Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Under the Wall by Troy Blackford

In the book Under the Wall by Troy Blackford, the Redcliffes are a loving family who are getting ready for the Christmas holiday, when they suddenly notice something is not quite right with their beloved cat, Leviticus. All the while, a serial killer has been on a manhunt that eventually lands him at the door step of the Redcliffes. What no one knows, is that Leviticus has "left" the building and is going to save his family from the horrible fate that awaits them at the hands of a psychopath.


When I was introduced to this book, the description left me feeling apprehensive. But, I must say that I really enjoyed this book. The story was much better than I had anticipated. The author is very descriptive and really delves into the scenes with an urgency to get his point made clearly.

The only difficulty I had with this book is that the author obviously has such an earnestness to have his audience fully understand his point, that portions of the book were a bit overly done. Some scenes or explanations needed only a few paragraphs, while the author felt the need to expand much further. Overall, however, I was thankful for the quality of the details, as they made the story much stronger.


On a scale of 1-4, I give this book a 3. From now on, I will definitely be looking at my dog differently!

This book is self published.

Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Peacebreakers by Mindy MacKay

Peacebreakers is a book about the co-existence of humans and mutants in a time where vengeance lies heavy in the air. In 1860 there was a genocide of mutant-kind, referred to as the Purge. Since the Purge, mutant-kind has had to live with the inequalities put forth by humans.
In an effort to gain revenge for her ancestors and level the playing field against humans, a mutant named Isabella Sordeno forms an underground group of mutants called the Paralysis. From here, plans are made and executed to bring pain and suffering to humankind in retribution of all the wrongs committed against mutants.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a surprisingly good storyline written by a 17 year old. In the era of the Twilight saga, it is difficult to come across material in this genre and age group that has not been done. This book has mutants, which consist of vampires and werewolves, but not the typical vampires and werewolves of every other story. There is also romance and violence, all done tastefully. Of course, the whole premise of the book is the power struggle of the central characters against humans, but also with themselves.

I did have some difficulty keeping familial ties straight in the beginning, and there were some bumpy transitions along the way. However, overall I felt that this was a very maturely written novel. It should be well received by teens and young adults.

On a scale of 1-4, I give this book a 3. I really enjoyed it and look forward to following the series.

This book is published by Rogue Phoenix Press

Fiction: Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Brooklyn is the story of a young woman named Eilis who lives in the town of Enniscorthy, Wexford, Ireland with her mother and sister during the 1950's. She has a hard time finding suitable work locally, so her sister makes arrangements for her to venture off to Brooklyn, New York to start a new life. While in New York she learns about the classism of Jews, Italians, "coloureds", etc, gains some education and falls in love. Tragedy hits her family and Eilis returns to Ireland where she is faced with many realizations and has to make the ultimate decision on how she wants to live her life.


I enjoyed the simple prose of this story. The plain language made it an easy read, while not losing any details. The characters in this story are colorful and interesting in their many facets, and I found myself feeling sorrow and frustration for the situations and choices that Eilis was involved in. Ultimately, I was quite happy with the way the story resolved itself.


On a scale of 1-4, I rate this book a 3. I really enjoyed it, but it is not a book I loved, or see myself revisiting in the future.


This book was published by Simon & Schuster.