2012: The War For Souls

There exists three versions of Earth: the one we're accustomed to, a two-moon world with no wars, and another populated by a race of sadistic, reptilian humanoids. As the sacred date of December 21, 2012 approaches, the quantum boundaries separating the three worlds grow weaker. The reptilian world of Abaddon needs souls and resources, and its inhabitants possess the knowledge to overcome the other two worlds if their plans succeed. One human in each of the other two worlds possesses a piece of knowledge to save humanity from a fate beyond death.

Whitley Strieber goes to great lengths in creating a universe where not only bodies can be destroyed, but souls as well. As the story progresses, the two-moon Earth begins to succumb to Abaddon, and the population begins to lose faith entirely. However, humanity's greatest strength is its ability to adapt to a desperate situation and overcome, and a small group of people won't just stand by and let themselves and everything they hold dear be destroyed.

I'm not sure what the hatred of this book is all about. Admittedly, it wasn't the greatest book I've ever read, but it was certainly far from the worst. While there are a few deus ex machina moments in the plot, I thought Strieber had some great imaginary moments, especially as they relate to the world of Abaddon.

I doubt I'd read it again or put it on my list of recommended books, but I certainly didn't hate it.

Available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million.

Title: 2012: The War For Souls
Author: Whitley Strieber
Year: 2007
Pages: 319

The Cannibals of Candyland

The gist of the story is that there exists a group of cannibalistic offshoots of humanity that live in a subterranean world where everything is made of candy. Of course, evolution happened this way because the Candy People's favorite food is young children, and children are attracted to candy. Franklin Pierce watched one of the candy cannibals eat his siblings as a child and is seeking to expose and motivate the world into ridding existence of the Candy People. When he follows one down to their world, his plan goes awry, and he finds himself becoming what he hates most!

While Carlton Mellick III has a vivid imagination and a knack for thinking his universes through completely, I wouldn't consider this the best work of his I've read. Earlier I read Sausagey Santa, and that was a much more whacked-out and entertaining read. While this has some good moments, it mostly just drives the plot towards its inevitable conclusion.

It's a fun read, but not Mellick's best.

Available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million.

Title: The Cannibals of Candyland
Author: Carlton Mellick III
Year: 2009
Pages: 151

Silent Partner

Written partially as a crime drama and also as a love letter to the author's recently-deceased dog, 'Silent Partner' tells the tale of K-9 detective Jack Davis as he tries to work his way through a series of murders with his near-perfect police dog, a Lab named Keno.

While this book had its good moments, mostly in the characters' dialog, it suffered too much from trying to emulate modern movies. Some of the personal interactions and plot points were very clichéd, and the dogs behaved entirely too perfect for animals. I realize police dogs get a lot of training, but they're still animals with basic animal instincts. In addition, the final scene in the warehouse was absolutely ludicrous and practically undermined everything the book accomplished up until that point.

There are also some severe editing mistakes that occur at two or three different points in the book, which make me wonder if last-minute edits were done, but no proofer was available to clean these up.

Overall, the book is an enjoyable, quick read. If you're just looking for something light that you don't want to have to think about too much, Jennifer Chase's novel should do the trick. If you're one of those people who like more realistic stories, then this book probably isn't up your alley.

Note: This book was received for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million.

Title: Silent Partner
Author: Jennifer Chase
Year: 2010
Pages: 308

As Fate Would Have It

Michael Louis Calvillo spins a tale of cannibalism and bad relationships, somehow tying the two together into an entertaining yarn.

The story begins with Heather's first date with the city's rising star chef, Montgomery. The date takes a turn for the worse when she finds out Montgomery only thinks of her as a piece of meat — literally. As it turns out, Montgomery and his tenuous girlfriend Liz have eclectic culinary tastes. Things get complicated when Heather's heroin-addicted friend Ashley plays amateur detective and starts following Montgomery around.

While the book ends on a somewhat anticlimactic note, Calvillo shows his talent in creating an excellent character study on destructive relationships amid the absurdity of cannibalism. The true joy of this book is in Calvillo's use of language and the matter-of-fact tone taken by each of the characters. You truly find yourself sucked in, despite the obvious plot holes.

If you liked the TV show Lost more as a character study than the actual story, then you'll enjoy this book.

Available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

Title: As Fate Would Have It
Author: Michael Louis Calvillo
Year: 2009
Pages: 289

Shatnerquake

Aside from a few nerdgasmic moments introduced by the author, Jeff Burk, the book consisted primarily of jumping from plot point to plot point to plot point with little room for anything else to transpire.

I'm not a huge fan of long, drawn-out descriptions (Herman Melville, you are evil), but I had a difficult time trying to follow the action at times. You could tell Burk had a picture in his mind of what was happening, but he didn't describe it well enough to convey the events to the reader in order to achieve the full effect.

There was also a severe lack of any kind of characterization in this book, and the few characters that did receive any usually ended up as pointless cannon fodder a few pages later.

The less said about the ending, the better. Judging by other's comments on Goodreads, there seem to be one or more sequels, but on its own, it was rather ambiguous and nonsensical.

This was my first "official" bizarro book, so I'm not quite sure if I'm as qualified to review it as others more familiar with the genre, but this didn't do a whole lot for me.

Title: Shatnerquake
Author: Jeff Burk
Year: 2009
Pages: 100