Blog Archives
Broken Revelations: Brides of War
Adrian has quite the burden to shoulder. The Dominess has made an appearance and has a job offer for him. As one of the horsemen, he has been tasked with forcing the Nephal to buckle down on their out-of-control families, an incredible undertaking. While trying to decide how he might be able to accomplish this task, Adrian is also dealing with what can only be described as harassment by a pesky cult. Luckily, he won’t have to go it alone–if he can pull himself together long enough to keep things from going haywire and ruining his plans. To add to the drama, Adrian has less than a week to accomplish all this.
Broken Revelations: Brides of War is the second book in the series by Albert Scott. Adrian, one of the horsemen of the apocalypse, exists in a modern-day world with all the experiences and memories of centuries gone by. His life is filled with the drama of living in the present, with a few exceptions, one being the fact that his best friend is a werewolf. In addition, he is attempting to follow through on an order from the Dominess. Not one to back down or give up, Adrian forges ahead with every obstacle possible being tossed his way.
Author Albert Scott has a particular knack for creating memorable characters. The way in which he describes his characters is visually stunning. He has some of the most unique ideas for character types. I must admit that I had to reread the paragraph in which he introduces the Dominess’s Teeth. The imagery this line conjured up was nothing less than amazing. I enjoyed picturing what these two men looked like in Adrian’s world. The author’s writing style is dialogue-heavy. For many readers, this will be a dream come true. Many novels like this in the fantasy genre tend to rely mostly on narrative. Scott manages to shift the focus from long stretches of narrative to many spirited exchanges between characters, all of which lay out both the setting and plot without the need for extra filler. Scott truly does write efficiently.
Broken Revelations: Brides of War is a fantasy adventure novel that is an easy and fun read filled with humor, though dark at times. Readers will appreciate the unique blend of pop culture and references to figures from Biblical times. To anyone looking for a fresh take on apocalyptic tales, this is for them.
Pages: 194 | ASIN : B08HJLPGKS
Until the End
Until the End by Evan L. Grove is the conclusion to The Awakener duology; the imaginative and rich world built in this series is going through a terrible war. The nation of Odelia is facing big trouble, and few might be able to stop the darkness that’s growing in the land.
Emily Lee has found herself in the hands of Lord Gaudeman: as they are now one being, she has to endure and see her body being used to cause the most horrendous terror to innocent civilians. Now Gaudeman, alongside his supporters, is marching towards the capital. Their hope is to awaken and unleash the wrath of the Elierean goddess Mari. Releasing Mari will avenge the subjugation that the Eliere have endured for many years. Just as this is taking place, Lehksi Olent has seen herself as one of the few capable of stopping this madness, joining forces with Marcus Sugaar in a quest to undermine Gaudeman’s plans.
It doesn’t matter what steps the characters choose to take; the world they’ve known for so long will inevitably have to change. This second part of the story is definitely a darker one. The characters readers met and loved in the first book are all going through their own challenging paths. War is going on, and it’s hard to imagine a happy ending could materialize.
The entire story is brilliant and engaging; it was hard to put the book down. Darkness, magic, and tension are all well balanced in one single story. This is possibly one of the reasons why the style of narration is the biggest highlight of this book: the writing keeps the reader intrigued all the time, wanting to find out more about the plot and the story. Each chapter brings something new and fantastical to the table, covering various characters, stories and perspectives. The history of the world becomes richer as readers get to see elements of its past, which include gods, vengeful goddesses, and magic. It is simply a complex fantasy world with a captivating storyline.
With time, everything starts to connect, and the multiple characters and stories readers are introduced to finally intertwine, creating this big and enthralling plot with many twists and turns. Getting to the end of the book leaves a bittersweet feeling since it is worth seeing more of the magical world that we’ve come to meet in this duology, with its characters and beautiful stories filled with magic.
Until the End is the sort of book that every fantasy aficionado should put on their reading list, it is a fantastic and thrilling ending to a dark fantasy story that will fill the hearts of readers with absolute wonder.
Pages: 537 | ASIN : B09SVLC6M2
Screaming for Pleasure
Screaming for Pleasure by S.A. Bradley is a chilling book about the genre of horror. Bradley talks about all the physical and psychological benefits of experiencing horror for entertainment purposes. The author writes in a conversational tone and recollects events from his life that made him fall in love with horror. From his “First Kiss” with horror to dealing with the trauma of death, this book covers a lot of diverse themes about horror while including various anecdotes from the author’s life.
Children are fascinated with the forbidden; the thrill of seeing their first actual horror movie gets them hooked. From there, they seak out more thrills and scares. The societal conditions changing what we view as taboo or scary, advancements in technology, and special effects, have shaped how the author consumed horror movies. This personal and anecdotal nature of the writing gives readers an engaging and intimate experience as if they were sitting down with Bradley having a discussion.
One feature of this intriguing book is that the author talks about several movies that have come to define the genre, which serves as a great list of recommendations for anyone who wants to dive into the horror genre after reading this book. The author does a great job at striking the perfect balance between describing these classics enough to be able to talk about them but not so much as to give out any spoilers.
This thought-provoking book is not an academic analysis of the topic; instead, it is meant to spark an educated debate. It also serves as an introduction to those that may have shied away from horror in the past and gets them to look more deeply into horror as an art form, not just screams and scary monsters.
Screaming for Pleasure: How Horror Makes You Happy and Healthy is a psychological look into the genre from the perspective of societal norms and expectations to personal encounters and analysis. Readers that are interested in the history of horror and the role it has played in the entertainment industry will find this a fascinating book.
Pages: 290 | ASIN : B07HVHMQDW
Broken Revelations: Horsemen Rising
Broken Revelations: Horsemen Rising, by Albert Scott, is the first book in a new fantasy adventure trilogy. We begin the book following the seemingly mundane life of a security analyst named Adrian Gray. However, we soon find out that Adrian Gray is far from ordinary or mundane. After meeting a mysterious woman that goes by the name of “The Tattoo lady,” Gray learns he is one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Together the two of them meet up with the other two horsemen before embarking on a quest to stop a renegade angel from destroying the earth.
Throughout the book, we’re introduced to a variety of interesting characters, including the other three horsemen, the Cambion, the Nephilim, and even a dispensary-owning Jesus. Each of these characters, along with the others introduced throughout this action-packed novel, plays an integral role in a much bigger war that has been raging since the beginning of time. Scott does a fantastic job at building the suspense for this upcoming battle. Each new character brings something new to the storyline and adds another layer to the growing plot.
This first installment of the series does an excellent job of worldbuilding for the following two books. However, the author left some gaps in information, leaving the reader with questions likely to be answered later in the series. This allows the suspense to build not just for this novel, but the whole series.
In some books that use religious elements, the build is awkward and feels forced; this one, however, felt natural and flowed seamlessly into the storyline. It reads like an action and adventure novel that just so happens to have angels and demons in it.
Broken Revelations: Horsemen Rising is the action-filled start to the Broken Revelations trilogy. With occult horror themes and fantasy elements, readers will be hooked on this intriguing series from the start and anxiously awaiting the next installment to see what happens to the four horsemen.
Pages: 208 | ASIN : B07P1NN91B
I Love Twist Endings
The Many Worlds of Mr. A. Skouandy follows a psychiatrist as he evaluates a patient that was dropped off and, in the process, learns the history of the patients in the sanatorium. What was the inspiration for this collection of short stories?
As my thesis for my MA.E.CW, Fic (Master of Art, English, Creative Writing, Fiction), I selected a collection of short stories instead of submitting a novel. I love to write short stories, and I love twist endings, so pulling a collection together was in my wheelhouse. I wanted and needed a theme to connect each story together. My answer was to bookend the story of Dr. Blanchard on both sides of the collection and connect the stories through the character of Aaron Skouandy and the sanatorium. Of course, the ending has a twist, which hopefully brings the reader full circle about the subject matter of each story and why it was included in my short story cycle.
I really enjoyed the short story “Silence So Deafening.” Do you have a favorite story in this collection, and why?
Silence so Deafening is a favorite of mine too, and it was placed in a contest and received publication, which was beautiful. But my favorite has to be Inseparable because my sister and I really stayed in the cabin this story is based on. I let her be the main character and kill me off. This delighted her to no end. Neither one of us has any plans to ever revisit the cabin. Ever.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The stories were centered around assignments mainly. For example, Baby Makes Three started off as a memory required for the first part of a project. My memory was about the adoption of my eldest son. The second part of this same project was to flip that memory on its head. I did just that and turned my characters into aliens and developed a plot around their baby. My professor immensely enjoyed it and commented that Science Fiction may just be my genre. I’m not sure about that. I haven’t written another Sci-Fi piece since.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I have two books in the final revision stage. The first is a collection of shorts (several previously published online). The majority unseen by the public and written after peers in the writing community asked me to please turn them into full-length stories and make them into a novel. The title is The Crooked Crone and Other Mystifications and is slated for publication this fall. The second novel, We Three: The Ipswich Chronicles, is based on the main character from the book previously mentioned, the Crone, and her sisters. The story is about how they learned they were witches and their journey to find the source of magic, and my Beta readers loved it. So excited to publish this novel, targeted for spring 2023.
Additionally, I have a couple of collaborations with my writing partner, Derek R. King, slated for this summer. First, the second volume, Amore, of our new The Lighter Half Series, which launched in February with volume one, Abracadabra. These are delightful and magical collections of poetry. Second, we have a wonderful poetry collection for children themed around faeries titled The Enchanted Faerie Realm. This children’s book is slated for publication in May of this year.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
This short story cycle is a blend of psychological suspense, horror, soft science-fiction, alternate universe, and alternate history, thematically tied together by outcomes that are unanticipated, unintentional, and always unexpected.
The Many Worlds of Mr. A. Skouandy, the title story that bookends nine tales in between, is presented in the postmodern collage style, including admission forms and patient sketches before each piece and doctor’s notes after each. The stories can be read separately, but when read sequentially, a much larger story is revealed, generating this unique psychological horror novella.
Hellbound
Hellbound by KK Weakley dives right into Lucifer wanting the powerful witch Molly Patterson to pay her debt after sacrificing her soul to save her sisters. Molly’s sisterhood and her beloved Joe are doing everything they can to find a way to save her from eternal damnation. But will Molly’s demonic father be able to save her? Meanwhile, the werewolves of Ware, Montana, deal with an old problem, and her name is Sekhet. Sekhet is also looking for Molly to destroy her, but the witch is under the dominion of Lucifer and Lilith, who want Molly to serve Lilith.
Weakley has done it again! Immersing the reader immediately into the drama, action, and mystery, one can’t help but continue reading on. The author seamlessly weaves several character storylines together to make one nail-biting story. The reader is taken on an emotional and nerve-wracking journey as we are consumed by werewolves, demons, and witches.
The author’s descriptions of places and characters are so vivid that the reader becomes mesmerized by the words. Weakley’s unpredictable writing puts the reader on edge as you never know what is going to happen next. All of your favorite characters are back, including new characters that you may or may not love. Molly’s character is still a favorite as she is a powerful witch who does whatever she can to save the people she loves. On the other hand, you have Sekhet, who is a character you love to hate as she too is powerful and does what she needs to get the job done. Who will win, Molly? Lucifer? or Sekhet? Witches and werewolves must come together to defeat a common enemy.
Hellbound will take readers on a dark and terrifying experience that will leave them wanting more. For those who are fascinated with the supernatural world and enjoy a riveting occult horror novel, this is the novel for you.
Pages: 358 | ASIN : B08PZHQ98K
Powers of Darkness
Powers of Darkness by Bram Stoker, a Swedish adaptation by A—e, is a more detailed account of Tom Harker’s journey to Transylvania to meet with Count Draculitz. This variation on the original classic provides the reader with more detail with some slight deviations from the original text. The editor of this particular retelling, W Trimble, precedes the story with a vast collection of papers. These papers explore the similarities and differences between the original Dracula and the later versions published in Sweden like Mörkrets Makter, or Makt Myrkranna (Powers Of Darkness), published in an Icelandic newspaper in the 1900s, as well as touching on numerous other variations.
Having so much information before the actual story allows the reader to understand why this retelling is different from the original. In addition, these papers touch on important and pertinent themes such as racism and assumptions about Romanians. This is evident from the offset when Tom Harker writes in his journal, “disturbed by the bat and the howling dogs, they stealthily exchanged glances and crossed themselves when they thought I was not looking.” This could be seen as a foreshadowing of the rest of the storyline, but it also assumes this is how people in these areas would behave. This is discussed in detail in the preceding papers.
The adaptation itself is still written in the same style as the original, littered throughout with the well-known imagery of the tale, such as “put her in the coffin” however, it contains some elements such as that of a beast which would have been slightly more shocking at the time it was originally published.
I am a big fan of the text published in England and enjoyed getting a more in-depth tale. This variation is perfect as a literary source, or for anyone looking to deepen their knowledge of gothic literature, especially due to the papers contained in the preface. With the change in times, the additions and this version of the story are as exciting as the first Dracula.
Powers of Darkness: the wild translation of Dracula from turn-of-the-century Sweden is a captivating take on the story of Dracula most people know. The added history included gives readers a new look at this classic story. This gothic horror novel will provide readers with more suspense and thrills than the original book.
Pages: 1049 | ASIN : B09RX3877X
It’s As Personal As It Gets
Gaia’s Game follows the sheriff of a small town as he investigates what is killing the townspeople, trying to find answers before they are all dead. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
We’ve been destroying our planet for centuries, and we have now reached a true tipping point. We all know it, but it seems like such an impossible problem to fix, and it’s hard to worry about what might happen years from now when we already have so much on our respective plates. We are the proverbial frog in a pot, swimming merrily along even as the water gets hotter and hotter. Instead of setting the story in one possible future, I wanted to bring the future to the present and drop the global crisis right on our heads. The Gaia Hypothesis proposes that the Earth is a living entity, so maybe it won’t be a slow descent into the inevitable after all. Maybe this living Earth will reach a point where she has finally had enough of us and simply wants us gone. I wanted the threat to be up close and personal, and in Gaia’s Game, it’s as personal as it gets.
What intrigues you about the horror and paranormal genres that led you to write this book?
Fear is the most fundamental of emotions. It hits with an immediacy and impact unlike any other emotion, so a scary story will stay with the reader longer than most. And since the scariest stories are the ones in which we can see ourselves taking part, I like to throw everyday, ordinary people into extraordinary situations and let them fend for themselves. The horror in Gaia’s Game spans the world, but it is shown through the eyes of a handful of people in small-town America in order to bring the horror home. If I can tell my story in a way that gives a reader nightmares, I will have affected them more than a hundred cautionary tales about what we’re doing to this planet.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
First and foremost, I want to entertain. Everything else is secondary. But telling the story in a microcosm means that instead of just having characters react, I get to dig into why they reacted that way, and how their reactions affect the reactions of others around them. There is good and bad in all of us, and I love to explore that gray area where motivations mean as much as deeds. Doing the right thing is easy when it’s easy, but how difficult would doing the right have to get before doing the wrong thing starts to look attractive? And who’s to say what the right thing is to begin with? A lot of wrongs have been done with good intentions.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I am working on the next book in my Stage 3 series as well as another standalone, but the next book to come out will be Miracle Man, due out later this year. It is about a simple man who acquires the ability to heal with a touch, and that power slowly but surely turns him into a monster. It is by far the darkest thing I’ve ever written, and I expect it to be rather controversial. I can’t wait to hear the feedback.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Gaia is out for blood, and there’s nowhere left to hide.
From multi-award-winning horror master, Ken Stark, Gaia’s Game is a disquieting tale that will stay in your mind long after you’ve turned the last page.
“The sharp writing style and eerie tone of this book are blended perfectly to create a high level of suspense throughout the story. Every character that is introduced has their own unique characteristics and develops in interesting ways, even those who are only mentioned in the moments before their death. As readers follow the gory deaths occurring, they begin to realize who is committing all of the murders. The realization of who is doing the killing will leave readers horrified and on the edge of their seat. The enigmatic horror element of the story was one thing that kept me coming back to this book. This novel’s mystery has substantial shock value and keeps readers on edge most of the time. This novel reminds me of the dark supernatural feel of the movie “Sinister” or an updated “Children of the Corn.”Gaia’s Game, by Ken Stark, is a suspenseful mystery novel for readers who love bizarre horror. This paranormal story will thrill readers until the end and leave them with a chilling conclusion.” ~ LITERARY TITAN REVIEW
IT WAS A DAY LIKE NO OTHER FOR SHERIFF TOM COOPER.
Reports of animal attacks had been coming in since dawn, and it looked like they might never stop. Once the news channels began filling up with accounts of similar attacks from around the world, it became clear that this was no local phenomenon.
For whatever reason and by whatever mechanism, it seemed that all of nature had chosen that one particular day to declare war on mankind.
But humans are too good at killing. We defended ourselves too well.
So Gaia sent an army that no one would be able to defend themselves against at all.
LITERARY TITAN 