Answering review request: Shadow of the Raven

Matthew Ward asked me to read his book "Shadow of the Raven". It's about Edric Saran, a foreign ambassador, investigating the death of a friend and through that getting involved with supernatural happenings such as crossing between dimensions and conflicts between deities. I will examine plot, characters, and polish, and then assign a grade.

PLOT
This is a growing plot. The way that it builds upon itself from the murder of a scholar to a titanic cross world climax is impressive. It's like you look back and "Whoa! The Caterpillar has become a butterfly!"

It's a strong use of the macguffin trope. The fragments of the portal stone are collected, assembled and put to use in the second act. While it remains important through the entire work, its use and purpose shifts. It is, in other words, not a mere trinket for the heroes and villains to fight over.

It's quite the well structured plot. Heroes and villains each take action as appropriate to their situation and take care to determine multiple possible responses and ways to advance. When a character is passed the Idiot Ball, the narration is fully aware of this and quickly explains why this action is/was appropriate to the character's temperament. It also adds to a sense of foreboding. Narrations says something like " X did something foolish and it led to tragedy" and I was like "Oh no, what happened?!"

Additionally, the use of Chekhov's Gun is fantastic. The number of seemingly inconsequential things that are set up in advance to become important later shows how well thought out  the story is and it also provides a nice pay-off when the reader makes the connection.

 The story feels both very long and also, shall I say "full extended" in that it left no stone unturned in developing itself and its characters. It took me a while to read it all and I enjoyed every page because of this fullness to character and setting.  

There is a fantastic closure to the conflict. It's a great sense of resolution for the fantasy epic main plot line while at the same time leaves open the possibility of future clashes with the villains. It also creates a nice Maybe Ever After for the romantic sub plot.


CHARACTERS

The male lead is Edric Saran, a snarky gentleman. On Tvtropes, we'd call him a knight in sour armor because of his grumpy attitude and cynical view matched with inner heroism, and in this case, chivalry. I really like how he develops over the course of the story, both in terms of character growth and also the revelation of his backstory.

The female lead is Arawiyn Trelan. She has this haughty princess demeanor that I find appealing. Matched with her determination to do good and stop the evil Solomon, it highlights her noble nature and works as a cap against bitchiness. She has her own character arc separate from the main plot and Edric's own that sees her grow in a remarkable way as well.

The two leads develop this Sword and Sorcery/Lady and Knight dynamic that enriches the narrative. It's fun to read for its own sake but also for the classic nature of it in what appears to be an early modern setting.

As for the villain, one thing that I like about this story is the way it plays around with the notion of who is the Big Bad. Is it Lord Solomon the sinister council chessmaster? Is it Jerrack, the dreaded fae lord of Fellhallow? Is it Maglyen, the god of death? Or is it Arianwyn herself, duping Edric into helping her with a myriad of half-truths and a wounded gazelle image?

 I also like Jamar. He's a classic Big Guy with his size and strength, who is also quietly dignified and possessing a similar gentlemanly snark (perhaps butler snark is more accurate) as Edric. Quintus is similar in this regard as the only Lawful Good character here who also possess more hidden depths than "incorruptible law enforcer".

POLISH

No spelling or grammar problems.

This story is written from Edric's first person narration. There's no frame device for it and so I wonder why he's narrating. However, I also get the sense that he's dictating this story to someone because it has a reflective air to it, as if he's recalling these events years later. It certainly works to the book's sense of humor as Edric's wit is shown in both his narration and his spoken words.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "The Shadow of the Raven" by Matthew Ward an A+

Click here for the next book review (which was not a review request): Sword Art Online volume 2

Click here for the previous book review (which was not a review request): Worlds of Medieval Europe

The sequel to this book also has a review: Light of the Radiant

This was a free review request. I received in exchange except a free copy of the book.

Brian Wilkerson is a freelance book reviewer, writing advice blogger and independent novelist. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

Neccessity of a Verse Book (The Mechanics of Fantasy)

When writing a story, it's necessary to keep everything straight so everything makes sense. The who, what, where, why, and how of things can get complicated when you have a sheet for every place and character. This is especially the case for speculative fiction as it contains many more possibilities than realistic fiction.

I was revising a scene in Journey To Chaos book 4 and it was the latest of the many occasions that I've been struck by the complexity of the fantasy genre. The supernatural nature of world provides far more in the way of world building and character ability and backstory then an equivalent story in a real life location. This is what Looming Shadow took so long to publish; there were many elements to keep in balance and account for.

When I took the whole work into consideration at once, and then the work in context of the series and the series in terms of the verse, there was a lot that I had to keep track of. It was a fascinating period of contemplation and reconciliation between plot elements, but it was also a long and, at times, tedious process. It was like hiking without a map; it's enjoyable until you get lost so I'm glad I had been keeping a map and adding to it as I went.

As in realistic fiction, you have to keep in mind the terrain and its nature, all the characters involved and their motivations, how the characters relate to each other, and the actions they would take in this specific situation, not as logic would dictate but as their individual characteristics would dictate. However, fantasy fiction has more elements. You could have different scales on the Super Weight, from badass normal to moderate magic to high magic to god like(and the level of divinity for each god-like character) in addition to skills that might be supernatural but not really "magic" as such. You might have to keep in mind the aspects of a non-human race in comparison to the human race, and how these affect other races. The area itself could have a supernatural qualification.

It's kind of like a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. "I have this character Bob, who has Y level of skill/strength/speed etc, S kind of equipment, a favored enemy of X, racial bonuses A and B, a skill set of G,H,T." Then you multiply this by the number of character in the scene. Character sheets are useful for summarizing them.

 The scene I referred to involves demon mage mercenaries, chaotic elven anti-order warriors, and chaotic elven priestesses, invading a land blessed by the head deity of order and fighting elite orderly soldiers with the assistance of chaotic deities. There is a lot of information to keep track of that would not exist in realistic fiction and so I found myself re-reading my notes and previous books.

Now I'm revising this blog post and I realize it reads more like a prologue to a chapter than a standalone thing. I suppose that's why D&D books are so thick...

Interview Post: Krysten Hager and "Best Friends...Forever?"

Hello my fellow writers and readers,

Today I'm doing an interview post with Krysten Hager to celebrate the release of her latest book "Best Friends...Forever?". In addition to the questions, Miss. Hager provided me with a blurb and excerpt of her book. 

On your book
1. What is a one-line synopsis for your book? And is this a stand-alone or part of a series?

--->Good friends have your back, but Landry soon finds some friends will go behind it. Best Friends…Forever? is the second book in the Landry’s True Colors Series.

2. How did you decide when and where to set Best Friends…Forever? What inspired the story itself?

--->It’s based in current times in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I’m from Michigan, but I’m from the other side of the state (an hour north of Detroit—a suburb of Flint). I set the story in Grand Rapids because I have family there and my parents both grew up there. I wanted to use that setting instead of my hometown because I think Grand Rapids is more relatable than my hometown of Grand Blanc would have been.

 The story was inspired by the way the media used to (and still does) portray groups of teen friends as having these unbreakable bonds where everything was sunny and no one ever had a bad day and me feeling like I couldn’t relate to that. I thought everyone had it all together BUT me and so I wanted to create a character who shares the other side of things (the awkward, anxious moments of growing up and trying to fit in) in a funny way so readers know they’re not alone in having those thoughts.

3. What are your current projects? What are you planning for future projects? What are you working on next?

--->I’m working on the third book in the Landry’s True Colors series and on another younger YA story and rewriting an adult novel as well.

4. Can you tell us a little about your world-building process, and how you designed the setting for Best Friends…Forever?

--->I actually use my grandmother’s house (in Grand Rapids, MI) as the house Landry and her mom live in, but I have the house set on my aunt’s street. I used to walk around there a lot and so in my mind I can picture Landry’s school (Hillcrest Academy), where she goes for ice cream with her friends, and where all her friends live. I even have Landry’s bus route written down and her school schedule.

5. Did you outline it ahead of time, or wing it?

---> The first book I had no outline for, but now that it’s a series and I have to make sure to stay consistent, I did do a bit of plotting.

6. How is writing a book now different from writing your first book?

--->The main thing is that now that it is a series, I had to put together what some people have called a “series bible.” So now I have down Landry’s class schedule, which teacher is for which subject, her friends’ siblings’’ names, etc. so that I don’t make a mistake. I also have to make sure I keep the characters all consistent.

7. What do you know now about being a writer that you wish you had known before you published your first book?

---> Right after I signed the contract, I saw another author post on Facebook that she loved being a writer, but hated being an author because it’s hard and scary and I thought, “What am I in for?” And she was right—it can be hard and scary, but this is what I chose to do. I wish I had known more about the business side of things though.

8. What is the most common rookie mistake you see new authors make?

--->Trying to do things to promote that are out of their comfort zone and they don’t come off well. If a person isn’t great in live (or print) interviews, it shows and they come off awkward and uncomfortable. One author who is an amazing writer did an interview where she got nervous and ended up making her character and book come off as a different genre all together. She was terrified going in and she did herself a disservice doing the interview. Meanwhile, her blog posts are great and that’s where she shines. So don’t force yourself to be something you’re not.

9. What sort of author marketing have you found to be most effective?

-->Basically making sure you start before the book is out so people know what to expect from your work. If they’ve read a few things from you then they are more apt to take a look at your book.

On Writing
10. Do you use beta readers, and, if so, what qualities do you look for in a beta?

--->I have. I like to pick people who will be honest and give feedback and not just say, “Yeah, I liked it,” or say they weren’t crazy about it, but not able to tell you why. I just had a conversation with one where they said they loved one part and I asked why and they said, “I was riveted in the parts about Landry dealing with the friendship misunderstandings. If more dads read this sort of thing they’d understand why their daughters act that way instead of chalking it all up to hormones. This was eye opening.” That was great feedback to get.

Personal
11. Where can we find your work?

--->Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Friends-Forever-Landrys-Colors-ebook/dp/B00UIP1N5S/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/krysten-lindsay-hager

Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/true-colors/id890673002

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/true-colors-17

 
12. What book or books are you reading now?

---> I just finished The Paris Wife with my book club and a friend sent me The Rainbow Club. I have been so busy editing that I haven’t started it yet, but that’s on the list.

13. What do you do when you’re not writing?
--->I read a lot and I really relax with the TV. I have moved a lot so keeping in touch with friends is a big thing for me. I like emailing and even sending little cards and things in the mail to connect with friends who live far away so we keep in touch.

 14. Name three of your favorite television shows.
--->American Dad is my ultimate favorite. I re-watch episodes of it all the time. I also like Switched at Birth and Hart of Dixie

 

 

Best Friends…Forever? (Landry’s True Colors Series) by Krysten Lindsay Hager

Tag line: Good friends have your back, but some go behind it.

Blurb:    Landry Albright hopes the new year will start off in an amazing way—instead she has to deal with more frenemy issues, boy drama, and having most of her best friends make the cheerleading squad without her. Suddenly, it seems like all anyone can talk about is starting high school next year—something she finds terrifying.

                Landry gets her first boyfriend, but then gets dumped just as things come to a head with her friends. She feels lost and left out, but finds good advice about dealing with frenemies from what she considers an unlikely source. Landry faces having to speak up for what’s right, tell the truth (even when it hurts), and how to get past the fear of failure as she gets another shot at competing in the American Ingénue modeling competition.

Excerpt:

 “Landry, it’s gotta be so awkward for you to be going to Vladi’s school next year,” Tori said. “I mean, what if you run into him during the tour?"

"It’s a huge place,ʺ Ashanti said. “People break up all the time. It’s not a big deal.ʺ

Tori raised her eyebrows as if to say, “Yeah, right,” and went back to her sandwich. Meanwhile my delicious homemade soup was no longer sitting well. It never occurred to me Vladi might be around during the first pre‑freshman tour. I would be mortified if I ran into him and he was with a girl. Or worse yet, running into him, and he was with Yasmin. Plus, I hadn’t told my mom about the breakup, so if she saw him, she’d probably go over to talk to him. I could already imagine it: “Landry, Vladi’s here! Hon? Why are you hiding behind the garbage can? Your boyfriend, Vladi, is here. Come say, ‘hello.’ Stop trying to run away. Why is everyone laughing and pointing at you and calling you a ‘loser dumpee?’ What does that mean?”

Well, maybe the world would end and I wouldn’t have to deal with high school or Vladi and my mother running into each other.

****

Sadly, the world did not end, and on Thursday, we all had to go to the high school for a freshman information night from 6 to 9 p.m.

Author bio: Krysten Lindsay Hager is the author of the Landry’s True Colors Series, a clean reads young adult series. Krysten writes about  friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, middle school and high school, frenemies, modeling, crushes, values, and self-image in both True Colors and Best Friends…Forever?

Krysten is an Amazon international bestselling author and book addict who has never met a bookstore she didn’t like. She’s worked as a journalist and writes middle grade, YA, humor essays, and adult fiction. She is originally from Michigan and has lived in Portugal, South Dakota, and currently resides in Southern Ohio where you can find her reading and writing when she’s not catching up on her favorite shows. She received her master’s degree from the University of Michigan-Flint.

What people are saying about True Colors (Landry’s True Colors Series Book One):

From Teenage Book Recommendations in the UK: "This is a fantastically relatable and real book which I feel captures all of the insecurities and troubles which haunt the modern teenage girl. It is about a young model who has to go through tough times when she is torn between a life as a model and managing her friendships. You learn which friends she can most trust and which will create the drama typical of teenage life. Follow the life of Landry and try to see if you can find out which are her true friends before their true colours are revealed. This book is all about relationships, hopes and truth. I loved this book!"

From Books & Authors Spot: “This book is such an inspiration for those who just care about their looks and are tensed about them. This thing is looks aren't everything. This book is related to every teen's problem. Hager has written a very inspiring novel.”

 

Connect with Krysten:

Website: http://www.krystenlindsay.com/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/krystenlindsay

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KrystenLindsayHagerAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KrystenLindsay

 

signpost of what is to come-building a universe of stories

Journey to Chaos book 3: Mana Mutation Menace has been sent to beta readers. While they read it I'm working on book 4. Right now it is untitled but I'm leaning toward "Race to Applied Apotheosis". This is where the deepest plot structures that have been underpinning the series thus far will take center stage. After that, there will be on more book in the Journey to Chaos series. It too is untitled. Mana Mutation Menace should be released sometime in the late spring or early summer and, If I'm fortunate, book 4 will be released later this year,

Once Journey to Chaos is complete, I plan to write other books in the world of Tariatla. These will be both prequels that expand on the world's history and sequels that examine the new status quo following the Journey to Chaos. There will be new casts of characters but also many of the same, and taking place in similar locations and referring to events in the main story. Others will be completely separate but still taking place in the same world.

Read for Fun: Worlds of Medieval Europe

Read for fun review

Brief backstory: Back in college, I wanted to take this intro course on medieval European history, but there was never time in my schedule for it. Other cases had higher priority because they were required for my majors (I choose to focus the history one on ancient eastern Mediterranean). To compensate, I bought the main textbook for the class. That book is Worlds of Medieval Europe by Clifford Backman . It is a fascinating read and also an engaging one. I will examine Content, Tone and Polish and then assign a grade.

 CONTENT

The book's reach in regards to time is the tail end of the Roman Imperial period to just before the 15th century Renaissance and its reach in regards to space is from the Iberian Peninsula to Central Asia, and from Norway to North Africa. Mr. Backman does not regard Medieval Europe as existing on its own but as a part of this wider world.

The book's theme is less about narrating the events that happen but more about how these events fit in with the society, influence it, and are influenced by it. "Gestalt" is the word I'd use to describe the book's focus. In other words, how the machinery of Medieval European Society functioned in addition to all it's little gears and what this created.

There is a great deal of information here. It's about the time, the society, the economy, the religious life, the cultural life, along with farmers, merchants, nobles, priests, sailors contrasted with each other. As many as three chapters will go over the same time period in order to examine them from different angles.

 TONE

Forget all stereotypes about academic books being stifling or dry. This one is remarkably engaging. There is a strong writer's voice present that make it like a storyteller instead of a historian, and yet it remains objective.

Footnotes have jokes in them. A good chunk of them exist solely to provide some historical fun fact or for Mr. Backmann to make some humorous illustration of a point.

POLISH
No spelling or grammar errors. There's a good use of images.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Worlds of Medieval Europe" an A+

Click here for the next book review (a review request): Shadow of the Raven

Click here for the previous book review (technically a beta read): Final Ragnarok: She Returns

Beta read review: She Returns-Final Ragnarok

Dan Wright asked me to beta read the third book in his Draconica series. This one is called She Returns and it is part of a sub-series called "Final Ragnarok". If you've been following my blog for a while (basically the beginning-Dan was the first person to use Book Tweeting Service to find me) you'd know that I've also reviewed the first book (Trapped on Draconica) and the second book (Legacy of the Dragokin). Both of them scored highly. I will examine Plot, Character and Polish and then assign a grade.

For full disclosure, I beta-read She Returns so my review will not be fully reflective of the finished product. Instead, it is likely better than what I'm descriping here.

PLOT

What we have here is an Evil Plan by a bunch of evil supernatural people to release their patron evil god. Like in previous Draconica stories, there are few points for originality, but in my grading scale that are few points to be awarded for "originality" anyway. It's what happens within that framework that matters.

The evil people have varying degrees of evilness, which leads to alliances with the heroes against the other evil people. Some of them have different goals, which leads into different plot points from personal vendetta  to country take over and Rage Against the Heavens. Some of these evil people are evil no longer and some of the good people are no longer so good. In fact, two of them have switched places; Cain is calling his brother "Cain" because he is now Abel.

A point I like is the continunity of the books. Each one feels like a true sequel instead of an episodic "the next adventure" sort of thing. For instance, there's Daniar. In the first book she's this young single woman doing the Badass Princess thing. In the second book, she's become a queen, a mother and wife, and having trouble balancing it all. In the third book, she's doing better in all three aspects but the toll on her pysche is implied to be great, thus leading to her actions during the book.

One problem I see with the plot is a lack of focus. Each of the Dragokin sisters has their own plotline, and Benji does as well. This makes them all feel underdeveloped and the narrative to feel cluttered. This is especially the case with Zarracka as she doesn't do much to advance the plot.

A second problem is that the Dragokin don't seem quite as powerful as in the previous two books. One could chalk it up to being out of practice (Zarracka, for instance, has been spent years in a cell), but it feels suspiciously like Strong As They Need to Be.

The ending is a cliffhanger, BUT, She Returns is sold as a two part set so a cliffhanger is expected. Furthermore, it's less of a "incomplete story" thing and more of a " disk 1 complete. Please insert disk 2" sort of thing. There's an epilogue and everything. In other words, it's not a Goading Cliffhanger.

CHARACTERS

As I said earlier, a strong point with the characters in general is this sense continuity. Growing older,  referencing the past, changing in personality as a result of the past; a strong sense of history.

Zarracka, for instance, is 180 degrees different from how she was in "Trapped on Draconica" because in the previous book "Legacy of the Dragokin" she mellowed into Benji's doting aunt, and ultimately calling truce with her sister because of it.

Kalack and Daniar have learned from their experiences in the previous book as well. They're not having marriage issues anymore and being more inclusive with their son Benji. Daniar has finally begun his training as a dragokin. No character arc recycling here.

One problem I have with the characters are the villains. Compared to the previous books they are flatter, more monolithic and more For The Evulz.  What makes this a problem, is that they are the very same villains that were killed last time, and supposedly Killed Off For Real.

POLISH
No spelling or grammar problems. Any that I missed have surely been fixed since the book was published.

The prose has improved over the last two books.  It's tighter; less word cruft.

Trickster Eric Novels gives (beta) She Returns a C

Click here for the next book review (which was not a request): Worlds of Medieval Europe

Click here for the previous review request: Apple Cider Vinegar For Weight Loss: The Secret Of A Successful Natural Remedy For Faster Weight Loss (Apple Cider Vinegar For Beginners)
  

Answering Review Request: Apple Cider Vinegar For Weight Loss: The Secret Of A Successful Natural Remedy For Faster Weight Loss (Apple Cider Vinegar For Beginners)

Jessica David asked me to read her book "Apple Cider Vinegar For Weight Loss: The Secret Of A Successful Natural Remedy For Faster Weight Loss (Apple Cider Vinegar For Beginners) ". It's an intro to this substance and its possible applications in health and medicine. It's obviously not a novel so my scale for this book will include Content, Tone and Polish. The grade will come afterward.

CONTENT

Considering the blurb, I thought this would be just a 44 page commercial for "Apple Cider Vinegar", but that is not at all the case. There's a lot of useful/interesting information here even if you don't buy into the alleged health benefits.

In the first chapter, there's a brief history about Apple Cider Vinegar and how it can be produced, both domestically and industrially. I found both of these interesting.
There's two chapters of recipes, both for drink and food. They're supposedly tasty but I've haven't tried them so I'll take Miss. David's word for it.

The main attraction, the health benefits, are decent. It's kinda sketchy but Miss.David isn't the one doing the research; just presenting it. Besides, Layman's terms. I don't think anyone other than the researchers themselves would understand the nuts and bolts (I wouldn't, for sure).  Her information on how to make Apple Cinder Vinegar is much more thorough so I believe that is more her area of experience. The ending has this long list of sources so if the reader is intrigued they can follow the trail of bread crumbs.

TONE

It is a cautious and friendly tone. The book reads like a friend saying, "I heard about this thing and it sounds cool. Want to find out more about it?" It's not at all a salesman's pitch. There's no "subscribe to my miraculous program and use this book for a discount" sort of thing. You know, not a husker thing. It's a sense that Miss. David is genuinely interested in Apple Cider Vinegar and wants to share this knowledge rather than someone trying to capitalize on a trend and make it the next big money making scheme.

Indeed, Miss.David wants to distance herself from weight loss trends; all that stuff promising the moon and all the stars if you buy their product. Instead, Miss. David regularly mentions the need for more research before any of the health claims can be stated with certainty. She also mentions that there are a number of downsides to Apple Cider Vinegar such as the acidity causing problems for stomachs or tooth enamel. In other words, there's no miracle drug or silver bullet here. In fact, I get the feeling that she enjoyed putting "weight loss 'secret' " in quotes because, as she explicitly points out, there is no secret.

POLISH

I found three errors regarding spelling and grammar.

The long list of references at the end is good but I would like to see more connection between that list and the body of the work. Most of it is stuff like "studies by X and others". The reader shouldn't have to make the connection on their own. If I did that in college, my professors would have thrown a fit (metaphorically speaking of course).

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Apple Cider Vinegar For Weight Loss: The Secret Of A Successful Natural Remedy For Faster Weight Loss (Apple Cider Vinegar For Beginners)" a B

This is a free review request. I was given nothing in exchange for this review except a free copy of the book.


Click here for the next review request:  (which was originally a beta read): Final Ragnarok: She Returns
Click here for the previous review request: Spirit Tales: The Wheel Work

If you want to read more about Apple Cider Vinegar immediately, this is a link to Maira Nutrition. It's one of those list things that are standard with health tips. In this case, "10 Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar".
It is a quick read covering similar ground as this book. Similar to the book, she mentions the organizations that conducted the studies which support her facts, but there is no formal list of sources (apparently, I am not the only person who disliked using the MLA style of citation). She does, however, state a couple times that a reader should consult with their physician (or dentist, as applicable), which is more direct and to the point for anyone who considers using  Apple Cider Vinegar.
https://www.mairanutrition.com/weight-loss/health-benefits-of-apple-cider-vinegar/


Brian Wilkerson is a freelance book reviewer, writing advice blogger and independent novelist. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

Answering Review Request: Spirit Tales One - The Wheelwork

Rabbi Joseph asked me to review his book "Spirit Tales One: The Wheelwork". It's a girl with life problems having a divine experience which empowers her to overcome the problems. I will examine Plot, Characters and Polish and then assign a grade.

PLOT

There's a frame narrative of a grandmother telling "Spirit Tales" to her grandchildren. She makes a distinction between this and a "fairy tale" and it is of great importance to the author. The way I see it, a "spirit tale" is about God Almighty and a "fairy tale" is about lesser supernatural creatures. Both of them are about moral instruction. What follows is basically a Jewish vision quest.

There's a neat itemization of teenage earthly problems: hanging out doing nothing, peer pressure, bullying, boy chasing, lack of interest in school, feeling empty and out of place, both parental neglect and also pressure into a given career path.

The supernatural experience that takes place in the meat of this story is well handled. It has the majesty and otherwordliness one would expect of such a realm. The advice is practical; not at all Space Whale Aesopish. It sounds like something someone could do in real life.

Ending is good. There's a conclusion of conflict with some food for thought.

CHARACTERS

This spirit tale, like it's fairy tale cousins, is a morality tale. Thus, you shouldn't expect the most diverse of characters. The protagonist is an Audience Surrogate and the bullies are cardboard cutouts but all three of them serve their purpose. The same can be said of The Protagonist's Angel Guide "Understanding". He serves as The Protagonist's guide to new understanding about herself and life.

POLISH

No spelling or grammar errors.

The hymns and verse and such are in three scripts, which is kinda cool.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Spirit Tales the Wheelwork" a B

Click here for the next review request: Apple Cider Vinegar For Weight Loss: The Secret Of A Successful Natural Remedy For Faster Weight Loss (Apple Cider Vinegar For Beginners)

Click here for the previous book review (which was a request):  Spectras Arise 1: Contract of Defiance

Answering Review Request: Contract of Defiance

Tammy Salyer asked me to read her space opera, "Contract of Defiance". It's about two groups of criminals that try to break into a high security government facility for diametrically opposed goals. I will examine Plot, Character, and Polish before assigning a grade.


PLOT

What we have here is a conspiracy by two groups of criminals to sneak into this giant fortress operated by an oppressive government in order to rescue friends or steal weapons for a payoff. It's very Star Wars-ish, if the attempt was only undertaken by five of Han Solo's split personalities and he was working with/against Jaba the Hut's goons, The Empire was nothing but faceless mooks, and the Jedi didn't exist. Okay, revise that; it's nothing like Star Wars.

There's a In Media Res starting things off which is a great hook. It moves quickly into action and the backstory is revealed piece by piece as our protagonist, Aly Erickson, tries to get a handle on her situation.

Because she is the protagonist, one could say that the plot is her attempt to reunite with her brother, David, whom she was separated from during the In Media Res heist. Her story unfolds as she tries to make this happen. She believes he's being held captive at The Fortress that her crew was going to break into anyway but there's a problem.  Her crew was going to snatch a weapon and her boss doesn't like changing his plans. She falls in with a new crew that has a similar goal but they don't like her because she's a darker shade of grey, and she doesn't feel comfortable with them for a great many reasons, and one of them is being a darker shade of grey, but she wants to be a lighter shade. This is the book's second source of conflict.

Everyone in this story is grey (except for Rajack and most of his crew-they're straight up black). This cast contains only criminals of some kind and most of them have a Dark and Troubled Past explaining why they're a criminal and it always involves the Admin. If you think about it, they can sound silly.
-"I hate the Admin because I was a soldier and they told me to kill people who committed crimes."
-"I hate the Admin because they didn't maintain a dry mine and it eventually collapsed on my family, who was squatting in it."
-"I hate the Admin because I didn't want to use their funding towards what they wanted me to use it for so they threatened to take it away."
-"I hate the Admin because a virus wiped out a city and rumors say that it was created in the Fortress, transported to the city, and then maybe deliberately released."
This last one is the most egregious because stealing a weapon from the Fortress and using it on a populated city (for ransom money) is precisely Rajack's plan and what Aly was working towards in the In Media Res.
No one from the Admin ever appears and the only named character from the Admin is a corrupt official. Thus, we never see the other side of this story. What keeps this balanced and away from the territories of Designated Villain and Off-Screen Villainy, is that the criminal status of the main cast is regularly lampshaded.
-Hardly a chapter goes by where Aly does not mention or think about how the equipment in Agate Beach must be stolen. Thus, a target for law enforcement. She also reflects on her own past as a deserter and weapon smuggler who has no qualms with killing people if necessary.
-This quote here is illuminating.
****
(Most of the non-cit outposts I’ve been to in my travels have been destitute sties filled with pirates, degenerates, and criminals—hiding places for the cutthroat and brutal.")
****

Why do soldiers so often kill people in the outskirts? If everyone in the community is a brutal criminal then the soldiers cannot play nice. Let's imagine that this story takes place during the time when Aly was still an Admin soldier. She was tracking down, in her own words, "pirates, degenerates and criminals". She presumed that Vitruzzi's crew were "smugglers that spill blood out of convenience" because as both a soldier and deserter, that is what she is most used to seeing. That is all she finds in Hell's Gate. The lack of such people in Agate Beach baffles her. This means that the Admin, at worst, is a Knight Templar organization.
-This passage here is a full on lampshading of this grey and grey morality as well as a popping of Aly's justification for thinking the Admin is worse than herself and therefore deserves to be the victim of her crimes.
****
(Strahan leans back in his chair, his lips twisted into a sarcastic grin. "That’s just beautiful, Erikson. You work for a man who wiped out a squad of thirty soldiers to escape from Keum Libre, a prison he no doubt deserved to be in, and help him steal a bomb that could potentially wipe out the population of a planet. And you make out that it’s the Admin’s fault? That’s rich.") Page 70.
****
In other words, when you are a thief and a murderer and you work for a thief and a murderer who wants the ability to depopulate a planet, you have no moral high ground at all. Also, this comes from Strahan, who is a former soldier similar to Aly, although he was more pilot than infantry.
-When pressed to answer why she thinks the Admin would want to destroy Agate Beach, instead of just arresting the criminals inside it, Aly can only say "I don't know. Because it's what they do". Either she doesn't want to admit that the Admin is justified in tracking down criminals (albeit in a unnecessarily harsh and severe manner) or she doesn't want to admit that she thinks the Admin are Always Chaotic Evil because that would be silly if spoken aloud. Aly likes ignoring facts that don't fit her complicated world view; a fact that she is aware of and also tries to ignore.

While reading this book I couldn't help but imagine what the tone would be like and what the opinion of the Admin would be if a soldier or citizen were the protagonist. Thus, we have a grey and grey and black morality, with Rajack being the black and Vitruzzi's crew being grey along with the Admin.

The ending is good. The book's conflict is resolved but the series' conflict can continue into another book. Only a skilled author can pull off something like this.

CHARACTERS

Aly Erickson, our protagonist, is fascinatingly complex. Laying out her personality, worldview, and the contradicting-yet-complementary elements could be its own blog post. For the sake of brevity, I will try to nutshell it. (Warning! Understanding the nutshell requires fluency in Tvtropes.) Aly is a Broken Bird due to Parental Abandonment and Shell Shocked Veteran who practices half-hearted Straw Nihilism because Hope Is Scary but Even Evil Has Standards and Blood Is Thicker Than Water.

Rajack is the Big Bad. He's like a rapid dog that is paradoxically able to think rationally. Perhaps a better description would be that he is a savagely intelligent dog that employs truly rapid dogs. No one hates the Admin more than this guy and yet he does not have a Dark and Troubled Past like our protagonists with which to justify said hatred, and he's also far eviler than anyone in the Admin.

Vitruzzi is the Big Good. If she's not the leader of Agate Beach or co-leader  with Brady then she can certainly convince him to do things her way on a regular basis. She can be compared to an Apron Matron because she cares deeply about her crew's well being, keeping them safe and fed, but also doesn't take any crap from them or anyone. She's also an amazing strategist with Nerves of Steel.

The Admin has only one named character, T'kai, but he never shows up or speaks for himself. It's all second-hand and in-universe speculation about his actions and motives. There's also Vilbrandt, who claims to have been a big wig with the Admin, but no one trusts a word he says on any subject. In the end, the Admin is treated like this big monolithic bully. Since all of this comes from criminals, it's hardly an objective prospective.


POLISH

No spelling or grammar errors.

This story is a first person narration from Aly and it's a mixed bag whether or not it works. The hook at the start of the story wouldn't be nearly as effective in third person, but there are other scenes that drag because of her internal narration. Some areas are too calmly narrated for someone in panic or anger but there are also some scenes that do a good job of simulating her losing consciousness and thus awareness of what's going on. Sometimes the narration sounds like she's musing to herself or talking herself through actions but other times it comes perilously close to breaking the fourth wall by explaining things to the readers.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Contract of Defiance" a B+

P.S. I'm going to do an interview with Miss. Salyer at her website http://tammysalyer.com/. Keep an eye out for it.

Click here for the next book review (which was a request): Spirit Tales: The Wheelwork

Click here for the previous book review (which was not a request): Sword Art Online: Aincrad 1

Second Novel Published! Reflection with Looming Shadow

It's been a little more than one month since my second book's release date.  Looming Shadow is the second book in the Journey to Chaos series, which means I officially have a series published instead of a single book claiming to be part of a series. Seeing one of my own books in the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" section is pretty cool. It's not stopping there either, but more on that later.

Looming Shadow was published at the tail end of last December, so its debut month was January.  During the month of January, it was bought 414 times and burrowed through KOLL/KU 306 times. This is at a 2.99 price, which is two dollars more than the first novel. I say that's a good response. (Also, note the spike in interest for A Mage's Power ^_^)

When publishing your second book, you have the experience of the first. You've made the rookie mistakes and learned your lessons. I'm glad to say that the launch for Looming Shadow went much smoother than for A Mage's Power. I was still rushing to get it out before Year's End but there were fewer problems.
There was no problem with content because I found some beta readers to check for those. There haven't been any problems with formatting/editing/proofreading because I hired an editor to take care of them before the launch instead of afterward. I know how KPD works now so I didn't stress out over pushing the "publish" button. When I launched A Mage's Power, that button wracked my nerves and I had to bring out some musical inspiration to hit it. Now it is less scary. I also know how to make images show up in the Kindle version (though there was a brief period of time where it had two consecutive cover pages). However, I am still learning.

For instance, this time I had the experience of "breaking even". When I published "A Mage's Power" all I did was order a cover. It cost 90 dollars; not insigificant but also nothing that would break the bank. It wasn't until after my 99 cent book sold a couple thousand copies ( I could show you a picture of that record if you're interested)  that I found an editor so even then I didn't worry about it. This time I ordered everything up front: editing, proofreading, formatting, cover illustration, and advertising. It cost me a couple dollars short of a grand. Thus, I watched the sales carefully and calculated how many more copies I'd have to sell to recoup the expense I occured. I imagine it's what a publishing house feels like only magnified by many more books. It's good for empathy.  As of this writing, I'm about 90% of the way there.

It's a validating thing to have two books published instead of one. I read this thing during college about this one author talking about the "one book author". Similar to the one-hit wonder of the music industry, it's about someone who publishes one book and only one book. Either a lack of time, lack of drive or something stops them from publishing a second. It was autobiographical in that the author was afraid of that herself. She was given a certain span of time where she didn't have to work at her job and so she could "live like an author". At the time I was afraid of that, but not anymore. I have two books out and a third is going to beta reading soon.

That book has the planned title of "Mana Mutation Menace". This is the third book in the Journey to Chaos series and it will focus heavily on what creates monsters . It's fascinating to look back to the history of this concept. I created it simply to explain the presence of monsters; part of the world building and setting flavor. Essentially, it was a plot device. Now it has become the focus of a book's plot and the means by which the conflict between Chaos and Order comes to the fore.

I'm looking forward to the new Two Book  (and soon Three Book) dynamic. I've read about authors who coordinate deals between books in order to boost sales of both. For instance, making the first book free in order to gain more readers for the later books in the series. I also feel more confident in taking best advantage of such marketing through social media. When I wasn't writing I was connecting with other authors and looking for places to promote. I found both and they have lead to reciprocity.

Journey to Chaos Book 3: Mana Mutation Menace will published this year. It could be as soon as spring, or it could be as late as summer, but it will be published this year.

Read for Fun: Sword Art Online Volume 1 Aincrad

I watched Sword Art Online when it first aired on Toonami and I liked it so much I bought the light novel when it was translated into English. To all the SAO haters out there, you need to read the light novel because most if not all of your complaints are due to the way the anime was adapted from the light novels. I will include these differences in my traditional three sections. I will examine Plot, Characters and Polish and then assign a grade.

PLOT

The general thrust of the book is that 10,000 players have been trapped in the VMMORPG, Sword Art Online and have to conquer the castle of Aincrad in order to escape. There are one hundred floors but the book only covers the 74th and 75th floors. This is two years after the game began. 

You see, it's In Media Res. The first chapter is Kirito fighting an Elite Mook on the 74th floor. Then he flashesback to the first day up until Kayaba announces the start of the death game. Then he spends a chapter or so expositing on how the game works and general history: like how The Army got started and the four types of players in the game. After that, the plot goes directly to Kirito finding the Ragout Rabbit which would not happen in the anime until "The Sword Dance of White and Black". The content of episodes two through eight are all from other volumes. This is why there is no connection between them and the main story; they were created after the main story was published. They seem like filler because they were intended to be extra stories to flesh out the world and characters after the main story was completed.

The main story as presented in the light novel is straightforward; posessing little fat or digressions. Even the "honeymoon" Asuna and Kirito take serves its purpose by demonstrating what life in Aincrad is like away from the front lines. Thus, providing both a traditional heroic reason to go back to the front lines as well as a temptation to stay away from them.  It provides good emotional conflict without descending into meaningless angst or drama.

For those that have a problem with the climatic battle, there's something here too. Kayaba talks about how one of the great things about an RPG is having "one's expectations betrayed" and that includes his own expectations. Afterward, he talks about how he dreamed of a world that could surpass the rules of reality, including his own rules. While he is as surprised as anyone both in-universe and out-of-universe by the seemingly impossible feat that our leading lady accomplishes, he is not angry. That's how his world is supposed to work.

For those complaining about the status of the player's real bodies, and what would happen to them during a two year comma, there's an explanation for that too. The epilogue goes into detail about such things: food, body waste, bed sores, muscle atrophy etc.

The ending is good. The book's main conflict is closed but personal conflict remains. In fact, it's a perfect sequel hook for the next adventure "Fairy Dance".

CHARACTERS

I see a lot of bashing of Kirito in the anime. It's the typical mary sue variety; overpowered, bland, somehow attracts many admires etc. That's not the case here in volume 1.
--->Sure he's a powerful solo player with the inside knowledge of a beta tester, but he's not the "only" solo player or the only beta tester. He points this out himself as part of his self-depreciation. This just happens to be his story so it focuses on him instead of them.
--->Sure he has the Unique Skill Dual Blades. In the anime it comes out of nowhere, but it's not as great as it seems. The light novel explains that he can't use it often or he'll be seen as even more of a "beater" than he is already thought to be, or be hounded by people demanding to know how he got the skill. Since he doesn't know, they might think he's lying and dislike him for it. Thus increasing his social isolation. There's sufficient foreshadowing in the light novel that he has it as well as an explanation of why he keeps it a secret: it's his ace in the hole.
--->Overpowered character? He has to be rescued twice in this volume, runs away in fear from a floor boss, and he only clears the game because the final boss allowed him to.
--->Bland badass? In the Light Novel, we see his thoughts because he's a first person narrator. There's rarely a time when he "isn't" scared, either for himself, Asuna, someone else, or all of the above. We also see his intense interest in and experience of VMMRPG, as well as a great deal of Heroic Self Depreciation. He's constantly praising others: Asuna, Klein, Heathcliff, but has a poor opinion of himself and his own skills.
--->Too many female admirers? Asuna is the only girl in his life and they've known each for two years before their Relationship Upgrade.

There's a different perspective on Asuna as well. The anime introduces her during the raid of the first floor boss. This establishes her first as an action girl and then later episodes show her cooking talent and her love for Kirito. This leads some to think she is Chickified. In the Light Novel she is still the Sub-Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath from her introduction and she finds Kirito because it's part of her job to find solo players for boss runs. However, her first scene with Kirito is this recruitment followed by the Ragout Rabbit stew, which is then followed by exploring a dungeon with Kirito. Instead of an Action Girl that becomes girly, we have an Action Girl that is girly from the start; Girly Bruiser. There is no separation.
Unlike the anime where she floats in and out of the picture, she's a constant presence here and makes significant contributions to plot development.


Because of the book's focus, Kuradeel is a bigger presence and a bigger threat. In the anime, the scope is smaller and he's just some one-off guy. Not so in the novel; in the novel he is introduced shortly after the beginning exposition and reappears many chapters latter.

POLISH
This is a first person narration and the narrator happens to be a hard core VMMORPG addict. Thus, all the talk about the history of the game, the mechanics of the system, all of it is perfectly in character. There is a great sense of things because of this perspective.

No spelling or grammar problems.

Trickster Eric Novels gives Sword Art Online Volume 1 Aincrad an A+

Click here for the next book review (which was a request): Spectras Arise 1: Contract of Defiance

Click here for the previous book review (which was a request): 7th Moon

Answering Review Request: Seventh Moon

Michael Joy asked me to read his novel "Seventh Moon". It's a dystopian science fiction thing staring a group of super soldiers that rebel against their corrupt creators by becoming super heroic clergy. I will examine Plot, Characters and Polish before assigning a grade.

PLOT

The story starts off exciting with Seventh Moon sending a group of super soldiers to a supposed base of terrorists that stole Seventh Moon's technology. There's a description of the soldiers showcasing Mr.Joy's love of tropes, followed by what we call on Tvtropes a Curb Stomp Battle. What I like about this sort of beginning is that it is set up to be a "Lawful Super Team fighting Chaotic criminals" thing and then does a pirouette into a "Defector From Decadence rebellion" thing. All the soldiers are set up as equals and then two of them break away as heroes, which colors the rest as villains.

What follows is a seamless genre shift from science fiction government black ops to fantasy martial arts philosophy. Why is it seamless? Because the Mentor Archetype for the fantasy was the combat instructor for the science fiction. He was hired by Seventh Moon but has since retired. He remarks that Seventh Moon has no taste for the spiritual component of his martial arts style and so he's basically completing their training. This becomes a key difference as the trio of heroes fight their counterparts as well as a long running plot thread. Over all, there is a impressive mix of Science Fiction and Fantasy tropes all the way to the end of the story. Esper or full contact mage? It doesn't matter. Either way, it's cool.

I like the flow of the plot. It follows a sound progression of events as the heroes try to unravel Seventh Moon's control. It's not just beating the bad guys but addressing the underlying problems caused by them. For instance, freeing a hydroelectric dam from their control in order to restore power to the country housing it.

There are two problems with the plot. Add some Alternate Character Interpretation, and there's only one. It is the three year gap between the first scene and the Evil Counterparts attacking the Shinryuu shrine. Given that Seventh Moon knows about this place and it's close by the village they destroyed and there's nothing keeping them away, I don't understand why the attack didn't come for three years. I don't know the reason for it, and because this time of peace allows the heroes to develop their esper powers, it is significant.

The ending is good. It has a climatic battle and a resolution of the book's conflict. There are a few threads dangling but there are more of a "connecting thread" to a possible sequel rather than loose ends from laziness or a Goading Cliffhanger.

CHARACTERS

There are a lot of characters on both the heroic and villainous side and all of them receive sufficient development. The main characters get the most, of course, but even the sub-bosses (so to speak) have traits that make them stand out.

Kichiku the Gentle Giant and who takes on Big Brother responsibilities for Douji.

Hidariude has the blades and minor Leroy Jenkins/Hotblooded traits.

Kiesi is remarkable for being a sex slave instead of a super soldier, and also has more a Never Be A Victim Again mentality instead of The Atoner.

On the villainous side, there's this guy named Kodama. He's a minor bad guy who only has one scene and doesn't live beyond a couple chapters.  Yet he's my personal favorite of the trio's enemies New Wave Elite's soldiers. It may be his Smug Super attitude, his favoring the No Sell tactic, his Forest Hive Mind powers,  or perhaps the caliber of the fight itself, but whatever it is,  I enjoyed his fight the most.

POLISH

This is the area where the story loses the most points.
Spelling is good but grammar has flaws. It's minor because some 80 percent of them are the same thing; using a comma where a semi colon would be appropriate.
Also, some of the language is immature. What I mean by this is that it doesn't flow as well as it could. Again, this a minor thing because most of the story is not like this.


Trickster Eric Novels gives "Seventh Moon" a B+

Click here for the next book review (which was not a request): Sword Art Online: Aincrad 1

Click here for the previous book review (which was not a request): How To Practice

Personal read: How To Practice - The Way to a Meaningful Life

First, backstory. When I was a teenager, I experimented spiritually. I was fortunate enough to go to a high school that both showed respect for all religions and also promoted Christian compassion. There was a class called "World Religions" that sampled major ones like Buddhism, Judaism and Islam. Because of that, I bought "How to Practice" when browsing a store. It was only a month or so ago that I finished reading it.

It's about the Dalai Lama lecturing about how to live a "meaningful life".  It's not about how to live a meaningful Buddhist life, but one that can be universal, which I found both refreshing and respectful. It's about developing compassion, understanding, and peace of mind, while toning down vices like greed and vanity.

It's broken in sections for different aspects of the "meaningful life" that the Dali Lama speaks of. These include morality, meditation, (Buddhist) wisdom and also something called "Tantra". As a practicing Christian, I found the first two to be quite helpful.

Indeed, the morality one is basically "love thy neighbor". For instance, there is one thought exercise that goes like this: imagine a reflection of yourself (specifically, your negative qualities like greed) to your right and a group of suffering people to your left. Acknowledge that both of these groups equally deserve to receive happiness and avoid pain, but the compassionate choice is to side with the group on the left.  I didn't read anything in this section that is incompatible with Christian morality.  I'll likely read it again in the future to better understand and retain it.

Most valuable is that it contains a solution to The Problem of Evil that I found appealing. The Dalai Lama said that, (paraphrasing), bad things happen to good people to give those people a chance to develop qualities like patience and compassion and essentially become better people. He, of course, was talking more along the lines of karma than God's will, but it can work for a Christian like me.

 The meditation one is pretty secular. It's written in such a way that I imagine even an atheist would benefit from it; there's no invoking Buddha or contemplating nirvana or anything supernatural like that. It's about developing a peaceful and focused state of mind that can block out distractions of life, be they big or small, and endure life's suffering and disappoint with grace, be they petty or tragic.

After this, the usefulness to non-Buddhists goes down significantly because it goes further into  Buddhist philosophy like "non-existence" and exercises like calling on the Buddha and the bodhisattvas to help one become a Buddha. That's something I can't use. He occasionally says things like "You can replace Gautama Buddha with Jesus the Christ" but at times I get the feeling that he forgets he's not writing for an exclusively Buddhist audience.

I like the style of the writing. It's friendly and humble; not at all preachy. At times, he even makes jokes.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "How To Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life" a B+


Click here for the next book review (which was not a request): 7th Moon
Click here for the previous book review (which was a request): Negative Thinking

Official Cover Reveal for Dreamthief-Fairy World MD book 1

Tamara Hanks Grantham is a fantasy author I met on Facebook. We're both members of Clean Indie Reads and she found my blog through our connection there. She's asked me to join the grand unveiling of the cover of her latest book: Dreamthief. So I'm helping to spread the word about her mousetrap. 

_______________________

Visiting Faythander, a fairy world, is a nasty business. Forget the fairies and unicorns, most people come back with lost memories and mental problems. Olive Kennedy knows. She's the therapist who treats patients suffering from Faythander's side effects. She may have an emotionless mother and an apathetic boyfriend, but she takes pride in her job. She's never failed to cure a client—until now.

Traveling back to Faythander wasn't on Olive's to-do list. But she has no choice. The fate of both Earth and Fairy depends on her ability to stop an evil being called the Dreamthief. Saving the world, she can handle. Falling in love—not so much. Now, she'll have to decide between her heart and the future of an entire planet. As if battling the forces of evil wasn't complicated enough…

Dreamthief is the first book in the Fairy World MD series.

__________________________________________
Beat a path to her door here

Answering Review Request: Negative Thinking: How To Transform Negative Thoughts And Self Talk Into Positive Thinking

Colin Smith asked me to read his book "Negative Thinking: How To Transform Negative Thoughts And Self Talk Into Positive Thinking". I decided previously to branch out a little into non-fiction so I took him up on it. The nutshell of this book is the importance of balanced optimism and provides a couple methods of developing such an attitude. Since this is non-fiction, I can't use my normal reviewing structure but I will still assign a grade at the end.

As I was reading this book, I thought the term "Secular Zen" was appropriate. There's a lot of stuff about creating a peaceful state of mind and controlling one's perception of the world and the stuff that happens. Mr. Smith even shares a Buddhist maxim, "You become what you resist", suggesting tranquility in the face of problems. This is in the chapter called, "The Power of Accepting Reality".

About a week or so ago, I read a book similar to this one that was written by a Buddhist monk. It covered much of the same ground (peaceful mind, optimism, gratitude for simple things, daily practices for developing these traits etc.) but at times I got the feeling that the author forgot that his audience wasn't clergy or Buddhist, and so they don't have time to meditate five times a day (and then again at night). This book, in contrast, is written for busy lay people. It is short, quick and provides a couple pointers in the right direction.

It's not a high energy, super ambitious, go-getter thing. It's a low energy, peaceful and content thing. The logic goes that if you have a clear and positive mind, then you will be better able to achieve what you want to achieve, and be content with what you ultimately gain.

Overall, I'm satisfied with this book, but there are a couple snags.
At times, Mr.Smith will use weasel words like "studies show" without mentioning which studies. As an English major, this sort of thing bothers me, but on the other hand, it was for simple stuff that could be called common knowledge. Citing it would be like saying "studies show that dirt turns to mud in the rain". It would be silly.

 Also, Mr.Smith leans heavily on Zivorad Slavinski's "Return to Oneness". Other than the Buddha, this is the only person that he references and quotes. It happens so often that Mr. Smith's book sounds like it's, in part, a commentary on Slavinski's. The citations are flawless and there's plenty of original thought here so it's a minor thing.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Negative Thinking: How To Transform Negative Thoughts And Self Talk Into Positive Thinking" a B+

Click here for the next book review (which was not a request): How to Practice

Click here for the previous review request: Terran Psychosis