Boy Red by S D Everington

November 28, 2013 By Leave a Comment

RED
Boy Red by S D Everington
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (112 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Boy Red is a story about identity, about where you come from and where you belong.

The day after his sixteenth birthday, Red discovers that the man he calls ‘Dad’ is not his biological father. Will Red be able to track down the anonymous sperm donor who gave him life? What will he learn about himself along the way? And just what else are his parents hiding?

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Imagine a room filled with “tourists dripping with backpacks.” As soon as I read that phrase in the first scene I couldn’t wait to find out what happens next. The author doles out her creative use of language when the reader leasts expects it, and I was nearly as interested in seeing what metaphor she uses next as I was in following Red’s journey to its completion.

I would have preferred to see more character development with the man who Red has always known as his father. The other members of the family are given more time to express their personalities, but Red’s father remains a fairly mysterious individual. Eventually some of my questions about him were answered, but it would have been nice to learn more about why he made certain choices. Had I gotten to know him better this book would have earned a much higher rating.

Sometimes parenthood is a sensitive topic, but Red never shies away from asking tough questions about what it means to be a father and who should and should not claim that title. While I had ethical concerns about the manner in which his parents handled the topic of his conception, the author clearly spent a lot of time fleshing out the arguments on both sides of this family disagreement. Some of the points that are made may be controversial, but in no way is either side demonized.

The age recommendation for this piece is somewhat flexible. While the plot does contain mature themes and sexual references, the plot brings up issues that are incredibly common for people who are not biologically related to one or both of their parents. It broaches them in such a sympathetic manner that I am comfortable recommending Red’s tale to emotionally mature students a year or two younger than 16. Due to numerous references to sex I would not suggest this story to anyone under 14, however.

Boy Red was my first introduction to Ms. Everington’s work. If this is any indication of her storytelling abilities I am really looking forward to reading more from her and would encourage any fans of young adult literature to do the same. This novel is as appealing to adult readers as it is for the age group for which it was originally written.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Reasons by Kevin Craig

November 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment

REASONS
The Reasons by Kevin Craig
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short Story (110 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In the midst of absence, death, and insanity, Tobias longs to make his family whole again.

With a mostly absent father, a deceased older sister, a younger sister on the verge of invisibility, and a certifiably insane mother, Tobias Reason is forced to grow up quickly. Though he tries to be a surrogate parent to his sister, their broken mother, Maggie, takes up a lot of his time. Annabel falls to the wayside and becomes a ghost in their chaotic existence.

When Maggie flippantly hands her mother’s house over to Tobias, he sees an opportunity to learn how and why his family became so shattered. Be careful what you wish for. When his world begins to collapse from the weight of unburied secrets, he focuses on a stranger from his parents’ past. Only by eliminating the past, he believes, can he make his family whole again.

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Tobias’ reaction to growing up in a dysfunctional family is so realistic I briefly wondered if this story was based on true events. Every single member of the family has been damaged by Maggie’s illness in some way, and seeing how each one of them reacts to their chaotic surroundings is utterly fascinating. Despite sharing DNA and the same environmental influences each character’s personality heavily influences his or her reaction to Maggie’s unpredictable nature. This tale was so compelling and well-written that I skipped out on sleep in order to finish it. The author packed a novel’s worth of character development into the first half of this novella alone, and I couldn’t wait to find out how it would end.

It took me a while to figure out that this book was meant to have a contemporary setting. Maggie’s mental illness is so severe that at times I had trouble believing that she was allowed to retain custody of her children without any investigation from The Children’s Aid Society in Ontario or Quebec. She regularly neglects and abuses her kids, and when she does something much worse than that later on the plot I was stunned by how the other adults react to her dangerous choices. While I understand that not every case of abuse is reported to the proper authorities much less prosecuted, it would have been helpful to to know why so many people looked the other way when they noticed something was terribly wrong with the Reason family over the approximately 30 year time span in which Maggie has minor children living with her.

With that being said, Mr. Craig’s decision to write some chapters from Maggie’s point of view was a fantastic one. Due to the severity of her illness not everything Maggie fervently believes actually makes sense, but seeing the world through her eyes gave me valuable clues about her probable diagnosis. It also helped me understand why her mood shifts so quickly and why seemingly innocuous questions make her so furious. Once I understood the nature of the disease I believe she has I gained a great deal of sympathy for someone who otherwise would have been a fairly two-dimensional character.

I was also pleased with how smoothly the plot transitions from past to present. Every flashback serves a vital purpose, most of which are apparent almost immediately. During the course of reading this book I actually wished there could be more flashbacks because they taught me so much about how Tobias and Maggie in particular came to be the people they are in present day.

While reading The Reasons I felt asleep each night wondering what would happen to Tobias and his little sister next. This is a great choice for anyone who loves character-driven plots that keep the reader on his or her toes from beginning to end.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Love Lies Bleeding by Laini Giles

October 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment

LOVE
Love Lies Bleeding by Laini Giles
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Historical
Length: Full Length (216 pages)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

How do you solve a 70-year old murder? Especially when it hits close to home.

When a hiker near Ithaca stumbles across an old skeleton buried with a rusty buttonhook and a locket full of pictures, Senior Investigator Frank Conley of the New York State Police knows he’s looking at a tough case. What he doesn’t expect is having to solve his own aunt’s murder.

In 1916, when high-society debutante Libbie Morgan decided to balance her time between Ithaca’s rich-but-dull golden boy and a heart-poundingly handsome farm boy, she unknowingly launched an ever-widening web of deception and jealousy.

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Perfectly healthy people almost never die suddenly unless something terrible happens to them. Can a 70 year old skeleton provide enough clues to finally solve the mystery of what happened to a privileged young woman who disappeared in 1916?

Imagine discovering human remains while on a long hike. As soon as I read the heartbreaking description of the skeleton that is discovered in the opening scene I couldn’t wait to find out how the victim died and why she came to be buried in a such a lonely place. My curiosity bubbled over when one of the investigators realizes the deceased is related to him. This detail added a sense of urgency to the plot and gave me sympathy for certain decisions Frank makes later on in the course of his investigation that otherwise could be construed as insensitive.

Despite the fact that they never knew one another I noticed striking personality similarities between Libbie and Frank that I wish the author would have explored in greater detail. Both characters are good looking, intelligent, and charming, but they also tend to be self-absorbed and indifferent to the emotional pain they cause others. Frank begins to show signs of self-awareness as the plot progresses, but realizing how much he has in common with his long-dead aunt would have provided an excellent opportunity for further character development.

What I liked most about this novel was how seamlessly the plot jumped between the last few months of Libbie’s life in 1916 and the investigation of what really happened to her 70 years later. Both time periods provide vital clues about Libbie’s fate and even though they both discuss the same events I was always intrigued by the subtle differences between the memories of the witnesses and what actually occurred.

Love Lies Bleeding kept me guessing until the end. This is a great choice for anyone who likes richly detailed historical mysteries set in the beginning of the 20th century.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Man in the Moon by Homer Eon Flint

October 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

MAN
The Man in the Moon by Homer Eon Flint
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical
Length: Short Story (38 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Look out! Here comes the moon!

When it comes to space andinvention, Philip Foster is a man in his element. There’s no challenge he won’taccept, no scientific problem he can’t solve. It’s entirely another matter whenit comes to understanding the opposite sex, particularly calculating women likethe lovely and wealthy Catherine Brett. Ah yes, money! The root of all evil—exceptwhen its used to save the human race. Maybe.

Thus the stamina and strength becomes at the topmost level. important site cheap levitra The capsules are useful for enhancing the optimal health top drugstore cialis 10 mg problem. levitra on line wouroud.com So if you let your vehicle stand in the sun during summers, your will lose fuel. Also, membership in order to penis-health.com offers you access to exceptional forum exactly where members can find out and acquire techniques to preserve their member in good shape. cialis tablets in india It’s fairly easy to determine if a scientific theory is true, but expecting human beings to behave as predictably as the stars and planets is a losing battle.

Human beings have always been fascinated by the moon. We’ve worshipped it, used its phases as a rudimentary calendar, and blamed it for causing things we can’t explain. The best passages in this story explore the nuances of this relationship with such precision that the author could have been describing any time and place in our history. Had certain events taken place in 2013 we would have acted almost exactly the way people behave in a story set a century ago. It is in the similarities all humans share that this book proves itself to be a timeless one.

Philip’s social awkwardness manifests most strongly when he attempts to spend time with Catherine. He has such a poor understanding of women that some of the theories he develops about them become rather sexist and it is here that the plot temporarily falters. At times it was difficult to differentiate between Phillip’s opinion of women and what the author thought of them. If I was not so well acquainted with Mr. Flint’s work I probably would have assumed that he shared his protagonist’s point of view because it was so thoroughly weaved into an otherwise thought-provoking tale.

The humorous twist and unforgettable imagery of the final scene reminded me of why I enjoy Mr. Flint’s work so much. He is as talented at injecting humour into unexpected places as he is at subtly including social and political commentary about early 20th century life through the experiences of his characters.

Readers who love classic science fiction should look no further than The Man in the Moon. It is one of the author’s strongest short stories and an excellent introduction to a man whose career ended far too soon.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , ,

Mismatched by Lydia Sharp

October 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment

MATCHED
Mismatched by Lydia Sharp
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Short Story (24 pages)
Other: F/F
Rating: 4 Stars
Review by: Astilbe

Her plan was simple: Find your life-match and follow your destiny—the heart-stone doesn’t lie.

On the night of her initiation ceremony into her chosen clan, Liu’bimec feels a scorching pain from something other than the marking iron. Her heart-stone responds as if her life-match is close. It burns hot within her, ready to bond. But none of the men she approaches induce a heart-stone bond, and if she does not bond with her life-match by the time a year has passed, she will be banished. Her heart-stone had guided her, but was it wrong?

The identity of viagra sales the mum was never known because he said the kid was the consequence of artificial insemination from a surrogate mother and his own sperm cells. This is what makes the blood flow sluggish. viagra cheap prices http://secretworldchronicle.com/2017/12/ Sometimes the wife and children’s health seems more important to the field of psychology because it is related to your better health. order levitra http://secretworldchronicle.com/tag/untermensch/page/2/ is used to treat male sexual function problems (impotence or erectile dysfunction-ED). With this cheap cialis action, the penile organ receives adequate blood. Her questions only multiply when she finally does find her life-match. He is not a he at all, but a she, and if it were known they have bonded, Liu would face something far worse than banishment—an empty life without her match.

Not everyone is born knowing exactly what they want out of life, but that can change in a heartbeat.

Liu wants nothing more than to find her life-match, but none of the people she has met so far have been the right one. Her deep sadness made me sympathize with her as soon as she starts to feel frustrated. It’s difficult to face repeated rejections, and the brave face she puts on through the selection process is admirable. A lot of people would be far less patient in her shoes given how much unmatched members of her society stand to lose.

It took me a little time to understand what the people in Liu’s society were referring to when they mentioned certain terms. I was able to figure out what the clan meant from the context in which the terms were used, but had the concept of heart-stones in particular been explained earlier on this book would have earned 5 stars. They were such an integral part of Liu’s journey that not knowing exactly what a heart-stone was temporarily dampened my enjoyment of an otherwise fascinating tale.

I finished reading the last paragraph wishing it would never end. While I don’t know if Ms. Sharp has any plans to catch up with Liu again in the future, I hope she will consider making this into a series. Liu is a well written, likable character whose instant bond with the woman she meets illuminates both of their complex personalities. There are so many more stories to tell about these characters.

Mismatched is a nearly perfect blend of sci-fi/fantasy, romance, and smoking hot erotica. I highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates jumping from one genre to the next in the span of a few sentences.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Drowning Cactus by Carrie Russell

October 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment

CACTUS
Drowning Cactus by Carrie Russell
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (235 Pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed Cyclamen

When his botched cactus theft is mistaken for an eco-protest, Gordon Burstein is thrust into the national spotlight and expected to speak for the land he loves. He panics and runs, beginning a journey of self-discovery that takes him from spring break in Mexico, across the Sonora, all the way to Thoreau’s Walden Pond.

Press and fans scramble to track him down, but no one is more determined than Mora Sullivan, a disgraced environmentalist who has fallen hard for Gordon. She treks into the desert, determined to find inspiration and love.

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Gordon Burstein needs a job, but he really has no qualifications for much of anything. He dropped out of college, and has been fired by every landscaping company in Santa Fe where he’d come to escape from his parents and New Jersey. He manages to land a job with Rosa, an eccentric artist, but she needs cacti, preferably large, to dissect for her work. Gordon ends up stealing saguaros from Organ Pipe, and after a number of these thefts, he is caught. Rosa doesn’t want him to mention her, because her art has just become very popular, but she does give him a large check as his part of her newly earned commissions.

Carrie Russell has written an introspective novel as the two main characters, Gordon and Mora, search for meaning in their lives. Mora founded a non-profit organization SPROUTS which has just been taken over by those who want it to become highly profitable, firing her in the process. Both Gordon and Mora struggle to find their identities, and both characters are fully developed and very believable. I liked them and really felt for their dilemmas.

The story is told from alternating perspectives, Gordon in the Southwest and Mora in Massachusetts. Before long, thanks to Gordon’s notoriety as some sort of eco-protestor as well as his community service hours at a nursery, the two discover each other. Mora needs advice about setting up a cactus garden for the local students and Gordon becomes her source of information. Obviously, developing a cactus garden in Massachusetts is an enormous project, something which Gordon ends up doing mostly on his own, using the monies from his job with Rosa.

This story also has interesting minor characters who interact with Gordon and Mora, and the minor characters definitely add depth to the story and help define both Gordon and Mora better. Each of us has no doubt wondered from time to time what our purpose in life is and what we are supposed to be doing. Gordon comes up with some very simple, but extremely powerful answers and it is up to Mora to see if she can find her own peace.

This is a gentle, fun novel which gives the reader not only a good story, but a lot to think about. As Gordon wonders early in the novel, “Did he need healing, too? He didn’t have any nameable aliment but he felt some important part of his inside was hollow. Maybe it was the lack of purpose Rosa had hit on. Maybe he just wasn’t meant to amount to much and his expectations, instead of his aspirations, needed adjusting.” Well, it turns out that there is nothing wrong with Gordon’s expectations or his aspirations, and I enjoyed following his adventures as he discovers his purpose in life and just where he is meant to be, at least at this moment in time.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , ,

Glass Frost by Liz DeJesus

September 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Dragon Drop
Glass Frost by Liz DeJesus
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure, YA
Length: Full Length (220 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 5 stars
Review by: Poinsettia

When joined together, Cinderella’s slippers grant the wearer her heart’s desire. But whose wish will be granted?

When Cinderella’s glass slipper is stolen, Queen Felicia sends her faithful steward Terrance to the real world to retrieve his love and witch-in-training, Bianca Frost. The power of the glass slipper in the wrong hands could ruin peace in Everafter. Bianca must gather every bit of magic she has learned in the past few weeks to find the slipper and protect her new love. Together, Bianca, Ming, Prince Ferdinand, and Terrance venture deep into the heart of Everafter to seek clues as to who has stolen the slipper and why. Along the way, they uncover what happened to the Seven Dwarves after Snow White married the prince, but also learn the awful risk of tampering with black magic and the high price that must be paid for magical aid, even when used for good.

Bianca and Terrance’s relationship is put to the test. Through the pain of suffering and loss, Bianca must determine if following her gallant boyfriend into his faraway world is in fact her heart’s desire.

What if “happily ever after” isn’t really the end?

Besides this, increase in viagra 100mg mastercard weight, obesity or over weight is another problem for erectile dysfunction and you should take pre and post use of the popular treatment drugs. In a way generico levitra on line pdxcommercial.com you can say that there is a so-called” men’s health pills potential. ” But of course, this is not the time to get over your problem because you now have an option to buy Kamagra Polo online from the comfort of your home or office. The Unani physician first touches https://pdxcommercial.com/property/1227-se-stark-street-portland-oregon/1227-se-stark-st-brochure/ levitra on line the pulse, and checks the regular growth of arteries by fingers to diagnose the exact cause of sexual dysfunction in young men. Exercise: It expands the physical buy cialis online movement of the body including the male organ. Ms. DeJesus has worked her magic once again by taking a classic fairytale, and making it her own. She has done more than simply rework an old folktale for a modern audience. She shows readers what happened to Snow White, Cinderella, the seven dwarves, and many other favorite characters after their stories were recorded. Did they truly live “happily ever after?” As a huge fan of fairytales, my curiosity was piqued. I dove into Glass Frost, eager to join Bianca on her latest adventure into the beautiful yet dangerous world of Everafter, a place where happy endings aren’t guaranteed.

I grew to care about Bianca in First Frost, so reading Glass Frost was like spending time with an old friend. I strongly recommend reading First Frost before this book in order to have a better understanding of Bianca, her family, friends, and the land of Everafter. Bianca definitely begins to realize just how strong she is in this tale. She faces some very difficult choices and I’m pleased to say that she handles them extremely well. Bianca is only seventeen, but she can’t afford to simply live in the moment. She has to consider the future and what sort of witch she wants to become because magic, even good magic, comes with a price. Her maturity, strength, and desire to protect those she loves and put their needs before her own are very admirable, but what makes Bianca an even more realistic character is her fear. There is no shame in being afraid, and Bianca has the good sense to be more than a little apprehensive of what she might encounter in Everafter. She perfectly demonstrates the meaning of courage by doing what she needs to do even though she is frightened.

I enjoyed watching Bianca and Terrance grow even closer in this romance. Their relationship is more than a little complicated since they literally live in two different worlds, giving the term “long distance” a whole new meaning. Bianca again faces a tough choice. Is she willing to leave everything she knows behind and join Terrance in Everafter?

Bianca isn’t the only character growing and changing in Glass Frost. Prince Ferdinand is back and more entertaining than ever. In First Frost, Ferdinand struck me as a slightly self-absorbed, but good humored young man always up for an adventure. In this installment of the series, Ms. DeJesus reveals some different sides of Ferdinand. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that he can be serious and thoughtful. He even puts his charismatic nature to good use in some delicate negotiations with some bad tempered fairies. I think Ferdinand has what it takes to be a great king someday.

There are so many things to love about Glass Frost. The characters are compelling and unique and the land of Everafter is absolutely breathtaking. I sincerely hope Ms. DeJesus continues Bianca’s saga because I’d love to visit Everafter again.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Chronos Clock by Wendy L. Callahan

September 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

CLOCK
The Chronos Clock by Wendy L. Callahan
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical, Mystery/Suspense
Length: Full Length (173 Pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

Time is of the essence to everyone but her…

In 1892 Victorian London, Demetra Ashdown is a half-daemon with the ability to locate and draw Aetheric artifacts to her. When her former fiancé’s valet is held hostage and will only be released in exchange for a device with the power to control time, she must act quickly to save a man’s life. Armed with only her razor-edged fan and equally sharp wit, she feels it is her duty to ensure that the potentially-devastating device does not fall into the wrong hands.

In addition to this dilemma, she must determine if she both trusts and loves the man to whom she was once betrothed. Lord Francis Winterton not only broke her heart, but also appears to have betrayed her to the ruthless people in search of this powerful artifact. With close friend and inventor Simon Warom at her side, Demetra begins her adventure: the hunt for the clock that will save the life of the valet, and thus prevent Francis from transgressing the limits of fashionable good taste.

Demetra Ashdown decides to help Lord Francis Winterton, her former fiancé, rescue his valet who has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom. The kidnappers want the Chronos Clock, an artifact which has the ability to change time. Demetra, a half-daemon, has the ability to locate artifacts and draw them to her, and she feels that she must take charge in this case to prevent the Chronos Clock from falling into the wrong hands.

At first, you should know what the generic viagra rx medicine is. That way you are still sharing ideas, but generika tadalafil 20mg you are also likely to land back on one of our websites.Kamagra UK will be the end of your problem. It does spoil someone’s personal tadalafil best prices sexual life along with your partner. Normally, these pills are free sample levitra composed of natural ingredients like ginseng, saw palmetto, ginkgo, L-arginine, long jack, and other natural herbs that are confirmed to be successful in giving stiff and difficult erection. Demetra is a very smart and witty heroine. When she is stumped about the next step to take, she says to Francis, “If the kidnappers had any manners whatsoever, they might give you at least some clue as to where to look,” Demetra responded, offering him a slice of cheese. “However, I think it is safe to assume since they have chosen to operate outside the law, they have no manners. Therefore, we are on our own. Besides, if we find the clock, we have no intention of giving it to the kidnappers.”

Wendy Callahan has written a fun story with good pacing. I enjoyed the characters, especially Demetra, Francis, and Simon, but I would have liked to see more character development. Demetra has a sharp tongue capable of very witty repartee, which she uses effectively to keep others, especially Francis, at a distance. Unfortunately, she also succeeds in keeping her readers at a distance. I would have liked to have gotten to know her better as she has a lot of fascinating characteristics.

It was humorous to have the kidnapping victim be a valet and I enjoyed Demetra’s announcement that she was helping to find him in order to prevent Francis from exhibiting poor sartorial taste, but the plot took some unexpected turns which I, at least, found to be not quite believable. After everything was solved, I realized that it was possible to figure it out, but I think the author could have added some depth to the plot to make the ending seem not only surprising but also more plausible.

Nevertheless, this was definitely a fun read and it captured the flavor of Victorian London society. The mystery was intriguing and I think my favorite character was actually Simon, Demetra’s close friend and inventor.

I am sure that readers who enjoy Steampunk fantasy will find this to be a most engaging story with plenty of action and very amusing characters who battle fireballs and other mayhem.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Heresy by Stephen Marley

September 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

HERESY
The Heresy by Stephen Marley
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (315 Pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

We are alone in the universe, but the universe is not alone.

Rome, September, 1978

Pope John Paul I is found dead in his bedroom. No autopsy is performed.

The body of a young nun is discovered near the Vatican. The verdict, death by poisoning.

Present Day

Dominic Quinn returns to Ireland to attend his father’s funeral. His sole inheritance, a mystery dating back two thousand years. His only clues, a few enigmatic words that others would prefer stay buried – at any cost.
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Surrounded by lethal enemies, Dominic is drawn into the shadowy world of Vatican covert operations. He travels to Rome to unravel the secrets of a first-century manuscript, reputedly written by the Virgin Mary. What he finds will challenge everything he thought he knew about his past, his faith, and the nature of the universe itself.

And, in an unexcavated area of the necropolis beneath the Vatican, the evil that pursues him will clash head on with the divine.

Dominic Quinn returns to Ireland for his father’s funeral but before he knows it, he is caught up in a two thousand year old mystery. Dominic lost his faith when he found his parish priest raping his best friend, Colin. Dominic had rescued Colin, but then Dominic was sent to New York, accused by many of causing the priest’s death. No wonder he lost his faith. But he came back to bury his father and discovers that his father had kept a journal about religious matters, specifically a heretical group called the Collyridians and a first-century manuscript supposedly written by the Virgin Mary.

Suddenly Dominic finds himself involved with Vatican covert operations. Stephen Marley has written a gripping mystery novel full of suspense and intrigue. Dominic learns family history that turns his world upside-down. He is re-united with a girl he’d fallen in love with but lost track of earlier in his life. He sees visions and meanwhile, assassins hired by the insane Monsignor Chavet chase him through several countries. The pace never slows.

In addition to the fast-paced thriller, this novel is also filled with early church history and ancient science, especially concerning time and other dimensions. I found the philosophical discussions to be fascinating. Dominic realizes that modern physics regards “the cosmos as more like a vast thought than a mighty machine. Why was it so incredible that a woman, two thousand years past, with the immense resources of the Library of Alexandria, should have passed beyond the matter myth and bridged the infinite worlds of superspace, each world closer than his own breath?” Later on, Rachel adds to these thoughts with those of her own. “And, above all, there was the doctrine that Mary had never truly died. The Catholic Church hailed it as the assumption; the Orthodox Church, the dormition; the Collyridians, the Indwelling. What would it be like, in reality, to encounter a being who had bypassed death, twenty centuries ago, and moved in unseen worlds?”

Marley’s characters are well-developed and believable. I really liked Dominic, Rachel, and many of the supporting characters, and I found the villains to be terrifyingly real. The settings are vivid, putting the reader right in Ireland or Rome. And the ecclesiastical mystery is well plotted with a lot of research into ancient science and theology. Marley does juggle a lot of threads with the action so that the reader is constantly being shifted from one point of view to another. At first, I found this a bit jarring, but soon, it just seemed to be the only way to tell this intricate story. And the depth of the arguments over the Seventy-Ninth heresy were incredibly interesting.

Mystery readers who enjoy a spine-tingling thriller with an historical basis will certainly find The Heresy to be a gripping and engaging read.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Perfect Curiosity by Homer Eon Flint

September 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment

CURIOSITY
The Perfect Curiosity by Homer Eon Flint
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Historical
Length: Short Story (13 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Truly heartless? Is it possible?

Dr. Childers is one of the world’s finest surgeons. His hands never tremble and if the operation is particularly delicate, he can quiet his own heartbeat to further steady them.But brilliant as he is, he has never known love. Women are unimportant.Relationships don’t exist beyond the hospital walls. Is there something wrong with his heart? Some abnormality?

There’s only one way to learn the answer—with a knife.

Have you ever wondered if you were normal? Dr. Childers has been quietly comparing himself to others for many years, and he can not longer ignore the sinking feeling that he isn’t like everyone else.
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There is something quietly unnerving about Dr. Childers’ ability to control his circulatory system to such a precise degree. While he’s the kind of doctor I would have wanted to operate on me if I lived a hundred years ago, his bedside manner leaves much to be desired. There is an eerie coolness to his personality that makes otherwise benign conversations in this tale send a flood of goosebumps up my arm.

The ending was chilling but abrupt. I would have preferred to see the final scene expanded in order to explain what was happening in more detail. The consequences of a decision Dr. Childers makes are far more interesting than the events leading up to this choice, and had more attention been given to what happens in the last few moments of this piece it would have earned a much higher rating from this reviewer.

With that being said, this is one of the creepiest stories I’ve read this year. I read it in a well-lit room in the middle of the day, but the final scene still haunted my thoughts as I drifted to sleep that night. Good horror isn’t about frightening the reader as he or she is immersed in the story so much as it is about spooking them hours or days later as they remember what they just read. The Perfect Curiosity knows just how to do this, and for that reason alone it is well-worth picking up.

The horror and science fiction elements of The Perfect Curiosity blend so well together that this story will appeal equally to fans of either genre. I highly recommend it to anyone who is well-read in one of these genres and is curious to explore the other one. This tale is a good stepping stone in either direction.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,
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