Michael Hartnett (Author of The Blue Rat)

Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing In the Wrath of Legends (The Winterhawk Saga Book 2) by David Buzan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
An Adventure Novel at its Best For an author to write a truly great action-adventure novel, the layers matter most. Yes, David Buzan’s In the Wrath of Legends delivers those wondrous, daring scenes that bookend the novel, with the ingenuity and big-h ...more
Jan 07, 2026 01:14PM · 1 like · like · see review
Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing In the Lair of Legends (The Winterhawk Saga) by David Buzan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A Man and Beast Worthy of an All-Nighter Wow! Talk about a book so exciting that I pulled an all-nighter. David Buzan’s In the Lair of Legends keeps coming at a reader with one ingenious, breathless scene after another. In 1873, Lieutenant Jolon Wint ...more
Jan 07, 2026 01:14PM · 1 like · like · see review
Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing In the Lair of Legends (The Winterhawk Saga) by David Buzan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A Man and Beast Worthy of an All-Nighter Wow! Talk about a book so exciting that I pulled an all-nighter. David Buzan’s In the Lair of Legends keeps coming at a reader with one ingenious, breathless scene after another. In 1873, Lieutenant Jolon Wint ...more
Jan 07, 2026 01:13PM · 1 like · like · see review
Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing The Weaning Hill by Joe Edd Morris	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Out of the Darkness, an Inspiring Journey toward the Light Joe Edd Morris’s The Weaning Hill is a penetrating examination of how a couple and finds its way forward after their marriage falls apart. If you haven’t read Morris before, you will be struc ...more
Jul 12, 2025 02:38AM · 1 like · like · see review
Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing God's Ponzi by Robert Buschel	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A Brilliant, Timely Novel Early on in Robert Buschel’s brilliant and revelatory novel God’s Ponzi, our hero/anti-hero Gregory [aka GP] scouts his own makeup with his usual clear-eyed candor: “My only flaw? My need to feel important; my need to beat ot ...more
Jul 08, 2025 09:11AM · like · see review
Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing Pinch Hitting by Morris Hoffman (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
What a Wise, Wonderful Novel Morris Hoffman has written a novel about baseball, but it is also one of relationships in all of their anxious complexity and one about music whether it be the sweet harmony of language or the classical brilliance of the ...more
Jun 11, 2025 06:38PM · 1 like · like · see review
Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing Spirit Light: Volume 1 (The Spirit Song Saga) by Ross Hightower	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Too Much Delight to Want an End As the legends of their people grow, the Alle’oss engage in a wonderful oral tradition, one that echoes Homeric and old English storytelling. At times embellished but compulsively riveting, these tales are a fitting tri ...more
May 27, 2025 06:13PM · 1 like · like · see review
Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing Boy of Heaven by Morris Hoffman (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A Glorious Spiritual Tale Delivered with a Sharp, Secular Pen Morris Hoffman’s Boy of Heaven is one of those rare tales that possesses a timeless grace. In a Milan stable that was once the church refectory, an unnamed boy has visions of the dissolved ...more
May 22, 2025 04:01PM · 1 like · like · see review
Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing Spirit Sight: Volume Two (The Spirit Song Saga Book 2) by Ross Hightower	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Out of the Whirlwind Comes Redemption Early in the second book of Ross Hightower’s enthralling Spirit Sight, the nimble, clever, and resourceful Aron asks the troubled inquisitor Harold penetrating questions: “What kind of man do you want to be? An in ...more
May 21, 2025 01:26PM · 1 like · like · see review
Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing Price of Vengeance by Kurt D. Springs (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Keeping Your Soul When the Hurly-Burly’s Done In the title of his sophisticated opening novel of the Dreamscape Warriors series, Kurt Springs speaks to the complications and nuances of trying to survive and succeed in a brutal environment. In what mi ...more
May 19, 2025 01:34PM · 2 likes · like · see review

Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing

In the Wrath of Legends (The Winterhawk Saga Book 2)
by David Buzan (Goodreads Author)

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An Adventure Novel at its Best
For an author to write a truly great action-adventure novel, the layers matter most. Yes, David Buzan’s In the Wrath of Legends delivers those wondrous, daring scenes that bookend the novel, with the ingenuity and big-h An Adventure Novel at its Best
For an author to write a truly great action-adventure novel, the layers matter most. Yes, David Buzan’s In the Wrath of Legends delivers those wondrous, daring scenes that bookend the novel, with the ingenuity and big-hearted scale that characterizes the best of America. But the novel also contains the wise touches and context that speak to this nation’s dark history, its inexcusable mistreatments of Native American tribes and Chinese immigrants, with the concomitant violence and greed underpinning them.
Like her father before her in Buzan’s majestic In the Lair of Legends, Chenoa Winterhawk carries the burdens of injustice with extraordinary grace. What gives the novel ballast is the massive presence of her embittered, aggrieved uncle, Akando. Many of Akando’s points are legitimate. However, his brutal responses are not. Echoing her father Jolon’s outlook, Chenoa considered how “the whole world was held together by the strands of sacrifices.” Her sacrifices are counterbalanced with Akando’s cruel and wanton indulgences. Akando has hatched a plan that not only would endanger the West’s future, but would lead to much greater suffering of his Nez Perce tribe.
How Chenoa goes about trying to upend Akando’s intricate and well-supported plans is a central thrill of the novel as are the Wen’ey’ti, large looming beasts inhabiting the caves. But those aforementioned layers are what give this blood battle its heart. Buzan has a wonderful knack for making the reader deeply care about characters who don’t cross the pages for long, whether it be the water hauler Rico Traff, the Harley riding engineers McNichols and Troost, or the secret service agents Travers and Michaels. The compromised yet dedicated Major Quinn offers a sharp contrast to the gold crazed traitors Briggs and Ivors.
Clever lines abound throughout, many of which possess a ribald earthiness unrepeatable here. At bottom, the novel is a thinking reader’s pleasure, one with breathtaking action scenes(Chenoa's improvisations and resilience are something to behold), but with such rich historical context and characterization that turn-of-the-century Oregon serves as a prism through which America can be considered. For those who have read Buzan’s In the Lair of Legends, this novel does not disappoint. In fact, In the Wrath of Legends only enriches that experience. ...more

Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing

In the Lair of Legends (The Winterhawk Saga)
by David Buzan (Goodreads Author)

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A Man and Beast Worthy of an All-Nighter
Wow! Talk about a book so exciting that I pulled an all-nighter. David Buzan’s In the Lair of Legends keeps coming at a reader with one ingenious, breathless scene after another. In 1873, Lieutenant Jolon Wint ...more

Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing

In the Lair of Legends (The Winterhawk Saga)
by David Buzan (Goodreads Author)

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

A Man and Beast Worthy of an All-Nighter
Wow! Talk about a book so exciting that I pulled an all-nighter. David Buzan’s In the Lair of Legends keeps coming at a reader with one ingenious, breathless scene after another. In 1873, Lieutenant Jolon Wint ...more

Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing

The Weaning Hill
by Joe Edd Morris

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Out of the Darkness, an Inspiring Journey toward the Light
Joe Edd Morris’s The Weaning Hill is a penetrating examination of how a couple and finds its way forward after their marriage falls apart. If you haven’t read Morris before, you will be struc ...more

Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing

God's Ponzi
by Robert Buschel

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A Brilliant, Timely Novel
Early on in Robert Buschel’s brilliant and revelatory novel God’s Ponzi, our hero/anti-hero Gregory [aka GP] scouts his own makeup with his usual clear-eyed candor: “My only flaw? My need to feel important; my need to beat ot ...more

Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing

Pinch Hitting
by Morris Hoffman (Goodreads Author)

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What a Wise, Wonderful Novel
Morris Hoffman has written a novel about baseball, but it is also one of relationships in all of their anxious complexity and one about music whether it be the sweet harmony of language or the classical brilliance of the ...more

Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing

Spirit Light: Volume 1 (The Spirit Song Saga)
by Ross Hightower

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Too Much Delight to Want an End
As the legends of their people grow, the Alle’oss engage in a wonderful oral tradition, one that echoes Homeric and old English storytelling. At times embellished but compulsively riveting, these tales are a fitting tri Too Much Delight to Want an End
As the legends of their people grow, the Alle’oss engage in a wonderful oral tradition, one that echoes Homeric and old English storytelling. At times embellished but compulsively riveting, these tales are a fitting tribute to the Spirit Song Saga yet to be completed.
As the third in the series, Ross Hightower’s Spirit Light catches the reader amid a saga that is arcing toward a huge climax. Yet, the reader is in no rush since this epic tale is entertaining and intriguing every step of the way. Minna, Alyn, Aron and the rest of the Alle’oss rebels are confronted with how to proceed without their guiding force Regan, whose plans to defeat the Empire are lost with her death. Their thrashing and groping are marked by moments of insights and decisiveness that are exhilarating.
Yet so many forces are working against them, including the crafty lead Inquisitor Hoerst and this trio of formidable witches, that the ragtag rebels must find help in unexpected places. The scenes with former inquisitor Harold are a constant delight and the emergence of Sera, the daring, gifted daughter of Marshall Victor Storm, provides another layer of texture to this rich tapestry. Hightower’s skill of not only shifting perspective from character to character but also developing meticulously crafted societies around them (whether in royal Brennan or the seedy Ferol ghetto) encourages the reader to invest more deeply in this environment that serves as a concave mirror to our own.
And oh, the surprises, like Alyn’s troubling spirit and some late twists in the battle with the mercenaries, leave the reader contemplating where Hightower will turn next. The impending battle between Minna and Macha has already initiated … as much one of wits and foresight as it is skill and power. Yes, the reader can sense a big finish coming in the next novel, but the delight of this saga is there is no rush to get there. We are gathered around the fire waiting to hear more of this rousing tale. ...more

Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing

Boy of Heaven
by Morris Hoffman (Goodreads Author)

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A Glorious Spiritual Tale Delivered with a Sharp, Secular Pen
Morris Hoffman’s Boy of Heaven is one of those rare tales that possesses a timeless grace. In a Milan stable that was once the church refectory, an unnamed boy has visions of the dissolved ...more

Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing

Spirit Sight: Volume Two (The Spirit Song Saga Book 2)
by Ross Hightower

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Out of the Whirlwind Comes Redemption
Early in the second book of Ross Hightower’s enthralling Spirit Sight, the nimble, clever, and resourceful Aron asks the troubled inquisitor Harold penetrating questions: “What kind of man do you want to be? An in ...more

Michael Hartnett rated a book it was amazing

Price of Vengeance
by Kurt D. Springs (Goodreads Author)

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Keeping Your Soul When the Hurly-Burly’s Done
In the title of his sophisticated opening novel of the Dreamscape Warriors series, Kurt Springs speaks to the complications and nuances of trying to survive and succeed in a brutal environment. In what mi Keeping Your Soul When the Hurly-Burly’s Done
In the title of his sophisticated opening novel of the Dreamscape Warriors series, Kurt Springs speaks to the complications and nuances of trying to survive and succeed in a brutal environment. In what might have been a satisfying, climactic scene of bloodlust in lesser hands, Springs points to the dehumanizing Price of Vengeance. Both the main character Liam and the reader are left uneasy, even desolate, by the acts committed.
Liam certainly has reasons to seek that vengeance, given the loss of both his parents and his beloved stepparents to villainous forces. Yet his desire is counterbalanced by his burgeoning wisdom as he grows in both fighting skills and intellectual understanding through honing his formidable powers.
On one level, his ability to step out of time and encounter alternate reality allows him as a soldier to use the dreamscape for scouting, scrounging weapons, and plotting strategies. But through the training of the otherworldly Jarek, Liam comes to fuse his ever-present sense of duty with a subtler perception of how he reconsiders his role in an existential fight against Chitin (the huge colony insects) and their humanoid leader Azurius.
Azurius is a wonderful villian, urbane, brilliant, and complex. His casual Shakespeare references speak to his anticipatory perceptions of human behaviors. In other words, he is a foe that forces Liam to stretch his abilities beyond what is possible. Their chess match is given another layer as Liam’s stepbrother and most loyal friend Randolf commands what’s left of the eviscerated forces of New Olympia, the last surviving city.
In one of the novel’s master plot strokes, Liam and Randolf strategize in concentric circles around each other. If Liam engages in immediate, high adrenaline missions, Randolf must adopt a broader view of the entire New Olympia community; yet even with Randolf’s overarching vision, Liam and his dream-walking encounters expand the possibilities of that vision wider and deeper.
Oh, this novel is rip-roaring fun, even as its strong moral core offers gravitas to the proceedings. The thrills and tension come to a stomach-churning, fulfilling climax that serves as a counterpoint to the earlier brutal scene mentioned in the opening of this review.
The emergence late in the novel of Marisa as a character to watch points to a sequel that will propel onward the rich intrigue developed in Price of Vengeance. I look forward to seeing where Springs takes us next. ...more

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	The Blue Rat 4.63 avg rating — 78 ratings — published 2019 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fools in the Magic Kingdom (Disney Unhinged, #1) by Michael Hartnett (Goodreads Author), Bob McLain (Editor) 4.82 avg rating — 45 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Generation Dementia 4.72 avg rating — 18 ratings — published 2015 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Great SAT Swindle 4.33 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2010 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Universal Remote it was ok 2.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1999	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Michael Hartnett’s Followers (24)

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