Tag book review

Brief Book Reviews: Jacquelyn and the Sparkly Emo Vampire Goat (by A.G. Carpenter)

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Jacquelyn and the Sparkly Emo Vampire Goat by A.G. Carpenter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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When this author first told me the title of her book at LibertyCon 2017, I was wary. Very wary. However, when she told me that it was a fairy tale spoof of Jack and the Beanstalk combined with a satire of Twilight, I bought it immediately. Best five bucks I have ever spent! Read this aloud to my girlfriend and our nine-month-old, and we all loved it. Difficult to read in place because we could not stop laughing all the way through this madcap little jewel. My son loved Edward’s voice, especially since it is written (and I read it) like The Count from Sesame Street. I highly recommend this delightfully fun tale to anyone of all ages. If you have a sense of humor, like fairy tales, and hate Twilight, this is the book for you!

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Brief Book Reviews: Changa’s Safari by Milton J. Davis

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For this installment of Brief Book Reviews, I’ve chosen my most recent read, Changa’s Safari, written by the prolific and imaginative Milton J. Davis. Without spoiling too much of this rollicking, swashbuckling adventure, I will say that it was an insta-buy once I saw the cover art and read the back cover blurb at JordanCon 2017. With several books in this series and continuing collections of Changa stories, Davis has combined the fast-paced action-packed sea sagas of Sinbad with the well-researched–but clearly alternative history–versions of 15th century Africa, Arabia, and Asia to create a fun, immersive environment for endless storytelling. In these stories, magic and myth walk the world alongside the medieval and mundane, so there is plenty of sword-and-sorcery action to keep any fan of fantasy and/or alternative history happy.

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In this first collection, we are presented with three different kibatu (books), which are novelettes or novellas tied together by the common thread of Changa Diop, merchant captain and adventurer, and his crew of bahari (sailors and adventurers). Each book builds on the other, ratcheting up the suspense and tension as the stakes climb ever higher for Changa as he seeks the means to take revenge against the powerful magician who slayed his father and made wives of his mother and sisters. First, we sail with Changa against evil forces who would undo the world with powerful talismans. Then we fight alongside him as he defends the honor of Panya, his female crewmember, whose hand is promised to one of the most powerful of the Swahili. Finally, we are setting sail once again, for China’s distant Middle Kingdom and beyond.

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Frankly, everything about this book appeals to me. Milton J. Davis has vividly reconstructed a world where myth and history mix to paint a richer portrait of Africa and Arabia and the Orient than most Western writers ever manage to accomplish. I look forward to reading more of Changa’s safaris in the future, and I recommend them to anyone who likes stories of high adventure.

Brief Book Reviews #1: Edible Complex by Brett Brooks

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Polonius tells us, “Brevity is the soul of wit”, and in our modern society brevity is more important than ever. Especially when it comes to social media marketing and pitching products to a society with a short attention span. To this effect, I have instituted a new series on my blog with the apt, if not-so-original, name “Brief Book Reviews.”

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Sticking with my love of alliteration, I have decided to start this series with author Brett Brooks and his novel Edible Complex.  Everywhere one looks these days, zombies surround us. They’ve become a bigger and bigger part of pop culture ever since George Romero’s original Night of the Living Dead. With the mainstream popularity of The Walking Dead, zombies are enjoying a high-water mark. In fact, Broke Guys Productions joined this craze several years ago when we wrote a feature-length screenplay entitled Night of the Living Rednecks.

In those properties, and in all the best zombie media, the undead are treated as a metaphor. In our version, we’re commenting on the meth epidemic in the Southeast. Kirkman seems to be saying that one should not fear the sheep in society (the Walkers); instead, one should fear the wolves (the Living). In Romero’s sequel, Dawn of the Dead, he’s commenting on out-of-control materialism and consumer spending. Brett Brooks’ novel is no different, yet so different.

In Edible Complex, the zombies are quite peculiar, even finicky creatures. They’re not a fan of human flesh, unless provoked. They possess a herd mentality, following alpha zombies and the trends set by them. One day, the zombies may crave cereal. The next, cabbage becomes popular. This presents a challenge to those tasked with meeting the ever-changing demands of the undead hordes across the globe. With this take on zombies, Brooks’ crafts a wonderful metaphor on modern marketing and how it affects trends in pop culture and consumer spending.

He does so with wicked wit, a clean writing style, and an excellently paced novel filled with characters who are three-dimensional, possessing complex motivations. No one feels like a true villain. Or a real hero. They are people doing their best to follow their inner truths, which sometimes places them at cross purposes with the other characters. The conflicts feel natural, not forced. The same with the plot development, climax, and resolution.

In a world filled with zombie media, be sure to check out Brett Brooks’ Edible Complex for a funny, thought-provoking story in which zombies are not only a reality, but a key demographic.

Edible Complex is available on Amazon (Kindle and Paperback formats) and Audible.