Reviews
A Cesspool of Spies
Linda Watkins (Argon Press)
Linda Watkins’ A Cesspool of Spies is set in 1950 and in a world of political turmoil as the Cold War rages, Korea is invaded, and accusations of communist infiltration shake America. The story follows Simon Biggs, a working-class WWII Navy veteran, recruited into the nascent CIA in the late 1940s. After a grueling training period under the watchful (and sometimes sadistic) Major Brad Sullivan, Simon is shipped off to Istanbul, a hotbed of espionage, where he’s quickly forced into a real assassination – killing a Soviet asset with a garrote. As...
The Wild & Zany Galactic Adventures of Commander Zhang & Lieutenant Simon, Soul Mates who Incarnate on Earth and Save the World
Vegastarchild584 (Vegastarchild584)
The Wild & Zany Galactic Adventures of Commander Zhang & Lieutenant Simon, Soul Mates Who Incarnate on Earth and Save the World is the first book in the Starseed series by Vegastarchild584. This genre-blending, metafictional, and wildly imaginative journey follows Commander Zhang and Lieutenant Simon, two galactic officers and soulmates from the Sirian star system. The story opens with Zhang, a popular actor and singer on Earth, whose life is upended by a government-orchestrated scandal that tanks his career and isolates him from his pa...
Lightning Bugs And Aliens: A Small Town Coming-Of-Age Story
Daniel Babka (Blue Squirrel Press)
Daniel Babka’s Lightning Bugs and Aliens is a nostalgic coming-of-age novella set in the small town of Twinsburg, Ohio, during the summer of 1959. The story follows thirteen-year-old Ben and his eclectic group of friends—Chip, Bobby, Mark, and Isiah—who experience the joys and anxieties of adolescence against the backdrop of Cold War paranoia, racial divides, and local intrigue. The boys’ adventures range from catching lightning bugs and exploring the woods to grappling with real-world dangers, such as a Mafia car bombing at Ben’s family tavern...
i4Ni
John Priest (Independently Published)
i4Ni by John Priest is a dystopian techno-thriller set in a near-future America devastated by corruption, riots, and the aftermath of failed utopian promises. Jules Von Beck has created an AI-powered humanoid with the promise of stopping crime and holding criminals to justice. His plan seems too good to be true, and rightly so. Detective Conrad Jacks investigates the disappearance of his friend Harry Jay, a whistleblower at the all-powerful Von Beck Global corporation. The i4Ni is an AI-powered, semi-humanoid device that reads memories to guara...
The Sunflower Widows
Matthew Fults (Tradecraft Werks Inc.)
Matthew Fults’s The Sunflower Widows is a heartwarming novel set against the backdrop of Ukraine’s recent war, charting the lives of ordinary villagers as their world is upended by conflict. The narrative centers on Yulia, a young nurse, and her husband Maksym, an aspiring writer, who move to a small village to build a peaceful life. When war erupts, Maksym volunteers to defend his homeland, leaving Yulia and the other women—many of whom will become widows—behind. Through the eyes of Yulia, her mentor Kathryna (the village caretaker and herself...
The Serpent Effect
J. Wint (Heliographi Publishing)
In The Serpent Effect, the fourth installment of J. Wint’s Skylight Series, the fragile alliances and escalating conflicts among the Lucem, the Atrum, and Lybra’s forces push the Skylight System to the brink of civil war. The story opens with the celestial Titans deliberating over the chaos sown by their Heliographi offspring, which leads to the creation of powerful vessels —artifacts that become the contested keys to the system’s survival. Vail Hart, torn between duty to the Atrum and her lingering affection for Jet Stroud of the Lucem, become...
Menace: An Agent Dean Cold Novel
Ray Keating (Keating Reports LLC)
MENACE: An Agent Dean Cold Novel by Ray Keating is a high-octane thriller that blends espionage, politics, intrigue, and science fiction to deliver unparalleled entertainment. It follows Secret Service agent Dean Cold as he investigates a mysterious threat targeting the United States and the world. The action-packed plot launches with an attempted assassination of President Eisenhower in the Oval Office and another attempt on the Russian President. The attackers wield bizarre, mind-controlling implants. Cold and his partner thwart the atta...
JOHAN
Lola Akinmade Åkerström (Geotraveler Media)
Spanning three decades, JOHAN by Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström follows the troubled life of Johan “Jonny” von Lundin, heir to a Swedish business dynasty. The novella traces Jonny’s journey from a lonely, misunderstood child to a privileged but emotionally isolated adult, haunted by his need for understanding and connection. As a teenager at Vauxhall Boarding School in the UK, Jonny’s intense friendship with his best friend Ragnar is upended when he meets Maya Daniels, a Jamaican-British scholarship student. A fraught, obsessive love triangle emerges,...
Finding Eden
Brad Dude (Brad Dude & Associates)
Finding Eden: A Perilous Quest for a Safe Migrant Homeland by Brad Dude is a sweeping, multi-perspective novel that chronicles the perilous journey of migrants and asylum seekers as they flee war, persecution, and poverty in search of safety and a new home. The story unfolds in three acts: first, the shipwreck of the MV Ralik-Ratak, where desperate migrants overthrow their abusive smugglers; second, the humanitarian missions led by Captain Anna Kruger and her crew aboard the rescue ship MV Militobi as they attempt to deliver refugees to Europe,...
Summer Fated To Be Mine
B. Truly ( Independently published)
In Summer Fated to Be Mine, B. Truly delivers an emotionally charged narrative of love, heartbreak, and second chances. It is the first and engaging entry in The Summer Choice series. The story follows Zakiah Morelli, who, along with his brother, shares a tight-knit bond—until the fateful summer they all fall for the same girl, Iliana Kaplan. Zakiah always believed he and Iliana were destined. Still, when it becomes clear her heart isn’t entirely his, the resulting heartbreak fractures his relationship with both Iliana and his brother Elijah. T...