Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: sean-p-curley

Happy Earth Day 2022! Celebrating our Environmental Authors
Reading for a Better Earth Day

Being a Rooster, Chanticleer is pretty keen on the idea of Earth Day.

It may surprise you to hear that Earth Day is the largest secular holiday in the world, celebrated for the past 50 years! You can read our last article that focused on the origins of Earth Day, as well as the powerful impact literature can have on the environment, as happened with Silent Spring by Rachel Carson.

This year, we want to take time to recognize and cheer on some of the Chanticleer authors who have made their own contributions to environmental literature. While nature focused writing can fit into almost any genre, the genres we most often see with environmental stories are: Global Thriller Awards, Journey Awards, Little Peeps Awards, Hearten Awards, and, of course, our Cygnus Awards with the rise of the Cli-Fi genre!

Books show where we put our focus and attention, and we’re glad that these authors did such a great job highlighting the world in their work!

WISHES, SINS, and the WISSAHICKON CREEK
By PJ Devlin
Somerset First Place Winner

The award-winning Wishes, Sins, and the Wissahickon Creek by PJ Delvin is a contemporary masterpiece in short story collections. Highly Recommended!

PJ’s newest book, The Chamber is available for purchase now! You can also read our review of her first book, Wissahickon Souls, here.

KILLING DRAGONS: Order of the Dolphin, Book One
By Kristie Clark

A smart, science fiction thriller that will have readers looking twice at dolphins – and scanning the waters for something far more menacing. Highly recommended.

Kristie Clark is a pediatrician with the heart of a writer. She always knew that she wanted to write and began writing poetry in middle school. Her mother read to her at night, instilling a love of books. As a child, C.S. Lewis’s Narnia series impacted her greatly, and as a teenager, she began reading science fiction for fun, enjoying books by Arthur C. Clarke.

Big congratulations are in order for Kristie Clark as this book recently made the Finalists list for our Global Thriller Awards. Her newest book, Dragon Gold, is on the Finalist list for the Cygnus Awards, and her short story “Dragon of the Sea” is a Finalist for the Shorts Awards. Way to go Kristie!

All Book Award Winners will be announced at the Chanticleer Authors Conference.

A DIVINE WIND
By Norman M. Jacobs MD, MS

An intelligent techno-thriller that won’t leave you even after the final page is read. Highly recommended!

Norman M. Jacobs MD, MS is an award-winning writer and former bookstore owner. He’s a scientist and physician and has published many newspaper and scientific articles. He has a master’s degree in physics, passed a PhD exam in physics at the University of Pennsylvania, and completed a residency program in radiology at Duke University Medical Center with specialty training in neuroradiology. Congratulations Norman on being a Finalist in the Global Thriller Awards!

KOBEE MANATEE® – Climate Change and the Great Blue Hole Hazard
By Robert Scott Thayer
Illustrated by Lauren Gallegos

Kobee Manatee® Climate Change and the Great Blue Hole Hazard is a fantastic journey showcasing fun, friendship, and the necessity of keeping our oceans clean.

You can find all 4 of the Kobee Manatee® books here!

Robert Scott Thayer always had a passion for manatees, oceans, weather, and sea life. He is also an award-winning recording artist who writes and sings in the pop, jazz, and children’s genres. Robert’s newest children’s tune, Kobee’s Song, is available on iTunes.

Lauren Gallegos earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Illustration from Cal State Fullerton in 2009 and has been illustrating ever since. When it comes to stories, Lauren has always loved books that warm the heart and touch the soul; timeless narratives that speak to your inner child. As a young girl she loved to pour over illustrations that were rich and full. Lauren still loves books that take you to mysterious places and let your imagination run wild with possibilities. Her biggest illustration influences are Chris Van Allsburg, Loren Long, Chris Sheban, Arthur Rackham, and Scott Gustafson to name only a few.

Over
By Sean P. Curley

In a world where the rich obtain immortality, a forbidden love can either bridge the gap of unimaginable inequity or drive the disparaging classes even farther apart. A science-fiction novel with an earthly conscious.

Sean Curley’s new book, Anika’s Gift is making good progress through the cover design process, and ARCs are being sent out now. Sean is a renaissance man who loves new experiences, diversity, and challenges (though more intellectual than physical). He is also the author of the the 2014 Chaucer Grand Prize for Early Historical Fiction with his book Propositum. Sean will also be at the Chanticleer Authors Conference June 23-26, 2022!

Are you a Chanticleer Author who has some good news to share? Let us know! We’re always looking for a reason to crow about Chanticleerians! Here are some recent updates from our authors:
Reach out with your news to info@ChantiReviews.com

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

FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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 Author Cathy Ace along with A+ list film producer Scott Steindorff.
April 21, 2022
April is for Aliens! Spring into the Spotlight for the Cygnus Book Awards for Science Fiction
Beam me up, Scotty!

April is the Spotlight Month for the Cygnus Science Fiction Book Awards!

Our favorite newest Star Trek Captain, Michael Burnham. Her catchphrase is “Let’s Fly.”

The Cygnus Awards are one of our original Book Awards here at Chanticleer,

**Don’t miss the ship!**

Beam your work to us by April 30th to enter the 2022 CIBAs!

Science Fiction April 30

Science Fiction often asks the question: What Could Be? At Chanticleer, we seek to discover those strange new worlds, from Space Opera to Alternate History, and Cli-Fi to YA Sci-Fi. Wherever your book lands on the Speculative Fiction spectrum, there’s a good chance that it will fit in here with us!

Let’s take a look at the Hall of Fame for Grand Prize Winners of the Cygnus Awards

The Luna Missile Crisis by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle.

Will a knockoff weapons salesman end peace between Humans and Vulbathi? Alien tech and a spectacular cast of characters drive The Luna Missile Crisis into high gear and will have readers screaming for more! Highly recommended!

Jaime Castle and Rhett C. Bruno are the Audible #1 bestselling authors of The Buried Goddess Saga (Aethon Books, Audible Studios), and The Luna Missile Crisis, amongst other works. Rhett C. Bruno is also a USA Today Bestselling & Nebula Award nominated Sci-Fi/Fantasy Author.

Don’t miss out on the duo’s next work! You can preorder Cold as Hell, the first book in their new Black Badge Series today.

Insynium by Tim Cole

Appropriate to a novel about time travel, there is considerable time-shifting from chapter to chapter that will require readers to stay on their toes as they work through this 500-page novel. And like any skilled author who plants clues neatly in the text – clues that are keys to resolving the overarching mysteries in the book – Cole does the same. What can we say? Here’s an impressive novel by a major new talent, and one we highly recommend keeping an eye on.

Insynium is Tim Cole’s Debut novel. We are shivering with anticipation and hope at the prospect of something new from him!

The Korpes File by J.I Rogers

An award-winning space opera that’s sure to gather a dedicated audience. One of our favorites! Recommended!

When not writing Award Winning novels, J.I. Rogers writes Award Winning Shorts, having recently won two six-word story challenges. The most recent of which being “Inherited ruin. Forged a new Empire.” Visit Rogers’ website here for even more excellent Sci-Fi! The second book in the series, The Korpes Agenda, is out now, and we’re excitedly waiting for the next book to finish revisions!

The Future’s Dark Past by John Yarrow

“The catastrophic Purge War at the end of the twenty-first century destroys planet Earth, jeopardizing the future for the remnants of humanity. Horrific repercussions roll across the ages until, generations later, a scientific group called the Time Forward Project harnesses a deep-space wormhole in which they can travel through time. They find the portal unstable and shrinking, but they have little choice but to take desperate, drastic measures and journey back to prevent the war.”

Straight from John Yarrow’s website! The Story Plant Publishing company will publish the full trilogy starting with Future’s Dark Past! You can preorder The Future’s Dark Past today, and the sequel, Time Unfolded, is expected to come out in the Summer of 2023!

Over by Sean P. Curley

In a world where the rich obtain immortality, a forbidden love can either bridge the gap of unimaginable inequity or drive the disparaging classes even farther apart. A science-fiction novel with an earthly conscious.

Sean Curley‘s new book, Anika’s Gift is making good progress through the cover design process, and ARCs are being sent out now. Sean is a renaissance man who loves new experiences, diversity, and challenges (though more intellectual than physical). He is also the author of the the 2014 Chaucer Grand Prize for Early Historical Fiction with his book Propositum. Sean will also be at the Chanticleer Authors Conference June 23-26, 2022!

Now that you’re set on your next five reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Cygnus Winners is to submit today!

Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!

Are you a Chanticleer Author who has some good news to share? Let us know! We’re always looking for a reason to crow about Chanticleerians! Here are some recent achievements from our authors:
Reach out with your news to info@ChantiReviews.com

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 Author Cathy Ace along with A+ list film producer Scott Steindorff.
April 14, 2022
OVER by Sean P. Curley – Post-Apocalyptic, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Environmental

Over is a sci-fi novel of big ideas: the scourge on the future by today’s environmental negligence, the effects of biological warfare, even the development of a faster-than-light warp drive that opens the door to a future among the stars.

In this dystopian future, humankind must grapple with the repercussions from a technological advancement that essentially imparts immortality: immortality to a very few. Less than 30,000 of the world’s inhabitants, the privileged class, Overs, and the resentment of the billions of people who don’t fit into that category, aptly named, Unders.

Not only do the Overs have eternal life as their trump card, they also have a lock on the world’s economy, technology, medicine, and the ultimate say on who gets the benefits of their largesse, and who do not. There is even a global robotic “mind” that helps the Overs control every aspect of the planet—and that “mind” secretly gives birth to a “daughter.”

To say that the Overs rule is a benign dictatorship would be putting it mildly.

But the Overs must kowtow to the ruling familias who base their operations from Sri Lanka. These overlords do not respond kindly to threats against their near absolute rule.

Into this frothy brew comes Jaames (cq), a rebel leader in Denver where most of the action takes place; Demetrius, the Over’s boss of bosses for The Americas; and Anika, Demetrius’ comely daughter who has a mind of her own and a relentless and ultimately fatal attraction to Jaames.

Over is not a typical plot-structured, character-driven novel. Curley sets the planet up as the primary character and everything else falls secondary. While this may be jarring to some in regard to traditional plot, characters who are not fully fleshed out, and linking cause and effect in a character-rich and technologically-advanced society, Over stands strong as a powerful read – especially for its meditations on how our actions endanger our planet and our future, and for the author’s take on the upsides and downsides of a benign Immortal dictatorship. There’s much to think about, and no easy answers.

Curley plans at least two more books based on the plot and characters in Over and we wait with anticipation as to what this master-geo-political-environmentalist author comes up with. In a world where the rich obtain immortality, a forbidden love can either bridge the gap of unimaginable inequity or drive the disparaging classes even farther apart. A science-fiction novel with an earthly conscious.

April 3, 2018