Review: The Bad, The Good and Two Fly-Fishing Women by Randy Kadish

ASIN #: B004GEB7G2

File Size: 58 KB

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

When her mother deserts her to be with a new man, Amanda is hurt and betrayed. She loses faith in the world. To soothe her pain, she retreats into fly fishing, until she learns that her loving grandmother has terminal cancer.

Amanda struggles to find answers. Then one day she discovers that her grandmother, against the doctor’s orders, has gone fishing somewhere on the Junction River. Frightened, Amanda, along with Shana, her adopted dog, and Vernon, a grieving alcoholic, searches the river—but marches into an unexpected, terrifying event that, in a surprising way, helps her learn to forgive and to see the good in the world.

Mandy's Review:

Cover

I like the photograph, but from the story you get the sense that Amanda is at least a teenager ... not an adult woman like what is depicted on the cover.

Plot/Main Characters

One grandmother, terminally ill with cancer, decides to go fly-fishing one last time before she meets her end.  One school girl, sensing something's wrong, leaves school early one day to go home and search for her grandmother.  Along the way, she encounters a man who helps her see another side of people and life while another man is intent on hurting her.

In the midst of this is Shana ... Amanda's ever-present companion and protector.  Will they find Amanda's grandmother?  If so, what exactly will they find when they reach her?

Overall

Despite its short length, the book exemplifies a few familiar addages: Things are not always as they appear, never judge a book by its cover and do not pre-judge a person until you've walked a mile in their shoes.

Review: Doctor Fleischer by Alain Gomez

ASIN #: B004PGNNKY

File Size: 21 KB

Story Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

The Space Hotel Series continues from the viewpoint of Dr. Agatha Fleischer. Aliens made Dr. Fleischer an offer she couldn't refuse: unlimited resources for her research... and no ethics laws to speak of. A dream come true for the overly ambitious doctor. But will her atrocious acts in the name of science go unpunished?

Mandy's Review:

Cover

Futuristic-looking and slightly creepy ... I like it.  =)

Plot/Main Characters

Well, we meet Doctor Fleischer in the first story of the Space Hotel Series, Celebrity Space.  She is still just as self-serving as ever.  She does have a passion for science and her new bosses are using that passion for their own good.  They allow her to work within her own timetable, which Doctor Fleischer loves.

Will Doctor Fleischer get the recognition she feels she deserves?  Are her new bosses more self-serving than she ever thought of being?

Overall

I liked this story and I love the ending.  I was hoping something like that would happen! =)  This is a perfect continuation of Celebrity Space, although I still have questions whose answers were implied but never given outright.

Review: Celebrity Space by Alain Gomez

ASIN #: B004HD66P4

File Size: 22KB

Story Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

Set in the not too distant future, a worker hopes that his new job at the spaceport will allow him to get his life back on track. While taking passengers to the space hotel "Moonwalk", a collision with an unknown object brings his dreams... and possibly his life... to a screeching halt.

Mandy's Review:

Cover

The sun, planet and the vastness of space give a literal interpretation of what the reader may find in the short story.

Plot/Main Characters

Instead of losing a job, Dan Cooper had been reassigned to a new position.  He assisted those traveling to the new space hotel, located on the moon.  The majority of the passengers are celebrities who are going to have fun and to party in a new location.

On their way, a collision occurs and everybody is knocked out.  Will they make it to the Moonwalk hotel?  Will they find out what they collided with?

Overall

The story seems realistic in the depiction of people traveling to a hotel on the moon.  With the way our society is, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that there are people already working on how to get this scenario to happen.

The ending after the collision was expected.  I would have gotten more enjoyment from reading a different outcome.

Review: A Model Railway Man by Alain Gomez

ASIN #: B004N84UR4

File Size: 20 KB

Story Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

Working on his model railroad set is more than just a hobby for John Wilson, it's his desperate attempt to fix the ghosts of his childhood. But his obsession with his creation may have an unexpected side-effect...

Mandy's Review:

Cover

The graphics could've been a little better, but it does represent one of the main focal points in the story ... the model railway.

Plot/Main Characters

It's definitely not a plot that I ever remember reading before.  Basically, John is obsessed with his model railway creation.  Just when he thinks he's finished with it, there's something minute that he notices that can be added or corrected.  It's an obsessive compulsive nature that stems from one event in his childhood ... one he is consistently trying to make right through his obsession.

Will his wife allow the obsession to continue at the detriment to their marriage?

Overall

The ending was not something I expected and reminded me of the old Tales of the Crypt shows ... remember those?  Not scary, but something off-the-wall unexpected.  If you like a quick read (10 minutes max) that's slightly off-center of the norm, then this story is for you.

Review: Davi (Tales of Suruale #1) by Roy C. Booth and Brian Woods

ASIN #: B004USP8ZU

File Size: 210 KB

Copyright: 2011

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

Humans and dwarfs have been at odds for generations. When human blacksmith Davi is sent to the Dwarven King to reopen the local trade routes, he finds himself more at home with his enemies than he ever did with his own kind.

Charlie's Review:

Davi is a story that weaves together the human and dwarf worlds. An orphan of a human blacksmith, the main character, Davi, is an outcast in his village. Several townsmen decide to send him to the dwarven palace to persuade the King to reopen trade routes to their village. Upon arriving at the palace of Kronthor, Davi quickly gains the dwarves interest with his skills as a smith, and their respect for his earnest workmanship. In the process, Davi finds a belonging that he never had in his human world, and also a cause to fight for.  Ultimately, he finds his own worth.

A mix of mythical creatures, racial tolerance, and dry humor, this story makes for a quick, pleasant read. I hazard even to call it a book of life lessons, as the dwarfs struggle with acceptance of their new tall friend, and Davi struggles to forge his true identity.

The first in a series, I can only look forward to what comes next in the Tales Of Suruale.