Eric Madeen's Blog

Eros Thrives on the Novel
In "I Am Sheffrou: An Alien Love Story" the narrator falls into a wormhole and experiences a whole new world of alien life which gives her a unique perspective on things back home and how back there the novelty has gone out of her earthbound marriage. Like much sci-fi, this is about now but dressed up in exotica and erotica and here with an incredible range of imaginative names and customs that serve the story splendidly. What I'm reading more and more in books by women these days is the reclaiming of their sexual selves and openly writing of the pleasures inherent in eros. Maashi is the alpha and ambisexual which dialogues with polygamy and the male desire to plant his seed far and wide. Tamara is loathe to share him but enjoys the game of chase me, catch me, service me. Some of the prose is lyrical as in "... the fragrant pheromones radiated by Sheffrous" and again the other worldly naming and description fresh as morning dew over a field of clover. Distance giving perspective is the predominant theme and how or what direction the next two books will go leaves this reviewer all in for more. Fine work, Doctor!

From Hydroponics to Sonic Showers ...

The "Argos Incident" was a solid read. The author not only has his science down but also plotting, setting and characterizations. The dialogue is crisp and the transitions between the scenes, although jarring at first, were gotten used to. I did, however, have some trouble keeping all the characters straight since there are so many but overall it works. Fine writing and topnotch sci-fi. Go there.

Good Dad/Good Advice

Jared Wynn covers much ground, tons of it. Between scenes with his kids and wife and her ex there's riffs on meditation and sundry and a backloaded glossary of terms both psychological and spiritual. Throughout he shows he's a stand-up guy in doing a wonderful wizardry in stepping in as the step father of his children while bestowing on them hard-earned life lessons and on us his guiding lights in sharing a wealth of terms and their definitions. I enjoyed the psychological ones and found myself noting the ones my wife is suffering from and my kids and myself too. I also liked the simple explanations of complex religions, giving us the gist of them. Perhaps in a future book these could be woven into the fabric of the tome in the form of epigraphs as in a string of them at chapter ends and/or beginnings, instead of shoveled in as they were. I also liked his restraint in not going off on the skiddos' biological father which showed a remarkable strength of character and one who has his stuff together. Keep writing, Jared! You have much to share and I profited from your wisdom. Fine work.

Each of these vignettes starts off on a slow even keel with writing that's crisp and clear and dialogue that's serviceable with a respectable build up of characters and tension . Then all heck breaks loose. Although this isn't my genre I do recommend this book for anyone who's into horror and gruesome crime and finally fine writing in these areas. Not for the squeamish or faint of heart.

James writes angelically and touches and delves into major religions and their beliefs as in making sense of an at times senseless existence. The beginning captivated me and in fact throughout I was smitten with a voice sure and deep. As I progressed I found what was lacking was levity as counterpoint and relief. I, however, dug on the nuggets of wisdom, this aphorism a case in point: "Seek yourself in a deep question or fulfill yourself in ruin." Pithy stuff. And to that I'd like to counter: Light is deep. And intimacy is fleeting and enjoyed too rarely as in the smile between strangers or the blast of eye contact with the harried cashier while thanking her by name read on her tag and so on. And I also loved the Hemingway "Clean, Well-Lighted Place" references to nada it's all a nada riffing. My criticism again is that there's little levity to break up the monotony of the heavy solipsisms and machine-gunning of maxims, since there is much depth and capital element LIFE in levity. If James could learn to lighten up on occasion we'd be all the more game to venture down rabbit holes of riddles and truisms, philosophies and literary and religious references ... in spades, and come out the other side the more sublime for it. In bringing us down strive to bring us up for again in levity there is depth and joy. The Christian cross poem at the end was tacked on and demeaned the (over)arching rigor of this splendid rainbow of a book.

Even though I missed the first book of the series I was able to follow the plot lines of "Sanctuary." I found myself taking notes on the different characters ... and there are many! With the main ones being Sonny/Nathan then quite a few more, e.g., Molly, Ellen, Jonathan, Tracy, Kayley and so on down the line. The story begins true to Zombie Apocalypse Genre with the killing of one such then things turn even more dystopian with the first part setting up the second quite nicely. Some of the chapters were epigraphed with pithy quotes one of which I adored: "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you stand alone." This is good writerly advice as well since our craft is a solitary one and we're down in the trenches all alone and thus have to make individual choices by the thousands in the course of humping the muse as in scribbling an entire novel. Circling back to Christopher's novel, he has a fine ear for dialogue and keeps the plot moving right along to the point of achieving narrative drive as in exceeding readers' -- this reader's! -- expectations. I want to see more from this fine writer.

Kathy Shanks in her self-help book "Guided Journaling" shares a multitude of helpful life affirming nuggets of wisdom. As she "journals" the book she journals into the reader -- this reader! -- the importance of building self-awareness through the art of journaling. Practicing gratitude and maintaining healthy relationships are just some of the pointers she shares with us. Each chapter starts with a pithy quote from Buddha, Hellen Keller, Frank McCourt, et al., and ends with a summary of the chapter's main points. All laid out quite well. I learned much from Kathy and recommend this book. Thank you, Kathy!

S. A. Marano's novel "Mafia Chick" is tough-talking and catches the atmosphere of the mafiosa and how a seemingly innocent girl can get caught up with what's in the 'hood. The beginning could use a sauna sit to lose the fat as in all the adjectives. Things felt forced at first but once Marano-san hit her stride I became more engrossed in Donna and her cronies with their central casting names, e.g., Gino, Frankie and mention of the Cosa Nostra -- all familiar ground. The Studio 54 with big names dropped from Andy Warhol to Elton John caught the spirit of those times. And there's some hard earned truths and apt descriptions as in people being "like a wave you can surf or a wave that can pull you under." As she learns to polish her prose going forward this is a writer who will rock your socks. Worth a look! ericmadeen dot com Yokohama

This is a self-help tome written by Jen Sincero whose plaudits run long as they're listed in the author bio on the back cover. It's broken up in units focusing on various advice on how to get your s**t together by tapping into what she calls your "source energy." Although the font is ... smallish, the writing style is high-octane and snappy and a bit slangy which makes it a breeze to read. Jen is spot on in the life coaching advice she administers with nary a snag or cliche. Fresh and vibrant but a bit dated; I had to dust off my copy taken down from the self-help section of my third-floor study/garret. Go there.
Eric Madeen www.ericmadeen.com