Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Y/A

  • NEWORLD PAPERS: The HISTORIAN’S TALE by KB Shaw

    NEWORLD PAPERS: The HISTORIAN’S TALE by KB Shaw

    A young man’s unique talents plunge him into the center of a revolutionary movement and force him to make decisions that could destroy his world, the peaceful Neworld with no concept of war or murder.

    In a world where all forms of history are forbidden, Fallon becomes the Historian for a new age using his power of observation to unlock long-buried secrets and reveal the truth about Neworld’s origin. But truth, no matter how noble, has teeth as well as limits and those limits are tested as Fallon is forced to choose between the status quo and the potential destruction of Neworld society.

    Through first-person narrative, K.B. Shaw’s engaging world-building novel introduces the reader to Fallon, a foundling who’s lived his first 17 “annums” as a ward at the Neworld school known as the “Mount.”

    Fallon’s inferior status places him in the servant’s quarters rather than the classroom but his unique set of abilities and his hunger for knowledge give him hope as he anticipates the arrival of his 18th annum – the date when he comes of age and claims his freedom.

    His hope is crushed when, days shy of his legal liberation, the head of the Mount “sells” him into what he fears is indentured servitude. In reality Fallon’s time at the school has been closely monitored. His talent for rendering detailed drawings from his perfect memory makes him an asset to the revolutionary Solarist Movement. Those same talents mark him as a danger to the Council, the ruling body of Neworld. Fallon’s fate is now in the in the hands of the Solarists, as much for his protection as for their use.

    In Neworld Papers Series 1: The Historian’s Tale the author has created a planet rich in textural detail from the native plants and creatures to the underground world where technology lies like treasure waiting to be unearthed. At times the pacing slows when Fallon is trying to make sense of objects and life forms that are foreign to him but using Fallon’s innocent and decidedly un-worldly point of view enables the reader to enjoy the journey and stand alongside Fallon as he encounters each new discovery with clear, unbiased eyes.

    Author K.B. Shaw effectively uses Neworld Papers as a platform for deeper thought by providing moral dilemmas that continue to challenge mankind, not the least of which is the question of how truth, freedom and control can intersect to create a functional society.

     Neworld Papers: The Historian is an engrossing Science Fiction novel with a thought provoking premise, awesome world building, and more than a dash of romance. An overall enjoyable read!

  • An Editorial Review of “Spirit Legacy” by E.E. Holmes

    An Editorial Review of “Spirit Legacy” by E.E. Holmes

    Spirit Legacy is an engaging Young Adult paranormal/thriller novel that follows a sharp-witted young woman with, as she puts it, “isolationist tendencies,” whose discovery of her psychic talents is only the beginning of her singular coming-of-age journey.

    Jess Ballard knows how to survive—she has to, having spent her life on the move with her alcoholic mother, whose personal demons kept them running. When Elizabeth Ballard dies in a fall, Jess heads to Boston to attend St. Matthew’s College, and to shelter in the care of her aunt Karen. All of Jess’s life, Elizabeth had been estranged from her family, including her twin sister, without explanation. Karen proves to be equally elusive, and a visit to Jess’s grandfather in a nursing home leaves the 17-year-old even more uneasy about her family’s history.

    For a while, that uneasiness takes a back seat to the busy distractions of college life. Her Goth style and whip-smart attitude serve her well: she brooks no nonsense from rivals nor admirers and is protective of her obsessively neat roommate, Tia. In Jess, Holmes has given us a charismatic character whose dialogue and observations are perceptive and imaginative—Jess is an excellent model for how to value your self-worth and embrace your differences.

    She’s also human. Torturous nightmares, in which voices call out to her, plague her sleep, making it difficult to keep up with her coursework. Seeking refuge and quiet study time one night in the library, Jess meets an attractive but enigmatic young man. Mentioning his name to a professor the next day brings surprising consequences and a psychiatric referral—because Evan, the young man, happens to be dead. But taking ghostly form doesn’t keep him from writing a plaintive message in her textbook: “Help me. Find Hannah.”

    Jess and Tia search in vain for the mysterious Hannah. Another visitation, this time from a little boy who’d died the previous night, impels Jess to enlist the help of the college’s professor of parapsychology, David Pierce. With his assistants, they conduct a paranormal investigation of the library, which begins like an entertaining episode of “Ghost Hunters” before taking a terrifying turn when Jess, alone in the bathroom, is accosted by a ghost, with many more waiting to pass through her.

    When she recovers, Jess learns about the Durupinen, an ancient line of human portals through which restless spirits need to pass in order to reach the other side. With much difficulty, she draws the truth of her family history out of her aunt Karen.

    E.E. Holmes’ tale starts out strong and just keeps getting stronger, revealing a storyline that’s believable in large part to its well-drawn characters, its accurate depiction of college life, and the familial compassion that surfaces along with the long-held secrets.

    Spirit Legacy is the first book in The Gateway Trilogy by E.E. Holmes. Spirit Legacy won a Dante Rossetti Award for Young Adult Fiction 2013, First Place, Thriller Category.  

  • An Editorial Review of “The Starlight Fortress” by Fiona Rawsontile

    An Editorial Review of “The Starlight Fortress” by Fiona Rawsontile

    Courage, love, and loyalty are counterpoised with intrigue, hatred, and betrayal—in settings ranging from intimate dinners to royal banquets, seaside walks to interplanetary voyages and galactic space battles in this highly entertaining and fast moving debut novel by Fiona Rawonstile: The Starlight Fortress.

    After reluctantly turning the last page of this mesmerizing and unpredictable tale of love, life, and war, I looked out my window to see the solid shape of a bright quarter moon and the twinkle of the “Evening Star” that is Venus against a deep azure sky. I wished I could see further into the galaxy and find the Renaisun solar systems, with their widely differing planets, countries, and cities—but of course they don’t exist (yet?) except in the pages of The Starlight Fortress.

    Spectacular battles in the Stony Band of asteroids, the interstellar pathways, and even on-the- ground maneuvers provide plenty of fast-paced military action, conducted with imaginative space-age techniques, weapons, and ships of all shapes and sizes—the most spectacular being the RA allied forces’ enormous five-armed Starlight Fortress, coveted by Emperor Pompey. Artfully interwoven with the military battles are the interpersonal relations among the royals, the military officers, and ordinary citizens.

    Despite their future sci-fi existence in the universe, Rawsontile’s characters and their language, lifestyles (with a few tweaks), hopes, and desires—as well as their darker natures of envy, jealousy, hate, prejudice, and war—will resonate with readers. The young Queen Geneva of Sunphere, the primary country on the RA-4 planet of the Renaisun A system, is unlike any queen, past or present, on Earth. Elevated to her post after the untimely death of her father, she would rather go shopping on one of the moon malls with her friends than rule the country, but duty calls and the stakes are high.

    Geneva may be queen, but her elders question her judgment when she selects as her military assistant not an experienced officer, but Commander Sterling Presley, on the basis of a speech he delivered at his graduation from Sunphere’s Space Force Academy just four years earlier.  However, they are betting that age isn’t everything when it comes to creating new battle strategies.

    Sometimes singly, and sometimes together, Geneva, with her chubby cheeks, and Sterling, resembling a junior college professor, face some hard work if they are to earn the respect of Sunphere’s citizens and Space Force—not to mention that of their allies of Renaisun A, as well as their enemy Emperor Pompey with his colonial forces of Renaisun B.

    Joining Geneva and Sterling is a full cast of colorful, multifaceted characters—Sir Lloyd, Geneva’s uncle and Secretary of Defense; the handsome, aristocratic, young officer Charlie Swinburne of Rainprus; Prince Edwards of the neutral Renaisun C, who could be a good ally; military diamond-in-the-rough; and more, all artfully crafted by Rawsontile.

    Dangerous, sticky, and amorous situations intensify as hostilities mount and battle fleets are amassed. Be sure to strap in, hang on tightly, and enjoy Rawsontile’s exhilarating ride into the future. This reviewer really didn’t want the story to end. Please, Fiona, give us a sequel to The Starlight Fortress!