book review | A Generation of Sociopaths by Bruce Cannon Gibney

Author: Bruce Cannon Gibney
Title: A Generation of Sociopaths
Series: –
Genre: Nonfiction; Sociology
Pages: 464
Rate: 5/5 | Goodreads

This book will make you angry. Hopefully. “A Generation of Sociopaths” by Bruce Cannon Gibney speaks of and likely fits better the American economical climate, but as an European, I found some things we could apply to ourselves too.

About the Book: Have your parents ever went “well, in my times” and “when I was your age”? In reference to how little you get and have now? Well, you can likely thank them for that little that you’re getting. This book defines some lines in economy. What makes it grow, what makes it fall. What’s sustainable, and what’s a mere temporary solution, likely made by those who will profit from it, leaving the next generation to find their own way out.

My Opinion: The book is very interesting, but will likely not teach you anything new. I believe my generation, those of us who have witnessed the Great Bubble explode, are likely educated enough by now about the topics and nuances of economy. But it’s still an interesting read. And while in Europe it’s not so easy and simple to define a whole generation of our parents as “baby boomers” due to whole different conditions they had, we can still find similarities.

It’s an interesting book, and I can give it a solid 5 out of 5. Yet, as a disclaimer, I want you to go to the link provided above to goodreads, and see to the lowest ratings. The author chose not to reveal how banks and bankers helped add to the ruin of economy due to himself being one of them. And that has to be taken into equation, even if, in my personal opinion, it doesn’t take away much from the value of the book.

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book review | The Enchanter’s Flame by Michele Notaro | The Ellwood Chronicles 1

Author: Michele Notaro
Title: The Enchanter’s Flame
Series: The Ellwood Chronicles 1
Genre: Paranormal Romance; LGBT Literature
Pages: 245
Rate: 3/5 | Goodreads

Alright, so maybe I’m cheating a little bit, since The Enchanter’s Flame by Michele Notaro is a paranormal romance, and not really horror. But after Laura Palmer I was more than a little afraid to get another assault-y book in diversity horror. Yet if you got anything to recommend, where horror wouldn’t come from human monsters, please do.

About the Book: Brinnswick is shaken by horrifying ritualistic murders. Victims are left bloodless, mutilated, with strange markings on their bodies. Just the way Sebastian’s partner and lover has died. So when his chief pairs him with strange and a little annoying Ailin Ellwood, Sebastian is determined to suffer through what comes to get to the bottom of this. Luckily, Ailin, as strange as he is, turns out to be plenty useful. Soon they find that there were way more murders like this than they were led to believe. Someone’s covering up that psychopath.

My Opinion: The book is well written, but not very interesting in itself. I mean, from the top of your head, how many books you can name me that have: an orphan hero, abandoned as a baby, with strange marking on their body, who then turn out to be the last/powerful something, fairy, alien, princess, sorcerer? Yeah. This is one of those.

I won’t complain, it wasn’t bad, and I’ll read the next book too, since I have it. This one gets a 3 out of 5 though.

book review | The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer by Jennifer Lynch

Author: Jennifer Lynch
Title: The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer
Series: –
Genre: Horror literature; Mystery
Pages: 184
Rate: 3/5 | Goodreads

Have you ever watched the cult series Twin Peaks? I can still hear the intro tune in my head. And recently I discovered there’s a diary of Laura Palmer, the main blonde beauty in the series, whose murder brought the detectives to the town. Book “The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer” is written by Jennifer Lynch, daughter of the Twin Peaks series creator. But, to be honest, as well as it was written, it was disgusting.

About the Book: Laura Palmer from Twin Peaks has two diaries. One is the light and bright one, by a teenage girl with future ahead. It’s meant for prying eyes, to those who can’t help themselves but snoop. The other one holds her darkness. Darkness that is spreading, choking, drowning her. Ever since she was twelve, and maybe even before that, she kept dreaming of darkness, of woods, owls, strange old men abusing her, using her. These dreams seeped through into her daydreams and fantasies as the girl entered teenage years. But it seems these fantasies were feeding a demon. A demon she learns to be called Bob. He hunts and tortures her in her dreams, and, apparently, intends to take her to hell.

My Opinion: So here’s what’s what. This child has very clear dreams of older men abusing her. Her father’s co-worker gifts her a pony for her birthday. A demon chases her in her dreams, calls her dirty, nasty. Before age sixteen she was selling her body to fund coke addiction. This is a broken girl, whose mind suffered such great trauma by those she loved and trusted, that it created a demon that ruled over them all to justify the human monsters. And that is why this book was so very disgusting to read.

I won’t recommend this to anyone, and wish it had a trigger warning, for I’m not into reading about such abuse. The girl didn’t live to be an adult, for gods sake. Because why help her, when you can use her, right? 3 out of 5 is the best I can give it. It’s well written ravings of a broken person.

book review | Dead Jack and the Pandemonium Device by James Aquilone | Dead Jack 1

Author: James Aquilone
Title: Dead Jack and the Pandemonium Device
Series: Dead Jack 1
Genre: Horror Literature, Humor
Pages: 211
Rate: 5/5 | Goodreads

When I saw Dead Jack and the Pandemonium Device by James Aquilone book cover, I knew I’m going to like it. For the same reason I liked Skulduggery Pleasant books: noir vibe with a dead-man for a detective. Dark but simple humor with dirty streaks to it.

About the Book: Jack is a detective in Pandemonium, a realm between life, death, heaven, and hell. He’s pretty good at what he does, even though his partner, a homunculus who one day just moved into the empty cavern of Jack’s skull, would highly disagree: his plans are reckless, poorly thought out, and even deadly. Jack is also a zombie with a fairy dust addiction. According to him, that’s the only thing that keeps the flesh craving at bay. His partner doesn’t necessarily believe that either, but here Jack is. Out of dust, approaching a leprechaun for more. Except instead of dust he gets his ass roasted. And, let’s just say… Leprechaun meat is delicious.

My Opinion: The book consists out of small little mysteries, and one big one that drives the plot, gives back-story, world building, and background to people in Pandemonium, including Jack and his origins of being. There’s plenty of real fun and great things, like mermaids who want to eat you, and pixies who are a bit too big to be pixies, because their mothers were indeed pixies, but their father’s were human men, and nobody wants to ask HOW, nobody. And due to Jack not taking himself too seriously too, we get this great fast paced book full of dark and sometimes a bit vulgar humor, daring plans that somehow work, and heroes in the most unlikely places.

That was a great fun of a book, I can’t wait to put my hands on the second one. This one gets a 5 out of 5.

book review | Midnight in a Perfect World by Ambrose Ibsen

Author: Ambrose Ibsen
Title: Midnight in a Perfect World
Series: –
Genre: Horror Literature, Paranormal
Pages: 288
Rate: 3-5 | Goodreads

October began, and so did the horror TBR season. The first book this month is Midnight in a Perfect World by Ambrose Ibsen. A lovecraftian tale that’d be a Tzimisce’s wet dream what with gruesome molding sights.

About the Book: A world beside ours, separated from ours by a thin veil, hides darkness, blood, torment, and a black sun towards which a titan-like creature with three mouths, and enormous bulk, is striving to climb. It climbs on a structure made out of bodies, living, eternally serving one’s god, and another’s nightmarish devil. But only a certain kind of altered mind, disorder, can peer beyond the veil, so building took what seemed an eternity. Up until It found a perfect vessel for Its thoughts, one who’ll synthesize the altered state of mind, and bring everyone about into paranoia, anxiety, panic… Visions. Now it won’t be so long anymore. Not long at all until Godhead rules over his dominion as its rightful god once again.

My Opinion: The horror in this book comes from a state of helplessness. You can’t fight the being, you can’t resist it. You can only submit into becoming its stepladder. Some view the creature as their god, so they submit with bliss felt by people who serve their highest purpose. Others are too aware of this beast being of nightmares. But is it? For according to this book, it guided us through our whole existence, as if God was made by Lovecraft. Another interesting point, of which there were many in a book I couldn’t call interesting, was the idea of mental and personality disorders being a step in evolution. Though while in movie Split that step led towards a heightened state, of people who could feel more, be more, here it quite literally was a step towards hell, nightmares.

I can’t recommend this book to anyone, nor do I want to. It’s not per say very good in itself. And the ideas here aren’t for everyone. Hefty stuff. 3 out of 5 from me.

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A piece of elven glass (epoxy resin) in which bits of nature have been eternally encased, so that Summer and Summer Winds never leave them or you.

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book review | Dracula: Rise of the Beast by Collective of Authors

Author: David Thomas Moore; Adrian Tchaikovsky; Milena Benini; Bogi Takacs; Emil Minchev; Caren Gussoff Sumpton
Title: Dracula: Rise of the Beast
Series: –
Genre: Dracula; Horror Literature
Pages: 304
Rate: 3/5 | Goodreads

I was eyeing “Dracula: Rise of the Beast” anthology for a while now. My break point was Adrian Tchaikovsky. Sadly, it was far from what I expected with the presented idea.

About the Book: This is a tale of how Vlad the Impaler became Count Dracula the Vampire, and from his homeland came onto the shores to meet Mina and Lucy. Well, or so one would hope. In truth this is a tale of Corvinus sitting in the background, plotting, angry at Vlad for not being his submissive spouse, and so hunting his Romani servants. Told in tales that either add nothing to the whole narrative, like the one of Bathory, or with mere mentions of Dracula’s name in relation to someone else.

My Opinion: The book is full of these singular good ideas that didn’t get to rise to fruition due to lack of logic in stories, messy, jumbled plots, and a great lack of consistency via the whole anthology. It’s told with these interludes that are supposed to make it one big tale of how an adopted transgender daughter of a Romani woman was destined to be taken by Corvinus, so instead she upped to kill him instead. I’m not sure where Dracula fits in it all, other than being presented as a former lover of said man. Nor do I know the reasons of why Corvinus was after those people, that particular woman. The best story in this whole was “A Stake Too Far” by Milena Benini, for that one was smooth, logical, and about Dracula (I stress that, because one or two others were good too, but were NOT about Dracula, no beast rose there).

Great ideas, poor execution. I can give it a mere 3 out of 5, and even then barely.

book review | Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco | Stalking Jack the Ripper 4

Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Title: Capturing the Devil
Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper 4
Genre: YA; Historical Mystery
Pages: 453
Rate: 3-5 | Goodreads

I sometimes get really used to series, and am then unable to quit them. Lucky for me, Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco are absolutely bearable. I’ve just read the fourth one, Capturing the Devil, and I won’t ditch it just yet, no matter the rate.

About the Book: Quite unbelievably it seems that Jack the Ripper has returned. The infamous serial killer whose presence and deeds shook Audrey Rose’s home, London, now rampages through Chicago, America. Bodies are gruesome to look upon, and sometimes there’s not even those, just missing people, missing women. Police is reluctant to help them solve this too, especially due to them being foreigners with a reputation, and with a woman among them. But Audrey Rose absolutely must find out who hides behind Jack’s masks. For she and those close to her know well that Jack, her brother, is dead.

My Opinion: There a grave and unpleasant gap between this book and the previous one, and I have a bad suspicion it is due to the in-between half-book. In which case it’s a damn poor move, since half-books are mainly meant to those who want more out of the stories they already love. I will look into it though, for at least that character, that part of the story, got Dracula’s lineage in it. This one here, after my previous excitement with the end of the last book, began with a very annoying courting and marriage plans that bored me greatly, BUT! But. That’s a pure matter of taste, and I won’t take any points for it. Besides Audrey took her hunting real serious, so there’s props for that too.

All in all, these are neither good nor bad. I think, if you like mysteries and detectives, but grow tired of same old men solving them, these might be the perfect starter books. That is, if you are also into romance, constant reminder of their youth, and not so funny jokes of “you’re already 18, I can almost smell the grave dirt on you“. This one gets a 3 out of 5.

Coffee? | Etsy

book review | The Crystal Shard by R.A. Salvatore | The Legend of Drizzt 4

Author: R.A. Salvatore
Title: The Crystal Shard
Series: The Legend of Drizzt 4
Genre: Fantasy; High Fantasy
Pages: 344
Rate: 4/5 | Goodreads

I keep craving classical fantasy, something like J.R.R. Tolkien, or Peter S. Beagle, or Frizt Leiber. I’d even happily read George R.R. Martin’s next book in the Song of Fire and Ice if it was out, but since it isn’t… I picked up another book by R.A. Salvatore, a fourth book in the Legend of Drizzt series in The Forgotten Realms. The Crystal Shard is the first book in the second trilogy in the Legend of Drizzt series, The Icewind Dales, and it was good, with a promise for better.

About the Book: An enthralled mage, ruled over by a demon he foolishly tried to summon now influences the minds of warring folk, and leads great armies towards the Icewind Dales, a place our dark elf Drizzt calls home. So, the moment he spots a sign of it in the horizon, he hurries to warn people. It’ll take a force of the whole united peoples to withstand this, but rulers are having hard time believing a word of a dark elf, especially since there’s no proof. They don’t wish to abandon their fishing boats and homes for an alliance that might not even be needed. And when they’ll have their proof, Drizzt fears it’ll be gravely too late.

My Opinion: The one point I took away is for the slightly forced sense of honor. While it’s a trait very common in classical fantasy, I find it bitterly annoying when people do what’s right, and not what’s logical. Still, the book was amazing! Full of great battles against barbarians, giants, orcs, mages, demons! And it ended with a note of a great adventure in the next one, so I’m really looking forwards to it.

A great book to satisfy that classic High Fantasy craving, a firm 4 out of 5 from me.

book review | American Kingpin by Nick Bilton

Author: Nick Bilton
Title: American Kingpin
Series: –
Genre: True Crime; Biography
Pages: 328
Rate: 4/5 | Goodreads

Everyone has likely heard of the Dark Web. Possibly even the Silk Road on it, one of the most notorious sites on the other side of the internet. American Kingpin by Nick Bilton is a book about its creator, biography of a man who made a dark market place so resilient, it still exists, even after his imprisonment for life.

About the Book: Dark Web is a strange and, well, dark place. And yet we’re separated from it by a mere browser and a few clicks. But most of us spend all our lives unaware of this Other Side, let alone venturing into it. In the end, that’s really the point: to remain invisible, unmonitored, anonymous. Ross Ulbricht was merely one of the many people with questionable morals, who found a way and justification to exploit the human need for the forbidden, the dangerous, and the illegal. According to him, a government has no right to tell us what we put in our bodies, we ought to remain autonomous over it. And yet substance fitting excuses evolved to accommodate such things as weapons, organs, and even suicide kits, manuals and all.

And while Ross was eventually found and imprisoned for life, Silk Road remains active and is now known as the most resilient dark market place on the whole Dark Web.

My Opinion: Let me just clarify right now: not only do I not suggest you go see for yourself, I very much suggest you don’t. Your safety depends on more than just a browser, believe you me. Rather, read this book first and see what little, minuscule things have finally brought this Kingpin down and brought FBI to his doorstep. As for the book itself, it’s good. Clever writing will not bore those who are familiar with the tale, and will ease in, and entertain those who had no clue such a place existed or could even be possible.

It’s a good book I could recommend for the mere fact of how well it portrays our fragility of safety online. 4 out of 5, solid.