Category: book reviews

Review: A Stalled Ox

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

27942178

A Stalled Ox by Dean Moses

An isolated religious cult has reportedly been consuming meat while the rest of the planet has been forced to live a life without it. Presuming this sect has resorted to cannibalism, two agents from an organization known simply as The Agency are dispatched to investigate. Will they find evidence of humans eating one another? Or is something even stranger taking place?

“In the tradition of Serling and Bradbury, A Stalled Ox is a gruesome, yet beautiful story that wraps a complex morality tale in an engaging and fast-paced horror story with a touch of espionage. Crafting a world where no one is truly innocent, Moses invites the reader to follow Agent Howard Harrington as he discovers what true evil is.”

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

A Stalled Ox on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 4 stars

A Stalled Ox is a short novella set in the future where a disease known as Farmers Folly has killed off all livestock, forcing humans to become vegetarians. However, the Government hears word of a secluded cult eating meat and, concerned that they are resorting to cannibalisation, it sends two agents from The Agency to investigate.

I enjoyed reading this short, futuristic story. It touches on quite a few different elements; human nature, religion and the impact that genetic modifications can have on species. There are some quite graphic descriptions in places so it’s not a story for the squeamish! I do feel that perhaps it would have benefited from being slightly longer to develop the main characters more but overall it’s a great read.

Review: The Last

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

25366449

The Last (Zombie Ocean #1) by Michael John Grist

When the zombie apocalypse hits America, not a soul is left alive.
Except Amo. He’s a comic book artist. He’s a video game world builder. He’s just a regular guy living in New York city, with only his wits, creativity and basic decency to guide him.
He’s alone against 7 billion zombies.
Will he survive?

‘Robinson Crusoe’ meets the zombie apocalypse like you’ve never seen it before, packed with adventure, gore and a mind-blowing twist.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

The Last on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 4 stars

Amo builds video games and is a comic book artist who lives in New York City. When he wakes up one morning he finds himself alone in a post-apocalyptic world where all other humans have become zombies. Alone Amo fights for survival whilst searching for anyone else who might have been spared.

The Last is a bold and original zombie apocalypse thriller which is told almost completely from one person’s point of view.  Amo is a very likeable and well-developed protagonist with a wicked sense of humour, which is great for comic relief in his dark and gory journey through zombie-ravaged New York. The writing flows well and there is plenty of action as well as time taken to develop this unusual take on zombies and their origins. I felt there was a couple of moments of lag where perhaps the pace could have picked up a little, but overall I really enjoyed reading The Last and am looking forward to reading book 2 in this unique series.

Review: Furnace

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

28675273

Furnace by Joseph Williams

On a routine escort mission to a human colony, Lieutenant Michael Chalmers is pulled out of hyper-sleep a month early. The RSA Rockne Hummel is well off course and—as the ship’s navigator—it’s up to him to figure out why. It’s supposed to be a simple fix, but when he attempts to identify their position in the known universe, nothing registers on his scans. Nothing at all. The vessel has catapulted beyond the reach of starlight by at least a hundred trillion light-years. Then a planetary-mass object materializes behind them. It’s burning brightly even without a star to heat it. Hundreds of damaged ships are locked in its orbit, but before the scanners go offline, the crew discovers there are no life-signs aboard any of them. As system failures sweep through the Hummel, neither Chalmers nor the pilot can prevent the vessel from crashing into the surface near a mysterious ancient city. And that’s where the real nightmare begins.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

Furnace of Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 4 stars

When the ship RSA Rockne Hummel goes dramatically off-course, navigator Lieutenant Michael Chalmers is woken early from hyper-sleep to figure out why. Lost at the edge of space, they crash into the planet Furnace. And that’s where the horrors truly begin.

Furnace is told completely from Chalmers’ perspective as he fights for survival on a planet inhabited by demons. Whilst stranded on the planet’s surface the ship’s captain orders that Chalmers accompanies other crew members on a reconnaissance mission which goes terribly wrong. Knowing that there is no hope of rescue, Chalmers’ only chance of survival is to travel through an ancient demon city to reach his ship before it departs.

Furnace is a blend of science fiction, horror and a fast-paced thriller that never falters and keeps the reader gripped from the first page to the last. The main character is well-developed and his internal dialogue brings some dark humour to the situations that he finds himself in. I really enjoyed reading Furnace. The concept is very clever and unique, and the author successfully manages to bring together three genres in one great read.

Review: The Express

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

29285070

The Express by R.K Howard

Are you ready for one hell of a bumpy ride?

A man’s daily commute becomes a hellish nightmare in this harrowing account of a bus crash that transforms a fateful ending into a painful beginning.

Based on an age-old premise with a fresh narrative that visits the undesirable side of life after death.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

The Express on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 5 stars

There is an art to the short story and R.K Howard’s tale of an ordinary man’s every day commute turning into his last has successfully mastered this. Many authors try to pack too much into a small word count and either the flow of the story or the characterisation suffers as a result. This certainly isn’t the case here.

The Express is a quick read that breathes fresh life into the ‘what happens when we die’ question that all of us ask ourselves at some point in our lives. The protagonist discovers the truth when the bus that he is travelling on is involved in a fatal collision.

There is no getting away from the dark subject matter, but R.K Howard has successfully blended sarcastic humour to add some degree of relief. And nicknaming regular fellow commuters is something that we all do in real life!

A fantastic, quick read!

Review: Vacui Magia: Stories

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

29408844

Vacui Magia: Stories by L.S. Johnson

L.S. Johnson delivers a provocative and original short story collection that ingeniously blends myth and nightmare. Whether it concerns the efforts of an infertile witch to construct a golem-baby, or a daughter’s quest to understand a father’s guilt and a mother’s supernatural infidelities, or a woman’s violent association with a group of possibly imaginary but nonetheless dangerous little men, each story in this remarkable collection demonstrates the limitless capacity of intelligent speculative fiction to enthrall, inspire, and amaze.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

Vacui Magia: Stories on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 5 stars

Vacui Magia: Stories is a collection of magical and supernatural themed short stories.

Each tale is very different and all are extremely well-written. The atmosphere of the tales is dark, with plenty of suspense, twists and turns. The characters are written in a way that you are on occasion doubting that what they are exposed to is real and feeling their inner conflict as they experience similar uncertainties. Each story is well-paced and quickly draws the reader in. Some of the endings are a little ambiguous and leaves it up to the reader to draw their own conclusions, which adds to the magic of the tale.

Vacui Magia: Stories is a highly-recommended read for all fans of dark magic and supernatural.

Review: Leave It All

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

27313324

Leave It All (Saint Lakes #1) by April Kelley

Lucas just wanted to be a normal human being, but normal is highly over-rated.

Lucas Speck had been just some guy who worked at an office supply store and house-sat for his snowbird parents. He was nobody special. Or that’s what he thought before the headaches start and weird things start to happen to him. When people start chasing him his whole life gets turned upside down.

Bennett Somerset is a dragon shifter, who likes his quiet life in his quiet town. He isn’t looking for complications. He already has a family that defines the words, weird and crazy, to perfection. Good thing they live in a small town where nothing ever happens. That is until he smells the most delicious thing in the world and realizes it’s his mate. His little witch of a mate just made things way more complicated.

Purchase Link: www.amazon.com

Leave It All on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 2.5 stars

I really liked the premise to this novel.  The main character Lucas thinks of himself as a normal guy until he starts to experience severe headaches. Before he knows what is happening he finds himself on the run and struggling to come to terms with powers that he didn’t ask for and can’t quite explain. Whilst on the run Lucas meets shape shifter Bennett who he soon discovers is his mate. Bennett is determined to do whatever it takes to protect Lucas from the vampires who are hunting him.

Leave It All is a good story with plenty of action and romance. However, I do feel that the pacing and lack of development did let it down. Things seemed to happen almost too fast and I felt that perhaps more time should have been taken to set the scene and develop the characters more. The dialogue was quite poor in places and I felt myself cringing, especially during conversations between Lucas and Bennett. It could have been much better and I felt that it made the characters seem very immature. Taking these points into consideration I can really only give Leave It All 2.5 stars. That being said I would read the next book in the series.

Review: The Story of Lucius Cane: Book One

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

29091578

The Story of Lucius Cane: Book One by Vanya Ferreira 

London, 1794. Lucius Cane, a peculiar sort of vampire, comes upon an opponent the likes of which he has never seen before – a brute with remarkable abilities. But not all is as it seems as their encounter unfolds in a manner that neither of them expected.

Purchase Link: www.amazon.com

The Story of Lucius Cane: Book One on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 3 stars

Lucius Cane is a vampire living in late 1700s London. Book One introduces the reader to the title character as well as antagonist Jack ‘The Hound’ who is trying to kill him.

This is a short, but enjoyable read. Lucius is an intriguing character with a certain amount of empathy for humans. I do prefer vampire novels where the supernatural beings are given a more human side, but still connected to their vampire natures too and this certainly is the case here. Lucius’s vampire side comes across as an inner voice inside of him, which he tries to dismiss, most of the time successfully.

There is a good use of description within the novel and the fast pacing swiftly concludes with the inevitable showdown. This ends on a cliff-hanger and I’m looking forward to reading what happens next!

Review: Frost Burn

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

28406839

Frost Burn by K.T Munson and Nichelle Rae

Fire and Frost; no two nations have ever been so divided. Only two bridges across the great River Gora connects them and their long standing hatred. When spring comes early the Frost Nation looks upon the Fire Nation with suspicion. Soon they will discover that the rising rivers, warmer temperatures, and the quakes are all a result of something far more terrifying then each other. When the world seems to turn against them they will only have each other to look to. Can they put their differences aside long enough to fix their planet?

They must or face extinction.

Purchase Link: www.amazon.com

Frost Burn on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 4 stars

Frost Burn tells the story of two nations who must put their differences aside in order to save their world.

The authors have cleverly developed two very different nations; the Fire Nation and the Frost Nation who have been at odds with each other for many, many years. As a consequence their queens of the past opted to isolate the two countries from each other. Now they find themselves having to work together or face the destruction of both their nations. The world building in Frost Burn is very well-thought out, which creates a very detailed backdrop for the novel to unfold. The characters, both major and minor, are developed, but with room to grow in strength and personality as the story progresses. The politics of the different nations has been addressed in such a way, and the two queens both written sympathetically, so there appears to be no ‘taking sides’ on the part of the reader who can see the entire picture clearly. The healing of the rift between the nations as a whole, as well as the main characters, occurred slowly but naturally and as a consequence the strengthening of the, at first uneasy alliance, was very believable.

I really enjoyed reading Frost Burn. The story evolves at a steady pace that hooked me almost immediately. A great fantasy read, which I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to anyone who is a fan of the genre!

Review: You Have Been Murdered and Other Stories

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

28500138

You Have Been Murdered and Other Stories by Andrew Kozma

You Have Been Murdered and Other Stories is a collection of weird, speculative fiction containing four stories dealing with the end of the world, both in terms of the death of the individual soul and the running down of the universe as a whole.

The title story presents a woman who’s been murdered and still has a dinner party to prepare for. In “Teller of Tales,” a young girl must take on the responsibility of being the necessary conscience of her city. “Breach of Contract” describes the plight of an oil man who just wants to insure production quotas, but is roped into saving the world. Lastly, “The Trouble-Men” details what happens when a man trying to survive the end of the world meets up with those who are ending it.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

You Have Been Murdered and Other Stories on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 3 stars

You Have Been Murdered and Other Stories is a collection of four short and strange stories.

The first ‘You have been murdered’ is my favourite of the tales. It tells the story of a woman who has been murdered and tries to cover up this fact and her denial by still continuing to prepare for a dinner party that she had planned before her death. The author conveys her feelings regarding her death and her anxiety very well and you get a real sense of the pain and confusion that she is going through.

I enjoyed reading the other stories in the collection too, told through the eyes of a variety of different protagonists.

The collection is well-written and the author knows how to build plenty of atmosphere. The twists are surprising and unexpected. A great short read for fans of speculative fiction.

Review: Beyond the Storm by Adam Jones

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

27152270

Beyond the Storm by Adam Jones

Man tries to remember his past while Jude tries to forget hers.

Years after the nuclear holocaust decimated Britain, Man wakes up, naked and alone but for the murdered corpses whch surround him. Struggling with amnesia, Man travels the wastes trying to piece together his past.

Across the crumbling remains of the city, Jude flees a depraved fiend, running for her life. Beyond the Storm is a journey of horror and suspense which paints a broken future world and the events that made it that way.

Beyond the Storm is the brutal and disturbing new novel from cult bestselling author, Adam Jones.

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

Beyond the Storm on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *

Rating: 3 stars

Beyond the Storm is a post-apocalyptic thriller set in Bristol, England. It follows the stories of Jude and Man, at first on separate paths and then when they come together. Jude is on the run from a monster who abused her terribly, and Man is suffering from amnesia and has no idea who he is or how the nuclear war almost destroyed the planet.

Whilst I did enjoy reading Beyond the Storm, I did find the description generally in excess and my attention was prone to wander, especially in the first half of the novel, and I felt that perhaps less would have been more in places. However, the second half of the story was more captivating and, eager to find out just who Man was and the fate of the rest of the cast, I found it difficult to put down. The truth about Man I never saw coming and there were plenty of twists that did not fail to disappoint. Beyond the Storm is dark, gritty and certainly not for the faint-hearted!