Reviews By Charline

“To Kill the Duke”

Author: Sam Moffie

Having recently finished reading the fictional story “To Kill the Duke” by author Sam Moffie I can safely say this book truly gave me a “unique” look back in time to the 1950s as well as an “interesting” perspective of Joseph Stalin. While I wasn’t riveted to my seat and biting my fingernails as I read; my attention was definitely captivated.

“To Kill the Duke” is set in the fifties; right smack in the middle of the Cold War. On the one hand we have the story of Ivan Viznapu – a loyal communist who yearns to make films rather than struggle through the hardships of his current life in mother Russia. On the other hand we have Dick Powell – an actor, who became a producer and then finally a film director who works for none other than the incredibly wealthy yet amazingly eccentric Howard Hughes. What do these two lives set thousands of miles apart actually have to do with one another? The answer to that question can be summed up in one name: John Wayne.

Apparently Hughes wasn’t the only over-the-top eccentric personality of his time. It seems that Stalin was right up there with him – at least according to the tale found within the pages of “To Kill the Duke.” Hughes planned to star Wayne in a movie he was making while Stalin was determined to kill him and thereby make a statement to the world. However, I’m going to let you read the rest of story for yourself rather than relay the crazy antics of the “elite” Russian spy squad or the sometimes disturbing idiosyncrasies of billionaire Howard Hughes.

For the most part I found “To Kill the Duke” to be an entertaining read although, at times, I did have trouble with the character of Hughes. Having seen the movie “The Aviator” which focused on the life of Howard Hughes there were passages and references that seemed to mirror scenes I had previously seen in “The Aviator.” I’m chalking these similarities up to the fact that Hughes was so rich and so eccentric that everyone knew everything about him; both private and business.

In closing, definitely a fun read although not really intended for the below eighteen crowd…

“Shadows and Fire”

Author: Jennifer Fales

Having just finished reading “Shadows and Fire” by new author Jennifer Fales let me start off by saying it was an interesting read. Fales has a great writing style and the book’s characters and their dialogue are very believable which is extremely important since “Shadows and Fire” is definitely set in a Science Fiction / Fantasy world.

The premise of “Shadows and Fire” is this: more than a millennia has passed and mankind is no longer content to play “God” with our simple, common, household animals. Scientists and breeders have given up splicing animal genes together in an attempt to create that “better” housecat; that “cuter” puppy or that “faster” racehorse. Instead they have moved on to “bigger and better” or should I say “badder” even though that’s grammatically incorrect?

As evidenced in every century, wars have relentlessly raged and in an attempt to dominate those major and minor skirmishes mankind has created a hybrid species of man and beast. Using human and animal DNA the government attempted to create a better soldier; a perfect soldier. What they wound up getting wasn’t what they wanted, or expected, and as I read “Shadows and Fire” part of me idly wondered if the results would have been different had they had used human volunteers versus experimenting on those who were incarcerated but…I digress.

“Shadows and Fire” revolves around a tortured soul who has fought too long and lost too much and for what? These failed experiments were castoffs and branded “evil” by a church that Father Augustin later discovered would do anything, right or wrong, to get its way. “Shadows and Fire” also follows a set of twins, a brother and sister, who were born into this world as unwitting pawns of these failed attempts.

I’m not going to provide you with any more of this story; suffice it to say that “Shadows and Fire” is a fun read. My only complaint is that the book is a very short 108 pages. For someone who reads as fast as I do that only equals thirty minutes to get lost in a good book which honestly isn’t enough time!

“Heart of the Bison”

Author: Glen R. Stott

I recently read “Heart of the Bison” by up and coming author Glen R. Stott. While I was initially interested due to the book’s synopsis; I wasn’t overly impressed with the cover graphics (no offense to the author) but as the saying goes “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” This novel definitely hammered that home…

“Heart of the Bison” is book one in Stott’s “Neandertals” series and yes, I’m aware that I appear to be misspelling Neandertals. However, it seems Stott has done his research. To quote: “Many paleontologists spell the word with a “t” in place of the “th” to encourage proper pronunciation.” What do you know; I hadn’t even made it past the introduction and I was already learning new things. *chuckle*

So, the premise of “Heart of the Bison” is this: Kec, a young child of the Neandertals, wakes from a troubling dream. During this dream Mother Earth tells Kec that the clan she comes from is in trouble and that she must be the one to save her people. To help Kec in her efforts Mother Earth shows Kec the image of a child she will someday have; a “magic” child.

Across the same continent Strong Branch, a powerful and highly respected Shaman of his tribe, has had a dream as well. The Great Spirit shows him a child, born to his own people, whose future son will bring much dissention and discord; a distant relation of their chief who will challenge everything that Strong Branch’s people believe in.

Both Kec and Strong Branch have much thinking to do in order to correctly traverse the path that each of their deities have laid before them. Kec and her clan come from the much older world of the Neandertals; Strong Branch and his people are a less primitive race known as the Cro-Magnons. Stott’s tale meanders interestingly through these two worlds placed so close together yet so far apart but, in the end, their worlds collide and the outcome of this collision will strongly impact the fate of future generations on both sides.

In summary, a well-written, well thought out tale and anyone who has enjoyed the “Earth’s Children” series by Jean M. Auel will most likely want to read this saga as well.

“Cry For Justice”

Author: Ralph Zeta

I was recently asked if I would be willing to read / review “Cry For Justice” by first time novelist Ralph Zeta. While thrillers are not my preferred reading genre; I did agree to review this title because I know first-hand how challenging it can be finding a professional book reviewer when you’re just starting out as a writer.

The story within “Cry For Justice” is a good one and the characters are completely believable. Jason Justice, the book’s main character, is a successful attorney living in Palm Beach, Florida. (Yes, I did chuckle at the double entendre of the title.) Once upon a time Jason lived in New York and used his legal knowledge to help clients recover assets that were stolen from them. Unfortunately his father became seriously ill and that’s when Jason moved south. Not being the best at taking orders from other people Jason decided to open his own business and now he mainly handles high profile / high paying divorces because, according to him, there are three things you can count on in life: taxes, death and…divorce.

Jason’s girl-friend Nora asks him to meet with the daughter of one of her patients who recently committed suicide. The daughter adamantly believes that her step-father Evan stole everything from her financially affluent mother and then disappeared but not before he killed her; leaving Amy, the daughter, destitute and searching for help in recovering what’s rightfully hers. Knowing what these type of cases entail Jason doesn’t want to get involved but Nora refuses to take “no” for an answer.

After meeting with Amy; hearing her sad tale and seeing a picture of Evan that doesn’t sit right with him; Jason agrees to help her. What follows is a well thought out novel that doesn’t disappoint. Lots of unexpected plot twists and for the most part the reader will not be able to foresee what’s coming. The book’s back cover states: “be prepared to read late into the night” and I finished this book at 1:52 am rather than leave it until morning…

In closing, “Cry For Justice” is a great book and my only advice for the author (which should not hamper the reader’s enjoyment) is to ensure that future works are edited more thoroughly. In every book there will always be some misspelled words even though we try to catch them all. However, in the age of computers and editing programs it seems much easier to have improperly spelled words. Things like spellcheck shouldn’t be solely relied on because while a word may be “correctly” spelled that doesn’t mean it’s correctly spelled for the sentence it’s found in.

“A Life Lived Ridiculously”

Author: Annabelle R. Charbit

I’ve just finished reading “A Life Lived Ridiculously” by author Annabelle R. Charbit. It was a good book; well-written and the story / characters drew me in from the get go.

The premise of “A Life Lived Ridiculously” is this: Maxine (this story’s main character) is a Jewish girl with a serious case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Of course she doesn’t realize this; she’s done all the research on this particular ailment and none of its symptoms correctly fit what she experiences on a painful minute by minute basis. Her parents are constantly on her case to find a man; get married and settle down, after all, what woman really needs to hold a PhD in anything? Her younger brother Claude, who has always been her best friend and confidante, has apparently met “Miss Perfect” and has turned his back on his earlier days of debauchery which unfortunately also includes Maxine.

One night at a family dinner party Maxine meets Sam… Sam is a boney stick of a man who comports himself like someone who is fifty not thirty and Maxine is instantly repelled by him. However, time moves on and Sam, desperate to win Maxine’s affections, is ever present in her life until one day she does the unthinkable and actually falls in love with him. It’s at this exact moment that Sam vanishes off the face of the earth. Maxine is frantic; she worries that Sam is dead and she finds herself obsessing about him and becoming more depressed by the day.

I’m not going to give away anymore of the story but suffice it to say that “A Life Lived Ridiculously” was a page turner in a dramatic and very true to life way. I guess my only beef with this book was its title: “A Life Lived Ridiculously.” Throughout its entirety I never felt that any of this fictional tale was ridiculous in fact, more often than not, I found it to be extremely sobering. I know there are people and situations that mirror this story in real life. Regardless, “A Life Lived Ridiculously” was a great read and definitely worth four stars. Probably a “must read” for most single women too…