BRIDGE OF DREAMS by Kevin P Keating #RBRT

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Three novellas comprising science/speculative fiction, history, future meanderings, space, science versus religion, with surprising happenings and story developments.

These three novellas are connected, sometimes more than others, but each one can be read separately.

With all of them I adored some parts, becoming totally immersed in the wonderful storytelling.  The writing itself is stunningly good, the prose atmospheric and illustrative of the time.  I particularly liked the 1950s small town America setting of the first tale, which I thought was the best one.  I loved how there were so many stories within the stories, a literary style that has long been a favourite of mine; I like to have my reading mind taken off on meandering tangents.

The stories are all set around the fictional town of Heavenly Hill in Ohio, spanning a time period of 200 years (1857 - 2057), with connections throughout.  Now and again I felt that the 'speculative' aspect could have been reined in a little as a few of the ideas did not seem fully formed.  Then again, perhaps that's the nature of the genre.  

Before the stories begin there is a long introduction and explanation of why the stories were written, which I confess to only skimming; I prefer to read this sort of text at the end of a book.  Like a character's backstory, the 'why' only matters to me once I've got to know what's inside.  It's a hard book to review, without summarising each novella, and sufficient information is given in the blurb.  Maybe the only question that needs answering is 'did I enjoy this?'.  I did.  I looked forward to getting back to the book each time I left it, and my eagerness to turn the pages only waned a little in the last of the three.  I liked the little surprise story at the end, too.

Bridge of Dreams is unusual, immersive and clever.  I recommend!

UNDEAD by Mark Brendan #RBRT

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)

On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Three macabre novellas of blood, terror and the living dead

In the first of these horror novellas, a man falls foul of the Spanish Inquisition and finds himself on a curious island where he comes under threat from unhuman terrors.  The second tale is about a necromancer in the eighteenth century, and the final one about some members of Napoleon's forces stationed in Northern Africa, who are looking for a way out of their situation.

All three stories are highly inventive, and I very much enjoyed some aspects of all of them.  My favourite was the last one, about the French deserters; this one really kept my attention and I was engrossed.  The atmosphere of the time was so well written, and I particularly liked the early scenes at the site of the battle.  I also liked the sections of the first one where the hero is a galley slave. The stories are fairly gory but not unnecessarily so; it worked.

I felt that the book, as a whole, could have done with a better copy editor/proofreader, as there were some wrongly used words and many punctuation errors, mostly missing vocative commas.  The content editing is fine; the stories flowed well and were told in a way that kept my attention. It was just the incorrect punctuation and other errors that should have been picked up, that distracted me.  Also, I felt that on several occasions the dialogue was too modern for the relevant periods in history.  Not horrendously so, but I think an experienced copy editor could polish them up to something first rate.

RIDING SHOTGUN and other American Cruelties by Andy Rausch

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book:  it was submitted to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member. 

Genre: crime, murder, dark humour

This is a collection of three novellas, and I enjoyed them all.  I really liked Andy Rausch's writing style, it's right up my street; very current, intelligently witty, sharp and observant.  

The first one is Easy-Peezy, set in 1920/30s America, about Emmet Dalton, a former bank robber of the late 19th century who has hung up his boots and holster, but longs to show young guns like John Dillinger how it's done.  He teams up with a couple of others from the same era and sets off for one last crime spree.  On its own, I'd have given this 4*.

The second, Riding Shotgun, is about a writer who find himself involved in a life of crime after his wife is killed.  I liked this one slightly less, as at times 'darkly humorous' crossed the border into 'just daft', although it was still well-written.  3*.  

The last story, $crilla, is easily the best, I loved it.  Almost totally dialogue, and hilarious, easily 5*.  Two unsuccessful gangsta rappers hatch a plot to extort money from their reluctant producer.  

The language, particularly in the last one, would not suit anyone who finds authentic street talk offensive; if you don't, and can appreciate how well-observed it is, you'll love it.  I felt the influence of certain TV shows and films, throughout, even in some specific lines, but I quite liked that about it.  It's a good collection, professionally presented, and worth getting for the last one alone.

RUM HIJACK by Phil Moss @Literastein

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK HERE

How I discovered this book: I've known the author on social media for about ten years and have always loved everything he's written.  This book is in three parts.  The first two, Inkker Hauser and Literastein, were originally published separately and have been slightly re-vamped in this edition.  The third, Death From Below, now completes the story... sort of ;)

This book is unlike anything I've read before and probably will ever read in the future, and it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it's most certainly mine.  Phil Moss's nameless character (who, later, hits upon the name Inkker Hauser, reasons explained in the story) is a writer.  He knows that he possesses the raw talent and originality to light a fire under the literary world, if only he could just write the book that's inside him ... somewhere.  He doesn't want the pathetic glory of Amazon ebook bestseller tags and five star reviews from sycophantic fellow writers and chums, he wants the highest literary accolades in the world for the masterpiece yet to be born, after which he will write no more, depriving his fans of the words he knows they will crave.

The young man's story is funny, sad, tragic, and I've read some parts more than once because they're so good.  Not only is he delusional, he also has a drink problem, an obssession with dead birds, nautical disasters and model submarines, a deep and abiding love for his fish, Kursk (named after his favourite nautical disaster).  He's lonely, and longs for a woman to love, but his behaviour repels those who are attracted to him (I get the impression he's rather handsome).  In the second part there is the best story of a disastrous date ruined through too much alcohol that I've ever read.  He despises self-promoting, self-published writers, and is driven to a state of insanity when one, the irritatingly smug Adrian, moves in upstairs.  When Adrian and his wife Claire (who calls our hero 'Inky') invite him to a cocktail party, he sees an opportunity to show himself in his best possible literary light.  Of course, he drinks too much, it all goes horribly wrong, and ... sorry, no clues!

The characterisation all through the book is outstanding (I particularly liked the characters in the pub in the first two parts), and the young man's slow descent into alcohol fuelled eccentricity bordering on insanity is brilliantly executed.  Sometimes, though, his thoughts are not so offbeat; sometimes you'll find yourself smiling in agreement.  Despite, or maybe because of, his unusual characteristics, he's so likeable.  I want things to work out for him.  I also think that novel is in his head, somewhere ...

In much of the book there is only the one character, with his thoughts, curious impulses and domestic rituals, and it never moves further than his local pub, The Laughing Goat, his local shops and the flat upstairs, but there is not one boring sentence.
 
There are some punctuation and grammatical errors, and in places it could do with a bit of 'tidying up'; I've knocked off half a star for this only in the interests of valid and honest reviewing, but it scarcely detracted from my enjoyment.  20/1: Please note: the author tells me that the errors have now been fixed and a new version uploaded.

Meanwhile, I won't tell you about the seven television sets, the gas mask, the mannequin and the black marker pens.  You'll just have to read it for yourself.