Tag: cryptid

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#BookReview: Lair Of The Swamp Witch by David Wood

Another Fun And Hilarious Bones Adventure. Yet again we find Bones getting called off in search of some cryptid and getting sucked into some minor-ish mystery, with all of the usual tracking, fighting, wisecracking, and bone cracking this generally entails with this character. Another short tale at barely 120 pages (in the Kindle edition anyway), this is an easy read perfect for when you need a quick break from reality. As it does heavily reference characters from previous Bones adventures, those at minimum are recommended reading before this one, even if you don’t want to get into the larger Maddock universe quite yet (which is also very much recommended and more tangentially referenced, as in nothing there plays a truly essential role here the way characters from prior Bones stories do). As always here, very much looking forward to the next one and this one is very much recommended.

This review of Lair Of The Swamp Witch by David Wood was originally written on January 28, 2023.

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#BookReview: The Mystery Of The Undying Man by J. Kent Holloway

Fun Amalgamation Of Scooby-Doo, Stranger Things, and The Sandlot. This is one of those fun, nostalgic types of kids-solving-mysteries tales that will bring back all of the above + Nancy Drew/ The Hardy Boys type vibes, as well as a touch of Johnny Quest. Now, if I’ve named enough popular franchises to get you this far, know that this book *does* still have its own feel – it isn’t merely a clone of the other franchises, though it does share a genre and general vibe with them. Here, Holloway manages to spin is own form of the tale and involve science fiction ala the *earliest* science fiction (yes, there’s a touch of Frankenstein and his monster involved here) while centering the tale in his own “native” (and actually native) Kentucky and Southern lore and mythology. Ultimately this is simply a fun romp through a simpler time that still had its evils and mysteries, and Holloway shows the period and style – and his own particular culture – particularly well. Very much recommended.

This review of The Mystery Of The Undying Man by J. Kent Holloway was originally written on October 25, 2022.

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#BookReview: Love On The Coast by Jennifer Snow

Short, Quick Introduction. This a short novella – just 56 pages according to Amazon – that is meant to introduce a new small Alaskan town and series. This complements the “back door pilot” from Alaska Dreams – Book 6 in Snow’s Wild *River* (Alaska) series, where the Coast Guard actually played a role in that tale as well and it was clear what Snow was doing the instant it happened.

This tale itself is a solid introduction to Snow’s overall style, without the 350 ish pages she normally works with. Which makes it a great first book for someone that may be wanting to try Snow out for the first time, as the time investment here is minimal – pretty sure I finished this book in under an hour, and I’ve already got the official Book 1 of this series – Sweet Home Alaska – on deck. Very much recommended.

This review of Love On The Coast by Jennifer Snow was originally written on May 13, 2022.

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#BookReview: Golden Dragon by David Wood

Another Great (And Short) Maddock Adventure Perfect For Longtime Fans And People New To The Universe. This book is pretty much exactly what I said in the title here – long time fans are going to enjoy this new Maddock tale, and at not quite 70 pages it is about as minimal an investment as it gets for people looking for a new world to explore. And if you do like it… there are a LOT of books to read after this one, including several adventures referenced within this tale with varying degrees of spoilers (for those concerned with such things). Fun, satisfying, and quick ride -the literary equivalent of a theme park rollercoaster, in other words. 😉 Very much recommended.

This review of Golden Dragon by David Wood was originally written on February 18, 2022.