Sanctuary by Kris Kramer

Review: One of the first things I noticed about Sanctuary, as compared to a lot of indie books in addition to ones traditionally published, was the length. Sanctuary is well-constructed and balanced, and approximately 260 pages, which especially for its genre, I’ve found to be rather rare.  Some readers want longer books in order to get their supposed “money’s worth”, but if there is too much information, which hinders the story the itself, I’ll take a shorter work that flows well over a longer book that too long lags in places, any day of the week. This one, for the most part, had a flowing pattern though in the way of descriptive passages, showing instead of simply telling and smoother connectives would have improved that for me.

I have a distinct clause in my review request guidelines these days, which was updated not because I do not privately read works that may have religious or spiritual themes of some kind, but for review purposes, authors whose works I have read in those genres and may disagree with some of those aspects have ironically and solely been those abusive in their response to the review. Life’s too short for that nonsense. So, this work was on the edge of the religious themed fiction, as the main character is a priest which influences much of the storyline and dialogue. For the time period, however, even if I found it tiresome at times, this was understandable and in character for Daniel. The location itself, ancient Wales, was of particular interest as due to personal curiosity and a familial attachment, I began studying about Cymru over two decades ago.

Daniel, the protagonist is believable and distinct, but for my personal tastes the Christian overtones and theme as a whole, would limited my return to this world and life. Santuary is a solid read, which lovers of ancient history may very well enjoy, and is descriptive, gripping, and filled with action and emotionally engaging characters and situations. Sanctuary is just one of the publications of The 4th Realm, a collective group of writers specializing in indie fiction and non-fiction.

Description: In 9th century Britain, chaos rules as kingdoms splinter, Vikings invade from all corners, and lives and fortunes are lost to those with the biggest sword and the smallest shreds of morality. When a young priest, Daniel, witnesses a lone warrior save his village from savage raiders, he believes he’s seen a miracle, and he follows the reclusive warrior on his mysterious trek across the island, hoping to find his own path in this brutal and unforgiving world.

Daniel’s journey takes him to places he’d long since left, forcing him to face his past, along with dour dwarves, canny druids, and an army of Viking warriors. When he meets a captive woman with strange abilities amongst the ruins of humanity’s savage and unforgiving past, Daniel will face his true enemy, a powerful demon, who waits for his dominion over man to be complete.

• Kindle Edition, 209 pages
• Published January 1st 2013 by http://www.the4threalm.com
• ASIN B00AXTM89Y
• 
  http://the4threalm.com/portfolio/sanctuary/
  
• Source: Author

Chainsaw Corpse Cop by Wol-vriey

Review: Chainsaw Cop Corpse is definitely and firmly in the bizarro genre, and in many ways hardcore in its details, yet it’s quirky, straight-forward and cleanly told. Needing to suspense belief and not ask questions such as “Why is this happening or why is this person doing this or that?” it is still enjoyable because it’s different.

Just from reading its description, I would have passed on this work as I do have the clause in my guidelines: “…whether its sexual explicitness or violence: they need to be relevant to the story itself in some ways. Not just description for description’s sake.”  I rarely do it, but I wrote the author and pointed out my clause, but was assured it was relevant to the story itself…and it was.

I like the unusual and weird, even if graphic in content, but honestly, though a story may contain graphic everything, I don’t care for descriptions that might be read by anyone, which contain curse words and slang. That’s for the reader to be experienced by choice once purchased, etc. in my opinion. The other thing that was an issue for me was the format of the story: each sentence or paragraph, usually with no more than one or two sentences, were separated with line spaces. Especially with e-readers, this can be tiring to the eyes and takes up more space than necessary.

Certainly, it’s not to everyone taste,  but if you want a different kind of read, a work that is amusing in its way, shocking at times, but deeply and imaginatively graphic, give Chainsaw Corpse Cop a try.”

Description: “Simon is having a bad fucking week. When you’re a D.C. Detective, every week is a bad week, but this week has been a BAD freaking week.

For starters, some psychopath has been murdering people, stealing their body parts and smearing their corpses with peanut butter.

To make matters worse, the contract killer “Boots” has recently resurfaced, and his girlfriend’s chainsaw arm destroyed his bed when he made her climax.

To top it all off, Simon’s been pissing random body parts for days. Ears, fingers, toes… And if that weren’t bad enough, now he has to drop a deuce!”

• Published: November 2012
• Publisher: Bizarro Press
• ISBN: 0615731287
• ISBN13: 9780615731285
• Source: Author

Author Profile:

Wol-vriey is Nigerian and quite tall.

He currently resides in a state of uneasy stalemate with his threatening-to-thin-beyond-redemption hair, and believes there actually are things that go bump in the night.
Wol-vriey recycles the ridiculous into reasonable reality for the reader.

His WEIRRRD philosophy? WEIRRRD = Warp/Write Everything into Realistic Ridiculous Readable Distorted Dream Dimension Descriptions.

He is the author of Alice’s Adventures in Steamland, The Bizarro Story of I, Chainsaw Cop Corpse, and Vegan Zombie Apocalypse.

As well as appearing on Bizarro Central and in online e-zines, his WEIRRRD fiction is featured in numerous print compilations, including the Bizarro anthologies The Big Book of Bizarro and Tall Tales with Short Cocks.

Wol-vriey is also the warped mind behind the band ‘Rocksurface’ (www.myspace.com/rock.ng), and the experimental electronic ensemble ‘Earxygen’ (

)

Sons of Suicide by Dan Andrews

Review: Reviewing a memoir can sometimes be more difficult as it’s a person’s life, at least from their perspective. By nature and subject matter, memoirs can be intensely personal as you learn their thoughts, history, etc. as well as how they interacted with or observed others. With memoirs, you are not only revealing aspects of yourself but also those of other people, and that’s where I had a problem with Sons of Suicide.

As a person with painful personal history that is in the process of writing my own memoir, but more specifically as a psychological counselor now, I know that the after-effects of traumatic events can be affective one’s whole life. Those can take a number of forms, as coping mechanisms develop: these vary from person to person. Throughout this work I felt a sense of trying to make themselves look good at the expense of or in comparison to their brother. I don’t question revealing some things as facts, or events that happened, but just as that, so the reader can make their own decisions. Not having a judgement presented to them.

Although having an intriguing and sobering opening scene that sets the tone for the terrible tragedy endured and times of enjoyability when reading, the almost adolescently egocentric streak throughout of not thinking of the consequences of basically slamming their brother and pointedly showcasing how good they’ve adapted themselves really spoiled this memoir for me. Also, personally and professionally, I couldn’t help be aware of the possibilities of the manner in which this story was delivered could affect that relationship. A very good description but the memoir didn’t deliver that for me.

Description: At eleven, Dan Andrews was abandoned by his Mother. Fatefully, she made the timeless drive down Lake Shore Drive in downtown Chicago, parked her car alongside Buckingham Fountain, and, after sitting and smoking a few last cigarettes, drowned herself in Lake Michigan.

His Mother’s grave decision has given Andrews the ability to perceive and contemplate loss in a way not written about in recent history. Shared with brutal vulnerability and skill, sprinkled with humor and sexuality, Sons of Suicide masterfully entertains and enlightens the reader— serving as a catharsis to the feeling of loss, a feeling to which all humans relate.

NOTE: The author, Dan Andrews, has pledged for every copy of Sons of Suicide that is sold, one dollar out of his personal royalty will be donated to The Will To Live Foundation click for more information about this wonderful organization that is spreading awareness and helping with the teen suicide epidemic. Purchase today to help put an end to suicide.

• Published: Nov. 27, 2012
• Publisher: Broken Glass Publishing LLC
• ISBN 0615729118
• ISBN13: 9780615729114
• Available: Amazon
• Website:
  http://www.sonsofsuicide.com/
  
• Source: Author

Music/Venue Review: “When They Make You Feel It”: The 105 Lenz Kubach Johnson Jazz Trio, 12 April 2013 at WABE

When they make you feel it…the music that is…my first analogy would be: it’s like walking on air, or what you’d imagine walking on air would feel like. Or experiencing joy of a sudden because of a sound or thought that makes you smile…

As silly as it might sound, sometimes when I sit and listen to the jazz trio, 105 Lenz-Kubach-Johnson, it reminds me of the cartoons of Charles Schutz, and specifically two characters, Snoopy and Woodstock. When the two friends were together in good times, Snoopy dancing in his crazy, wonderful way and the little birdie, Woodstock, flying all around him? They visibly exuded pure joy, love, sharing, togetherness. Honest and true positivity. On Friday, 12 April, Uli Lenz, Gerhard “Kubi” Kubach and Zam Johnson brought that spirit to the WABE.

WABE Entrance by Red Haircrow

Located at 101 Danzigerstr. in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin, Germany, a former municipal gasworks plant circa 1873, the WABE is a venue that is well laid out, convenient and intimate in a great way, for its auditorium may house up to 400 people, but its circular interior gives a great perspective for any guest.

Bar drinks don’t have inflated prices, and there are plenty of tables in its foyer to relax and visit with friends at during a program’s interim, yet because they have a video feed and screen in said space, you can see and listen to the action on stage even if you are away from your seat. You don’t have to miss a note. And believe me, with this trio? You don’t want to miss one, for each is lovingly rendered and produced.

WABE Foyer by Red Haircrow

Like the two older men who are long time followers, who I’ve seen at every event I attended, and who, Zam tells me, were musicians themselves in various orchestras and arrangements in Europe for over half a century, I never get tired of listening to or watching this trio. Their enthusiasm is infectious, their skill is great, and their professionalism is impeccable but unlike some musicians where such creates an aloofness or separation, this trio is warm and friendly.

They greet their guests like old acquaintances, and many are or have come to be. But whether or not, before or after their concert,  you might be able to speak to one or all of them personally, the enormous appreciation they exude for your having come to see and listen to them can be felt. That’s an exceptionally special thing about 105 Lenz-Kubach-Johnson jazz trio besides their classic approach to modern jazz. When you want to experience the true meaning of love for the music, musician generated atmosphere and an individualistic yet collective flair of personalities that returns to combine in smooth jazz harmony? Go see 105 Lenz-Kubach-Johnson wherever they are, whenever you can. You’ll never be disappointed.

Players by Red Haircrow

Paying It Back by Red Haircrow

Bows by Red Haircrow

My personal plus photo? Even the bathrooms have class. This was the men’s. I can’t tell you about the ladies room.

The “John” by Red Haircrow

My other Music Reviews:

• “Moved by Blues” -The Pete Wyoming Bender Band, Rickenbackers Music Inn
• “Making Beautiful Music Together”: The 105 Lenz-Kubach-Johnson Jazz Trio
• The 105 Lenz-Kubach-Johnson Jazz Trio at Luisabad Bibliothek”
• “White Boys Can Have Rhythm”: The Jazz Keller Gig

Human Population Academy: Laws of Human Nature by Kate Bazilevsky

Review:  Whether its a theory, belief system, or science: there are many schools of thought, which may have similarities or basic premises that are common enough to be believable, reasonable and/or acceptable in some way. I can completely agree that humans need to live in harmony with Nature, and also that there are similarities between some people/populations based on a variety of factors, though there are no hard or fast rules regarding that.

“We people have mysteries. Things we cannot explain. Things we don’t know how they came to be or how they stay alive but it’s all part of life. For some things we have legends and tales passed down from our ancestors, and they’re enough though now we have science and all kinds of stuff which explain how things work inside. Or they try to anyway. There are still mysteries and will always be. There are some things you don’t need answers to in order to have a happy life or just get by even.

Every body should just be how they are and be allowed to. I can be happy with very little because their definition does not apply to me. They might be unhappy with what I had. I think that’s why they are so unhappy and so far from the earth. They’re always looking at someone else and trying to change them when they don’t really know themselves in the first place.” M.G., Lakota Elder, from a speech   I recorded during an Indian Education gathering. This is my perspective.

Living in Germany as I do, and using its modern society as an example, there are so many people who are searching for some meaning to life and they look to this or this or that belief system, philosophy, ancient teachings or people, trying to find explanations on the “whys” of life and living, their failures in relationships, career, and so forth. They can fasten onto some particular belief or explanation that more suits their needs or what they know of themselves, things gleaned from their experiences and observations, and say, “Aha!” That belief system or philosophy can then explain everything to them they need, and they begin to work their lives around it and advocate it to others. That is what I felt this work delivered, but for me, I simply believe there can be too much overthinking, too much overstatement and all inclusiveness in terms.

All in all, it is somehow more of a distraction from simply coming to know yourself through yourself, whatever that takes, though some people clearly would feel Catalogs, manipulation modes, things advocated by this system, are tools to help an individual do so. I think the philosophy based on Shan Hai Jing manuscript is something you have to personally accept and believe in, and its a model among thousands or millions of others, and simply one interpretation of what the “human psyche” is, encompasses and needs. It was certainly a readable, well put together work that an individual should try for themselves, and see what it means to them.

Description: “Have you ever considered that the root or cause of many problems and misunderstandings are fundamental differences between people? The solution to problems is in knowing these differences and living in harmony with Nature, because laws of Nature apply to everything and everyone!

Power gained through the knowledge about Nature and programs implanted by Nature guarantees the survival of the fittest, and enables anyone to organize things around them to their own benefit. Education increases one’s cultural level and, as a result, one’s survival rate in the environment.

The results of this research include detailed recipes on how to develop, solve any problems, improve sex life, and more. Now any human being can achieve their goals and dreams, become stronger, healthier, wiser, sexier, more powerful, and get to such heights, of which many do not even know. The journey is worth it! By learning how to live in harmony with Nature itself, together we can advance this civilization as a whole. Begin your journey right now!”

• Genre: Non-fiction, Philosophy, Self-Help
• Publisher: HPA Press
• Publication date:  Nov. 18, 2012
• Available at Amazon
• ASIN B00A7E1D78
• Source: Author

Author Profile:

Kate Bazilevsky was born in Moscow, Russia and grew up in Boston, MA, USA. She holds a degree in MIS and Psychology. In 2008, she began her studies in the field of Non-traditional Psychoanalysis, based on research by Andrey Davydov and Olga Skorbatyuk.

In 2011, Kate founded the Human Population Academy, and opened a publishing company called HPA Press in 2012. HPA Press publishes works that further Human Population Academy’s mission: to educate people around the world about the laws of human Nature, the Catalog of Human Population (Catalog of Human Souls) and scientific research of its source Shan Hai Jing based on discoveries by A. Davydov and O. Skorbatyuk.

Website
http://www.humanpopulationacademy.org/