TLC Book Tour - Book Review - Akhmed and the Atomic Matzo Balls: A Novel of International Intrigue, Pork-Crazed Termites, and Motherhood - Gary Buslik

Title:    Akhmed and the Atomic Matzo Balls: A Novel of International Intrigue, Pork-Crazed Termites, and Motherhood

Author:  Gary Buslik

Review: It is extremely hard to write a funny book.  Comedy relies a lot on timing, inflection, and visual expression for full impact.  That is why I am always delighted when an author manages to get it right, especially after so many get it wrong. With this book Buslik has joined the ranks of Christopher Moore and Dave Barry.


The author begins his story with a wide cast of characters, from the hated dictators of our time, a woefully overblown liberal college professor and his estranged far right daughter, and even rampant porcine loving termites.  Slowly we begin visiting each character in-turn to advance the plot ever so slightly.  But the story builds in ever tightening spirals and the characters begin overlapping, creating a fast paced and fun climax.


My favorite character was Les Fenwich, a prime example of what can be wrong with modern academia. A professor of English who believes the more confusing he can make the language through the use of large words the more intelligent he is.  Who is contrarian as a matter of course rather than conscious.  I am grateful I have never met anyone so completely like Les in real life, but I see shadows of him everywhere.


Buslik has created a farce of the highest order that will forever change your view of the matzo ball and its lethal potential.  A comedy that manages to be funny, and it manages to see the humorous side of violent death to boot.  Plus, who knew the president of Iran was such a good dancer?

Publisher:  Travelers' Tales/Solas House (December 20, 2011)

Copyright: 2011

Pages:  370

ISBN:    978-1609520694

Quick Review: 4 Stars out of 5. 

Where Did I Get the Book:  Sent by the publisher for review.

Synopsis:   Iranian president Akhmed teams up with the leaders of Venezuela and Cuba and their American intelligence agents to smuggle radioactive matzo balls into Miami Beach. But intelligence being as slippery a concept to these nincompoops as chicken fat on linoleum, when each member of the gang decides to ladle out his own personal nuke soup, holy terror Akhmed is left steaming. Will his plan to destroy America float like a fly or sink like a lead dumpling?

Star-crossed lovers, conniving academics, and blustery social climbers collide with ravenous termites, international do-badders, and multi-level marketing in a plot as fast-paced and hilarious as a runaway mountain bus. Radioactivity has never been so much fun.

Author Biography: Gary Buslik is an American novelist, short story writer, travel writer, and essayist. His work has appeared in many literary and commercial magazines and anthologies. His travel-essay collection A Rotten Person Travels the Caribbean (Travelers' Tales, 2008) won the 2009 Benjamin Franklin Book Award. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and earned his Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Other Reviews:  Simply Jews, Amazon Reviews

Book Review - Temp-An Accidential Fariytale - A E Mayer

Title:    Temp:  An Accidental Fairly Tale.

Author:  A E Mayer

Review:  At first this book confused me a bit(as may this review confuse you), I wasn’t sure what was going on with the Door situation and the Collision...strange creatures...magic eyes...unicorns...?  As I kept reading, it became clearer, but still a little confusing.  Reading on I found more strange things going on and more things that were new and unfamiliar to me.  But, as I kept reading, the story took shape and I started to get what was going on and was finally interested enough to keep reading until I finished.  I have to say that if the beginning of the book had been as captivating as the end I would have finished it much faster than I did.

So much is going on in this book and you meet many, many different and unique characters that will be good  to re-visit if there is a sequel.  A bit more information in the beginning to set the stage may have helped me understand the rest of the story better. Doors, payper use, paper doors, one-way doors and return doors.... monsters, vampires with rules, animals that talk...all of that...well....I didn't get until the end(most of it anyway).  Great characters, once you realized what was going on and the story flowed better the closer to the end it got.  The Door talk at the beginning was just strange and I didn’t really get what was happening, but looking back from the end I understand it better and wish it had been clearer at the first so I could have enjoyed the book more.

This is a good story as it builds and I’m not sure how to improve the beginning, but I look forward to seeing if the author writes another.  3 for the beginning and a 4 for the end so 3 1/2 stars.

Publisher:  Published June 6th 2011 by Cricket Ink

Copyright: 2011

Pages:  238

ISBN:    9780983606901

Quick Review:  3 1/2 Stars out of 5. 

Where Did I Read the Book:  Sent by the author for review.

Synopsis:   You might imagine the Collision that catapulted magical creatures to Earth would make every moment miraculous. But jobs were just as dull, and life could be just as boring. Traffic still stunk, only now with dragon Flyways above highways, the stink was worse than ever.

Jackson Bee Belle Elders (Bee for short) is a promising Magical Sciences major who ends up smack in the middle of the Southern home town she tried to escape. Her lofty dreams of adventure only land her under fluorescent lights as she turfs creatures to temp jobs for Beveled Star Magical Staffing (B.S. for short).

But everything changes when the cautious temp meets a friend who will dramatically alter her holiday weekend and her life. Nevermind that the friend is a wolf working for a despicable djinn who might use him to destroy the planet and everyone in it. Nevermind that the wolf can talk, but no human except Bee can hear him. Bee has a lot of secrets—some she knows about, and some she doesn’t.

Fizzing with wit and adventure, Temp is a tale for anyone who has ever fantasized about a more magical life.

Author Biography:  A.E. Mayer was born in Atlanta, Ga. She lived in Florida, Virginia, Boston and Alabama before deciding to settle in north Georgia with her husband and itty bitty dog. Mayer graduated from Washington and Lee University where she majored in print journalism with a side of literature and studio art and a minor in long walks and napping. Before writing books, she worked as a movie store clerk, trade show booth slinger, receptionist, executive assistant, travel magazine journalist, public relations writer and marketing consultant. She currently writes fiction, urban fantasy, and kiddie lit from her headquarters in north Georgia, and she loves every minute of it. For more information on Mayer and her books, please visit www.aemayer.com.

Other Reviews:  Alexia's Chronicales, Amazon Reviews, Goodreads

Book Review - The Plight and Plot of Princess Penny - Michael Mullin

Title:  The Plight and Plot of Princess Penny

Author: Michael Mullin

Review:   I read and reviewed Michael’s short story, 8: The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Unknown 8th Dwarf, and enjoyed it (see review here.)    This short story was a bit more confusing in verse then 8.  I had to read quite a few lines over and over to figure out what was going on in the story.  Rhyming verse is a cute way to write and it worked for 8, but I don’t think it really works well with this little tale.    More is going on in this story and with it being an original fairy tale, I had not read it or anything like it before and so it was harder to follow along and read the rhymes.  If I have to work while I read I lose the enjoyment and put the book down more often losing the flow.  Reading that takes work, is not a relaxing activity that I enjoy.

This little tale may read better not in verse and appeal to a wider audience that way.  I think this author is talented and should keep writing.  I look forward to his next endeavor.

Publisher:  Published February 22nd 2012 by Gemiknight Studios, LLC

ISBN: 9780985188405

Copyright: 2012

Pages: Kindle Edition

Quick Review: 2 1/2 stars (out of 5)

Why I Read It:  Sent by the author for review.

Synopsis: From the author of "8: The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Unknown 8th Dwarf" comes an original fairy tale about a teenage princess who hires the witch from "The Frog Prince" to get revenge on a Mean Girl at school. (Intended for YA readers and up.)

Author Biography: Michael Mullin is a native New Englander living in Los Angeles. He is the author of the TaleSpins™ books, "8: The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Unknown 8th Dwarf" and "The Plight and Plot of Princess Penny". He is also the co-author of John Skewes' successful "Larry Gets Lost" children's book series. His screenplay "Zooing Time" was recognized by the WGA's Written By magazine. Before all this writing, he taught preschool and college (two positions he found disconcertingly similar).

Other Reviews:

Ms. Martin Teaches Media

Love of Books

My Little Corner of the World

Monday in our mailbox

What we got in the mail this week for review. What are you reading?

Told from the tender perspective of a young girl who comes of age amid the Cambodian killing fields, this searing first novel—based on the author’s personal story—has been hailed by Little Bee author Chris Cleave as “a masterpiece…utterly heartbreaking and impossibly beautiful.”For seven-year-old Raami, the shattering end of childhood begins with the footsteps of her father returning home in the early dawn hours bringing details of the civil war that has overwhelmed the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. Soon the family’s world of carefully guarded royal privilege is swept up in the chaos of revolution and forced exodus. Over the next four years, as she endures the deaths of family members, starvation, and brutal forced labor, Raami clings to the only remaining vestige of childhood—the mythical legends and poems told to her by her father. In a climate of systematic violence where memory is sickness and justification for execution, Raami fights for her improbable survival. Displaying the author’s extraordinary gift for language, In the Shadow of the Banyan is testament to the transcendent power of narrative and a brilliantly wrought tale of human resilience.

You may know Robert James Waller as the man who brought the world to Iowa’s storied covered bridges. What you may not realize is that before and since becoming an internationally acclaimed novelist, Waller has grappled with a very real puzzle: How can an individual, a group, and/or a society cut through the confusion of everyday life to successfully navigate its pitfalls and traps? Through intense reflection, shrewd reasoning, and not a little trial and error, the reclusive author has developed a unique and inventive paradigm for thinking clearly and logically. In The Summer Nights Never End … Until they Do, Waller shares a methodology that can be applied to everything from governmental gaffs and immigration reform to losing weight and financial freedom.

Like so many things that make sense, Waller’s words are complex in their simplicity, turn from the madness of short-term, quick fixes and toward time-tested, reasonable goals. The devil is in the details. So, too, are the answers.

Martina “Marti” MacCale, bartender extraordinaire at Flash Point, the best bar in town, is happily married to her best friend, Spencer and having the time of her life… until without warning, her own body rudely sets out to destroy her happiness. Pregnancy tests negative, she becomes a whirlwind of emotion and confusion. And amidst the unexplained mood swings and strange food cravings, she finds herself craving someone who is not her husband… What’s a girl to do when not even a good old-fashioned Sex on the Beach can soothe the ache?

Iranian president Akhmed teams up with the leaders of Venezuela and Cuba and their American intelligence agents to smuggle radioactive matzo balls into Miami Beach. But intelligence being as slippery a concept to these nincompoops as chicken fat on linoleum, when each member of the gang decides to ladle out his own personal nuke soup, holy terror Akhmed is left steaming. Will his plan to destroy America float like a fly or sink like a lead dumpling?

Star-crossed lovers, conniving academics, and blustery social climbers collide with ravenous termites, international do-badders, and multi-level marketing in a plot as fast-paced and hilarious as a runaway mountain bus. Radioactivity has never been so much fun.

Book Review - Rebellion of Silence: The Adon Series - Brittney Martin

Title: Rebellion of Silence: The Adon Series

Author: Brittney Martin

Review: The plot involves rebels fighting in a city against a corrupt government and both are also fighting against some creatures called Rahion. The main characters are Sier and Avarrah, both of whom are teenage children of the government/military called Legians, and have now joined the rebellion called Silence-because no one is allowed to talk about it. Both characters appear to have special powers, Sier from "governmental" experiments and no one knows why Avarrah has them including her.

At this point I would probably rate this book 2-3 stars.

If your a fan of gritty sci-fi, it might be worth the effort, because it will be an effort. The author has an excellent imagination. I assume that the novel takes place on another planet in the future, although it's never clearly stated. In fact, a major flaw in the writing is that very little is ever clearly stated. The reader is frequently left to infer much about the setting, the characters, and even the plot. Also, the writer should take some writing classes because she makes several Writing 101 mistakes such describing dialog using every word under the sun except "said" which is the correct word. Also, the writer uses the thesaurus and not the dictionary. The best example of this is the use of the word "smirk". Apparently, early in the novel, as the characters are being introduced to the reader, they smirk at one another repeatedly. In a thesaurus, smirk and smile are synonyms. In a dictionary, a smile is friendly and a smirk is snotty.


Warning: Bad word usage abounds.

On the plus side, these are technical writing gaffs that can easily be remedied. The author can easily improve her technical writing skills which will add much to the readers experience.

Thanks go to Melissa Seltun for this review...she is a new reviewer.

Publisher: Outskirts Press (February 1, 2012)

ISBN: 978-1432786250

Copyright: 2012

Pages: 286

Quick Review: 2 1/2 stars (out of 5)

Why I Read It: Sent by the publisher for review.

Synopsis: "We are in a war against a bloodthirsty race of creatures, the Rahion, set on destroying everything this world has given us. Yet, within the city walls we fight against ourselves." Pain, loss, and suffering were the first memories Avarah felt when her eyes reopened to life in the self destructing city of Kirave. With her reality shattered and her past forgotten, she risks all to join Silence, the rebellion whose followers are determined to bring justice before the end. In order to survive, Avarah must place all her trust into the hands of Sier, an Infectual whose veins pulse with the blood of the Rahion creatures. The anxiety burdened heroine quickly accepts her new fate fighting for truth, vengeance, and love despite knowing she could lose her life. But what if opposition means the lives of others? When society screams out for mercy, how many must die for the price of freedom?

Author Biography: Brittney Martin’s interest in literary arts was kindled at a young age by her family. Her fiery passion to write, however, was ignited during her first year of high school where various school projects encouraged her imagination to take flight. Brittney Martin is now continuing her education at college with the love and support she receives from her family and friends.

FYI:

Rebellion of Silence: The Adon Series - For more funny videos, click here