Book Reviews by Ehlen Administration

PK: Preacher's Kid - Volume One by Samuel Omega Salt My rating: 2 of 5 stars Zac’s father just died, and he is running from the memories. He runs straight to Dr. Phoenix, who resolves to peel away the layers until she can reveal his true soul. She has to get past the fact that Zac is not just a preacher’s kid, but a PK who still believes in the God of his parents, even though he was abused as a child and rejected through college because of his party boy ways. Can she figure out who he really is and how to help despite her ignorance of the Bible? I know preacher’s kids, and it’s kind of a joke among Christian teenagers that the PKs are always the ones to go off the deep end, because the expectations on them are always just ridiculously high, so they have to rebel. This story played out in Preacher’s Kid, although I’m hoping that my friends didn’t have the added layer of abuse that was described by Mr. Salt. I’m assuming this is at least semi-autobiographical, and if not there

The Dreadmore Saga: Dawn of Sathram by A.A. Walker My rating: 2 of 5 stars Three teenagers who only wanted to compete at their regional swordplay competition find themselves thrust into a quest that they must complete to save their realm. Yarrin, Rygar and Novvus are sent to find the translator stone which is protected by deep magic, but must survive the perils along the way. Their mage council is counting on them to help prevent the return of the great evil Mallus, who wreaked havoc on their realm before, and all signs point to him gearing up to do it again. Can they find the stone or will they perish on the dangerous journey? On the surface this has the makings of a great fantasy story, but honestly the writing was just awful. To make it slightly readable there needs to be some serious editing. There were redundant descriptions, superfluous prepositions, tense hopping, fragments, and flat out wrong words used. Some of the words were just in wrong form, such as “constance” in

Quantum Heights: The Dead Path Chronicles by Richard A Valicek My rating: 2 of 5 stars Confidus knows that the vampire threat is growing; they are gaining power and he has to stop it. Of his four sons, Caprius is the best choice to investigate and eliminate the threat, but the Golden Fleece says he can’t do it alone. Confidus must send him out on his quest, even though his wife is recovering from her own vampiric encounter. I was hoping this was more than a Twilight knock off, and it was - unfortunately, not in all good ways. I appreciated that it wasn’t all vampire bites and werewolf angst, but the only epic part of this book was the random assault of repetitive adjectives in staccato sentences. The need for a no-nonsense editor is dire. I can tell there are symphonic plots itching to be put on paper, but there were very basic grammar and spelling mistakes and choppy, clunky descriptions that felt more like an attempt at stage blocking directions rather than an epic tour throug

Legend of the Stone: Chapter I by Lucas R. Ballard My rating: 1 of 5 stars Lucas is a project. Tortured by scientists and soldiers since his discovery at age 8, he has managed to survive everything they have thrown at him. He is an asset, but a resentful one. When the opportunity to escape arises he takes it, and takes out many of the torturers while doing so. He finds a rare friend who saves his life, and together they discover the power of the stone he found during his escape. Will he and Juan survive their attempt to hijack a freighter and leave the moon, or will their stone-enhanced powers be too little, too late? I really wanted to like this book. The premise of Merlin’s magic returning to humans after he casts it out intrigued me, as did the prospect of it coming to a man mottled by experimentation. But the writing was just.so.bad. There were run-ons and fragments, tenses jumping in and out all over the place, strange redundancies, and obvious wrong words, like “cloths” in