The Book Shelf/Fellow Author Shout-Out: Fade to Black: Awake in the Dark Book 1 by Tim McBain and L.T. Vargus

From time to time in this blog, I'm going to be doing reviews of books by fellow authors that I've met either through the wonders of social media, or out in actual real life(crazy, I know). Anyway, it's always good to help out a fellow scribbler by writing a review of their books, and hopefully these folks will be willing to do the same when I'm at that stage, you know, actually published and all. But in the mean time, let's kick this off. 

So what do you do if you’re a 27 year-old slacker who keeps having seizure-induced dreams of hooded man repeatedly strangling you to death in an alley? Well, if you’re Jeff Grobnagger, you hook up with Glenn Floyd, an excellent cook and expert on secret magical societies whose daughter Amity has gone missing under mysterious circumstances. Also, someone starts trying to kill you in real life. So yeah, that pretty much sucks. But one thing Fade to Black by Tim McBain and L.T. Vargus doesn’t do is suck. Quite the opposite, actually.

Fade to Black is the first book in McBain and Vargus’ Awake in the Dark series, and it’s an excellent start to what I’m sure is going to be a great series. The book pulled me n immediately right from the first line. Overall, there’s a great dry, sarcastic tone to Vargus and McBain’s writing. In a way it reminded me of Victor Gischler, and that’s definitely a compliment. Fade to Black was a book that I just didn’t want to stop reading because I found myself actually caring about Jeff and what was going on with him.

Jeff’s a great narrator for the story, and his dry, sarcastic and often self-depricating way of talking about the mind-numbing weirdness that happens to him had me rocketing through the book at a lightning pace and laughing out loud several times. Definitely one of the easiest reads I’ve had so far this year. Yeah, we’re not that far into the year, but I read a lot of books, so that’s also a compliment. Hehe.

When I started the book, I was expecting a wild ride through secret magical societies, astral projection and just all in all strangeness, and I got that in spades. What I didn’t expect was the extremely personal, often heart-breaking philosophical musing that goes on at several points in the book. Just another thing that really made me care about Jeff and Glenn and anxious to know what happens to them next.

That brings me to the one complaint that I had about the book, the fact that it ended just a bit too abruptly for my taste. It was right in the middle of a really tense, gripping situation, and it just stopped. A bit on the frustrating side(I might have actually said, “Oh, come on!” out loud), but really all that did was make me want the next book in the series, pretty much right away. And oh look, the second book is already available, awesome! I’ll definitely be picking that one up too.

So, in conclusion run, do not walk to your tablet, smartphone or other e-reading device and get yourself a copy of Fade to Black. You won’t regret it.

The Bookshelf: Fear and Loathing: on the Campaign Trail '72 by Hunter S. Thompson

Late October's a special time of year. Halloween is almost here, the weather's getting cooler, those favorite jackets can start coming out of the closet, and sadly, it's usually High-Octane political ad season. I've noticed there's a distinct shift in the flavor of political ads that changes as it gets closer to election time. Early on you get  ads that pretty much say, "Hey there, folks, I'm CANDIDATE FOR OFFICE. Nice to meet you. You know, I've done a lot of cool things to help people, seriously, check out all the cool stuff I've done. *LIST OF COOL CRAP HE/SHE HAS DONE* See? I'm awesome. Vote for me for OFFICE. Paid for by People That Know the Sun Shines Out of THIS CANDIDATE'S Ass.

And that's fine, one must market oneself in this day and age. The thing I always have a problem with are the types of ads you get the closer you get to the election. The closer you are, the more mud-slinging that goes on. That's when you start getting ads that sound more like this:

Don't vote for CANDIDATE A. CANDIDATE A hates freedom. CANDIDATE A hates you too. Seriously, we were talking about you the other day and CANDIDATE A said, "Screw 'em. What a douche. I hate that person!" Also, CANDIDATE A poured sugar in your grandma's gas tank while kicking puppies and stealing candy from wounded soldiers' babies.Seriously, don't vote for CANDIDATE A. You don't hate freedom, your grandma, wounded soldiers' babies and puppies do you? Vote for CANDIDATE B. I'm CANDIDATE B and I approve this message, because screw CANDIDATE A.

This gets very tiresome, and some people might be on the hint for something to read that feels like it gives politicians a good kick up the backside. Well look no further, folks because I've got just the book to recommend to you to read or even reread during election season, and that book is Fear and Loathing: on the Campaign Trail '72 by the late great Hunter S. Thompson. Trust me, this isn't your daddy's election coverage book, unless of course your dad is super-cool. hehe. It's no civilized, reasonable account of covering an election. No, this is Hunter S. Thompson at his Gonzo Journalistic best basically tearing the 1972 Presidential Campaign a new one in the way you'd expect from the guy who wrote Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas. It's a great read at any time, but it's especially good to read during election season when you're just sick to death of all the political ads that assault your senses 24-7. Check it out, I think you'll enjoy it.

Actually, I wish that Thompson was still with us. I'd love to read his take on all the shenanigans that are going on in our government today, but that's a post for another time.

Carry On Smartly