Month: March 2019

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#BookReview: Primal Thirst by Kent Holloway

In Kent Holloway’s Primal Thirst, we start out with Jack, a cigar chomping professor/ cryptozoologist/ adventurer in the Amazon chasing a supposedly mythological creature – and get pounced on by real cats at the edge of a ravine! Barely escaping that calamity, Jack gets offered a simple job with a lot of money behind it. Fly immediately to Malaysia, rescue a Senator’s daughter, and fly her home safely. Nothing to it, right?

Except that she’s beautiful and the remote tribe she is working with is being slowly slaughtered by creatures that a) are not supposed to exist b) IF they exist, they are supposed to be no more than a foot or two tall and c) are over 4 feet tall! Oh, and they suck you dry of blood… without leaving a mark on you.

Can our daring adventurer save the day? What are these creatures? How did they get so big? And why does some former Soviet who is intent on overthrowing the Malaysian government want the oldest of the creatures for himself?

Well, you’re just going to have to read this book to find out!

*Disclaimer: I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This review of Primal Thirst by Kent Holloway was originally published on February 27, 2013.

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#BookReview The Djinn by Kent Holloway

This is my first book from J. Kent Holloway… and it most certainly will NOT be my last!

The action starts off with King Solomon (you know, ancient Jewish king, Son of David, Solomon’s Temple, all that jazz) thirsting for knowledge – and nearly paying for it with his life.

Several centuries later, during the Crusades, a new man – Baron Gregory – seeks the same knowledge. He has been sent to Jerusalem, blessed by the Vatican with the mission of finding the Urim and Thummim… except that isn’t why he’s *really* in Jerusalem.

As he nears completion of his actual goal, a specter begins showing up and kidnapping his men. Those few who see it and remain to tell the tale speak of a living shadow that smells of brimstone. They call it… The Djinn, based on Saracen/ Muslim folklore of spirit beings between humans and angels.

What is The Djinn? What is its goal? You’ll just have to read the book to find out. Well paced with lots of intrigue and action, as I noted in the title of this review, this is a book you REALLY don’t want to put down!

*Note: I received my copy of the book free from the author (who happens to also be the publisher) in exchange for an honest review.

The review of The Djinn by Kent Holloway was originally published on February 13, 2013.

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#BookReview Project Nemesis by Jeremy Robinson

gotta admit, I’ve never really been a fan of the Godzilla-type stories. Not in movie form, and I’ve certainly never read a book about them.

And then I picked up Robinson’s Project Nemesis – specifically because it was written by Robinson.

Now I can’t wait for my second strange beast book!

The basics: Guys find something in Alaska. Later, one of the guys heads a team working on human regeneration. Hands some strange DNA to his team after they have gotten close, but not close enough. Tissue with the new DNA seems to finally work.

Only it has side effects that are only learned too late. The human grown without a brain, specifically to harvest its organs, *lives* after having its heart cut out.

Meanwhile, a Homeland Security office chief goes to investigate Sasquatch. The local (female) Sheriff finds him after a night of drunkeness and first meets him in his boxers. Together, they stumble upon a secret facility that is not what it seems.

Just as a strange beast lays waste to the place…

If you’ve never heard of Robinson, there’s really not a bad book to start with from him, and this is no exception. It has some similarities to his Chess Team books, and even a passing resemblance to his Last Hunter series. Pick this one up. You won’t be disappointed – and you may well have found your new favorite author.

This review of Project Nemesis by Jeremy Robinson was originally published on February 10, 2013.

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#BookReview Broken Build by Rachelle Ayala

I had never heard of Rachelle Ayala before seeing this book as free on one of Facebook’s various Kindle pages. It sounded interesting – in part because I am a software developer myself -am so I picked it up.

This book has got to be one of the wildest rides I have ever been on. Not because of the pacing, but because of all the twists and turns. When you think you have this book figured out, turn the page and another twist awaits.

Simply incredible, which is high praise from a guy who routinely reads around three dozen books a year!

This review of Broken Build by Rachelle Ayala was originally published on December 27, 2012.

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#BookReview Evolution by Kelly Carrero

Kelly Carrero has done something fairly rare in my experience – written something that is fairly unique. The closest thing I can think of to what she has pulled off here is the movie Jumper, and even that lacked the execution of Ms. Carrero.

You can get the overall synopsis from the Amazon blurb, but what it doesn’t tell you is that the ending sequence is fairly shocking… and makes you want to get the second book immediately. For those who came to Ms. Carrero before the followup was published a month ago, this had to be somewhat….. tormenting. 😉 I know waiting on the third book is!

Do yourself a favor and pick up this book. I got it while it was free, and honestly I would have gladly paid the current price or even more had I known it was going to be this good. (Side note to Ms. Carrero: Smart marketing move doing the free/ $0.99 move on the first book. Honestly doubt I would have picked it up at $2.99, just because I had never heard of you – and I would have missed out on a GREAT book.)

This review of Evolution by Kelly Carrero was originally published on November 23, 2012.

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#BookReview: Ragnarok by Jeremy Robinson

If you like globe trotting action (ala PULSE or THRESHOLD), you’ll love the first half of this book. If you like more one-location action (ala INSTINCT), you’ll love the second half/ final battle of this book. If you want to know what happens with the Chess Team spread all over the planet, each off doing their own thing, and how they come back together, you’ll love this entire book. If you love action mixed with a bit of sci-fi, you’ll love this entire book. If you like balls to the wall action, you’ll love this entire book.

Robinson is quickly gaining more and more space on bookshelves, both in bookstores and in personal libraries, and this book is yet another masterpiece. Seriously, about the only people that won’t like this book are those who prefer more Nicholas Sparks style books. If you like action and mystery, this book is for you. And even if you think you know what’s coming…. you don’t. Filled with in references to Jeremy’s other books even outside the Chess Team series, any fan will have plenty of laugh out loud moments – and anyone new to the series will have plenty of references to track down in Jeremy’s other works.

Brief plot synopsis: The Chess Team is spread all over the place. Rook is where we left him in his novella, Bishop and Knight are in Uganda taking down a splinter cell of the LRA, Queen is tracking down Rook, and King is…. stumbling across a bomb plot at Disneyworld while trying to take his new family on a much deserved vacation.

Suddenly, mysterious glowing balls start showing up all over the place, taking everything that was inside them with them when they go – and unleashing mucho devastation while they are here.

King and Deep Blue are sent off to examine one globe, Knight and Bishop are sent to handle another…. but where is Rook? And where is Queen? One Chess Team member alone is devastating. Any two are deadly. But if they are going to solve Ragnarok, they will need the full force of all five members (and then some!) to tackle their biggest enemy yet.

This review of Ragnarok by Jeremy Robinson was originally published on October 19, 2012.

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#BookReview: Seven Principles of Good Government by Gary Johnson

I’ve been following the Governor since some friends started talking about him a couple of years ago when he launched the Our America Initiative. Honestly, before that point, I’d never heard of the man.

Even though I’ve been following him for a couple of years and know quite a bit about him and his positions, this book revealed far more that even I didn’t know – and convinced me even more that this is the man that America needs in the White House.

For example, while I’ve always known him to be forthright, I didn’t know to the exact extent he held himself until reading the chapter about honesty. Truman once famously said “The Buck Stops Here.” Johnson lives that statement, even when he knows the honest answer may wind up hurting him, as it did in New Mexico a time or two.

And I had never known about his program as Governor to allow any citizen of his State 5 minutes at a time to talk to him about anything they needed or wanted to speak to him about. For a few hours every evening, he set aside time to hear directly from the people. Not the various lobbying groups that haunt all Capitols, but the people directly. I personally think that made him a better Governor, and I would challenge all Governors to emulate that program (apparently his immediate successor, Bill Richardson, did at least for a time). Can you imagine how in tune a President would be with the American people if he had such a program? No more lobbyists in the Lincoln bedroom, no more “Celebrity President”, simply average Americans telling their President exactly what is on their mind.

Along the way through this book, you meet both the man and his ideals. You learn about the very human, very pragmatic side of the man who became known as Governor Veto – and you learn exactly why he vetoed so many bills.

In an age of increasing polarization of the electorate, this book stands as a shining example of a man who is well respected by all sides, even those who oppose his views. As he sometimes says on the campaign trail, he is the only candidate for President who the residents of his state wave at him with all five fingers, not just one.

This review of Seven Principles of Good Government by Gary Johnson was originally published on August 24, 2012.

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#BookReview Resurrect by Kane Gilmour

RESURRECT is Kane Gilmour’s first work, and I would EASILY put it up there with other first works such as Dale Brown’s Flight of the Old Dog, Clive Cussler’s Mediterranean Caper, or Tom Clancy’s Hunt for Red October. Yes, this book is THAT good – or better.

The action starts with a plane crash in a remote region of China near Tibet, picks up with the survivor and her rescuers being chased through a mountain by people trying to blow them up, and reaches a finale with the group battling their adversaries INSIDE St Peter’s Basilica.

Along the way, we meet Jason Quinn and Curtis Johnson, our heroes and best friends who work together at ARGO – a group reminiscent of Cussler’s NUMA or David Golemon’s Event Group – who will be featured in at least Gilmour’s next work. Johnson is the practical, friendly side kick to Quinn’s friendly yet mysterious do-whatever-it-takes hero.

Gilmour is an author Jeremy Robinson has taken under his wing, and it shows. In one more blatant way, in the weapons used by the bad guys. This is not a bad thing at all, but fans of Robinson’s CHESS TEAM novels (and novellas, the latest of which, CALLSIGN: DEEP BLUE, was cowritten by Gilmour) will recognize them as probably the only other novel they’ve ever read that feature these particular cutting edge weapons.

So yeah, absolutely go pick up this book, and while you’re at it, go ahead and pick up DEEP BLUE. Based on Robinson’s past work and the strength of RESURRECT, I’m confident in telling you that you won’t be disappointed in either purchase.

This review of Resurrect by Kane Gilmour was originally published on December 10, 2011.

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#BookReview: Why Men Hate Going to Church by David Murrow

I finally finished reading David Murrow’s “Why Men Hate Going to Church (updated)”, after having put it down for a couple of months while I read other books and worked on other things.

The best I can say about this book is that it is a gold mine, in the truest sense of the term. You see, my wife watches Gold Rush on Discovery Channel, so I wind up watching quite a bit of it with her. On that show, various crews move around literally TONS of earth, searching for a few specks of gold. That is EXACTLY what you will be doing reading this book – searching through tons of detritus (to put it gently) for the occasional HINT of something worth noting.

To say I was disappointed in this book would be a statement in contention for understatement of the year, at least. Upon seeing the title and even a couple of the other BookSneeze reviews, I actually requested BookSneeze make this available in eBook format, which is how I read all my books now. I was hoping for something as mind blowing and concrete as Shaunti Feldhan’s seminal work, For Women Only: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men. Instead, the “research” in this book at one point literally consisted of the author standing outside an Alaska sporting goods store and asking 97 men what they thought was masculine or feminine about church.

And that is the most glaring flaw of this book – little to no actual research to base the author’s claims on. Instead, he draws on what he personally sees and how he personally feels. Which is fine, if the title would have been “Why Me and My Friends Hate Going to Church”. But in purporting to talk about a genuinely real crisis, the author falls flat on his face due to so little research on the topic. Add to this the guy’s blatant homophobia and misogyny – he dislikes any song that mentions a love of Jesus, because it sounds too gay – and you pretty much have a recipe for disaster. Indeed, one of the reasons I put the book down for a couple of months was because of the sheer number of times I was almost ready to destroy my Kindle just to get this book away from me. But I agreed to participate in the BookSneeze program (a truly great program, btw), and I didn’t want to review the book without completing it, so here I sit, having now done so.

Overall, I’d give this book 0.5 stars out of 5. It has enough good in it that if you’re DESPERATE for something to read and can get your hands on a free copy, I’d say it is better than nothing – but not by much. Had I paid for the book, I’d be demanding my money back.

This review of Why Men Hate Going to Church by David Murrow was originally published on December 6, 2011.

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#BookReview: It Is Dangerous to Be Right When the Government Is Wrong by Andrew Napolitano

I just finished reading Judge Andrew Napolitano’s It is Dangerous To Be Right When the Government Is Wrong: The Case for Personal Freedom, and the Insta-Review is simple: If you claim to love the Constitution, If you claim to love Liberty, If you claim to love America, If you claim to love God, if even a single one of the previous fits you, READ THIS BOOK!

Even as a former Libertarian Party official and founder of my own somewhat influential libertarian leaning political blog, I was not overly aware of the Judge’s positions prior to reading this book, even though his work is frequently cited among my political allies and genuine personal friends. The reason is simple: I detest talk radio and TV pundits with a passion – I don’t watch ANY of them, not even ones I would agree with, as it seems I would with the Judge.

In this book, the Judge starts by explaining what the concept of “Natural Rights” and the “Natural Law” are. Quite simply, they are the innate rights we all share as individual humans, whether you believe – as the Judge explains – that these rights came from our Creator or simply because we are human.

From that foundation, the Judge proceeds to tackle a wide range of issues, from cause celebres of the right (immigration, abortion, gun rights, etc) to cause celebres of the left (unions, free speech, privacy, etc), and a whole lot of stuff in between. In each case, he explains what the relevant Natural Law is and how government in the United States actively infringes upon that Law. In other words, this is a book that is bound to have some chapters that will piss off dang near everyone in the country, other than those of us with a pre-existing commitment to Liberty, pure and simple. (You can typically, though not exclusively, find us in the Libertarian Party.)

And because of this, it is a book that every single American needs to read.

Quite simply, the Judge makes the case for freedom in some ways I’ve previously discussed within my own activism, but also ways I had never thought of before, such as when he presents the case for immigration as a property rights issue or when he quotes the man I personally recruited into political blogging at my former website, Tom Knighton (now of Laws-N-Saugages.com), regarding prostitution and the idea that [..]ALL men pay for sex somehow, someway – whether it be cash or a wedding ring.

I’ll add in just a couple of quotes from the book that I sent out via my Kindle, and I’ll close:

Drugs and victimless crime:
A prime example of a victimless crime is the private consumption of alcohol, or any drug for that matter. These substances surely affect one’s person, but in what way are they invading or assaulting another’s body, rights, or property? One might argue that they lead to dangerous behavior when one is in an altered state, but until a person whose judgment is impaired actually invades or assaults another’s body, rights, or property, he should not be punished, and the act of consumption itself should be free from regulation as an application of the right to do to one’s body as one chooses

Guns on school property:
The lack of media coverage on the advantages of guns on campus feeds into the ignorance of Americans with regard to firearms in government-owned schools. Just fifteen years ago, many states allowed concealed-handgun permit holders to carry guns on school property, and there were no major incidents.

Minimum Wage and Illegal Immigration:
Alternatively, if the minimum wage were eliminated, the opposite effect would occur; employers would pay people who live here legally fair market value–not the government-mandated amount–for the work they do. And as a result, immigrants would be less inclined to move here for fear of not finding work.

Prostitution, aka “Austin 3:16 writ large”:
I can rent my body to the owner of a coal mine for thirty years, who will use my work to strip the earth of natural resources, but a woman cannot rent her body to the same coal mine owner for a few hours of private time? Why? Because the government says so, that’s why.

In conclusion, YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK. I don’t care what your political beliefs are, this book WILL challenge them. (For example: I tend to be skeptical of many of my friends claims about the Fed and more specifically, “sound money”, but the Judge makes a compelling case for that as well.)

And I leave you with two final quotes from the Judge:

Do we have a two-party system in America today? I think not. We have one Big Government Party. It has a Republican wing that prefers war, deficits, assaults on civil liberties, and corporate welfare; and a Democratic wing that prefers war, taxes, assaults on commercial liberties, and individual welfare. Neither wing is devoted to the Constitution, and members of both wings openly mock it.

No longer shall Americans sit idly by at home and accept the status quo while injustice surrounds us. It is time to start peacefully fighting the injustice that takes place in our state legislatures as well as in Washington, D.C.

This review of It is Dangerous To Be Right When the Government Is Wrong by Andrew Napolitano was originally published on October 20, 2011.