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  • TRINITY’s FALL (Vu-Hak War Book 2) by P.A. Vasey – First Contact Sci-fi, Religious Science Fiction Fantasy, Sci-fi Anthologies

    TRINITY’s FALL (Vu-Hak War Book 2) by P.A. Vasey – First Contact Sci-fi, Religious Science Fiction Fantasy, Sci-fi Anthologies

     

    Cygnus Science Fiction 1st Place Blue and Gold CIBA Badge

    Trinity’s Fall, the second book in the science fiction thriller series (Vu-Hak War) by P.A. Vasey, delivers the story of an alien invasion as seen through the twisted, heart-pounding lens of a Twilight Zone episode, complete with invisible mind-controlling alien monsters, nuclear explosions, hidden lunar bases, and secret wormholes with “Men in Black” playing both sides.

    As this entry opens, the protagonist has no idea of her true identity—and no memory of her first encounter with either the monstrous alien Vu-Hak—or her relationship with humanity’s presumed savior, Adam Benedict.

    Although this is the second book in the series, the first half of the book does an excellent job of bringing the reader up to speed. Looks can be deceiving. When the FBI knocks on her door—and knocks her out of her amnesia-induced rut—she begins to remember who she is and what’s at stake.

    Kate gradually rediscovers the truth—and Vasey cleverly allows new readers to discover it with her.

    The action pounds readers with thrill-a-minute suspense as Kate races to recapture the threads of a life stolen from her. She then takes charge of an around-the-world hunt for the one person who might be able to stop the alien invasion. Stakes are high, and no one wants to believe the invasion is further along than previously thought.

    Once Kate and Adam reunite, Vasey slows the pace a bit.

    The characters and their colleagues must reckon with the harrowing possibility that the aliens will succeed. Questions arise about whether the ends justify the means, and what they will do to ensure the human species survives. Do they have the right to set humanity on a different course? Vasey develops the plot, including the paradoxes of time travel, the ethical implications of human cloning, and even the ultimate question of where life begins.

    Fans who love their sci-fi with a serving of ethical discourse on the side will love this series. No doubt, the Vu-Hak War saga overall will amass fans in both the sci-fi world and literary circles as well. Book two closes with a universe-altering surprise that bodes very well indeed for the third and concluding book in the trilogy. Stay tuned, much more is on the way!

    Trinity’s Fall won 1st Place in the CIBA 2020 Cygnus Awards for Science-fiction novels. 

     

     

    Chanticleer Book Reviews 4 star silver foil book sticker

    Cygnus 1st Place gold foil book sticker image

  • TRAITORS for the SAKE of HUMANITY: A Novel of the German Resistance to Hitler by Helena P. Schrader – Historical World War II Fiction, Political Fiction, World War II Fiction

    TRAITORS for the SAKE of HUMANITY: A Novel of the German Resistance to Hitler by Helena P. Schrader – Historical World War II Fiction, Political Fiction, World War II Fiction

     

     

    Traitors For the Sake of Humanity by Helena P. Schrader may be more terrifying today than when first released in 2008 as An Obsolete Honor and re-released in 2012 as Hitler’s Demons. 

    The chilling story reveals the means used under the leadership of Adolph Hitler to spread insidious Nazi socio-political ideology before and throughout WWII. Although a work of fiction, the grim, dehumanizing social transformation the tome reveals brings to mind the caution in George Santanya’s oft-quoted posit, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

    Schrader masterfully utilizes the setting as an unseen, omnipresent character. Scenes imbued with equal parts of detached cruelty, greed, and hunger for power – acting as a control agent affecting everyone within its grasp.

    By Christmas, 1938, when the story begins, the Nazi Party dominates the German Parliament for nearly six years, and its influence alters the nation’s face. Within that period, during which Hitler becomes Chancellor, both welcome and unwelcome changes occur and spread beyond Germany’s large cities into and throughout the countryside.

    The German citizenry is conflicted.

    Many poor, disenfranchised citizens consider forfeiting their faith, culture, and free will for materially improved living standards and restoring their national pride as an acceptable trade-off. Others grow dismayed by the denigration and annihilation of traditional values, virtues, and mores. Residents find the mandated, unfettered obedience to the state’s authority and the flourishing of Machiavellian values an abomination.

    Within this setting, we meet the aristocratic, well-educated, and cultured Baron Phillip von Feldburg. Phillip, the eldest of three children, is an officer in the prestigious German General Staff and has been imbued from childhood with the importance of honor, integrity, and allegiance to his country.

    In the first chapter, Baron von Feldberg is juxtaposed with his immediate family, characters Schrader utilizes to reveal some of the varying socio-political views prevalent in Germany.

    Christian, his handsome, devil-may-care Luftwaffe fighter pilot brother, lives in the moment, exhilarated by his conquests and the thrill of adventure. Theresa, an envious, entitled, and defiant “youngest child,” marries an uneducated, self-made man with a knack for doing business in the Nazi regime and little use for breeding, manners, or culture. Their widowed mother, the Baroness, gracious, kind, and concerned – but not enough to make waves—completes the family circle.

    Phillip’s sense of honor and duty dominates his life, both personally and professionally.

    As he advances within the military and is given more and more leadership responsibility, he begins to have troublesome questions about the decisions coming “down,” along with the ongoing, less-than-honorable actions and events he witnessed while serving on the front lines against Russia. Not until he meets the astute and savvy secretary with connections, Alexandra Mollwitz, that he begins to act upon his inner conflict, and his life begins to change in ways he could never have imagined.

    Presented in multiple points of view of the von Feldburg family members, cohorts, and supporters, Schrader breathes life into some of the historically documented events occurring in Germany before and including WWII that forever changed the world. Each of their voices reflects their social status, belief systems, and loyalties—and their angst and fears as change turns evil and evil turns deadly.

    Traitors For the Sake of Humanity, based upon documented historical events and personal memoirs recounted to the author by individuals who lived through that time.

    In the end, the importance of this book cannot be underestimated. Traitors for the Sake of Humanity rises as a critical, provocative, and timely book that perhaps we would all benefit from reading. The Glossary and documentation alone impress.

    Helena P. Schrader puts a human face on some “monsters,” and exposes the monster faces of others. Kudos, Dr. Schrader.

     

    Chanticleer Book Reviews 5 Star Best Book silver foil sticker

     

     

  • The 2021 CHAUCER Book Awards for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction – The Long List – CIBAs 2021

    The 2021 CHAUCER Book Awards for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction – The Long List – CIBAs 2021

    A picture of Geoffery Chaucer as a white man with a gray goatee with the words "Chaucer Awards" across the bottom

    The Chaucer Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in pre-1750s Historical Fiction.  The Chaucer Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

    The Chaucer Book Awards competition is named for Geoffrey Chaucer the author of the legendary Canterbury Tales. The work is considered to be one of the greatest works in the English language. It was among the first non-secular books written in Middle English to be printed in 1483.

    Chanticleer International Book Awards is seeking for the best books featuring Pre-1750s Historical Fiction, including pre-history, ancient history, Classical, world history (non-western culture), Dark Ages and Medieval Europe, Renaissance, Elizabethan, Tudor, 1600s, we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

    These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Chaucer Early Historical Fiction entries to the 2021 Chaucer Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2021 Chaucer Shortlist. The Short Listers will compete for the Finalist positions.  All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).

    The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 17 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

    We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference–whether virtual, hybrid, or in-person. 

    These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2021 Chaucer Book Awards novel competition for Pre-1750s Early Historical Fiction!

    Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.

    • John A. Martino and Michael P. O’Kane – Olympia: The Birth of the Games
    • B.L. Smith – The Last Golden Light
    • Alana White – Medici Man: The Hearts of All on Fire
    • Griffin Brady – The Heart of a Hussar
    • Leah Angstman – Out Front the Following Sea
    • James Conroyd Martin – Too Soon the Night: A Novel of Empress Theodora (The Theodora Duology Book 2)
    • David Martyn – The Epistle a Story of the Early Church
    • Vivienne Brereton – The House of the Red Duke. Book One: A Phoenix Rising
    • PJ Devlin – The Chamber
    • Virginia Crow – The Year We Lived
    • David Fitz-Gerald – The Curse of Conchobar: A Prequel to the Adirondack Spirit Series
    • Seven Jane – The Isle of Gold
    • Janet Wertman – The Boy King
    • Wendy J. Dunn – Falling Pomegranate Seeds: All Manner of Things
    • Edward Rickford – The Bend of the River: Book Two in the Tenochtitlan Trilogy
    • Sherry V. Ostroff – Mannahatta, The Sequel
    • James Hutson-Wiley – The Travels of ibn Thomas
    • Tim Schooley – The Wool Translator
    • Patricia Bracewell – The Steel Beneath the Silk
    • Gail Meath – Countess Jacqueline
    • Ron Destro – The Starre, the Moone, the Sunne
    • Rebecca D’Harlingue – The Lines Between Us: A Novel
    • Amy Wolf – A Woman of the Road and Sea
    • Toni Kief – Saints, Strangers and Rosehip Tea
    • Kelly Nichols and Alyn Rockwood – Beyond the Dragonhead

    PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

    This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.

    Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

    Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

    Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

    Good luck to all as your works move on the next rounds of judging.

    Click here to see the 2020 Chaucer Book Award Winners for Early Historical Fiction.

    Cover of Bird in a Snare by N.L. HolmesGold and blue Grand Prize badge for the 2020 Chaucer Awards won by N.L. Holmes' Bird in a Snare

    We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Chaucer Book Awards for Pre-1750s Early Historical Fiction. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023. 

    Please click here for more information.

    For our other Historical Fiction Awards, please see the following:

    Winners will be announced at the 2021 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

    VIRTUAL and IN-Person –  June 23 – 26, 2022! Register Today!

    FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

    Seating is Limited. The  esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887)  has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

    Join us for our 10th annual conference and discover why!

    Featuring: International Best Selling Authors: Cathy Ace and  Robert Dugoni along with A+ list film producer Scott Steindorff.

  • Brook Allen — Author of the Antonius Trilogy, and Chaucer Award First Place Winner

    Brook Allen — Author of the Antonius Trilogy, and Chaucer Award First Place Winner

    Brook AllenWow. Indeed, I was humbled by such a fantastic review of my book. In fact, thought I’ve had some excellent reviews, this one surpassed them all. I thank you so much for reading and recommending my work to others. I know my editor Jenny Quinlan, will be enthralled, as well. 

    Brook Allen, Author of the Antonius Trilogy, and Chaucer Award First Place Winner

  • Ryan Young

    Ryan Young

    Author of The Shepherd’s Burden, a First Place Winner in Paranormal Awards

    Your passion for storytelling and your dedication to those that tell them is second to none! Not even a global pandemic could stop you. Thank you for all that you do to promote and support independent authors, such as myself.

  • Tamra Bolton — Author of A Blessed Life and The Art of Story Keeping

    Tamra Bolton — Author of A Blessed Life and The Art of Story Keeping

    Tamra BoltonI can’t imagine the work that must go into getting all of these books read and judged…congratulations on you and the entire CIBA team for doing such an outstanding job. 

    — Tamra Bolton, author of A Blessed Life and The Art of Story Keeping and Hearten Award Finalist

  • Matt Andrus — Author of UFO

    Matt Andrus — Author of UFO

    Matt Andrus and SasquatchJust want to say thanks for all of your hard work, that was a great show.

    I’m excited about my first place finishing

    Matt Andrus, author of UFO and Global Thriller First Place Winner

  • ML Rinaca — Author of P Mind Your Q’s

    Thanks for all your help- great event. And, congrats to the team and panel- and all the winners.

    –ML Rinaca (Lisa Rinaca), author of P Mind Your Q’s and Little Peeps Finalist

  • Jaime Castle, Author of The Luna Missile Crisis

    Jaime Castle, Author of The Luna Missile Crisis

    Jaime CastleThank you all for such hard work tonight! Very proud to have won the grand prize. You all did a wonderful job.

    Jaime Castle, co-author of The Luna Missile Crisis and Cygnus Grand Prize Winner

  • Pamela Jonas — Author of For Love of Family

    Pamela Jonas — Author of For Love of Family

    Pamela JonasI’m so excited to have received First Place for the Goethe Awards for 20th Century Historical Fiction for my novel For Love of Family: A Slovak Immigrant Novel

    Pamela Jonas, author of For Love of Family and Goethe First Place Winner