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Review – Armageddon Bound By Tim Marquitz (E-book)

armageddon bound I’ve been following Tim on various social media sites for a while. His offerings seem pretty popular and he’s a prolific dude. I wasn’t sure if they’d be the kind of thing I’d enjoy, but when I saw this book was available for $.99 I took a chance. Is this book devilishly clever or does it deserve to be thrown into the outer darkness?

Half-devil and miles from anything resembling heroic, perpetual underdog Frank “Triggaltheron” Trigg is the last man standing against Armageddon.

As the favorite nephew of the Devil, Frank has led a troubled life, but he’d always had his uncle’s influence to fall back on. Now, with God and Lucifer coming to terms and leaving existence to fend for itself, his once exalted status of Anti-Christ-to-be does little to endear him to the hordes of angels and demons running amok in the Godless world.

With help from the members of DRAC, an organization of wizards, psychics, telepaths, and low-end supernatural beings, Frank must thwart the pro-Armageddon forces and rescue an angel in whose life rests the fate of humanity.

Better luck next time, humanity.

The Goods – There’s a load of very dark humor here. That appeals to me quite a bit. When you have a protagonist like Trigg, who’s very in touch with his demonic side, it can be a lot of fun. The protagonist’s nature isn’t what fascinates me most, though. This is a universe where God and Satan just threw up their hands and left humanity and the angels/demons to their own devices. The forces who are aware of what’s happened are fairly sure this means there is no longer an afterlife. Since hell, and I think heaven, are still places you can go, I’m not sure why that’s the case. Some demons/angels believe they can bring about the end of the world and it won’t be the end of everything. That’s the crux of this particular book. Essentially, all bets are off. I want to see more exploration of this.

When you’ve got characters like angels and demons running around, it would be all too easy (and an amateur mistake in my opinion) to make them all live up to their reputations. Instead, Tim has some angels and demons working together. Some demons are looking after mankind (albeit for their own reasons). There are angels who’ve seriously gone off the beam. Trigg and his, literally angelic, “cousin” Scarlett butt heads and also manage to work with one another. In short, he makes these characters more multi-dimensional than others might. I like that a lot.

The overall plot is strong enough, though it’s mostly a rollicking action piece. Tim does action pretty well. There are some minor issues here and there, but overall once things get rolling, they don’t slow down.

The Bads – This is, if not a first novel, a very early novel by Tim. It’s also independently published. As a result of both of those things, there are problems. The characters run fairly shallow. Minor mistakes are made regarding gun terminology and their operation. I didn’t catch any spelling or grammar mistakes, but I was reading at light speed thanks to the pacing. None of these were enough for me to be a deal breaker. I spoke with him about my concerns and he’s addressed them in future books in the series.

The Verdict – This is a fun read. The humor runs a little crude. The protagonist is a jerk in the same way that many fantasy/noir protagonists often are. He’s a bumbler and thinks with his dick. All of that said, there’s something about him that appealed to me. He wants to do the right thing, but doesn’t quite know how. He’s surrounded by people trying to show him the way. Sometimes he even listens to them. My hope is, the things which hurt this book will indeed improve as the series develops. I had a good enough time to risk the full price on the second book. If you like Butcher, you’ll probably enjoy this. I give this book three and a half rounds of out five.

BLOG – http://www.tmarquitz.com/
TWITTER – https://twitter.com/Marquitz
Amazon Link – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008L8J0JA/

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Review – The Girl in Acid Park by Lauren Harris (E-book)

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acid park Snarky characters who are investigating the paranormal, written by an awesome author, that takes place in my home state? Sign me up.

Unlike her best friend Hiroki, Georgia Collins can’t see or talk to dead people. But she recently discovered she can help ghosts move on–no exorcism required! Unfortunately, so did the national media. Her underground blog is not so underground anymore and the Millroad Catholic Academy students with their scandals on exposé are less than thrilled about Georgia’s journalistic success.

But Georgia has never been one to let things blow over, so when the police request paranormal assistance on a new murder case, Georgia decides to make the unwanted spotlight work her way and agrees to help…except she didn’t expect Hiroki to refuse.

The Goods -This is the sequel to Exorcising Aaron Nguyen, a book to which I gave four and a half rosary beads out of five. The only thing I faulted Harris for was that the story didn’t have a real sense of place. Yes, there were nods to our mutual home state, but it felt like it could have happened anywhere. Either she paid attention to my review, or more likely, she found her feet in this universe and nailed it. It takes place in a very (actually literally) real place and she makes it pop off of the page.

The other things – snarky main characters, a complicated and interesting protagonist, a riveting mystery with a real sense of danger, and a teen/YA book that doesn’t pander – are all present and accounted for. The whole thing moves along at a good pace. Obstacles are placed in Georgia’s path at every turn and she uses guts, brains, and friends to overcome them. The universe gets built out a little more. I would highly recommend this series to anyone who’s looking for any of the above, be ye male, female, young, or old.

The Bads – Yeah, I got nothing. Well, except maybe that it could have been longer? This is only so that I would be able to enjoy the world she’s making even more. Not because of any lack. Seriously, I closed this and was perfectly satisfied with how things went. It read like butter.

Oh wait, this is where I’m supposed to put the bad things. Maybe you’re lactose intolerant?

Verdict – Buy this book. Support amazing writers. I hope she writes another one. I give this book five big cups of the best coffee.

Amazon
Lauren’s Site
Lauren’s Twitter

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Review – The Pariah by Philip ‘Norvaljoe’ Carroll (Podcast)

pariah I’ve known Philip for a long time. He’s a good writer and we worked together on a number of projects. He has a solid sense of story. When I saw that he was putting out a new podcast and supporting it via Patreon I knew it would be something worth checking out. It’s still in production. Usually I wait until a story is finished but I thought I’d help boost the signal. This review covers the first 8 episodes.

Synopsis: The kingdom of The Highlands has been peaceful for many centuries and has developed great wealth in that time. Her neighbor nations saw the country’s riches and grew jealous, plotting to take some for themselves.
Keo Noshahne new from a very young age that he was destined to do great things. He knew he would be one of the country’s special empathic creature handlers. He was unaware of his destiny to save the kingdom and possibly the entire world. Though, in doing so he must become The Pariah.

Production: The audio quality is sound. Not a lot of bells and whistles.

Grade: B

Cast: Philip does this as a dramatic reading. His talents as a reader are strong. He injects the story and characters with personality and energy.

Grade: B+

Story: This is a low fantasy universe that reminds me quite a bit of Ravenwood by Nathan Lowell. It’s not a YA fantasy per se, though that may be the target audience. I think it, like most YA, is easily accessible by a wider audience. The characters, even by this point in the story, are already developing and changing. There’s a lot of potential for growth. This feels like a fairly traditional “chosen one” kind of story line. The promise of the premise is that he will somehow become an outcast. We haven’t hit that part of the story yet, so I’ll be interested to see how that plays out. The pacing is a little on the slow side, giving the audience a chance to get to know the main characters and to develop the world. There’s a lot of potential here and I look forward to each new episode as it comes out.

Grade: A-

Verdict: I really think this is a podcast you should give a listen to. If you like low fantasy or are looking for new YA/MG stories, I highly recommend it.

Grade: A

Podcast Page
Amazon Page
Patreon Page

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Merchant Adventurer – E-book Giveaway

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merchant advernturer There’s a book that you need to buy. It’s not one of mine, but I think you’ll dig it. It’s The Merchant Adventurer by Patrick E. McLean. Right now it’s $.99 but you can have it for free if you do just a few things.

1) Tell me about your favorite fantasy story.

2) Tweet about this giveaway.
3) Follow us on Twitter.
4) Join our email mailing list.

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Paladin Trap Detector (#VSS)

Ulrich the Strong looked from Rabith the Mouse to the door and back. “You checked this for traps, yes?”

Rabith nodded, shaggy black hair shaking. “Thoroughly, yes.”

Ulrich sheathed Demon’s Bane and placed one mailled palm against the door. “I pray to the almighty Elrath, keep your servant strong and whole.” He pulled back his hand and balled both into a single, massive fist. The iron braced wooden door shivered in its frame and cracked down the middle. Before the halves hit the floor he had re-drawn the enchanted sword at his hip.

The room beyond was cloaked in inky darkness. Igthan the Wise held forth his wand. “There is danger beyond.”

Even Ulrich couldn’t restrain an eye roll. “Thanks wizard.”

He inched forward into the darkness, Demon’s Bane glowing brighter with each step. He almost stepped off of the lip of the stone floor. He drew a silver coin from the purse at his belt and tossed it to the floor in front of him. He counted for a full three seconds before he heard it strike the ground below. A low rumble followed the ringing of metal on stone. “All is well. You can join me.”

Rabith’s step was almost inaudible. If Ulrich hadn’t been travelling with him for years he may have missed it.

“Watch out for that…”

Rabith screamed as he fell.

The blackness subsided as the demonic creature below dropped his concentration to advance on the morsel now in its lair.

Ulrich smiled as he saw the little thief crouched below, both daggers drawn.

“That was a nasty trick, Ulrich.” Rabith shouted, not taking his eyes off of the creature.

“I just wanted to see if rogues were as adept at finding traps as you believed paladins to be.” He smiled and leaped out into the room below, sword point down and aimed squarely between the demon’s shoulder blades.

Ightan shook his head and readied the first of many healing spells he would need that day.

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Review – Ballad of Iron Percy by Ed Clark (Podcast)

I’ve been hearing about this podcast novel for a long time. It would come up whenever I asked what podcast should be next in my queue and for whatever reason it just wouldn’t make it into the queue. Finally, I have corrected that oversight.

Synopsis: It has been twenty years since the island nation of Great Hale conquered the New World and became an empire. Lord Percival Wilmore, the Hero of Naruna Isle, has been the governor of the New Jucata since the war’s end, and it has been his life’s work to make the colony a peaceful and prosperous part of the Halan Empire. By all accounts, he has succeeded. The city-states of Old Jucata have been dominated utterly, the old religion has been completely supplanted by the Halan faith of the White Veil, and Jucatan goods have made Great Hale the envy of the world. He is beloved by the people, and he has ensured that this Halan colony is built to last.

But New Jucata’s future is not as secure as it seems. As the head of state for the colony, Lord Wilmore is the highest legal authority in the land, and he is called upon to try a most curious prisoner. The events and outcome of this interrogation threaten to tear Halan Rule of Law apart and bring anarchy to the region.

Pandemona stands accused of being a Pak Shar – a dangerous and seductive demon previously seen only in Veil mythology. With her scarlet skin, lithe tail, and dainty set of horns, she certainly looks the part. Her way with words and alluring demeanor only serve to underscore this perception. Under Halan law, the punishment for being a demon is death by fire at the stake, but Pandemona is entitled to a fair trial by Lord Wilmore and the colony’s Curate before she can be convicted and executed. This interrogation is her only chance to escape. She must use all of her wit and guile to survive.

Is Pandemona really what she appears to be? What is she here to accomplish? Is she an evil and subversive creature, sent from the Abyss to torment mankind? Or is she simply disfigured and misunderstood? Whatever the truth may be, her presence is not a good omen.

The Ballad of Iron Percy is a song of glorious triumph, written to honor Lord Wilmore’s victory against overwhelming odds in the Conquest War. It is an iconic tune in New Jucata. The specifics of the verses vary in each separate rendition, but the overall tone is one of bravery, achievement, and joy.

Unfortunately for Iron Percy, his Ballad is not yet over…

Production:  This is a straight read. There is some good bumper music, but no effects or additional production values. The audio quality is very clean, but the version I listened to had some editing marks. The producer used audio cues to tell her where to cut and they were not always removed.

Grade: B-

Cast:  If you’re going to do an audio book and you don’t have the talent for reading, then please, please, please hire Veronica Giguere. You can find her at http://voicesbyveronica.com. She’s an author and an audio producer as well. She voices all of the characters and provides the narration and is one of those voice actors who remains in my top ten. She developed strong, consistent voices for each character, and while the red skinned lady in the picture steals the show, the rest of her performances are stellar. 

Grade: A+

Story: This is Ed’s first novel. It shows a little. Some of the prose could use a trim. Some things get over explained. Having said that, I love what he does with the unreliable narrator tropes. We get Pandemona telling her story over much of this, so it’s a little like Scheherazade regaling her captors. In fact it’s almost exactly like that. I imagine that’s on purpose. About half of it is this and the other half gives us other perspectives.

I do enjoy the world Ed built. The conflict between the church and the government is nicely done, as is the conflict between homelanders and colonists. The story has a lot of action and adventure, with a dollop of trollop-y action. (That means sex.) Ed also takes the opportunity of using the outsider’s perspective to examine what it means to be human. I  look forward to the sequel (which is apparently written, but yet to be released.)

Grade: B+

Verdict:  I highly recommend this podcast. Don’t make the mistake I did by waiting. Move it to near the top of your queue. It’s quite long, but worth every minute.

Grade: A

http://www.balladofironpercy.com/
Podiobooks

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Review – Exorcising Aaron Nguyen (Ebook)

The murder of Millroad Catholic Academy’s resident genius, Aaron Nguyen, shuts down student life at the boarding school in rural North Carolina…for about a week. With the resilience of youth, the student body bounces back, and the memory of murder is nothing but a streamer of caution tape fluttering in the breeze. Unfortunately for them, Aaron’s spirit has some resilience as well. The school priest’s exorcism fails, and before long Aaron is breathing chills down the students’ necks and hurling Bunsen burners at nuns.

Georgia Collins doesn’t give a shit about ghosts. All she wants is a story to prove her underground school news blog is more than a gossip column, closure on her one-sided relationship with her best friend Hiroki, and a vanilla latte. She wasn’t expecting Aaron Nguyen’s death to be anything more than a cold spot in the science hall, but since Hiroki has the curse of Spectral Sight, he is the only person who can see and speak to Aaron.

As the ghost’s demands for attention become increasingly violent, Hiroki wants Georgia to help him investigate the crime, claiming that Aaron isn’t likely to budge until his killers are caught. Still hoping for spontaneous romantic combustion, she agrees to help bring Aaron’s murderers to justice and set the vengeful spirit free…but it’s not quite the close encounter she’s hoping for.

I’m not a native North Carolinian, but I’ve been here since I was thirteen. When I saw that Lauren had a book coming out that takes place in this fair state, I was interested in giving it a look. When I understood what it was about I was even more interested. I’m a big fan of modern fantasy and I know that Lauren is a talented creative.

One of the things that I’m always on the lookout for is a book that features a strong female lead. I felt pretty sure I’d find that here, and I wasn’t disappointed. Georgia is exactly that. She’s got her fair share of insecurities and weaknesses, but none that are crippling or too dark. A sense of fun is also something that I’m on the lookout for when it comes to YA fiction in general. Too often I see characters or situations that depress me as a reader. This book is hardly SUPER HAPPY FUN TIMES!, as it does deal with the death of a teen, but it doesn’t get mired down in darkness.

Georgia has a good supporting cast in the form of her love interest Hiroki and the school’s chess master Bishop. All of the characters are as well developed as any can be in a novelette of this length. It’s the characters and their interactions that move this book along at a brisk pace, rather than the plot, and that’s another plus. The banter and humor between them go a long way towards telling us what we need to know about them and it keeps the story fun, even when things get bleak.

The only real disappointment I had with the story is that I wanted the location to play a little bit more of a role. The setting itself, a boarding school, is very important, but it feels like this could take place in just about any southern state. That’s not too much of a detraction, but more local flavor would have enhanced the story.

For people looking for a new story for their teen, I do want to give a bit of a fair warning. I don’t recall if the ages of the characters are mentioned, but context tells me that they’re in their mid to late teens (tenth grade I believe). There’s some strong language and frank sexual talk that some people might not find suitable for younger teens/tweens. I don’t think any of it is excessive a la Chuck Wendig. I was a teen myself and I seem to recall doing my fair share. But if I were to rate this a la the MPAA guidelines, I’d give it a PG/PG-13. As someone who prefers less as more when it comes to violence, strong language, etc. I think Lauren balanced those elements well. I’d easily give this to my thirteen year old in another year or two.

It sounds like this is the beginning of a series, which is all of the rage these days (and I think that’s a good thing). I look forward to what comes next for Georgia and her friends. I enjoyed this book a great deal and I strongly recommend it.

I give Exorcising Aaron Nguyen four and a half out of five rosaries.

Lauren’s Site
Lauren’s Twitter
Smashwords Link
Amazon Link

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Review – A Minor Magic by Justin R. Macumber (Paperback)

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Minor Magic Cover

I’ve been a friend of Justin Macumber’s for some time. He’s had me on the Dead Robots Society podcast a time or three and we’ve collaborated on a few projects together. All of that said in the spirit of full disclosure. As soon as I saw this new book and read the excerpt, I plunked down my money to get a copy.

Over the course of a single night, mystical fires tore through the sky and reduced most of Earth to ash. Ten years later magical fire burns again, but this time it’s in the hands of a young girl named Skylar. Exiled from her adoptive home, Skylar must now struggle through ruined lands and religious zealots who believe she’s an agent of the Devil. An even greater threat exists in the form of shadowy sorcerers from another world who covet her blood. Along her journey, she meets a motley band of outcasts who not only know the secret of what happened to Earth, but also of Skylar’s true origin. Will Skylar be able to accept this fantastical truth? But more importantly, can her powers and raging heart be tamed in time to stop those who once burned the world and now seek total domination?

I love a good post apocalyptic story, particularly when you bring the fantasy element into it. One of my favorite cartoons growing up was Thundarr the Barbarian. This is a little like that with fewer sunswords and Moks and more female sorcerers.

What we have here is a solid YA fantasy novel. There’s a bit of “coming of age” and a little “fish out of water”. There’s also an endearing bit of romance. With all of that, as someone who’s in no way the target audience for this book, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

What did I like? First and foremost there’s Skylar. The world has taken a big old dump on her and it continues to do so throughout the story. How does she react? She gets crabby, downright angry, scared, and sad. That’s how real people would react and it’s nice to see. She falls in love and at first I thought it was a little too quick and easy, but the love interest is a life boat to her. They’ve had some common experiences and they’re young, the only young people on this road they travel, so it makes sense. Perhaps the only thing about it that didn’t ring entirely true was there was little conflict in their relationship. Considering how little time they had to explore the relationship though in the midst of all of the other conflict going on, perhaps that makes sense.

That’s one of the other things I like about this novel, it moves quickly. There’s a fair amount of action and about the time the characters have time to breathe, something else happens. There’s no shortage of tension.

Finally, this is a post apocalyptic novel, so it is pretty dark. It’s nicely balanced though. We’re not talking The Road level of darkness. There are enclaves of people dealing with things badly. There are monsters lurking in pockets of wyld magic. There’s a feeling of disconnect from the world as it used to be from the younger characters and some reminiscing for the way things used to be from the adults. Justin paints a good picture of the destruction that has been wreaked. In spite of all of that, he keeps a small spark of hope burning. These people are on the way to save the world, as best they can, and you get the sense that they just might be able to pull it off.

Any down sides to this book? Not very many. If you’re looking for some kind of fully fledged magic system (and I know there are fantasy fans that want that) it’s not here. Magic is new to the world and its hard to do. In that sense, this would probably be considered “low fantasy”. The ending felt a little bit rushed to me. The characters meet the “big bad” and it gets resolved in a satisfying way, but I would have liked it to be a little harder/more complicated. In a way it reminds me of the Wizard of Oz. The story is more about the journey than about the destination. Again, not a big deal, but another chapter or two about what takes place in the other world and perhaps an epic battle scene and I would have been happier.

The most telling things is what I did when I closed the book after the final page. I handed it to my thirteen year old daughter to read. She’s a voracious reader and I know she’ll enjoy it. Finding a book that can please a crusty old man and a teenage girl is sort of the Holy Grail of YA. There are a few crusty old man words, but nothing you wouldn’t hear in a PG movie. You can’t expect a post-apocalypse, fantasy world to be all Disney-fied, and I wouldn’t want it to be.

I give this book four and a half Demon Dogs out of five!

Publisher’s Page
Justin’s Site
Justin’s Twitter
Amazon Link

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Review – Sabriel by Garth Nix (Paperback)

Sabriel Cover
Sabriel Cover

I went onto the Twitter and asked for book recommendations (note to self, write a post about how important those are) and someone recommended that I take a look at the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix. I believe the person said it was an interesting take on Necromancy. I read the synopsis and ordered the whole trilogy used.

Since childhood, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who refuse to stay dead. But now her father, the Mage Abhorsen, is missing, and Sabriel must cross into that world to find him. With Mogget, whose feline form hides a powerful, perhaps malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage, Sabriel travels deep into the Old Kingdom. There she confronts an evil that threatens much more than her life and comes face to face with her own hidden destiny.

This sounds like the basic set up for any fantasy world. It’s not, though. The thing that fascinated me the most is that this world is fairly analogous to Earth in the 1940s. They have the sort of technology and culture that England had during that time, and that’s not all. The world is divided into two halves, the New Kingdom and the Old Kingdom. Technology doesn’t work in the old and magic doesn’t work in the new. The wall, a dividing line between the two, is constantly guarded on both sides and not just anyone can cross. Sabriel, the daughter of a powerful necromancer, is an exception to that rule. She possesses her father’s abilities and knowledge and, as the synopsis hints, has to use them to quiet the rising dead and their new ruler.

In addition to what’s, in my mind, a great bit of world building, Nix has created some very good characters. Sabriel is the sort of strong female character that I like to see in YA fiction. She doesn’t need rescuing and in fact at one point rescues a royal male. She’s not over the top though. She has her own fears and worries. She’s far from indestructible and needs to adapt quickly to the changes in her life. She makes mistakes and earns her place in my heart. My other favortie character in this story is Mogget. He plays a reluctant and not entirely trustworthy adviser to Sabriel. There are truly some funny bits to their interactions.

This is a well written novel. Not for nothing, it won an award or two. The world building is largely seamless. The threats to the characters are well handled. You feel pretty certain who’s going to survive and who won’t, but never so certain that there’s no tension. There’s plenty of action and suspense, with a dash of romance. I immediately handed this to my thirteen year old daughter to read. I give this five out of five wands.

Amazon Link

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Review – Prince of Hazel and Oak by John Lenahan

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theprinceofhazelandoak Today I’m reviewing The Prince of Hazel and Oak, Book 2 of the Shadowmagic series. It’s written and performed by by John Lenahan.

Synopsis: The eagerly-awaited sequel to Shadowmagic.

Having returned to the real world from Tir Na Nog at the end of the last book, our hero Conor finds himself arrested for the murder of his father.

When he explains to the cops that his dad is safe and well and enjoying life as king of a land of elves, imps and banshees they understandably think he is a nutcase.

That is until he is rescued by Celtic warriors on horseback and taken back to Tir Na Nog, accidentally bringing a policeman with him.

Once safely back in The Land, Conor finds that all is not well. His father is dying, the girl he loves is betrothed to another and a rather confused American cop is wandering around causing havoc.

It falls to our young hero, and his band of friends, to find a cure for the king. On their epic journey they encounter one of the most mystical and dangerous races in The Land, the shapeshifting Pooka, and find their fates linked in ways they could never have imagined.

The Prince of Hazel and Oak is a stunning fantasy adventure that takes fans of Shadowmagic further in to the land and brings back many of the favourite characters from the first book.

Production: The audio quality is solid. There were no repeated lines.

Grade: B

Cast: I tweeted a while back that the two best story tellers to have graced my earbuds are Nathan Lowell and John Lenahan. I’ve no doubt that John’s experiences as a stage magician and comedian play heavily into his ability to take a “straight read” and make it as magical as the plot. He does a wonderful job in bringing his story to life.

Grade: A

Story: This is one of those epic fantasy stories that gives me hope for the genre. His tagline on the novel says “Lord of the Rings for the 21st Century, Only A Lot Shorter.” I love the humor in this, but more so I love the truth. In a market that seems to be glutted with door stops that drag on forever (and a few much shorter works that seem to drag just as much), John has a work of epic fantasy that can and has made reading them (or at least listening to them) fun again.

He’s got a range of characters, old and new, that I care deeply about by the end. His world is well developed and strikes me as a good fusion of Irish folk tales and his own imagination, in the same way that Tolkien’s was a melding of Germanic myth and his own love of language and world building.

There are a few quibbles I have with the ending. Bad things happen to some of the main characters and we’re told rather than shown what happens. This is a first person narrative though, so that’s part of the point of view limitations. I do like first person for this, since it gives us a “real world” perspective into the land of Tir Na Nog. I also wanted a little more of an ending, but there is a third book so it had to leave us wanting more. And as middle books go, this was a lot more than just a bridge between the first and third.

Grade: A-

Verdict: This is one of those podcasts that owned my iPod. I listened to little else. I fast forwarded past opening and closing music because I wanted MOAR PODCAST STORY. I think that speaks for itself.

Grade: A+

Sidebar – This book has been published by Harper Collins. I’ve no idea why they are letting him give this away on Podiobooks (possibly because they’re smart enough to know how great of an audience builder that can be?). Kudos to them, though. I’ll be buying the ebooks (half the price of the paperback, again kudos to the publisher for “getting” it) for my kids.

Available on Amazon