C. J. Daley
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this one! The audio by Ramón de Ocampo was pretty solid!
The premise for this is that Liam’s mother is a screenwriter for tv. Her big idea gets picked up for the latest Shark Night on the Danger Channel and her big promise is that Liam will NOT have to be the kid inside the tank. Naturally, we know that’s not going to be true.
As usual, this has all the silliness, the cliffhanger endings, and all the possible scares it could…just like the Goosebumps books. I’m just always curious as to why these separate releases aren’t just GB. He has a very signature style anyway. I wonder if it’s a Stine or a publisher thing.
This was enjoyable and silly and quick, exactly what I’d want and expect from a Stine read. The only snag for me was the fact that it’s literally called Shark Night (both the book and the channel’s special) and yet the shark has the most limited page time? Especially when other ‘things’ have more.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this one! The audio by Ramón de Ocampo was pretty solid!
The premise for this is that Liam’s mother is a screenwriter for tv. Her big idea gets picked up for the latest Shark Night on the Danger Channel and her big promise is that Liam will NOT have to be the kid inside the tank. Naturally, we know that’s not going to be true.
As usual, this has all the silliness, the cliffhanger endings, and all the possible scares it could…just like the Goosebumps books. I’m just always curious as to why these separate releases aren’t just GB. He has a very signature style anyway. I wonder if it’s a Stine or a publisher thing.
This was enjoyable and silly and quick, exactly what I’d want and expect from a Stine read. The only snag for me was the fact that it’s literally called Shark Night (both the book and the channel’s special) and yet the shark has the most limited page time? Especially when other ‘things’ have more.
This is part of the author’s forthcoming A Stitch Between Worlds, but as it also has a live separate release, I wanted to share a review for it here as well.
This is a futuristic story, taking place in what felt like a Blade Runner-esque Japan, where memory has become the only form of currency. And just like with dollars and cents, where there’s profit, there’s always someone wanting more. The rich covet, investing in people who are referred to as Hard-Drivers, aka those kept safe like a piggy bank of others memories. This has some thriller notes that were reminiscent of the film In Time, and some of the more scifi notes involving memory recall/replay that are hit upon in the movie of the same name, Rememory.
Felix and Jock are on the run. Wanted by the authoritarian, or perhaps even empirical, OneWorld. The deal they made with the yakuza is only going to keep them safe for some long. The seemingly all-powerful Nagasaki will do anything to remain in power and have memories to spare.
What follows is a fast paced technothriller that plows straight on into an all out revenge story. The scifi elements lend themselves well to a cyberpunk dystopia, and the central theme made for a unique and addictive read.
This is part of the author’s forthcoming A Stitch Between Worlds, but as it also has a live separate release, I wanted to share a review for it here as well.
This is a futuristic story, taking place in what felt like a Blade Runner-esque Japan, where memory has become the only form of currency. And just like with dollars and cents, where there’s profit, there’s always someone wanting more. The rich covet, investing in people who are referred to as Hard-Drivers, aka those kept safe like a piggy bank of others memories. This has some thriller notes that were reminiscent of the film In Time, and some of the more scifi notes involving memory recall/replay that are hit upon in the movie of the same name, Rememory.
Felix and Jock are on the run. Wanted by the authoritarian, or perhaps even empirical, OneWorld. The deal they made with the yakuza is only going to keep them safe for some long. The seemingly all-powerful Nagasaki will do anything to remain in power and have memories to spare.
What follows is a fast paced technothriller that plows straight on into an all out revenge story. The scifi elements lend themselves well to a cyberpunk dystopia, and the central theme made for a unique and addictive read.
Went with audio on this, Justine Eyre and Holly Palance do a good job. One did the narration when the main character wasn’t involved, which I liked somewhat less, but was still enjoyable. The other, voicing the main character, Frankie, did a fantastic job.
Death Warrant is the largest TV show of all time. It features people who have chosen to sign up and be killed off for the enjoyment of millions. The seemingly only positive side, the advertisement earned in the episode is paid out to the loved one of their choice. It’s usually in the millions.
At the novel’s start, Frankie is interested in signing up. She’s a professional mentalist, doing odd jobs mostly, but she does have a bi-weekly night show as well. While she’s not unsuccessful, her brother suffered an accident, where he received brain damage, and therefore he’s hardly scraping by with his old student loans chasing him. So Frankie wants to clear those debts for him forever. The thing is, whether the network decides to work with them or not, they’ve mastered wiping the interviewees memory, so that they’ll have absolutely no memory of the attempt. No desire to re-sign up, and no stressing the supposed day of death.
This felt similar to Mark Towse’s The Generation Games, while not involving ageism, they both travel down to one of the most extreme natural conclusions to where the world could go. With the growing violence of shows, games, movies, where will the need to outdo eventually take us? And I loved the little tidbits in this one that were somewhat scifi-esque that showed it was near future, while not taking away from the story.
I really enjoyed how the author does not tell the reader whether or not Frankie was accepted into the program. And when things start going really well for her, and her success is on the rise, it’s always on the back of the readers mind that the big day could be coming. I really thought this was a good showing of how good things come to those who wait, or even, good things are right around the corner if you just hold out. Especially because the TV show itself is just a high paying form of suicide. The twist at the end does kind of subvert my feelings on that being what the author’s actual message was, but I still enjoyed where it led to regardless.
Went with audio on this, Justine Eyre and Holly Palance do a good job. One did the narration when the main character wasn’t involved, which I liked somewhat less, but was still enjoyable. The other, voicing the main character, Frankie, did a fantastic job.
Death Warrant is the largest TV show of all time. It features people who have chosen to sign up and be killed off for the enjoyment of millions. The seemingly only positive side, the advertisement earned in the episode is paid out to the loved one of their choice. It’s usually in the millions.
At the novel’s start, Frankie is interested in signing up. She’s a professional mentalist, doing odd jobs mostly, but she does have a bi-weekly night show as well. While she’s not unsuccessful, her brother suffered an accident, where he received brain damage, and therefore he’s hardly scraping by with his old student loans chasing him. So Frankie wants to clear those debts for him forever. The thing is, whether the network decides to work with them or not, they’ve mastered wiping the interviewees memory, so that they’ll have absolutely no memory of the attempt. No desire to re-sign up, and no stressing the supposed day of death.
This felt similar to Mark Towse’s The Generation Games, while not involving ageism, they both travel down to one of the most extreme natural conclusions to where the world could go. With the growing violence of shows, games, movies, where will the need to outdo eventually take us? And I loved the little tidbits in this one that were somewhat scifi-esque that showed it was near future, while not taking away from the story.
I really enjoyed how the author does not tell the reader whether or not Frankie was accepted into the program. And when things start going really well for her, and her success is on the rise, it’s always on the back of the readers mind that the big day could be coming. I really thought this was a good showing of how good things come to those who wait, or even, good things are right around the corner if you just hold out. Especially because the TV show itself is just a high paying form of suicide. The twist at the end does kind of subvert my feelings on that being what the author’s actual message was, but I still enjoyed where it led to regardless.
Wow. Dumbrell offers up his best novel yet, taking everything he learned while crafting the Pillars of Peace trilogy, and improving on every level.
The novel begins with the author crafting up another signature world that feels both fantasy, and historical. The Cadraelian Kingdom has been expanding its borders for years, the men are weary, and some call for an end to the war. However, that has left the unconquered lands at the kingdom’s borders that much more uneasy. This new world is filled with more than names, there are hints of backstory, battle name drops, historical references, and old wounds. The author’s ability to create more than one world that feels full and lush and real is immensely impressive to me. And his ability to name things that just sound right is uncanny.
Inside this world, the author has crafted another unbelievable cast of characters, and this time, there’s an awful lot of them. A royal family, the king’s ministry of six, love interests, bordering leaders, and so much more. They’re dynamic, multilayered with heart, pride, fear, anger, and corruption. This is a very dialogue forward novel, as you will find with many mystery elements, and the author handles it all with a deft hand that will keep you turning pages long after you were supposed to go to sleep.
The character of Prince Leander, while certainly less than faultless, is crafted in such a way as to rival even that of Cyrus from the Pillars of Peace. While Cyrus is memorable in his purity and goodness, Leander is built from the ground up with the thought of an overbearing, quick-to-anger, and quick to drink, King of a father in mind. Therefore his imperfections ring as real, fleshed out character traits. Heavy is the head that’ll wear the crown, and this heir just might meet his fair share of pitfalls.
As readers will see from the acknowledgments, the author sought to create a fantasy world and then mesh it with the murder mystery genre most commonly dominated by the queen of mystery herself, Agatha Christie. And while I’m no expert, I certainly have quite a bit of experience with both fantasy worlds, and the works of Christie. Having just finished now, one of the most impressive things to me is that while the book was starting out, I thought the author was spending time to grow his vision for his world. And while it’s true he was, he was also already sowing the seeds for what was to come, dropping hints and clues along the way, from the very beginning. It takes a particular set of skills to know where you’re heading while still building the basis for your characters’ existence, and Dumbrell smashed it.
One thing that tends to worry me about the fantasy/mystery blend is that when it includes certain types of action, the deaths can kind of just feel like an addition to the body count, whereas in a mystery, death is not a common occurrence, and therefore it’s jarring and startles the reader. While the author references war and violence, it does not actually take place within this story, therefore subverting the typical issue, and making the murder mystery gruesome and out of place even in a royal palace.
And while there are hints of a more graphic nature, the deaths that follow certainly earn a stamp of approval in the arena of Christie mystery writing. And without spoiling, the author also does a fantastic job of injecting Christie into a powerful twist with a very surprising turnaround. And much like a Christie ending, no one leaves the novel unscathed.
…There is also a man with a mustache and cane…how could there not be???
Another smash hit release to tell your moms, dads, daddies, and even unborn nephews about. Really feels like a natural evolution for the author, almost as if the small snippet of the King’s poisoning from The Look of a King was expanded into its own story. Very well done.
“Inaction is action’s more dangerous sibling.”
Wow. Dumbrell offers up his best novel yet, taking everything he learned while crafting the Pillars of Peace trilogy, and improving on every level.
The novel begins with the author crafting up another signature world that feels both fantasy, and historical. The Cadraelian Kingdom has been expanding its borders for years, the men are weary, and some call for an end to the war. However, that has left the unconquered lands at the kingdom’s borders that much more uneasy. This new world is filled with more than names, there are hints of backstory, battle name drops, historical references, and old wounds. The author’s ability to create more than one world that feels full and lush and real is immensely impressive to me. And his ability to name things that just sound right is uncanny.
Inside this world, the author has crafted another unbelievable cast of characters, and this time, there’s an awful lot of them. A royal family, the king’s ministry of six, love interests, bordering leaders, and so much more. They’re dynamic, multilayered with heart, pride, fear, anger, and corruption. This is a very dialogue forward novel, as you will find with many mystery elements, and the author handles it all with a deft hand that will keep you turning pages long after you were supposed to go to sleep.
The character of Prince Leander, while certainly less than faultless, is crafted in such a way as to rival even that of Cyrus from the Pillars of Peace. While Cyrus is memorable in his purity and goodness, Leander is built from the ground up with the thought of an overbearing, quick-to-anger, and quick to drink, King of a father in mind. Therefore his imperfections ring as real, fleshed out character traits. Heavy is the head that’ll wear the crown, and this heir just might meet his fair share of pitfalls.
As readers will see from the acknowledgments, the author sought to create a fantasy world and then mesh it with the murder mystery genre most commonly dominated by the queen of mystery herself, Agatha Christie. And while I’m no expert, I certainly have quite a bit of experience with both fantasy worlds, and the works of Christie. Having just finished now, one of the most impressive things to me is that while the book was starting out, I thought the author was spending time to grow his vision for his world. And while it’s true he was, he was also already sowing the seeds for what was to come, dropping hints and clues along the way, from the very beginning. It takes a particular set of skills to know where you’re heading while still building the basis for your characters’ existence, and Dumbrell smashed it.
One thing that tends to worry me about the fantasy/mystery blend is that when it includes certain types of action, the deaths can kind of just feel like an addition to the body count, whereas in a mystery, death is not a common occurrence, and therefore it’s jarring and startles the reader. While the author references war and violence, it does not actually take place within this story, therefore subverting the typical issue, and making the murder mystery gruesome and out of place even in a royal palace.
And while there are hints of a more graphic nature, the deaths that follow certainly earn a stamp of approval in the arena of Christie mystery writing. And without spoiling, the author also does a fantastic job of injecting Christie into a powerful twist with a very surprising turnaround. And much like a Christie ending, no one leaves the novel unscathed.
…There is also a man with a mustache and cane…how could there not be???
Another smash hit release to tell your moms, dads, daddies, and even unborn nephews about. Really feels like a natural evolution for the author, almost as if the small snippet of the King’s poisoning from The Look of a King was expanded into its own story. Very well done.
“Inaction is action’s more dangerous sibling.”
Huge thanks to Shortwave Media for the physical arc!
Holy cow. This book was freaking awesome, and so compulsively readable. I know the blurb likens it to Goosebumps already, but it really felt like an amped up, adult version to me. The chapters that flashed forward, featuring different sets of people, all read like Goosebump-infused interludes. And with some pretty horrific outcomes.
When bong hits and spliffs aren’t enough, best friends, Barry, Lars, Frankie, and Snaps, take a fateful trip to Lars’ sleazy uncle’s house. All for the promise of a great high… through teleportation. Some clearly explained, and rather scientific reasonings linking the story to The Philadelphia Experiment, make the reader buy in immediately. The rest is history. Some dangerous, mutilating, and deadly history.
The four best friends convince Lars’ uncle to give them a copy of this killer VHS, the ultimate teleportation device, which leads them to make their own copies. The years that follow are different for each of them, but no less gruesome across the four.
Millican does a great job of creating some unique and awfully gross body horror. And I really enjoyed the evolving and differing scenes he painted in each instance the teleportation goes wrong. Some of them brought to mind the multi-zombie from The Walking Dead: Dead City, and the murderous blob from the end of Evil Dead Rise.
The single human world, the differing dimensions, infiltration, as well as the ending, really introduced some intriguing and really unique thoughts on how teleportation could possibly work, and how it could go wrong. So while this story was an absolute blast for me, it also introduced some things that I’ll be thinking through for some time.
Huge thanks to Shortwave Media for the physical arc!
Holy cow. This book was freaking awesome, and so compulsively readable. I know the blurb likens it to Goosebumps already, but it really felt like an amped up, adult version to me. The chapters that flashed forward, featuring different sets of people, all read like Goosebump-infused interludes. And with some pretty horrific outcomes.
When bong hits and spliffs aren’t enough, best friends, Barry, Lars, Frankie, and Snaps, take a fateful trip to Lars’ sleazy uncle’s house. All for the promise of a great high… through teleportation. Some clearly explained, and rather scientific reasonings linking the story to The Philadelphia Experiment, make the reader buy in immediately. The rest is history. Some dangerous, mutilating, and deadly history.
The four best friends convince Lars’ uncle to give them a copy of this killer VHS, the ultimate teleportation device, which leads them to make their own copies. The years that follow are different for each of them, but no less gruesome across the four.
Millican does a great job of creating some unique and awfully gross body horror. And I really enjoyed the evolving and differing scenes he painted in each instance the teleportation goes wrong. Some of them brought to mind the multi-zombie from The Walking Dead: Dead City, and the murderous blob from the end of Evil Dead Rise.
The single human world, the differing dimensions, infiltration, as well as the ending, really introduced some intriguing and really unique thoughts on how teleportation could possibly work, and how it could go wrong. So while this story was an absolute blast for me, it also introduced some things that I’ll be thinking through for some time.
Updated a reading goal:
Read 50 books in 2024
Progress so far: 50 / 50 100%
Thanks to Cemetery Gates Media for the physical arc!
This is a rereleased story, that has been updated and elongated along the way from the original. The release also features two forewords, an afterword, as well as extra stories. The additional content from the author was cool as it kind of felt like being included in the know.
This story has all the makings of something right up my alley. Someone running from a shady past, a small town, one that’s filled with old traditions and dark secrets, and it’s a cop crime story. The opening is eerie and has all the makings of a creepy atmosphere that could have kept the reader guessing. The witness testimony, as well as the evidence tape, could have grown into something really mysterious.
Unfortunately, this story is quite short, and doesn’t really have the legs to get that atmospheric feeling out there. It relies heavily on the plot, and kind of barrels ahead full throttle until it eventually comes to its short end, petering out. Charlie, while being an interesting character, doesn’t actually have that much to lose, and with it being so short, it kind of feels as if his backstory is just thrown in.
The ending is rather straight forward, with little to surprise the reader. And while that isn’t always a problem for me, I did feel like it happens just to happen, to have an end. Most of my enjoyment was saved by some of the characters, so while it was short, I didn’t entirely dislike it.
The short stories that accompany, according to the afterword, all connect in a singular way, or a theme, but for me they still felt kind of just tacked on. Especially with the longer story being the actual release. Again, not always bad, but in this case, unnecessary. I'm not sure if this will be a hit with folks, but if you're looking for a quick crime story this could be it.
Thanks to Cemetery Gates Media for the physical arc!
This is a rereleased story, that has been updated and elongated along the way from the original. The release also features two forewords, an afterword, as well as extra stories. The additional content from the author was cool as it kind of felt like being included in the know.
This story has all the makings of something right up my alley. Someone running from a shady past, a small town, one that’s filled with old traditions and dark secrets, and it’s a cop crime story. The opening is eerie and has all the makings of a creepy atmosphere that could have kept the reader guessing. The witness testimony, as well as the evidence tape, could have grown into something really mysterious.
Unfortunately, this story is quite short, and doesn’t really have the legs to get that atmospheric feeling out there. It relies heavily on the plot, and kind of barrels ahead full throttle until it eventually comes to its short end, petering out. Charlie, while being an interesting character, doesn’t actually have that much to lose, and with it being so short, it kind of feels as if his backstory is just thrown in.
The ending is rather straight forward, with little to surprise the reader. And while that isn’t always a problem for me, I did feel like it happens just to happen, to have an end. Most of my enjoyment was saved by some of the characters, so while it was short, I didn’t entirely dislike it.
The short stories that accompany, according to the afterword, all connect in a singular way, or a theme, but for me they still felt kind of just tacked on. Especially with the longer story being the actual release. Again, not always bad, but in this case, unnecessary. I'm not sure if this will be a hit with folks, but if you're looking for a quick crime story this could be it.
This is a debut epic fantasy from a new voice in the indie community. I saw the cover and was intrigued, and the author offered me a copy to give it a read.
This novel has the tone and scope of a classic fantasy. The reader can feel the world is large, rich in history, and that each place fits into the world for a different reason. There is culture, intrigue, and mystery, as well as one hell of an epic opening.
Lorian, an inquisitor and servant of the aristoi, travels the world seeking out those who break the rules and use forbidden magics. He is a formidable character who, while not entirely likable, sees his way into multiple situations where he is outnumbered our out-powered just to ensure others are safe.
There is definitely some notes of Martin within the story, where the undead, especially in the winter cold, bring to mind the whitewalkers, however there are some fouler beasts at play here too. And just like with Martin, I do wish the undead being included would have come to more of a head. Especially because I was so interested in them.
While the opening is huge, the climax of the story is much more about the culmination of threads from earlier and the alleviation of the mystery, than any set of action beats. With that there is additional mystery, as well as room for so much more. This reads like a story spanning weeks/months within a series that could span even years.
In intriguing debut with an awesome cover, and so much lore that you’re going to need book two immediately.
This is a debut epic fantasy from a new voice in the indie community. I saw the cover and was intrigued, and the author offered me a copy to give it a read.
This novel has the tone and scope of a classic fantasy. The reader can feel the world is large, rich in history, and that each place fits into the world for a different reason. There is culture, intrigue, and mystery, as well as one hell of an epic opening.
Lorian, an inquisitor and servant of the aristoi, travels the world seeking out those who break the rules and use forbidden magics. He is a formidable character who, while not entirely likable, sees his way into multiple situations where he is outnumbered our out-powered just to ensure others are safe.
There is definitely some notes of Martin within the story, where the undead, especially in the winter cold, bring to mind the whitewalkers, however there are some fouler beasts at play here too. And just like with Martin, I do wish the undead being included would have come to more of a head. Especially because I was so interested in them.
While the opening is huge, the climax of the story is much more about the culmination of threads from earlier and the alleviation of the mystery, than any set of action beats. With that there is additional mystery, as well as room for so much more. This reads like a story spanning weeks/months within a series that could span even years.
In intriguing debut with an awesome cover, and so much lore that you’re going to need book two immediately.