Could you all please consider signing my e-book related petition?
05 March 2015 01:24 (GMT)
Hi all Sylar here, could you all please consider signing my e-book related petition? It started out as a project for the college but if it gets enough signatures who knows where it could go! Please note any international users of the forum can still sign by selecting their home country.
https://www.change.org/p/abolish-the-20-reading-tax
Alana Woods' book reviews: Renaissance 2.0 by Dean C Moore
16 February 2015 17:04 (GMT)
I was a couple of chapters in when I laughed, and then wondered if I should. It immediately reminded me of my first exposure to the film [font=Buda, sans-serif]Pulp Fiction; that first inadvertent burst of laughter when John Travolta’s gun accidentally fired in the car. I was aghast at myself. Was I supposed to laugh? The scene was so over the top. So too is this novel. What is its classification: comedy horror or horror comedy, or something else? Is it supposed to be a serious novel? I finished reading without deciding.[/font]
It’s set in the modern day and everything is familiar: the world, the way ordinary people live their lives and earn their living, the traumas we face. Even the incessant killing is a reflection of our gone-mad society. But there the similarities end.
From the cover, when I bought the book, I thought it was a sci-fi story. From the title, [font=Buda, sans-serif]RENAISSANCE 2.0, I thought it was a nod to the 14th—16th century European Renaissance and the author was creating a second, 21st century, perhaps global, renaissance. And although I didn’t see any evidence of one in this book it no doubt becomes apparent in subsequent books in the series.[/font]
There is a definite sci-fi element with technologies that shatter life being created in back rooms and just as quickly being disposed of by mysterious forces; there’s a beserk drug culture; in fact it’s sheer mayhem from start to finish. Multiple characters make brief appearances never to return and it’s only well into the story that I realised there is a recurring character who, by the end, is identified as the protagonist who will be taking the series forward. He’s a detective with a wife who is becoming a man, which is forcing him into thinking he should become a woman. Yes, you read that right!
The author takes you deep into the psyches of his characters. There’s plenty of esoterica as he delves into psychology and philosophy. If you’re not interested in that you can skim without losing the plot.
I have no idea how the author will sustain this level of tortuous inventiveness over a series. As five volumes have already been published I don’t have to wait to find out.
This is an exceptional read. I was gobsmacked from very early on and didn’t pick my chin up until I’d finished reading.
It’s very different. Read it and see what you think.
Win a Kindle Paperwhite
16 February 2015 10:56 (GMT)
I'm giving away a Kindle Paperwhite over at my site. This is what I read books on and I love it, so if you haven't got one, please enter for a chance to win.
Details here:
Kindle Paperwhite Giveaway
JooRevoo: Imperfect Strangers by David Staniforth
12 February 2015 22:02 (GMT)
Imperfect Strangers by David Staniforth
![[Image: 51Lm%2BzSTNTL._AA160_.jpg]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Lm%2BzSTNTL._AA160_.jpg)
Keith works as a night security guard at an office. Sally has caught his eye and shown him kindness by smiling at him. Keith thinks the next step is love. Sally doesn't want to know. At first.
This story is told in both first person perspective, so we get Keith's version in his head and Sally's version to the same thing. As a story-telling method this is very effective for this story as we understand just how non-normal Keith is.
Some people reviewed that they read this in one sitting. I actually put this book down to read another half way through as I found Keith's character to be one of the creepiest I've read. He made me feel a bit grubby. But I knew I'd go back to him. I thought this story was an uncomfortable one as I'm the sort of person who wouldn't like to be nasty to anyone. I sit through boring conversations so as not to be rude. After reading this, I think I'll try to get out of things a bit more just in case I become a Sally.
I didn't particularly like Sally in this story. I didn't really like anyone. But I don't need to like characters to like a story and as a whole, this was a great story. The tension built up, slowly at first with hints here and there. I read the end at my lunch break and was late back as that bit was certainly unputdownable.
JooRevoo: Beneath The Boards by David Haynes
06 February 2015 21:41 (GMT)
Beneath The Boards by David Haynes
![[Image: 61IIyCYxYJL._AA160_.jpg]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61IIyCYxYJL._AA160_.jpg)
David Haynes is the master of the macabre, but this time his scary story is set in the present. Jim is recovering from a violent attack, but his problems are just starting.
If I could have read this from behind a cushion, I'm sure I would have. I found this to be a very creepy story. As I spiralled into Jim's madness, I felt myself physically tensing up, only relaxing my shoulders at the end of a chapter. David Haynes writes his stories effectively without too much waffle, yet building up all the information you need. The terrors are implied which makes them all too real without the need for graphic gore. Scretch will stick in my mind for some time.
Oh and the cover is perfect
No Shades of Grey | Free Download
05 February 2015 21:06 (GMT)
~ Update ~
No Shades of Grey is now free to download. It's a book with a message, as well as some very humourous translations (thanks to fellow kuffers for your help).
~ Original Post ~
Do not buy
No Shades of Grey. It will be free next Friday.
If you would like an early review copy, please let me know.
I feel very strongly about the glamorisation of abuse in
Fifty Shades of Grey. It has a reputation for being a BSDM romance, but it's not about two consenting adults enjoying a bit of kinky fun; it's about a bully grinding down a vulnerable woman until she agrees to a lifestyle that the narrative shows she is not cut out for. It contains all the hallmarks of an abusive relationship.
