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The Unassuming Vector
Xavier Ndukwe’s The Unassuming Vector follows the extraordinary journey of Gaston, a gifted child whose brilliance thrusts him into a world far larger and darker than his young mind can comprehend. The novel begins with a stunningly vivid scene of a ten-year-old prodigy lecturing professors on Egyptian hieroglyphics, then spirals into tragedy as a mysterious organization called Treftax shadows his life, culminating in the loss of his parents and his reluctant induction into its secretive ranks. What starts as a story about genius quickly evolves into a layered exploration of power, corruption, and destiny. The plot bends science, philosophy, and conspiracy into a narrative that feels both intimate and global. It’s a coming-of-age story wearing the clothes of a thriller.
I admired how the author wrote Gaston not as a flawless genius but as a lonely, grieving boy who thinks faster than he can feel. The writing hit me hardest when it slowed down, when Gaston stared at his father’s books, or when the chaos of Treftax’s marble halls clashed with the silence inside him. There’s a sharp intelligence in the prose, but it never turns cold. Some scenes lingered long on exposition while others, especially the moments of emotional breakthrough, ended abruptly. Even so, the story kept me curious, always nudging me to think about how ambition can twist into manipulation and how brilliance can become a burden.
What surprised me most was how the book’s ideas snuck up on me. Beneath the polished science-fiction surface lies a meditation on grief and control. Treftax isn’t just a villainous institution, it’s a mirror of society’s hunger to shape talent for its own ends. I caught myself wondering how much of Gaston’s journey was about survival and how much was surrender. The dialogue felt natural, and the moral tension felt real, especially when Gaston started questioning the motives of those who claimed to protect him. Ndukwe’s tone is calm, almost cinematic, and that made the darker turns hit harder. The ending, though abrupt, left a lingering ache that I couldn’t shake.
I’d recommend The Unassuming Vector to readers who love smart, character-driven stories that question power and destiny. It’s perfect for anyone who enjoys mysteries with a philosophical twist, something between The Da Vinci Code and Ender’s Game. The book left me thinking about how genius can isolate, how institutions consume the individuals they praise, and how some stories don’t end, they just change direction.
Pages: 377 | ASIN : B0DL2CGFWT
The Powers Within: Mystical Beings
Keona thought her life was perfect and ordinary. She is a clinical associate by day, a devoted mother, whose her world revolves around her two sons, Kenai and Kenmoni. Whispers, strange sounds and shadows, and a chill that is hinted that something is beyond her reach.
The darkness and demons arrive.
A demon enters her home, and Keona unleashes powers that she never knew she had, being able to manipulate earth, water, and air. She notices that her quiet life is shattered by a world hidden from view, filled with evil beings that feed on fear. Kenai and Kenmoni are starting to awaken their powers as well.
Now, they are in a battle that they thought they would never be in. Keona, Kenai, and Kenmoni are faced with a harsh truth: demons that walk the earth, and only those with spiritual powers can defeat them. As they wrestle with their newfound gifts, they discover a destiny where they have to protect humanity from darkness and beckon those with spiritual gifts to stand in their truth and not be ashamed of what they have been blessed with.
Can an ordinary family master their powers to save a world that is on the brink of a spiritual war?
Snoodles in Space: Escape from Zoodletraz
When Droodle the Poodle and Doo Doo Kidoodle tied the knot, they shattered the biggest rule on planet Zoodle: no pets allowed! As punishment, poor Droodle finds himself locked away in Zoodletraz, a prison from which no one has ever escaped. The question that drives the story is irresistible: can Droodle outsmart his captors and return to his beloved Doo Doo Kidoodle?
From the very first page, what stands out most is the comic book format. Children’s literature rarely embraces this style, making Snoodles in Space a delightful exception. Its layout instantly captures attention, not only from young readers but also from parents and educators seeking something fresh and visually engaging. Even reluctant readers will be drawn in, eager to follow the wild adventures of this eccentric cast.
Steven Joseph brings remarkable depth to his characters. In just a few panels, each one comes alive with personality and charm. Readers quickly form connections and root for them as if they’ve known them for ages. This emotional resonance, achieved through vivid details and playful dialogue, ensures that children will feel immersed in the world of Snoodles, Zoodles, and beyond.
The story also shines in its portrayal of community spirit. Whether celebrating victories or lending a hand in tough times, the inhabitants of Zoodle remind young readers of the value of kindness and cooperation. Through these moments, Joseph subtly imparts a lesson: helping others, no matter your age, shapes you into a compassionate, well-rounded person.
Andy Case’s illustrations elevate the story even further. His dynamic art bursts with energy, color, and imagination. Presented in a comic-book style, each page feels alive with detail and movement. The unique character designs and bold hues keep the reader’s eyes dancing from panel to panel. It’s the kind of book that invites you to linger and explore every corner of the artwork.
Snoodles in Space: Escape from Zoodletraz is a story that entertains both children and adults alike. With its clever concept, lively illustrations, and heartfelt humor, it’s a comic adventure that will have readers laughing, learning, and turning pages long past bedtime.
Pages: 80 | ASIN : B0FMKSM2CK
Introducing Lovecraft to Children
Cats of Ulthar: A Tale Reimagined follows a family of cats on the eve of returning home, where a father recounts to his children the tale of their grandfather, which begins as a bedtime story and becomes a dark memory of captivity, vengeance, and rebirth. What inspired you to reimage the famous H.P. Lovecraft story?
I have been a graphic novelist for over twenty years. The majority of my work has been reimagining Lovecraft for a new generation; largely introducing Lovecraft to children. It started with Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom. That story spawned two other books in the series and three animated movies from them. My latest book before “Cats”, introduced children to Lovecraft’s character Herbert West. I’m honored to state that my work has been featured in the Chicago Tribune and Rue Morgue magazine.
What intrigues you about the horror and paranormal genres that led you to write this book?
Horror has intrigued me since I was young. It touches on the most primal, darkest side of humanity. I wrote Cats of Ulthar because I loved the original story, but also because it allowed me to delve into modern-day themes that the original did not. This story, wrapped in a bedtime story, deals with questions over modern-day authority, the line between freedom, and what we call “a pitchfork mob”.
What scene in the book did you have the most fun writing?
Honestly, the final scene. This is a bedtime story, but the young cubs never hear what truly happens because they fall asleep. The father reveals he would never tell them the ugly side of this story because he wants to protect them from the ugliness of the world. It rang true to me as a natural protective moment coming from a parent, but that parent also wishes to unburden himself as an adult and relieve himself of some of the ugliness in the world.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
I just finished a futuristic short story about A.I. It defines comfort as a prison. It was inspired by seeing people turning to A.I. to make their lives easier. Slowly watching society turn to A.I. for the “comfort”, or an easy way to create “art”, or even book a vacation, haunts me deeply because I do not see it ending well. I also am fleshing out a graphic novel that is most definitely horror. I can’t predict when the next book will be released because creating stories in this form takes many people, but being a graphic novelist has been my passion for many decades, and I will never stop creating.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
Deadly Vision
Deadly Vision starts like a high-tech thriller but unravels into something much deeper and darker. It follows Dr. Taylor Abrahms, a driven ER doctor whose research into virtual reality medicine collides with political greed, corporate secrets, and moral decay. From a Silicon Valley conspiracy to a presidential campaign in chaos, author T. D. Severin stitches together the worlds of science, power, and human frailty with an eerie sense of realism. The story opens with a murder and keeps up a relentless pace, jumping between operating rooms, campaign dinners, and backroom plots. At its heart, it asks one big question: how far would we go in the name of progress?
Severin’s writing has a cinematic quality. Scenes move like quick cuts in a film, filled with blood, urgency, and political swagger. The dialogue feels authentic, sometimes clinical, other times sharp enough to draw blood. The medical details are vivid and intense, almost uncomfortably real, and the moral tension keeps you off balance. Abrahms is compelling, but he’s also hard to love, too focused, too numb from exhaustion. And that’s the point, I think. Severin doesn’t romanticize science or heroism. He shows their cost.
What struck me most wasn’t the tech or the politics but the fear under it all. The fear of losing control, of letting machines replace human touch, of progress turning against its maker. The book hums with that dread. It’s ambitious and messy and alive. The villains feel terrifyingly real because they believe they’re doing the right thing. And Severin has a knack for making every ethical question feel personal. There’s a sadness that lingers after the last page, the kind that stays with you longer than the plot itself.
I’d recommend Deadly Vision to readers who like their thrillers with brains and bite, people who enjoy Michael Crichton’s scientific tension or Robin Cook’s medical intrigue but want something a bit grittier. It’s not a light read, and it doesn’t hand you easy answers. But if you like stories that make you squirm, think, and wonder what’s really possible when science meets ambition, this book will grip you from start to finish.
Pages: 468 | ASIN : B0DZ3JWVYX
Byline Budapest
Byline Budapest follows Charlie Atkins, a young American woman determined to become a war correspondent in the 1950s, even as the men around her dismiss her. Through the backdrop of Radio Free Europe and the Hungarian uprising of 1956, Wagner weaves together espionage, politics, and personal ambition. It is both a historical thriller and a coming-of-age story, with Charlie’s persistence as the thread holding it all together. The novel explores themes of truth, hope, and the cost of war, told through the eyes of someone who refuses to be silent or sidelined.
I loved Charlie from the very first page. She’s stubborn, restless, and vulnerable in a way that feels so real. The writing pulled me in fast, with short, sharp sentences and scenes that burst alive in my mind. At times, it was almost cinematic. I could see the moonlight on the balloons, hear the chug of the generators, smell the cabbage stench of the hydrogen tanks. Wagner’s style is vivid without being heavy. She doesn’t drown you in history lessons, though you come away learning plenty.
There were a few times when the dialogue was overly polished, almost like lines in a play rather than everyday conversation. And every now and then, the pace slowed as the story dug into background details about institutions or politics. But those stretches never lasted long. The moment I began to drift, the narrative shifted back to Charlie, pressing against the limits around her, refusing to be contained. That rhythm of slowing down and then surging forward kept me turning pages well past bedtime.
Byline Budapest is a riveting read. It’s a book about courage, about the danger of false hope, and about the people who insist on telling stories even when the world would rather silence them. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical thrillers with a strong, driven heroine at its core. If you like novels that balance grit with heart, or if you’ve ever wondered what it might feel like to stand at the edge of history with a notebook in hand, this book is for you.
Pages: 360 | ASIN : B0FTWLZ5HG
Not Yet Your Time
James Terminiello’s Not Yet Your Time is a strange, sharp, and funny novel that refuses to play by any ordinary rules. The story follows Titus Carneades, a self-deprecating office worker whose mundane New York life derails after a near-death encounter with a mysterious woman he dubs the “Benevolent Pumpkin.” What begins as a simple act of rescue spins into an absurd web of government agents, terrorist dance troupes, cultish believers, and philosophical riddles about time, fate, and faith. The tone flips easily between satire and suspense, and the plot lurches forward with a cinematic kind of chaos that somehow always lands on its feet.
Reading this book felt like falling down a rabbit hole built by Kafka and decorated by Mel Brooks. The dialogue snaps with dry wit, and the narrative voice never takes itself too seriously. Terminiello clearly enjoys skewering bureaucracy, politics, and the media, and he does it with a mix of intelligence and goofiness that’s both refreshing and exhausting. Some scenes stretch on like fever dreams full of bureaucratic jargon and absurd acronyms, but that’s part of the joke. Beneath the humor, though, there’s a weird tenderness. Titus, for all his bumbling and sarcasm, starts to feel like an everyman trying to locate meaning in a world so absurd it can only be laughed at. The book made me laugh, then think, then laugh again because I realized how close the nonsense hits to home.
The writing style took me a while to settle into. The sentences wander, full of digressions and witty detours, but there’s a rhythm to it, like jazz. The story moves in bursts, then slows to reflect on life’s ironies, then speeds up again in a flurry of chaos. I liked how Terminiello uses humor to talk about big ideas without sounding preachy. The world he builds feels surreal but eerily plausible, and that combination stuck with me. Sometimes I wanted a breath, a quiet moment without a punchline. But then again, that’s life in Titus’s head, too much, too fast, and too real to pause.
In the end, Not Yet Your Time is an absurdist romp with a beating human heart underneath all the noise. I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy satire with teeth, or anyone who’s ever felt trapped in the grind and wondered if the universe is just messing with them for sport. It’s witty, weird, and surprisingly soulful. If you like your fiction bold, funny, and a little philosophical, this one’s worth your time.
Pages: 186 | ASIN : B0FMHB61S5
Not Logan: How I Accidentally Became A YouTube Star
When I first opened Not Logan, I thought I’d get a goofy story about a kid messing around on YouTube. Instead, what I got was a sharp, funny, and oddly moving ride through middle school awkwardness, internet fame, and the chaos that comes when the two crash into each other. The book follows Logan Blake, a painfully normal twelve-year-old who stumbles into viral success after a ridiculous video glitch. From there, his channel explodes. What begins as a small escape from everyday life turns into a whirlwind of sponsorships, trolls, fan art, cookie-shaped sidekicks, and the strange pressure of trying to keep the internet entertained. Beneath all the jokes and silliness, though, the story quietly asks what it means to be yourself when the whole world is watching.
Reading this book felt like listening to a kid tell you the wildest story of his life while constantly interrupting himself with jokes, embarrassing confessions, and sarcastic asides. I laughed. A lot. The humor is quick, self-deprecating, and just the right mix of cringe and charm. But what surprised me was how often I caught myself nodding along, feeling that familiar knot of anxiety about being “good enough” or the weird hollow feeling when attention shifted away. The writing makes those moments land without getting heavy or preachy. Instead, they sneak up in between the punchlines and the chaos. I loved that balance. It kept me grinning even while I was thinking about bigger stuff.
The book leans a little into the randomness. Whole chapters spin off into tangents about burnt cookies, bizarre sponsorships, or ridiculous meetups, that are usually funny. I found myself wanting to stay with the quieter beats, like when he doubts himself after reading cruel comments, or when he chooses to step back and just be a kid for a while. Those parts hit harder, maybe because they’re honest in a way that doesn’t need exaggeration. Still, the over-the-top bits are clearly part of the charm, and I can see why younger readers especially would eat them up.
I had a blast with Not Logan. It’s goofy, fast-paced, and full of ridiculous scenarios, but it also has a big heart. It reminded me how strange and fragile it can feel to put yourself out there, and how important it is to laugh at your own disasters. I’d recommend this book to middle schoolers who spend too much time online, to parents who wonder why their kids watch endless YouTube streams, and to anyone who’s ever felt both invisible and too visible at the same time. It’s not just funny. It’s weirdly comforting.
Pages: 252 | ASIN : B0FH2G6N67
LITERARY TITAN 