Category Archives: reviews

Spectre Review

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n7ypO2ATJJOKZhQTOmc8t7FNoZxDaniel Craig’s stint as James Bond has been overall pretty good. Even though I didn’t think a reboot was needed, Casino Royale was a fresh take on the mythos and really did a great job bringing Bond into the twenty-first century (much like GoldenEye did for a post-Cold War Bond).

Quantum of Solace was a hot mess and the less said about that the better. But Skyfall felt like a return to greatness in more ways than one. The third act was a little bit of a mess and I didn’t think we needed a Home Alone-esque showdown. But Silva was in the mold of a classic Bond villain, we got to see some of the old staples of the series return, and it set the stage for a neo-classic Bond film. So I was really excited when it was announced that Craig’s fourth outing would be titled Spectre.

For those of you who aren’t Bond aficionados, SPECTRE was the name of an international organization run by Ernst Stavro Blofeld in both the Bond novels and the Connery/Lazenby films. He appeared in shadow beginning with From Russia With Love but was shown in full in You Only Live Twice (played by Donald Pleasance). But due to legal issues, EON Productions wasn’t allowed to use SPECTRE or Blofeld for decades. Now that’s all been resolved and SPECTRE was brought back.

So how was the film? Well…it’s no Casino Royale and it’s not quite the neo-classic I’d been hoping for. But it’s still pretty good.

Before I get too deep into this, please note that spoilers are going to follow. If you haven’t seen Spectre and care about spoilers, then you should probably turn back now.

The movie hits a lot of familiar notes. This is a movie for people who are very familiar with the entire film series. There are tons of callbacks to earlier movies, from locations to clothing to characters. And as someone who really missed those elements in the Craig series to date, it was wonderful seeing them again.

The basic story is more or less pretty good. Spectre is basically trying to convince the world that they need more surveillance and that they need to share that intelligence with others, so Spectre will have access to all the world’s intelligence data. It’s a story that has real relevance in the modern day and also has some commonalities with Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

But where things start to get shaky is with Franz Oberhauser’s relationship with Bond. Here’s the biggest mistake made with this film: the movie’s called Spectre, the head of Spectre is played by Christoph Waltz, but everyone involved tried to claim that he wasn’t actually Ernst Stavro Blofeld. That was total bullshit. Of course Waltz was playing Blofeld. Everyone knew that from the start. It was the same kind of lying that JJ Abrams tried to pull with Star Trek Into Darkness, when he swore up and down that Benedict Cumberbatch wasn’t playing Khan.

There was simply no need for this deception. It was a waste of energy. And the big reveal had me sitting in my chair going, “Yeah? What else is new?”

The second big misstep is the Bond/Blofeld relationship. One of the revelations in the movie is that Blofeld and Spectre have been working behind the scenes of all of Bond’s enemies—Le Chiffre, Dominic Greene, and Raoul Silva. It makes sense with Le Chiffre and Greene at least, Quantum was essentially a poor man’s Spectre anyway. Silva’s a bit more of a stretch. But Blofeld’s reason for this? Because when Bond’s parents died, Blofeld’s father adopted him and Blofeld resented the attention his father gave Bond.

Not only is this completely unnecessary, but it also strains believability. Blofeld kills his father, changes his name, builds up a terrorist organization, and coincidentally his adopted brother who he hates also becomes a 00-agent and their paths are going to cross.

Blofeld doesn’t need to have a past with Bond in order to be a threat. Mads Mikkelsen’s Le Chiffre was the most brilliant of all the enemies Bond faced off against, the most ruthless as well, and yet they had no personal connection whatsoever. But Le Chiffre was a far more effective villain than Greene, who was partly responsible for Vesper’s death, or Silva who also had this weird twisted familial view of Bond and M.

All that being said, the movie is very entertaining and it’s definitely a step in the right direction for the series. The future is up in the air. Waltz has said he’d come back for the next two films in the series, but only if Daniel Craig does as well. Craig isn’t contracted for any further films and he’s been pretty vocal about how difficult a film like this is to make, so it’s unknown if he’ll come back for any future films.

You can pick up Spectre online at Amazon or iTunes.

If you enjoy spy fiction, consider checking out my Infernum series of books.

Review of Final Fantasy VII: A New Threat by M.J. Gallagher

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coverThose who know me well are no doubt aware of my obsession with Final Fantasy VII. It was the first RPG I ever played in my life and it was one of the most incredible games I’ve ever experienced. I was fourteen when I first played it and I was hooked from the start.

I loved the world of Gaia and the story of this ragtag group who came together to defend the planet from the threat of Sephiroth and the Shinra Electric Power Company. I started an online role-playing group based on the game (and have even managed to stay in touch with some of the members) and I wrote stories based on those role-playing sessions.

Those stories became the first book I ever wrote, a sort of retelling of the story of FF7. And it was godawful. But it taught me a lot about writing and it was the start of my fanfiction career, where I met many authors that, like myself, have gone on to become published.

With the news of the remake of Final Fantasy VII, it gave me a desire to play through the game again. And as I was playing it, I started to think about my days writing those fanfic stories. And I thought, “maybe I should write a novelization of the game and give it away for free online.”

I won’t be doing that now, though. Because M.J. Gallagher has already beat me to it. He’s written two books based on the game—A New Threat and The Man in the Black Cloak. Not only is he planning to write a novelization of the game, but it seems like he’ll also write out the entire saga including material from The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.

It’s an epic project to undertake and certainly far more expansive than I’d ever considered.

I just finished reading A New Threat and it’s pretty good. Gallagher does a great job of capturing the personalities of the characters in a way that rings true to the game (still fresh in my mind after my most-recent play-through). He also puts some little touches that answer questions I know I’ve certainly had—such as how does Cloud carry around that big sword on his back or how does Barret load ammunition into his gun-arm? Gallagher gives very quick and simple explanations for things like this that made me go, “ahh yeah, that makes sense.” Those little touches are some of the best things about the book.

A New Threat begins at the start of the game and focuses on the story of Midgar. The book ends after Cloud recounts his story about Sephiroth and Nibelheim. And for the most part, the story works very well.

While the characters and the story are great, it’s not without its flaws. I think Gallagher spends a bit too much time on unnecessary description and found myself skimming some of those longer passages. I found the decision to spend so much effort on description a bit curious, especially as several battles from the game are omitted altogether. For example, the Guard Scorpion and Airbuster battles from the mako reactor missions don’t happen at all and the first mission Cloud undertakes for AVALANCHE goes off pretty much without a hitch.

Another thing I found strange was the almost total exclusion of materia. Anyone who’s played the game knows what a big role materia played in the game. For those unaware, the materia system was a way of giving your characters special abilities, such as the power to use magic or summon monsters in battle. While Gallagher mentions materia, he says that most of it is manufactured by Shinra for military purposes and so it’s very tightly controlled. While I can understand that logic, the lack of magic does make it feel like the story is lacking something. Cloud at the very least should have access to some materia from his time with Shinra and maybe mention that AVALANCHE has connections to black market materia suppliers.

Overall, these complaints are pretty minor nitpicks. If you’re a fan of Final Fantasy VII, I highly recommend this book. I’ve already begun The Man in the Black Cloak and am enjoying it as well.

Since this is an unauthorized novelization, you obviously can’t buy it. It’s available for free at Gallagher’s site, Axtelera Ray. At the time I’m writing this review, the site is under construction, so if that link doesn’t work, you can also download it from Free-Ebooks.net. Gallagher also has a Facebook page for the series.

 

UPDATE: Shortly after posting the review, the author contacted me via Twitter to thank me. He also sent an additional tweet letting me know where people can get copies of the book directly while the site is under construction:

If you’re an FF7 fan, I recommend contacting him. It’s worth the time.

Want Free Books?

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freebooksWho doesn’t love free books?

Well, I’m giving you a chance to get all the free books you can handle. I’m starting up an Advance Review Team. What this means is that you’ll receive free copies of my books before they’re released so you can have a chance to read them and post a review once they go live on Amazon.

Reviews are one of the most important things for indie authors. A book with a review count in the single (or low double) digits will have a very difficult time gaining any sort of traction in the marketplace. And books that have less than a hundred reviews are far more likely to be ignored by the most powerful book marketing services, like Bookbub. But unfortunately, only a small number of readers post reviews.

That’s why I’m starting up this Advance Review Team. I’ve got about twenty spots on the team to fill and if this is something you’re interested in, then please read on!

What I’m looking for are people I can count on. I understand that not everyone will have the time to read and review every single book I publish as soon as the book goes live. But I am looking for people who I can rely on to review these books. To that end, I ask that you send me a link to a review you’ve written for one of my titles. If you haven’t written any reviews yet, then you can do so right now (and don’t forget, if you haven’t read any of my books, both Love & Bullets and The Lost Continent are available for free).

I ask that reviews at the very least be posted on Amazon. If you’d also like to post the reviews on other sites, that’s fine. But Amazon is the only place I require for the team members. Reviews don’t have to be long and they don’t even have to be positive—they just need to be honest.

Just fill out this form and I’ll get back to you:

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Thank you for your response. ✨

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Fat Vampire review

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71M38ko-5bL._SL1012_Fat Vampire starts off really good. The first book in the series is without a doubt the best. Anyone who’s listened to the Self Publishing Podcast or Better Off Undead/Worst Show Ever knows that Johnny B. Truant is a really witty guy, and that definitely shines through in this book. There were so many lines that had me chuckling and the scene when Reginald is running had me in stitches.

As the series goes on, the humor becomes a lot more subdued. While this is made up for in a really intriguing story and some great characterization, I did find myself missing the humor of the first book. The fourth and fifth books felt a little slow for me, but the sixth book ended the whole series on a perfect high note.

Truant’s imagination really shines through in the sixth book. It’s hard to say too much about it in this review because I don’t want to spoil it for new readers, so let’s just say that Fat Vampire 6 may as well be a textbook case study in world-building. There’s a lot of thought put into many different aspects of the world, but it’s never told in an info dump fashion and is instead dolled out in little bits just when we need it.

The humorous bent of the first book is what caught my eye, but it’s really the characters that kept me reading. Reginald is an extremely endearing character, someone that I think many, many people can relate to, and he plays wonderfully off the diverse supporting cast. There are quite a few characters in this series, but every one of them manages to have their own unique voice, something that can be difficult to pull off.

Although I missed the laughs of the first book, this was still an extremely enjoyable read and one that I recommend.

Pick up Fat Vampire: Big Fat Box Set on Amazon or iBooks.

Justice Calling by Annie Bellet

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22836752The cover is what really captured my attention with this book. It’s a beautiful piece of artwork and does a wonderful job at conveying the kind of experience you’re in for. Jade Crow is a comic shop owner in a town populated by shifters, and she herself is a sorceress hiding her true nature in order to keep both her and her friends safe. But when a Justice, basically a shifter version of an investigator, comes to town, she gets drawn into an adventure that risks her exposing herself to the forces that are searching for her.

The book’s a lot of fun. Bellet has a wonderful voice and sense for dialogue. And that really pays off, because the book is written in first-person from Jade’s POV and it results in some very snappy prose. The action is very clear and easy to follow and I love that Bellet doesn’t waste any words. It’s a short read, but I found that to be a benefit as I prefer these kinds of shorter books.

As far as weak points, although I’m a geek myself, I did find some of the geek references to be a bit overdone. The major quibble would be that I didn’t feel the main villain was as developed as he could be.

But there is a sense in the book that you’re just getting a taste of a much larger world and adventure. I enjoyed it enough that I’m planning to continue on with the second book.
Pick up Justice Calling from Amazon or iTunes.

X-Men: Days of Future Past – The Rogue Cut

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X-Men-Days-of-Future-Past-Rogue-Cut-Cover-ArtI was pretty disappointed when I didn’t find out until after I bought X-Men: Days of Future Past that there was an extended edition that wouldn’t be released for another year. I’m not going to pay Fox twice for the same movie, so I just rented this one instead. And I’m glad I didn’t buy it again because there’s not a whole lot this extended edition brings to the table.

NOTE: Some spoilers follow, so you may not want to read on unless you’ve seen this.

There are some extended and additional scenes in the movie. We get to see a scene where the future X-Men actually have a chance to act as real people and not just special effects. There’s a great scene with Bishop—who appears to be the leader of this future group—debates the ethics of time travel with the older X-Men, arguing that if they do this, he and the rest of his team may never even be born. It’s a really good scene that should have been in the final cut. And I wish we got more moments of this where we can see the other characters get an opportunity to shine. It would have been preferable to rehashing the Magneto/Xavier bromance for the fifth time (and counting if my predictions about X-Men: Apocalypse prove true).

There’s also another scene where Mystique returns to the mansion and gets pretty affectionate with Beast. It was a pretty good scene, but it’s mostly held up by Jennifer Lawrence. Nicholas Hoult is still incredibly miscast as Hank McCoy. He’s got none of the humor or wit that characterizes the Beast.

It’s kind of funny that this is called “The Rogue Cut” because Rogue has such a small presence in the movie. The basis for that title is for an added sequence in the future. In the theatrical cut, when Wolverine sees Stryker in the past for the first time, he has a freak-out that causes his body in the future to spasm and he accidentally injures Kitty in the process. Kitty manages to hold it together for the rest of the movie, though. But in this cut, Iceman says she can’t hold out much longer and tells them that if they can get Rogue, she can take Kitty’s powers and keep Logan in the past. Magneto and Professor X think Rogue is dead, but it turns out she’s still alive and being held captive in the mansion, experimented on by the Sentinels’ human conspirators.

The three mount a rescue attempt, with Xavier piloting the jet and Magneto and Iceman breaching the mansion. This is a great scene where we get to see Ian McKellen being a badass Magneto (probably for the last time). They free Rogue at the expense of Iceman, who’s killed, and take her back to the base where she takes Kitty’s powers and keeps Logan in the past. It also shows how the Sentinels found the X-Men because as they were trying to escape, a Sentinel latched onto them and though it was thrown off, its arm remained, signaling its brothers.

So Rogue’s presence in this movie is pretty much the same as it was in the other movies—she’s a damsel in distress who needs rescuing and ultimately does nothing of any real consequence. Which is a real disappointment for a character who is so dynamic in the comics.

A lot of the other problems with the movie are still there. Evan Peters is still basically playing Impulse instead of Quicksilver, there’s far too much reliance on the Xavier/Magneto bromance, and I really wish we would have seen more of the future. The few glimpses we got with the human conspirators and the added interactions between the future X-Men tell me that’s where the really interesting stuff was happening.

5000 Words Per Hour

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5000-words-per-hour-300x200If you’re serious about improving your productivity as a writer, then you should definitely read this book.

Writers are constantly being told that they should increase their word count, but making that jump from a few hundred to a few thousand words an hour can seem very daunting. Fox lays out a system that should work for anyone by laying out incremental steps to improve your productivity. Although some of this may seem obvious if you’ve read other books on writing productivity, it’s still helpful to read this.

One of the things I was told was to use the Pomodoro method when writing, which sets 25-minute timed sessions with 5-minute breaks. This is a good system, but Fox begins with 5-minute sprints and then builds from there. That’s wonderful for writers who might be coming to timed writing sessions for the first time.

The book flows extremely well. Fox writes in a very casual style that makes it feel like you’re having a conversation with him. I blew through the entire book in one sitting. One of the helpful aspects is that if you just want to read the book straight-through before doing any exercises (something I often do), Fox includes all the exercises in an appendix at the end to remind you that you should do them (and it also makes them easily accessible so you can go back to them later or quickly jump to them for reference purposes).

Also, if you have an iOS device, be sure to get the companion app to the book. Up until I downloaded the app, I was using a combination of timers and then had to leave a post-it on my wall to remind myself to enter my word count into a spreadsheet. The app does all that together and it makes tracking incredibly easy.

This is a book I will be recommending to every writer I know.

Pick it up on Amazon and get the app on iOS.

Black Star Canyon: The Complete First Season by CC Wall

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bsc1CC Wall is really resurrecting a style of writing that many unfortunately consider to be dead. With a clear influence of soap operas, TV dramas, and pulp fiction, Wall weaves together a tale of a creepy town that will keep you turning pages. The serial format is really the perfect way to tell a story like this and ebooks have made this possible. It’s a style that I wish more authors and readers would embrace as there’s so much potential in the serial format.

A lot’s been said about Wall’s treatment of the mystery and the characters, but what really grabbed me the most about the first season of Black Star Canyon was the prose. Wall writes in an almost staccato-like manner and though it may be jarring for some, I found it to be very effective in conveying the nature of the story world.

I’ve already got seasons two and three on my Kindle and am looking forward to continuing the adventure.

Pick up Black Star Canyon: The Complete First Season on Amazon!

Mythworld by Russ Anderson, Jr.

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711kppP3zLLAs a child, Charlie Reese witnessed something incredible. Now as an architect and fresh out of college, he’s just gotten his first big break working for Harold Lightfoot, billionaire owner of the world’s fastest delivery service. But Harold has another identity, that of Hermes, the Messenger of the Olympian Gods. He wants to bring back worship of the Olympians, and for that he needs Charlie’s help.

The premise of Mythworld and the beginning of the book will no doubt remind some readers of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. Like in American Gods, Mythworld introduces us to a normal guy who gets sucked into a world where mythological gods and goddesses are real and how humanity’s waning belief in them has caused problems.

But the similarities really end there. Mythworld is its own story, and it’s a damn good one. Anderson himself has described the book as American Gods meets The Matrix and it’s easy to see why. When the action starts, Anderson cranks the dial up to 11 and then breaks off the knob.

Charlie is a very well-drawn character and no matter how fantastical the plot gets, he helps keep us anchored. The book is over three hundred pages, but it doesn’t feel like it. I found myself getting sucked into the narrative and especially the dialogue.

To date, Mythworld is the best book I’ve read this year. And though it’s only May as I write this review, it’s going to be very difficult for any other title to top it.

Pick up Mythworld from Amazon.

The Descendants Volume 1

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24241603I first discovered comic books in the early 90s. I was a huge fan of the X-Men and Batman: The Animated Series and my brother, whose sports collectibles shop sold comics as well, shipped me some unsold issues of various comics. Although I first came to comics in the 90s, I became quickly addicted and through the use of my local library and back-issue bins, quickly began devouring older stories from the Silver and Bronze Age. And of the comics I read, the Bronze Age ones were undoubtedly my favorite.

For those who aren’t aware, the Bronze Age of comics generally refers to the period between 1970-1985. There was also a mixture of darker, more socially relevant storytelling. This is the era that brought us such classic stories as The Dark Phoenix Saga, The Night Gwen Stacy Died, Snowbirds Don’t Fly, and Frank Miller’s groundbreaking run on Daredevil. But even with the darker stories, there still remained elements of the fun of the Silver Age stories (unlike comics that followed and continue to this day, where grim ‘n’ gritty is used as a shortcut for good storytelling).

It’s clear that Landon Porter and I are cut from the same cloth, because The Descendants definitely follows in the mode of those stories. The group of young superhumans we meet in Welcome to Freeland House have some been through some trying situations, but they still maintain their youthful exuberance and act just as any other teenage kid would act. And like the Bronze Age comics of old, Porter gives us short, self-contained stories with larger story-arcs playing in the background.

Porter proves himself a master of the serial format, expertly weaving in and out the multitude of character arcs and plotlines that never drag on for a page longer than they should.

Some of the story elements didn’t win me over as much. I didn’t quite understand why the story was set in the future as the setting seemed like it could easily be the modern-day. I also wasn’t very fond of the non-powered friends of Warrick and Cyn. But the interactions of the residents of Freeland House, particularly Warrick and Cyn, more than make up for these weaker points.

Pick up The Descendants Complete Collection Volume 1: Welcome to Freeland House from Amazon or read it in serial format at the website.

If you’re looking for more superhero action, check out my Vanguard serial (issue #4 coming out Monday, April 20th!).