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Book Review: True Fiction by Lee Goldberg

True Fiction by Lee Goldberg

Thomas & Mercer, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1503949188

Available: Hardcover, Kindle, audiobook, MP3 CD

 

Lee Goldberg is a skilled screenwriter who has written for hits such as Monk and Diagnosis: Murder, among others. He has written 15 Monk tie-in novels, each filled with the humor that made the show rock; and readers have figured out that Goldberg is one hell of a storyteller. In True Fiction, already a best-selling thriller, Goldberg spins a wild tale about a novelist caught up in a real-life plot that he penned himself. The writing and wit are razor-sharp, and the characters will keep readers laughing throughout.

Ian Ludlow, author of the Clint Straker novels (cheesy thrillers that are included within the text via hilarious snippets), once worked with the CIA to dream up scenarios for the agency to solve in global disasters. When a plane crashes into a Honolulu hotel, he realizes that he wrote about that exact event during a retreat with several of his contemporary thriller writers. He discovers that one by one, the writers who participated are dying off, with Ludlow himself surviving an assassination attempt that led to a broken arm.

While on a book tour, Ian and Margo, his author escort (who also works as a dog walker) find themselves on the run from those truly behind the attacks. Margo serves as a perfect foil for him as they escape together in the most improbable ways from enemies who can see their every move.

True Fiction is a wild, fun ride that doesn’t let up until the final page. Goldberg tells a masterful, fast-paced story with a perfectly balanced mix of humor and action, as the novel straddles the line between the thrilling and absurd. Highly recommended for fans of Goldberg’s shows, great storytelling, or simply a rollicking, good read. This would make a great film and thankfully, is planned to be a series of books.

Posted on March 29, 2018 by , Reply

Graphic Novel Review: Mr. Higgins Comes Home by Mike Mignola, art by Warwick Johnson-Caldwell

Mr. Higgins Comes Home by Mike Mignola, art by Warwick Johnson-Caldwell

Dark Horse, 2017

ISBN: 9781506704661

Available: print, ebook

 

Mr. Higgins Comes Home is an original graphic novel by Mike Mignola and Warwick Johnson-Caldwell. The household at Castle Golga are planning for the annual festival of Walpurigsnacht, as a pair of vampire killers question a man locked in a monastery on the Baltic Sea. The last thing Mr. Higgins wants to do is relive the last moments of the death of his beloved wife, and be reminded about the terrible thing that happened to him. The problem is that the vampire hunters are persistent, and will stop at nothing to destroy all vampires that plague the land. To do so, they feel they must have the help at the exhausted and frightened Mr. Higgins. When the trio do manage to get themselves into the castle, things don’t quite go as planned; Mr. Higgins reveals just why he didn’t want to go there in the first place, and why he insisted upon his own imprisonment.

 

This is yet another fantastic story by Mike Mignola, and is set unexpectedly outside the universe readers are used to seeing. There is no Hellboy, and no BPRD in this setting. The horror setting is also well paired with some great humor. Johnson-Caldwell’s artwork complements the story nicely in that he selected a very different colour palette for the typical Victorian setting. Colors are brighter, while somewhat muted, and the art style is simple, yet communicates the necessary details to the scenes. If you are a Mignola fan, you really should pick up a copy of this book. You will not be disappointed. Recommended.

 

Contains: some violence

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

Posted on March 20, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: Welcome to the Apocalypse, Book One: Pandora by D.L. Richardson

 

Welcome to the Apocalypse, Book One: Pandora by D. L. Richardson

CreateSpace, 2016

ISBN: 9781370736201

Available: Paperback, eBook(Kindle, Smashwords)

 

Want to get away from it all but don’t have the time?  Want to experience an apocalypse firsthand?  Want to be a hero and save people from zombies or aliens?  Then welcome to the apocalypse!  In this science fiction thriller, the Apocalypse Games are the latest in virtual reality simulation gaming; twenty-four hours of simulated terror in a fully immersive virtual world where anything can happen.  Using the latest technology, players are attached to a pod with a neural network that enables them to feel, taste, touch and, smell everything they encounter.  Each player starts alone and empty-handed.  Each must find a weapon, find the enemy, find safe zones, and find survivors.  It is survival of the fittest, in a kill-or- be-killed world.

 

Welcome to the Apocalypse, Book One: Pandora has a really good premise, and I was really looking forward to it.  Unfortunately, it didn’t deliver what I had hoped for.  While the plot and setting were laid out well at the start, as the story unfolded it became harder to sort out what was going on.  The ending was really abrupt, and I still wonder what happened.  The descriptions and action parts were generally well-constructed, and flowed nicely.  The characters were pretty distinctive and easy to keep straight.  The fun part of them was that some were virtual reality characters and some were real people.  The author had several instances of telling instead of showing, and there were many instances of poorly worded sentences that were confusing and hurt the flow of the story.  The story could also really use some help with editing. Spelling and duplicated or missing words throughout the made it really hard to stay immersed in the plot, and this really made the story fall apart for me.  I have not read this author’s work before.

 

Reviewed by Aaron Fletcher

Posted on March 18, 2018 by , Reply
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