Review: The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson

The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've watch Gary Stevenson on YouTube and am familiar with what he is trying to do, which is help people understand why the economy is failing and why we need to tax the ultra rich, and stop believing the narrative being fed by them about immigrants. It made me curious about him, and after hearing him talk on a podcast about his book, and them saying it is as much about the class system as being a trader, I decided to buy it and read it.

I though it might be a bit beyond my understanding, all the maths and financial stuff, but like with his videos, Gary explains it in easy layman's terms, about how he became a trader, what that means and also what it involves. It helps that I come from London, and have worked in large banking institutes like Citibank, and know a few people who are traders and brokers. I understand the lifestyle and the type of people - though Gary explains that really well, and is funny with it.

It's a book that documents the financial crash of 2008 - and explains why it happened and why the economy won't recover from it. It also details how the rich are holding all the cards and ordinary people don't have a chance. This causes an emotional and moral dilemma for Gary, who comes from a poor background, and it ultimately leads to him wanting to leave Citibank who he works for, but it turns out they weren't going to let him go quite so easily. He had a fight on his hands.

An interesting insight, and enjoyable book which made compelling reading. It is very much written in Gary's tone and style of speaking, although I do feel that the publishers could have proofed it better as there are sentences that don't make sense as they are missing a word, and some terms could have been explained better. (Gary refers to the 'Square Mile' a couple of times, this is actually the colloquial name for the financial heart of central London where all the banks are, it is literally a square mile, but it is never explained, so if you aren't from London, you wouldn't know).

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Review: Pyres by Kev Harrison

Pyres by Kev Harrison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was super lucky and managed to snag a signed paperback of this book while at the Indie Horror Chapter's third event at The Royal Hotel in Weston-Super-Mare.

This is a completely gripping book, from start to finish, and right up my alley with being supernatural based horror. The main character, Angela is a 'spirit painter' which means she channels visions from beyond the veil through her art. But when they turn into images of horror, with one being identical to the real life death of a right wing TV presenter, things get very scary. Her sister, Becky, returns from Italy just in time to help her untangle what is going on.

Set in the British countryside, with very real characters I loved this book. It's dark, fast-paced, with a background of political narrative that's very satisfying. It's the best thing Kev Harrison has released to date.

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New Cover for The Jester Series!

I've been so busy I almost forgot to post this to my blog - here are the new covers for The Jester series! 🥳

I've been looking forward to relaunching The Jester series every since my cover designer showed me the images they thought might work. And it's been interesting doing an overhaul of the contents too, and tightening it up. I was reminded how mind-bending the sequel gets and how much it made my head hurt writing it! My editor also did a great job teaching me where my weaknesses lie even when it comes to doing minor changes. I might be an accredited proofreader but that doesn't change the fact that every writer needs an editor.

To celebrate the relaunch, they are both on sale for the whole of September! You can find out more here or click on the covers to grab the books. 

Click to grab you copy

Click to grab your copy

 

The Jester two-book series is a dark, dystopian sci-fi fantasy and time travel thriller. And these new covers reflect the sinister side of the books, and how they are playing a game and not knowing who is behind the mask.

Here's what it's about:

David Sinclair has been pushed out of his own time, and finds himself slipping through parallel times to try and get back home, but first he has to find and catch The Jester, a sinister depraved man who enjoys these sick games. 

David is led through dark dystopian times, and discovers there is a larger game at play, one that challenges his understanding, and threatens the existence of his world. 

If you like sci-fi fantasy, evil villains and time jumping, this might be for you. But The Jester is not for the faint-hearted, he likes to partake in depraved acts of horror too.

 

Review: A Quiet Apocalypse, by Dave Jeffrey

A Quiet Apocalypse by Dave Jeffery
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My first book from this author. Very compelling read and novel idea, but one, like 1984, which leaves you with no hope. Some real shocks in this book, and it left me quite upset and extremely disturbed. I have to remember it's a piece of fiction. I'd dread this to ever become reality.

I was left a little unclear on a few things. The Samaratians, what were they actually doing? And at the end, why were they doing what they were doing? It's a short book that could have been more developed in my eyes, even though it was written through first person, though there are more in the series so I'll just have to read them to find out.

It left me curious, and for fans of The Walking Dead, they might like it. For me, with the current state of the world, it left me upset and a little scared.

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Review: Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Fairy tale by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a long, but worthwhile read, and it's been a while since SK wrote such a long tale. It felt like it was in two parts to me, the first about the main character Charlie Reade in the current world, and the second half in another world he discovers.

Stephen King back at his finest with developing loveable characters - including a dog. And I love how he intertwined fairy tales with it, and many of our cultural concepts around them too. And he even managed to mix in some Edgar Allan Poe in there too.

There's fantasy, there's horror, there's even romance. Written in first person, as the main character telling an incredible story, we travel with him through all sorts of life experiences and see his journey through them. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

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Review: Sales Copy Unleashed, by Robert J Ryan

Sales Copy Unleashed: Advanced Publishing and Marketing Strategies for Indie Authors by Robert J. Ryan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second book I have read of  Robert J Ryan's and he has some great information, and explains things so well. The only downfall with this book is he constantly refers to the previous three books he has written in the series, so you have to have read them first - I have only read Book 2 in his series. He also keeps telling you to google things he talks about if you want more information, rather giving more explaination in the book. They are marketing concepts, and really I thought that was the point of this book. So although this is packed with information for self published authors there are parts that could be better. It's like he has become a little cocky at this stage - or bored with writing these books.

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Review: Nothing Compares 2 U, by Toure

Nothing Compares 2 U: An Oral History of Prince by Touré
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a peculiar book. On the one hand it has some fascinating stories, and on the other it's what I refer to as a 'money grab' book.

I had never heard of the author Toure, despite being a devout fan of Prince's since When Doves Cry became No.1 in the UK. And when I look him up, I see that he has been making a lot of money off Prince since his death - like many of the people who took part in this book - but then again I couldn't be sure they did actively take part in this book - except for Susannah Melvoin, who wrote the foreward. I'll get to her later.

I can't decide if this is a compilation of stories found on the internet by a lot of the people who spoke about Prince after and before his death, because some of them spoke of him as though he was still present and some were clearly after his death. Some clearly were and other pieces weren't. And Toure interjects himself between these stories with his own third party observations, and sorted them into categories. And he uses quotes and pieces out of Mayte's book.

But what I really didn't like about this is the pop-psychology that Toure does of Prince, which was very critical and judgemental - he even had a whole chapter of hearsay quotes from people who had slept with Prince, about how he was in bed. I found it very disrespectful and a little perverse, especially from someone who purports to admire Prince. He continually refers to Prince's childhood trauma and claims he had an inability to connect to anyone. And then later in the book you realise where his bitterness comes from: an interview with Prince he did where Prince didn't give him any of the personal details he was looking for. If Prince were alive he'd sue his arse off.

And then to Susannah Melvoin, someone who had an off and on relationship with Prince in the 1980s. On the one hand she gushes about Prince and how special their relationship was and how important he was to her, and on the other she makes Prince out to be the bad guy. Clearly she had no boundaries and kept going back for more. She talks as though she was significant to him his entire life, but it seems the last twenty to thirty years of his life she had no contact with him - except for a funeral of mutual friends here and there. Much like her twin sister Wendy, and Lisa who left the band in the 1980s.

I don't disbelieve anything they shared, but the majority of it included people who didn't actively engage with him in the last twenty plus years of his life, which made the final chapter so sickening. They all lament the events of Prince's death, blaming it on the people who were in his life at the time. They claim to know something was wrong with him from the moment they'd heard his plane had an emergency landing two weeks before, and that his death wouldn't have happened if they had been there. But not one of them did get on a plane and go to him when it happened. And then they were all upset that they weren't invited to his funeral - a small religious affair - though they all flew in and had their own get together to celebrate him. But again they continually go on about how lonely he must have been and how awful his life must have been at that time - yet none of them knew.

So on the one side I enjoyed the stories of Prince and his genius musicianship and how he was a workaholic. The rest was like reading people sharing their grieviances and making observations and judgements on someone who had suffered a really awful childhood trauma, as though any of them had a clue what that had been like (none of them had), and claimed they knew what addicts were like and what you had to do, but none of them did, because they weren't actively in his life for the last couple of decades of it. I'd have loved to have heard from people who had been, but it seems this book was only really about the revolution - or maybe those were the only quotes that Toure could find, or people who would speak to him. Maybe those that had been actively in his life had more respect for him than to share their dirty laundry in this book. He would have hated this book.

The only books worth reading about Prince are Mayte Garcia's book, The Most Beautiful; Morris Day's book, On Time, and Prince's own book, (even if it is just the beginning), The Beautiful Ones.



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