REVIEW: "Once Upon a Time in America" by Michael J. Bowler (Tribute Books)

I beg everyone's pardon that this post is 10ish days late.  Normally I'm not behind my schedule at all - life has been chaos lately and I got behind (moving, changing jobs, my boy being in chemotherapy for leukemia).  No excuses, but reasons.  To all of those waiting on a review from me - I promise that I haven't forgotten...it's just taking me awhile right now.

ANYWAYS.....

BLURB
With Lance leading the way, the Knights of the Round Table have set out to convince the American people that amending the Constitution to protect children is right and just and long overdue. As the team travels from state to state, they are met with acceptance, indifference, and even hostility. But Lance’s popularity and mystique as The Boy Who Came Back, coupled with his innate charm, gradually sway more and more of the populace, not to mention state legislators, to their cause.

The journey becomes a rite of passage that propels the young people into adulthood, and solidifies Lance’s status as an iconic and influential figure.

But he’s uneasy. He knows Arthur is hiding something from him, something that will bring him great sadness. After "The Excalibur Incident" in Las Vegas, Lance becomes more and more certain that the future is one he won’t like, despite his stunning success at winning over some of the most intractable states.

Then comes the attack, sudden and brutal.

Now the Round Table is in disarray, and Lance must confront a cold-blooded killer who’s luring him into an obvious trap. But if he refuses the challenge, more loved ones will die, and everything he’s fought for will die with them. Surrounded by the diverse young knights who have become his family, Lance sets out to battle his enemy with the knowledge deep in his heart that only one of them will survive. Is this the end of the Round Table?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Michael J. Bowler
Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author of seven novels––A Boy and His Dragon, A Matter of Time (Silver Medalist from Reader’s Favorite), and The Knight Cycle, comprised of five books: Children of the Knight (Gold Award Winner in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards),Running Through A Dark Place, There Is No Fear, And The Children Shall Lead, and Once Upon A Time In America.

His horror screenplay, “Healer,” was a Semi-Finalist, and his urban fantasy script, “Like A Hero,” was a Finalist in the Shriekfest Film Festival and Screenplay Competition.

He grew up in San Rafael, California, and majored in English and Theatre at Santa Clara University. He went on to earn a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and another master's in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills.

He partnered with two friends as producer, writer, and/or director on several ultra-low-budget horror films, including “Fatal Images,” “Club Dead,” and “Things II,” the reviews of which are much more fun than the actual movies.

He taught high school in Hawthorne, California for twenty-five years, both in general education and to students with learning disabilities, in subjects ranging from English and Strength Training to Algebra, Biology, and Yearbook.

He has also been a volunteer Big Brother to eight different boys with the Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a thirty-year volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles. He is a passionate advocate for the fair treatment of children and teens in California, something that is sorely lacking in this state.

He has been honored as Probation Volunteer of the Year, YMCA Volunteer of the Year, California Big Brother of the Year, and 2000 National Big Brother of the Year. The “National” honor allowed he and three of his Little Brothers to visit the White House and meet the president in the Oval Office.

He is currently at work on a horror/suspense novel based on his screenplay, “Healer.”

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REVIEW
I've heard several adults within the past year declare that the youth of America are spoiling for a fight, a revolution within their own generation.  We are seeing glimpses of this desire and passion for a revolution in the news as of late (#blacklivesmatter), but what will it take to ignite youth to pursue their cause?  What will it take to get adults to pay attention?

LONG STORY SHORT
There are few authors whom I'm a fan of that I could list by name.  Michael Bowler has made that list.  Once Upon a Time in America is the perfect conclusion to a riveting, heart-pounding adventure that brought one street kid on the ride of his life.  Lance here has made it - he's overcome momentous obstacles and is bringing the Children's Bill of Rights to the public and government, making it clear that he won't take no for an answer so long as there are children being treated like property by the very government that claims to tend them.  But will the CBOR be his undoing....and the undoing of the Round Table that he and King Arthur have worked so hard to establish?  Bowler has here created a masterpiece of literature that will thrill, humble, and motivate any reader to work for justice for those least of these in our society - the nation's "optional" children.  One cannot help but be grabbed by the superb, approachable style in which Bowler has crafted this work...nor can one help but keep reading long after the lights should have been turned off.  Minus a few issues with repetitiveness that made me shake my head a tad, this book is absolutely wonderful.  

On an ascending scale of 1 to 5, I give this book a 5.

LONG STORY
The Good
Every so often a book comes along that grabs my attention and holds it long after the pages have finished turning.  A story is so compelling that I mull over it for a long time, examining implications and applications to life.  Isn't that what literature is about?  Okay, so that question could spark volumes of debate, but this fact remains - Once Upon a Time in America is such a book/story and is the perfect conclusion to the saga following Lance and King Arthur as they work for equality and justice for America's children.

As I've stated in previous reviews of the prequels to this work ("Children of the Knight" series), there is not much more that I could say about this book to paint it in a more positive light.  That is not to say that there is nothing positive to say - it is to say that I think I've said most of it already.  

The writing is phenomenally well done.  It is approachable, flows extremely well, is entirely too engaging (I lost hours of sleep over this book), gripping, and absolutely appropriate to whatever scene is being portrayed.  Bowler includes just the right amount of detail to prevent readers from being confused about what is going on, but not so much detail as to cause readers' heads to swim and be bogged down.  It is funny, serious, melancholy, and jovial in all the right places.  Simply a delight to read. 

Not much character development occurs, but this book kind of assumes that you've read the previous four in the series.  C'mon....it's the 5th installment of a five book series - it kind of has the right to assume that you've read the prequels.  That said, characters' actions make sense for who Bowler has already established each person to be (well, except for a couple....but to explain would be a major spoiler and I'm not that mean).  

Settings, plot, timeline progression....everything makes sense and is done incredibly well.  Seriously - Bowler is a fantastic author!!

Anyone who reads these books and is not stirred in some way to stand up for this nation's children (or children anywhere, for that matter) simply does not have a heart.  I'd love to believe that many of the sad stories contained within these pages regarding the exploitation of children in various forms were purely the work of Bowler's imagination, but I know better.  I know better because Bowler's biography above contains ample evidence that he has seen some of these kinds of stories first-hand.  I know better because I've worked with those "optional" children in multiple capacities in my life, and have heard many similar stories show up in the lives of children I know.  I know better because I know how quickly adults forget what it is to be a child.

We need a revolution such as this.  Now, I don't think it would take on the kind of popularity that Lance and his crusade experience, but who knows.  Maybe with enough people backing the process, we could put forward amendments to the Constitution such as those Lance proposes.  Maybe the world could change.  Maybe, I don't know.  What I do know is that far too many people hear the kinds of horror stories that shape the lives of many of our children, shake their heads with a "that's too bad" or "those poor kids", and then go about their daily lives as if they could not change anything.  Bull****.  Apathy allows children to starve (emotionally, physically, etc) and be abused/exploited at a much higher rate than should be possible in our so-called developed nation. 

I better stop.  I share much of Bowler's passion to see justice for our kids, and I wish that we would see the kind of revolution described in these books.  Our kids need one.

The Bugly (bad/ugly)
Despite my perfect rating of this book (and of practically the entire series), I do have a couple nitpicks:

• There is so much contained here that this work itself could have easily been two entire books.  While everything here is part of the same story, there is just so much that it was hard for me to wrap my head around everything that was going on...and I kept waiting for something else major to happen during the last quarter of the book, after most of the stuff had reached a resolution.  It was kind of like when you watch a show and it seems like the story has reached its conclusion, but you know "that just can't be it" because there are ten minutes left and everyone knows that a lot can happen in ten minutes (especially "Walking Dead" fans).
• Everyone being so lovey-dovey all of the time made even me, a die-hard romantic, cringe.  There are only so many "this person melted into a puddle of goo" moments I can take before reaching goo overload, and I reached it about half-way through here.  I get that the characters have intense feelings for one another, but fact was repeated in similar words far too often for my tastes.

Just go and read this series.  You won't walk away from it unchanged. 

REVIEW: "And the Children Shall Lead" by Michael J. Bowler (Tribute Books)

BLURB

The campaign to save California’s children was only the beginning. Now King Arthur and his Round Table of teenaged knights set their sights on fixing something even bigger – the entire country. How? By targeting America’s most sacred document – The Constitution.

Native American teens Kai and Dakota, despite harboring secrets of their own, join the team, and swear undying loyalty to Lance. They carry the hope of their people that the crusade will better the lives of Indian children, who are the most neglected by government. This new campaign will take the young people to The White House, the halls of Congress, and beyond in their quest to change the prevailing opinion that children are property, rather than human beings in their own right.

But an unseen nemesis stalks Lance and Arthur, and ratchets up the attacks on New Camelot, promising to kill them and destroy all that the king has put in place. Lance, Ricky, Kai, and Dakota become the enemy’s favorite targets, and barely escape with their lives on more than one occasion. Who is this mysterious stalker, and what is the motive for these attacks? Lance has no idea, especially since he’s never intentionally hurt anyone.

“You were right, little boy, death is coming for you, but slowly, and only after it takes out the people you love.” That chilling promise haunts Lance, but also strengthens his determination to protect the people he loves at all costs. Or die trying.

The Knight Cycle continues…
 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael J. Bowler

Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author of seven novels––A Boy and His Dragon, A Matter of Time (Silver Medalist from Reader’s Favorite), and The Knight Cycle, comprised of five books: Children of the Knight (Gold Award Winner in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards),Running Through A Dark Place, There Is No Fear, And The Children Shall Lead, and Once Upon A Time In America.

His horror screenplay, “Healer,” was a Semi-Finalist, and his urban fantasy script, “Like A Hero,” was a Finalist in the Shriekfest Film Festival and Screenplay Competition.

He grew up in San Rafael, California, and majored in English and Theatre at Santa Clara University. He went on to earn a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and another master's in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills.

He partnered with two friends as producer, writer, and/or director on several ultra-low-budget horror films, including “Fatal Images,” “Club Dead,” and “Things II,” the reviews of which are much more fun than the actual movies.

He taught high school in Hawthorne, California for twenty-five years, both in general education and to students with learning disabilities, in subjects ranging from English and Strength Training to Algebra, Biology, and Yearbook.

He has also been a volunteer Big Brother to eight different boys with the Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a thirty-year volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles. He is a passionate advocate for the fair treatment of children and teens in California, something that is sorely lacking in this state.

He has been honored as Probation Volunteer of the Year, YMCA Volunteer of the Year, California Big Brother of the Year, and 2000 National Big Brother of the Year. The “National” honor allowed he and three of his Little Brothers to visit the White House and meet the president in the Oval Office.

He is currently at work on a horror/suspense novel based on his screenplay, “Healer.”

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REVIEW

Tomorrow is election day across the U.S.  Various parties are vying for political majorities that equal more clout for their respective agendas in Congress.  Cut-throat advertisements fill bulletin boards and the airwaves.  And yet few of the politicians I've noted have mentioned children as more than statistics, unless speaking about their own children of course.  Few have noted how their efforts will make the country better for the children, other than to note a few overuse statistics about poverty, health care, and hunger.  What if politicians were called on their own navel-gazing by a child?

LONG STORY SHORT

Lance has been through hell and back.  A youth who grew up seeing the worst of how the "system" operates when it comes to foster children and "expendable youth", he has had to face many demons in his life and most of them have worn political masks.  In this fourth installation in this series, And the Children Shall Lead continues Lance's story of challenging everyone's expectations.  His experience with the juvenile justice system in Book 3 coupled with his experience of being an "expendable youth" as a ward of the state has pushed him to make changes on the scale that matters most - nationally.  He and his beloved Ricky have drafted a Children's Bill of Rights to be amended to the Constitution of the U.S., but will the implications of the bill stop it in its tracks?  And what about the technological genius who seems bent on annihilating Lance psychologically before stealing his life?  

This superb continuation of Lance's story had me riveted as more than a few hours of sleep were lost as I had to continue reading to figure out what happens next.  Wonderful writing, amazing characters who are distinct, unique individuals, well-laid out settings, heart-pounding action that makes sense, and a call out to society to stop fu**ing up in how children are "handled"....this book has it all!  

  ON AN ASCENDING SCALE OF 1 TO 5, I GIVE THIS BOOK A 5.

LONG STORY

The Good

Maybe it is because the author and I obviously share a passion for seeing true justice served for the nation's children, particularly those who are part of the social services system...but I love this book.  Maybe it is because I wish we actually had a movement happening akin to that in these pages...but I love this book.  Maybe it is simply because this book shows a reality of what can happen when youth are taken seriously, when their passions are taken seriously and not squashed by adults who "know better", when they are unleashed upon the world....but I love this book. 

Lance has escaped death more narrowly than he will ever know (and so resolves the cliffhanger from the previous book) and is working the country to get his "Children's Bill of Rights" passed as an amendment to the Constitution.  This amendment would require certain protections for children that are immediately necessary.  It would also reinvent not only the current parent/child power structure, but also that which currently exists between the U.S. Government and Native Americans.  

The problem (because of course there always is something) is that someone has made it clear that they are a cat and he is the mouse....and the cat's butt is twitching as it waits to pounce on the mouse and end its squeaky young life before its squeaking reminds other mice, and certain hinges (squeaky hinge gets the oil...) that there are ears willing to truly listen.  This "cat" has money, lots of it, and spares no expense in psychologically torturing Lance as he works for the good of so many.  

As I said in the review of the previous book, I'm not sure how many more glowing words I can write about the book series itself.  Bowler is an amazing writer whose talent shines through in a superbly crafted work that contains well crafted settings, characters who are painfully raw and simultaneously incredibly relateable and distinct from one another, thrilling action scenes held perfectly alongside tender moments, etc etc etc.  I love Bowler's writing style and how he shines a glaring light on something that we as a nation have become incredibly good at politely sweeping under the run - the plight of our "optional" children, the ones never expected to amount to anything, or those whom adults simply can't be bothered with.  I should note here that I really appreciate that Bowler takes time in this installation of the series to deal with issues that Native American's have faced in this area. The U.S. government has traditionally sucked in relations to First Nation's individuals, and they continue to suck.  Thank you for addressing this here. 

Seriously - read these books.  I wish this movement were real and this were a non-fiction rather than a fictional book.  I wish it wouldn't take something as big as King Arthur himself showing up to start something like this.  Enough of the need exists in a very non-fictional way....what do we need to do to set off the initial spark?

The Bugly (bad/ugly)

There are a few minor typos - nothing too major but surely something an editor should have caught.  Again, I'd gripe at the major cliffhanger at the end...but that is Bowler's style and I can't fault him for a stylistic choice that I can't honestly say I wouldn't employ if in his shoes.  

Everyone just needs to read this book, acknowledge their place in being complicit in the real-world issues this series tackles, and take action.  Our nation's children need us to get off our butts and do something.  Heck, let's amend the Constitution!!  It's been done before!

REVIEW: "Shadowcursed" by Gelo Fleisher

BLURB

Bolen is a thief, plying his trade under the spires of an ancient and sprawling city. Worried that he's growing too old, Bolen has lined up a risky job, just to prove that he can still pull one off.

Tonight, he's going to break into a nobleman's vault and help himself to its contents. What he doesn't know is that inside is the key to a secret as old as the city itself.

Kings have killed for it, demons have coveted it, priests have prayed for it, and in a few moments it will be in his hands. And when it is, the adventure of his life will begin.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Gelo Fleisher

Gelo R. Fleisher is an author and game developer. He lives in the East Coast, with his wife and daughter.

Some interesting facts about Gelo: He's lived in America, Korea, Japan, and Mongolia. He's a Certified Public Accountant and graduated first in his class from the Wharton school of business. His writing has won several literary contests and has been nominated for a Reader's Choice Award. His indie game development work has also won several awards and has been showcased in PC Gamer magazine. He loves hearing from people so feel free to email him!

REVIEW

We are getting into the time of year when spooky things rule the day.  Shape-changers of various forms, many - of course - bent on gaining as much power as possible, are said to prowl the shadows, making us afraid of turning off the lights.  Of course, we know that these creatures are the stuff of legend and television....but what if they were a part of every day life?  What if mages and priests with strange healing abilities were commonplace?

LONG STORY SHORT

In a work that feels like it could be lore for several different video games, Fleisher uses a medieval setting to explore a misty intersection between the magical and the mundane.  A thief is tasked with breaking into the one place in the city that he should avoid at all costs - the treasure room of the "mad" ruler, a man who would just as soon gut people rather than even bother looking at them.  This thief, who may be aging out of his game, steals an item that is infinitely more precious than he knows and in doing so becomes embroiled in a centuries-long power struggle of which he would have rather remained unaware.  But will he find redemption?  In this novella length work, Fleisher explores what redemption may look like in a world shrouded in magic, shape-shifters, and nothing being as it seems.  Exceptionally descriptive language captivated my imagination - I could practically smell the reeking fish at the dock and hear rusty hinges complaining loudly about moving for the first time in decades.  Powerfully portrayed characters made me remember why I love fiction so much in the first place as I got to know a broken man who is seeking a little peace.  I wanted more backstory, and the language was a bit too descriptive at times, but overall this is a very good piece of fiction sure to please any with a gamer-type brain.  =)

On an ascending scale of 1 to 5, I give this work a 4.  

LONG STORY

The Good

I'm a bit of a gamer with an awareness of medieval history (thanks to my history nerd husband), and so enjoyed this work on a level that I wasn't expecting.  I've played World of Warcraft extensively and dabbled a bit in Dragon Age and some other RPGs, so am familiar with worlds where magic, mages, and shape-shifters are part of the norm.  I love stories that feel like game lore, and so really enjoyed "Shawdowcursed".  

Bolen is 40-something year old thief who is living in a medieval setting where magic, mages, priests with healing powers (in MMORPG games you need a priest or two on your side - they are often the best healers (them or paladins)), and things creeping about in the shadows is the norm.  Oh, and so is living in fear of the "mad ruler" who has developed a rather gory reputation for killing anyone who stands in his mad way.  Bolen is tasked with stealing items from this ruler's vault and goes ahead with doing so in order to prove to himself that he is still the thief that he was in his younger days.  The problem is that he steals an item that holds a value different from any he has ever known.  This particular theft will rattle Bolen to his core and tear apart his understanding of reality in the city whose shadows he has frequented his entire life. 

I would like to say that Fleisher is an exceptionally talented writer, but this is the only work I've yet read by him and have become rather hesitant to make such major comments based on a single work.  What I can say is that "Shadowcursed" is incredibly well written.  The fog winding its way through the city will feel as though it is winding its way around you as you are reading, the descriptive imagery in this book is so well written.  Sentences flow together in a way that makes it clear this author has read and re-read his work for clarity's sake.   Pronouns are rarely confused (confused pronouns have become a pet peeve of mine).  People move about in a way that makes sense for the story (i.e. no people standing up in one side of the room when you didn't read them going to that side of the room).  Characters are distinct from one another and are developed exactly as much as they need to be in order for this story to make sense (well, most of them at least....but I'll cover that in a minutes).  It contains just the right amount of unpredictability.  Elements of magic are entwined with what we know as medieval real-world in a way that makes sense, flows well, and is enjoyable to read.

I really, really liked this book.  It is a quick read that brings up very interesting moral questions.  What is right when everything is in shadow? Of course, these are questions that often come up in games.  If we are honest with ourselves, however, we will admit they often come up in our lives as well.  

The Bugly (bad/ugly)

A few quibbles, minor though they are: 

1) The major antagonists could be explained a bit more.  There are clear lines drawn between good (or at least semi-good in search of redemption) and evil....but the evil of the motivation is barely explained.  Power.  Conquest.  Okay, sure....but what explains the relationship between the two major evil characters?  

2) Bolen is the only thing in the story that we really get any back story on.  I wanted to know more about the city, the antagonists, the faith system (which is clearly specific to the story), etc.  But that leads to my next quibble....

3) Longer.  This story needs to be longer.  There is enough good material to work with here to bring this novella length work into a novel.  This would solve some of the problems with not enough back story, and spending more time on the relationships between specific characters.  Perhaps it is my extremely relational brain that just wants to know more about the relationships between different elements of the story, but honestly - this felt like a teaser to a much bigger story.

REVIEW: "Schism" and "Collision: The Battle for Darracia" by Michael Cash

SCHISM: The Battle for Darracia - Book 1
BLURB
On the planet Darracia, an ever-widening social gap between its inhabitants is causing turmoil that is fracturing a once peaceful world. Struggling with his identity, nineteen year old Prince V'sair must harness the power of the elusive Fireblade, the secret to a warrior's heart, in order to overcome his uncle Staf Nuen's lust for supremacy. Will the energy of the Elements guide the young prince to his true destiny or will Staf Nuen conquer Darracia? After the success of his first three books (Brood X, Stillwell, and The Hanging Tree) Michael is fulfilling a dream and creating his own epic fantasy world. Schism: The Battle for Darracia is the first book in a planned series.

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COLLISION: The Battle for Darracia - Book #2
BLURB
The Darracia saga continues with all the key players spread out and searching for answers throughout the solar system. Prince V'sair struggles to hold his fractured kingdom together without help from his family. His stepbrother Zayden is on a vengeful hunt for his evil uncle Staf Nuen. Tulani navigates her two worlds trying to bring them together. Staf Nuen, the orchestrator of the original coup, is making unholy alliances with nefarious new allies. Like the comet zipping across the horizon, all the different factions are heading for a collision course that will test both their faith and power.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Michael Cash

Born and raised on Long Island, Michael has always had a fascination with horror writing and found footage films. He wanted to incorporate both with his debut novel, Brood X. Earning a degree in English and an MBA, he has worked various jobs before settling into being a full-time author. He currently resides on Long Island with his wife and children.

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REVIEW

NOTE: I'm reviewing the first two books of this series together as I read them one right after the other.  Typically, I would not do this, but for the sake of time and effort I'm combining my review of these two books.  They are, after all, two parts of the same story.

One need not go far in order to hear tales of a people who are not getting along with another people.  Nor does it take much effort to hear of one group of people, or one person, trying to usurp power and gain control over a land which may not be rightfully theirs...whether that is good for the land or not.  Power has this corrupting quality.  But what about when those rightfully in power are trying to do things for the good of the people that might unite fronts that have been divided, upending very old societal structures?

LONG STORY SHORT
A prince born from the love between royalty from different peoples (different planets, even) must face his destiny sooner than anyone expected when an uncle on one side leads a revolt against his own brother - a king who is determined to make his kingdom a fair and equal place for both people of the planet to live, Darracians and Quyroos alike.  Good vs. evil.  Tradition vs. a new way of thinking.  Love?  In some ways this is an age-old story told in a new way with new characters and settings that are put together rather well.  While characters are unique individuals, the settings are interesting, and there are elements of science fiction and the mystic that would please even the most die-hard SciFi fan, the plot and writing styles themselves leave something to be desired.  The story itself unfolds rather slowly at first, almost laboriously.  It is like a movie that starts slowly and takes awhile to get to the action.  Once the action is reached, however, there are issues with how it is presented.  For example, scenes full of action fly by so quickly that it is hard to know what exactly is going on.  I found myself confused during about half of these books....which isn't conducive to an enjoyable/productive reading experience.  The writing style itself is also very clipped and efficient in places, while being descriptive in other places - there is a lack of consistency.  Typos are also found throughout the work.  I'd gripe about how the book itself is formatted (double-spaced), but have been told there is a plan in place to address some formatting issues.  A good story with some presentation issues.

On an ascending scale of 1 to 5, I give this book a 3.

LONG STORY

The Good

Here we find a classic story: child born of a union between two unlikely individuals whose destiny will not only shape his world, but possibly that of others as well.  Add a social stratification on his home planet reminiscent of the stratification found in India (albeit with only two factions), floating cities, love, and a traitorous uncle and you have this book.  It is something akin to if Macbeth met "Avatar"....just add a few extra planets.

V'sair is a prince sired by a Darracian king and a princess from a water planet.  He looks different than literally every other individual on Darracia, the planet where he lives.  He has a different destiny - against all odds, unite the two deeply divided peoples who populate Darracia: the Darracians and the Quyroos.  One problem: he has never gone through the Fireblade challenge.  But is the Fireblade what it seems to be?  Only time (and, well, the end of the first book) will tell.  He falls in love with a girl he has known for years as his mother's servant...but she is more, so much more.  About the same time, his uncle stages an uprising that leads to the death of several key figures, physical disfigurement of others, and pushes V'sair to seek out the truth behind the Elements....a truth which reveals more truths which threaten to undermine the planet's societal structures.  And so ends the first book. 

The second book picks up months after the carnage.  V'sair is struggling to figure out how to live into his new role with the people when he was pushed into it before his training was even nearing completion.  Not to mention the other half of his being has been AWOL for awhile, trying to lead her people....but will they trust someone who is of them but not of them?   V'sair's brother is off seeking out the uncle who destroyed everything he once held dear, but perhaps he will lose his life in the process.  There is a pair of sisters who present an interesting question (sorry, you're gonna have to read to figure out what I'm talking about).  The stage is set for a rather epic battle.  Seriously, this book seems to be almost purely stage-setting for the next book....which I find rather intriguing.  Yes, it carries the story forward a bit, but it provides much more background than in the first book.  Frankly, some of this background would have been helpful in understanding what was going on in the first book, but so is.

I'm going to applaud Cash for something that I usually nit-pick authors about: the characters are unique. Even in long, complicated conversation scenes I could generally figure out who was talking even without the "he said this, she said that" indicators.  I deeply appreciate characters who have their own personalities that are clearly distinct from one another and that of the author.  Yay!!  I also really like these characters - especially Bobbien (I think she's my favorite of the entire series - kind of reminds me of the baboon in "Lion King").  They are images of flawed beauty in a way that means they are relateable.  Good deal.

This is a good story.  Sure, some tropes are used that have been done and done to death, but they have actually been combined here in a way that I find rather intriguing.  I'd love to see this story done on screen....after the following has been addressed.

The Bugly (bad/ugly)

Good story.  Less than stellar presentation.  I'm going to rip on this book a little bit because there were enough things that bothered me that, frankly, my reading of these books was a little more stalled than it could have been.  I just couldn't get into it the same way it seems other reviewers were able to.  To each his own - no book is going to please every single reader, this is why we have multiple genres and millions of works within genres.  :)

Anyways, let us first look at style.  I can't fault Cash too much for stylistic choices that I would not make, but I can nit pick on a lack of consistency.  My fiction writing style is one that is very descriptive, full of "flowerly" adjectives and such.  It is not very efficient.  Cash's style is remarkably efficient...in most places.  In other places it is much more descriptive.  The lack of consistency made my head keep changing gears in a way that bugged me. 

Second, the plot itself.  While the story is pretty good, the way it unfolded left a few things to be desired.  It took awhile for the story to get going.  So much work was done in the beginning setting the scene that it was like a movie that starts off slow, with all of the action happening in the last 30 minutes.  Now, this can make some sense given that there is a new world to explore with a new societal structure, entirely new characters, etc.  I get that.  I just had an exceptionally hard time following what in Darracia was going on and keeping track of who was what.  Wait, how'd that person get across the room?  How'd his eyes gum shut with blood in all of 20 seconds?  Oh yeah, and there were enough moments where I thought "that's not how science works" that my brain hurt.  Blood drying too quickly, people not falling right according to how they were just hit, etc.

Third, there were typos all. over. the. place.  Not just the kind of typo where a few letters are out of order, though these were certainly present, but the kind of typo where a sentence had clearly been written one way, then written a different way, and the first way wasn't completely cleared out of the way (confused yet?).  Pronoun confusion reigned supreme, as did sentence constructions that didn't make a lot of sense in my head.  Keep in mind that I'm hard on grammar - while I can't diagram a sentence to save my life, I know when something sounds wrong.  Unfortunately, a lot sounded wrong here.

Finally, I just wasn't that into these books.  I read them because I had agreed to, but after the first book I didn't feel much like reading the second one....and now I really don't feel like continuing to the third.  I really feel as though this is a good story wrapped in less than stellar presentation.  It just was not my cup of tea.  It happens.  

REVIEW: "There is No Fear" by Michael Bowler (Tribute Books Blog Tour)

BLURB

The most famous boy in the world is a prisoner. He’s been charged with a crime he didn’t commit, a crime that could send him to prison for the rest of his life. Languishing within The Compound, the most secure juvenile facility in California, while the district attorney vows to make an example of him because of his celebrity status, Lance must endure the daily indignities of the incarcerated.

New Camelot is fractured without him. Ricky and Chris are bereft, living for the weekly phone call that becomes their only lifeline to the brother they so desperately love, while Arthur and Jenny feel the loss of their son with a sadness that can’t be quelled. And what about Michael, the highly volatile teen who helped write the proposition that will change California forever? Could he really be the monster he says he is? His hatred of Ricky is palpable, and his instability may well threaten the lives of everyone at New Camelot.

As the election looms closer, Proposition 51 takes on an even greater significance in light of the pending trial of the century. The more harshly fifteen-year-old Lance is treated within the broken justice system, the more he contemplates the wisdom of his idea that children need more adult rights. If The Child Voter Act becomes law, won’t it simply allow adults to throw more kids into prison with impunity?

Whichever way the voters decide, his greatest fear remains the same: will he ever again be with the people he loves?

The Knight Cycle Continues…

Pages: 284
Release: July 17, 2014
ISBN: 9780990306337

AMAZON  *  GOODREADS  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael Bowler

Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author of three novels - A Boy and His Dragon, A Matter of Time, and Children of the Knight - who grew up in San Rafael, California.

He majored in English and Theatre at Santa Clara University and earned a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and another master's in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills.

He partnered with two friends as producer, writer, and/or director on several ultra-low-budget horror films, including “Fatal Images,” “Club Dead,” and “Things II,” the reviews of which are much more fun than the actual movies.

He taught high school in Hawthorne, California for twenty-five years, both in general education and to students with learning disabilities, in subjects ranging from English and Strength Training to Algebra, Biology, and Yearbook.

He has also been a volunteer Big Brother to seven different boys with the Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a thirty-year volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles. He is a passionate advocate for the fair treatment of children and teens in California, something that is sorely lacking in this state. He has been honored as Probation Volunteer of the Year, YMCA Volunteer of the Year, California Big Brother of the Year, and 2000 National Big Brother of the Year. The “National” honor allowed he and three of his Little Brothers to visit the White House and meet the president in the Oval Office.

He has already written the four continuations of Children of the Knight that complete The Knight Cycle and all will be released in 2014.

He is currently at work on a new novel.

WEBSITE  *  FACEBOOK  *  TWITTER  *  GOODREADS  *  BLOG  *  TUMBLR  *  FREADO

REVIEW
This country is spoiling for a youth-led revolution, if psychologists examining the popularity of shows "Hunger Games" are to be believed.  Something is wrong, youth know it, youth are affected by it, and youth seem to be the only ones who aren't too tired to do anything about it.  At the same time, people are jailed unjustly all. the. time.  But what do we do when someone who is jailed unjustly is a kid?

LONG STORY SHORT
The first two books in this series (Children of the Knight & Running Through a Dark Place) were absolutely superb, and this third installment fits nicely in this well-established reputation.  The story neatly picks up at the cliffhanger from the end of the previous book, in the middle of heart-pumping drama where the hero of the day has been arrested for attempted murder.  He's innocent, but can he prove this in the face of a public who craves nothing more than fallen heros, DA's bent on reelection, and a corrupt system which stomps upon the rights of youth...all the while figuring out who actually guards his heart?

Search no further for a book that will ignite your passion to work for the good of those whom society has deemed "the least of these", a passion for justice served as well as rights protected and accountability realized.  This amazingly well written book drew me into its action, into the very lives of these characters, in a way that made me want to assign this series as mandatory reading for every high school graduate.  It made me feel.

On an ascending scale of 1 to 5, I give this book a 5.

LONG STORY
The Good
Honestly, I'm not sure anything good I have to say about this wonderful book has not already been covered in my reviews of the first and second installments in the series.  

We start where the last book left off: Lance being handcuffed and roughly dropped in the back of a police car without even knowing the nature of the charges leveled against him.  Upon reaching the detainment facility, Lance learns that he is being accused of attempted murder against a man he had seen recently, a man who has caused much turmoil and pain in Lance's life.  A man whose genitalia had been removed from his body in a brutal attack.  

There is just one problem.  Lance is innocent.  But can he prove so when the district attorney is running for election and wants to nail Lance to the wall in order to further his own campaign...despite rather shaky "evidence"?  SPOILER ALERT: Lance does get out of jail.  But what happens next will keep you pinned to your seat.  Seriously, somehow I thought I'd get to bed on time.  Nope.  I found myself awake well into the night as I read about Lance's struggle to come to peace with his identity, his relationships (just what is he supposed to do with Michael, Ricky, and Bridgett?), and the legal proposition that his efforts helped put before voters.  What will happen?

 Seriously, that question kept me up for two evenings as I read through this work - what is going to happen next?  What next bit of drama will be revealed?  What will Lance uncover about himself and those around him?  Will he be able to handle the things he finds on his quest for truth?

AND WHAT ABOUT THAT CLIFFHANGER?  WHAT THE WHAT??

Not a lot of time is spent on character development, as much of this happens in the first two books.  The same is true about settings: new locations are set up very well while settings from previous books are mentioned but not described much.  It is kind of expected that readers have read the first installments in this series as these books are meant to build upon one another.  They do so very well.  On the one hand, I was glad to see there are at least two more books in the series because it means two more awesome books are coming....and yet on the other hand there is a cliffhanger ending (which is seriously put together in the span of the last 2-3 pages....just when you think it is over, you find that not only is it not over yet, but the story may have just begun) that just makes me desperate to read the next book.  Ugh.  Not a patient person over here!  :P

Anyways, I loved this book - as you can see by the perfect score (I don't give perfect scores easily).  Now, to wait for the next "season" to come out........ 

The Bugly (bad/ugly)
A few minor typos here and there, but nothing to major.  However, CLIFFHANGER.  /grumble.  Again, this is a stylistic choice that I cannot fault Bowler for, but seriously annoying (in honesty, I'd do the same thing).  

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REVIEW: "Running Through A Dark Place" by Michael Bowler (Tribute Books Blog Tours)

BLURB

King Arthur and his extraordinary young Knights used ‘might’ for ‘right’ to create a new Camelot in the City of Angels. They rallied the populace around their cause, while simultaneously putting the detached politicians in check. But now they must move forward to even greater heights, despite what appears to be an insurmountable tragedy.

Their new goal is lofty: give equality to kids fourteen and older who are presently considered adults only when they break the law. Arthur’s crusade seeks to give them real rights such as voting, driving, trading high school for work, and sitting as jurors for their peers charged with criminal behavior.

Understanding that the adults of California will likely be against them, Arthur and his Knights must determine how best to win them over.

However, before the king can even contemplate these matters, he finds himself face to face with an ally from the past, one who proves that everything isn’t always what it seems – even life and death.

The Knight Cycle Continues…

Pages: 447
Release: May 2014

AMAZON  *  GOODREADS  *  BLOG TOUR

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael Bowler

Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author of three novels - A Boy and His Dragon, A Matter of Time, and Children of the Knight - who grew up in San Rafael, California.

He majored in English and Theatre at Santa Clara University and earned a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and another master's in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills.

He partnered with two friends as producer, writer, and/or director on several ultra-low-budget horror films, including “Fatal Images,” “Club Dead,” and “Things II,” the reviews of which are much more fun than the actual movies.

He taught high school in Hawthorne, California for twenty-five years, both in general education and to students with learning disabilities, in subjects ranging from English and Strength Training to Algebra, Biology, and Yearbook.

He has also been a volunteer Big Brother to seven different boys with the Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a thirty-year volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles. He is a passionate advocate for the fair treatment of children and teens in California, something that is sorely lacking in this state. He has been honored as Probation Volunteer of the Year, YMCA Volunteer of the Year, California Big Brother of the Year, and 2000 National Big Brother of the Year. The “National” honor allowed he and three of his Little Brothers to visit the White House and meet the president in the Oval Office.

He has already written the four continuations of Children of the Knight that complete The Knight Cycle and all will be released in 2014.

He is currently at work on a new novel.

WEBSITE  *  FACEBOOK  *  TWITTER  *  GOODREADS  *  BLOG  *  TUMBLR  *  FREADO



REVIEW
We tend to forget that famous people are still just people...especially when those famous people are youth/kids.  I read an article recently about Jennifer Lawrence (a young lady who is quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses) of "Hunger Games" fame.  Her father said her fame hasn't changed her in their family much, that she is still going to go through all of the same processes of identity formation and such that other young people go through.  She will just do so under a microscope since she is so famous.  But when a young person is famous because of a crusade to make the world better for children, can fame actually be a problem??

LONG STORY SHORT
Awhile ago I reviewed the first book in this series, Children of the Knight, and absolutely loved it.  This continuation of the story did not disappoint.  We rejoin the characters right in the middle of the scene which closed the first book - Lance has just died while television audiences watched in horror.  An act of love designed to save King Arthur's life.  An act of love that cost Lance his life.  Or did it?  An unexpected character from Arthur's past shows up and changes the game in a way that Lance becomes "the boy who came back".  

A superbly written tale, this book kept me on the edge of my seat as I lost more than a few hours sleep from needing to know what happened next.  How was character XYZ's behavior going to be explained?  What exactly was Operation Silent Treatement?  A difficult past haunts main characters, a mysterious figure becomes a part of daily life in a way that is difficult to figure out, and a wonderfully rich story unfolds in a way that gives me hope that a spark can move mountains.  Can children change the world?  Watch them.

On an ascending scale of 1 to 5, I give this book a 5.  

LONG STORY
The Good
Much of what I said about the first book in this series is true here as well: Bowler here utilizes a writing style that dragged me into the scenes in a way that made me forget for a little while that while reading I was laying beside my son in his hospital bed for a week after he was diagnosed with leukemia.  This was a welcome relief and one that I appreciated deeply.  

Anyways, Bowler's writing style is approachable, likeable, snarky in all the right places, and engaging.  Settings are created in an extremely realistic fashion, we always know how people are moving around in space (it bugs me when books have characters all over a room and don't explain how that is happening), the story progresses naturally from the first book, and just the right amount of new characters to figure out are introduced.  Oh, and a nitpicky thing: characters communicate via looks and body language just as much as they do through words.  Why am I pointing this out?  I tend to find that many fiction books tend towards being dialog heavy as they attempt to work out the vast amounts of silent communication that happens between individuals.  Not so here.  Here we get "the looks", body gestures, and such laid out in such a way that makes perfect sense and is true to life.

But let's get to the story for a moment: King Arthur is still in modern-day L.A. championing the rights of children in a society where adults look upon children as something to be disregarded...at least until they screw up.  He has gathered together a rag-tag group of people to help him in this crusade, people who have names that are remarkably similar to individuals from Arthurian legend (I see what you did there, Bowler). This rag-tag group includes Sir Lance, a young man who lost his life at the end of the first book in a successful attempt to save King Arthur from being shot by a sniper.  A young man who becomes "the boy who came back" after a mysterious figure from Arthur's distant past shows up and resets a wrong: Lance was not supposed to die.  Unfortunately, the manner in which he was saved cost a life that was very dear to everyone, and Lance spends the rest of the book struggling with this sacrifice, as well as with the feeling that death just might want him back.  

Well, in becoming "the boy who came back", Lance becomes the most famous person in the world.  People either love him or hate him.  Adults tend to be suspicious, especially when he proves so successful at wielding words that his oration skills are likened to those of President Lincoln, because he shines a light on how they have failed children (apparently conveniently forgetting how they were failed as children).  Yet just because he is famous and engaged in a noble crusade does not mean he is perfect.  Sir Lance is still just fourteen and learning what living means (especially after having died).  A teenager struggling through identity formation, he makes some rather public glaring errors in judgment that threaten to derail the crusade entirely.  And what should he do with the enigmatic Michael, a boy whom everyone else seems to want to have nothing to do with but to whom Lance somehow feels a connection and the sense that there is some good in Michael to be unleashed?

Never underestimate what children and youth are capable of when their energies are harnessed for good.

This is yet another work which exposes how poorly children are treated in our society.  They are considered children and incapable of making informed decisions until they are 18, but they can be tried as an adult in court and  - in some rare cases - executed as such.  They cannot vote, but must abide by laws which affect nearly every aspect of their lives.  Seriously, I think the political world would look a bit different if youth were able to hold politicians to task in the same way they do so here.  Now, I understand why kids are not allowed to vote....truly I do.  But what if politicians were actually held accountable to the children they are making laws for?  For example, what if politicians had to answer to all of the children whom their recent actions towards food stamps affected?  

Anyways, to get back to the book.  As I said about the first one, it is superbly written, deeply engaging, and made me want to see about getting a crusade such as this organized.  The plot moves along very well and flows very naturally.  People engage with one another in ways that make perfect sense.  Characters' emotions are explored in a way that actually helps readers get to know the characters as more than just a name on a page - they are someone you could meet when going about your daily life.

On another note, this book is more "real" than I would like it to be.  I've met these optional, disenfranchised, violent, and "difficult" children everywhere.  On the whole, adults don't tend to give them much of a chance.  This is a crime to our children.  I've witnessed first-hand how much these "optional" children are capable of when taken seriously and given a chance, and it is incredible.  

Read this book. May it ignite a fire in you to pursue justice for the youngest "least of these" in our society.

The Bugly (bad/ugly)
I've only got two big nitpicks here, and they weren't really enough to derail my giving this book a perfect score.  First, there are minor typos scattered throughout the book.  Not enough to completely derail me as I read, but enough that I noticed it did not seem as thoroughly edited as the first book.  Second, CLIFFHANGER.  BLAHGASDFIAQWESFNAS!!  I HATE cliffhangers!!  I'm not going to knock part of a score down from this, as this is a stylistic choice that makes sense for a book that is part of a series.  Just be prepared that there is a MAJOR freaking cliffhanger at the end.  

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