BOOK REVIEW: BURNOUT (Tanner Petterson)

Burnout is a terrifying book about the journey of a character who doesn’t seem to have a break in battling with hardship, rejection, addiction, and depression. It’s way too real. Sometimes it’s easy to judge others for their life choices, but most of the time it’s not that simple to put ourselves in their shoes.

The reading is not always smooth; it’s not easy to like the characters at first or to understand their directions. The book can be clunky here and there with some missing details and stiff dialogues, however, it’s a powerful emotional journey that feels raw and real. What might make some readers stumble in the beginning might be an intentional and subtle projection of the character, who is hardly a reliable narrator in every way. It’s sad and depressing, especially because it’s a very real problem that can happen to anyone we know.

This is a debut novel, and I hope the author writes more, because this is a powerful, emotional book that draws me in as a reader. It doesn’t necessarily ‘follow’ the pattern of others in a similar genre, and I think the author delivers the message the book tries to convey.

4.5 rounded up to 5

BOOK REVIEW: THE CURE: TERMINAL TEAM SIX (Diego Orsini)

 

The Cure Terminal Team Six is the third book of a trilogy. Tbh, I didn’t know this until near the end. However, it can be read as a standalone. The story works, although there are things that seem to be missing along the way, like the relationship of the team member and the history of Terminal Team Six; they don’t really affect the overall plot. It would be great if there were a brief history of them in the beginning of the book, beyond the characters and their abilities. 

To me, the faith part feels very preachy, and it dominates the book, especially because Collier is the main character who gets the most screen time. It has the right to be, though, especially for those who believe in it, faith is stated as the power in the blurb, and Collier is called The Preacher. 

Maybe it’s because The Cure is the third book, I don’t really root for the main characters because they feel detached to me. I know they’ll be fine, and it takes out a lot of stake and anticipation. My favorite character, Anatoly, only appears much later in the book, and he comes and goes, leaving a more memorable existence than them. 

This book is well-written, and it takes a daring approach to include the real historical event and mix it with fiction, religion, and superheroes, a combination that I never expected to find.

4 out of 5 stars

 

PEN PALS

 

I spent my childhood in a small town. There were no libraries, only comic book rentals that appeared here and there in the front yard of residential houses. Well, there were basically a few make-shift shelves, with very limited-edition comics (as in, there was only one per title), some series were missing, and the conditions were mostly poor. However, visiting one was a highlight of my day. My brothers and I painstakingly saved our pitiful lunch money so that we had something to read.

We also spent a good chunk of our childhood without TV. I’m not that ancient, I’m a ‘young’ Gen-Xer. I’m not fifty yet. However, we were behind in terms of technology and facilities. On top of staying in a laidback town, we were not well-to-do. Our education and knowledge were limited to what we learned at school and our own practical exploration. If you are around my age or older, we know that childhood experiences are precious. It’s a miracle that my siblings and I didn’t break any bones or get kidnapped.

Anyway, another miracle: I had a pen pal. An international pen pal from Austria, a country that I didn’t even know existed back then. If I remember correctly, it was the effort of my language teacher who encouraged us to write a letter. I believe they were some exchange or something. There was no target, no one to address to yet, just a gesture, some kind of friendship invitation. I don’t think my teacher even believed in it. You see, my dad used to work in the jungle (literally), and whenever we sent him letters, it would reach him 6 months later. Kids grew up fast like puppies; 6 months was a very significant delay for sharing stories but letters were the best we could do when he was away. My dad had a very unique workplace, but that is the story for another day.

So, besides the friendship exchange program being unlikely, the long delay in letters, we were also horrible at English. We only had very basic lessons, we had never used it, and it had only been around for a few years since it became a subject. Imagine my surprise when I got a reply. I can still picture everything in my head. It was a two-page letter filled to the brims with neat handwriting on beautiful papers. Attached was a photo of a beautiful girl wearing a lacey dress. She told stories about her and her place far, far away that felt further than the moon because I could see the moon! She chose to reply to my letter! I was delighted. We wrote back maybe two or three times before I moved to a different school. Since the school was handling logistics, I couldn’t continue doing so. I didn’t even know where the post office was, and it served only domestic purposes.

I still think about the pen pal, and I still kept her letters and pictures until they were lost when we moved to another state, together with all my childhood pictures. Yep, I don’t have any childhood pictures with me. They were not digitalized yet. We asked an uncle to keep it for us, but I don’t think he cared, and they were gone.

Anyway, I remember all the blabbering above because most times, I still feel grateful that just by pressing some buttons, you at the other end of the world can read my gibberish. I can ask someone about their dogs or cats and get a reply straightaway on Twitter. I can see the lives and journeys of others and chat with everyone around the globe with no delay. It still amazes me. It’s like having many pen pals!

While I love the more personal touch of the old days, and I’m still reluctant to be reachable 24/7, I can’t imagine doing this without everyone who has supported me so far. Things like sharing and communicating with me about writing, helping me with feedback on my books, and just by being here, enduring my ramblings. Thank you. You matter to me.

As I had mentioned before, I’m doing this writing thing alone. I have mental support from my loved ones, but they are not readers, and they are not involved in the process. So, you are all I have, and I’m glad that this one doesn’t need 6 months to reach you.

Have a great day!

 

BOOK REVIEW: The Alien Contract (David Kilpatrick)

 

The Alien Contract is a book that can be finished in one sitting. I read it for over a week because real life was in the way, but it was easy to pick it up and get into it again. 

The story follows the protagonist, Gary aka The Man, as the PoV switches back and forth between him and the detectives interviewing him. I like this because readers can see Gary’s viewpoint and nod along ‘this is what I would do’ ‘this is insane’ ‘oh duck!’ and when it switches to the detectives, their thoughts also represent what most readers would have in their mind ‘this guy is batshit crazy,’ while pulling a chair and grabbing a popcorn because the stories are high level nut case but entertaining at the same time.

Along the way, there are many things that seem unbelievable, especially the way the detectives deal with The Man after he had done a crazy hit on an unkillable cartel member. Gary seems like an unreliable narrator as his stories get weirder, and they go around like a green man on a Roomba. 

Alien invasion plot has been done many times before, together with the mysteriousness, cow subplot, and rear-end explorer. Each time, there is a sense of familiarity, and each time, I feel like I know where it is going. Sometimes it’s hard to escape a certain formula, just like my attempt to read a classic romance book, the feeling of reading the same story over and over again can be overwhelming. 

Not with Alien Contract. 

Yes, it has everything the usual alien story would have, but it’s packed in such a unique and fun way, and the ending is both satisfactory and ties up the loose ends or whatever questions and doubts I had while reading. 

It doesn’t take itself too seriously, in line with the style of Man In Black. It doesn’t try to be subtle. Here is the green guy with all the classic alien look and gotcha, built-in fleshy uniform! I almost spit my tea (it sounds way less cool than spitting my coffee, but that is my life now), reading how Gary deals with them, most times with no questions asked. Poor carrot nose.

Besides all the light-hearted shenanigans (my light-hearted shenanigans might be different than yours), I think the main idea of the book is intriguing, especially because it alters Gary’s way of thinking from someone who is very stoic. Put himself in someone’s shoes, literally and figuratively. 

The timeline is not linear, but it flows smoothly, and there is no point at which I was confused in the book. 

This book is fun, entertaining, fast-paced, and as sharp as extraterrestrial titty twister.

5 of out 5 stars