Who Are The Real Humans Here?? -- Review of Rachel Cohn's Beta

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Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com

December 2, 2013

Who Are The Real Humans Here ??

A Review of

Rachel Cohn Beta (Hyperion, 2012)

331 pp ISBN: 9781423157199

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

In the dystopian future society in this novel scientists produce (what are alleged to be) human clones to be used as slaves. Although, with the little information provided, the correct scientific term for them is uncertain, the story makes it clear that they definitely are human -- in fact, more human than the people in this society. As these "clones" overcome their slave conditioning and attain self-consciousness and realize that they are persons, they mount an insurrection, which begins near the close of this book, which is the first of a planned quadrilogy. The second book, Emergent, is scheduled for realease on September 2014.

The focus of the story is the clone Elysia, who is the "beta" referred to in the title. She is an experimental model -- the first teenage clone ever produced. Because the story is told from her point of view, the book is catalogued as "young adult", which today's librarians use to indicate teenager. Even though she is a new clone and just released into this society, it does not take her very long to attain self-consciousness and to be ready to participate in the Insurrection, which she does at the very end of the book. To see what will happen in this battle, we will need to read the next book, which I intend to do as soon as it is published.

Information on the author is available at www.rachelcohn.com

Santuary: A Must Read -- Review of Sanctuary by Pauline Creeden

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Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

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October 23, 2013

Sanctuary: A "Must" Read!!

A Review of

Pauline Creeden Sanctuary (Alt Wit Press, 2013)

260 pp $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-1491072066

[Advance Reader Copy (ARC)]

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

The world of Christian fiction today is quite exciting not only in the ever growing numbers of new authors and stories, but also in the discussions and debates about what Christian fiction means or even whether it should be called Christian fiction: many christians now say that they do not write Christian fiction but that they are christians who write fiction. The publisher of Pauline Creeden's book, the Alt Wit Press, states that it publishes two kinds of fiction -- those which are blatantly evangelistic (altar call books!) and those which are not but which are written from a christian world view. Pauline Creeden's book fits into the latter category, and she wants readers to know this, for which reason the info on her book includes a review by a non-christian who states that he enjoyed the book and did not feel like he was being proselytized. So, when we see the title Sanctuary, we should keep that in mind, lest we regard the book as an evangelistic tract.

The term Sanctuary can be misleading in another way, and this the reader is not made aware of ahead of time, and, in fact, both the material promoting the book as well as the beautiful cover can convey the impression that all Jenny is trying to do is to escape to a safe place. This she does do and this is her main motivation AT FIRST, but afterward she becomes a tough girl and goes on the offensive against the enemy. I am using the term "enemy" advisedly because it is really not clear exactly what they are.

This leads on into a discussion of an important feature of this story, namely that, with a few exceptions, the point of view is that of ordinary people trying to cope in a practical way with the crisis confronting them without knowing just what the ETs are and exactly what effect they are having on the humans they attack. Therefore it is premature to speak of "zombies" or other terms. And it is misleading to use the term "Left Behind" because no Rapture has happened in the story -- Jenny and her pastor and other Christians are on Earth -- they have not been raptured. But there is a similarity in the story with the Left Behind books because some elements of the story are similar to "Tribulation" events prophesied in the Book of Revelation, and such a passage is quoted as a preface to the story. And the story, like those in the LB books, is full of excitement, interesting characters, plot twists, and allusions to or direct references to God and faith. Therefore, I agree with the consensus of reviewers that this is a very good story, but I do not agree with the simplistic assumptions noted.

I learned of Pauline Creeden through the Lost Genre Guild (LGG) email discussion group of Christian writers of speculative fiction, which includes SF, fantasy, horror and supernatural stories. I highly recommend LGG as a way of keeping up with new Christian fiction in these genres and with opportunities to participate in interesting discussions with other writers about all sorts of interesting matters. For info on Pauline Creeden you can visit these websites

http://www.altwitpress.com/ http://paulinecreeden.com/

A Story About "The Gifted" By a Highly Gifted Author -- Review of The Foxes of Caminus by Laura Burroughs

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Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

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 October 18, 2013

 

A Story About "The Gifted" By a Highly Gifted Author

 

Laura Burroughs The Foxes of Caminus (Burroughs Books, Inc., 2013)

                            ISBN: 978-0-615-86181-4

 

Reviewed by: Forrest Schultz

 

     The publishing of books by Coweta County authors has been booming for some time now. And the writing of some of these books has taken a lot of work and a lot of time. A case in point is the most recently published one -- The Foxes of Caminus -- the debut novel of Laura Thomas, who lives near Moreland and who writes under her maiden name, Laura Burroughs. It soon becomes clear to the reader that the writing of this tale involved an enormous amount of research in fields as diverse as physics and history and religion (to name a few) -- as well as a great amount of work in world-building and character development. (And some of these characters are "real characters"!). The Foxes in the title refers (mainly) to the teenage twins Harlie and Anya Fox and (secondarily) to their parents [usually through flashbacks]. Caminus is both the name of a secret island and its Academy, which provides an unusual education, which is super-modern in some ways and super-ancient in others. Both the Foxes and Caminus are quite interesting in ways too numerous to discuss in a review.

 

     This is a story about "The Gifted", i.e. children and young people with super-special abilities. The recent sad experience with the TV shows Heroes and Alphas and Touch shows that it takes a specially gifted author to be able to write good stories about The Gifted, the chief lesson being that the focus should be on the gifts and the gifted themselves and not on attempts by criminals to kidnap them, exploit them, etc. Burroughs has learned this lesson well. There is criminal activity involved but the main story line is the understanding of and education in and development of and proper use of the gifts themselves, and of the personal relationships among the Gifted and their teachers. The lesson here is that only a highly gifted author can write a good story about The Gifted!!

     The genre of Burrough's story is partially fantasy -- the locale is a secret island and there are mystic texts and objects in the story -- but it is mainly science fiction: it involves super-advanced computers and other technological devices and exotic physics (zero point fields, nanotechnology, quantum entanglement, etc.).

 

     This is the first book in a series. The Kindle Edition is already out and the print book will be published soon. (For my review I used the printed manuscript, which contains 264 pages.)

 

     Information is available at http://www.burroughsbooks.com/, which is one of the best written, organized, and most beautiful websites I have ever seen.

 

Religion and Psychiatry Satirized in Christina Barber's Dark Suburban Fantasy -- A Review of her "Seeley's Pond"

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Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

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September 21, 2013

Religion and Psychiatry Satirized in

Christina Barber's Dark Suburban Fantasy

A Review of

Christina Barber Seeley's Pond (HD-Image, 2008)

                 193 pp $15.35 ISBN: 0-9770437-5-4

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

     I first heard the term "dark urban fantasy" when it was used to identify the genre of the book under review. Perhaps a slightly more accurate term for this novel would be "dark suburban fantasy" since the evil paranormal events involving the protagonist, Julia Tayte, begin after she moves to a New Jersey suburban town near the demonic Seeley's Pond. The author, Christina Barber, has spun a good tale here, which is not suprising because she was trained by an excellent writing teacher, the late Vickie Kennedy in her Newnan-based The Writers Block.

     For me the significance of her story is its satire of mainstream American religion and psychiatry. Most Christian churches believe in a theology which teaches that Satan and demons are no longer operative in human affairs because they were "bound" by Christ at the time of His Resurrection and Ascension. And most psychiatrists believe that Satan and demons do not even exist. This is the reason why neither Julia's husband, a Presbyterian pastor, nor her psychiatrists were able to help her: they thought she was suffering from a delusion! This was an even more frightening experience for her than the demonic attacks she suffered.

     The author in the signed copy of her book which she donated to the public library in Newnan (where she lives) adresses the reader in these words: "wishing you unsettling reading".

     Information on the author is available on her website http://www.christinabarber.net/

Fairy Tales Which Are Good Reads For All Ages -- A Review of Jeff Chapman's "Tales of Woe and Wonder"

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Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

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September 14, 2013

Fairy Tales Which Are Good Reads For All Ages

A Review of

Jeff Chapman Tales of Woe and Wonder (Create Space, 2013)

98 pp. $4.74 ISBN: 978-1479373222

Review Editor: Forrest W. Schultz

It is rare that I am able to find a well written book review which expresses what I feel. The one below is such a review. One thing I would like to add to it is my praise for the excellent cover, which, by the way, is a painting by an excellent artist.

Reviewer: P. Creeden

     "Held within these pages is a new take on the old Fairy Tale. Happily ever after is not guaranteed, just as in real life. These stories align with the Grimm tales in that no bad deed goes unpunished, and the foolish may end up in a witch's cauldron.

     Jeff Chapman's bewitching use of prose kept me on the edge of my seat throughout such tales alike "The Hand and the Knife," and has renewed my interest in reading some of the older tales. He has created characters whose actions are believable in a fanciful world of goblins and elves. I am not usually one for fantasy in the usual sense, but this is an author I'll be keeping my eye on."

Amazon Customer Reviews

Treks Galore !! -- Review of Lee Duigon's "The Fugitive Prince"

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Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

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August 12, 2013

Treks Galore !!

A Review of

Lee Duigon The Fugitive Prince [Book 5 of Bell Mountain Series] (Storehouse Press, 2013)

370 pp $4.99 ISBN: 978-1-891375-61-3

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

The word "Prince" is the title of Lee Duigon's lates Bell Mountain book is confusing, because it is King Ryons who is the fugitive, not a prince. But the term "fugitive" is appropriate, which all Latin buffs will realize, because it means someone who has fled, derived as it is from a Latin verb (fugere), meaning "to flee". Ryons has fled his palace to go on a trek, which is a Dutch term, meaning a slow and/or arduous journey. As I pondered this I realized most of the action in the entire Bell Mountain series consists of treks. It opens with the trek of Jack and Ellayne up Bell Mountain to ring the holy bell, followed by their trek in Book 2 to retrieve the lost book of holy writ, followed by numerous treks in the next three books consisting of actions by and against the wicked Thunder King who functions as a sort of Antichrist, attempting to thwart the godly by setting up a false temple and religion.

Frankly, I have begun to get somewhat weary of all these treks, but this is to be expected because they are written as analogies of our pilgrimage in this world, which often becomes wearisome. But there are in the Bell Mountain episodes, as there are in real life, plenty of moments of refreshing, one of the best in the current book I found to be where Jack discovers what to him is an ancient device -- which is some kind of gadget like a cell phone or iPad which shines out light and plays music, which the people in the story regard as "magic". That was a real treasure -- lots of fun. And there are all kinds of interesting characters doing all kinds of unusual stuff -- this is a very entertaining as well as thought-provoking read.

I can't say much more without giving away the story, but I can say, because I saw it posted on the author's website, that there will be more Bell Mountain books, the next one titled "The Palace", which will be followed by several more, and that the total number of books in the series is, as yet, not determined. This needs to be stressed because I read somewhere an incorrect statement (which I included in my first draft of this review) that The Palace was to be the final book. For more info you can visit the author's blog at http://www.leeduigon.com/


 

Edgar Allen Poe LIVES!! -- Review of Kelly Creagh's "Nevermore" and "Enshadowed"

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Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

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July 27, 2013

Edgar Allen Poe LIVES!!!!

A Review of

Kelly Creagh Nevermore (Atheneum Books For Young Readers, 2010)

                     $9.99    543pp    ISBN: 978-1-4424-0201-0

Kelly Creagh Enshadowed: A Nevermore Book (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2012)

                     $17.99     429pp  ISBN: 978-1-4424-0204-1

Reviewed by: Forrest W. Schultz

     If you think history is something that is over and done with, think again! This is definitely not the case with Edgar Allen Poe. Recently a film titled The Raven was produced about a killer whose methods are copied from Poe's horror stories. And Kelly Creagh's two recently published paranormal Nevermore books are not only permeated by Poe-ic concepts, but Poe himself is a character in her tale. And the story begins with two high school students doing a project on Poe for their English teacher.

     One of these students, Isobel, the head of the school's cheerleading squad, is the hero of the story about whom it can be said as it was of the cheerleader Claire in the TV Series Heroes, "Save the Cheerleader -- Save The World!!" Izzy is assisted by the class brain, Gwen, who provides her with important insights into the nature of Lilith, the arch-villain of this tale, who also is important in other contemporary fantasy works, such as T. L. Gray's The Blood Of Cain. And the tale reaches its climax in the graveyard in Baltimore at Poe's tombstone. (As an aside, the author takes some well-deserved potshots at the City of Baltimore.)

    There is other interesting stuff in Creagh's story, such as the demolition of stereotypes about parents of high school students and a real shocker about what the star football player, Brad, really thinks about football. The second book has a mysterious ending, which I guess will be clarified in the third (as yet unpublished) book, which I intend to read as soon as it comes out. You can check the author's website for that and other info, http://www.kellycreagh.com/.

     I strongly encourage you to read the excellent story found in these books -- the tale itself, the characters, and the world-building is first rate. And, although the libraries catalog these books under "Young Adult" (i.e. teens), these books will be enjoyed just as much, if not more, by adults. If you like Poe, you will like this tale! In it Poe LIVES!! Super-kudos to Kelly Creagh for this gem!

Deep Thought In "Deeply Odd" -- Review of Dean Koontz's Lates Book "Deeply Odd"

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Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

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July 9 2013

Deep Thought In "Deeply Odd"

A Review of

Dean Koontz Deeply Odd (Bantam Books, 2013)

                       333 pp.    $15.85    ISBN: 978-0- 553-80773-8

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

     I have been a Dean Koontz fan for many years. Of all the interesting characters Koontz has created, one of my favorites is Odd Thomas. The latest Koontz book is, in my opinion, his best Odd Thomas story, which is due largely to this: rather than containing the dubious "ghost whisperer" feature, Deeply Odd portrays Odd receiving advice from a solid citizen of Heaven, whose identity I shall not disclose for fear that it might be a "spoiler".

     This story refers to another of my favorite Koontz characters, the late Stormy Llewellyn, who had been Odd's girlfriend. Stormy was not only a delightful person but also an intelligent thinker, who realized that believers are now being trained for the vocations we will have in the Millennium. And the story also contains some deep thinking which is especially helpful in understanding the contrast between good and evil, for instance that good is interesting, and evil is boring.

     Deeply Odd also introduces a fascinating character: a sharp, feisty elderly lady named Edie Fischer. Her actions as well as her conversations with Odd are choice elements in this story. I hope that Koontz will bring her back in future Odd episodes.

     The story line -- rescuing children from kidnappers -- is an old one but this story is very different because it is composed and expressed in the inimitable Dean Koontz style.

      For information on Koontz and his books check out his website http://www.deankoontz.com/