Kimberley Graham's The Rocking Horse of Tuscumbia ~ Reviewed

Title: The Rocking Horse of Tuscumbia

By: Kimberley G. Graham

Pages: 380

Release date: August 29

Publisher: Kimberley G. Graham

Description:

A spiritually blind and deaf woman confronts her long-buried past when she returns to her hometown, the birthplace of Helen Keller. Because Amanda Crosby shares her birthday with the town’s matriarch, Helen Keller, she feels no identity apart from Tuscumbia. When the pain of her past collides with her uncertain future, she realizes she’s spiritually blind and deaf--and teetering back and forth between her husband and her lost love like one of her rocking horses.

Review:

The Rocking Horse of Tuscumbia is a brilliant combination of deep and intriguing characterization, unexpected plot twists, and a story line that tugs at the human soul. The story is told in first person narrative through the eyes of Amanda Crosby, a girl (and later, woman), who shares a birthday with the town’s historical hero, Helen Keller. Her mother, obsessively enamored with Helen Keller, turns Amanda’s birthday celebrations into elaborate, public memorial affairs. As a result, Amanda grows up feeling unloved and bitter. When her father dies, she feels more alone than ever, and things between her and her mother deteriorate further. As Amanda nears adulthood, one desire dominates her every thought: to leave the town and the pain it represents far behind. But she soon finds wounds and secrets from her past won’t stay in Tuscumbia. In fact, to be freed from her past, she must return to Tuscumbia and face it head on.

The character depth Ms. Graham crafted and the small town interactions and drama gave this novel a rich, almost literary feel. The setting, a close-knit community centered in Tuscumbia, with its unique and fascinating history and flavorful culture, added a delicious layer to a gripping and thought-provoking story. This author is truly gifted and has crafted a captivating novel. It will appeal to readers of varied genres.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Slattery

Mark McClelland's Upload ~ Reviewed

• Upload
• Mark McClelland
• Category: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
• Published:Sep 28, 2012
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Seller: Lulu Enterprises, Inc.
• Print Length: 484 Pages
• 
  

Back Cover:

His criminal past catching up with him, a troubled young man seeks escape into digital utopia by uploading his consciousness into a computer -- just as first love casts his life in a new light. In this thrilling near-future science-fiction novel, Mark McClelland explores the immense potential of computer-based consciousness and the philosophical perils of simulated society.

Review:

Mark McClelland’s Upload is a troubling, difficult novel. The protagonist is by no standards a hero, and the world he lives in is both probable and disturbing. Set in 2060, the story focuses on a lab working to successfully upload organic consciousness into the digital world. Raymond Quan, the novel’s focus, is a brilliant, self-contained man with a dark past and a self-serving outlook. Attempting to escape from a messy world into the digital paradise he has designed, Raymond wants to prematurely upload his own consciousness and has no problem manipulating and using others in the process.

The story is split into two parts, however. The first deals with Raymond’s meticulous planning and execution, up until the moment of his uploading. The reader gets to know the character in all his flaws: his pride, selfishness, and cruelty. They watch while he heartlessly chooses his own happiness over the needs and desires of others. However, the book’s second half deals with Raymond’s realization of his own evilness. Placed into a world he expected to be utopia, Raymond recognizes the darkness of the creator through his creation. Faced with his innate vileness, Raymond is forced to make a decision: continue pleasing himself and gratifying his own desires, or become a part of something greater?

While this novel posed some interesting ideas, it was a very uncomfortable read. Sort of like Lord of the Flies with nudity. Not that the language or sexual content was out of control in Upload; rather the world and characters themselves lacked the innocence of the children in William Golding’s novel. Reader should brace themselves for a story that is a little too realistic to be comfortable, and complicated questions that won’t be easily answered.

Reviewed by: Shea Nolan

Lisa Bergren's Tributary ~ Reviewed

Tributary - e-Novella

Lisa Bergren

Description:

TRIBUTARY, a novella (1/2 the length of a normal novel), picks up a year after BOURNE…

Lia struggles to overcome the fear that constant battle has heaped upon her; Gabi and Marcello face an unexpected crisis; and Lord Greco just may be ready to leave the grief and loss of his past behind him, so that he might grab hold of the future…

Review:

The series we can’t get enough of is back! With Luca on the cover and plenty of action, adventure and romance between the pages, Lisa T Bergren sucks you back into her 14th Century world in a flash. After three books and a novella in Gabi’s first person voice, little sister Lia gets to share from her perspective in Tributary which is an intriguing change. Her developing attraction to the devoted and witty Luca is fun to watch and I love the scene that explains why a 14th Century Italian knight is sporting a 21st century hair cut on the cover! A determined new character fires Lord Rodolfo Greco’s imagination, causing him to rethink his melancholy ways. While I’m left a little bereft that Rodolfo didn’t get a full length novel for his ongoing story, Lisa’s skillful and emotive prose makes the most of the shortened format. My advice with this series? Purchase them all immediately ~Waterfall, Cascade, Torrent, Bourne and Tributary ~ read them in order and relish every minute of what will be a unique and all consuming reading experience that will leave you both breathless, enchanted and dreaming of more!

Reviewed by: Rel Mollet