Category Archives: ebook reviews

New Kindle eBook, “Phantoms and Monsters: Cryptid Encounters” by Lon Strickler will please fans of the paranormal despite some bumpy editing

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Review by KEN KORCZAK

I’ll cut right to the chase and say I enjoyed this Kindle ebook. That’s probably because the subject matter interests me greatly. So for its intended audience – folks like me who are fascinated with strange creatures and the eerie phenomenon that surround them – this is a can’t miss selection.

I’m not going to give it my top recommendation, however, for reasons I’ll explain in just a bit. But first, a brief summary for those who want to know what’s in the book:

PHANTOMS AND MOSTERS: CRYPTID ENCOUNTERS is a collection of raw eyewitness accounts of legendary beasties: Bigfoot, mothman, and there’s a few serpent-like river monsters and a “little people” encounter thrown in for good measure. Here you will find mostly raw or only minimally edited email letters from average folks who were astounded to encountered strange creatures in their everyday lives.

I should say there is also a number of reports of some really weird sightings – bizzare, peculiar creatures — some of which I have never heard of before, and for that I add extra praise.

However, the buyer should be aware of what they’re getting here: This is not so much a formal book but a series of “cut-and-paste” selections from author LON STRICKLER’S, popular BLOG. And here is where I have some mild quibbles, based mostly on formatting:

The text is not well-edited. Granted, the author wanted to retain the exact flavor of the original reports of folks on the ground, and I applaud him for that. But the dicey production values go beyond just lack of editing to other factors, especially a constantly shifting text size. Sometimes the font size goes from bigger to smaller from page to page, and this makes little sense to me – and for many it will be distracting.

There are also some raw reports that should have been edited a bit more rigorously – the most intriguing and fascinating report involves an Ohio man’s encounter with the famous mothman entity — made even more interesting because his story relates to the famous Silver Bridge collapse disaster of 1967, which killed 46 people.

This entry is exceedingly bizarre, frightening and gripping – but I had to stop and re-read many passages several times to be clear about what they guy was trying to say because his writing was so muddy. If it was me, I would have provided additional editing or perhaps inserted commentary to help the reader understand this man’s amazing story.

So, this is an ebook created mostly from a “raw dump” from a blog with minimal formal editing – yet, it still gets a sky-high recommendation from me because the content is so interesting, and contributes valuable information to the record.

Ken Korczak is the author of: MINNESOTA PARANORMALA

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The Eldridge Conspiracy by Stephen Ames Berry is a pulse-pumping manly man’s science fiction thriller that will please conspiracy buffs, and others

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Review by KEN KORCZAK

Hey, it’s time to step into the Man Cave for some sizzling science fiction red meat broiled over flaming coals soaked in testosterone fluid – all guaranteed to keep you turning pages faster than a well-oiled Uzi spewing metallic death into a crew of murderous Russian mercenaries!

Yea, verily, my friends, in these pages:

.357 Combat Magnums will explode heads and splatter brains;

Ice picks will be plunged with morbid glee into skulls;

Throats will be slit slowly, and blood will gush forth;

Samurai swords will hack off arms and heads;

Soldiers will be splattered with attack helicopter missiles, bursting their bellies and disgorging their entrails as they fall howling in agony over fortress walls;

—–> A sweet and petite craft artist will have her neck slowly twisted and snapped by a Super Nazi from the future! <——

A nice mommy (also an artist) will get tossed off a tall building;

A dagger will plunge into a dude’s eyeball …

Admittedly, some people will escape death after merely being punched, slapped, beaten, karate chopped, tortured or kicked in the groin – but have no fear. Those that escape with flesh wounds and bruises will soon be followed by others that have no chance of survival after a hollow-point slug obliterates their cranium like a honeydew melon.

But wait a minute … at this point, I know what you’re thinking of asking me, your reviewer: “Ken, will there be hot sex is this book?”

YES!

In The Eldridge Conspiracy you will be treated to scorching sex scenes that will pulsate your mojo to the Nth degree and leave you drained with literary orgasmic joy, and lusting for more!

So:

Sex – check.

Death – check.

Now let’s go for the triumvirate! FOOD!

I’m here to tell you, friends, that in this novel, the eatin’ is flat-out rightious and proper-good – and I’m talkin’ full course meals with all the fixins accompanied by selections of fine wines, ales, liquors, whiskeys coffees and teas!

You are invited to travel along with our characters as they nosh with unrestrained relish:

* Coq au vin served steaming and savory with garlic, onions and white wine sauce;

* A juicy sirloin complemented by a fine Bordeaux;

* Yummy clam chowder;

* A heavenly dish of chicken linguini with garlic and wine sauce, onion and hint of orange and basil;

* Chicken Marengo;

* Apple pie made with sweet and juicy apples baked with cinnamon sided with vanilla ice cream;

* Shepherd’s pie;

* Rabbit;

* Boiled scrod;

* Blueberry muffins with steaming hot coffee …

On only two occasions, as far as I can tell, is the food substandard for our heroes, such as when Jim and Dee endure a “somber lunch of soup and salad” and another occasion when Kaeko and Temmu glummly gulp down some rather greasy haddock in a run-of-the-mill seaside diner.

That’s life.

The great thing about THE ELDRIDGE CONSPIRACY is that it’s a stunning sensory smorgasbord — pungent and redolent — but never gratuitous. There’s a decent science fiction plot here centering on an icon of conspiracy theorists – The Philadelphia Experiment. This was a supposed attempt by top government scientists in 1943 to render a Navy Destroyer, the USS Eldridge, invisible with some kind of spooky high-tech cloaking device based on quantum mechanics ka-ka.

A lot of fringe thinkers really believe it happened, but whatever. It makes a terrific premise for a sci-fi yarn. Author STEPHEN AMES BERRY takes what is essentially a formulaic genre novel — and by dint of shear literary muscle — makes it fresh, entertaining, thrilling and compelling.

Berry does an amazing job of presenting a raft of characters, every last one of which is vivid, real, likable or loathsome, and keeps all of their time-lines, actions, and interactions seamlessly melded — we never get confused.

At the risking of stooping to prosaic usage: This is a really, really, really good read. If you’re looking for a well-crafted page turner to devour on the beach this summer, look no further. I recommend this one.

Finally – sad to say – I’m afraid I must issue The Eldridge Conspiracy and the author my famous DWI citation. In this case, DWI stands for “Dead Wife Infraction.” The author, Mr. Berry, came razor close to earning a one-star demerit for committing this DWI – but the overall strength of this book overcomes and lets him escape with a 5-star commendation.

Consider:

In recent months I have read these books which have inflicted DWIs upon their readers:

“SEASON OF THE HARVEST” by Michael Hicks: Hero is a tough FBI agent with a dead wife.

“THE GIFT OF ILLUSION” by Richard Brown: Hero is a tough cop with a dead wife.

“A WORLD I NEVER MADE” by James LePore: Hero is a sad doofus with a dead wife. (Note that LePore DOUBLES DOWN!! Not only does the hero have a wife in the freezer, the hot, sexy French detective he falls in love with has a DEAD HUSBAND!! Woooo-hooooo!)

The “CHARLIE PARKER” thrillers by John Connolly: Tough private eye with a dead wife.

And that’s just recently. Think about all the other characters from literature and film that have dead wives. Secret Agent 007, James Bond? Yes, he has a dead wife. The fictionalized version of Scottish warrior William Wallace? Has a dead wife. Mel Gibson’s character in the Lethal Weapon films? Suffering from memory of his dead wife. Bobby Simone of famed TV show NYPD Blue? Tough New York cop with a dead wife. Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in Inception. He’s some kind of operative with a dead wife.

I could go on, and way on.

So, Stephen Ames Berry slips by with only a warning DWI citation (this time) by strength of having written an overall superior science fiction thriller.

My advice: Buy this book. It’s great.

Ken Korczak is the author of: BIRD BRAIN GENIUS

Follow @KenKorczak

The Survival of Thomas Ford by John A.A. Logan is a Powerful Psychological Thriller Driven By Frighteningly Creepy, Evil and Vivid Characters

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Review by KEN KORCZAK

Thomas Ford was and his wife were minding their own business on a lovely day in the Scottish countryside when their world was shattered by a sudden run-in with a despicable, cruel and random form of evil personified in the disgusting form of Jimmy McCallum.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book in which there dwelled a character as foul, powerfully disgusting and obnoxious as in this well-crafted work of literature, THE SURVIVAL OF THOMAS FORD.

What’s frightening about the soul-free and empathy-free Jimmy McCallum is that he seems so real. His twisted, debased personality comes alive in these pages, and readers may be afraid he’ll jump out of the book to stick his cold, merciless fingers into our hearts to infest our own sense of well being with dread.

With this offering, JOHN A.A. LOGAN, a Scottish writer who has enjoyed considerable regional recognition for the many short stories and other works he has published, proves he is an author who deserves recognition as one of the world’s most vivid and skillful writers of powerful psychological fiction.

This is writing and literature at its best. Imagine Stephen King combined with maybe Cormac McCarthy and a bit of Edgar Allen Poe tossed in. But perhaps it’s not fair to compare John A.A. Logan to any others. His style is his own – his prose is crisp, sparse and lean – yet he somehow manages to fill the readers mind — our “inner imaginative theater” — with rich imagery and an incredible feeling of psychic involvement with the narrative.

There is a slight paranormal edge to The Survival of Thomas Ford, but this novel does not rely on mere ghosts or standard horror gimmicks to generate sheer terror and a deeper feeling of unsettling darkness – rather, it does so by showing us the potential evil that might exist in the ordinary people that are living, working – or just idly hanging out — among us right now.

So this is a superb novel that gets my highest recommendation. It’s a compelling page turner that does not rely on plot stunts or crafty writer’s artifices to keep us burning through the pages until we get to the end. It’s a work of depth, integrity and entertainment. Grab the edge of a seat, if you dare, and read The Survival of Thomas Ford.

Ken Korczak is the author of: THE FAIRY REDEMPTION OF JUBAL CRANCH

Follow @KenKorczak

A Scientific Yet Sensitive Examination of the Near Death Experience By A Seasoned Journalist With A Lucid Writing Style

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Review by KEN KORCZAK

I’ve long been interested in the NDE or Near Death Experience since I experienced one myself when I was nine years old. After being shot through the stomach in a hunting accident and nearly bleeding to death on a northern Minnesota farm site on 15-below-zero day, I experienced some of the standard NDE events reported by others – such as being sucked through a tunnel, meeting strange beings – although my experience involved many bizarre events I have never heard in other reports.

Over the years I have read voluminously on the subject, and so I wasn’t exactly expecting to learn something startling new in a Kindle short document of just 41 pages – which I didn’t.

However, I give DEAD OR ALIVE high marks, mostly because of the extraordinarily sensitive portrayal of the author’s uncle, and the penetrating way she handles the details of his death.

Hayasaki uses her sharp journalist’s eye and well-honed writing skill to show death as a strange mixture of lost personal dignity accompanied by a sacred aura of mystery. She makes us look directly into the face of death with the vivid portrait she paints of her uncle — both as a robust young man, and then as a withered cancer-ridden shadow of his former self.

Her uncle’s example, and the NDE he reported 20 years ago after a heart attack, serves as a launching point to survey the latest research on the NDE. Interest in the NDE seems to be catching on among mainstream science, according to Hayasaki.

Like the author, I am a journalist by trade, so I will say only very gently that I think Dead or Alive is just a tad less than objective than maybe the more skeptical-minded might demand – she seems eager to believe in a more spiritual explanation for the NDE, and so seems to tilt slightly away from the accepted rational, empirical and scientific point of view that “all of this can be explained away by science.” On the other hand, I could just as easily accuse the latter crowd of harboring their own biases, and perhaps in an even a more “unscientific” way than the author.

In the end, however, readers may learn something they didn’t know about the latest NDE research. Even better, anyone with a warm body and a beating heart should be moved by story of the author’s lawyer-turned-free-spirit uncle who comes alive in these pages through the story of his death.

Ken Korczak is the author of: MINNESOTA PARANORMALA