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Interesting, Short, And Dark. This is one of those novellas that you can read in a couple of hours - I did. And yet there is also *so much* within this particular one. For those who try to claim that sub-100 page tales can't really do much... this one proves you wrong. ;)

Now, I picked it up because of some controversy on Twitter wherein a couple of judges for some random "contest" got all up in arms and claimed they couldn't handle the "zealous" religious talk or praying or even mechs in this tale. And I'm going to get to that in a moment.

But for exactly what this book is in and of itself, outside of what anyone else says about it, it really is damn solid. It thrusts you straight into its post apocalyptic world the way few books do - Jeremy Robinson's UNITY (which, full disclosure, I literally have a tattoo of a version of the symbol that plays a major role in that particular tale) is one of few I can think of off the top of my head that do *this* good a job of putting you *right there*, *right now*. And again, given the sub-100 page nature of this book... it doesn't have much choice there. ;) And yet even after that introduction, Kordov manages to layer *so very much* into this tale, and in the end... well, there may yet be a dusty room or two. ;)

Now, getting back to what brought me here (and I'll put a brief yet relevant bio as a p...

Interesting Scifi Alt History With An Atypical Subject. I've read a couple of truly phenomenal alt-history/ time travel books over the years where someone in the present (or in this case, future) is sent back in time to one specific era or event to try to save someone or stop someone else who is trying to harm that person. Specifically, books like Randall Ingermanson's City of God trilogy (wherein time travel is developed in an attempt to go back and murder the Apostle Paul before he can begin his missionary journeys that ultimately spread Christianity beyond the Israel/ Palestine region) and Jeremy Robinson's The Didymus Contingency (wherein time travel is developed specifically to attempt to disprove the Gospels and which was the very first book from Robinson I ever read and created a lifelong fan that has now followed him for nearly 100 books). Also TV shows that tend to get cancelled far too early such as *UPN*'s (now we're getting *really* old!) 7 Days or the more recent Timeless from NBC. (Though the TV shows, by their very natu...

Not The Easiest Read, For A Lot Of Reasons. Read It Anyway. This is one of those books that a lot of people are going to have a lot of problems with from a variety of angles... and yet is actually *stronger* because of all the so-called "problems" or "difficulties".

A lot of the "problems" get deep into spoiler territory, so I'm going to cover here what I can without going there:

1) Yes, this is a time travel book where it isn't always as crystal clear as other tales where exactly you are within the timeline. However, the characters each have a sufficiently distinct "voice" such that after a bit, you can begin to identify which of our three main ladies we are with in any given section and that alone helps make the narrative quite a bit more clear.

2) The family dynamics here are quite atypical... and yet this is actually one of the strongest points of the book...

Twisty Destination Thriller. This is one of those destination thrillers where you think you know what is happening... and then suddenly you realize how wrong you were. Yet also one where virtually no one is overly "likeable", so if you're a reader where you have to have *someone* that is truly pure of heart or perfectly aligns with your every belief or however else you define "likeable"... know going in that this isn't that kind of tale. And that you should read it anyway.

The setting in coastal Spain is used quite well both for creating tension in our primary couple and in setting up some truly stunning set...

Locked Room Mystery More On Women's Fiction End Than Horror End. Growing up at the border of Appalachia and Atlanta, halfway between Chattanooga and Atlanta, I saw the "See Rock City" signs - mostly barns - quite frequently. Have even been out there both on school field trips and with my family, and indeed my youngest brother actually proposed to his now wife on top of Lookout Mountain. In other words, I know the modern version of the mountain - and the caves - fairly well. (Though to be clear, I haven't seen the 2020s era updates.) Thus, you, oh reader of my review, can easily see why a book about the modern origins of the tourist attraction known as Ruby Falls would entice me to read it.

The tale i...

Strong Tale Will Expose What Kind Of Reader You Are. In Gwaltney's debut, The Cicada Tree, you got a tale that could work commercially, but was never really going to be a *huge* hit in the most general circles - it was great, but there was enough there that would throw off more casual readers that are the bread and butter of the industry as a whole.

This book is that to a whole new level. It will expose you as a reader.

Here's what I mean by that last: This is a "LITERATURE" book, the kind of book that is destined to be in the "Best Georgia Books of the 2020s" if not "Best American Books of the 21st Century" conversations among the New York Times book critics, librarians, English teachers, professors... that crowd. The one that likes high discussions with a bottle of wine. The crowd that debates to this day the intricacies of Fitzgerald and Hemingway and Steinbeck. The cr...

Clarion Call For Post-COVID Society To Move More. In this text - based on a 2023 podcast and experiment Zomorodi helped orchestrate - the central point could not be more clear: Virtually all of us, particularly among white collar workers, in this post-COVID age need to move more. A lot more. To the tune of 5 minutes every 30 minutes. Nothing overly stressful, a casual stroll or its equivalent is actually the recommendation. No or at least minimal sweat, just movement to get our body operating more efficiently than it does when we sit for hours on end.

This is actually a book that is hitting pretty damn hard personally, as I am now actively fighting health issues in my legs (and I'm actively getting various scans to identify exactly what is going on and where, but so far it seems limited to my legs) that this text actually directly addresses, such as lymphedema (which is specifically mentioned) and possible (in my case) chronic veinous insufficiency. This, from a man who a few yrs pre-COVID (within the absolute value from COVID that we now are after COV...

Routine Conservative Christian Apologetics. Two things up front: the single star deduction is for prootexting, which is far too common in books such as this and is an automatic star deduction for me every time I see it in a text. Second, I honestly fail to see why this particular book exists, as it offers nothing particularly new - not even a real discussion of more current social issues and an Apologetics-based response to them. Indeed, in quoting the legends of this field - C.S. Lewis and Lee Strobel - and especially in basing such a decent chunk of the text around Lewis' "Liar, Lunatic, or ...

Short Yet Thoroughly Documented Clarion Call Inspired By Pollan's In Defense Of Food. In this text, Jacobsen explicitly sets out to do for sunlight what Michael Pollan once did for "real food" several years ago... and largely nails it. The writing here is engaging and explains the science at a level that most will be able to understand it yet doesn't shy away from the more complex areas of the science either. At just under 300 pages with just over a quarter of even that being documentation, this is an easy one day read for many people... and yet will al...

"His Assessment Told Only Half The Story". Yes, this is a direct quote Sutton used in this book... and also quite possibly the most succinct summary of this text available. Despite having an ambitious premise with a rather large page count to expound upon it, Sutton here still manages to omit or dismiss key figures and movements when he deems them problematic (Lottie Moon, the Student Volunteer Movement, and Annie Armstrong), fails to show moderating actions by groups he opposes (the Southern Baptist Convention in particular), and fails to show similar controversies involving those he generally supports (black prosperity gospel preachers TD Jakes and Creflo Dollar) while showing in some detail at times the controversies of those he opposes.

And yet, despite all of this - and particularly for those who align with Sutton's progressive biases - there is enough here that you are likely to learn something, almost no matter how much you know about the history of Christianity in the United States.

For those who know no better, Sutton's history here shows at least one version - a significantly biased one - of the history of American Christianity that largely ...