Review of A.L. Brooks' STRANGEWORLD {The Mortiferai}

I received a free copy of the above  novel and the first thing I noticed was it was big. Bloody big. 779 pages big. That's a lot of words. A lot of weight. Literally!

I find large books difficult. I like to read in the bath, read in bed, read anywhere and everywhere. Carry the book with me, take the dog for a walk, stop and read a bit, drop in at the local cafe, have a coffee, read a bit, things like that. That is bloody hard to do with a heavy book, so, honesty from the start - I seriously did not think I would read this book. It just weighed too much and after one or two pages I'd have to put it down.

Secondly, the main character, Jake, annoyed the crap out of  me. But then, he was supposed to annoy me. Like all good books, the main character had stuff to learn, stuff about himself. Jake was self-obsessed and rather caught up in his own whinging world - again, initially, I did not think I would finish this book. I have to care about the main character or I lose interest, quickly.

Thirdly - trilogies - seriously, is anyone else over the whole serialization of novels? No one can just write a stand alone anymore?  When I finished The Tree Singer one of the first questions asked was - is it a trilogy? No, its just a damn book - read it and move on. So a trilogy, nah, I really did not think I would finish this book. Trilogies make you wait, and trilogies invariably are a single book stretched to make three. No way, I thought, I'll read about fifty or so pages and that'll be it.

It wasn't.

I did, surprising I must say, read this book. All of it. From start to the finish.  779 pages later, I am glad I did and I look forward to reading book 2 of The Mortiferai. This is an enjoyable book. Even reading and seeing Jake finally understand there is more to the world than his own grief at his mother's death was enjoyable. So was his developing relationship with his step sister - Emily, his love interest in Hayley, his friendship with Mark, and especially the development of the quirky, mysterious and very powerful Charwood Sisters. This big book is littered with big, great characters.

This is a bloody big book - not just in pages or words - but in the sheer scope of the story - the history of the Cornish village, the other world Jake and Emily visit, Forgotten, the characters like Emily, and the evil Goon and LanceAsh, in my mind a sort of Green Knight.

This book is large with ideas, with villains, with its twists and turns. It is funny and scary and bloodthirsty and warm - this book deserved 778 pages for its first installment and I cannot wait to read more.

The Black Swan

Been reacquainting myself with this album.

Forgotten how much I loved it.

Looking for two or three reviews of both The Tree Singer and Catalina.

anyone interested?

The stars

Just received a 3 star review for Catalina. 3 Stars leaves you a bit blah. It doesn't bag your book and doesn't praise your book. Really it just says " read it." Or am I being too harsh?

Is three stars better than that? I feel good when I get four, five is even better, and how sad that I even care, but of course I do. I want people to read my book. That happens with people becoming aware it exists - and that in this internet capillary system where books need all the help they can get, stars are a form on oxygen - 0r are they?

Are the stars important at all? Do people even care about them? I have never bought a book based on is star rating - do other people though? Or are they irrelevant, just a thing Amazon/Goodreads etc do to create a false sense of how important they are. And if they are important, how important, are like like gold?

 Can you buy stars? Is this the new currency? Or are they a fool's gold. A pot at the end of the rainbow dream for writers desperate to have a sense of an audience out there?

And reviews? How important are they?

Is their a review swapping site where writers gather like shadows in old cafes and swap reviews for a chance at some kind of recognition?  I'll reviews yours if you review mine...

Anyway...Cat got 3 stars today... yeah so blah...

I am thinking of writing a new blog, sort of 'the adventures of...' blog. A fictional character's not so great exploits.

Bomba Dun I think might be the character's name.

Yesterday I received a returned manuscript and a thanks but no thanks...From Ford Street Publishing...It was a very old book ( written about eight years ago) for  very young readers. Ford Street gave me a great, 'No thanks,' letter  that it wasn't just a photocopy of a standard 'thanks but no thanks' with some signature scrawled on the bottom. They actually went through what they thought I needed to attend to to strengthen the story.

Same old  same old for me I am afraid, trillions of spelling mistakes... Plus some 'voice' mistakes where my voice intruded into the story, instead of staying with George's voice, the character telling the story. Insightful and very helpful. I know publishers are inundated but isn't that their job, to read manuscripts and maybe to help, where they can, foster writing talent,  and this letter was only a page long but it made the rejection easier and it also gave me some things to work on.

So I would like to thank Ford Street Publishing for reading my manuscript and for their reply letter...and now its back to work.

Its too damn hot

Too bloody hot to write today...

When I was young I loved writing in the heat, the hotter the better. I'd sit at the desk, towel for cover, the old typewriter before me, banging away on the keys, poetry, stories, dreams... I'd write through the day, drinking water, eating raw vegetables... until the sun went down...
then shower, clothes and off to a pub.

Now its just too damn hot.

Old Crow Medicine Show

James River Blues