The Adventures of Kid Combat Volume One: A Secret Lost by Christopher Helwink

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a book for middle graders, or as we say in Australia “primary schoolers”, which covers the ages of 9 to 12 year olds.

It’s a sort of cross between Get Smart or Inspector Gadget verses Superheros, although none of the characters have super strength or can fly. The reason I’ve made that connection is because the kids are a bit inventive and use different gadgets and they wear a uniform or costume when assuming their “other” identities.

This is another classic case of the cover stopping me in my tracks and yelling at me “read me”. So I did. The first two books in the series are available for free from the iTunes bookstore.

The story itself is about a group of intelligent kids who decide to stand up (secretly) against the tyrant of their town, Jones. The old man owns half the town and plans to own the other half too. He’s corrupt and the once lovely little town is changing … for the worst. Kid Combat (that’s the main character’s nickname) and his friends want to expose him and save the town from further evil and corruption.

I liked the fact that there was no foul language in the book as I believe that’s how it should be in books for younger readers. I liked the actual storyline and the characters – simple but adequate. However, there were several times when parts (either sentences or paragraphs) were repetitive, which was a bit annoying or distracting. And there were a few little inconsistencies or flaws, which I could see but a younger reader may accept without question. Overall, however, I feel the target audience (9 to 12 year olds) will enjoy the book as it will ignite their imaginations.

The Broken Thing by Peter Swift

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The cover attracted me to this book. The minute I saw it I paused and thought, “Now, that looks interesting.” It promised weird things with its vivid colours and wacky looking character.

Fright Files is a series for younger readers. As I write for younger readers and actually enjoy reading books for this age group, I thought I’d give the book a go. And why not, it’s free!

Stevie and Angie are best friends. She’s fearless and looks for adventure and he goes along for the ride, even when his better judgement tells him not too. That’s not to say he doesn’t like the thrill of excitement … he just isn’t so thrilled about the twisted creature that come with it.

The book started out well but hit a bit of a slump where I found myself wondering when the action was going to start. However, don’t give up on it as it quickly picks up again and then it’s full steam ahead. Actually, from that point on it’s full of action, fear and creepy scenes that will have you looking over your shoulder and into the darkened corners of the room.

I’d recommend the book to the young and the young at heart. I believe the second book in the series is due out next week.

Jokers Club by Gregory Bastianelli

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The blurb for this book was intriguing. I liked the idea of a man seriously ill with a brain tumor returning to his hometown to revisit his past. The fact that the man was having trouble distinguishing from reality and imagination also grabbed my attention. Of course, when you put this mix together there has to be some disturbing scenes.

When people start dying the reader is caught within the mind of a man who has no idea what’s really happening. And it’s an interesting journey, for sure.

I liked the way the author wrote two stories to illustrate the yesteryear and the today. Flashbacks are frowned upon in writing but this was done extremely well. It certainly kept me interested and I wanted to know what happened next then … and what would happen next now.

The only thing that I didn’t like much was the descriptions. They did slow the pace down at times because they went into two much detail. However, that might just be a personal thing as I know some people want to know everything … I prefer to have some of it left to my imagination.

Although part of me felt I wasn’t going to enjoy this book, when I first picked it up, I did. It kept my interest and I read it pretty quickly and found myself wanting to sit and read it. These are excellent signs and all I can say is that I’m glad I read it. It was worth it.

This is a suspense horror story. If you like that kind of stuff then I would recommend this book.

Hal Spacejock by Simon Haynes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The book took me longer than anticipated to read, but that wasn’t the fault of the book … life demanded my attention elsewhere. Once those demands were met, I was able to immerse myself back into the story. It was easy to pick up where I left off too.

Hal Spacejock is a fumbling pilot of a run down spaceship. He is joined by Clunk, an ‘aging’ (meaning out-of-date, old technology) robot, and Navcom, the ship’s computer system. They all have great personalities but Clunk was my favourite by far. He made me feel sorry for him, which meant I cared what happened to him.

Together, they set out on a ‘job’ and trouble follows them every inch of the way. Honestly, these are not a group to get friendly with because they only leave havoc behind them … even when they are trying to help!

There are some funny moments, intentional clichés that will make you smile and some sexual tension between robot and computer that will leave you feeling quite uncomfortable. It’s all in good fun and great entertainment though. And it’s all done with smooth writing skills and a flow that makes it easy reading.

This book is light-hearted, fun and fast-paced. Something is always happening. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

A God-Blasted Land by Lee Carlon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a science fiction fantasy story. It’s set in another world after an apocalyptic event called the Cleansing. There are remnants of the old world around to remind everyone how things used to be but are not the way of life anymore. I always find other people’s interpretation of these types of events fascinating.

Avril is a young man trying to find his way in the world. A car is his home and scavenging technology parts is his job. There are many secrets surrounding him and he’s not sure who can be trusted. And he’s getting cheesed off with people trying to kill him. There are dragons, shapeshifters, bondsmen and a girl to contend with.

This is a story that appealed to me from the start. I ‘liked’ the characters straight away and I enjoyed learning about their world. It’s a small thing, but I liked the short chapters too. In our own world, with so much to do and not much time to do it, short chapters are heaven to me. It means I can snatch a few minutes of reading here and there without having to put the book down in the middle of a paragraph. Yet the best thing about this book is the constant action and the unexpected turn of events you encounter along the way. It was a smooth ride from start to finish and thoroughly enjoyable.

I will certainly be reading the second book when it comes out.

The Colour Of Magic by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I heard about this series long ago, but never attempted to read the books. I’m not really sure why, maybe it’s because my sense of humour is different to most people’s.

Recently, I found myself in a situation where I was able to purchase the ebook at a very reasonable price. I decided to go with the flow. I purchased the book and put it at the top of my “to read” list.

My only expectation from the series was built around the word ‘funny’. I’m not sure I would use that word to describe the book, but it was amusing and it did make me smile a lot. That’s good enough for me.

I was surprised to find the book actually consisted of four stories, not totally related. The two main characters were delightful and they were the reason I read the book to the end. Unfortunately, the ebook was not ideally formatted and I found it difficult to keep track of where the scenes stopped and started. This caused problems with knowing whose point of view I was reading, which was confusing and distracting.

I liked reading the book but wasn’t as impressed as I thought I’d be. I’m not sure I’d be willing to purchase the second ebook to see how things go from here.

100 Stories for Queensland by Jodi Cleghorn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I actually read this anthology a couple of months ago, but never wrote a review as I became tied up with the Hope project and didn’t have time. Now, I’m attempting to catch up on reviews and posts and felt it was time to write a review for this book.

100 stories. 100 authors. 100 unique ideas published in one book. The stories are extra short and touch on all kinds of wonderful things that stir the emotions. I found myself snickering while reading one story and crying (in a good way) when reading another.

Most of the stories are light-hearted, set in every day situations. Some of the stories take you away from the world we know and drop you in a fantasy world or on an unknown planet/space ship. All of them give you a moment to appreciate life through the eyes of someone else.

And the profits from the sale of the book are donated to the survivors of the Queensland floods, which devastated something like 80% of Queensland in early 2011.

This would make a brilliant gift.

Write The Fight Right by Alan Baxter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There’s a lot to be said about the common writing tip, ‘write what you know’, and Write the Fight Right by Alan Baxter is testament to that. Alan is a writer, but his passion for the martial arts truly comes through in this book. His knowledge and understanding on the subject makes this book a resource I’m grateful to have purchased.

All writers have to face a confrontation at some time, or their characters do at least. I find it one of the hardest things to write, so when I found out about this ebook I was quick to get a copy because I need all the help I can get. Also, in a fight or flight situation, I’m the ‘flight’ type of person. I’ve never been in a punch up of any kind…except with my younger brother when we were kids, but that doesn’t really count as those ‘confrontations’ were never serious. I’ve never had any self-defence classes either, so I have no experience to draw from. If faced with a precarious situation my first option would be to flee, if that wasn’t possible I’d probably die of fright.

Write the Fight Right is written in a way that kept me enthralled. Honestly, the words flow so nicely and I was pleased to see little examples which reinforced what the author was trying to get across. He touches on things that a novice to fighting wouldn’t even consider when writing a fight scene. And most importantly, he brings the fight alive on the page and made me believe I could do the same!

If you are a writer, then I highly recommend this book. It’s a resource you cannot be without, especially writers who are not fighters.