#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.

#BlogTour: Secrets At The House By The Creek by Elizabeth Bromke

For this blog tour we’re looking at one of the better trilogy-ending books I’ve ever come across, as everything in this tale is geared at telling its own tale *within the context* of wrapping up the entire trilogy. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Secrets At The House By The Creek by Elizabeth Bromke.

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

All Will Be Revealed. In this conclusion to the Brambleberry Creek story, series-running questions are answered, series-running plans are executed, and everyone gets some form of their happy ending. Thus making this a perfect trilogy-ending book. Yet again on the shorter side at 273 pages, Bromke manages to pack quite a few laughs, a few tears, and even a touch of steam into a generally shorter tale – and, again, manages to wrap everything up while doing so. Truly an excellent series and an excellent endpoint to that series, with a solid send-off to boot. Very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details”, including book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Secrets At The House By The Creek by Elizabeth Bromke”

#BlogTour: Home To Brambleberry Creek by Elizabeth Bromke

For this blog tour we’re looking at a book that is a more serious approach than its author’s normal tales and is also a series starter – though this isn’t always obvious in the tale. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Home To Brambleberry Creek by Elizabeth Bromke.

Here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

Serious (And Not Always Obvious) Series Starter. In this first book with a new publisher, Bromke does something she’d rarely done in my experience reading her books over the past year or so – approached 300 pages. Most of her other books I’d read hit between 150 and 200 or so pages, and here the extra length works to allow fair amount of extra drama and detail that Bromke normally manages to tell a strong tale while excluding. Yet she adds it in such a way that it is never obvious, and that is evidence of solid storytelling abilities. While the witty comedy that she normally brings is noticeably absent here, there are still some fun times to be had – but the overall tone of this particular tale is truly much more serious than previous efforts I’ve read from her. Still, in the end it does in fact become clear that there are at least two more tales to tell in this world, and this reader for one is looking forward to coming back to this world and seeing where Bromke takes us. Very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Home To Brambleberry Creek by Elizabeth Bromke”

#BookReview: Coal Cages Crisis by Judah Schept

Avowed Anti-Capitalist Screed Still Highlights All Too Real Issues. And these issues absolutely need to be more openly discussed. If you dismiss the blinders to anything other than the set premise and worldview the author comes to this research with and look at the points he raises instead, this is a solid examination of at least some of the ways the central Appalachia region of (primarily) Kentucky / (some) West Virginia / (some) Virginia has transformed from being driven by a coal economy to now being driven by a prison economy – largely on much of the exact same land. With a bibliography clocking in at 38% of the ARC I read *even with* the author conducting much of the research and interviews himself, the scholarship within his worldview is largely beyond contestation. This truly is one of the most well documented ARCs I’ve come across in nearly 800 books (across all genres, fiction and nonfiction). Ultimately the star deduction here was because the author never leaves his particular biases to even make strawmen of opposing views, much less actually examine whether they may explain the issues at hand better than his own views do. Still, for what it is, this truly is a remarkable text that covers a particular topic that few others do. Very much recommended.

This review of Coal Cages Crisis by Judah Schept was originally written on April 16, 2022.