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#BookReview: Broker Of Lies by Steven James

The True Successor To Vince Flynn. That’s basically what this entire review is going to boil down to – if you liked Vince Flynn (and particularly if you object to someone else using his name on their books after his death) and have been searching for an author who can tell that type of tale at least as good as Flynn ever did… welcome to Steven James and Broker of Lies. One huge difference here is that while Mitch Rapp almost tends into superhero/ super-soldier status, our heroes here are very skilled… yet also very flawed in their own ways. Ways that enemies can exploit, if they are known. Ways that enemies do exploit here, because our heroes are not as hidden as they would like to think they are. So yes, we get a lot of different (yet fairly plausible) tech – including some fairly scary, yet known for over a decade now, ways to exploit any body scan security -, several car chases, several fight scenes of various forms from extremely up close and personal to more building level, a lot of cat and mouse, and one heck of an explosive revelation at the end that pretty easily sets up at least one more book here. This isn’t a short book, clocking in at nearly 420 pages, but that last 20% or so in particular… you’re not going to want to put this book down through that stretch at minimum. Very much recommended.

This review of Broker Of Lies by Steven James was originally written on December 9, 2022.

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#BookReview: Worlds Without End by Chris Impey

Solid Exposition Of The Topic. There really isn’t much more to say about this particular book. If you’re interested in the future of humanity at all, particularly our future as a space faring / multi-planet species, you need to read this book. If you’re interested in the potential for finding or communicating with non-Earth lifeforms, you need to read this book. In both of these arenas, Impey does a solid job of explaining the history of the relevant sciences, where they have been recently, where they are projected to be within the next generation or so, and what it would take to actually get or communicate with… much of anywhere, really. While exoplanets – planets beyond our local solar system and even beyond our own galaxy – are the main discussion, there are some discussions of the possibilities of life beyond Earth even within our local system that are also quite realistic, even including potential timeframes for when this could happen. Wow, I’ve actually said more about this book than I thought I would. 🙂 In short, read this book and learn a thing or two. Unless you happen to be an astrophysicist specializing in exoplanets already. 😉 Very much recommended.

This review of Worlds Without End by Chris Impey was originally written on December 9, 2022.

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#BookReview: A Prairie Creek Christmas by Elizabeth Bromke

Short Sweet Romance. Yet again Bromke nails another Hallmarkie (and self aware of this 😉 ) romance. This one is one of the more fun/ hilarious ones with a touch of heat (but nothing more than barely kissing shown, for the clean/ sweet romance crowd) with less real drama. And given its brevity (under 150 pages), a great quick read for when you need to escape the Christmas drama in your real life and dive into a better fictional world. And besides, who other than Cruella de Ville doesn’t like puppies? Yes, there are puppies here – the tale largely revolves around a fundraiser for the local animal shelter! So come on in for a quick bite, relax, and have some fun. Heck, about the only remotely negative thing here is that “Christmas” just doesn’t jump off the page the way it does in other books, even other Christmas books from Bromke herself. Very much recommended.

This review of A Prairie Creek Christmas by Elizabeth Bromke was originally written on December 8, 2022.

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#BookReview: A Mother Would Know by Amber Garza

Slow Burn That Becomes Twistier And With More Crossings Than A Mountain Road Between A Railroad Track And A River. Let’s get the elephant out of the room up front: Through around the 2/3 or so mark of this 300+ page book – so for roughly the first couple hundred pages – this book is *slow*. So slow that it does in fact struggle to keep the attention at times. But then, Great Gatsby was *so much worse* in that regard and is regarded as one of the greatest books in American literature. This particular book will never be in *that* conversation, but like Gatsby it does have the moment where suddenly, it begins getting *so much better* and actually becomes a truly solid book by the end. Indeed, that back third – that last hundred pages or so- really is going to remind you of driving down a 2 lane mountain road between train tracks and a stream – there are so very many twists and crossings that it can get rather dizzying trying to keep track of who is crossing who and for what reason now. And yet it is this aspect of the book that is executed *so* well and almost *had* to have the slow buildup it got. Some of the stuff here is utterly horrific, others of it more simply extremely creepy, and in the end you will be left breathless. Very much recommended.

This review of A Mother Would Know by Amber Garza was originally written on November 22, 2022.

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#BookReview: Cobalt Red by Siddarth Kara

Shocking. In the West, we’re somewhat aware of the horrible conditions African diamond miners face. We’ve at least heard of this, including the trivia fact of the deepest mine in the world being a diamond mine somewhere on the continent there. And despite diamonds’ wide spread use (well beyond the bling so many associate with them, by some stats that is actually one of the more *rare* uses for them, apparently). many don’t really think of this too much.

But our cellphones? Our tablets? Our state of the art electric vehicles? Our “commitment to zero carbon by [insert year]” climate activism? Our ESG corporate policies?

All of these are impacted by the travails Kara uncovers in this biting expose of the Congolese Cobalt mining operations and specifically just how horrid and unsafe the conditions therein are, including the rampant and untracked use of child labor. Here, Kara takes us on an undercover journey from one of the of the region to the other, while protecting his sources as much as possible. It is an alarming look, one that the heads and other decision makers in many of the world’s largest corporations and manufacturers need to read and examine the issues it raises in further detail based on this reporting. Even if Elon Musk (Tesla), Akio Toyoda (Toyota), Mary Barra (GM), and Oliver Blume (Volkswagen) won’t look into this, perhaps global banking, as part of its own ESG and Zero Carbon initiatives, could look into it from their end and begin to influence the car manufacturers from that side.

In a book full of unimaginable pain and sorrow, a few tales stick out. One of them in particular is that of a man who was injured in the mine, and thus his teenage son was forced to work in the mine for the family’s subsistence. Just a week before this father could go back to work, word came from the mine of a collapse. His son died in that collapse and the body remains buried within the mine. Prepare yourself, reader. As illuminating as this text is, stories at least that bad pepper this text like sand on a beach.

The only reason for the single star deduction? Possibly due to the text being primarily Kara’s own investigations, the bibliography here is quite scant indeed, clocking in at barely 8% of the overall text when 20-30% is much more common in my experience with other nonfiction advance reader copies.

Overall this is absolutely a book that needs to be read as widely as possible, and one that needs as much attention brought to its issues as possible. Very much recommended.

This review of Cobalt Red by Siddarth Kara was originally written on December 6, 2022.

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#BookReview: Tremors In The Blood by Amit Katwala

Evocative Evisceration Of Everyday “Evidence”. In this text, Katwala shows the origins and history of the polygraph “lie detector” device that has been banned from many courtrooms due to its unreliability yet which lives on in the American zeitgeist. Katwala tells the tale via narrative nonfiction that places the reader in the center of the action and cases in question, then follows the principle players throughout their lifetimes as they try to justify their life’s work. In the process, Katwala does a tremendous job of showing how truly unreliable these devices are, and even includes a brief discussion of more modern successor technologies such as brain wave scanners. Anyone interested in the American justice system absolutely needs to read this history of this long-debunked zombie junk science. Indeed, the only negative here is that the bibliography is scant at just 12% or so of the narrative, compared to a more common 20-30% in my experience, and thus the single star deduction. Very much recommended.

This review of Tremors In The Blood by Amit Katwala was originally written on December 6, 2022.

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#BookReview: The View From Flyover Country by Sarah Kendzior

Interesting Yet Oblivious To Own Criticisms. This is an interesting collection of essays written between 2012 and 2014, with an epilogue in 2017 after the election of Donald Trump to the White House. It presents a stark view of Middle America, but one that many, even on the coasts, will identify with. Kendzior even accurately identifies that the problems she notes had existed for quite some time and were proving little if any better after several years of “Hope and Change”… but then decries the efforts of Trump to even pay lip service (which is all he ever did) to these issues and people. Still, as a time capsule of what at least one writer was thinking of various developments of the era, this is an interesting book and a worthy read. But if you’re listening to the Audible, speed it up to around 1.5x to make it less of a lullaby. Recommended.

This review of The View From Flyover Country by Sarah Kendzior was originally written on December 6, 2022.

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#BookReview: Beautiful Union by Joshua Ryan Butler

Proposing A New View Of Sexual Ethics. This book is remarkably well written and remarkably well balanced, one that no matter your views on any sex or gender related topic, at some point here you’re most likely going to fall into the classic preacher joke of “Woah, woah, woah, preacher! You’re stepping on my toes!” “I apologize, my [brother/ sister] in Christ. I was aiming for your heart.” (and/ or, in this case, the brain as well) 😀 In other words, no matter your views on these topics coming into this book, there are more than likely going to be things you’re wholeheartedly agreeing with… and others that are likely going to make you want to throw the book out of the nearest window. For those who have routinely been condemned by existing Christian ethics, know that there is no condemnation here – indeed, Butler spends a fair amount of time examining exactly what Paul was doing in Romans, one of the oft-cited condemnation passages, and explains how it doesn’t really directly apply to sexual issues, but to *all* issues. And yet, at the very same time, Butler does not shy away from the idea that homosexuality is a perversion of God’s perfect design and intention, and explains a new view of exactly why he still holds to this position. Ignoring Frank Viola’s Parable Of Marvin Snurdley, Butler does a truly remarkable and seemingly thorough job of looking at all issues surrounding sex and gender and shows that traditional views are the closest to being correct… though not always the closest in actual reasoning or in explaining *why* they are correct, which is something he seeks to change here. Oh, and those who have read Ted Dekker’s Circle Series are likely to notice some similar language. Indeed, while it is unknown to me if Butler had ever read this particular (somewhat famous in Christian circles) series, Butler here truly elevates and grounds some of the concepts Dekker explores particularly early in that series.

The single star deduction is for prooftexting, which while not *as* prevalent here and while Butler *mostly* explains the full contexts of the passages he spends extended time with (such as the creation account in Genesis and the aforementioned passage of Romans, among a few others), he *does* still engage in citing Biblical verses out of context at times in “support” of some point or another, and I am on a one-man-war to eradicate this practice everywhere I see it. In book reviews, my only weapon is the single star deduction, and thus I apply it in all cases where I notice the problem.

Ultimately this is a book that will prove highly controversial, and yet it is also a book that truly everyone, particularly those who consider themselves “thinkers” or “educated” or “learned” or some such, will need to at least read and consider. Very much recommended.

This review of Beautiful Union by Joshua Ryan Butler was originally written on December 6, 2022.

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#BlogTour: The Sunshine Girls by Molly Fader

For this blog tour we’re looking at quite a strong tale of family and friendship. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Sunshine Girls by Molly Fader.

Here’s what I had to say about it on Goodreads:

No Fate But What You Make. Wait. What? You’re a freaking moron, Sexton. There is no possible way that a historical fiction/ women’s fiction mashup tale set in 2019 and the Vietnam War period and barely featuring any male characters whatsoever can possibly have anything to do with John Connor’s war against Skynet. It. Can’t. Possibly. Be. Linked.

And yet… yes, it can. Because ultimately we see here that there truly is no fate but what you make, as three friends meet in a podunk Kansas nursing school and go on to live lives that become inextricably linked to one another – but which forces each woman to make her own destiny, society and family be danged.

Along the way, we’re going to cry several times at least as hard as when the T-800 sacrifices itself into the molten steel. We’re even going to beg some characters to make different choices, same as John was doing there.

But in the end, we’re going to get one amazing tale, one that just might make it difficult to think of other books for quite some time. (Which is difficult to do when you’re trying to clean up your ARC work before holiday traveling. 😉 )

Ultimately this truly is quite a strong tale and friendship and family. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Sunshine Girls by Molly Fader”

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#BookReview: Never Back Down by Christopher Swann

Comic Book Justice. In this epic conclusion (?) to Suzie Falkner’s story, Swann manages to keep the tension tight even when filling in backstory – and showing that the characters have lived through the year ish since the publication of Never Go Home in near real-time with the rest of us. Except that for Suzie, that year has been spent being tormented by the fallout from Never Go Home. (In other words, read that book first in this particular case.) We spend most of the book with the Big Bad more a menacing presence in the shadows (ala the opening sequence) or the general background (most of the book) while showing off Suzie’s own skills ever more prominently, including several other tie-ins to Never Go Home. (Seriously, read that book first.) And then, in the last third of the book or so, Swann gets into Suzie’s toughest tests yet – and into some of the most creepy and traumatizing events of these books. Getting into the specifics would be spoilery, but one does need to be generally referenced in case the reader is particularly sensitive to this issue: there *is* a school shooting in this book, and yes, people die in it. Given the realities of the world today, that caution needed to be mentioned. Along those lines, Swann has a line or two where his personal politics tinge the page – but they tend to be throwaway lines that are not pervasive and are quickly moved past, and therefore don’t warrant a star deduction so much as a mention of their presence. Overall truly a breathtaking book that you won’t want to put down for even a second. Very much recommended.

This review of Never Back Down by Christopher Swann was originally written on December 2, 2022.