Georgi's Greek Tragedy is history and fiction at it's finest !

Title: Giorgi’s Greek Tragedy

Author: Pauline Hager

Author’s website: www.ilovetoreadbooks.com
Genre: Historical –Fiction
ISBN: 978-0-7414-6034-9

Reviewed by Cindy Taylor originally for AllBooksReviewInt.com

To take a period in history and weave it into a fictional account of the survival of a family through three generations of their struggles and successes and still create an interesting and exciting page- turner is not an easy feat. However, to Pauline Hager it is like second nature in Giorgi's Greek Tragedy as she tells us the story of Giorgi Papakalos and his family and their lives in the beautiful mountains of the Peloponnese region of Greece during the final years of the Ottoman Turks´ occupation of Greece. So many periods in history such as World War I, World War II, the Holocaust, Slavery, and the Russian Revolution, to name just a few, have been written about in abundance and depicted in movies, but I found this riveting account of Greece's struggle for independence to be very refreshing because it was a period in history that I was not at all familiar with. It became not only a pleasurable read but also a history lesson that kept me engrossed in the story from start to finish and left me fascinated and yet deeply disturbed and thoughtful. However, the historical aspect of the story was not overwhelming because it was chronicled in an easy to understand manner with a nice mixture of the history lessons and the personal stories of the characters. The story centres on the Papakalos and Leonidis families as they struggle to raise their families by strict Greek tradition during turbulent times. They all work incredibly long hours in the fields to be able to save a little money even after paying heavy taxes to the Turks. Even when Mother Nature wreaks havoc on their crops or Turkish officials kill one of their own, they still endure and carry on through their intense pain and suffering and find some measure of contentment in their everyday lives. After finding his parents murdered by Turkish scouts who take his older brother away to be trained for the Janissary Corps, Giorgi Papakalos vows to join the freedom fighters, known as kleftes, to fight for the freedom of his people and to avenge his parents´ deaths. Giorgi's brother, Yianni, joins Giorgi on his adventures, and we follow them as they endure severe hardships training as kleftes and grow into two very different personalities, but still with the common dream of freedom and an intense dedication to and love for each other.

Hager takes the themes of struggle and survival and challenges us to consider the struggles that all groups of people go through to differing degrees and to ponder where human beings get the undying will to survive. What keeps people fighting even when up against the greatest adversities? It also gave me great admiration and respect for the tenacity of these strong, resilient and yet impoverished and downtrodden Greek people who toiled and endured every day in the fields just for basic survival and gained great satisfaction from their accomplishments, no matter how small. Through it all they never gave up on their dream of independence and still managed to live by ancient Greek traditions and raise loving and moral families. Hager is a very gifted writer, creating rich and memorable characters who we never stop rooting for throughout the story. We watch their patience and dedication to their traditions and their cause and want them to achieve their goal of freedom from the Turks. Hager is skilled at making the reader experience the whole gamut of emotions from anger when the Turks kill innocent Greek peasants, frustration when everything seems futile, happiness when something goes right, guilt, shock, heartbreak and anticipation of freedom near the end. When The Great Powers of Europe finally pressure the Sultan into recognizing Greece as an independent nation and the Treaty of Adrianople is signed, it is heart-warming to see how the years of struggle, loss and persistence did eventually lead to the fulfillment of a family's dreams. Another aspect of this book that I found invaluable considering the vast cast of characters was the list of characters grouped by family, the map of Peloponnese, and the bibliography iof books and website consulted for anyone who wishes to learn more about this incredibly important time in history. Hager definitely leaves no stone unturned to her research and her finished masterpiece. I am extremely impressed by this first novel from Pauline Hager, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys epic historical novels. You will not be disappointed, and I personally look forward to Hager's future work. Return to Reviews Page

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Green Thriller? Yes.

Title: The End of The Computer

Author: Andre Mikhailovich Solonitsyn
Author's Web site link: http://theendofthecomputer.com/
Amazon link
Genre: Thriller, Green Thriller
ISBN
eISBN: 9781618420169 (Kindle)


Reviewed by Catherine C. Gorski "CateArtdotcom" (Portland, OR), originally for Amazon

The synopsis for this book boasts that this story is full of intriguing thoughts. 'Yeah sure,' I thought, 'in an action book?' It also promised whimsical humor, unexpected joy, and deep fulfillment. High marks to achieve!

So, I decided to give it a whirl. Besides, the cover was intriguing. I love me some nukular 'splosions!

Turns out, the claim on the virtual jacket underestimated the impact this story had on me; calling those thoughts intriguing was a very mild way of putting it - and now, that deep thinking stays with me, and has actually had an impact on several conversations. As one of the characters explains: 'it's a little bit like dying, and entirely like being born.' I looked at where these ideas came from, what the dry facts are - though I had to dig - and now I have a sense that if we don't do something soon, drastic measures similar to some in this story might have to take place.

But, I am not a resident of the Valley of Thunder yet, so let me tell you more about the book!

Like precious carvings being placed in niches made specially for them, beautiful bits of speech are laid in here with simple care; they stand out, but are set in their perfect environment. When Berkeley is described, I know without a doubt the author sees it both as it is today, and as it was in times past. When the women are conversing, they talk like actual women. When men talk, even when they express things you don't often hear men verbalize, they sound like real men.

A favorite line of mine is given by a fella who has seen too much and done too much, who is being asked to do it all over again - bigger, and right this time - who has a soul-rendering, very personal revelation (tissue box time, btw). He gives this explanation that should be so obvious, and yet it's ignored all the time: "You can't fight for a noble cause with heinous actions."

I don't want to give away too much of the plot. The truth is, I can't: it's unique in many ways and has a cheeriness to it that belies it's origins and the deeper meaning behind the words. Once the story starts gaining speed, you're treated to chapters so different from each other, there's no way of explaining how they form such a coherent whole. Let's just say... the payload is worth the wait!

Oh, and you must read all the way to the end. Yes, the ~story~ ends about 20 pages before the book does, and it's easy to miss on first run-through, but if you miss what comes after the story, you'll be very sad, and your tummy will stay empty.

Despite everything that happens during the telling of this tale - and there's a bunch of not-good-for-our-protagonists stuff going on there! - when you put it down, you feel fulfilled. Happy, even. Which is totally amazing, given what happens in the later chapters. But it makes you want to read it again. I've already read it twice, and now I'm a little sad that I'll have to put it down for a while for my brain to refresh so I can read it again... for the third time. I want to go back to Vallee de Tonnerre. See you there. ;)

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Vine Voice Reviewer Thinks William Rea's Toilet Humor Hilarious! (-:

Title: An Ant in the Toilet

Author: William M. Rea

Genre: Humor/Comics & Art

Review: Amazon.com

Five Stars!

5.0 out of 5 stars Hysterical!, September 6, 2011

Reviewed by Kathy W (Baltimore, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: An Ant in the Toilet (Kindle Edition)

OMG! I laughed sooooo hard. Yeah, it's a little gross. I mean, it IS bathroom humor. It is not a child's book. It is adult humor from 2011.

It's short, sweet, and to the point. Maybe a 5 minute read. An ant is hanging out in a toilet bowl, so what do you think he sees? There are illustrations. The ant is telling you what he sees, from his perspective, so the pictures are fine.

This is an ebook, but a printed book would be something you could put in the bathroom for guests to look at while they are cozying up to the porceline bowl.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Live Journal Reviewer Lauds Classic Combo

Title: To Ignite a Fire on Enceladus (e-book)
Author: Vincent Miskell
Book link: http://www.amazon.com/Ignite-Enceladus-Londons-Build-ebook/dp/B005LAENEI
Genre: Science fiction
No ISBN yet.

Note: To Ignite a Fire on Enceladus is an updating of Jack London's To Build a Fire so the author has combined the two stories into one book. (You get two stories for the price of one!)

Reviewed by Joy V. Smith originally for Amazon

Reviewer rating: 5 stars out of 5

This e-book caught my attention because I read Jack London's "To Build a Fire" years ago, and I've always remembered the ending, so this idea of a combination of "To Build a Fire" with a science fiction version, "To Ignite a Fire on Enceladus," was intriguing. I read the SF version first, and I really enjoyed it, especially the dog. (The story and the dog are updated.) I also appreciated the scientific aspects (Now that's a space suit!) of the story, which takes place on one of Saturn's moons--and the differences and the similarities of both stories. I think I must have read the juvenile version (I haven't checked) of London's story earlier, because it definitely seems shorter than the later version. (I hadn't realized there were two versions of "To Build a Fire.")

I recommend this book not only because of the chance to read London's classic story, along with its future parallel challenge, but I liked Miskell's version (of course, he owes the idea to Jack London) more than the original; the situation is even more dangerous, and I loved the dog. What a wonderful creation--and companion--he is!

Reviewer Joy V. Smith's writing blog is http://pagadan.wordpress.com/ and http://pagadan.livejournal.com

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

EBookAnoid Reviewer Recommends Literary Novel

TITLE:                         TOM'S WIFE
AUTHOR:                   Alana Cash
AUTHOR WEBSITE:  www.alanacash.com
GENRE:                     Literary Fiction


Reviewed by Tony, originally for EBookAnoid



I have just finished reading Tom’s Wife, available from Amazon (see below for link) written by Alana Cash, and it turned out to be one of the best books I have read for quite some time.

Set in the American countryside in an unspecified time, it is the story of Annie, a young woman married to a brutal miner/farmer, the Tom in the title, whose relationship is based on male supremacy and female servitude.   On the face of it, not a subject that makes for happy reading, but in this book Alana has made her main characters so real that the complexities of human relationships bring it all into balance.

All the characters in this book are complex layered humans, no one is simply good or bad or in between, they are real, and show all those aspects in their personalities and actions.   Annie, who on the face of it is the “good” one in the story, is basically a very honest young woman, yet she is prepared to cheat and lie if it helps her survive in her very difficult life, so she has a “bad” side too.

Even Tom, who for the greater part is a brutal slob, has his moments of tenderness and uncertainty.   It is this that appeals to me about this book, the people in it are all multilayered, and thus real, and interesting, as their reactions to events are not automatically defined by a two dimensional character, as is so often the case in books.

Another thing I liked about this book was that Alana didn’t waste time on setting the scene.  We are never told which part of the USA, or even what period this book is set in.  I guess it is in the 1930’s from internal evidence, but I am probably wrong, and it really isn’t important, as this is a book about people, and their lives, which are much the same whether it is 1936 Kansas or 2011 Kashkar.

In fact the entire book is really made up of conversations; there are very few descriptive passages in this book, which is a bit complicated for the first few pages, but once you are into the book it all flows very naturally and is perfectly understandable.

Alana has a nice way with words, and comes up with some wonderfully evocative phrases in this book, such as the following which I particularly liked. Annie is contemplating her rooster mating with one of her hens, when the following thought occurred to her:

The first time she ever saw a bull cover a heifer, it gave her a bad dream about being run over by a train.

I know exactly what she means there..  I laughed out loud when I read that passage.

It is a book that will appeal equally to men as to women I am sure as it deals with universal topics, that we can all easily identify with, regardless of age or gender, simply a well written book about  people and their battles in life.

I could happily go on for a long time about this excellent book, but I shan’t, as I think the best thing is for you to simply go along to Amazon and read it for yourselves.

 Reviewed by Tony at  www.ebookanoid.com
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Maranda Russell Reviews The Battle for Tomorrow

Title: The Battle for Tomorrow: a Fable

Author: Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall

Website: www.stuartbramhall.com

Genre: Young Adult Fiction

ISBN: 978-1-61204-219-0

Reviewed by Maranda Russell http://marandarussell.com

Most of the books I read and review are fairly innocent, but “The Battle for Tomorrow” steps out of this comfort zone and addresses some real nitty-gritty details about what it is like for many kids growing up today.

Written by Dr. Stuart Jeanne Bramhall, “The Battle for Tomorrow” is the tale of a sixteen-year-old girl named Angela who is pretty much raising herself. Her mother is now disabled to the point that Angela has taken the role of caretaker, but even before her mother’s disability, Angela never felt loved and supported by her parental figures.

The story really picks up when Angela meets a political activist who is deeply involved in political and environmental issues. Angela soon finds herself tangled in this new world, even going so far as to participate in a blockade and occupation of the Capitol. Of course, even non-violent protests have consequences, so Angela ends up incarcerated at a juvenile detention facility where the real battle begins. Faced with the possibility of being put in the custody of children’s services, Angela decides to fight for emancipation, eventually even including the ACLU in her fight.

 

I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, but there are a few things I feel it is important to share with potential readers. First of all, this is not a book I would recommend for younger teenagers. Some of the issues it deals with are pretty mature. In fact, when the book starts out Angela is trying to get her second abortion. The author presents this and other adult matter in realistic, emotional and sometimes brutal ways. This honesty is what makes the book fascinating and meaningful, but it also makes it questionable for younger readers.

Overall, this book is a book which is much-needed in today’s world when many kids are left to raise themselves or planted in front of an electronic babysitter all day. The story raises many important issues about independence, emancipation, political dilemmas and parental responsibility (or the lack of it).

To find out more about this book, please visit the author’s website.

 

----- The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Deb Hockenberry Reviews Children's Book That Teaches Tolerance

TITLE: Nettie Parker’s Backyard (June 14, 2011)

AUTHOR: C.V. Smith
PUBLISHER:Avid Reader Publishing Group http://avidreaderspg.com
PAGES:180
FORMATS: Paperback, ebook
PRICE: $2.99 for ebook, $7.95 for paperback (US)
£2.13 for kindle edition, £6.92for paperback (UK)
ISBN– 10: 161286032X
ISBN– 13: 9781612860329

Reviewed by Deb Hockenberry

NettieParker’s Backyard is a gentle yet action packed and war – torn story. It’s the story of Nettie’s life which is full of prejudice and bullying. Early in her life she starts seeing and hearing signs. What do these signs mean? Are they magical? Only Nettie can find that out.

When Nettie is nineteen-years-old, she travels to London, England to study to be a nurse. Upon her arrival, the nursing administrator is very nice to her but soon she is met with more prejudice from others. Is this because of her physical challenge or because of her race?

Nettiemeets two young boys one day when their ball flies across the fence and into the Charring Cross Hospital grounds. The boys don’t think they’ll ever get their ball back and are very hestitant to talk ask for it. Nettie’s caring and compassionate nature can’t understand this but she soon will. She talks with the boys for awhile and is surprised to learn that the boys were sent to London by their parents to escape the horrors of World War II. Kind, compassionate Nettie doesn’t think there’s enough hate or fear in the world to make parents and children separate! She soon finds out differently!

It was very hard for this reviewer to put this book down. Throughout this well written account of Nettie Parker, not only do you learn about her ancestry and her adventures in London but you learn a secret language too!

I highly recommend Nettie Parker’s backyard. Although the historical fiction is written for children, adults will thoroughly enjoy this magical book too!

~To learn more about C.V. Smith and Nettie Parker’s Backyard visit her author’swebsite at: http://www.nettieparkersbackyard.com.

If you would like to purchase this magical and fact-filled story, you can find it several ways. You can find it in kindle edition at http://www.amazon.com or as a nook book at http://www.barnesandnoble.com. If you prefer a print edition, that can be found at http://www.amazon.com.

~Reviewer Deb Hockenberry blogs at The Bumpy Road  blog http://thebumpyroadtopublishing.blogspot.com and  Deb's Book Nook http://debsbookreviews.blogspot.com

----- The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugallySharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :