From Czechoslovakia to Auschwitz/Birkenau
to Gulag Vorkuta and back to Czechoslovakia Cilka is beautiful and she is a
survivor. Her body may be taken, used, and abused but her soul and memories
cannot be touched.
Starting at age 16, Cilka's journey through
pain, terror, death, friendship, betrayal, and finally love is gently traversed
through flashbacks. The plot is carefully constructed and, in the end, the
parts are greater than the whole. Morris’ careful research and interviews of
Lale Sokolov creates a historical novel that plumbs the depths of systems that
oppress and compromise the human spirit. Characters are so real the reader will
remember them as people who lived and died under circumstances hard to imagine,
yet clearly drawn. The cover draws one into the journey and dismemberment that
comes through years of survival in concentration camps and gulags. Although
this is a continuance of Morris’ novel Tattooist of Auschwitz, it is a
stand-alone novel. This book will be released 10/1/2019
To survive as a hostage in the court of Kingfountain, eight-year-old Owen Kiskaddon must find help among the adults from the king’s chilling inner chambers to the warm and inviting kitchen.
As Owen wanders the secret passages of the labyrinthine castle he learns to recognize the magic of the fountain that is bubbling through him, he gathers allies and avoids enemies among a cast of well-developed characters including the mysterious Queen’s Poisoner who dwells in secrecy.
Wheeler’s understanding and ability to express the emotions of his young hero creates a political drama that will draw in readers of all ages.
Based on the War of the Roses, but don’t expect Game of Thrones or Shakespeare’s Richard III. Thought-provoking and moving, this well-paced mystery within a clean fantasy is constructed in the often hard-to-maintain third-person point of view.
Wheeler’s writing style is straightforward – no long, flowery descriptions nor much internal dialogue. While the sentences and chapters are short, they keep the plot moving, the protagonists and antagonists creating intrigue, and the reader up late at night.
Carter, Daniel L. The Unwanted: The G-6
Chronicles (Volume 1). CreateSpace (May 10, 2010). ISBN-10: 1477479724 (sc) ISBN-13:
978-1477479728 (e)
In Chicago, FBI Agent Nick Catlin
spent months setting up a sting on Damon Hannah’s business, INYO Industries, that
supposedly focuses on high-end medical equipment. It is clear there is a leak
in the FBI team. Twice an enormous explosion
has obliterated all traces of genetic manipulation and murdered five babies and
ten or more adults. Each time Hannah has moved his operation to a new city.
Now, fourteen months after the
Chicago murders, Catlin has traced Hannah’s operation to Poughkeepsie, New
York. This time, as the explosions begin just ahead of Catlin’s raid, nurses
Janet Renard and Michele Townsend manage to get the five infants under their
care into the backseat of Janet’s jeep. Running just ahead of Hannah and
Catlin, Janet and Michele transport the children to Oklahoma. Janet’s uncle,
Leigh Barrus, her only living relative, has a vast ranch there. They fix up a cabin, far removed from any roads
or houses, and Janet and Michele take on the seemingly insurmountable task of
mothering five unwanted children.
Because of genetic manipulation the
babies grow at an abnormal rate, at twenty-four days they need solid food, at
nine weeks all can roll over in their cribs, and at four months, they speak
their first words. Each child begins exhibiting extraordinary gifts. Uncle
Leigh teaches Mama, Aunt Shelley and each of the children to keep their eyes on
God not on the concerns their gifts cause or on their fear of discovery.
The back of the book says in part: “Born
out of vengeance, five discarded children must fight to keep their family safe.
Millions of lives stand in the balance as sacrifices are made. This family will
never be the same as heroes rise and fall.”* A book where the bad guys are bad
and the good guys try really, really hard to be good.
The
cover will draw the reader into the manipulation of the DNA of innocent
children, the power, the love, and the anger that carries this book.Written as Janet’s
journal, here X-men for Christian readers begins. Mystery, science fiction,
adventure, romance: something for every tween, teen and adult that has ever
felt helpless, unwanted, or alone. Carter has incorporated his love of fantasy
and science fiction with his fascination with the spiritual principalities of
the Bible and given us a new paranormal fantasy. He gives us a book where the
bad guys are bad, and the good guys try really, really hard to be good.
Carter has penned a story that will
keep readers up at night wondering what will happen next. The tone is consistent
and reasoned, exciting and compelling, the reader will gladly suspend their
disbelief. Contemporary social, economic, ethical, and political issues are
incorporated while conforming to the reader’s expectations of an adventure in
the near future. There are enough unanswered questions and partial
possibilities to make the reader look forward to the trilogy and the series to
follow.
* The G-6 Chronicles: The Unwanted Trilogy,
http://www.theunwantedtrilogy.com/ (accessed September 8, 2012)
A high fantasy novel in the age of steam. Reviewed by Jorja Davis 7/7/2012
Buroker, Lindsay. The Emperor’s Edge. Ebook creation by Dellastar Designs 2010.
Rated PG Violence: Young Adult and Adult
Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is sent by the emperor’s regent to
seduce and kill Sicarius, the empire’s most notorious assassin. Either the
regent believes she is implacable or they want her eliminated. While searching
for a secret way out of the palace dungeons she over hears what seems to be a
plot to poison the young emperor, Sespasian.
Amaranthe begins to gather an unlikely band of heroes and comes across a
deadly fire on the waterfront. She finds arson covering human sacrifice and a
powerful coalition’s machinations to take down the empire.
Brouker brings to print adventure, romance, and
mystery in a fast paced fantasy. Her characters are flesh and blood and bring
fresh, humorous and lively dialogue to this well thought out urban fantasy.
The resilience of the human spirit.
