Reviews By Charline

“Soul Trapper”

Author: F. J. Lennon

I recently finished reading “Soul Trapper” from the up and coming author F. J. Lennon. I have to say I found it to be a fast-paced ride through the annals of the supernatural…

Kane Price, the somewhat unlikely hero in “Soul Trapper” isn’t your regular run-of-the-mill guy. Kane isn’t interested in a corporate job; there’s no long term relationship he’s trying to move forward to the “next step” and he has no plans for his future other than to ensure he survives to see each new day. He loves to play music but his tastes are out of sync in today’s world – instead Kane prefers to lose himself in a sound that is several decades old. He’s definitely a substance user and abuser; he has a suspicious and distrustful nature; an amazingly strong self-destructive streak and to top it all off he’s morbidly obsessed with people who have died at twenty-seven. Being that age himself, and with the life that he leads, Kane has a gut feeling that his life will be over soon too.

I forgot to mention that Kane is also a ghost-hunting legend. Dealing with the supernatural isn’t an easy life style and it wasn’t one that he chose for himself; instead it was unceremoniously dumped into his lap after his father mysteriously vanished without a trace. Somehow Kane’s father must have realized that he wasn’t going to be around much longer but before he disappeared he did manage to leave his son instructions that led Kane directly to the Soul Trap; a powerful item that allows the user to hunt down, capture and send ghosts to their preordained afterlife.

Unfortunately, even though Kane uses the Soul Trap in an attempt to do good, more often than not his efforts leave behind a wake of destruction. Kane’s actions, and the fact that he does occasionally shoot off his big mouth, eventually draw the attention of a well known female reporter. While Kane is a womanizer at least he’s smart enough to know to leave this girl alone. Or is he?

I’m not going to give any more of the story away but suffice it to say that “Soul Trapper” was a roller-coaster of a ride. Lennon is a phenomenal author; his writing style is intense and he definitely has the writing ability to make you feel as if you are personally there watching events unfold.

“Soul Trapper” is a fantastic book for anyone who enjoys the paranormal, supernatural, suspense, mystery or…just a great read. Five stars…

“Soon Come”

Author: Alan Dayno

Initially I had a difficult time reading “Soon Come” by Alan Dayno. The sentences and paragraphs were extremely verbose. The grammar, terminology and way of speaking were also quite different than what I’m used to seeing in print. After reading the first few pages I set the book down in order to mull over Dayno’s rather difficult and different writing style.

I found I had to look at Dayno’s book from the aspect of where the story is set, Jamaica, which finally made things “click” for me. Having myself never been to Jamaica its style of speaking is definitely alien to me. Unfortunately, the way that “Soon Come” is written might also present a challenge to other readers who, like me, have no first hand experience with that “island lingo.” Hopefully, if this happens, Dayno’s readers will be able to understand this book’s tale by looking at the aspect of where “Soon Come’s” story is set rather than how unusual the writing style is. Once I was able to understand Dayno’s writing style I did find it was easier to read the book and for the most part I was able to enjoy it.

In summary “Soon Come” has, within its pages, a complicated story of love and hate, friendship and romance, tangled relationships and ultimately murder. Add to that the complexities of being on an island where it seems everyone can trace their lineage back to each other, throw a huge cultural divide into the mix, adversity and man’s overall greed and I guess things like betrayal and murder could become commonplace and not such a surprising ending.

In closing, I found “Soon Come” to be an engaging read. The author, Alan Dayno, has definitely written this book with a Jamaican flair. It is also obvious from his writing style that Dayno has spent enough time there to allow him to write this story with an authentic Jamaican feel right down to some of the island superstitions. This is definitely an insightful book into their culture and I would recommend “Soon Come” to anyone who enjoys reading fiction, intrigue, murder and mystery that reads more realistically than not.

“Family Affair”

Debbie Macomber

I found “Family Affair” to be a cute story and at only one hundred and two pages (which includes the Homemade Treats for Your Cat recipe chapter) it was also a very quick read. One could almost read it completely through on a lunch hour and it would definitely provide a nice “pick me up” for anyone having a bad day.

The premise of “Family Affair” is this: Lacey Lancaster has just recently suffered through a painful divorce. Once the divorce has been finalized she uproots herself and moves to San Francisco, California intent on immersing herself in a job she can love, finding an apartment she will enjoy living in and sharing her new life with a beautiful Abyssinian kitten named Cleo. Lacey has decided to breed Cleo when she’s old enough and also plans to live “happily ever after” and she’s decided that she doesn’t need a man in order to do so.

Unfortunately she didn’t factor in her neighbor, Jack Walker, when she came up with her brilliant plan. Jack constantly disturbs Lacey’s peace and quiet at home. He argues seemingly day and night with his girlfriend, who he’s trying to convince to move in with him, and let’s not forget about his cat, named Dog, who is constantly chasing after Cleo. When Lacey finds out that Cleo is expecting, and that Jack’s mongrel that is responsible, she’s furious and understandably so. She’s even more irate when she sees Jack’s rather cavalier attitude about the entire situation.

Dealing with Cleo’s impending motherhood forces Lacey to be around Jack much more than she initially wants to be but, as time progresses, Lacey realizes that things are not as she thought they were. Jack’s “girlfriend” is really his sister and all of a sudden Lacey’s world is turned upside down as she learns the joy of “falling in love all over again.”

In summary I found “Family Affair” to be a cute read although it definitely falls into the “Romance” genre which I generally don’t read. Debbie Macomber is a talented writer and is able to convey this story in an interesting manner. “Family Affair” is a great book for anyone who loves reading romance and also a great birthday gift / socking stuffer depending on the time of the year.

“2nd Earth”

Authors: Edward and Eunice Vought

So, here’s the premise for “2nd Earth;” co-written by Edward and Eunice Vought…

Good friends and Navy SEAL comrades, Jon and Tim are on leave and headed for home. They board the subway together and since both are extremely exhausted from their most recent search and rescue operation they fall into a deep sleep. When they awaken, seemingly hours later, although they know it’s not possible, they find that the subway car they are on is completely deserted. The train is stopped and Jon and Tim are left trying to figure out what they slept through. Is this particular train’s service done for the night and they somehow missed the all the activity? Has something on the car broken and they both slept through all the noise of its evacuation? Or has something much more sinister happened?

Intent on finding an answer to their current dilemma they step off the train and into a foggy and desolate world. As they walk through this murkiness they hear what sounds like a woman screaming. Jon and Tim’s protective instincts kick in and they hurriedly move in the direction of the sounds. What they see shocks them. A lone woman is chasing after three young men while four other men who look like hoodlums are chasing her. Needless to say the hoodlums don’t stand a chance against two trained Navy SEALS especially when they know they are defending a woman’s honor.

Jon and Tim save the young lady in question and give a stern lecture to the three men who were leaving her to fend for herself. Jon and Tim then find out that this isn’t the same world they fell asleep in and they now realize they must build a new life and possibly a new civilization.

“2nd Earth” has a decent plot but unfortunately the writing skills of the authors are mediocre at best. “2nd Earth” is a strange compilation of past and present tenses throughout its entirety and the story itself drags on for four hundred and seventy eight pages. (Yes, I read them all.) Truthfully this book would have had the same impact if it had been shaved down to a mere three hundred.

While I appreciate the authors need to explain almost every little minute thing; I think the Voughts need to understand that when you’re dealing with the rebuilding of an entire culture / civilization detailing everything out becomes…tedious…to read. Not to mention that the good fortune of everyone was extremely…unbelievable…at best. Anytime anything was needed it was miraculously and almost instantaneously found. Amazing! Especially since 21st century technology was also frequently found in a 1960’s setting…

In summary, not a terrible book to read so long as you can handle the poor grammatical structure and the many, many, many pages of explanation.