violence rendered on innocent vampires just because they are different hearkens back to a time in our own country’s history where people were treated differently due to their not being “normal” in comparison to the majority. It is a darkness that lends strength to the story, though. You realize that there are bad people on both sides. You also realize that it’s all going to come to a head and when it does, there’s no guarantee for humanity.
The vampires themselves are pretty standard fare, with pale skin, usually attractive, fingers that elongate into claws, silver eyes and long fangs. They don’t sparkle, so that’s a definite positive. They also regenerate wounds quickly, have super strength and speed. The vamps don’t have to have the blood to survive, but some of them relish in the joy of the hunt. There have been many vampire takes presented throughout the years, but one small part of Jones’ foray that stuck with me is the “stake in the heart” death. It’s not there, woe to the one who tries. But there is hope for humanity as the vamps can be killed and the government is organizing a new weapon against the bloodsuckers. Want to know what it is? Well, read Volumes 1 and 2 to find out.
All in all, HUB is a fresh take on a theme that has been put through the wringer time and time again. The words flow quickly and effortlessly, allowing the works to be consumed rather quickly. Benjamin Jones (pictured above) has a hell of a start on a good series that could easily be transferred to other media. It’s nice to see vampires back as the demi-gods they are, not playing fetch the pale grunge girl with a bunch of Native American werewolves. Check out the details and even get a free PDF copy of Volume 1 on www.whatishub.net and keep an eye out for future installments to be released later this year. It’s not every day that you get a free copy of a book. Use it to introduce yourself to a world that sees humans on the receiving end of some brutal violence. The books balance the action with a sense of determination and despair, love and hate from both humans and vampires. What more do you need?
~Scofield
Many thanks to Mr. Scofield and the good folks at www.bettergeekthannever.wordpress.com for their awesome review; so glad you guys (and gals liked it). You can read the full review at the source by visiting www.bettergeekthannever.wordpress.com to go to their site (show them some love!).
Review of Humanity's Ultimate Battle (H.U.B.) Volume 3: The Tipping Point
Avid readers of my site will know that I have reviewed each of the H.U.B novels are they are written. As it’s now time for H.U.B Volume 3 I’m sure you of course knew I’d be reviewing it sooner or later and giving my view on the continuing struggles between the Vampire Nation and the human race.
The third book starts showing that the tensions between the vampires and humans are growing. Attacks on humans are growing but also attacks on vampire from the humans are building up too. To add to the problems there are also tensions between vampires too as there are issues between “pure” vampires and vampires that were once human. It’s all tension building up which of course all lead up to that one event that some are looking for, that “tipping point” that will send both races into a war to decide just who will take control.
What interests me in this novel is how intelligent the idea of the “tipping point” really is. From the hinting of such a thing to the eventual event we know is coming the story does not rush into pushing the reader into the event but actually takes it time and creates a scenario for it to happen. Where some stories would almost trivialise such event this story as a whole (over not just this novel but the series itself) is working towards something big, something big enough to create an event that at this point now feels like it will be World War 3. We have the vampires, some happy to live with the humans in peace, some who want to control them like “cattle” and then you have the humans. Just as with the vampires some humans just want to live in peace together, but others want to eradicate the threat of the vampire and they will do it by all means. The main tension between the two races is that of anger and fear.
The vampire does not feel fear just anger, but they can be galvanised into a full force by a forceful act by the humans, something to really create that anger within them. With humans they are driven by fear and they can be manipulated by it, and this fear can be created by the anger of others; both human and vampire. This is how they are manipulated in this novel as the positions of power change from neutrality to aggression in the issue of the vampire. All it takes is one event to push both fear and anger.
This book, even though it is slow at times really creates a good build up to the event that will (I am assuming will lead to the war). When the actual event does occur the slowness of the build up is forgiven as you read the words on the page and wonder how people could be so stupid to do what they do, how can they fall into the trap of total naivety of their actions which mirror events in the real world. I was impressed at the way the novel handled what is quite a complicated idea really and look forward to the next part of the story.
Read the review from the source by visiting http://www.pissedoffgeek.com/wordpres... .
Thanks to Paul and everyone else at Pissedoffgeek.com for the constant support and for another great review!
H.U.B. Volume 3 arrives 9.10.11! http://www.whatishub.net
The third book starts showing that the tensions between the vampires and humans are growing. Attacks on humans are growing but also attacks on vampire from the humans are building up too. To add to the problems there are also tensions between vampires too as there are issues between “pure” vampires and vampires that were once human. It’s all tension building up which of course all lead up to that one event that some are looking for, that “tipping point” that will send both races into a war to decide just who will take control.
What interests me in this novel is how intelligent the idea of the “tipping point” really is. From the hinting of such a thing to the eventual event we know is coming the story does not rush into pushing the reader into the event but actually takes it time and creates a scenario for it to happen. Where some stories would almost trivialise such event this story as a whole (over not just this novel but the series itself) is working towards something big, something big enough to create an event that at this point now feels like it will be World War 3. We have the vampires, some happy to live with the humans in peace, some who want to control them like “cattle” and then you have the humans. Just as with the vampires some humans just want to live in peace together, but others want to eradicate the threat of the vampire and they will do it by all means. The main tension between the two races is that of anger and fear.
The vampire does not feel fear just anger, but they can be galvanised into a full force by a forceful act by the humans, something to really create that anger within them. With humans they are driven by fear and they can be manipulated by it, and this fear can be created by the anger of others; both human and vampire. This is how they are manipulated in this novel as the positions of power change from neutrality to aggression in the issue of the vampire. All it takes is one event to push both fear and anger.
This book, even though it is slow at times really creates a good build up to the event that will (I am assuming will lead to the war). When the actual event does occur the slowness of the build up is forgiven as you read the words on the page and wonder how people could be so stupid to do what they do, how can they fall into the trap of total naivety of their actions which mirror events in the real world. I was impressed at the way the novel handled what is quite a complicated idea really and look forward to the next part of the story.
Read the review from the source by visiting http://www.pissedoffgeek.com/wordpres... .
Thanks to Paul and everyone else at Pissedoffgeek.com for the constant support and for another great review!
H.U.B. Volume 3 arrives 9.10.11! http://www.whatishub.net
Short Story Review - Who Run It? by S.A. Payne
Welcome back. Time for another review, this time of a short story instead of a book, but it's all good. This review is for Who Run It? by S.A. Payne which, if you didn't read it when it was first profiled on my site you can read it at http://benjaminjoneswrites.weebly.com... .
Who Run It? is a tale about sexual harassment in the workplace, something that happens probably a bit more frequently than you think. The story revolves around a young man named Clinton who is engaged to be married and is also on the rise at his job. Everything is good until Tabatha, his boss, decides to make him her new plaything at work. Clinton is a good man deep down but it doesn't take long before his strong will is tested.
I don't want to spoil the story for the reader so I won't go into too much detail but I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story and the twists at the end which tied everything together. The characters are easy to relate to and the ending is very honest and believable.
I can't wait to read more from Ms. Payne! You can find more about her and her work at http://aprilraynestories.webs.com
Who Run It? is a tale about sexual harassment in the workplace, something that happens probably a bit more frequently than you think. The story revolves around a young man named Clinton who is engaged to be married and is also on the rise at his job. Everything is good until Tabatha, his boss, decides to make him her new plaything at work. Clinton is a good man deep down but it doesn't take long before his strong will is tested.
I don't want to spoil the story for the reader so I won't go into too much detail but I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story and the twists at the end which tied everything together. The characters are easy to relate to and the ending is very honest and believable.
I can't wait to read more from Ms. Payne! You can find more about her and her work at http://aprilraynestories.webs.com
First Review - Head Above Water
I am ECSTATIC!!!! If I had some money I would give it to you (but, alas, I don't so - sorry).
The first review for my upcoming novel, Head Above Water, has come in, courtesy of Ms. Kim Bailey, and it was more than I had anticipated it to be. I was nervous to even open the email but, now that I have, I'm on cloud 9. Check it:
"I have to tell you, I'm an avid reader and book clubber and I have never read a book like this. There's so much detail and imagination! I can appreciate that it was a love story sprinkled with a little science fiction. I'm not really into romance novels honestly, but this book worked for me; mostly because I could relate to the characters and bits and pieces of Darryl and Leena's relationship. Who hasn't been crazy in love at least once in their life?
I was able to imagine each and every character from the protagonists to the DLI employees. You did a great job making everyone's personalities seem so realistic. My favorite parts were the constant thoughts of Darryl and Leena. It was amazing how they were both thinking and feeling the same things almost simultaneously. Every thought was riddled with emotion and it made me want to keep reading to find out what would happen next. The ending was an unexpected, but nice surprise! I totally was not prepared for that. At. All.
Overall I think you did an excellent job! There's love, drama, sex, dysfunction, death and the afterlife. What more can one ask for in one book?"
Thanks again to Ms. Bailey for taking the time to read and review my work; MUCH APPRECIATED.
Head Above Water will be released on 12.22.11 - the first day of Winter - on Smashwords, Kindle, Nook and iTunes. Be sure to get your copy!!
The first review for my upcoming novel, Head Above Water, has come in, courtesy of Ms. Kim Bailey, and it was more than I had anticipated it to be. I was nervous to even open the email but, now that I have, I'm on cloud 9. Check it:
"I have to tell you, I'm an avid reader and book clubber and I have never read a book like this. There's so much detail and imagination! I can appreciate that it was a love story sprinkled with a little science fiction. I'm not really into romance novels honestly, but this book worked for me; mostly because I could relate to the characters and bits and pieces of Darryl and Leena's relationship. Who hasn't been crazy in love at least once in their life?
I was able to imagine each and every character from the protagonists to the DLI employees. You did a great job making everyone's personalities seem so realistic. My favorite parts were the constant thoughts of Darryl and Leena. It was amazing how they were both thinking and feeling the same things almost simultaneously. Every thought was riddled with emotion and it made me want to keep reading to find out what would happen next. The ending was an unexpected, but nice surprise! I totally was not prepared for that. At. All.
Overall I think you did an excellent job! There's love, drama, sex, dysfunction, death and the afterlife. What more can one ask for in one book?"
Thanks again to Ms. Bailey for taking the time to read and review my work; MUCH APPRECIATED.
Head Above Water will be released on 12.22.11 - the first day of Winter - on Smashwords, Kindle, Nook and iTunes. Be sure to get your copy!!
