Wesley Britton's Blog - Posts Tagged "super-heroes"
Book Review: Oops!: Tales of the Zombie Turkey Apocalypse (Life After Life Chronicles Book 4) by Andy Zach
Oops!: Tales of the Zombie Turkey Apocalypse (Life After Life Chronicles Book 4)
Andy Zach
Publication Date: January 2, 2020
Publisher: Jule Inc; 1st Edition (January 2, 2020)
ASIN: B0825G9MPG
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0825G...
You'd think after three oddball novels, Zombie Turkeys (How an Unknown Blogger Fought Unkillable Turkeys), My Undead Mother-In-Law (The Family Zombie with Anger Management Issues), and Paranormal Privateers, that Andy Zach would have exhausted all the comic possibilities in his world of killer zombie turkeys and superhero zombie humans.
You'd be wrong. How about flying zombie pickles? Zombie zucchini? Zombie caterpillars? (How can you tell a zombie caterpillar from a normal one? Andy Zach can tell you.)
How about being injected with zombie blood which can cure any ill, regrow any lost limb, and be quickly cured with a widely available antidote? Who needs insurance with that sort of help? How about organizing a zombie worker union at Amazon when zombies can outperform robots? And suggest the story is based on two real people, Anthony and Ravan Jones who contribute the foreword to the book? Or zombie residents of a nursing home taking over the place?
But all this silliness is just part of what Andy Zach has collected in Oops. He has included other short stories by other authors like "The Story of Sound" by Olivia Smith and his own "A Phoenix Tale" before diving into his zombie world. Then he offers a batch of stories based on his other book series featuring disabled middle-schoolers who become superheroes, the Secret Supers. Oh yea, there are the aliens who first appeared in Paranormal Privateers who are defeated by zombies working for the U.S. Government. The aliens can provide you legal assistance in the form of a sexy avatar who looks exactly like Marilyn Monroe.
If you're getting the impression that one Mr. Andy Zach has a wide and wild imagination, you are on the right track. One obvious audience for his quirky tales is the YA readership, especially for all the contemporary references like video gaming and computer lingo. But even grumpy old sixty-somethings like me can have a lot of fun with Andy's characters, scenarios, and plots. I'm still laughing at the image of migrating flying zombie pickles. Hard to get more original, unique, or surprising than Zach's "Life After Life" series. Have some fun with Andy Zach in 2020!
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Sept. 15, 2020:
https://waa.ai/uCUJ
Andy Zach
Publication Date: January 2, 2020
Publisher: Jule Inc; 1st Edition (January 2, 2020)
ASIN: B0825G9MPG
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0825G...
You'd think after three oddball novels, Zombie Turkeys (How an Unknown Blogger Fought Unkillable Turkeys), My Undead Mother-In-Law (The Family Zombie with Anger Management Issues), and Paranormal Privateers, that Andy Zach would have exhausted all the comic possibilities in his world of killer zombie turkeys and superhero zombie humans.
You'd be wrong. How about flying zombie pickles? Zombie zucchini? Zombie caterpillars? (How can you tell a zombie caterpillar from a normal one? Andy Zach can tell you.)
How about being injected with zombie blood which can cure any ill, regrow any lost limb, and be quickly cured with a widely available antidote? Who needs insurance with that sort of help? How about organizing a zombie worker union at Amazon when zombies can outperform robots? And suggest the story is based on two real people, Anthony and Ravan Jones who contribute the foreword to the book? Or zombie residents of a nursing home taking over the place?
But all this silliness is just part of what Andy Zach has collected in Oops. He has included other short stories by other authors like "The Story of Sound" by Olivia Smith and his own "A Phoenix Tale" before diving into his zombie world. Then he offers a batch of stories based on his other book series featuring disabled middle-schoolers who become superheroes, the Secret Supers. Oh yea, there are the aliens who first appeared in Paranormal Privateers who are defeated by zombies working for the U.S. Government. The aliens can provide you legal assistance in the form of a sexy avatar who looks exactly like Marilyn Monroe.
If you're getting the impression that one Mr. Andy Zach has a wide and wild imagination, you are on the right track. One obvious audience for his quirky tales is the YA readership, especially for all the contemporary references like video gaming and computer lingo. But even grumpy old sixty-somethings like me can have a lot of fun with Andy's characters, scenarios, and plots. I'm still laughing at the image of migrating flying zombie pickles. Hard to get more original, unique, or surprising than Zach's "Life After Life" series. Have some fun with Andy Zach in 2020!
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Sept. 15, 2020:
https://waa.ai/uCUJ
Book Review: The Ascension Machine by Rob Edwards
The Ascension Machine
Rob Edwards
Publication date : September 1, 2020
Publisher : Shadow Dragon Press (September 1, 2020)
ASIN : B089HNNVFM
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089HNNVFM/...
Reviewed by: Dr. Wesley Britton
Maybe I'm showing my age, but my first thoughts when meeting the lead character of Grey in The Ascension Machine, I thought of Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series.
That's because, like Harrison's Jim Di Griz, Edward's Gray starts out as an amoral con artist on the run from one space station to the next. He's very good at finding hiding places to elude capture all over the galaxy. Like Di Griz, Gray's yarn is told in the first person, allowing for his personality to be expressed in nearly every sentence of the saga.
Like the Rat books, Edwards' story is full of clever humor. For example, when we begin meeting the young students wanting to be "space alien super heroes," one is named Gadget Dude. Another calls herself Sky Diamond, born simply Lucy. But these young would-be heroes aren't in Sgt. Peppers' Lonely Hearths Club Band. Nor are they candidates for Professor Charles Xavier's Institute where young mutants learned teamwork, how to use super-powers, and how to combat bigotry.
Gray isn't anything like an X-Man. He only goes to the super-hero school to pretend to be a student, has no obvious powers, and has no drive to benefit anyone other than himself. Well, he spends much of the novel in a wheelchair and ultimately becomes the leader of a team of young super-heroes out to save a planet from nasty invaders. I must admit, beyond the main baddie, Gravane/ Dr. Gravestone, those powerful invaders aren't especially well-defined. I confess, the contrivance of villains being constant bad shots, even with super-weapons, is a trope rather overused by now.
If it sounds like I'm describing a comic book in novel form, that's pretty much what Ascension Machine is. Nothing wrong with that. Ascension Machine is intended to be light reading, straight-ahead action-adventure, and is quite suitable for YA readers. For example, it has a character arc where a young grifter finds his identity, finds a purpose greater than himself, and we see how important teamwork is in solving complex problems. In short, the very sort of comic book I'd be happy to give the grand-kids to read, knowing they'd enjoy the colorful ride.
Me too. Reading the final coda in this debut novel, it seems clear we're going to be seeing more of the young heroes taking on new super-villains. Here's your chance to get in on the ground-floor of an entertaining new series. With any luck, Edwards will spark up some romances among the new "space alien super-heroes" and the team will encounter some memorable new opponents.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Nov. 8, 2020:
https://waa.ai/tj1r
Rob Edwards
Publication date : September 1, 2020
Publisher : Shadow Dragon Press (September 1, 2020)
ASIN : B089HNNVFM
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089HNNVFM/...
Reviewed by: Dr. Wesley Britton
Maybe I'm showing my age, but my first thoughts when meeting the lead character of Grey in The Ascension Machine, I thought of Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series.
That's because, like Harrison's Jim Di Griz, Edward's Gray starts out as an amoral con artist on the run from one space station to the next. He's very good at finding hiding places to elude capture all over the galaxy. Like Di Griz, Gray's yarn is told in the first person, allowing for his personality to be expressed in nearly every sentence of the saga.
Like the Rat books, Edwards' story is full of clever humor. For example, when we begin meeting the young students wanting to be "space alien super heroes," one is named Gadget Dude. Another calls herself Sky Diamond, born simply Lucy. But these young would-be heroes aren't in Sgt. Peppers' Lonely Hearths Club Band. Nor are they candidates for Professor Charles Xavier's Institute where young mutants learned teamwork, how to use super-powers, and how to combat bigotry.
Gray isn't anything like an X-Man. He only goes to the super-hero school to pretend to be a student, has no obvious powers, and has no drive to benefit anyone other than himself. Well, he spends much of the novel in a wheelchair and ultimately becomes the leader of a team of young super-heroes out to save a planet from nasty invaders. I must admit, beyond the main baddie, Gravane/ Dr. Gravestone, those powerful invaders aren't especially well-defined. I confess, the contrivance of villains being constant bad shots, even with super-weapons, is a trope rather overused by now.
If it sounds like I'm describing a comic book in novel form, that's pretty much what Ascension Machine is. Nothing wrong with that. Ascension Machine is intended to be light reading, straight-ahead action-adventure, and is quite suitable for YA readers. For example, it has a character arc where a young grifter finds his identity, finds a purpose greater than himself, and we see how important teamwork is in solving complex problems. In short, the very sort of comic book I'd be happy to give the grand-kids to read, knowing they'd enjoy the colorful ride.
Me too. Reading the final coda in this debut novel, it seems clear we're going to be seeing more of the young heroes taking on new super-villains. Here's your chance to get in on the ground-floor of an entertaining new series. With any luck, Edwards will spark up some romances among the new "space alien super-heroes" and the team will encounter some memorable new opponents.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Nov. 8, 2020:
https://waa.ai/tj1r
Wesley Britton's Blog
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“The Blind Alien is a story with a highly original concept, fascinating characters, and not-too-subtle but truthful allegories. Don’t let the ...more
“The Blind Alien is a story with a highly original concept, fascinating characters, and not-too-subtle but truthful allegories. Don’t let the ...more
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