Book Review: Henchmen (Henchmen, #1) by Eric Lahti

Synopsis: Join a small organization of loveable bad guys: a supervillain and her henchmen. Eve, the seven foot tall, bulletproof blonde is their leader. Frank and Jean are a couple that can get into any computer or building unseen. Jacob is a rough around the edges biker type that has a deep and abiding love of guns and explosives. And Steven? Well, he’s really good at manipulating people and pretty handy to have around in a fight. As supervillainy goes, they’re just starting out. They don’t have much of a secret base. They don’t have matching uniforms. Not a one of them owns a single pair of tights. What they do have is an interest in tearing down the country and watching it burn. 

There’s just one little problem, though. No matter how tough and smart a small group may be, tearing down a country is almost impossible for five people to pull off, so they while away their time pulling small jobs and putting together as much advanced technology as they can. 

A chance encounter at a sushi bar has led them to a young woman with a terrifying secret she doesn’t even know she possesses. The Yakuza wants to use her to put pressure on a missing father. No one’s entirely certain exactly what the secret is, but it smells like a weapon and it might be just the sort of thing to help topple a nation. 

They’re done pulling small jobs. Now they’re aiming for the top – because why bother robbing jewelry stores when you can topple governments? 

Yakuza gang fights. 

Incursions into high-security, top-secret government buildings. 

Picking fake fights with losers in bars. 

A psycho ex-coworker who has some strange friends. 

And a well-dressed older gentleman who haunts dreams. 

It’s all in a day’s work for Steven…one of the world’s most dedicated and dangerous… 

HENCHMEN

Review: Well, if you have read the synopsis, you will stay around for the review. First things first, who says that synopses have to be short? The above is long but tells you all you need to know, but like most crime thrillers, you have to read the book to discover the rest.

Henchmen by Eric Lahti centres its attention around Steven, a gun for hire, though how he actually gets hired is a stroke of genius fiction. As I was reading the story it reminded me all that was best about America, but also the worst.

It does not, at any time, seek to glorify the violence in the story, which is frequent, occasionally strong, but always in context. Add in the fact that the first person narrative is so well written, that you are placed directly amongst the action. I swear I could feel bullets whizzing by my head and punches to my mid section.

Here's another reason why this book worked for me - the author has a great command of martial arts knowledge, and tells these particular scenes as a true exponent of the art of Kenpo. Styles aside, the author clearly demonstrates his knowledge of fighting and how those skills translate against the antagonists of the story.

The narrative is fast paced, but whilst the plot itself is grand in scope and detail, it's the dialogue that is the winner for me. Lines like:-

"....no one starts a gunfight over breasts."

"They do in Texas."

First person narrative like this:

We're not into graves in my family, just incinerate and toss to the breeze.

He pulls out some kind of tool that I swear is a leftover prop from Ghostbusters.

If that's not got you reaching for the 'buy' button (see below) how about this for a chapter title?

A Hot Chick, A Tough Guy and a Valkyrie Walk Into a Bar.

Beats 'Chapter 23', doesn't it?

The story never strays far from its core plot, the Henchmen are a group that individually, are as different as can be. When you read the character of Eve, you won't ever mix her up with another person. The characterisation is simply excellent here. Yes, there are quite a lot of characters, that perhaps extra readings of this book would flesh them out a bit more, but for me, Steven, Eve and the delectable Jessica are the stand out characters in this first in the series.

There's a little social commentary and the occasional political statement here and there, but it is never preachy and flows pretty flawlessly with the narrative.

The setting is Albuquerque for the most part, and although I haven't been to New Mexico (sorry, the nearest I got to was LA) I have imagined it with dust filled desert roads, a vast remote landscape, interspersed with the kind of modern buildings the government would have us call a city.

Ultimately, Henchmen is much more than a revenge story, though there is little doubt Steven's targets deserve to be iced. It is much more than a heist story, though there's great fun to be had when the group go on their hits. 

Here is the debut novel of an author that understands his audience. I wanted to be thrilled, entertained and have a chuckle along the way. Now click the link below to understand what I'm on about.

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Dream the Crow's Black Dream (A Tale of Vampires, #4) - NEW COVER REVEAL!

Hi everyone. By necessity I have updated the cover for book four in my vampire series. it will be some time (2016 in fact) before Reunion of the Blood (Book 5) hits the shelves, so  hope you like this new version.

A great theme of the book is the crow, and what the significance is when it appears. It is fitting that it graces the cover.

There's an angel in the top left. This is necessary to give readers hope that evil won't necessarily win out.

The bird itself is perched on something. What is it? What does it all mean? Read the book, and the series to understand!

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Book Review: Ivy's Envy (Want & Decay Trilogy, #1) by Latashia Figueroa

Synopsis: Latashia Figueroa’s riveting Want & Decay Trilogy follows the entangled lives of three people tormented by lust, jealousy, madness and murder. In this first book, Ivy’s Envy, Ivy James has had a history of violence with the men she falls for. Her grandmother and parents know what Ivy is capable of when things don’t go her way. 

Now Ivy has become obsessed with Thomas Miles, a man who works at her office. She is certain that Thomas loves her too. But there are people who stand in the way of Ivy and Thomas finally being together, like his wife, Deana. Determined to have the love that is their destiny, Ivy will go down a very dark and twisted road to make Thomas hers, and hers alone. But Ivy is not the only one who has dark secrets, and everyone involved will soon learn that pursuing love and passion to the extreme can lead to terrifying consequences. 

Review: Wow! Talk about a book that could not be put down! Ivy's Envy starts with a bang, continues to hold one's attention throughout, and ends with the kind of ending that would have any reader drooling with delight.

I tend to err on the positive side with my reviews, but I really cannot find anything to fault with this story. It's a short read, well told, with superb characterisation. It's also told from first person perspective, so everything you read puts you in Ivy's head, and that is a dangerous place to be.

Ivy seems to be beyond redemption. She's bad, wicked and so evil it is likely fresh roses would wilt when she would walk by them.

Her obsessive nature - to get what she wants, usually, a man she wants, means that she succeeds for a while, as all psychopaths do. They start to believe their own hype.

The story works because whilst it moves fast, it is brilliantly paced. I would not hesitate to read the later books in the series. This story hits you over the head with one revelation after another. It's all believable. It totally works, and yes, it could happen in the real world.

The ending was quite something, and closes this part one very nicely indeed. 

I don't think I've read a book this short (1-2 hours maximum read time) that left me reeling. It has made an incredible impact. It's a horror of the highest order - for the most part it reads like a mystery, with elements of romance. But the horror parts are clever, subtle, and utterly brilliant.

You will love it.

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Book Review: The Experiencers (The Valiant Chronicles, #1) by Val Tobin

Synopsis: Black ops assassin, Michael Valiant, questions the motives of the government agency that hired and trained him when they order him to neutralize members of a UFO group. After his wife dies in what appears to be a traffic accident, Michael, with the help and support of his partner, pushes aside his doubts and immerses himself in the jobs he needs to complete.

When Michael learns the truth about his wife's death, and uncovers the Agency's true motives, he turns rogue, and helps Carolyn Fairchild, one of their targets and a psychic medium, escape capture.

Their journey takes them from a town in Southern Ontario to the Algonquin wilderness, where they must elude not only the agency that wants to silence them, but also the aliens who want to retrieve Carolyn at any cost. When the aliens come for Carolyn, she is forced to choose between saving herself and saving her daughter, and Michael faces the prospect of losing Carolyn forever.

The Experiencers is the first book in the Valiant Chronicles series of novels. Book two will be released in winter 2015.

Review: The Experiencers is a uniquely engaging read that has an extremely interesting protagonist in Michael Valiant, the aforementioned Black Ops operative in the synopsis. If you look at the story from his point of view, you will read the story in one particular way.

We are introduced to Michael early on, so readers can tell his role will be a pivotal one. An educated guess says that he is the one on the pretty excellent cover.

Later chapters introduce us to Shelly, who is having an affair with a man, whilst considering breaking it off out of some well placed loyalty to her husband.

The early part of the book reads like bottle episodes where the link with the later episodes seemed initially unclear, but that was just my perception. Actually, if you look at the book as a whole, a rather intricate storyline emerges. This is what I think makes The Experiencers a true gem. It's like one of those Russian Dolls. You believe you understand it, you believe you know the characters and their motivations. 

But this is book one in the series, and if you read between the lines, you'll begin to be amazed at the attention Val Tobin has given to her characters.

Each are well drawn and developed. Carolyn was on a par with Michael for me, as I have a spiritual side and the way she explores her talent is pretty amazing. 

Then...there's the aliens. Quite honestly, there is so much going on with this story it demands at least a second reading, which is what I chose to do.

If anything, the second reading is much more enriching. I felt empathy for characters that really didn't touch me on reading one; I imagine as the author constructed her edits for the book, she may have felt the same.

For a debut, this is an extremely well written tale that I imagine will be perfected in book two. I would definitely recommend this book and would give it a very strong 4.5 stars. (So 5 on Amazon, 4 on GoodReads).

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Book Review: Write Your Novel! From Getting Started to First Draft by Maggie James

In a nutshell: This book is more than it appears to be.

We've all seen them. The endless help guides, many of them good, some of them just plain awful, others are middling. What's clear from the opening pages is that merely reading this book won't be enough. Of course, what readers will expect from this kind of book is one that is well written and easy to follow.

But Write Your Novel is so much more than that!

This book is simply bursting with great ideas. I thought I had a good writing system in place, but the Pomodoro exercise is excellent, and writers really should put this into practise.

There are things mentioned in the book that I cannot comment on even though I have heard about them and their merits - Scrivener, for example. Maybe I will take the plunge on this one day!

Other elements mentioned, such as NaNoWriMo - well I attempted this in 2014 and wrote 37,000 words in that month. The fact I did not complete the 50,000 challenge did not bother me, because I was working on other writing projects at the time.

But I can see the use of it as a motivational tool.

One of the things I liked most about the book was the use of inspirational but relevant quotes dotted throughout its pages.

This made more sense here than just a random Twitter or blog reference. It meant a writer could put the motivational quote into practise there and then.

I really loved how the author broke down pretty much every aspect of writing. The segment about

"You're a human being. you'll have been through joy and sorrow...."

"...put these emotions into your writing and your characters." (para)

This is good. It may seem like common sense but so many stories I read are ruined because whilst some thought has been put into the story, almost zero effort has been put into the character creation.

There's too many points to really reference here, but I especially liked this one:-

A shiver of fear ran up my spine, making my hair stand on end.

As a horror writer I loved this, (not the line, but the example) but it is so obvious we can as writers write the same thing three times over in the same sentence, when one element would have sufficed.

The book doesn't stop there. The character breakdown is a little over done (political views may not apply to my characters, but may do to yours) but this is better than selling the character short.

Basically, if you are in dire need, or moderately dire need of getting that novel written, this book works as a guide, motivational support, an ass-kicker if you are slacking, and a deep resource guide to make your book the best it can be.

At just over 100 pages long it seems like it may be too short to have anything new to offer. I consider myself reasonably experienced at this writing journey and yet I felt I learned loads from this book.

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Book Review: Skin Cage by Nico Laeser

Synopsis (from the author): Daniel Stockholm was fifteen years old when a parasite hijacked his brain, rendering him paralyzed and reliant on machines that run day and night to keep him alive. 

For nine years, Danny has been confined within a biological prison with only two small windows, through which to view the world around him; a silent witness to the selfless compassion of some and the selfish contrivance of others. 

When the malicious actions of care worker, Marcus Salt, threaten to push Danny farther from the ones he loves, and deeper into the dark recesses of his skin cage, he is left with only one option. He must find a way out.

Review: Nico Laeser is an author name you would remember, and Skin Cage is such  a strange and affecting title for a book. Then, you consider the artwork, which just adds to the overall strangeness. The synopsis adds another level to this - and then - you start reading.

Skin Cage holds the reader's attention from the start, telling us the story of Daniel (Danny) who gives clues to his state. He is paralysed, and can hardly move anything, save for his on occasion or when his head lols to one side or another whilst being repositioned in his chair.

It is told in first person perspective. I've told a few stories like this already and it is a skill that most authors cannot pull off effectively. Ultimately, if you don't care about Danny, the first person narrative starts to grate. However, the author has been smart in keeping his chapters short but utterly readable. It's not a book you can skip parts on and understand what is going on. The author treats his reader with respect by saying 'you're in Danny's head with his thoughts, and in his body through his skin cage - if you casually skim past stuff, we will punish you by not filling in the blanks.'

Here is a story where each word, each sentence and paragraph has been painstakingly thought through before committing to paper and screen. 

Danny's view of the world is a strange one. He has his carers, some, like Cassie and Anna, who genuinely care about him. There are others, like Marcus Salt, who seems to be the villain of the story, but again, Skin Cage is not so explicit in the difference of black and white. 

Despite the engaging narrative and thoughtful 'thoughts' of Danny, which are always interesting, the story is never heavy, but neither should it be taken as light reading.

In the first third of the book, I found myself clocking up the chapters even though I hadn't sat through and read it for say a solid hour. By the second third (forgive me, I have an ice hockey past!) things take a dark and twisted turns. A few 'a-ha' moments arrive. That's not the end of it. Or the start.

By the final third, there was only one thing to do - finish reading this elegant and articulate story and find out the ending. It's hinted at where the story is going. But once Danny escapes his skin cage - a sequence that I thought was brilliantly highlighted in the synopsis but wondered could it possibly work in its execution - wow,  is all I can say.

Skin Cage sounds dark, twisted and disturbing. It is. But it is also funny, engaging and well worth anyone's time and money to read. I say that with the confident knowledge that this book is fighting against millions of others to be seen.

Scenes where a nurse is wondered a character may harm themselves should be disturbing. Instead, the author gives us a humourous scene:-

"Can I have a pen and paper?"

(pause)

"I'm not going to kill myself with it."

Another scene.

I would love to have the use of my body for long enough to deny him the further use of his.

There's a scene with a car that was my favourite moment in the entire book. It's so good, you will simply have to read it. I must also apologise to the author -Skin Cage has been on my read list for ages - but thankfully, it's been read now. I hope this review will help others to read it sooner than I did!

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Book Review: You're Not Alone - An Indie Author Anthology by Ian D Moore and Friends

Synopsis (from the author): An international group of indie authors, inspired by the personal grief of one, decided to collaborate in the spring of 2015 in a project to create this multi-genre smorgasbord of original short stories, all with the same potent theme – relationship. Some are heartfelt, some funny, some poignant, and some are just a little bit scary – much like relationships themselves. All are by authors fired by the shared enthusiasm to give something back in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. 100% of the profit made on the purchase of this book, in any format, goes to the charity. Cancer touches us all. It has in some way affected those who have contributed their time and talent here. This is our way of showing that we care.

 Indie authors carry forward a revolutionary shift in publishing, which allows the author to be creative director in their own work. There are many exceptional, experienced and acclaimed writers who have decided to take this bold step in publishing. In producing this anthology we have also had the inestimable assistance on board of artists, graphic designers, and bloggers – all of whom have a place in our acknowledgements. You, the discerning reader, are the other vital part of this equation. By buying this book you are supporting the work of indie authors, as well as discovering their worth. You are also supporting the charity to which we have chosen to dedicate our work.

100% of the royalties earned or accrued in the purchase of this book, in all formats, will go to the Pamela Winton tribute fund, which is in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Review: Now this is going to be tricky. How can I review a book that features so many authors, some whom I am familiar with, others less so? 

I'll start with an admission. I treated this much like an LP (remember those) or a CD of an album I had bought, where I knew some of the more famous tracks. That's right - I read the authors I had previously read first. Not sure why I did that, but maybe it was because I had read a book of theirs already, in most cases it had been a full length novel they had written. Fully understanding the difficulty of condensing a story into a novella format, I wondered if they could pull it off.

Before I dissect the stories themselves, I would like to pay a special tribute to Ian D Moore for pulling this off - bringing so many authors together was no easy feat, and yet with You're Not Alone, that's what we have right here. 

Add to the fact that the proceeds contribute to a worthy cause - Macmillian Cancer Care, and there is yet another reason to buy this book.

Readers of course, will want to know what it is all about. Here goes.

There are stories that pay an obvious nod to people affected by cancer, and I pay tribute to them for tackling such a hard subject. My own father went from an apparently healthy man to death's door within a matter of weeks, once this brutal disease had taken hold. The fact he had long left the marital home was irrelevant. Whatever differences he and my mother had did not disguise the fact that he was a human, and this disease tore him apart.

I suppose the overriding theme of these stories in You're Not Alone is that whoever has been touched by cancer, there is some hope, some feeling that it can be beaten. Even where it wins - it's a temporary win, because it cannot kill the love held for that special person.

With so many stories in the book, and many authors who I hold in high regard - being indies takes away none of your talent (who says established authors have got this writing thing down anyway?!), I don't wish to highlight some at the expense of others, yet I feel I must. Otherwise this review could turn out to be a book in itself.

Kayla Howarth's "Dad" is a poignant story that really pulls at you. (Having read her excellent Institute series, where she brings us a dystopian world that works), I found myself thinking about that story long after finishing it. I'm not saying it is the best of the tales, but my, does it hit home, and yet is never depressing or self-serving.

Ian D Moore is the man who brought the collection together, and his story One of Those Days is a truly brilliant story that left me absolutely floored. If you want genius in a few short pages, you could not go wrong here.      

Lesley Hayes'  A Year Afterwards opens the collection, and having read her Oxford Marmalade collection of short stories, I can say reading one of her works again was like a guilty pleasure - you know it's going to be good, professionally written as befits an author of her considerable experience, and well, I loved it.

Tom Benson's  Goals demonstrates the breadth and depth of this author. I read another collection of his and his short story here is an easy pick, and will be remembered by those who read it.

Now this review is starting to look like a love letter to independent authors. Not all the stories hit a home run, but it would be unfair to expect that. What I can say is that each other has given their all here, so if the tale didn't quite work for me, it doesn't mean that someone else wouldn't absolutely love it.

A title that stood out for me was Witch's Mark by Katerina Sestakova Novotna. Now this lady can spin a tale or two - her own Hawaiian Lei of Shrunken Heads was the oddest and yet utterly beautiful collection of stories I have read this year. I knew she would hit the heights again with an amazing tale. Her story is worth the book price alone.

An author I was not familiar with was Anthony Randall. Anyone who had relied on the little black box in their car will empathise with this wickedly clever story. For my own part, the satnav got me to Cornwall, only to direct me towards a cliff....thanks for that!

The Birth by Lucinda E Clarke is truly jaw-dropping. Make this high on your list to read!

Babes by Max Power shows the depth and sheer talent of this man. I have not read anything of his since Darkly Wood (still my book of the year so far)

There are some authors here whose individual books I have not read, but am about to. Nico Laeser, Angela Lockwood and Eric Lahti are authors to watch.  If you are unsure, look through the names. There is a wealth of talent here.

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