C.V. Hunt's Blog, page 27

Book Review: Monster Nation by David Wellington

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[image error] In the heart of America, in the world's most secure prison,something horrible is growing in the dark. A wave of cannibalism and fear issweeping across the heartland, spreading carnage and infection in its wake.Captain Bannerman Clark of the National Guard has been tasked with animpossible mission: discover what is happening — and then stop it before itannihilates Los Angeles. In California, he discovers a woman trapped in ahospital overrun with violent madmen. She may hold the secret to the Epidemicbut she has lost everything — even her name. David Wellington's first novel,Monster Island, explored a world overcome by horror and the few people strongenough to survive. Now he takes us back in time to where it all began — to theday the dead began to rise.
http://www.davidwellington.net/                   AMAZON

REVIEW:
If you remember I reviewed David Wellington's MonsterIsland, Monster Nation is the sequel to that book, and a prequel to the story,but only the second in the trilogy.
Monster Island took place six weeks past the beginning ofthe zombie apocalypse, where only 10% of the human population survived. MonsterNation takes us back to the first days of the pending doom, and again DavidWellington does not disappoint.
In book one we are shown the methodical and strategicplanning of the dead versus the living. In book two we are shown the down anddirty siege of the dead onto the living. We find the heart of every zombiestory within Monster Nation's pages: chaos and destruction.
Government officials, police barricades, CDC, FEMA, and thefear of civilians will not stop the infection. In the wee hours of the epidemic,officials scramble to piece together what is happening. Much like MonsterIsland, the author gives us the story from several perspectives.
I found Nilla's story to be the most interesting. Just likeGary in the first book, Nilla has woken up dead. Where Gary had planned hisdeath, Nilla's was a mistake, and because of her unplanned voyage, she cannotremember her real name. She calls herself Nilla because it was the only thingshe could think of when asked her name. Much like Gary, Nilla finds out quicklythat she has an ability that most of the dead don't. She is not driven by herhunger, but by a vision, the same one that Gary had, telling her to head east.
None of that matters though, because when you're dead, theliving hate you regardless:
They knew. The peopleof Lost Hills knew what she was. They could sense it. If she closed her eyesshe could see them all, their golden auras, and she knew they were all lookingback and seeing her darkness. Surely not as vividly, certainly not asconsciously but they could sense her energy just like she could sense theirs.
Clark Bannerman is a captain. His troops stumble acrossNilla in the early stages of the outbreak, but she slips away. His objective isto find her at all cost. Clark knows what she can do, and he also knows thatshe might have the answers to cannibalistic epidemic. If only he could only seepast the fact that the cannibals are not alive.
David Wellington's interpretation of zombies is unique inthe sense that it's not humans that the dead seek out, but the life forcewithin them. If the dead are so inclined, and short on food, the will eat treebark because it is living. It is the essence of life that they truly crave.
Ultimately Clark and Nilla's paths have crossed for the samereasons: to find the source that is causing the dead to rise. The author keepsthe pages action packed, and has a great style of writing that keeps me fromputting his books down. I can't wait to crack into the final installment.

My Top 5 Recommended Books

These are books that I have recommended more than any others over the past year. I will try to make this an annual thing, and I don't know how many of you enjoy watching me stubble over my words... but here you go. If you have trouble viewing this video, the original can be seen at http://youtu.be/doV-99AdJGE. Subscribe to my You Tube channel to see all of my incoherent ramblings. 
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Book Review: Awful, Ohio by Jeff Neal

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[image error] 3 out of 5Every morningthe sun rises, waking Awful, Ohio, overlooking all of its residents, guidingthem towards another productive and profitable working day. The economy isstrong and the money is abundant, all of which are offered to whomever producesand profits the most product. The masses rejoice daily over the informedopportunity, with the exception of Troy Slushy. 

Troy Slushy wakes every morning to the intrusion of the sun abruptly charginginto his home, removing him from his enchanting dreams. The sun exposes hiscollection of worthless possessions, his depressed wife seeking salvation, hiswithering home struggling for support, and the life-decimating job that isundesirably forced upon him daily. This is Troy Slushy's existence in Awful,Ohio, and because of this exposure to this monotonous misery, Troy's enemy isthe sun. 


Heavily sedated by a dream-enriched epiphany, Troy removes his concerns for thedemands and priorities of Awful, Ohio, replacing them with the objective ofpermanently removing the sun from his existence. He gathers his wife and beginsa quest to save them both from their sun-exposed lives of suffering in Awful,Ohio, concocting plans and blueprints of various sun-destroying methods.Unfortunately for Troy, this proves to be easier said than done. But luckily,Troy discovers that perseverance is much more eminent in accomplishing a goalthan feasibility, as he is able to assemble a massive scheme to achieve perpetualdarkness, but not without affecting Awful, Ohio and all of its production,profits, and population. 

http://awfulohio.com/
REVIEW:
Troy Slushywakes one day within a midlife crisis. He is miserable with how his life has turnedout, and the sun shines every day to expose his failures. Troy's ultimatecorrection for his over indulged life is to destroy the one thing that exposeshis misery – the sun.
Troy lives in aworld of overabundance. The economy is booming, unemployment is low, andeveryone is spending money. We are shown the inside world of a factory wherethe owner is obsessed with efficiency. Your punishment for not working efficientlyis humiliation, and your reward is the euphoria of gaining money to buy morestuff that you don't need.
Jeff Neal makesit blatantly obvious that the story is based on materialism. Troy Slushy'sbiggest objective is to rid himself of it one way or another, by destroying thesun that exposes it all. At first his plans are completely ludicrous andunattainable, but as the story moves on, he fashions a plan that could work, ifthe odds weren't completely stacked against him. Another character's biggestobjective is to take out the materialism at its source, the efficient factoryowner that pays out the cash in the form of weekly paychecks. The author'sdepiction of store owners selling their products out of trash cans only hammersthe basis of his story:
The judge wasin bewilderment at what he was hearing. How could a human being not understandcurrency in exchange for prod­uct? The judge kept listening to Samuel Amiable'signorance. The boy had no parents, no home, or any documents verifying his iden­tity.Samuel Amiable had become the mold of a bum in the judge's mind; an aimlessvagabond stealing from the hard working store owners who were innocentlyselling items of fabricated value from their trashcans. The judge sat silently,building an image in his mind of Samuel Amiable haphazardly and deceitfullydeconstructing all of Awful, Ohio's honesty and integrity and values.
The strangedescriptions of the characters left them looking cartoonish in my mind. Someare described as having flipper hands that are permanently wrapped aroundpistols, facial features that are pieced together like a drunken puzzle, andponytails and ears that wiggle on their own, and attack other people.
I picked thisbook because the story seemed so outlandish that it had to fall into the'Madness' category that I love, and I was right. I was reminded of something myeditor told me once after only reading a few pages. Stephen King was quoted tosaying: "The road to hell is paved in adverbs." Luckily for Jeff Neal, the roadis not paved with adjectives too.
Although I didfind it somewhat repetitive, I didn't mind the excessive descriptions. Theauthor's outrageous characters and unlikely story line create a cartoon qualityto the story. The book was overstuffed with a lyrical web of depictions, and itleft the story wanting to be a poem in my eyes. With a Dr. Seuss-like qualityto the writing, and a Willie Wonka madness to the story, we get an idea of whatliving in Awful, Ohio is really like. This book takes you off a beaten path,and it may not be for everyone, but if you are looking for bizarre anddifferent, then look no further. 

My video review of the Kindle Fire.

So, I received my Kindle Fire today. Watch me um, um, um my way through a rough review of it. If you are having trouble viewing this it can be seen at http://youtu.be/NwGSTZC-_Mo Pay no attention to the cat in the background. If you have trouble viewing this post, please visit www.authorcvhunt.com for the original. This site feeds to several others.

Another Giveaway!

A Goodreads giveaway! Don't forget that you can read Endlessly for FREE on the Goodreads site at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10562661-endlessly or download it for FREE at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/53780 There's no better time to read where the story started. 
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Goodreads Book Giveaway Legacy by C.V. Hunt Giveaway ends December 25, 2011.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win
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Book Review: She's Not There by Marla Madison

[image error] [image error] Women are missing...

Is the risingnumber of abused women who've gone missing a statistical anomaly? Or is aserial killer targeting this vulnerable group of women?
When theMilwaukee Police Department refuses to investigate because no bodies have beendiscovered, Lisa Rayburn, the clinical psychologist who discovers the anomaly,is drawn into an investigation to discover the cause after one of her ownclients goes missing. She finds herself forming an unlikely alliance with aformer policewoman turned security consultant, TJ Peacock, and the husbands oftwo of the missing women who may themselves be murderers.
When TJ isattacked, and a woman looking remarkable like Lisa is found murdered, they know. . . someone is willing to kill to protect his secret.

Can they reveal the killer before he gets to them?
http://www.marlamadison.com/ 
AMAZON KINDLE

REVIEW:
Marla Madison'sdebut book can be described by its title, She's Not There: A Novel of Suspense.Suspense is exactly what the author dishes out.
Lisa Rayburn isa psychologist, in the midst of researching and writing a book on abused women,she becomes concerned about the absence of one of her clients. On furtherinvestigating the hiatus in her patient's treatment, she finds that JamieDenison has gone missing. Lisa becomes alarmed after looking at the statisticsof the number of missing women in the area, and decides to take the informationto the police.
TJ Peacock usedto be a police officer, but now she's a PI. Her relationship with an officerkeeps her close to the stories that revolve through the station, and close tothe same statistics that Lisa has uncovered.
TJ approachesLisa about the information, and the two decide that since the police don't haveenough evidence, they're going to find the information that the police need toopen an investigation. Along the way, they invest in the help from two of thehusbands that have been accused of foul play in the disappearances of theirwives, and all those involved proceed to reveal the motive behind theirinvolvement in the investigation.
The story startsslow, with interviews, and hearsay evidence, but halfway through the storycomes the twist. I like to be the person that says: "I knew it, I seen itcoming," and at first, I did. Then, just when you think you know what is goingto happen next… you don't even see it coming.
She's Not Therewas a very well thought out suspense, with so many flips and twists in thestory, it will leave you with your head spinning in the end. Marla Madisoncompiled a lot of short chapters, giving you with a feeling of reading microfiction, which entices you into just reading one more chapter.
If you arelooking for something with suspense, conspiracies, and murder, then look no further.


Amazon.com Widgets

FOR THE MEN: Why girls like Twilight

I don't claim to be any expert, but I am a girl. Shocking, Iknow, especially when I hear the phrase, "You're one of the guys," on a regularbasis. I'm not particularly concerned with the things that most girls are. Alist of these things is substantial, and I won't bother you with them. FrequentlyI get asked by male friends why girls do what they do. I think it's because Ihave the inside information, and I'm not afraid to share it.
With the release of Breaking Dawn in theaters, I was askedthe loaded question today: Why do girls like Twilight?
The answer:
Stephenie Meyer did an excellent job of portraying theawkward teen. That's the simple answer.
Every teen - especially girls - goes through their high schoolyears desperately trying to be accepted by their peers. Even if they areaccepted by friends they're still in a constant internal battle. They're afraid thatit could all come tumbling down around them. They feel that even despite theirbest efforts, that they are mediocre at best.
This is Bella Swan.
She sees herself as very plain, an average girl, and nothingextraordinary about her appearance. This - if you are lucky - is an averageteen girl. Most teen girls have a lower self-esteem then this. They feel as if "average"is what they are striving for, and are generally in a constant "identity crisis".
Enter the "popular-hot-guy-that-all-the-girls-want" akaEdward Cullen.
He's untouchable.
I graduated from a small high school. I couldn't tell youfor sure exactly how many students attended that school, but I can tell youthat there were less than 100 students in my graduating class. At every schoolthere is an Adonis lurking in the halls. The sad thing is, he usually knowswho he is. He tends to date the really hot chicks, and has a bit of an ego.Eighty-five percent of the female population fantasizes about dating him, buthe wouldn't give the majority of these girls a second glance.
Stephenie took these two very common personalities andflipped the relationship. The untouchable guy swoons over the unlikely averagegirl. Girls around the world squeal at the thought of their crush suddenlyfalling head-over-heels for them. He doesn't just have a crush on her, the dudeis willing to torture himself just to hold her hand.
The willing self-sacrifice for love. There it is guys. Areyou willing to give up your Monday night football to pine over the girl thatyou love? Hell no you're not. How about give up smoking? (I can see you rollingyour eyes now.) It's a basic concept: be willing to do anything for her. If youare married, you have already encountered this demon, and you have eithershunned him, or endorsed him. Some of you – that still don't understand what I'mtalking about – might have heard this referred to as "being selfish".
Don't worry guys, this isn't the entire female population.There are girls out there that are extremely independent, and would find thiskind of behavior obsessive or not very masculine. These girls aren't waitingfor their knight in shining armor to kick in the castle door and rescue them –we are pulling on our armor, lifting our swords, and charging into the battle.It's only a shame there are so few of us.
EXIBIT A :
http://youtu.be/MSNPeJAgBzo


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Endlessly is FREE!

No folks, you didn't read that wrong. Endlessly is now FREE at Smashwords:http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/53780 I'm hoping that Amazon and B&N follow Smashwords in the price drop within a week. They have that whole price match thing, but they won't let you directly go and change the price to FREE yourself. 
So read the beginning of the story while I make final edits to the end... Phantom. Don't forget to check out the Phantom Proof Copy Contest, there are only three entries. Chances are good that you could read Phantom before it is available for sale.
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Writing Update.

This is just a short update of Phantom's progress. I getasked, "When is Phantom going to be available?" more than any other question.So I have some information to pass along to you.
I received the critique from the editor yesterday, and asmuch as I wanted to rip into right away, I only just glanced over it. Up to the18th, my schedule is pretty full, and I know once I start in on it Iwon't want to stop. For now I am only taking notes, and I'm sure I will fire ane-mail to the editor with some questions before I tear into it.
My plan is to have it pretty much done by the end of November.Then I will hand it back over for final editing. The editor has informed me thathe is pretty much booked until after Christmas. This may set the book back fromwhat I had originally been telling everyone. I was shooting for February, but Ilike to give the editor at least a two month window. (Endlessly took two monthsand Legacy only took one month in final edits) With that out there, it may beMarch, possibly early April. It will all depend on how much of a work load hehas.
The contest rules for the Phantom proof copy will still stay the same. I will take submissions until the end of the year, and voting will take place the whole month of January. The winner will not receive the proof until I have it, and I will keep them updated of it's progress and release. 
I look forward to writing from Jason's point of view again.All this time I have been referring to him as the "stubborn jackass", but Ithink the editor describe him best with the more politically correct term "emotionalthick".
I can't give my editor enough credit and praise foreverything that he has done. You know how you look all over turning your houseupside down looking for your keys, only to have someone point at the counter toshow you they were right in front of your face. Yeah, that's how I feel when hereports back, but that's a good thing. He helps to point out the most obviousmistakes, and encourages me to look a scene in a different perspective. If it weren'tfor him, I would never see the forest for all those damn trees. 

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Book Review: Haunt by Amber Delaine

[image error] [image error] 4 out of 5Haunt by Amber Delaine
Artist Megan Nelson has never lived anywhere but the tiny Texas town in which she grew up. There is one bus, one corner store and everybody knows everybody. So when a stranger shows up, Megan is more than curious. 
Adam is more than he seems: beautiful and strange. Megan soon finds herself falling in love with him as she learns who he is and where he comes from. 
But being with Adam comes with a price. The closer Megan gets to Adam, the more she begins to realize that he holds a dark secret which threatens to tear apart everything she has ever known. 
On top of it, Megan is plagued with guilt over her best friend, Tony. As her new love life puts a strain on their old friendship, Megan learns how love can help her overcome her terrifying circumstances and change the rest of her life.

http://amberdelaine.blogspot.com
AMAZON

REVIEW:
Megan is onlydays away from graduating high school. She is cramming for finals, anddesperately trying to get her head out of the clouds so that she can pass hersenior year. She longs to be an artist, but being an only child of professionalparents, her future plans are still up for discussion. Spending her spare time gettinglost in her paintings, or hanging with her best friend Tony, she's just youraverage teen girl, as she describes herself:
I had never been very pretty. I was plainfor a girl, I thought, with mousy brown hair and plain brown eyes. They weren'teven a golden brown or an exotic almost-black. Just motor oil brown. My skinwas too pale because I rarely ever went outside. Texas was always either toohot or too cold for my taste. Pale blue veins showed through at my temples. Ihad one slightly crooked tooth. Everyone said they couldn't tell, but it wasalways the first thing I noticed in photos of myself or when I looked into amirror.
After a stressfilled day, Megan makes her way to the park after sunset. In the dark, shevents her frustrations, only to find out that she isn't alone. A beautifulstranger has been watching her from the shadows, and she nervously makes herway home.
Megan can't seemto shake the image of the stranger and desperately tries to recreate his imageon canvas. Unable to paint his likeness, she sets out to look for her muse thenext day, only to find out that her average life is about to get turn upsidedown.
Haunt startedout reading like a paranormal romance, but it slowly twists into horror storyof sorts, and then back to paranormal. Personally, I love both genres, and Iwould recommend this to anyone in the same boat. I only found the end slightlyanticlimactic, but it fit into the story well, and Amber left the readeranticipating a sequel.
The author has awonderful way of writing. She gives you little hints to keep you captivated andwanting more. Written in first person, the author will draw back, and drop inthe character's commentary, as if Megan was sitting beside you telling you thestory.
I hope to seemore from Amber Delaine.

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