Kindle Book Review - The Blandford Fly by D. N. Moore

The Blandford Fly is a ninety-five-page book containing four bewitching novellas that take the reader on a voyage of discovery. Every tale has a different theme, so the reader is always on the edge of their seat and keeps turning the pages to discover what the next story has in store for them; each tale is distinctive and captivating. The anecdotes arise from the science fiction, futuristic, ghost, and horror genres. Why is Danny Carson so obsessed with bugs? How does a doll save Davie McDaniel? Who puts sardines and ice cream together? Furthermore, who is the ghostly presence in "Radio Sweethearts"? Read The Blandford Fly by D. N. Moore to find the answers to these questions.

The cover of this book is beautiful and makes you want to find out what the stories inside are like. D. N. Moore writes exceptional narratives with full-bodied characters and exciting locations, which immediately become real, which I thoroughly relished. Each tale is unique, with unforeseen twists,  which kept me enjoying the story to the end and beyond. Readers will recall them for a long while after they have been read. Although these tales are short, each is fulfilling, well thought out, and well characterized. I believe the story "Sardines and Ice Cream" would work well as a stand-alone book, as Moore could follow so many more avenues.

The story I liked least was "The Living Boy: A Very Strange Christmas Story" it is a futuristic/science fiction story that leaves a lot to the imagination. This novella revolves around a human mother and son who are the slaves of doll people. It was too short; compared to the other stories in this compendium, it needed more substance.

I rate The Blandford Fly, 5 out of 5 stars as it is a compelling selection of stories. Unlike most compendiums, all the stories are very different. There were a few grammar errors, but they did not spoil my enjoyment.

D. N. Moore suggests that The Blandford Fly would best suit young adults. I recommend it to anyone who likes short stories, particularly fans of sci-fi, horror, supernatural, and futuristic genres. I would not recommend it to anyone younger than older teenagers, as there are some swear words but no sexual references. The Blandford Fly is the first book I have read by D. N. Moore. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be looking out for more books by this author.

I want to thank D. N. Moore for a copy The Blandford Fly in exchange for my honest and impartial review. You can see more of my reviews here http://onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-tara-d-morgan.html

Kindle book review - The face of Fear by R. J. Torbert

Deborah is the daughter of William Lance, a self-made millionaire. Since her mother died when she was thirteen, there have been just the two of them, which has made her father very protective of her. Deborah is now twenty-six and in a relationship with her father's assistant Robert Simpson. William is uneasy because of the big age gap but otherwise is pleased for the couple. One Saturday, Deborah meets William for lunch before he sees her drive onto the Bridgeport Cross Island Ferry. She is due to meet up with her best friend, Patty Saunders, for dinner and a concert. Deborah never arrives!

As the ferry leaves the dock, a stranger punches Deborah in the face and knocks her out. Two men with him help put her in the boot of his car. There are no clues, and nobody sees this happen. Detectives Powers and Johnson have never met Deborah, but she becomes a big part of their lives as they work hard to find her before the kidnapper's deadline. Detective Powers thinks he knows how the kidnapping occurred and enlists friends and colleagues to put his theory to the test. Unfortunately, it all goes horribly wrong! Why has Deborah been kidnapped? Is Robert Simpson hiding a secret? Moreover, who is Ghostface? Read The Face of Fear by R. J. Torbert to find answers to these questions and solve the mystery.

I disliked lots of things about this book. Torbert repeats himself throughout. For example, on page fifteen, Torbert writes that Joey constantly walks around the restaurant keeping an eye on the staff and customers. Two lines further on, he says that Joey was famous for constantly walking around the restaurant, making sure everything was running smoothly. This happens regularly throughout The Face of Fear, and I struggled to finish the book. Because of the repetitions, the story is slow to move on and becomes boring! 

I enjoyed the banter between Powers and Johnson, which added a touch of humor. The concept for this complicated story is excellent but could have been better executed and needs a professional editor and proofreader to knock it into shape. I found mistakes on most pages, sentences that ran on, spelling errors, and the wrong grammar. Torbert changes his mind on details constantly. For example, on page two hundred and seventy-three, Detective Johnson meets a friend's dog for the first time, and while petting her, he sees her dog tag, which reads Minty, and in the same sentence, Torbert writes that the detective says '"Hey, Monty!" There are also huge mistakes in a chapter entitled 'Saturday, June 25th' where everyone refers to the day as Sunday! 

I rate The Face of Fear by R. J. Torbert 1 out of 5. I give it one point because the ending was unexpected, and I was surprised when I discovered who Ghostface was! I have taken four points away due to all the errors I have already mentioned and the fact that many supporting characters are unnecessary. They are very one-dimensional and do not add anything to the story. I also found the main characters very stereotyped and predictable. 

Once all the mistakes have been corrected, The Face of Fear will be an engaging and exciting read. But as it stands, I would not recommend it to anyone; however, if you enjoy thrillers involving crime, murder, and detectives and can ignore the errors, then you would enjoy this book. There are swearing and sexual references, so it would be best suited to adults.

Book Review - Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book One) by Janet McNulty

 

Solaris Seethes by Janet McNulty begins by introducing us to Rynah. Rynah works as a Security Officer at the Geothermic Center based in an underground laboratory on the planet Lanyr.  Once a year, all systems are shut down for fifteen minutes to be cleared of unnecessary data. Today just as everything is shut down, Rynah is appalled to see people from the Lunyra Movement break in, led by Klanor, her fiance! Klanor steals a crystal that controls Lanyr's magnetic fields. Without the crystal, the magnetism becomes misaligned. It causes, amongst other things, volcanoes to erupt, earthquakes, and disruptions to the weather. Rynah escapes through a secret tunnel to find that her planet is dying. All around her is carnage. She remembers a hangar where her grandfather had hidden an antiquated ship. This ship is the mysterious Solaris. It is over fifty years old but in fantastic condition. Escaping the destruction of Lanyr, Rynah must put her trust in Solaris while following an archaic story that has come down through the generations of her people. Together with four humans, each from a different time in Earth's history, Rynah tries to track down Klanor before he can find the other five crystals. Why are the crystals so important? How are humans able to help Rynah? Will the antiquated Solaris be up to the job? Furthermore, what was the argument that cut her off from her grandfather? 

I liked that hidden moral lessons show the reader how to become a better person and understand their friends, seeing them for who they really are, not just the side they show the world. It was clever to make Solaris intelligent and sassy. I read about the growing friendship between Solaris and Rynah with interest. I particularly enjoyed their arguments. I love all the colorful descriptions in Solaris Seethes. For example, on page eighteen, "Rynah sat up, allowing her emerald hair to flow over her lavender-colored (a very light shade at that) skin; specks of gold accentuated her waves of dark emerald tresses, forming highlights that even the dim lighting failed to hide." Janet McNulty's descriptions, especially of Rynah, are beautiful.

Solaris Seethes is science fiction. However, I would have found it more enjoyable and interesting if it had been believable. The story is based on another planet, meaning they have different words for things, yet when Rynah is in pain, she takes aspirin. As aspirin is a word used on Earth, I think it would be unlikely that another planet would also have aspirin in its vocabulary! Also, Rynah teleports four people from Earth who have no concept of her world even existing. Solon from 751 BC, Alfric from 1163, Brie from 2014, and Tom from 2099. They are supposedly intelligent, grounded people but ask a few questions after being teleported, then go with the flow. If I had been suddenly zapped up to another ( and very different) planet, I would want to know: Why have I been chosen? What can I expect? and when will I go home?

I rate this book 2 out of 5 stars due to the dislikes mentioned. The idea for the storyline is brilliant. However, the author executes her ideas poorly, from the long-winded sentences, which make the book boring, to the unbelievable and two-dimensional characters. As this is the first in a four-part series, I hope the books get more interesting as the author progresses!

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fast-paced science fiction, particularly younger adults or older teenagers; there is some swearing but nothing sexual.

Thank you to Janet McNulty for a free copy of this book in exchange for an impartial review.