Bell Mountain Books Continue To Amaze -- Review of The Two Latest: #8 & #9 (The Temple & The Throne)

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

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

December 4, 2017

Bell  Mountain  Books  Continue  To  Amaze

A Review of

Lee Duigon The Temple – Bell Mountain #8 (Storehouse Press, 2015)

                    284 pp   $4.99   ISBN: 978-1-891375-69-9

Lee Duigon The Throne – Bell Mountain #9 (Storehouse Press, 2017)

                    270 pp   $4.99   ISBN: 978-1-891375-71-2

Reviewer:  Forrest W. Schultz

     The Bell Mountain stories take place in a fantasy world, but the spiritual principles there are the same as they are in the real world.  The particular spiritual principle highlighted in the latest two stories in the series is the desire found among many believers to return to the paganism from which they were converted.  In this case many of the people in the City of Obann wish to rebuild the pagan temple which used to be there.

    And, as in the previous books, these are also filled with strange beasts, miracles, and a whole lot of trekkin’ and trickin’ – some quite serious and some downright silly, the most outrageous being a weird character who found the golden mask which had been worn by the super wicked super-powerful Thunder King, who goes around wearing this mask, impersonating the Thunder King!  This is but one example of the mixing of the serious with the hilarious!  These two books, like the others, are full of surprises and great tales.  I highly recommend them as I have the previous ones.

Purpose of Nanotech Brain Implant Revealed In Second Jane Hawk Thriller -- Review of Dean Koontz's "The Whispering Room"

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

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

November 29, 2017

Purpose Of Nanotech Brain Implant Revealed In Second Jane Hawk Thriller

A Review of

Dean Koontz The Whispering Room (Bantam Books, 2017)

                       492 pp   $14.00   ISBN: 9780345546807

Reviewer:  Forrest W. Schultz

     As with the first episode in this series, Koontz devotes almost all of the story to the adventures of Jane Hawk in her battle against the criminals.  In the dramatic climax she captures the top villain, D. J. Michael, who attempts to justify the nanotech brain implants his company has developed, claiming that they give the recipients a conscience and a purpose in life, which they do, but at the expense of suffering considerable dehumanization, which is apparent to Hawk in the recipients she has encountered.  This science fiction element is good BUT very little is said about it, which is my main criticism of this book.  Koontz should emphasize the sf and should de-emphasize Hawk's forays against the criminals, which is very old hat.  And, although I like Jane Hawk, there have by now been so many tough women heroes that that too is now also becoming old hat!!  The third episode in the series, The Crooked Staircase, is scheduled for publication soon.  

Varieties Of Spookiness -- Review of Andrew M. Seddon's "What Darkness Remains"

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

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

November 13, 2017

               Varieties of Spookiness

A Review of

Andrew M.Seddon What Darkness Remains (Create Space, 2017)

                187 pp   $12.99   ISBN: 9781978164154

Reviewer:  Forrest W. Schultz

     The sub-title of this book is "Thirteen Tales of The Supernatural And Unknown".  I guess that the author decided to have that many stories because of the spookiness often associated with the number "thirteen".  At any rate, if you like such tales, you should check these out.  Hallowe'en was last week, so it is too late to recommend buying this book for Trunk Treating purposes this year, but I do recommend stocking up for next year!

     Because of the variety among these tales it is almost impossible to do justice to them in a short review, so I shall just select one of them -- my favorite -- and tell you about it.  This is one of the most unusual weird stories I have ever read -- it concerns what could be called a demon-possessed piano, whose title is "Sonata For Piano, Four Hands", found on pages 29-38.  One of the pianists describes it as being "malevolent, evil...frighteningly so...something that never should have been written..and must never be played again". (pp. 35, 38)

     A good description of the world view of the author (expressed in these stories) is provided on the back cover by the reviewer Colleen Drippe' in these words:  "the conviction that we live in a well-ordered universe where good triumphs over evil", which is the context in which these stories should be understood. 

     You can visit the author's website at www.andrewmseddon.com.

Adventures Of A Veterinarian In Outer Space -- Review of Andrew Sedden's "The Death Cats Of Asa'ican"

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

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

November 9, 2017

       Adventures Of A Veterinarian In Outer Space

A Review of

Andrew M. Sedden The Death Cats of Asa'ican (Splashdown                                               Books, 2015)

                 240 pp   $1298   ISBN: 978192715

Reviewer:  Forrest W. Schultz

     Doctor Hughes is a space traveling exobiologist and veterinarian who has all kinds of exciting and interesting adventures as he travels around the galaxy where he meets and treats all kinds of super-weird biotic entities too numerous to even list here and too complex to even attempt to describe in a brief review.  If you enjoy reading about far out entities and phenomena, I recommend this book. And Dr. Hughes even has a traveling companion who is a German Shepherd dog to which all kinds of tinkering have resulted in an animal who is almost part human in various ways, and, I think, far more interesting than Chewbacca! Because of his concern, Dr. Hughes has founded a group he calls Wellness for Other Life Forms, which is a good organization, although, frankly, I do NOT like the acronym formed by these capital letters -- WOLF, which, to me (and I think most people), has a pejorative connotation:  if you are one such, please be assured these are the good guys!

     For information on the author (who, by the way) is a medical doctor) you can visit his website www.andrewseddon.com.

Historian Time-Travels To Roman Empire in Andrew Seddon's SF Tale -- Review f Andrew Seddon's "Ring Of Time"

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

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November 6, 2017

     Historian Time-Travels To Roman Empire in

            Andrew Seddon's SF Tale

A Review of

Andrew Seddon Ring Of Time (Splashdown Books, 2014)

              259 pp   $13.99   ISBN: 978-1-927154-38-0

Reviewer:  Forrest W. Schultz

     As its sub-title indicates, this book consists of "Tales of a Time-Traveling Historian in the Roman Empire". Very little is said about the time-travel machine and the time-travel paradoxes beyond the assertion that any time-travel to the past will not change the past because it already is part of the past. The focus of the story is on what happens to the time-traveler, Professor Robert Cragg, after he is transported to various times and places in the Roman Empire to obtain information needed for a more complete historical account. Cragg is the narrator of these excursions, which are similar to those of a spy being sent "under cover" (i.e. with a false name and identity) to gather "intelligence" (i.e. information). All kinds of interesting and exciting and dangerous things happen to him during these forays, culminating in a surprise ending. And the author of this tale makes it all come alive.  I do not know if time travel is possible or not, but if it is, I recommend that the agency in charge hire a writer as good as Andrew Seddon to write the reports on it!

     Information on the author is available at his website  andrewseddon.com

   

Old-Fashioned Fireside Tales of Wonder and Providence: "Review of Andrew M. Seddon's "Tales From The Brackenwood Ghost Club"

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

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

October 20, 2017

A Breath Of Fresh Air From Days Of Yore:  

Old-Fashioned Fireside Tales of Wonder and Providence

A Review of

Andrew M Seddon  Tales From The Brackenwood Ghost Club (Create Space, 2017)

                                196 pp   $9.99   ISBN: 978-1975720575

Reviewed By:  Forrest W. Schultz

     Unlike the typical anthology, this is a collection of tales which were delivered -- by the persons to whom they happened -- in a informal setting:  the living room of the host of the meetings of a local ghost club in Britain.  This fireside chat atmosphere and the tales themselves remind me of my campfire experiences many years ago at Camp Delmont and Camp Sankanac in eastern Pennsylvania.  And, as noted in an appended essay at the back of the book and on the book's back cover, these tales are classic ghost stories manifesting the uncanny and Providential qualities of the Christian world-view, in which  God sometimes does strange things which are beyond our ken.  There is a great variety among the eleven tales in this book, which is to be expected because God likes variety!  These tales, however, are alike in that each one is short, well-told, memorable and edifying.  For these reasons I highly recommend this book, and I wish to thank the author for sharing these tales with us.

For information on the author, you can visit his website at http://www.andrewmseddon.com/ . 

Extremely Unusual and Fascinating Medical Fiction: The Characters Create Realistic Fiction -- Review of Robin Cook's "Charlatans"

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

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September 12, 2017

Extremely Unusual and Fascinating Medical Fiction:

The Characters Create Realistic Fiction

A Review of

Robin Cook Charlatans (Putnam, 2017)

                      $27.00   437 pp   ISBN: 9780735212480

Reviewer:  Forrest W. Schultz

     Although I have been a Robin Cook fan since he began writing novels, I have never before written a review of them here because they are not science fiction or fantasy.  And, strictly speaking, his latest one is also NOT in either of those genres, BUT I have decided to review it anyway because two of the main characters have concocted very elaborate and realistic fantasies about their own lives, and because these concoctions involve the usage of the so-called “social media”, about which there is currently a lot of discussion and debate concerning their harmfulness.  So this story is very relevant.  And it is also one of the most interesting and unusual novels I have ever read!  Here is a challenge to you, the reader:  after you have read Cook’s story, try to decide whether or not there is any justification for regarding these two aforementioned characters as “charlatans”.   

Combating A Strange Malevolence -- A Review of Blue Cole's "Evil Upriver"

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

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September 4, 2017

Combating  A  Strange  Malevolence

A Review of

Blue Cole Evil Upriver (Indie Gypsy Books, 2017)

          232 pp   $14.95   ISBN: 978-0998615103

Reviewer:  Forrest W. Schultz

     Blue Cole's Evil Upriver is comparable in certain respects to Stephen King's It.  In both stories a town is being attacked by an unknown nearby underground malevolence which has been there a very long time, but only attacks periodically.  Evil Upriver, though, is unlike It in that the team of townspeople which forms to combat this evil consists of adults, not kids, as in It.

     Joining this team in Cole's story is Adam, a songwriter on a road trip who arrived in the town a few days ago.  And, finally, there is another new arrival in this town -- Ricochet -- whose complex mystery I will allow you, the reader, to discover for yourself:  it is not only mysterious in itself but also with respect to the question as to why Cole included it in his story. This story, like his first two, is a good read created by a writer with a great imagination -- I recommend it as I did the first two. 

    Cole's story occurs in middle Georgia.  He himself lives in Coweta County on the Southside of Atlanta.  This is his third novel.  Information is available on his website www.bluecole.com.  

Ghosts Help Ghost Whisperer !! -- Review of A. Blue Cole's "Immediate Dead"

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

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 August 9, 2016

Ghosts  Help  Ghost  Whisperer !! 

A Review of

Blue Cole, Immediate Dead (Indie Gypsy, 2015)

           215 pp   $14.95   ISBN: 978-06942415061

Reviewer:  Forrest W. Schultz

     In the famous television series, the Ghost Whisperer helps the ghosts.  The reverse situation occurs in Blue Cole's latest novel, where the ghost whisperer Michael Bennett is a homicide detective who, as soon as he arrives at the crime scene, talks to the ghost of the victim in order to get information to help him identify the murderer.  He needs to do so quickly because the ghost only stays there for a short time, which is what is referred to in the book's title.  In this story Bennett faces an especially tough challenge in attempting to identify the serial killer who is murdering Atlanta's doctors, while at the same time trying to deal with "baggage" from his past, and in attempting to get along with his new partner, a sharp attractive young woman named Sandy Cooper.  The story is a good read just as a crime novel, and it is especially interesting because of the ghost whisperer feature.  It is a worthy successor to his debut novel, Sleeping Sickness, published in 2014.  Cole, who lives in Coweta County and belongs to the Coweta Writers Group, has joined in the book writing/publishing boom which is sweeping across the Southside and producing some of our nation's best new writers.  Information is available on his website www.bluecole.com.   

Adults Fall Asleep; Kids Take Over -- Review of A. Blue Cole's "Sleeping Sickness"

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

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

December 1, 2014

Adults Fall Asleep; Kids Take Over

Review of

A. Blue Cole Sleeping Sickness (Indie Gypsy, 2014)

             246 pp $13.95 ISBN: 978061583086

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

      There have been many stories in which chaotic conditions ensue after the sudden death or vanishing of large numbers of people. But I do not recall ever reading (or hearing of) a story like Blue Cole's recently published novel in which suddenly all adults go into a coma, and the children are left to fend for themselves. Cole presents interesting, exciting, and realistic portrayals of the children’s struggle to survive, and their struggle to discover the meaning of the comas of their parents. The intensity of the latter struggle increases dramatically when they learn that each one of them will also become a "Sleeper" after becoming eighteen years old! I recommend putting this book on your good-read/must-read list!

      Blue Cole is the latest addition to the ever growing ranks of Coweta County's writers who have had books published in the twenty-first century. And Cole pays tribute to today's Coweta County by setting his story there. He is the second Coweta author to do so, the first being Tamala Callaway with her Super Natural series.

      Cole has also written essays and short stories and he is planning more novels. Information is available on his website www.bluecole.com

The Hard Core Vampires Strike Back !! -- Review of Book 2 of Ellen C. Maze's Rabbit Trilogy

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

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August 15, 2017

The  (Hard Core)  Vampires  Strike  Back  !!

A Review of

Ellen C. Maze Rabbit Legacy [Bk. 2 of The Rabbit Trilogy] (Little Roni Pub., 2017)

                        308 pp   $11.95   ISBN-13: 978-0615747828

Reviewer:  Forrest W. Schultz

     In the first book of this trilogy Beth Rider convinces many vampires to repudiate their vampirism and to turn to Christ for salvation.  Seven years later, in the second book, the unconverted vampires organize and mount an attack upon Beth Rider and her converts, thereby reversing the trend of vampires toward conversion. Since these attackers are hard core vampires, Beth now faces a more difficult challenge.  And she now must do so as a married woman and the mother of a six year old daughter Grace, who is one of the first to be attacked.  This is the main theme of the book but there is also a great deal of material provided dealing with vampire lore as the context of the story.

     Information on the author is found at www.ellencmaze.com   

P. J. Renfroe Pens A Science Fiction Tale With A Fantasy Atmosphere -- Review of her "Inbound"

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

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August 7, 2017

 P. J. Renfroe Pens A Science Fiction Tale With A Fantasy Atmosphere

A Review of

P. J. Renfroe Inbound (Chatham Cabin Pubs., 2013)

                      193 pp   $8.95   ISBN: 978147017017

Reviewer:  Forrest W. Schultz

     The best description I can give of Inbound is to say that is is an ostensibly science fiction story (it has spaceships, space aliens, and space age technology) embedded in and permeated by a fantasy atmosphere.  I invite you to read this tale in order to see and experience for yourself just what I mean.  I believe you will both enjoy its story and be intrigued by its atmosphere.

Jordyn Redwood's New Medical Suspense Includes Espionage and Romance -- Review of her Taken Hostage

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

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August 4, 2017

Jordyn Redwood’s New Medical Suspense Includes Espionage and Romance

A Review of

Jordyn Redwood Taken Hostage (Love Inspired Books, 2017)

                                $5.99   217 pp   ISBN: 978-0-373-45732-8)

Reviewer:  Forrest Schultz

     Jordyn Redwood’s excellent Bloodline Trilogy (2012 & 2013) consisted of a skillful blend of medical and criminal suspense.  Her latest novel (under review here) is not only a worthy successor but also includes strong elements of espionage and romance.  Her afterword to the reader provides the source of her inspiration – two contemporary medical research programs.  And, finally, in the backstory, is the psychological dynamic of the resentment of a man at the superiority of a woman, which is expressed against the main character – neurosurgeon Regan Lockhart – first by her husband and then by her research partner!  As the story opens she then falls in love with the brother of her patient, Colby Waterson, when he becomes her protector against the bad guys who kidnap her and then try to force her to create a biological weapon.  Sooo, there is a lot going on and a lot to think about.   For information on the author you can visit her website at www.jordynredwood.com