Review of Wesley King's "The Vindico"

    This one took me a while to get into because right out the gate, the writing did not impress me. I had suspected this would be a young adult novel, but the characters and writing would make the age range 10-14 year olds. Now, just because a book is catered towards a younger, does not mean that the writing has to be dumbed down. Yes, the jargon must be tamed, but trusting the readers to interpret a story should not change. A 10-year-old can understand that "he smiled" can infer that the character is happy. However, writing, " he said happily," is an insult to one's intelligence. Let's just get on with it:

    Gifted children attend a school where they are taught to control their powers so they may fight a great evil. This description can be used to describe many YA novels. The Vindico slaps on the twist that the children are being trained to be villains, but the only crime they seem to commit is not giving the reader enough credit. This book enlisted lazy adverbs to do most of the emotional work, and employed tons of dialogue for the exposition. The five protagonists are all giving one-dimensional personalities, and the side characters were difficult to distinguish from one another.
    Redeeming factors are hard pressed to find. If anything, the climax was a fast paced mix of twists and turns. King did a better job at juggling a double digit amount of characters in one scene than I would have expected. Overall, much like the villains in this story, the negatives outweigh the positives.
    If I had a shelf dedicated to books I did not want to reread, this would get a spot.

Review of Rysa Walker's "Timebound"

     This book I had received for free because it was the 2013 Winner of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award — Grand Prize and Young Adult Fiction Winner. I had started reading it right when I first downloaded it last year, but grew bored shortly into the third chapter. The blurb spun this exciting adventure in the past at the World Fair in Chicago, and that description coupled with the award heightened my expectations through the roof. This time around, I read through it all, and found myself surprised:

        If anything, this book should be rewarded for having the most confusing time-travel story ever told. Granted, I didn't have the patience to flip back through the book to put every step together, because I was too eager to get to the past. And this book kept me waiting like no other. I had come to expect of time-travel books that time travel would be the main focus, whereas in this book, it took the stand as a climax. Rather, the focus of this book was on the main character, Kate, dealing with both budding and disappearing relationships. I suppose I had come with expectations. Like if I go to a famous pie restaurant to eat the award winning pie, but I have to suffer through the other courses before they'll serve me that good ole key lime with graham cracker crust. The appetizer and the entree were fine, but not what I came for.

    Now I'm hungry, even more so than when I was hungry for some action. This book sure knows how to lay the backstory on thick. Honestly, I think it would have been simpler if there was just a prologue summarizing all of the time-travel events proceeding the story, because there were so much time spent on conversations about the past. 2/3rds of the book were spent on set up, and the other 1/3rd was spent on quality writing. 

    Gosh, how I wish I could spend a day (or 6 hours of book time) at a World Fair. I do have to give credit for Walker taking a path different from the obvious, but it worked against the novel.The middle section did have a lot of heart in Kate's reactions to tough situations, but was easy to glance over waiting for the adventure. Once the story finally found its way to the past, I was captivated, and confused. Those two usually work hand in hand for a good story though. Now that this origin story is out of the way though, I think a sequel would meet the expectations I had for the first.

    I'll keep this on the shelf, if only to remind myself to look out for the next book, which I expect to be much better.

The Mandatory Love Interest

     Though it is not exclusive to the type of books I've been reading, most young adult sub-genre superhero novels with male protagonists have a female love interest as if mandated by society. I see the tactic as a way to interest female readers, but it never makes for a compelling narrative. That is not saying that romance isn't a satisfying genre, but shoehorning a love story into a teenage action-adventure for the sake of expanded the appeal only serves in watering down the story. However, a novel that is chock full of one gender does not have to be a turn off if the focus is spent on the story than on mass appeal.
     For example, Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games trilogy is entertaining for me to read due to the plot, and I view the love triangle as a distraction. But I get it, some men do not want to read a book with all females, and the same applies for women reading books with all men. Still, there are ways to implement both genders while not smashing two together at the lips. Make interesting female characters, who have personalities and interact with each other and that should draw in female readers. Books do not always have to reflect the real world, everything doesn't have to center around love.

Review of Darrell Pitt's "Diary of a Teenage Superhero"

Quickie Review:

A short book with a lot to show. It cost a dollar on amazon.com, and it is well worth the price. That is not to say it was amazing, but I’m glad I spent my dollar on Diary than on a McChicken. You may find this book on my shelf collecting dust.

Full Length Review:

Plot:

Axel wakes up with amnesia and discovers he has air related powers. He unites with a bunch of other super powered teens to fight some villains who threaten them with torture. Then they are recruited by a school where they train to save the world.

Now I can’t grade that plot alone, because that is practically every book I read, so I’ll throw into the mix, alien that works for the government that ties in to the end of the book. Not making sense? Well, now we’re on the same level.

2/5

Characters:

The characters are somewhat stereotypical and don't undergo much development, so I’ll describe them by their powers. Axel is the last airbender, Brodie isthe reincarnation of Bruce Lee, Dan is half Magneto half Jedi, Chad is the offspring of Mr. Freeze and the Human Torch and finally Ebony, is the better version of Zan from the wonder twins. They all share the common weakness of special guns that impair their powers. As far as that aspect goes, superpowers usually defining the book in the superhero genre, the powers weren't bad. Some of the characters seem like they are overpowered, namely Dan who could use Jedi mind tricks so long as they didn't advance the plot.

3/5

Setting/Description:

The book is set around the island of Manhattan and in an underground base, all present day.

As for description, I’d rather describe some of the homages to other superheroes, at least I hope these were intentional. And SPOILERS. Axel flies to catch a missile much like Superman, jedi mind tricks as previously mentioned and by the combined powers of all the superteens, the bad guy is turned to stone, much like the end of The Fantastic Four.

2.79/5 (scientific calculation)

Writing Style:

This book is told in first person, present tense.

Now, off topic, but I’m just wondering if the author, Darrell Pitt, chose a pseudonym, or if that is his real name. Was he trying to go for something awesome, because it sounds like a Louisiana car salesman to me? Pitt is usually associated with Brad Pitt. Cool, Hollywood name. But put Darrell in front of it, and you drain the awesome out.

On a scale of Darrell Pitt to Brad Pitt, I would give this a Moses Pitt.

3/5

Potential:

            Maybe Darrell will be a cool name in 30 years, I don’t know.

            ?/5

Final:

            Plot:  2/5

            Characters: 3/5

            Setting/Description: 2.79/5

            Writing Style: 3/5

            Potential: ?/5

Final: 2.7/5

           

Review of Jacob Gowans's "Psion Beta"

Reviews Note:

When I was finished writing my first book, I thought I was brilliant for having 120,000 words, while most authors could only manage 80-90k. I found the error of my ways in all of the unnecessary scenes written in that not only added nothing to the story, but detracted from the pacing. Gowans left his novel lengthy. Writing a piece of work with a word count creeping into the 6 figures isn't a violation of any rule, but with so many words, it get exponentially more likely to lose readers before the climax ensues. That is, unless the writer has enough to fill the plot; Psion Beta, does not.

Quickie Review:

This was not the book for me. It had all the elements that I enjoy, superpowers, romance, and futuristic technology, but it suffered from poor plotting. There were way too many characters, but the main character was the only one with a backstory. I felt emersion in the setting, but felt like the world around was all neglected. Would not recommend for high thrills, but possibly if you want to read a rocky love story between 14 year olds. Not taking a spot on my shelf.

Full Length Review:

Plot:

Sammy is your average 14-year-old homeless orphan who lives in a mini mart in South Africa with his friends. Until one day, the police catch up with them, and Sammy evades them with telekinetic powers. When caught, he is taken into the Psion Beta program, for those with his anomaly, where they train their powers against holograms. Every weekend, they have a competition where the betas are split into teams. When they finish their training, the move on to Psion Alpha, the front lines, where they fight the cannibals that threaten the world.

It’ pretty much orphan learns he’s special and joins an academy to learn about his power. Nothing too original, and as mentioned above, the book is way too lengthy.

2/5

Characters:

Sammy is a really tall, buff 14-year-old who everyone mistakes as 16. He has an Irish sidekick, and blonde love interest and a bully. Sammy gets all the attention, and his memories of his parents almost make them characters as well. Sammy comes in to the program, and excels at everything ,surpassing everyone in the entire program, despite some being there for years. And he is a natural at video games. And his only flaw is that , well, no actually…Let me get back to you on that one.

2/5

Setting/Description:

Set on a facility on an island. That’s about all the information given. The facility houses the Psion Betas, with bedrooms, a kitchen and training rooms all surrounding a giant arena.

As for description, I always knew what was happening. Nothing too flowery, but I prefer minimal description that is precise. My favorite descriptions would have to be in a virtual game where historical figures are having a death battle at Stonehenge.

3/5

Writing Style:

Third person, past tense. The middle really drags, because the author is trying to put in so much dedication to Sammy training, that he forgets every movie makes that a one-minute montage. I’m sure a 90s sports director could tell a whopping 80,000 words of it in 2 minutes. Also, I struggled to find originality in the book amongst the prolonged love story and training. The one aspect I particularly enjoyed, was that series of flashbacks that moved parallel to the plot. Normally, it isn’t wise getting stuck in the past in a novel, because it drags down what will happen next, but these flashbacks my have told a more compelling story than the rest of the plot.

1/5

Potential:

The book has become a trilogy, and all of the books are self-published. Currently, the 3^rd one ranks #846,169 in book rankings by sale on Amazon.com. They are yet to spark the eye of any publishing house. The author is slated to continue the Psion series though, yet I’m not sure I’ll grab the sequel, Psion Gamma.

2/5

Final:

            Plot: 2/5

            Characters: 2/5

            Setting/Description: 3/5

            Writing Style: 1/5

            Potential: 2/5

Final: 2/5

Review of Mark Frost's "The Paladin Prophecy"

Quickie Review:

            Standard teen with special powers attends a school for the gifted, accompanied by his Australian guardian angel. Some evil ancient force composed of agencies, teenagers and monsters pursues him. It’s worth a read, and may surprise you. I would put it on my bookshelf.

Full Length Review:

Plot:

Will West’s family moves around every few years for no explanation. He has no close friends, so he spends his time running cross-country. When men called the Black Hats begin to pursue him, Will follows his dad’s 98 rules to survive. Once he learns that he has been accepted to an academy for the gifted, Will goes home only to find out his mom has become a zombie! Well, no. The Black Hats planted a mind control bug in her neck. After his father warns him to run, Will enrolls in the special school and flies off to safety.

The bulk of this book is Will gaining friends and unraveling the mystery behind who is after him. The plot fell apart for me though, somewhere around the part where Will abandons his family and uses Nando, a random taxi driver he just met to do reconnaissance on the bad guys. There is way too much going on, that the story was lost to all the cool features the author was trying to shove in.

2/5

Characters:

Will manages to meet a handful of wonderful characters that all get broad descriptions, but none particularly stand out, except Dave. However, most, including Will, don’t feel like fully realized ideas. Among Will’s friends, there is the brainy one, the slang-slinging gymnast, a piano player with fierce eyes, and a blonde love interest. While these may be new twists on past stereotypes, none defy expectations. They did make my laugh on occasion, though. The villain(s) had some interesting backstory, and some historical significance, but never displayed any awesome factors.

3/5

Setting/Description:

The book starts of in Ojai, California and moves Will off to The Center for Integrated Learning, a high school in Wisconsin. The Center is a high school for gifted students and recruits all students by merit. It houses a little over 1,000 students by Will’s calculations, yet boasts an entire shopping mall. It sounds too good to be true, or believable at all in our reality. I do enjoy the descriptions of snow though and I would make a pilgrimage to Popski’s any day of the week.

As for description, the book starts of with whole chapters dedicated to describing either people or areas. Some of the descriptions can even entice envy, such as the description for a hot rod and Will’s first Wisconsin breakfast. Yet, some of the time spent on describing minor things in great detail, could have gone to better use. Still, the writing never loses track and the words flow.

4/5

Writing Style:

This book is written in 3^rd person limited, past tense for the most part. However, at some points in time, the writing head hops mid-paragraph and the POV changes. The author enjoys lengthy descriptions, and characters so packed with personality they are borderline racist. Maybe it was the Mexican cab driver who can never form a grammatically correct sentence, or the Australian soldier who exclusively speaks in an Australian dialect like he never left. The pacing was slow at times, but picked up near the last 1/3 of the book, which was around 350 pages into this 560-page monster.

3/5

Potential:

This book already has a sequel due out in a few months. I think the author can carry the story through to a trilogy. With most of the description out of the way, I feel like the plot can get to maximum potential if the Mark Frost looks over mistakes from the first. This was also Frost’s first YA book, which was able to capture the teenage voice surprisingly well for a man bordering on 60.       His background in scriptwriting has given him to write the screenplay for the upcoming movie, which will definitely give this book some hype.

5/5

Final:

Plot 2/5

Characters 3/5

Setting/Description 4/5

Writing Style 3/5

Potential 5/5

Score 3.4/5