Fade to Black by Josh Pryor receives high praise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fade to Black
by
Josh Pryor
Reading level: Mature Audiences
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Red Hen Press (October 1, 2011)
ISBN-13: 978-1597091251
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x .5 inches
Genre: Science Fiction/Thriller

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If you are looking for a great science fiction thriller, look no further than Josh Pryor’s “Fade to Black.” Smartly written and meticulously planned, Pryor’s book is one I simply couldn’t put down. Here is a look at why I am recommending “Fade to Black” to all of my friends and colleagues and why you should give the science fiction thriller a chance.

Josh Pryor has masterfully weaved an amazing story with just the right amounts of science fiction, mystery and action. The scene is set in frigid Antarctica, where groups of scientists, including evolutionary biologist Dr. Claire Matthews, are investigating the death of a fellow scientist. During the investigation, Dr. Matthews aims to determine what role an ancient organism has played in the accident. The series of events that follow will have the reader’s heart racing as the scientists struggle to discover the truth and fight for their lives in the process.

It has been quite some time since I’ve read a science fiction book that had such an intense build-up. Pryor did an amazing job plotting this intelligent, believable and highly thrilling read. So it should be no surprise when I say the book is well written, perfectly paced and will be sure to quench any reader’s desire for action, mystery and intrigue. “Fade to Black” is a book I will definitely read again, and I simply cannot give it enough praise.

-Amanda Haury

Dead Game: An Emily Stone Novel



Dead Game
An Emily Stone Novel
Jennifer Chase
Outskirts Press, Inc 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4327-5128-9
Trade Paperback
370 pages
Thriller

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The Story

Dead Game. Behind the wildly successful video game EagleEye hides a monster who uses the players as a pool of victims for his horrific hobby.

When Rick Lopez discovers his former mentor (Milt) has apparently committed suicide, he and Emily Stone take a break from their full-time occupation of hunting pedophiles. Both are former police officers who, without a bureaucracy to answer to, have become scary good at what they do. So, it doesn’t take the vigilant duo long to figure out Milt has been killed by a local madman who video-tapes his victims being slowly strangled to death by a home-made horror machine. What they don’t know and won’t realize until the team is marked for death themselves, is that Milt’s murder was the direct result of his discovery that the monster they all want to capture is using a worldwide network of serial killers to play his game. This network, a hidden internet site that functions much like Facebook, connects the professional killers of the world, offers them opportunities for socializing and even provides them with work. Rick and Emily and some of the other characters you’ll meet along the way are now in the sights of a deadly team of these killers. The impending showdown will teach Emily Stone she has a dark side which is quite eager to be released.

The Review

My format for today’s review is to address the detractors who have slammed Dead Game as being flat, guilty of jumping back and forth between different viewpoints and even harbouring too many spelling mistakes.

As the review pool for this novel is small, a collection of such opinions can be quite damaging. So let’s deal with each in its turn and see what we come up with.

1. The Novel was flat, the main characters had flexible morality at best and it was hard to care who died at the end. I cared very much about the possibility of Rick Lopez being killed. He provides balance and insights into the Emily Stone Character, who is, indeed, emotionally flat. Emily is a damaged individual, which is easily shown by and through the work she does; Stone doesn’t spend a lot of time on reflection. If this is all you look at and for, then you will be unhappy with the book. It is only through Rick that we see what Emily could be and is becoming. We are also shown how closely she walks the line between asset and liability to the law.

2. Multiple viewpoints spoil the novel. Yes, multiple viewpoints can be confusing. They definitely require more effort from the reader. This alone does not spoil a novel. It’s my opinion in a fast moving thriller like Dead Game, multiple viewpoints allow the author to introduce critical information that, you, the reader needs to have. Was this done in a heavy handed way? I didn’t think so: but the evaluation would be something each reader has to make himself.

3. Spelling mistakes. I became involved enough in the story, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammar errors. This is one of my important tests. If the author does something to pull me out of the story, then I’m going to nail her for it; disturbing or ruining the suspension of disbelief is an error no author should make.

So, the only thing that stood out for other reviewers and myself was a certain flatness experienced by the reviewer as reader. I’ve given you my take on this. Anything else you’ll have to decide on your own.

But let me put this an other way: Dead Game is a self-published book, even though the publisher is listed as Outskirts Press, Inc. Considering all a self-publisher has to deal with, I say this is a thriller well done and worth reading.

Copyright, Clayton Clifford Bye 2011

THE SHADOW OF THE WOLF by Sam Cross


THE SHADOW OF THE WOLF
by Sam Cross

Eternal Press, 2010
eBook ISBN: 978-1-77065-067-1
Print ISBN: 978-1-77065-068-8
366 Pages
eBook
Thriller

Reviewer: Clayton Bye
http://www.claytonbye.com
Alternative-Read.com

An unnamed city (maybe yours) is in the grip of a serial killer the media has dubbed The Wolf.
His victims are young, beautiful women who he takes without leaving clues and who are never seen again. He’s bold! His last victim was in a car pile-up on a main highway; The Wolf took her from her demolished vehicle without being seen. The police are at their wit’s end.

Enter professor Richard Rosenwood, a criminal psychologist who teaches at the local university. The police have asked him for any insights or clues he might turn up by going through the case files. Add in a gorgeous psychology student who is openly interested in the professor, a hooker/thief /compulsive liar who is the only person to ever survive an attack by The Wolf, a couple of sharp detectives and a killer who’s way of disposing of bodies is so horrendous as to be unimaginable and you’ve got yourself an interesting book in the making.

The Shadow of The Wolf is full of interesting characters and many plot twists, but it is also well thought out and written. There’s so much going on, I keep wanting to tell you more. But that would spoil the book for you. Here are a few hint’s to guide you: the professor’s lectures are about real-life serial killers; The Wolf is an appropriate name for the serial killer for several interesting reasons; but most of all, pay close attention to the title of this book and what it might mean (or the number of meanings it may have).

Sam Cross is a pen name for an author with many novels under his belt, and it shows: not a misspelled word, his sentences constantly push you forward—there are no slow spots here; and while I had the story figured out by the time I was a third of a way through the novel, it turns out I was wrong, then wrong again, then wrong again… You see where I’m going with this?

The Shadow of The Wolf is a somewhat unusual, character driven thriller I thoroughly enjoyed. It was time well spent.


Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye