Samie Foster's Posts - The Book Marketing Network2024-03-19T11:35:05ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFosterhttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2977819662?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=1pjpwtwed5l1i&xn_auth=noFlyte : Had A magical Entertaining Start, But Sadly Loses Directiontag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2012-09-13:523145:BlogPost:5417452012-09-13T01:57:21.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p>Flyte : Had A magical Entertaining Start, But Sadly Loses Direction</p>
<p>Okay this time around the book is Flyte by Angie Sage. And yes this is the one of cheesey wizards fantasy books that is only founding the colorful kids section of book stores. It’s two inches thick and made to look like spell book and neighbors Lemony Snicket and James and The Giant peach. But you know what, I‘m not going defend myself any or cover up the truth. I every once and a whole will read a kid book. I will…</p>
<p>Flyte : Had A magical Entertaining Start, But Sadly Loses Direction</p>
<p>Okay this time around the book is Flyte by Angie Sage. And yes this is the one of cheesey wizards fantasy books that is only founding the colorful kids section of book stores. It’s two inches thick and made to look like spell book and neighbors Lemony Snicket and James and The Giant peach. But you know what, I‘m not going defend myself any or cover up the truth. I every once and a whole will read a kid book. I will read, Shutter Island, Guilty Pleasures, Lovecraftian work, but a simple read like this can really be relaxing. And I did buy this book. A whole eight dollars, so don’t say a thing.</p>
<p>Flyte is the second book of the Septimus Heap series. The first book is called Magyck. And to be honest the first book is just a overall rip off from Harry Potter, but somehow I thought tad more inventive, because this did not chronicle a boy going to a magical school. It was about a orphan who runs with a family of wizards from the great extraordinary wizard Domdaniel. And on their journey, the orphan learns he’s the lost wizard’s son Spetimus, and their adopted daughter is the missing princess and like in most kid books, they save the save the day.</p>
<p>But this one it feels a lot less Harry Pottery. It starts with Septimus jealous and now evil brother (Simon) finding Domdaniels bones in the swamp and planning to bring him back to life to be the most powerful extraordinary wizard so he can be his apprentice. He starts a series of things, that in chain of events will cause this happen by kidnapping the princess (Jenna), who Septimus runs off to save.</p>
<p>So let’s start with the good. This author with this book stepped out of the Harry Potter shadow adding to this world making it her own. This is a very simple read , but the author added new and likable characters so the cast. My personal favorite is wolf boy. Also even though this is number two in a series, this is book that you could read by itself and still know what was going on. So if you do read this before Magyck, you won’t feel burned or confused.</p>
<p>So here’s the bad. The book starts out fun. It starts on this quest that Septimus takes, that even the youngest of readers couldn’t take seriously. This story is just full of too many cute and silly things that you know that its not on to get to frightening, especially for younger readers. And call me a nerd, when it started out this way it felt like the Legend of Zelda. And what I mean but that, it’s all swords, magic, dragons, but portrayed in the simplest of fashion. But somewhere in the middle that fades away. Sept and Jenna meet up again and it started to feel like the random “misadventures of Jenna and Septimus.” The original did stay focused all the way through. This one, not so much. Simon shows up randomly to attack and then disappears again entirely. And it even strays so far from the story that there is a big chunk of it about Sept trying to raise a dragon, which has nothing to do with the rest of these story.</p>
<p>Overall, for kids this is great stuff. They’ll love every bit of it. But unlike the first one I can’t recommend it to anyone else, because the story loses direction of what it is trying to tell. If it stayed focused and didn’t get too off track, I would like it like the first. So because this book is made for kids, I’m giving it a higher than average rating. But I think even kids might like the first one better.</p>
<p>3 smoothies out of four.</p>
<p>P.S. Check out my book and Ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/">http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/</a></p>The Seance : Not really Good, But Not Bad Eithertag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2012-08-05:523145:BlogPost:5370052012-08-05T03:52:22.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p>The Seance : Not Really Good, But Not Bad Either.</p>
<p>The Séance By Heather Graham</p>
<p>This is more of a random book thrown into mix. Like the reviews aren’t random enough. This one is a supernatural mystery called, “The Séance” by Heather Graham apparently is a New York Time best seller auditor, who seems to be unknown by myself and everyone I know. This one I grabbed out of a free box at a yard sale. It had water damage, a torn cover and smelled like perfume. But regardless of its…</p>
<p>The Seance : Not Really Good, But Not Bad Either.</p>
<p>The Séance By Heather Graham</p>
<p>This is more of a random book thrown into mix. Like the reviews aren’t random enough. This one is a supernatural mystery called, “The Séance” by Heather Graham apparently is a New York Time best seller auditor, who seems to be unknown by myself and everyone I know. This one I grabbed out of a free box at a yard sale. It had water damage, a torn cover and smelled like perfume. But regardless of its condition I read it anyways.</p>
<p>So what is it about? It is about a woman who inherits the family home after her parents die. At a welcoming party her friends, neighbors and cousins play around with a Ouija board. But unknowingly, Christina welcomes a ghost into the house by doing it. The ghost is Beau Kidd, a man who was killed because he was framed as the Interstate Killer. Meanwhile twelve years after his death, the continued killings began adding to more proof that he is innocent. The book follows Christina as she come to terms with the fact that she can see the dead and discover the truth behind Beau‘s death. Meanwhile Jed, who is private investigator looking into the new murders and is trying to find the killer. And there really is nothing beyond that. It’s a very mediocre plot.</p>
<p>So the good? It has good pacing. When it starts to get boring, it always jumps to something new bringing the story forward. Also its not predictable.</p>
<p>The bad? The story characters were a bit shallow. The fact that the book belonged to a perfume addict wasn’t good. (Hopefully you don’t go looking in free boxes for this novel if you’re interested.) But the biggest problem had to do with a element in the story. It’s set in a area of the US with a lot of Irish. I get that. And killer only kills red heads. But I find it so hard to worry about if the killer will kill one of the main characters when they can prevent it by dying their hair. I mean I can’t get around that. Hair dye would solve the whole problem.</p>
<p>So overall, I really don’t know how to rate this. I mean it’s not bad, but not that good either. It’s actually kind of mind numbing. You read it because it’s almost interesting. Nothing very exciting happens, but doesn’t bore. It’s kind of pacifier. I guess it’s like when you turn on the TV in the middle of the day, then you can’t find the remote and you just watch whatever’s on. You watch because its there, not because you necessarily want to. I don’t know any other way to describe it. I mean if you like murder mysteries this maybe for you. But for the rest of us, I can’t really recommend it.</p>
<p>1 1/2 smoothie out of four.</p>
<p>P.S. Please check out my book and ebook website at Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.lelue.webs.com/">http://www.lelue.webs.com/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/seance.jpg"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/seance.jpg?w=189&h=300" alt="" title="Seance" width="189" height="300" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-388"/></a></p>The Last Olympian : A Action Packed Near Perfect Finale To a Great Seriestag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2012-06-19:523145:BlogPost:5326312012-06-19T18:46:21.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p>The Last Olympian By Rick Riordan Smoothie Review</p>
<p>So here it is. The review on the last book in the “Percy Jackson and The Olympians,” series, and it took me forever to get this book. Believe it or not, there’s nothing to do in my small pacific northwest town and a lot of people read. And apparently I was not the only Percy Jackson fan, because where ever I turned this book, the store was sold out. So I had to order it online. And the book had to get lost in the shipping for crying…</p>
<p>The Last Olympian By Rick Riordan Smoothie Review</p>
<p>So here it is. The review on the last book in the “Percy Jackson and The Olympians,” series, and it took me forever to get this book. Believe it or not, there’s nothing to do in my small pacific northwest town and a lot of people read. And apparently I was not the only Percy Jackson fan, because where ever I turned this book, the store was sold out. So I had to order it online. And the book had to get lost in the shipping for crying out loud. But now I finally have it and I finally read it, and here’s my review. The review is on The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan</p>
<p>So the book is the last book in the Percy Jackson series. And all the events from the last four novels lead up to a prophecy concerning Percy Jackson determining the fate of the world and gods on his sixteenth birthday. Kronos has risen from the underworld in the host of Luke, and created an army of demigods, monsters and titans to destroy Olympus (which conveniently is on the top of the empire state building) The great volcanic titan Typhon breaks out of the volcano back in California. As it begins to cross country, the gods rush to battle to keep it from reaching Olympus. While the gods are away, Percy rushes into Manhattan to save Olympus as the Titan army invades. And for the most part, this story is a war. Just as Sea of Monster is a re imagining of the Oddysee, this a re imaging of the Illiad. The story is also constructed with flashbacks chronicling the relationship between Luke and Annabeth as children as well, to give it more depth beyond the war.</p>
<p>The good? Very much like the Harry Potter series, by the time you read the last book, you see how much these characters have grown. And you have just as much love for them as you would Hermoine, Ron or Harry. This starts out with Percy being a warrior as in the first book he was a kid who tripped over his own feet. His relationship with Annabeth is deeper than just being friends. And they are much more layered than they once were. But it’s still drama. The book is still very light hearted despite the end of the world and deaths of many characters. And action. There is a lot of action, and it never stops and the book keeps on adding something new. And for those of you who are remembering having to read the Illiad in high school, the lasting memory probably is it was very boring as hell. But this is not boring. This is one of the best re imaginings I ever seen and one thing it is not, is boring.</p>
<p>The bad? Well I have one complaint really. In the older books, they were always going to new places and this was all mainly a war in Manhattan. Sure, it always did throw something new at the reader, but it was still very predictable. But like I said, it is a very small complaint. I don’t have much else to say.</p>
<p>Overall this is a very good conclusion. It is even better ( I might make some people mad here) than the drawn out Harry Potter finale that found personally disappointing. But this is great, It has a lot of action and is just flat out fun. Is it perfect? No. I think it has some flaws, but no big ones. I would recommend to anyone. It is most definitely worth the read.</p>
<p>Overall rating: A Action Packed Near Perfect Finale To A Great Series</p>
<p>4 smoothies out of four</p>
<p>P.S. Check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.lelue.webs.com/">http://www.lelue.webs.com/</a></p>Flowers For Algernon : A Man's Odyssey That Pulls So Many Heart Stringstag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2012-04-10:523145:BlogPost:5237662012-04-10T04:01:26.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<h3 class="storytitle">Flowers For Algernon : A Classic Odyssey That Should That Pulls So Many Heart Strings</h3>
<div class="storycontent"><p>Flowers For Algernon By Daniel Keyes</p>
<p>Overall Rating : A Man’s Odyssey that pulls so many heart strings</p>
<p>Okay if you have been reading my other smoothie reviews then you know I’m a sucker for science fiction. Or importantly classic science fiction. If you haven’t notice this by now, go back and read my Subterranean review. I couldn’t stop…</p>
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<h3 class="storytitle">Flowers For Algernon : A Classic Odyssey That Should That Pulls So Many Heart Strings</h3>
<div class="storycontent"><p>Flowers For Algernon By Daniel Keyes</p>
<p>Overall Rating : A Man’s Odyssey that pulls so many heart strings</p>
<p>Okay if you have been reading my other smoothie reviews then you know I’m a sucker for science fiction. Or importantly classic science fiction. If you haven’t notice this by now, go back and read my Subterranean review. I couldn’t stop from praising it. So it’s not surprising I decided to read another classic scifi piece. This one is called Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes. I read it long ago when I was thirteen and decided to read it again.</p>
<p>So what is it about? The tale focuses on Charlie Gordon. He is a man who is retarded and has a unusually low IQ. He is chosen out of many other people with a similar condition to have a operation to become smarter. The scientist had tried this with a lab rat named Algernon. Algernon like Charlie had a low IQ but after the operation he not only became smarter, but became the smartest mouse alive with an unusual high IQ. And the same happens to Charlie. The story is a collection of diary entries by Charlie through this. You see his thinking in his writing. You see how he’s naïve as at the beginning and how he’s arrogant at the peak. But there’s a catch to all of this. After Charlie has the operation and is on the top of the world, Algernon dies. He has a relapse and his brain does a total reversal causing his brain to function less and less. The IQ rapidly drops and then the brain shuts down. And this happens to Charlie. No I am not spoiling things here. In fact, the story is not about that. The story is about Charlie and everything he’s going through. I mean this is very much like the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. We all know the ending but the read it because it is such a engaging odyssey to not turn away.</p>
<p>So the good? Emotion. We see Charlie grow up mentally, so quickly. We see all the emotions and memories rush back to him. We see the naïve boy turn to a sweet man and then into a arrogant drunk. We see that his so called friends were jerks who picked on him as he gets smarter. We see him fall in love, lose it again and never truly find it until his life is spiraling downward. I mean this is amazing. It’s so heavy and so believably sad. I cried at the end of this book. The last entry pulled so many heartstrings that I just wanted to reach into the book and help Charlie so badly. It’s pure drama, but done so well that reveals so much about the human condition. It really is amazing.</p>
<p>So the bad? Not much to say. I can only praise the book. But I do have this to say. It’s sad. It is very very sad. So if you don’t like books that make you cry, this is not for you.</p>
<p>Overall the book is a classic. It is a classic I believe everyone should read at least once. I mean, this book is really worth the read.</p>
<p>4 smoothies out of four.</p>
<p>P.S. Check out my book and ebook website at Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/">http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/</a></p>
</div>Tolken For Celandine : A Set Of Unoriginal And Mediocre Cliche’s Set In A Very Dark Worldtag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2012-03-22:523145:BlogPost:5191752012-03-22T22:12:49.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p>A Tolken For Celandine By Laurell K. Hamilton</p>
<p>Not much of a intro here, just another short story review found in Laurell K Hamitlon’s Strange Candy short story. This one is a dungeons and dragons style piece called “A Toklen For Celandine.”</p>
<p>So the story is not like Hamilton’s other books. It happens in a medieval setting, featuring the traditional classic fantasy elements such as trolls , elves, unicorns and what not. They story follows a female elf warrior named Bevhinn, who…</p>
<p>A Tolken For Celandine By Laurell K. Hamilton</p>
<p>Not much of a intro here, just another short story review found in Laurell K Hamitlon’s Strange Candy short story. This one is a dungeons and dragons style piece called “A Toklen For Celandine.”</p>
<p>So the story is not like Hamilton’s other books. It happens in a medieval setting, featuring the traditional classic fantasy elements such as trolls , elves, unicorns and what not. They story follows a female elf warrior named Bevhinn, who is a body guard for a member of the royal family named Celandine on a quest following a prophecy (that we don’t learn until much later on) to cleanse Celandines soul. They travel into the bad lands to save a white healer and run into trouble with the locals in the process.</p>
<p>So the good? It’s nice to see Laurell K Hamilton stab at a Tolkien like work and thankfully it’s not as light hearted as most stories of that genre. In fact it is a very dark a fantasy for grown ups.</p>
<p>The bad? Well this is set in the same world as Hamilton’s earliest book called Nightseer. Now I read that book long ago and only remember it being very boring. So since I didn’t remember, I really didn’t know anything about the world. I mean you would had to enjoyed and remember the novel to understand the world of this short story and sadly that is not me. Compared to her other works, it has a lack of detail. And lastly it’s unoriginal. Swords, demons, elves, and medieval worlds had been done a million times before. She did nothing to make the story her own in writing style or anything along those lines.</p>
<p>So overall this is okay, I guess. if you love this sort of fantasy, then by all means check it out. For the rest of us, it is just one cliché after another.</p>
<p>1 out of four smoothies</p>
<p>Overall rating, A Set Unoriginal and Mediocre Clichés Set In A Very Dark World</p>
<p>P.S. Check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/">www.freewebs.com/lelue/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/strangecandy.jpg"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/strangecandy.jpg?w=420" alt="" title="StrangeCandy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-326"/></a></p>Memoirs Of An Invisible Man By H.F. Sainttag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2012-02-13:523145:BlogPost:5155262012-02-13T22:20:57.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p>Memoirs Of An Invisible Man By H.F. Saint</p>
<p>I get my books from odd places. Garage sales, give a ways, bargain bins, and sometimes out of trash can at my friends house. (He has no tastes in books and often throw good ones away) I grab books that seem interesting, providing an new concept or have tons of potential. I prefer not to join the waves of current fans of big writers stalking their every move. I mean, these guys that no one hears of are sometimes better than JK Rowling, or…</p>
<p>Memoirs Of An Invisible Man By H.F. Saint</p>
<p>I get my books from odd places. Garage sales, give a ways, bargain bins, and sometimes out of trash can at my friends house. (He has no tastes in books and often throw good ones away) I grab books that seem interesting, providing an new concept or have tons of potential. I prefer not to join the waves of current fans of big writers stalking their every move. I mean, these guys that no one hears of are sometimes better than JK Rowling, or Stephen King. Sometimes. This time around, the book is called Memoirs Of An Invisible Man By H.F. Saint</p>
<p>So the book has a typical write up on the back cover telling us that it is a man who becomes invisible and then goes on the run from the government. The book clearly tries to sell itself as action book using key words such as Zap! Bang! Kaboom! No. I am not kidding. And the book is covered with reviews on both covers and has three inside pages about how exciting it is. Sound like a fun book right? Well it should have been.</p>
<p>The book actually focuses on a man named Nick Halloway who is an accountant. And as he helps his girlfriend reporter get into a presentation at Micro Magnetics to show their new fusion program to develop energy, something goes wrong. Nick passes out during the evacuation. When he wakes up he finds that he is in the building which is entirely invisible along with him. The government is investigating. And Nick runs away. Or I should say walk away. He leaves, and goes to New York, plays the stock market, does a lot of accounting, live in casinos and apartments every other night and watch people in the park. Yes. That’s about as exciting as it gets. The people who left the reviews about it saying “Keeps you on the edge of your seat,” must also get a total thrill ride out of reading the phone book. But let’s started with the good and bad, shall we?</p>
<p>I’ll start with the bad. Because that’s so much easier to talk about. And with all the bad things in this story, it all basically boils down to one thing. Nick is a shallow person. Before he was physically turned invisible, he already was in another sense. There is no mention of family, friends, hobbies or anything. And the so called relationship he had with the reporter was all sex based. There was no love. They were just both kind of addicts I guess. There was no form of chemistry at all. Point is. There is nothing. So when Nick turns invisible, there is no sense that he lost anything. It’s like “Ahh shucks. Now I have to do my accounting over the phone.” I mean Nick in all sense of the word was nobody because he had no one and just went through the motions trying to earn more money. I mean, if he jumped into the river like George Bailey did, his angel wouldn’t even notice. That and like I said, there’s nothing. We’re just reading about this shallow character with no emotion at all doing things such as watch the stock market as the bad guys will show up every 150 pages or so and then every time the action scene comes, it is over by the next paragraph. Before this author wrote this, I feel he was a math teacher or accountant. I mean, he can not go into any drama or emotional detail centering on the main character, but will spend pages on the angles, dimensions, circumferences, volumes or a say a pile of stuff Nick climbs on top of to get over a fence. I mean its ridiculous. The author went on for ever about the numbers that were involved. I’m not sure why. But it was very odd.</p>
<p>The good? How he became invisible and the scene with the invisible building was very original But that’s all I can give this writer credit for. Oh wait, this book actually did lead to a good movie adaptation (That has nothing to do with the book besides the name) It’s a Chevy Chase ( a serious role) and is actually fun. But for that, I credit to John Carpenter who made the movie, not this book.</p>
<p>Overall, the book promises so much and delivers so little. I mean even if it didn’t had action, I expected emotion. Hell if it lied and was about a space aliens instead, I wouldn’t have cared. I just want something out of it. And it didn’t have it. So I recommend this to no one. But if you like this sort of science fiction stuff, I recommend the movie instead by John Carpenter. Stream it off of netflix and have fun. It’s everything this book wasn’t.</p>
<p>Overall rating: A Book That Really Should Vanish</p>
<p>½ Smoothie out of four</p>
<p>P.S. If you like books, check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/">http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/</a></p>Ink Heart: An Intriguing, Imaginative Tale About What Happens When Books Come To Life, Literallytag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-12-31:523145:BlogPost:5013872011-12-31T19:53:49.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<div class="post-352 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-books category-entertainment category-fantasy category-how-to category-literature category-poetry category-reading category-story category-uncategorized category-writing" id="post-352"><h3 class="storytitle"></h3>
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<div class="post-352 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-books category-entertainment category-fantasy category-how-to category-literature category-poetry category-reading category-story category-uncategorized category-writing" id="post-352"><h3 class="storytitle"><a href="http://leluesrealm.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/ink-heart-an-intriguing-imaginative-tale-about-what-happens-when-books-come-to-life-literally/" title="Permalink to Ink Heart: An Intriguing, Imaginative Tale About What Happens When Books Come To Life, Literally." rel="bookmark">Ink Heart: An Intriguing, Imaginative Tale About What Happens When Books Come To Life, Literally.</a></h3>
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<div class="storycontent"><p>Ink Heart By Cornelia Funke Smoothie Review</p>
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<p>A couple years ago, I watched this fantasy movie. It was something I rented having no idea of what it was. It wasn’t the best movie in the world, but it was so imaginative that no matter how much I try to forget it, it will just hang in my head because it was just so original. It was called Ink Heart. And when I found out it was based on a book, I just had to read it. I actually went out of the way to buy Ink Heart by Cornelia Funke.</p>
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<p>The book is a story about a man named “Mo.” It is short for Mortimore who can actually read objects out and into books. And it actually begins one peaceful night when Mo and his wife Teresa are cuddling by the fire place. Mo decides to read a bit out of a story that Teresa likes called Ink Heart. But when Mo reads, objects appear like they typically do. But his wife and two house cats were sucked into the tale of Ink Heart and as a result three characters appeared in the living room. Two of them were villains and the other is a fire wielding street performer named Dustfinger. Baffled and shocked, he tells the three that he can not control the power to send them back home. As the villains and Dustfinger leaves to this brave new world, Mo rushes to his daughter’s room and is relieved that she’s still in his world and not trapped in Ink Heart.</p>
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<p>The book picks up many years later where things have certainly changed. The villains Basta and Capracorn are glad that they are out of Inkheart and want to control this new world. They became accustomed to. So they are desperately searching for a Silvertounge (some one who can bring things out of books), Mo in particular. They had found some that can bring people out of books in a distorted fashion. They read out many soldiers to help Capricorn. Basta and Capricorn wants one who can do it perfectly like Mo did. Knowing this Mo and his daughter Meggie are on the move never staying in place too long to elude these villains. He works as a book who, along the way, is desperately hoping to find a way to get his wife back. Dustfinger meanwhile is following Mo in the distance hoping there is a way Mo can send him home even though he told him “no” many times before. Then one day Capricorn finds Dustfinger and makes a deal. If Dustfinger tells him where Mo is, then he will command Mo to read him back into the book. Desperate to go home, he agrees and sets Mo and Meggie up to be caught. Wow. That was a whole lot of exposition. Sorry about it all that. But I didn’t know how else to explain it.</p>
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<p>So what is good? Well first I will start with the story itself. The concept is something I never seen before. It is original and kind of brilliant. Second, I have to say Dustfinger. He is just a great character. He’s not a good guy and not a bad guy either. He just wants to go home. He feels that he doesn’t belong in this world. He doesn’t want any one hurt. He just wants to go home. And he prefers to be alone. He’s the only true anti hero I have ever seen in a book. And he’s so complex. He’s a double/triple crosser with a heart that is somewhat hidden. And he wants to desperately return to a story where<br/>…………………………………………………………..Spoiler……………………………..<br/>He dies at the end. Only he doesn’t know it.<br/>……………………………………………………………Spoiler………………………..</p>
<p></p>
<p>The bad? Not much to say. Well maybe a couple tiny things. One mainly being that compared to Dustfinger, Meggie and Mo are very boring characters. He literally does steal the show. And secondly Meggie and Mo are book worms. I get that. I mean I’m a book worm too, or else I would not be writing this. But their love for books was so strong that it appeared the characters have an OCD disorder. But the again it is aimed at all audiences, especially children, so I guess that this was for them. I just thought that it was kind of weird.</p>
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<p>But with all said and done, I recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy. It’s fresh, new and well worth the read.</p>
<p><br/>4 smoothies out of four</p>
<p>Overall rating: An intriguing, imaginative tale about what happens when books come to life, literally</p>
<p>P.S. Check out my book and ebook website at Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/">http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/inkheart.jpg"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/inkheart.jpg?w=207&h=300" alt="" title="inkheart" width="207" height="300" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-353"/></a></p>
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</div>The Yatteirng And Jack : A Attempt At A Overdone Idea That Sadly Missed Its Mark.tag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-12-31:523145:BlogPost:5014742011-12-31T19:49:54.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p>The Yattering And The Jack By Clive Barker</p>
<p>Overall Rating: A attempt at a overdone idea that sadly missed it’s mark.</p>
<p>This is a another short story by Clive Bark out of the “Book of Blood.” And regardless of the cheesy titles, I like what I have read so far. It is great to see someone with their own style rather than ripping off someone else. So this is the first story. It’s called the “The Yattering and The Jack”<br></br>So to start off with, it’s not as dark as twisted as Barker’s…</p>
<p>The Yattering And The Jack By Clive Barker</p>
<p>Overall Rating: A attempt at a overdone idea that sadly missed it’s mark.</p>
<p>This is a another short story by Clive Bark out of the “Book of Blood.” And regardless of the cheesy titles, I like what I have read so far. It is great to see someone with their own style rather than ripping off someone else. So this is the first story. It’s called the “The Yattering and The Jack”<br/>So to start off with, it’s not as dark as twisted as Barker’s other works. Strangely, it’s very lighthearted. There is a man named Jack, who had been basically walked on his whole life. But he does not retaliate in the least. He is completely indifferent. He just shrugs his shoulders and says, “stuff happens.” But it turns out hell wants his soul, because his mother never paid when she sold hers. So the Agency (hell’s) hires a demon called the Yattering to make him go insane, so he can snatch his soul away. He must scare him, put voices in his head, rattle chains and do whatever he can do. And he can’t get out of the contract. But through out the story, he had the toughest time breaking Jack’s indifference. The two are constantly tricking each other to get what they want.<br/>So the good? Well it’s different. But sadly, it ends there. It wasn’t all that entertaining.<br/>The bad? Well I felt I encounter this before. It felt like Monster Inc, or I should say, “Ahhhh Real Monsters!” It was one my favorite cartoons when I was a kid. It’s not new. And the idea that hell has a Agency to collect souls seemed cartoony. Just not exactly what I expected from Barker. And one last thing. There’s a scene where a roasted chicken gets up and starts scaring people by running around the kitchen. And I’m sorry, but that’s just stupid.<br/>Overall, if you like old quirky horror tales, then this for you. For he rest of us it’s pass. I pretty much just recommend that if you’re even mildly interested by the story, then just get the kids cartoon “Ahhh Real Monsters,” and watch that instead. It’s much more entraining.</p>
<p>½ smoothie out of four</p>
<p>P.S. Check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/">http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/yatteringjack.jpg"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/yatteringjack.jpg?w=197&h=300" alt="" title="Yattering&JAck" width="197" height="300" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-339"/></a></p>Lockhart’s Nightmare : A Charming Western Fantasy about Two Lovers on the Runtag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-09-07:523145:BlogPost:4786212011-09-07T04:00:00.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p>Lockhart’s Nightmare by Wayne Banton and Stan Williams Smoothie review</p>
<p>Overall rating: A Charming Western Fantasy about Two Lovers on the Run</p>
<p>This book was an unusual find. I found this at a yard sale during the summer out of the largest collection of odd books that ranged from mermaid love stories to alien mummies to pirates in love. I mean I’ve seen many love stories at yard sale with the pretty girls and then the half naked (or entirely naked) perfect men holding them. Yet…</p>
<p>Lockhart’s Nightmare by Wayne Banton and Stan Williams Smoothie review</p>
<p>Overall rating: A Charming Western Fantasy about Two Lovers on the Run</p>
<p>This book was an unusual find. I found this at a yard sale during the summer out of the largest collection of odd books that ranged from mermaid love stories to alien mummies to pirates in love. I mean I’ve seen many love stories at yard sale with the pretty girls and then the half naked (or entirely naked) perfect men holding them. Yet this woman clearly likes the weirder versions of those. But I did find one that caught my eye. It was a western, called “Lockhart’s Nightmare” written by Wayne Banto and Stan Williams, and it was western about man and woman on the run. As I looked at it, I realized I never really had read a western before. The closest thing I ever read to it would be Stephen King’s Gunslinger, and I don’t believe that counts.</p>
<p>So before reaching the book that’s labeled western, I think True Grit, Unforgiven or Open Range. The dark gritty world of the old west, yet when I open the book and started reading, that is not what I got. In fact the whole book is very light hearted.</p>
<p>The book starts with Lockhart playing a game of poker with three friends. They’re all sales men, who sale and deliver various things across the country by train. Lockhart is delivering banknotes. They were traveling in a train car with a few other people. But just as Lockhart was about to lay down his hand, a marshal pulls him out of the chair and arrests him. He says he’s under the arrest for killing his clients. He says that the people in the rest of the cart must come with him for questioning. But a woman sitting in the back of the cart tries to run away. She quickly is arrested as well believed to be Lockhart’s accomplish in murder. The two are locked away for a night and then are delivered to be hanged the next morning. They have to work together to escape.</p>
<p>Once on the run the two them must manage to get along with each other to clear their names. The woman, Marion Taylor is an actress, liar and somewhat a con artist. James Lockhart is an ex civil war veteran who has a past that haunts him, so he went into a simple safe life of selling things afterwards. Together as they run from the Marshall Henson, they run into bad guys, meet up with a Chinese mafia, travel in air balloons, and they fall in love. Which considering the selection I pulled the book from, I wasn’t too surprised by that last factor.</p>
<p>So what’s the good? Well once you get passed the mediocre take off, it turns into a kind of sweet and charming Bonnie and Clyde tale. I really liked that aspect of it. Also, it went to so many different places that I didn’t expect it to go. I mean when they went to the badlands, I felt like I was reading another book, and the same goes for the fight on the air ship. Just as you feel it begins to drag the book offers something new. And it is very character driven. It is written in way that you actually learn to love and care for these characters.</p>
<p>The Bad? Well the detail. There really is not an ounce of it. They seemed to only add detail in the Little China piece. But the old western 1863? I don’t know what that even looks like. I’m only assuming from what I saw in old westerns movies. Then there’s a part where they go to Ohio. I just can’t picture it in my mind at all. Is that more industrialized? Or rural family communities? I mean, I don’t need a lot. But I need something to help. Because I’m not a knowledgeable at all what the nation was like at that time. That and I felt the ending was a bit rushed. They tied it up in the last couple chapters through lucky breaks as it took them forever to understand anything about who framed them.</p>
<p>But overall, it’s worth the read. It’s not so much the Unforgiven dark, gritty, truth about the old west, but more of charming western fantasy about two lovers on the run that went to surprising places. So despite the lack of detail and drawbacks, I recommend to any one just looking for short fun quick read.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>3 smoothies out of four</p>
<p> </p>
<p>P.S. Check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://lelue.webs.com/">http://lelue.webs.com/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/lockhartsnightmare.gif"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-330" title="LockhartsNIghtmare" src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/lockhartsnightmare.gif?w=100&h=152" width="100" height="152"/></a></p>Into The Fire - Netherworldtag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4325992011-05-31T02:54:56.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<h1>Into The Fire</h1>
<p>Into The Fire</p>
<p>Paris, France. It was the beautiful city of love. A place that people call enchanting. It was the gorgeous city that people all around the world travel to for honeymoons and vacations. But everything about the place offered nothing for me. The world I knew only shattered around me. Like a cracked mirror it was distorted and now when I step in front of one, I held no reflection. With the teeth and claws of this world leaving so many wounds, I could…</p>
<h1>Into The Fire</h1>
<p>Into The Fire</p>
<p>Paris, France. It was the beautiful city of love. A place that people call enchanting. It was the gorgeous city that people all around the world travel to for honeymoons and vacations. But everything about the place offered nothing for me. The world I knew only shattered around me. Like a cracked mirror it was distorted and now when I step in front of one, I held no reflection. With the teeth and claws of this world leaving so many wounds, I could have given up. But I didn’t.</p>
<p>In all of this twisted reality, I found some one from what knew before. She was a friend. Someone who believed me. Then like everything else, she was snatched away from me. She was taken to a place away from here. And rumors had it, that this place was much worse. It was a place she didn’t need to be. It was the place I had to pull her out of. And according to an angel’s word, she will release me form this one as well.</p>
<p>So I leave her in the hospital bed head onto the roof. I looked across it. I looked to a world that is drained of color and only held shades of back and white. Fear rushed through me, but I wasn’t going to back out now. I wasn’t going to let Lauren die. Her body may have been kept alive by the doctors, but they couldn’t save her. Her soul was something that only I could get.</p>
<p>Crows swarmed around me. They covered the roof. They swarmed up above. The birds were a sign that the monsters were heard. The very monsters I’ve been running from for so long. They turned the world around me to darkness and blocked out the sun. They were near no doubt.</p>
<p>I stepped onto the edge of the building and looked down. I saw the city streets. The world would split open. It would reveal a hell. Something that I have been seeing glimpses of since the day I died. There were the fires and heat. The tortured souls in chains endlessly hollered. It had all of that. And Lauren was down there, and I had to get her back She did nothing get down there. She only helped me.</p>
<p>The street down below started to quiver. It acted as though drops of water were hitting a pond. Only with each ripple, the reflection changed. With each ripple, a little bit of new world was revealed,</p>
<p>The bright red inferno burned down blow. And I could see those demons sinking their claws in the side of the building climbing upward. Like the many times before, they wanted to drag me to hell. And maybe I was going to hell after all, but I wasn’t going in chains. I would be fighting from here on out. Nothing was going to be easy about this. But I needed this. She needed this.<br/>So I took in a breath and then leaped. I leaped out and dived into hell. I went into the world down below and even the devil himself could not stop me from saving her.</p>
<p>Find out more about the Netherworld, in the novel by Samie Foster. Find out more about at Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to the book page at <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/horror.htm">http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/horror.htm</a></p>Netherworld - Miller's Diarytag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4330332011-05-31T02:52:43.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<div id="_mcePaste">Miller’s Diary</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Dear Diary,</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Today I have dropped the case. I won’t look into it any further. I thought it might have been a murder but it’s the strangest damn thing I have ever seen.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">I come to the crime scene. The police are very hush more so than usual. The windows were broken. The glass crunched under my feet. Dead crows laid across the floor. They were impaled. As I looked down I saw that they…</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Miller’s Diary</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Dear Diary,</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Today I have dropped the case. I won’t look into it any further. I thought it might have been a murder but it’s the strangest damn thing I have ever seen.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">I come to the crime scene. The police are very hush more so than usual. The windows were broken. The glass crunched under my feet. Dead crows laid across the floor. They were impaled. As I looked down I saw that they had died because they flew through the window. They busted into it until they killed themselves. I stepped around the birds. Black feathers were littered on the tables and cabinets. Never have I seen a seen of a crime covered with dozens of dead crows.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">In the kitchen, the police were huddled around the corpse. Before I could chance to see him or her, the police chief greeted me with the usual.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“What do we have?”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“A man with wings.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“You’re kidding me.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Take a look for your self.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">He turned and looked at the body. My eyes followed his gaze. There was a man lying on the floor. He was about twenty year old with dark brown hair.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Extending from his back were wings. Bird like wings. It couldn’t be real. There was no way this could be real Things like these didn’t exist.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">I kneeled down. I touched the wings. It felt real. It felt completely real. I felt along it until it met the shoulders. There no prosthetics. It was real.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">I looked up, at the face. The sunglasses were off center. I quickly saw that the man had no eyes. In his chest, was a gaping hole.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“There was a fight and he was murdered.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“A fight with who?”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“American who fit’s the description of man found dead a few days ago He had is heart ripped out.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“What am I supposed to do with this?”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“I don’t know. That’s why I called you. I don’t know if I should donate to scientific institute or take it to the churches in town so they can worship it. It’s up to you.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Yeah. Thanks.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">This was a responsibility. I didn’t want it and they just dumped it on me. Was this angel? Could it be? I just could not believe my eyes. Was this a true real life angel of god dead in front of me? But this was only the beginning of all the strange things that are about to happen. I just didn’t know it yet.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Find out what really happened in the supernatural thriller netherworld by Samie Foster Available at Lelue’s Realm</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Google Lelue’s Realm or</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Go directly to <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/">http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/</a></div>Palms Inn resort Reveals More Mysteries Than Answerstag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4328892011-05-31T02:46:31.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<h1>Palm’s Inn Resort Reveals More Mysteries Than Answers</h1>
<div><div>Palm’s Inn Resort Reveals More Mysteries than Answers</div>
<div>New mysteries are discovered in the Hurricane Mia after math. The terror and destruction that hurricane Mia brought has torn apart thousands of lives. There are so many loose ends to be tied together as families come back together. Yet despite all people not yet found, the biggest mystery resides at the residence of Palm’s Inn.</div>
<div>Palm’s Inn is a…</div>
</div>
<h1>Palm’s Inn Resort Reveals More Mysteries Than Answers</h1>
<div><div>Palm’s Inn Resort Reveals More Mysteries than Answers</div>
<div>New mysteries are discovered in the Hurricane Mia after math. The terror and destruction that hurricane Mia brought has torn apart thousands of lives. There are so many loose ends to be tied together as families come back together. Yet despite all people not yet found, the biggest mystery resides at the residence of Palm’s Inn.</div>
<div>Palm’s Inn is a small resort/apartment complex that was ran by the owner, John Taylor. It was a well running business until Mia hit and apparently led to a mess that no one had figured out yet.</div>
<div>The building was not completely destroyed. In fact the stone structure stayed very much in tact. For the most part all of the residence have been found, but are somewhat different.</div>
<div>“We never had seen anything like it,” says Mark Bisky, 39, volunteer for the Rescue and Recovery Team. “It’s like something out of the tabloids”</div>
<div>Multiple victims inside the complex had abnormalities. Kara Abrose 76, was found dead in her apartment. She had webbed fingers and odd form of pigment change, and slits on her side along the ribs. It’s said that they appeared very much like gills. Around her was a mess of what looked like dry roots from some long dead tree that came from the faucet and drain from the sink.</div>
<div>Many other victims found in the similar condition changed with a tad of fish like characteristics.</div>
<div>“I feel like I’m walking into the after math of one of Stephen King’s nightmare,” stated Abbey Shields, 42, forensic scientist.</div>
<div>Samples were soon taken off the root like matter and of the blood of the victims. The results show the root like substance was something seen before. As far as the blood tests are concerned, they reveal at the blood had some sort of toxin mixed in with it. The CDC is now had taken control of the investigation.</div>
<div>When asked about the blood, James Fisher CDC official only stated, “We will not release anything to the press until we know what is happening.”</div>
<div>The mystery of Palm’s Inn still remains, but there are still four remaining residence not found. Jake and Amy Taylor, Kris Marks, and James Blunt. If you have seen these individuals, please report them immediately. They are needed for questioning.</div>
<div>Find out what really happened at Palm’s Inn. Available now in ebook/paper back format at Lelue’s Realm.</div>
<div><a href="http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/">http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/</a></div>
</div>Night On The River - Palms Inntag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4330312011-05-31T02:44:35.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<h1>Night On The River</h1>
<div>Night on the River</div>
<div>The water was dark. Everything was. The dark ripples from the boat flowing through the water were hardly noticeable. There was no moon that night. The businesses were closed. The only lights form the shore were street lights that turned from green to yellow to red for the traffic that wasn’t there. Even in a city as big as</div>
<div>Miami, there was not a soul awake at two in the morning.…</div>
<h1>Night On The River</h1>
<div>Night on the River</div>
<div>The water was dark. Everything was. The dark ripples from the boat flowing through the water were hardly noticeable. There was no moon that night. The businesses were closed. The only lights form the shore were street lights that turned from green to yellow to red for the traffic that wasn’t there. Even in a city as big as</div>
<div>Miami, there was not a soul awake at two in the morning.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>Mosley stopped the boat dead in the middle of the river. He listened to the night air. There was not a sound. The only thing there was to break the silence were the crickets chirping their nightly song.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>He turned and looked to the back of the boat. There sat John and Maggie. They wore dark clothes like Mosley did. None of them wanted to be caught doing this. It would only lead to more problems. More problems than what they already had.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>“Now or never John,” Mosley said.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>“Okay. Let’s do this,” John said.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>John stood up and moved to the center of the boat. There he removed a black sheet of plastic. It revealed a corpse. It was a child that could be no older than ten years. But he was not entirely human. He was gone for a week and then shown up as a monster. His hands were claws. Sharp teeth lined his mouth. His waist formed into what seemed to be a fish tail. He was not the same boy when he came back. They all witnessed that a few hours ago and had to kill him.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>Yet it seemed at that moment, the three of them stopped what they were doing and looked into his large milky white eyes. They remembered who the boy was and felt a moment of heart ache because they had to do this.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>“He’s tied to the anchor John,” Maggie said breaking the silence.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"><br/>Without word, they all knew what they had to do. Maggie grabbed the child as the two men grabbed a side of the heavy anchor. The men threw than anchor over board. The child was tied to it was pulled out of Maggie’s hands. The three of them watched over the edge of the boat as the child sank into darkness.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>“Better make sure it will hold,” Mosley said.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>“Will do,” Maggie said diving into the water.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>She swam to the river floor where she saw the anchor had sunk into the dirt. The child was tightly intertwined in the chains. He had no chance of floating to the surface. She then went back up to the surface. She climbed back into the boat.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>“He’s not going anywhere,” Maggie said.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>“Good. Let’s head home,” Mosley said. “This whole thing is creeping the hell out of me.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>Maggie couldn’t agree any more. John was silent in his own thoughts. Mosley turned the boat around without another word.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>“John,” Maggie finally said. “Don’t you think we can tell some one about all this?”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>“No,” John said. “Tell one person, and then everyone comes in. My son will be taken away. The CDC will pull us into some sort of damn quarantine. They’ll tear everything apart.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>“I was just suggesting-”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>“I’ll stop it all tomorrow.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>The two of them only looked at John. They felt that he didn’t have a clue of what to do with all of this. He was just as lost as they were.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>“It’s nothing I can’t handle,” John said simply.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>Find out what really happened in the book Palm’s Inn by Samie Foster. Available on Amazon or at the author’s website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.lelue.webs.com/">http://www.lelue.webs.com/</a></div>
<p> </p>Palm's Inn - Beyond The Windowtag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4325972011-05-31T02:41:44.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<h1>Beyond The Window</h1>
<div id="_mcePaste"><div id="_mcePaste">I stayed there near the glass. I sat on the window seat. It was a simple cushioned shelf just beneath the frame of the window. I t was always my favorite seat. But it seemed to not matter all that much any more. It was simple place, and became my place to sit for the years passed.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>But it was silent inside the apartment. With the storm raging outside, the lights were out. The TV was off.…</div>
</div>
<h1>Beyond The Window</h1>
<div id="_mcePaste"><div id="_mcePaste">I stayed there near the glass. I sat on the window seat. It was a simple cushioned shelf just beneath the frame of the window. I t was always my favorite seat. But it seemed to not matter all that much any more. It was simple place, and became my place to sit for the years passed.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>But it was silent inside the apartment. With the storm raging outside, the lights were out. The TV was off. Everything was silent. There only sound from inside the apartment would be the cat waking up from its nap. But outside the apartment. Behind the door? Beyond the window? That was another story.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>On the other side of the wet cold sheet of glass, rain was falling. It was so thick that it seemed like a wall of rain. No knife could be sharp enough to cut through it. The rain sounded like the beat of drums hitting the concrete tiles. There should have been faint sounds of splashes of the water as the rain drops hit the pool.</div>
<div>Even as I strained my ears listening for that simple sound, I heard none. It couldn’t be heard.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>The sound went on for ever. I hugged my knees closed my eyes listening to the sound of the rain outside. There was also the knocking on the door to my place. I had to put wooden chair up under the handle and hoped that it would stay shut. I would cover my ears in an attempt to block it all out. All the banging and knocking was driving me crazy. I was safe in my silent cozy area, but everything horrible was trying to get in. It was like I was trapped inside a phone booth with a small army trying to break in with nothing but sticks and stones. Constantly banging and knocking to get in.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>‘Every thing’s fine,’ I tell my self. ‘After all of this, things will been the same as they were before.’</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">But I didn’t want to believe my self. I refused to. The man on the other side of the door was sick. He wasn’t right.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>Then came the wind. It howled. It sounded like a scream. The high pitched noise reminded me of something, I didn’t want to remember. Something I wanted to forget.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>I wiped away my tears. I had to be stronger. I couldn’t be a baby through this. I then turn my eyes toward the glass. I pressed my hand against the moisture covered window, and wiped it clear. I could see the neon sign that said, “Welcome to Palm’s Inn.” It sat the top of a pole. It was barely visible. The lit sign was only a faint glow through the rain. Then it was gone a second later. The wind blew it away. The wind was blowing everything away. The hurricane was getting worse by the minute. A bit of tile hit the glass. The glass cracked across the window beneath my hand. I pulled it away. Blood was pouring from the slice on my palm.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>The news always says during hurricane a person should stay inside. Stay inside where it’s safe and stay away from the windows. But then again that holds true, only when what’s inside is more dangerous than what is outside. The window was my escape if worse to the worse.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<div>The knocking and banging were soon drowned out. The wind was getting a stronger. The scream had turned into a high pitch never ending whistle that drowned out any thing else entirely.</div>
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<div>I should have moved away form the window. That would have been the smart thing to do. But I couldn’t. I was captivated by what I saw. Because I saw something. I squinted my eyes and brought my face close to the glass. There was a shadow of something moving in the pool. But even though I could see it, I couldn’t tell what it was.</div>
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<div>A piece broke away. The piece of it was carried by the wind. It hit the glass. I looked up at it to fund a sudden fear rush through.</div>
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<div>I fell off of the seat onto the carpet. I looked at what was something otherworldly. It first looked like a piece of vine. But it started growing, splitting stretching across the glass in a series of tentacles. And it didn’t stop growing.</div>
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<div>I swallowed. What the hell is happening to this place?</div>
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<div>Learn more about what is really happening in the novel Palm’s Inn by Samie Foster. Available at Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.lelue.webs.com/">http://www.lelue.webs.com/</a></div>Pickman’s Model: An Odd Creepy Puzzle That May Entertain Or Disappointtag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4328872011-05-31T02:36:32.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<div class="storycontent"><p>Pickman’s Model by HP Lovecraft</p>
<p>Overall Rating: An Odd Creepy Puzzle That May Entertain Or Disappoint.</p>
<p>Okay this is a short story by HP Lovecraft. Well overall I don’t think HP Lovecraft wrote anything but short stories. But all the same, this is a tale called Pickman’s Model. And if you have not heard of this author, then I dare you to look up some films that are based off of or influenced by Lovecraftean horror such as Re-animator, Dagon, From Beyond…</p>
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<div class="storycontent"><p>Pickman’s Model by HP Lovecraft</p>
<p>Overall Rating: An Odd Creepy Puzzle That May Entertain Or Disappoint.</p>
<p>Okay this is a short story by HP Lovecraft. Well overall I don’t think HP Lovecraft wrote anything but short stories. But all the same, this is a tale called Pickman’s Model. And if you have not heard of this author, then I dare you to look up some films that are based off of or influenced by Lovecraftean horror such as Re-animator, Dagon, From Beyond and my personal favorite, In The Mouth Of Madness.</p>
<p>The story starts off with a nameless character telling a story to a friend about a man he knew as Richard Upton Pickman. He was a man who had a creative talent, realistic painting techniques but unfortunately paints paintings of terrifying and morbid images. But while he is constantly rejected, Therber (later on the main character is given a name) is fascinated. Though Picket is considered a monster, evil or cruel, he can not help but be amazed but the realism of it all. Then one day, Pickman says there’s an old house that he goes to where the darkest of images come to him. They are the most realistic and modern pieces he done. Of course being Picket’s one and only fan, Thurber agrees and follows Picket into his dark world of demonic paintings and underground tunnels. And as he stops into this world, Thruber feels these painting a re just something beyond what could be possibly from someone’s imagination.</p>
<p>So the good? Well there’s the detail. Every painting, alleyway and even we can see in our own head. And we can feel Thurber emotional, what is going through his head through all of this. Also, its quick paced. There’s no mile long build up. We’re in the middle of it and we can see what is happening. It’s creep.</p>
<p>The bad? I felt that the climax was kind of weak. And I’m shutting up there. I don’t want to spoil anything. That and just fact this is written back in the 1920’s which means more attention to wording than ever.</p>
<p>Then in the middle of good and bad (I know I typically don’t do this but bear with me) is the ending. The ending is not bad. It’s very open ended and in actuality I feel that it didn’t answer questions but left a lot of close to what the real meaning behind the paintings may be. And I know there’s a large percentage of people who will say “That’s stupid” or “It didn’t make any sense” and not like the piece. But I’m not one of those people. After reading this, I’m still thinking of what everything meant and piecing it together in my head and finding deeper meaning to it. This piece is asking the author to think. It does so the same way films like Inception or Donnie Darko for. They give you the puzzle to solve and you only save it you put one effort into it than reading it alone. If you like mind games, then you know who you are, and the rest of you know you won’t catch it.</p>
<p>Overall it’s a simple yet creepy piece. I say it’s worth the read, but in the climax, I felt it failed a bit since it seemed to building up to something bug, So I can’t love it. But I do like the idea that it is asking me to piece things together. And late rather thinking about it more. My rating might change. But as of right now anything is average two smoothies out of four.</p>
<p>2 Smoothies out of four</p>
<p>P.S. check out my book and ebook website at Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/">http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/hp-lovecraft.jpg"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/hp-lovecraft.jpg?w=190&h=300" title="hp-lovecraft" width="190" height="300" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-316"/></a></p>
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</div>Carriers: A Journey Into The Rainforest For the Obvious Sourcetag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4325952011-05-31T02:35:38.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<div class="storycontent"><p>Carriers: A Journey Into The Rainforest For the Obvious Source.</p>
<p>Carriers by Patrick Lynch</p>
<p>Okay not much of intro for this one. All I can say is it was a church book giveaway and I grabbed whatever looked mildly interesting. And one of those books I did grab is called Carriers by Patrick Lynch. It was a simple white cover with bright bold red title. Then there was an inside cover revealing three faceless military people in gas masks and bio hazard…</p>
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<div class="storycontent"><p>Carriers: A Journey Into The Rainforest For the Obvious Source.</p>
<p>Carriers by Patrick Lynch</p>
<p>Okay not much of intro for this one. All I can say is it was a church book giveaway and I grabbed whatever looked mildly interesting. And one of those books I did grab is called Carriers by Patrick Lynch. It was a simple white cover with bright bold red title. Then there was an inside cover revealing three faceless military people in gas masks and bio hazard suites. Which too me is a very alarming message of the government having too much control. The same sort of message that was portrayed in movies such as The Crazies and 28 Weeks Later. And it brought to mind the highly illegal drug treatments and experimental did with civilians in American history. So with that image alone, I felt that if this book was done right, it could go so much deeper than a Ebola outbreak, by digging into society and human nature it self through the novel. (I love books that work on multiple levels at once)</p>
<p>So the book Carriers by Patrick Lynch is about an out break of a Malaria mutation that they call Mayratebo virus. It has the symptoms of Ebola, but seems to be ten times more contagious. The book focuses on two central characters. One is Carmen who is in the military and has experience in finding B3 and B4 viruses. She is sent to Indonesia to investigate the source of the pathogen. Then there is a second main character named Holly. Her Ex husband works in Indonesia studying plants to come up with ways to formulate new medicines. (There’s a scientific name for this profession, but it’s eluding me right now) Holly let her daughters visit the father in Indonesia and she goes to Indonesia to see them and brings them home. And book sources from victim for a while, explaining what virus does and the chronicles Carmen as she looks for the source and Holly as she looks for her children. And with that give I think its side for any one to conclude that these two factors are related. And by the way, there’s also the corrupt Indonesian government.</p>
<p>So the good? Well I’ll start with one thing I’m glad of. They did not go in extensive detail of the Ebola virus. That was a relief. I have read a book a like this one years ago, called, “The Hot Zone” and “The Hot Zone,” went into so much extensive detail about the virus, that it actually mad me want to throw up. Thankfully, there is just enough detail for us to go “that’s really bad” but doesn’t detour the reader from reading the book. And the other thing, I say was good about it, is the climax. The last fifty pages of this book are fantastic.</p>
<p>And now the bad, the last fifty pages of the book that I said was good. Well those were the only pages I enjoyed truthfully. The book was very slow paced. And I’m patient. I mean I typically give longer books two hundred pages to set thing up before continuing the story, with the characters. But after the outbreaks within the first third, the book focuses on Carmen roaming through the jungle with her team for a very long time and Holly doesn’t show up until the very end. Overall it is slow paces. I’m not a big thriller fan. So some one else might think differently. But here’s the biggest complaint of all. The book is called, “Carriers” And how does Holly’s and Carmen’s stories come together in this book? Take a wild guess? I mean they give away the answer to the mystery in the title. This is the first book I even seen spoiled by the title. And twenty pages in you know who the carriers are. So the thrill of thriller is completely taken away form the reader.</p>
<p>Overall it’s worth the read for some. For me personally I may never read it again. The idea of an out break is appealing to me as I read about common day people trying to thrive. Not so much with the military as the main character running tests in the rainforest. Then again, I guess, I’m just picky. If you like this sort of stuff like bio chemical outbreaks, then this is for you. But for the rest of us, it may be one time read. And if you have no interest in science, what so ever, you’re just going to fall asleep. So I’m giving this two smoothies out of four</p>
<p>Overall Rating: A Journey Into The Rainforest For the Obvious Source.</p>
<p>2 smoothies out of four.</p>
<p>P.S. Check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.lelue.webs.com/">http://www.lelue.webs.com/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/carriers.jpg"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/carriers.jpg?w=188&h=300" title="Carriers" width="188" height="300" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-311"/></a></p>
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</div>Man’s Search For Meaning: An Intriguing Look Into The Mind Of A Holocaust Survivortag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4330292011-05-31T02:34:25.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p>Man’s Search For Meaning By Viktor E Frankl</p>
<p>Overall Rating: An Intriguing Look Into The Mind Of A Holocaust Survivor</p>
<p>This is another odd smoothie review. This one is a called Man’s Search For Meaning By Viktor E Frankl. It was a required reading for a college class. So since I read it, why not write a review.</p>
<p>First off, Man’s Search For Morning is not a text book. It’s not a memoir. It’s no a self help book. But it’s very much a combination of all three of these. It…</p>
<p>Man’s Search For Meaning By Viktor E Frankl</p>
<p>Overall Rating: An Intriguing Look Into The Mind Of A Holocaust Survivor</p>
<p>This is another odd smoothie review. This one is a called Man’s Search For Meaning By Viktor E Frankl. It was a required reading for a college class. So since I read it, why not write a review.</p>
<p>First off, Man’s Search For Morning is not a text book. It’s not a memoir. It’s no a self help book. But it’s very much a combination of all three of these. It starts out with the recollection of the author’s survival as he was a jewfish member in a Nazi death camp during the Holocaust, and how his mind and other prisoners. And then it goes further into the detail about observations and conclusions after the recount. And it really is about the psychological impacts that such a event could have on some one. So you’re probably wondering, is it any good? Well I’ll tell you.</p>
<p>The good? This is actually good We hear so much about the holocaust , but we hardly ever hear about it first hand in a book like this. And this really is a step into the mind of the holocaust survivor. I mean it is as so intriguing to see things through the eyes and mind of a person in a position like this. Afterward, he carries his notes form the recount over to further studies and turns into what I call the “Self Help” section. And there are surprising concepts such as the vacuum existence. Where someone who may have free time and nothing else to do suffers from this feeling or being meaningless and sinking them into depression. And 62% of the U.S. suffer from this! That’s just crazy. And there’s a ton of other crazy facts, that will just hold your interest. Also it’s filled with self help methods he used and the after math of the mental condition of Jewish survivors.</p>
<p>The bad? This is all about psychology effects of the holocaust. It is not a recount that goes into detail about the beatings and torture. There is just a taste of the world and there to remind the reader how terrible it was. But it’s not about the Holocaust, but the effect it has on a person’s mind. Also the second half does indeed have a lot of good info, but may prove to be bore to most readers. Because in the second half it is no longer telling about the Holocaust, but more about psychology it self. So unless you have interest in the human mind, it might be a bore.</p>
<p>Overall it’s a good read is worth while. Though I can’t recommend it to everyone. After all it is about psychology and the human mind, and if you like that sort of stuff then you know who you are. Check it out. If you were uninterested in every word I just mentioned, then it’s pass. But this is overall better than I expected.</p>
<p>Three smoothies out of 4</p>
<p>P.S. Check out my book and ebook website at Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.lelue.webs.com/">http://www.lelue.webs.com/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/manssearchformeaning.jpg"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/manssearchformeaning.jpg?w=194&h=300" title="MansSearchForMeaning" width="194" height="300" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-305"/></a></p>Find Of The Century - Netherworldtag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4329342011-05-31T02:30:00.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<h1>The Find Of The Century</h1>
<div id="_mcePaste"><div id="_mcePaste">It was hot. The temperature hung in the high eighties. But it seemed much hitter than that, to the workers. They had been working without much rest that week in the dry plains of South Africa. They were digging. They were digging up some sort of ruin that was lost long ago.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Archeologists Ivan Von Coy was the one who discovered that the top of it was in fact, the tip a building rather than a…</div>
</div>
<h1>The Find Of The Century</h1>
<div id="_mcePaste"><div id="_mcePaste">It was hot. The temperature hung in the high eighties. But it seemed much hitter than that, to the workers. They had been working without much rest that week in the dry plains of South Africa. They were digging. They were digging up some sort of ruin that was lost long ago.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Archeologists Ivan Von Coy was the one who discovered that the top of it was in fact, the tip a building rather than a boulder in middle of the field.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Dust kicked up in the air, creating low hanging cloud across the whole site. Ivan climbed down the slope to the door way that just been revealed. The thing was huge. It towered at least a meter over his head.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“The building shares characteristics of both Victorian and Persian designs,” a woman’s voice said behind him. “Yet they are half way around the world from them. No one, before the colonies built anything like this. It would be one of many if that was the case.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Ivan turned his head and saw pretty dark woman behind him.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“And you are?”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Zoë Danidel. I’m a historian.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Ivan VonCoy. Archeologist. I found this place,” he said shocking her hand.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Your tests so far show that this is six hundred years old,” she brought.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“More or less.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“That doesn’t make since at all. There were no castles or structures like this, in this part of the world.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Well, you’re standing in front of one. What’s your theory, Zoë?”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“That they would have to rewrite a bit of history, I guess. This changes everything. What’s inside?”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“I don’t know. That’s what I’m about to find out.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">He pushed the door open with a bit of a struggle. He got to open just enough to slip through. Zoë followed.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">The room was dark. The only light supplied, was the light shining through the open door. A new beam of light shot out form behind. Ivan quickly turned to see the source and saw Zoë with a flashlight.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Need one?” she asked handing him a light.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Sure,” he said taking it.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“It never hurts to be prepared for everything.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Hey whose bloody operation is this? Yours or mine?”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“No one’s. Actually, this temple is on the heart of South Africa’s wilderness. Land that may be part of the country but virtually unclaimed.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Ivan only looked at her. She was a girl with all the answers and he hated that. Yet he went on with out a word.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">They shined the flashlights around the room. It may have been set up like a church. It was a place of worship with a tiny hall and dome room. Symbols and pictures covered the walls. Yet they resembled nothing that appeared through out other religious artwork.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“This is incredible,” Zoë said.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Very,” Ivan said. “And what is this up here?”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Zoë followed Ivan to a table at the end of the long hall. She shined her flashlight onto what he was looking at. It was a mummified corpse. It was a corpse of a young woman. She was curled up on the table as though she had died in fear. Yet something about this corpse struck the two of them as odd. The girl had wings.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Zoë circled the body shining a light onto it.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“What do you think?” Ivan asked.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“I think we hand an angel.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“You don’t think it could be a mutation?”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“It’s possible. I guess. But if it was, there would have been others in history, I think.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“This is amazing,” he said. “Do you have any idea of what this is worth?”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Or the idea of the number of wars it will cause,” Zoë said. “I say we not let anybody get wind of this until we know exactly what it is.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“We?”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“You and I are the only ones who know about this. And I think it would be better if we not let people know about this until you think out a plan.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Plan. What the hell do I need a plan for?”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“I don’t think you see what I’m trying to say here Von Coy. Nearly all wars have been based upon a dispute over beliefs and religion. If you exploit a winged corpse, people are going to think angel. Half the world believes in a religion that one way or another relates to angels. And they will not like it if you advertise it to be a specimen of any experiment. When we take something that half the world may consider being sacred then we have quite a dilemma on our hands.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“And you think people will go to war over this corpse?”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“People have gone to war for less. We just need to-”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“First, stop using the word we, because you did not discover this temple. I did. So for anything inside the temple, I will be the one to decide what to do with it. You are not involved in the least.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“I am only warning you that-”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Zoë, are you done yet? You are beginning to sound like a broken record. This is my discovery, not yours. So I suggest you let it go.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“But-”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Maybe you should leave before I have you removed.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Zoë stood there stunned. She could not believe what he just told her. Was he really so self absorbed, that he would not listen to any sort of reason. She guessed so.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Well I’m taking my flashlight then,” was all that she would say before snatching the flashlight out of Ivan’s hand.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">She then left there.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Hey you’re just going to leave me in the dark back here,” Ivan said. “Why are you so mad?”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Zoë didn’t answer. She was too frustrated to answer. He was being a jerk and she didn’t even want to talk to him again. She just went home.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Her plan was to forget it. She wanted to forget it entirely. But as much as she tried to ignore it, she couldn’t. After all it was the find of the century. A six hundred year old temple found in center of South Africa that appeared to be a tomb with a winged corpse. She should have been working with Von Coy out in the field, but he was such a jerk. Could she really stand to work with him? She did a lot of work for the museum and this research could get her a lot of money. Very lucrative for her, but could she manage to work in the disaster he was willing to create.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">And as time went but, the corpse made headlines on national news through television and internet feed. Magazine articles were published. Hell, Von Coy also made the cover of Time Magazine. And she worked in the libraries day after day making sure that the books were up to date. She started to feel like an idiot. She was stupid not to take a job with Von Coy when she could. She had to give it another try.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Unfortunately, she did not have a phone number or any other way to get a hold of Von Coy. But she needed get to him some how. And the only way to see him was to go to the site. She needed to make the offer. She would just go crazy, if she didn’t do this.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">As she returned, she saw that the dig site had expanded. There were at least twenty tents surrounding the front doors of the temple. It was like a tiny wood stock filled with a massive number if daggers and scientists. It actually occurred to Zoë then that he might not need a historian. He may already have one, two or eve three. Yet despite the fact that she felt useless, she wanted to go ahead anyway.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">She asked around and was told that Von Coy was most likely in the temple working.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">She trusted that he was right and proceeded into the temple with the flashlight in hand. But she entered she found something completely different.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">There was a trail of blood leading into the center of the room. There she found Von Coy lying on his back in the middle of the room with a bullet hole in his head.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">“Oh my god,” she said in shock.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">She then looked up to the crypt in the center of the room and saw that corpse was gone. Some one had stolen it right under their nose. Who ever did it wanted the body so badly, they killed Von Coy for it.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">He was stupid and most likely brought this onto his self. Zoe even warned him of it, but he didn’t listen. He wouldn’t listen. And here was dead. But he didn’t deserve this? No one did.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">And Zoë looked back to the door realizing for the first time that the people outside clearly had no clue that a murder and robbery had just taken place.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">And as for the body. No one had a clue as to where that went. It could be anywhere in the world now.</div>
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<div id="_mcePaste">And as for the body. No one had a clue as to where that went. It could be anywhere in the world now.</div>
<p>Find out what happen to body, who robbed the tomb and what happens to it in the supernatural thriller Netherworld by Samie Foster. Check it out at Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/">http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/</a></p>A Scarcity Of Sea Monsters: Sweet Gentle Tale From The Deeptag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4330272011-05-31T02:27:49.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p>A Scarcity Of Lake Monsters by Laurel K Hamilton</p>
<p>Overall Rating : Sweet gentle Tale From Deep Water</p>
<p>Okay after reading two really bad books in a row, I’m not sure whether I can gamble on another five hundred novel just yet. I need a breather after that god awful Clive Cussler torture contraption called Atlantis Found. So I’m taking a break and am heading back to world of short stories. And I’m going to one of favorite authors Laurel K Hamilton. This one is called “A Scarcity Of…</p>
<p>A Scarcity Of Lake Monsters by Laurel K Hamilton</p>
<p>Overall Rating : Sweet gentle Tale From Deep Water</p>
<p>Okay after reading two really bad books in a row, I’m not sure whether I can gamble on another five hundred novel just yet. I need a breather after that god awful Clive Cussler torture contraption called Atlantis Found. So I’m taking a break and am heading back to world of short stories. And I’m going to one of favorite authors Laurel K Hamilton. This one is called “A Scarcity Of Lake Monsters” and can be found in the Strange Candy collection.</p>
<p>So what is it about? Well it’s a day in the life of Forest Ranger at the Enchanted Forest National Park, of which the forest title it self gives away the fact that the park has creatures such as satyr’s and leprechauns‘ live in it. But this story is involved deeply in the couple’s relationship with the Lake Monster named Irving, that they seem end to love as part of their family almost. Like a pet. But as the day goes on, something terrible happens, because people don’t understand the creature. Drama circles the incident. I’m not saying any more than that or I would be spoiling things if I hadn’t done so already.</p>
<p>So the good. Well even though this is ridicules. Everyone I it seems so real. Mike. Jordan, Susan and even Irving seem like real character. And the relationships between all of them felt like you were right there. Plus this is one of the most innocent pieces I seen by Laurel in a Lon time. I wish she would turned this into a book giving us all something new rather than her never ending Gentry and Blake series. As usual, detail is fantastic as well.</p>
<p>So the bad? I can’t say much. Maybe more action would be nice. But that already stated was not the goal of the story here. I wish it could continue but it is only a short story after all.</p>
<p>Overall this is something entirely new and written that kind shows a light hearted world. It is worth looking into.</p>
<p>Four smoothies out of 4</p>
<p>Overall Rating : Sweet gentle Tale From Deep Water</p>
<p><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/strangecandy.jpg"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/strangecandy.jpg?w=185&h=278" title="StrangeCandy" width="185" height="278" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-301"/></a></p>The Edge Of The Sea: A Place Where the Mermen Are Psychotictag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4329302011-05-31T02:24:18.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p>The Edge of the Sea by Laurell K. Hamilton</p>
<p>Laurell K. Hamilton is a good writer and I’m convinced of that. Even now she is good. She’s just in a rut of writing stuff that’s X- rated, rather than actually writing a story. Edge of The Sea is a short story she recently wrote that hits much closer to home for any one who read her earlier stuff. It can be found in the Strange Candy Collection.</p>
<p>The story starts with Adria, who find that her room mate Rachel is missing in middle of…</p>
<p>The Edge of the Sea by Laurell K. Hamilton</p>
<p>Laurell K. Hamilton is a good writer and I’m convinced of that. Even now she is good. She’s just in a rut of writing stuff that’s X- rated, rather than actually writing a story. Edge of The Sea is a short story she recently wrote that hits much closer to home for any one who read her earlier stuff. It can be found in the Strange Candy Collection.</p>
<p>The story starts with Adria, who find that her room mate Rachel is missing in middle of the night. It is a beach front house so when she can’t find her, she decides to search the beach. Then she finds that her friend ha is raped and killed by odd pale man, who in discovery dashes into the sea. His feet turned to fish tale as he ran or I should say swim away. Even though Adria denies it at first, she finds he’s mer man. And is the one that the say is the “Beach rapist” committing killings of young women. And as the killings continues, Adria is determined not be his victim. And if possible, she will get revenge if she can.</p>
<p>This is a short story that appears to take place in an Anita Blake world. Because they briefly mention other monster, and Vampire in one of Anita’s books they did mention there were mer people, but they just never went to the coast. This is the same e world taken to a character that lives there.</p>
<p>So the good? It is an expansion of the Anita Blake world we never seen. Plus I like the mermaid idea. I find that it’s a great concept a lot of authors don’t touch. It’s fairly original. And detail is so well done. Form the sound of ocean, to smell or the air to Adria’s fear and lastly how gorgeous this merman is. She is so full of detail. It; some thing I loved about Laurell. She can describe everything perfectly. (Especially the men, but I’m not going there in this review) And one last thing. There is a rape scene and I have to say this to Hamilton. Thank you for not some how morphing it into a descriptive sex scene like you do in all our newer books. Thos are getting old.</p>
<p>The bad? Well it kind of feels like an Anita story without Anita. Adria didn’t have much character to her at all, but done what Anita would of in the end. So I guess if you read Hamilton’s other works, it’s predictable.</p>
<p>So overall. It’s a tragic loss of a friend and crime spree of a rapist who is a merman. Weird, but still fine. I mean it’s not memorable or anything. But it’s fun.</p>
<p>Overall Rating: I Nice Step Into Fantasy Where the Mermen are psychotic</p>
<p>3 smoothies out of four</p>
<p> </p>
<p>P.S. Check out my book and ebook website. Google Lelue's Realm or go directly to <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/">http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/strangecandy.jpg"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/strangecandy.jpg?w=185&h=278" title="StrangeCandy" width="185" height="278" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-251"/></a></p>Autopsy Room Four:Inspired By Frightening Truth But Delivered A Boring Narrativetag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4328842011-05-31T02:17:08.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p>Autopsy Room Four By Stephen King</p>
<p>Overall Rating: Inspired by frightening truth but delivered a boring narrative</p>
<p>Okay there is is not much to of a introduction here other than Autopsy is the first short story in Stephen King’s Everything’s Eventual.</p>
<p>The story starts with only sounds and descriptions from inside if a body bag being rolled through a hospital. He can not move or speak. And only pieces together what is happening through the sounds he hears. And the detailed…</p>
<p>Autopsy Room Four By Stephen King</p>
<p>Overall Rating: Inspired by frightening truth but delivered a boring narrative</p>
<p>Okay there is is not much to of a introduction here other than Autopsy is the first short story in Stephen King’s Everything’s Eventual.</p>
<p>The story starts with only sounds and descriptions from inside if a body bag being rolled through a hospital. He can not move or speak. And only pieces together what is happening through the sounds he hears. And the detailed description of man inside ea body bag, I have to say is one hell of opening. But it turn s out they open up the bag and he find that he is a autopsy room and they are preparing to cut him open. Through this the reader is contemplating is he alive? Is he dead? Is this what death is like for everyone? But he find that even though he can’t move, blink or anything else, he manages to make a noise that the doctors can’t hear over the radio. Which tells us as readers, he is not dead. And we are given two options as endings. He is either going to die on the operating table a they cut him open or some how he is going to be saved from this mess by someone else.</p>
<p>So let’s start off with the bad. Like I said there is a point toward the beginning of the story where eye realize there is nothing supernatural about this at all. This through out any idea of a twist ending, and you are limited to the two endings. I proposed about., It can’t be anything else. So it’s predictable. Another thing is, this story had no character. Yes the man on the table is Howard Cottrell, and some how this happened on golf course. But he might as well bee a alias for Bob the Builder or a alien from space. We don’t know anything about this character . And As I read this I was like why should I care? There was no reason to why I should care. He just didn’t seem real to me. If there’s no character, there’s no story. I felt it needed flashbacks. Some thing to reveal why he shouldn’t die or just something show what kind of like he wanted to return to so badly. But maybe I’m different than most people. I want more. Stephen King fans tend to praise stories like this, and I have yet to find out why. Yes, horrible things are happening here, but I can’t get into it unless I can relate to it. And to put things simply, it was boring.</p>
<p>So the good. Well, this something than can actually happen. This is a sort of terror where you go this could actually happen to me one day. Unlikely but could still happen, I’m not sure how close to the truth Stephen knows that he is on this one. H ends it’s a snake bit that caused it. But the toxin that can effect the body that way is a extract from a African blow fish. In Africa they use to poison people. They would appear dead paralyzed up to week. The heart beats so shallowly that it can’t be detected by doctors. Then once buried, days later, they would begin to get muscular strength and control back and dug them selves out of their graves. Hence the origin of the zombie legend. Because people believe that they were the walking dead, when they weren’t dead all. So it has a lot of truth in. More truth than most horror stories or novels ever have.</p>
<p>So overall, the story may be scary on the level that this could happen to anybody because it exist, unlike stories that have this things that go bump in the night. But beyond that the story seems to have no heart and no character. I just couldn’t get into it. It really bore to me. It can only recommend this to die hard Stephen King fans, but even they might not like it as much as his other stuff. And maybe I’ll recommend this to any one who plans to rip off a witch doctor or voodoo priest as a warning, “Don’t!” They believe in this toxin! Other than that I can’t give much credit to it.</p>
<p>1 ½ smoothie out of four.</p>
<p>P.S. check out my book and ebook website at <a href="http://www.lelue.webs.com/">http://www.lelue.webs.com/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/everythings.jpg"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/everythings.jpg?w=198&h=300" title="everythings" width="198" height="300" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-276"/></a></p>Autopsy Room Four:Inspired By Frightening Truth But Delivered A Boring Narrativetag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4328832011-05-31T02:17:07.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p>Autopsy Room Four By Stephen King</p>
<p>Overall Rating: Inspired by frightening truth but delivered a boring narrative</p>
<p>Okay there is is not much to of a introduction here other than Autopsy is the first short story in Stephen King’s Everything’s Eventual.</p>
<p>The story starts with only sounds and descriptions from inside if a body bag being rolled through a hospital. He can not move or speak. And only pieces together what is happening through the sounds he hears. And the detailed…</p>
<p>Autopsy Room Four By Stephen King</p>
<p>Overall Rating: Inspired by frightening truth but delivered a boring narrative</p>
<p>Okay there is is not much to of a introduction here other than Autopsy is the first short story in Stephen King’s Everything’s Eventual.</p>
<p>The story starts with only sounds and descriptions from inside if a body bag being rolled through a hospital. He can not move or speak. And only pieces together what is happening through the sounds he hears. And the detailed description of man inside ea body bag, I have to say is one hell of opening. But it turn s out they open up the bag and he find that he is a autopsy room and they are preparing to cut him open. Through this the reader is contemplating is he alive? Is he dead? Is this what death is like for everyone? But he find that even though he can’t move, blink or anything else, he manages to make a noise that the doctors can’t hear over the radio. Which tells us as readers, he is not dead. And we are given two options as endings. He is either going to die on the operating table a they cut him open or some how he is going to be saved from this mess by someone else.</p>
<p>So let’s start off with the bad. Like I said there is a point toward the beginning of the story where eye realize there is nothing supernatural about this at all. This through out any idea of a twist ending, and you are limited to the two endings. I proposed about., It can’t be anything else. So it’s predictable. Another thing is, this story had no character. Yes the man on the table is Howard Cottrell, and some how this happened on golf course. But he might as well bee a alias for Bob the Builder or a alien from space. We don’t know anything about this character . And As I read this I was like why should I care? There was no reason to why I should care. He just didn’t seem real to me. If there’s no character, there’s no story. I felt it needed flashbacks. Some thing to reveal why he shouldn’t die or just something show what kind of like he wanted to return to so badly. But maybe I’m different than most people. I want more. Stephen King fans tend to praise stories like this, and I have yet to find out why. Yes, horrible things are happening here, but I can’t get into it unless I can relate to it. And to put things simply, it was boring.</p>
<p>So the good. Well, this something than can actually happen. This is a sort of terror where you go this could actually happen to me one day. Unlikely but could still happen, I’m not sure how close to the truth Stephen knows that he is on this one. H ends it’s a snake bit that caused it. But the toxin that can effect the body that way is a extract from a African blow fish. In Africa they use to poison people. They would appear dead paralyzed up to week. The heart beats so shallowly that it can’t be detected by doctors. Then once buried, days later, they would begin to get muscular strength and control back and dug them selves out of their graves. Hence the origin of the zombie legend. Because people believe that they were the walking dead, when they weren’t dead all. So it has a lot of truth in. More truth than most horror stories or novels ever have.</p>
<p>So overall, the story may be scary on the level that this could happen to anybody because it exist, unlike stories that have this things that go bump in the night. But beyond that the story seems to have no heart and no character. I just couldn’t get into it. It really bore to me. It can only recommend this to die hard Stephen King fans, but even they might not like it as much as his other stuff. And maybe I’ll recommend this to any one who plans to rip off a witch doctor or voodoo priest as a warning, “Don’t!” They believe in this toxin! Other than that I can’t give much credit to it.</p>
<p>1 ½ smoothie out of four.</p>
<p>P.S. check out my book and ebook website at <a href="http://www.lelue.webs.com/">http://www.lelue.webs.com/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/everythings.jpg"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/everythings.jpg?w=198&h=300" title="everythings" width="198" height="300" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-276"/></a></p>Lust Of Cupids: I Love It. It’s Just So Darn Cutetag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4325932011-05-31T02:13:47.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<div class="storycontent"><p>A Lust Of Cupids By Laurell K. Hamilton</p>
<p>Okay here’s another odd one. This is a short story written by Laurell K. Hamilton . And this has nothing to do with Anita Blake or Meredith Gentry. This entirely is it’s own thing. It’s called “ A Lust Of Cupids’ and it can be found in the Strange Candy short story collection.<br></br>So what is it about? Well its about a thirty year old woman named Rachel Ceridian , who is not married and never planned to get married and…</p>
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<div class="storycontent"><p>A Lust Of Cupids By Laurell K. Hamilton</p>
<p>Okay here’s another odd one. This is a short story written by Laurell K. Hamilton . And this has nothing to do with Anita Blake or Meredith Gentry. This entirely is it’s own thing. It’s called “ A Lust Of Cupids’ and it can be found in the Strange Candy short story collection.<br/>So what is it about? Well its about a thirty year old woman named Rachel Ceridian , who is not married and never planned to get married and have a family like her mother wants. But one day as she’s on a walk during her lunch break, she is attacked by a pack of cupids. Why are they attacking her? Because she’s over thirty and has not fallen in love. So she goes on the run dodging and fleeing the arrows of true love because doesn’t want to fall in love.<br/>So what’s the good? Well it just cute. She portrays the cupids as a pack of wolves about to tear he apart while at the same time she describes them as chubby winged babies. And as she runs it’s really hilarious. So nearly is hit by the arrow or true love , she says, “Shit! What did I do to deserve this.” I mean how is falling love so scary. Well actually I take that back now that I look at my parents. But I mean normal people falling in love. It’s not all that bad.<br/>The bad. This is the shortest short story I ever read. I wish there was more. I wish she explained. But clearly she wanted to keep the integrity of it since it’s something she wrote long ago. But I just wish there was more.<br/>Overall, it so darn cute. Every one should read this. If you don’t have ten minute out of your life to read this, then you’re just being silly. Because this is so well done.</p>
<p>Overall Rating: I love it. It’s so darn cute.</p>
<p>4 smoothies out of four.</p>
<p>Overall Rating</p>
<p>P.S. check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.lelue.webs.com/">http://www.lelue.webs.com/</a><br/><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/strangecandy.jpg"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/strangecandy.jpg?w=185&h=278" title="StrangeCandy" width="185" height="278" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-251"/></a></p>
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</div>Midnight Meat Train: Delivers More Than What The Title Might Suggesttag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4330252011-05-31T02:10:07.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<div class="storycontent"><p>The Midnight Meat Train by Clive Barker</p>
<p>Not big fan of horror. And if you read my smoothie reviews, you’re probably sick of hearing say that. But I always like to try new things. After all, I wasn’t a big fan of spy novels until I read of Ludlum’s work that made me rethink my opinion about the genre all together. And when they were cleaning out the library at my college, they were selling old books for a quarter a piece. And I found this thick book called…</p>
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<div class="storycontent"><p>The Midnight Meat Train by Clive Barker</p>
<p>Not big fan of horror. And if you read my smoothie reviews, you’re probably sick of hearing say that. But I always like to try new things. After all, I wasn’t a big fan of spy novels until I read of Ludlum’s work that made me rethink my opinion about the genre all together. And when they were cleaning out the library at my college, they were selling old books for a quarter a piece. And I found this thick book called Book of Blood. (Very cheesy title) Volume one to three. But it was written by Clive Barker. A name I hear a lot relating to horror movies, but never knew who he was. So why not give it a try.</p>
<p>Now this review is the first story in the gigantic book. Reviewing the whole book would just be crazy. It’s called The Midnight Meet Train. (This guy must lobe to use cheesiness of tittles) And yet this is the story that the film was based off of two years ago.</p>
<p>So it starts out with man named Leon Kaufman. His first name is mentions only once, so it might as well just be Kaufman. He is a man with ambitions and worked his whole life to be in New York, only to find that it is far from the paradise the always believed it to be. After he lives there a couple months, he finds that it murder filled, crime filled and dirty city. Then it jumps to another character named Mahogany, who is a large man who has been killing people at night on the sib way trains. He feels old and wasted out and feels that the next night he had to the job right to impress the fathers. When working late on night, Kaufman has to take the subway. He takes the same train a Mahogany and doesn’t have a clue that it is the midnight train.</p>
<p>So okay. I’ll start with the good. This is a true horror story, but in a sick demented way it plays out to happy ending for Kaufman. It starts with a man with ambition who finds the city he though he loved to be nothing more than a crap shoot. But horror invite him into something is completely beautify. The underlying story is a man’s search for what he loves. Also Clive Barker doesn’t do what most horror authors do. He doesn’t copy Stephen King’s style. He had his own. And everything is straight forward and thankfully he doesn’t over use suspense. He in fact uses the same techniques and style as the classic HP Lovecraft tales (which by far are some of the creepiest things I read) He is willing to show you monsters and show you the secret under New York city that is over the top compared to the rest of the authors today. With this creates a dark underworld that made me go “Wow. That’s really messed up.” But then would hold so much of a promise of novel I would finish, if it were a novel instead of a short story,</p>
<p>So the bad. Well I couldn’t really connect to Kaufman. And I’m sure if the author did either. He didn’t even bother to even mention his first name more than once, if he had family, or even where he works. He mentions him at work a couple times, but when reading it, I was asking “What does he do?” He doesn’t mention much about Kaufman other then he’s been in love and heartbroken by the city. So when it comes to parts where he found the bodies hanging upside down on the meat train, he wasn’t even developed enough character to be scared and have us care about him. At least one thing I can say about Stephen King has Barker beat with, in that department, but not much else.</p>
<p>Overall its fun read. And if you love the Lovecraftian old school in your face horror, this is it. It goes beyond what you would think it would be. Though it’s not perfect, it pretty good. I recommend this to any one who likes horror.</p>
<p>3 ½ smoothies out of four.</p>
<p>Over all Rating: Delivers more than what the title might suggest</p>
<p>P.S. Check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/">http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/midnight_meat_train_2008.jpg"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/midnight_meat_train_2008.jpg?w=201&h=300" title="Midnight_meat_train_(2008)" width="201" height="300" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-246"/></a></p>
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</div>Nick Of Time: A Genre Blender Featuring Time Traveling Piratestag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4325912011-05-31T02:09:09.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<div class="post-240 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-books category-entertainment category-fantasy category-literature category-reading category-story category-uncategorized category-writing tag-action tag-adventure tag-book tag-book-review tag-da-vinci tag-fantasy tag-genre-blender tag-nazis tag-nick-of-time tag-pirates tag-science-fiction tag-smoothie-review tag-ted-bell tag-time-travels tag-treasure tag-treasure-island tag-world-war-ii" id="post-240"></div>
<div class="post-240 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-books category-entertainment category-fantasy category-literature category-reading category-story category-uncategorized category-writing tag-action tag-adventure tag-book tag-book-review tag-da-vinci tag-fantasy tag-genre-blender tag-nazis tag-nick-of-time tag-pirates tag-science-fiction tag-smoothie-review tag-ted-bell tag-time-travels tag-treasure tag-treasure-island tag-world-war-ii" id="post-240"><div class="storycontent"><p>Nick of Time by Ted Bell</p>
<p>This is another bargain bin item. I get most of these books for a dollar or two a piece and because there’s so many I often skim them before buying them, you make sure I’m not buying a boring romance or mediocre mystery. But this one was called “In The Nick Of Time by Ted Bell.” And I when I skimmed it, I found it was about Time Travel., and like the typical sci-fi nerd I am I go “sweet!” I love Time Travel. So it; was quickly tossed into the “To buy” pile.</p>
<p>The book Nick of Time, starts out with the even of a twelve year boy named Nick saling the ship, “The stormy Pretral” through a series of rocks and reefs in a area called “the Seven Devils” And it immediately it the first twelve pages you get thins Treasure Island feel, which is awesome way to start out a book by the way. It is soon learned Nick arrives home late, so his mother gibes him no dinner. He lives on Greybeard Island in 1939, just before World War II. He lives with his mother father and sister, His father is a spy for possible Nazi airplanes and subs to report any activity to Churchill. But one day his father receives a letter saying that the king waits him to stop spying and in order to do some he will remove his family from their home. His father and mother leave to speak with the king about it, telling Nick to take care his little sister while their gone. Meanwhile on the island, Kate and Nick discover a chest that is antique yet looks bran new. The two children hide it, but soon find that there are pirates on the island looking for it and they hold Nick’s dog for ransomed. For help, Nick and Kate joins with a friend Gunner rot go to Hawke castle in order to get help. (With the chest) Lord Hawke reveals there is a time machine inside the chest with a letter saying his great grandfather needs help back in 1805</p>
<p>So overall, the character of Nick is a hug throwback to Jim Hawkens in Treasure Island. Yet set right before WW II with a long lost time machine created by Da Vinci that pirates are after is the comples yet very original plot for the book. It’s giving pirate novels a sci-fi twist. And the only way to describe it is this about the closest thing I’ve seen to the Disney movie Treasure Planet, where they attempted to do the same thing.</p>
<p>So now that I’m done explaining, what is good and what is bad?</p>
<p>The good is it’s a blend of piracy, time travel and then some WWII espionage. It is a genre blender and genre blenders are just so fun. So even if you don’t like one of those elements there still maybe something you enjoy. The book has a complex and elaborate narrative in which it’s unpredictable. And I will say here, because it’s unpredictable, it does have an element of suspense. It is a little draggy when explaining the time machine but it picks up with a good pacing and you’re never bored.</p>
<p>The bad? Well I have to say detail. When they travel back to 1805, there is lack of detail. There’s even a lack of detail in 1939. I don’t live in these times, so unless I’m a history wiz, I really don’t know what difference is between the two. There should have been astonishment of how things are different or a bit about Nick adjusting to 1805. Also Kate is capture on a U ship with Hawke’s assistant Hobbes and honestly I know very little about U-boats, so really wished they back round info there too. But I thought maybe it was because it’s aimed at kids, but then there’s a seen where a boy had his arm blown off. Well certainly if their going to throw gore in for the older reader they should gibe us more detail, for people who don’t know the terms of the older days. There were illustrations in the book of different events and characters and sadly helped me understand more of the environment than the author did. That and there is a plot hole. Such as Nick goes to Lord Hawke knowing any one who enters his castle is removed to be shot dead. He goes on a whim that he might help having no idea of who he is at all. That just doesn’t seem realistic to me. And then one last thing. The book is called “nick of time”. Cute for the title. But s the book goes on, the author uses that as s pun way too much. There’s too many scenes where Nick arrives to save some one and they go, “You just arrived in the nick of time.” Once I forgive. Twice is pushing it. Three no way. But they do it four times. It just makes the reader roll their eyes when they se it. .</p>
<p>So overall, it actually is a creative e story and a great genre blender. If you like pirates and time travel read it. If you’re like me, I like Disney’s Treasure Planet, this will be amazing. But he barely that even though a lot is in this, it delves into any real details or drama that is happening. It’s just fun with a lot of action, worth looking into.</p>
<p>3 1/4 smoothies out of four</p>
<p>P.S. Check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://lelue.webs.com/">http://lelue.webs.com/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/nickoftime.jpg"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/nickoftime.jpg?w=203&h=300" title="NickOfTime" width="203" height="300" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-241"/></a></p>
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</div>Those Who Seek Forgiveness: A Reminder To All Of Us Of How Much We Miss Anitatag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2011-05-31:523145:BlogPost:4330232011-05-31T01:59:59.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<div class="storycontent"><p>Those Who Seek Forgiveness by Laurell K. Hamilton</p>
<p>Okay, this is another smoothie review based in an individual story. Why not a whole book? Well tell me how to review a collection of short stores with it having a meaning behind it, and I’ll start. Every story in my opinion whether it’s a novel, novella, or short story if it’s a piece of work and should be seen as such. This one comes from Laurell K. Hamilton short story collection called, Strange Candy. And…</p>
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<div class="storycontent"><p>Those Who Seek Forgiveness by Laurell K. Hamilton</p>
<p>Okay, this is another smoothie review based in an individual story. Why not a whole book? Well tell me how to review a collection of short stores with it having a meaning behind it, and I’ll start. Every story in my opinion whether it’s a novel, novella, or short story if it’s a piece of work and should be seen as such. This one comes from Laurell K. Hamilton short story collection called, Strange Candy. And this one is called, “Those Who Seek Forgiveness.”</p>
<p>“Those Who Seek Forgiveness,” is the official first written piece involving Anita Blake. And if you know anything about Laurell K. Hamilton, you will surely know about the great Anita: Blake Vampire Hunter series that she created (and sadly destroyed.) This takes place before Guilty Pleasures (which is the official Anita book) and long before Jean Claude and Richard came along. This was when Vampires were still illegal. The events focus on a job of raising a dead husband for a woman, who wants him to forgive her. She says he died of a heart attack and she wanted to say she is sorry to him because she had affair and wasn’t faithful.</p>
<p>But if you have read Laurel K. Hamilton, you clearly know things are never what they seem. And I won’t say more about the story because it is an awfully short story. It plays as an introduction as the character and world more than any else, but I better get on with the review.</p>
<p>The good? It’s the old Anita Blake. It’s the woman that all the fans fell in love with at the beginning of the series. It’s not the sex addict Anita appears to be in the latest books. It’s the Anita we love. And also without Jean Clause and Richard, it was less complicated. It was simple, sweet and just made me how much I miss Anita.</p>
<p>The bad? Not much to say other than it is really short. The story is officially fifteen pages long. And I did want more. But guess beggars can’t be choosers.</p>
<p>So over all, it short and simple. Maybe too short, but compared to Laurell’s other works lately. I will accept fifteen pages of fun over five hundred pages of erotica. Because let’s face it people. Laurel K. Hamilton is so much more talented than that. Guilty Pleasures only go far until you say, “That’s Enough! I want the old Anita Back.” And here we get our wish, even if it is so short.</p>
<p>Overall Rating: Reminds Me of How Badly I Miss Anita</p>
<p>2 smoothies out of four</p>
<p>P.S. check out book and ebook website at <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/">http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/strangecandy.jpg"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/strangecandy.jpg?w=185&h=278" title="StrangeCandy" width="185" height="278" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-236"/></a></p>
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</div>Witches and Wizard: Okay This Actually is Good. James I Forgive You.tag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2010-09-19:523145:BlogPost:3748642010-09-19T00:46:30.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">Witches and Wizard By James Patterson and Gabrielle Carbonnette…</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">Witches and Wizard By James Patterson and Gabrielle Carbonnette</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">Overall Rating: Okay This Actually is Good. James I Forgive You.</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">I love Hastings bargain books. The three and four dollar books are always a good buy. Sure. Some can be cruddy, but every once in a while a person can find a treasure. But then again treasure is a matter of opinion. This time I found a book called Witches and Wizard By James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnett. And to see that a book that had just came out two weeks before with a three dollar tag on it in a bargain bin is rare. Surely a employee made some sort of mistake, but like any American who can’t afford much. I took advantage of the mistake to get a seventeen dollar book for three.<br/><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">So the book is called Witches and Wizards. Or if you like me, and you only see that there is a flaming “W” on the cover and believe it is call “W,” until you actually open it up to the inside cover. It is written by James Patterson who I thought I never read before until I realized he is the same person who wrote the Angel Experiment, which is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. So when I realized this after buying the book, my hopes went from high to low. But then again now I own it, and because it is co written by another author, there’s no reason not to read it.<br/>So it begins two children being abducted from their home by the military who actually show up in a pure cartoony way. The entire style is told in this odd and dated childeish sense of humor. The two children are a girl named Wisty and boy is named Whit. Cute and unusual names for the leads I must say. They live in world where the Unites States is changing from a democracy to a New Order. It is order that is controlled by the One. There are many Ones under The One though. There is The One Who Judges and The One Who Executes and so forth. They are accused of being witches, in which the two only found out they had powers they can’t control since the military raided their house. And they’re sent to a cruel magic proof hospital, where they are to be kept until they are of age to be executed.<br/><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">From there on, it becomes a bit complicated. A dead girl friend of Whit’s comes from what is called Shadowland, to rescue them. They are then taken to a place called Freeland where kids who are rebelling against the one are safe. It turns out The One is locking away and is murdering not only witches, but kids too , making it seem no kid is safe. And they speak of a prophecy in which one day children will rule the world. Also Freeland is it’s own dimension. The same goes for Shadowland, Overworld(the world Whit and Wisty are from) and Underworld. And they briefly mention a fifth world. Also when they travel from one world to another any where from days to weeks have passed in the other four even though they were there just a couple hours. Confused yet? It’s not all that confusing, when you read it.<br/><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">The good is that this is original. There is a lot of imagination here. And it’s not nearly as bad as the Maximum Ride series, that James Patterson wrote solo on. Maybe this Grabrielle is why the book is well done. I don’t know. Also, it’s not like other children fantasies such as Septimus Heap or Percy Jackson that rip off Harry Potter. It’s original. That goes for the style of writing as well. It jumps back and forth between Whit’s and Wisty’s point of views which is that of stereotypical teenagers, which mean it does not follow Harry Potter style either such as Lemony Snickett did. It’s told in a style of a Saturday morning cartoon. The story over all is good, and the authors are just bold enough to do new things.<br/><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">And here’s the bad. There is so much crammed into this story, and just no detail at all. Such as the hellhounds that tear people to pieces in the hospital. I still have no clue as how they are scary. There are parts that I felt should have been more elaborated especially when it came to the creatures. Then I found it odd that even though the book is called Witches and Wizard, I felt that it should have been called Witch. Because it seemed Wisty did everything and appeared to be s much more powerful than Whit. Whit barely does anything in the book. Also by the end of the book, you learn so much about Wisty’s character. I seriously loved Wisty by the end. But Whit? There was nothing I could cling on to. With Whit, the only thing the book gave the reader, is the relationship he had with his dead girl friend that was weak and stereotypical. I mean these author were teenagers at one time right? Is there a possible way they could put some emotions there? And lastly in the five dimension thing I liked, but felt that it was a bit confusing when they didn’t exactly explain when they went from one to another.<br/><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">So overall, it’s a easy enjoyable read. I finished in a couple days. And I’m glad to say, (since James Patterson isn’t stopping) at least he is getting better at these fantasies. But because there was so much crammed in with little description and confusing intertwining dimensions, I may read it again. But I’m not sure if I want to return to the world for the sequels, because if they throw any thing new at the readers on top of all these other things that they haven’t really explained in this book, my head might explode.</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">3 smoothies out four</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">P.S. check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://lelue.webs.com/">http://lelue.webs.com/</a></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/witchesandwizards.jpg" style="color: rgb(178, 142, 53); text-decoration: none;"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/witchesandwizards.jpg?w=185&h=280" alt="" title="WitchesandWizards" width="185" height="280" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-232" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-right-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-bottom-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-left-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px; background-xg-p: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"/></a></span></p>Airframe: A Forgettable Read Involving Airplanestag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2010-09-19:523145:BlogPost:3748622010-09-19T00:43:58.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">Airframe By Michael Crichton…</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">Airframe By Michael Crichton</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">Overall: A Forgettable Read Involving Airplanes</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">Being a fan of Michael Crichton, I have to read the books. I over looked in the past, simply because there aren’t going to be any more. So I decided to finally read Airframe. Not my first choice in reading material, but ahh well, I’ll give anything a try. Now I have to write this thing before I forget what I just read.<br/><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">So given the name Airframe, one would assume it’s about airplanes. And it is. The book starts with a incident on a plane where fifty six people are injured and four people died. The owners of the plane, a company called Norten is stunned. The plane is suppose to be safe. Perfect. Un crashable under the conditions it was in. This gives the Norton company a bad image. Norton was planning to make a big sale of planes to China, but now unless the mystery of why the plane is solved, the sale is in jeopardy. The manager John Marder puts together a team head by Casey Singleton to solve the issue. But unlike most cases where they may have a month. He is supplying only a week, giving them, all unbelievable expectations for results.<br/><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">The story centers on Casey Singleton as she tries to solve the mystery. Yet as she puts together the clues, there are other thing on their way. Shipping and engineers who will work in building 64 on the plant hear wind of rumors of how Marder is trying to sell the company off. So they destroy things intentionally or injure some one to up hold the investigation because they want to keep their jobs. Casey has intern named Bob Riechman, who she is suppose to be training. She’s supposed to be showing him the ropes. Yet as it goes on, Casey questions if he’s there for another reason, because he seems to have no interest. John Marder often interferes. Lastly, she has to deal with the press to save the company. Overall it’s not that thrilling of plot. But that is the plot line.<br/><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">So what’s the good? The good is that is written by Michael Crichton, so even if the topic is dull, the character aren’t. They appear real and relatable. Casey is a workaholic who works as hard as she can to achieve her goal, and has not really boyfriend , but a guy around to make her feel better when times get tough. She is a busy woman, and sad to say, but I was there six months ago and I was in her world. And to me when I can relate to a character like that, it helps the book a lot. We all like to read about people, not these cardboard cut out stereotypes we see so often. And then there’s the bad.<br/><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">The bad is this book revolves around a airplane investigation that takes place entirely at the Norton Airplane plant. Unlike Jurassic Park, Prey, or Timeline, this has no action or science fiction. I feel the author may of been one of those people fascinated by airplanes, so he decided to write about it. But I for one, couldn’t care less about air planes in general, so to me the topic is kind of dull. He spends pages talking about mechanics of a plane. And call me a nerd, but when he does this in other books talking about time travel, DNA splicing and nano bots and how science and mechanics are involved, I’m not bored. And one last thing and yes this is one of my pet peeves. There is a quote on the book saying, “Suspense is non stop” I wish they would stop putting that on books like those. Suspense for me is “Oh my god what is going to happen?” And this book is not one of those.<br/><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">So over all, it’s forgettable book. A week from now, I won’t remember anything about it. And it’s just about airplanes. So if you like air planes then go ahead. If you like Michael Crichton it is a good one time read. I mean it’s no where as bad as State Of Fear. So I can only rate it as decent. I give it two smoothies out of four.</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">Rating 2 smoothies out of four</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">P.S. Check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://lelue.webs.com/">http://lelue.webs.com/</a></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/aireframe.jpg" style="color: rgb(178, 142, 53); text-decoration: none;"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/aireframe.jpg?w=176&h=300" alt="" title="Aireframe" width="176" height="300" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-229" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-right-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-bottom-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-left-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px; background-xg-p: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"/></a></span></p>The Glass Castle: A Better Than Average Memoirtag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2010-09-19:523145:BlogPost:3748602010-09-19T00:42:17.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">The Glass Castle By Jeanette Walls…</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">The Glass Castle By Jeanette Walls</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">Overall: A Better Than Average Memoir</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">The Glass Castle By Jeanette Walls , was something I was forced to read in English 102. It’s a memoir and typically I hate memoirs, and any memoir is far from my first choice of reading material. I have always viewed true stories are generally boring and as I began to read the pages, I have to say this. It’s not that bad.</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">The book is the author’s recollection of growing up in a family where the parents have no jobs and refuse to get any. The mother dreams of being a famous artist. The father dreams of finding gold, and building fictional Glass Castle that he always tells Jeanette about. Jeanette has two sisters and one brother. And they all live where they can with no cost. Often times the kids sleep in card board boxes, starve on occasions, and shop lift just to get by. And through out book the dad becomes more of a alcoholic, keeping any gambling money for his self. The mother progressively becomes more and more self absorbed. And these kid do a number of things to survive.</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">In most smoothie reviews, I list the good and bad. But it’s hard to do that on a true story of this woman’s life. She couldn’t change the book in any way, so instead, I’m going to say why someone should read this book. This is one of those books where you’ll feel sorry for the main character. And it does hook the reader. There are parts where you will get so mad at the parents that you wish you could find out where these people are living and give them a good punch for neglecting their kids. Then there are parts where they have nothing and they are happy and simple, making you wish that life was that easy. It really tugs your emotions and that’s why it’s so different. It’s such a unusual child hood.</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">I would suggest this book to anyone. I know there’s people who like dramas about hardships and things coming together again. This is for you.</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">2 ½ smoothies out of four.</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">P.S. Check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Relam. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.lelue.webs.com/">http://www.lelue.webs.com/</a></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/glasscastle.jpg" style="color: rgb(242, 192, 78); text-decoration: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/glasscastle.jpg?w=190&h=300" alt="" title="GlassCastle" width="190" height="300" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-223" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-right-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-bottom-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-left-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px; background-xg-p: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"/></a></span></p>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></div>Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot : Predictable and Soaked In Suspensetag:thebookmarketingnetwork.com,2010-08-19:523145:BlogPost:3506462010-08-19T02:54:55.000ZSamie Fosterhttp://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/SamieFoster
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot :…</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot :</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">Overall rating: Predictable and Soaked in Suspense</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">Sometimes a book will just sit around the house forever. It collects dust. The pages turn yellow. It’s most likely the original print from the 1970’s. The original source the book is that it was given to me a long time ago, but I’m not sure who gave it to me or why. Then spring cleaning comes and I pick it up this book and have to make a choice. Trash it or read it. And despite the fact that it is written by Stephen King, I decided to read it. This book is called Salem’s Lost.</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">This is one of Stephen’s earliest novels that gave a thin ray of hope that it may be enjoyable and not as abstract, weird or scattered brained. There’s not a lot to say about the plot. It is as simple of a set up as you can get. Ben Mears, a writer, returns to a his child hood town of Salem’s Lot to write about the Marsten House that he became scared of as child during a game of truth and dare. It turns out the house is bought from some else, and that some else is a vampire. And as expected, the town slowly become infected by this vampire and fades into a town of the walking dead.</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">So what is the good? Well it’s not bad. Not great, but not bad. Things do happen in the story, and is focused on the central story. There are no “why is this chapter in the book?” moments. When I say this I typically refer to things like ‘ a man dying because Jesus is talking to man through the TV in the Tommyknockers’ or ‘the constant reciting of the “I am the Walrus” lyrics in Dreamcatcher.”’ Everything did fit. There was nothing random. And another thing, I have to hand it to the author , is that the book didn’t suffer from mindless clichés that all vampire novels suffer from today. It is a simple straight forward horror novel, but is much better than Dean Koontz work and not as over sexed as Bently Little novels.</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">So here’s the bad. Stephen King relies too heavily on suspense. For the first half of the novel, I read scenes such as some thing running after to children late at night. But it is all suggestive. They are running because they are scared because of bad feelings they have and what they can’t see in the fog. There’s another scene where then spend ten pages on the character Matt and how he doesn’t want to go upstairs because he’s scared. This is not scary. I know he’s trying to be scary. But to me as a reader, it wasn’t scary. It was just dragging along. I need a image to scare me, or at least present a sound. A creepy image maybe. A bad feeling doesn’t work for me. And I know books can be creepy by showing and not telling. In the Eaters of The Dead, people where being slaughtered by creatures within this cursed mist and piece by piece it is revealed and is intensified in the story. The author didn’t suggest something is scary, he shown how it was scary. It was a sort of suspense that believable to me. The same issue came up where the doctor and boy was going to kill the vampire, then jumps ahead in the story two hours, to have the boy explains to Ben what happened in the basement in three or four sentences. And when I read that, I said “Wow. That’s really lazy.” Beyond that I felt the character were completely un relatable and shallow. But that was a very minor issue in the book.</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">So overall, the book Salem’s Lot is fair. It is just trying way too hard to be scary using too much suspense for it’s own good. The book is something to pass on, for most people. But not one that you’ll regret if you read it. I recommend it to vampire lovers and die hard Stephen King fans. For you guys, this is chocolate. For the rest of us, it really isn’t much.</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">1 ½ smoothies out of four.</span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(126, 88, 34); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', serif; font-size: 12px;">P.S. Check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to <a href="http://www.lelue.webs.com/">http://www.lelue.webs.com/</a><br/><a href="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/salems-lot.jpg" style="color: rgb(242, 192, 78); text-decoration: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;"><img src="http://leluesrealm.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/salems-lot.jpg?w=176&h=300" alt="" title="Salem's Lot" width="176" height="300" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-218" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-right-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-bottom-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-left-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 5px; background-xg-p: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"/></a></span></p>