FOUR D by Gregory Morrison
CreateSpace
North Charleston, SC
Genre: Fictional Short Story
Rating: Unusual
ISBN: 978 1463792664, $8.53, 180 pp.
Quoting from the back cover:
““Space”
If everything around you slowly disappears
“Four Rooms”
If you end up in a dark room with four doors
“The Principle of Luidgi”
If you want to change your life
“Guest”
If you decide to end your days
“What would you do?
Characters in “Four D” are fighting for their happiness, but for every one of them, the meaning of happiness is something different. For the character is “Space,” it is a choice to be made. For Elise, the character from “Four Rooms,” it is to open all doors and get out. For Luidgi, the character from “The Principle of Luidgi,” it is to change his life. Lastly, for the character from “Guest,” happiness is to meet somebody wise and trusted. But all this has a price and every one of them will pay–sometimes it is highest price.
“These tense, mysterious stories contain incredibly engaging plots that will not leave any reader feeling indifferent.”
I did not feel that these four stories were chapters of a book but actual, individual short stories. The first story, “Space,” I did not understand. My feeling was that it was written by an alien to and for aliens. The second story, “Four Rooms,” was unique and interesting. We follow Elise as she struggles to find her way out, to escape or to wake up...we’ll never know. The third story,
“The Principle of Luidgi,” was the most understandable and began with the conclusion, then filled us in. I did not connect with the fourth story, “Guest.”
I may not have fully understood these stories but I’m always intrigued by such unusual writing. Gregory Morrison says that these stories are about people fighting for their happiness–the concept unique to each character. I wonder.
Four D is Gregory Morrison's first book. It’s well edited and different. You might give it a try for a change of pace and to see if you can understand these strange, unusual stories.
Kaye Trout - February 25, 2012
WRITERS ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD Edited by Sassy Brit and C. C. Bye
The most dangerous rule-wreckers from Alternative-Read.com
Chase Enterprises Publishing
Ontario, Canada
Genre: Fictional Short Stories
Rating: Very good
ISBN: 9780978177447, $23.35, 312 pp.
Quoting from the back cover:
“We took away the rules and let them write whatever the hell they liked: This is what we got, and there’s more inside...”
Writers on the Wrong Side of the Road, an intriguing title with an artistically dramatic cover, is a collection of 18 eclectic, short stories, some with an erotica orientation: Hold-up by Lucille P. Robinson, Judgement Day by Angelika Devlyn, For Art’s Sake by Elizabeth Coldwell, Simon Seeks by Nathan I. Yocum, The Barefoot Hero by Tim Fleming, The Cenotaph by Casey Wolf, Take Two by Kit St. Germain, The Journey by Megan Johns, Triona’s Beans by Casey Wolf and Paivi Kuosmanen, THE MEAL by Mike Brecon, Seven Deadly Sins by Karen Cote, The Smile in Her Eyes by John B. Rosenman, Slumfairy by Tonya R. Moore, New Leaf by Megan Johns, Man Slaughter by Lucille P. Robinson, Pronghorns by Casey Wolf, FRAME OF REFERENCE by Mike Brecon, and Malpas by Marion Webb-De Sisto.
The editing by Sassy Brit and C.C. Bye is excellent, and the entire presentation is beautifully professional. If you like the short-story genre and want something unique and innovative, you might consider this read. My personal favorite was Malpas, a novella, by Marion Webb-De Sisto, an erotica beauty and beast.
Kaye Trout 2/18/2012
IS LIFE ONE BIG GOODBYE - One Homeless Woman's Survival Story by Rose Lamatt
CreateSpace
Genre: Memoir
Rating: Highly Recommended
ISBN: 9781466252929, $14.50, 412 pp.
Quoting from the back cover:
“Description
I blend into the walls, like other women: faceless, no expression–a dead look. I’ve lost my identity, my individuality. I no longer know myself. The other women are young, Black, Hispanic, few White, like me. Most have been abused by fathers, mothers, husbands or children. Children who don’t want to care for mothers sign them in after they have been released from psychiatric facilities. Twenty-year olds are put here by mothers or fathers after they come from drug or alcohol centers. Children don’t want to care for mothers and mothers don’t want to care for children–their own flesh and blood. If there’s a ‘me’ underneath this faceless disguise that has attached itself to my body, I want it to leave, now!
“After having been married with children, a nice home, belonging to golf country clubs, and divorce, at age 68, after surgery and medical bills, I had no choice but to move into a Homeless Shelter.
“About author
Rose Lamatt was born on Long Island, NY, the daughter of an emigrant Italian father and a mother from South Philly. She married, raised a family and lived on Long Island until moving to Florida in l985.
“Her passion for writing started at fourteen when she wrote, The Day the Russians Bombed Us, inspired by the fear of the Cold War Era. Over the years she has learned that life can change in the blink of (an) eye; and because of several blinks, she did not fulfill her passion until her first novel was published in 2005.
“She writes of her past with great respect and has learned that by giving herself, she learned the best of herself.”
Is Life One Big Goodbye is a memoir by Rose Lamatt, a 68-year old, convalescing white woman, living in a Florida homeless shelter for eight months while waiting to hear from low-income housing. We know the economy is bad but how did this woman arrive at such a place?
And, at the same time, this memoir is poignantly more than just a memoir. It addresses, with an elegant simplicity, core problems within America’s contemporary society. Lamatt writes from her subjective perspective of life in a homeless shelter–lack of privacy, changing roommates, rules, locked doors, fights, noise, chores, poor food, and goodbyes. She shares her unspoken thoughts with us, often negative...struggling to be positive.
Lamatt arrived at SHAW, Shelter for Homeless and Abused Women, possibly as the result of choices she’d made in life, which we’re all apt to make, but regardless, she was able to endure this experience and realize the spiritual benefits–new friends, extended family, an opportunity to give of herself, and a realization that we are all one.
This is the second book I’ve reviewed for Rose Lamatt. Her first book, Fears Flutterby , was about her earlier life, agoraphobia, marriage, children, friend Carol, and fourteen years care taking Carol, who eventually died of Alzheimer’s. That book, as well as this one, have touched me deeply in the sense that, “But for the grace of God....”
Since her first publication, Lamatt’s style of writing has delightfully improved. I particularly like the short chapters–each one different, each containing an element of harsh reality tempered with patience and faith. Her use of similes, metaphors and humor enrich the quality of the fabric she weaves.
What did Rose have when family and friends turned away? She had herself and her faith in the Creative Energy of the Universe.
I cannot think of anyone who would not be touched by this memoir. It is timely, honest and highly recommended.
Kaye Trout - January 8, 2012
THE FURNACE - A Locked Room SF Mystery by Timothy S. Johnston
Genre: Science Fiction Mystery
Rating: Very Good
ISBN: 9781466276659, $14.99, 390 pp.
Quoting from the back cover:
“As a Homicide Investigator working the solar system’s most remote outposts, Lieutenant Kyle Tanner has been involved in more criminal investigations and captures than any other in Security Division. He hunts his prey stealthily, tracking them through the trail of victims cast behind, and makes difficult captures when no one else can. He has seen the twisted remains, things that used to be human but are now barely meat. And he’s executed those who have done such horrible deeds.
“His most recent case takes him to SOLEX One, a power-generating station that orbits precariously near the Sun. Among the fifteen inhabitants is a killer, a disturbed crewman who for some reason has mutilated his victim. But when Tanner arrives and begins the investigation, he’s shocked to learn that this is no ordinary murder. There appears to be no motive for the crime, and no reason for the mutilation after death. But what Tanner doesn’t realize is that something terrifying is amplifying among the station’s personnel...and if he doesn’t solve the mystery, the result could be the extinction of the human race.
“The Furnace is a locked-room murder mystery, part techno-thriller, part horror, part detective story. Ardath Mayhar, author of over sixty novels, says, ‘This is a book of great tension, powerful characterization, and gripping action...Completely original and compelling. A must read.’”
I say, “Job well done.”
The Furnace is beautifully written and well edited.. definitely a page turner. Timothy Johnston is a gifted writer and has created a suspense-filled, SF mystery thriller with a little romance at the edge. The cover art by Nelson Housden is appropriate and integral to the story. The opening will grab you and hold you to the finish. Yes, I can recommend The Furnace.
Kaye Trout - December 23, 2011
KODACHROME by Jason Jahns
North Star Books
Genre: Fiction
Rating: Unusual
ISBN: 9780984749102, $12.99, 340 pp.
Quoting from the back cover:
“A global revolution cuts across cultural, economic, and geographic divides; it is an epic conflict between the forces of rampant greed and demands for fairness and dignity.
“Our two heroes are extraordinary yet solitary–reluctant warriors who never meet. Miranda Carter is a cloistered graduate student dispatched to meet her estranged Mormon grandmother and examine a bizarre medical prognosis. Zhuli Cai is an unassuming young Chinese army officer willing to give everything to save the members of his unit. He hold a heavy secret.
“Miranda and Zhuli are thrown headlong into technological and supernatural intrigue and deceit. They reckon with true impossibilities and face their own worst fears in a world of double-crosses, prophets, spies, presidential candidates, and Chinese revolutionaries.
“On its way to a truly surprise ending, Kodachrome will beguile you with thriller-like tempo, the foresight of science fiction, deep social truths normally found only in histories, and a plot that you have never seen before–anywhere.”
Kodachrome is, indeed, a most unusual novel; however, it did not capture my interest, and I found it hard going...hard to follow along. The two separate stories within the novel should not have been a problem, but I didn’t connect with either. I don’t think I can put into words where the problem lies because I’m not quite sure. When you open a new book, you hope to connect in some way and allow the author to take you on a trip, to entertain or to educate. That just did not happen for me, but it may happen for you–we all have different tastes. On the positive side, Kodachrome is well written and well edited.
If the promo on the back cover stirs your curiosity, and you want to decide for yourself, give it a read--the price is reasonable.
Kaye Trout December 17, 2011
DARKMAGE by M. L. Spencer
Stoneguard Publications
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: Very Good
ISBN: 9780615567983, $12.99, 560 pp.
Quoting of the back cover:
“The Well of Tears is open and the terror of the night has been unleashed. Now, the last Sentinel left alive with the power to defend his world against the minions of the Netherworld is a man destined to be corrupted into the image of what he hates. In the name of duty, Darien Lauchlin will see oaths forsaken, crowns toppled, friends sacrificed and the land he loves descrated. For there is a very thin line between duty...and brutalinhumanity.
“”A beautifully written tale that challenges our convictions of right and wrong.”“
Darkmage is quite the quintessential fantasy tale, and I agree, beautifully written. If you’re a fantasy fan, I can wholeheartedly recommend this epic tale. I am not particularly fond of fantasy myself but the quality of writing is worth the read. Darkmage is well written and well edited.
M. L Spencer is a consummate writer with a special gift for descriptive writing which flows smoothly and carries you right along.
Kaye Trout December 15, 2011
THE IDIOT, I Was a Lunatic from a Geordie Grangetown by David Poulter
Chipmunkapublishing
Genre: Memoir
Rating: Very Good
ISBN9781849912105, $18,00, 118 pp.
Quoting from the back cover:
“ “This world that you inhabit is really only your own mind. That is where you truly reside. And everyday you make decisions that affect your life. I give you an account of mine.”
“This strange and thought-provoking story is about a man who experiences a traumatic event in his childhood and then later develops a peculiar condition in his thirties. His experiences and ‘delusions’ lead him to think that he may have discovered a great secret that concerns all of humanity. Is he sane? And is the world crazy? Here is a conundrum that you can decide for yourself.”
The Idiot is a very unusual story/memoir. It is well written and well edited and most unique. You never really know where the author will take you next. There are elements of truth woven deeply through the fabric of Poulter’s trials and tribulations, and you sense real honesty here.
Allow me to share a section of his writing with you from page 115.
“There are many forms of the truth, we each have our own version and sometimes with hindsight and experience that may change as well. I understand now that perhaps I was just as delusional and paranoid before the onset of the schizophrenia. There tends to be a before and after syndrome with a disorder like this, yet I am essentially the same person. And like anyone who is honest with themselves I can look back and see the past for what it truly was. Maybe this condition has even given me an advantage. The garden was indeed an expression of myself, but no more than that, a book, or a painting, an experiment, an idea. A love no doubt, but also an excuse, a distraction, occasionally a lie and sometimes a failure.
“The land was certainly bewitching. I’m still haunted by its beauty, but even so this obsession translated into disregard for other matters. The upbringing of the children and their welfare were equal to my care for chickens and ducks, my wife was no more than an old horse put out to grass. I have nothing to say on these issues, I have no long descriptions of events or character assessments, conversations or otherwise. This document is about me and my life, how I acted and how I choose not to get involved anymore. Attaching oneself to people out of habit and insecurity is a stupidity. Whether karma exists or not I look back on the past and know for certain my arrogance, mistakes and fantasied led to others’ downfalls and unhappiness. I know now I am not normal, I am certain I have brain damage and the usual emotional responses are lacking. I am a vacuum and was before, perhaps the emotional center of my brain simply does not function properly. I don’t know and I will never find out the truth and I don’t care. I watch out for myself and my strange new companion. I tend to live in the moment, my mind picking up visual info, sensations and the voices. I keep in touch with my father now, he is over eighty and keen to talk on the phone. I have no hatred or malice for him. What I was told I choose to overlook, maybe it was an accident, perhaps it was congenital. With madness it is hard to trust any feelings.”
It is the honesty and quality of writing that make The Idiot a unique book worth reading. Highly recommended.
Kaye Trout 12/5/2011
