Review: Winslow Hoffner’s Incredible Encounters

Winslow Hoffner’s Incredible Encounters by Michael Thompson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sometimes you come across something so amazing that it is really hard to put into words that quite encapsulate what you want to say. Right now I am at a complete loss as how to adequately describe Michael Thompson’s book, Winslow Hoffner’s Incredible Encounters. You see, it rather defies explanation in any meaningful way.

It chronicles the adventure of a reporter, John Chapman who finds himself aboard the Seanna, Winslow’s fishing vessel. Aboard the aged vessel, he is introduced to a world John can neither imagine, nor believe. And yet, it is all there. Being a dutiful reporter, he writes the story, which lands him in the crosshairs of his less than supportive editor.

Starting with style, Michael has tons of it to spare. His writing is unique, vivid and engaging. The entire time you get the impression you are either on Winslow’s fishing boat, or listening to Winslow while joining him in a root beer.

The writing is witty, funny, and totally a fun ride. Perhaps that is the best way to describe it. Winslow Hoffner’s Incredible Encounters is a fun ride.

I can highly recommend Winslow Hoffner’s Incredible Encounters to anyone who is looking for a great story. Be warned, you are going to be looking for more from this gifted author!

 

-Bryan the Writer

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Review: Bone White

Bone White by Ronald Malfi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It always seems fair to state up front in a review I am giving is form an author I am already a fan or. So, here I go, I am a huge fan!

“Bone White” introduces us to Paul who has not heard from his twin brother, Danny in over a year. All he has is one photo of his brother in front of a cabin in the Alaskan wilderness. Paul soon finds himself in the small village of Dreads Hand, Alaska.

The people are far from friendly, and seem intent on getting rid of Paul as soon as possible. Undeterred, he enlists the help of a state investigator who follows her own investigative trail.
After finally being bum rushed out of Dreads Hand, Paul drives down the highway just long enough to make the local authorities think he’s truly left. It’s then that things start to get very interesting.

The story is gripping and engaging and most importantly it has characters you care about. The vivid descriptions of Dreads Hand, Alaska make me feel like I am there myself. When Ronald Malfi describes the biting cold, I actually got shivers. When he talks about people walking through ankle-deep snow, it evokes memories from the past of me walking through the snow.

Ordinarily I try to find one thing to say in any review that could be done better. I simply can’t, this book was just far too good. “Bone White”, by Ronald Malfi is an excellent read. Plenty of psychological twists and turns to keep you guessing. Another well-done performance by Ronald.

-Bryan the Writer

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Book Review: Cold Cuts

Cold Cuts by Robert Payne Cabeen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Possibly radioactive mutated penguins? Hell yeah!

Enter the tale of Ozzy and Ben. Two researchers in Antarctica on an expedition. The two friends soon encounter a world trying to kill them as they are attack by a mysterious organization and mutated creatures which seem bent on killing anything and everything in their path. The main problem? There are just so many of the damn things; there is no way they could ever hope to win out. Or can they?

“Cold Cuts”, by Robert Payne Cabeen, is a fun read. You have to be into the gory end of horror to appreciate the truly masterful way he wrote the story, but if you are this book is for you. World building in such detail to carry the story, he relies on the character dialogue to move the story along and that is the mark of a good author in my humble opinion.

In reality, there are some sections I thought were completely over the top, but maybe that is the point. Sometimes over the top is what you are looking for in a good read. This book, for me, falls into the category of a good airplane read. One that you bring on a plane and enjoy the heck out of it.

The one small critical comment, and this is a small one, I simply didn’t fall in love with the characters to the point that when something horrible happened to them (or good) it had much of an impact on me. Still, it is a small thing for me as a reader and you may have a completely different take on them.

I can recommend “Cold Cuts” to those who don’t mind a good amount of blood with their reading. And, by the way, the ending is completely over the top, but that’s alright. It is fun in an absurd sort of way to make it entertaining.

-Bryan the Writer

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A Date With . . . Bryan Nowak

I had an opportunity to be interviewed by the wonderful Mr. Frank Parker. An excellent opportunity and I had a great time answering his questions. Did you ever want to know more about me? Check out the interview and get an unique look at Bryan the Writer.

Frank Parker's author site

My date this week is with a man who resides in Virginia, USA, a refugee from what he describes as “incomprehensibly cold” winters in his native Minnesota.

“Most people have no idea what the winters are like in Minnesota. As I point out to my family and friends back in Minnesota, there is a reason I don’t come back. Everything you have heard about Minnesota winters is absolutely true. It is cold, and I mean incomprehensibly. Every year at least one person is found dead by the side of the road frozen because their car broke down and they tried to hike to the next town. This is an ill-advised move as the temps will kill you with alarming speed. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful. However, the older I get the more I prefer the more amicable weather of the mid-Atlantic.

When I was 18 years old one…

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Review: The Final Winter

The Final Winter by Iain Rob Wright

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What do you do when the end of the world is upon you? Grab a beer of course. The Final Winter centers around a bar of people stranded during what appears to be the apocalypse. Ian Rob Wright masterfully portrays this group of characters making you, at times, love and detest each of them.

The Final Winter is very character driven and not a ton of time wasted on world building. He is so good at ensuring the dialogue moves the story line along, there is little world building necessary. Most of the story takes place in a traditional English pub providing most of the setting.

While I hate spoilers in reviews, suffice it to say the characters have to figure out what is going on and not is all that it seems in a world gone mad. Their small assemblage is complicated by the appearance of a serial killer, a movie crazed teen, a drunken murderer, a war vet who loves to be as drunk as possible, and a few other people… and non-people. This whole situation is complicated by the sudden appearance of a few others threatening to end them all.

My one criticism, and it is minor, is that I did figure out the major plot twist early on. That in no way changed my level of enjoyment, and to be fair I usually figure out the major plot twists early.

I can highly recommend The Final Writer by Ian Rob Wright. It is a gripping dark tale, guaranteed to suck you in!

-Bryan the Writer

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Review: The Big Get-Even

The Big Get-Even by Paul Di Filippo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is little I love more in the literary world than a truly bad protagonist and an even worse antagonist! Enter Glen, a recent ex-con who is trying to figure out what to do with his post prison life. Bad decisions leaves him trying to figure out his next move when onto the scene stumbles Stan, another ex-con who Glen saves the life of one night on his way home. From there, things get interesting quick with the addition of a cast of strange and fun characters.

The two hatch a plan, based on the hatred of a man who had a hand in ruining many of people’s lives.

The Big Get-Even by Paul Di Filipo is one of those books I read in three sittings (a quick read). The story is engaging, characters loveable in an unlikable kind of way. I could not put it down and actually woke up early one morning just to read.

I am a firm believer that not all books need to be so in depth that it buries you in detail after detail until your head is swimming. This is just a fun ride and a great story. The story is well executed and everything I would expect in pulp fiction.

My only complaint, and it is minor, is that I figured out the ending before I got there. However, I want to impress upon the gentle reader of this review that it in no way detracted from the fun ride that I had reading this book.

If you are looking for a good read for a vacation or waiting around the doctor’s office, I can highly suggest The Big Get-Even by Paul Di Filippo. You will love the world of Glen, Stan, and the others.

-Bryan the Writer

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Review: Serial Killers and Psychopaths

Serial Killers & Psychopaths by Nigel Cawthorne

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“Serial Killers and Psychopaths” really sums up well what you get in the book by Greig and Marlowe. As I study serial kills for my own writing, I thought it an interesting title. First thing you need to know is that this a non-fiction work and is really a collection of the world’s worst the world has to offer.

I give them a great deal of credit for this book, it is well written, seemingly well researched, and well organized. I picked up a copy of mine at a bookstore and worked my way through it. It is long, but broken up well in smaller vignettes on each of the cases.

I knew some of the cases, but not all. In the ones that I already knew, I found them to be good summaries. Although the re-tellings are a bit wave-top in that they don’t really have time to go into great detail, they do a nice job. There are a couple of notable characters missing, but those cases I know are huge and likely are not really re-countable easily. The case of the BTK killer, Dennis Rader, comes to mind as a notable gap in the collection. Charles Manson is also ignored for some reason.

Certainly, there is enough to sink your teeth into to send you to the internet to look up more information on a particular person, or persons. This is really more of a quick reference guide and something good to have on hand if you are looking for information on a particular person as a starting point.

This is a bit of a time investment, but worth it if the topic of how horrible human beings can be to one another interests you.

-Your Humble Servant,

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