Historical Fiction: Cornelius the Orphan by Douglas Quinn

Cornelius the Orphan by Douglas Quinn, is an adventuresome tale about a boy named Cornelius Corsunwhit who is orphaned early in life and struggles through many precarious situations to make his way in the world. Set in the 17th century, Cornelius' story begins in New Amsterdam, moves through the Holland seaside and country, and ends back in colonial United States. This story has high-seas adventure, famous historical characters, lust, betrayal, friendship and loss.

Cornelius starts as a glazier's apprentice in New Amsterdam, where just being him gets him into trouble. Unwanted, Cornelius gets notice of an inheritance in Rotterdam, Holland and sets off to find his wealth. Instead of making a life using the skills he learned as an apprentice, Cornelius always seems to try the easy way out. Thus he finds plenty of people who use him, and many situations in which he must find escape.

 Cornelius believes that he is above many of the people he meets, even though he is of poor education and has no qualms about stealing from most people. He rarely feels that his misfortunes are of his own causing, and seems to have entitlement issues. One of his only redeeming qualities is his perseverance.

The pace of the storytelling in this selection was good. I really liked that the story moved from different venues and hosted a wide variety of characters for Cornelius to interact with. I also liked how the book put Cornelius into historically significant times and places.

My biggest problem with this story was that Cornelius didn't really learn any lessons to help him do right in his future. He continued to make selfish and arrogant choices at the cost of many of his loved ones. Not to mention, the guy just never caught a break! As much as I disliked Cornelius as a character, I still hoped he would find true happiness at some juncture in his life. Didn't happen...

On a scale of 1-4, I give this book a 3. The writing was done well, the story was diverse and interesting, but damn that Cornelius! Always ruining everything! Perhaps in the next book, his son will learn from his mistakes.

This book was published by AAS White Heron Press
ISBN: 9781453602379

Fiction: The Reincarnationist by M.J. Rose

The Reincarnationist by M.J. Rose is a fast paced suspense about many lives that intertwine over centuries. Josh Ryder is a photojournalist who is caught in the blast of a bomb. Since his accident, he has been experiencing something he refers to as "lurches" in time. He is often taken back to early Christian Rome and a man named Julius. Is this man Julius really a past incarnation of the modern day Josh Ryder, or is Josh just losing his mind to hallucinations? On his journey to figure out what is going on with his sanity, Josh finds himself back in modern day Rome where he meets Professor Gabriella Chase.

Professor Chase discovers an ancient Roman tomb believed to be the final resting place of a Vestal Virgin. From here everything gets turned upside down. Murder, kidnapping, and betrayal, and the mixing of several lives in various times keeps the main characters running in a race against the clock; both ancient and modern.


This was a very interesting book. It explored the possibility of past lives and history repeating itself, while showing the interconnectedness of the characters. Are the villains always villains or can there be redemption for wrongs righted? And are the seemingly good really good? 


The easy prose and style of this writer made the story easy to read, and the character development was done fairly well. There were a couple of holes that I would have preferred to have filled in, but having more background wasn't integral to the story. Overall, I really liked this book.


On a scale of 1-4, I give this book a 3, because of my desire to have more back story on a couple of characters, and because I would have preferred a more concrete ending.


This book was published by Mira Books.
ISBN: 978-0-7783-2420-1

Fiction: American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

American Psycho is satirical look at the upper crust of New York's socialites. It is also a psychological thriller about the life of a yuppie Harvard grad named Patrick Bateman who is a homicidal maniac. Bateman narrates his day to day life over the course of a couple of years. He tells of every mundane detail including what brand shirt, pants, suits, shoes, etc, everyone, including himself, is wearing. He describes his murders with no emotion, just as he does everything else.


Bateman and his "friends" spend much of their time trying to get reservations at the best restaurants and clubs in town. They run in circles where identity isn't as important as appearance and who you know, and people are often mistaken for others. Because of this constant mistaken identity, it is hard to tell if Bateman is truly a homicidal killer or if he is just suffering from delusional psychotic daydreams.


I found this book to be excruciatingly boring for the vast majority of it. The repeated themes in this book were; video returns, the Patty Winters Show, Manolo Blahniks, bums, hard bodies and reservations. I understand that this was a satire about how superficial New York socialites are, however, there are only so many pages that should be dedicated to painfully detailed descriptions of clothing and discussions of "where to eat". The first two thirds of the book were uncreative with regard to the murder and sex scenes. It isn't until the last third of the book that things got interesting. The main character finally let loose his homicidal rage in very graphic and colorful detail that made me cringe.


On a scale of 1-4, I give this book a 1. If the last third of the book hadn't gotten better, I would not have rated this book at all. With that said though, please read this book for yourself and let me know what you think.


This book was published by Vintage Books, a Division of Random House.
ISBN 0-679-73577-1

Fiction: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, is a tale of two women whose lives intersect, then intertwine during a very volatile time in Afghanistan. In the forefront, two women, Mariam and Laila, grow up separately under different circumstances, but end up sharing a husband and their lives. The landscape of this tale is an ever-changing and politically manhandled Afghanistan. The horrors are atrocious, the love is deep and meaningful, and the loyalty is eternal.

This book was extremely moving. The English language mixed with the occasional Farsi was done without interruption to the story. It added to the tone and feel of the book. The story was detailed, yet simply written. I really sympathised with the characters, or hated them, depending. I cringed during many of the atrocities. But the ending was filled with hope and a kind of redemption that leaves the reader satisfied.

On a scale of 1-4 I give this book a 4. I loved it. Though I probably won't re-read this book, I will highly recommend it.


This book was published by Riverhead Books (a division of Penguin Books)
ISBN: 978-1-59448-950-1

Mystery: It's All Fun and Games Until Somebody Gets Murdered by Scott Hendricks

In the story It's All Fun and Games Until Somebody Gets Murdered, Lori and Carla are long time friends and roommates who share almost everything. They rekindle a friendship with a high school classmate, plan an anniversary party for Carla's parents, fall in love with each other, and find themselves in a twisted murder mystery that leaves them at the center of suspicion. But could they really be the next targets?


This story was an easy read due to the fast pace and easy prose. When new characters were introduced, the transition to their back story was smooth and made it easy to get to know them. Just when I thought I knew who the killer was, BAM!, I was wrong! The sex scenes, though semi graphic, are few so as not to overwhelm the book or reader. However, some people may be put off by the lesbian/bi-sexual relationships contained in the story.


My only real disappointment in the book was with the unnatural flow of the dialogue. The conversations seemed disconnected or choppy. I feel that this greatly took away from the story itself.


On a scale of 1-4, I give this book a 2. I liked the story, but feel that the verbal exchange between the characters needed better development.


This book was self published through Lulu.com