Colin Searle (Author of The Call of Abaddon)

Colin Searle rated a book it was amazing Chicken Man Vol. 1: The Attack of the Vegetable People by Andrew Komer (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
great art, great writing, great jokes. get it!
Nov 06, 2025 10:59AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Chicken Man Vol. 1 by Andrew Komer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Chicken Man Vol. 1 by Andrew Komer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Colin Searle rated a book it was amazing Gwen’s Gambit: Excalibur's Legacy: An Elvish Space Opera - Book One by A.B. Franklin (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
Gwen’s Gambit is a darn fun ride. It takes place in a well-constructed sci-fi world rooted in Arthurian legend, but scaled up into a space opera spanning many planets. This setup forms the backdrop for the elven princess Gwendolyn’s mad dash across w ...more
Aug 25, 2025 01:44PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Gwen’s Gambit by A.B. Franklin. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Gwen’s Gambit by A.B. Franklin <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Colin Searle and 6 other people liked Winter's review of The Call of Abaddon (The Abaddon Cycle Book 1): "🌪️ When Cosmic Horror Meets Cyberpunk: A Thrilling Descent Into Madness Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4 /5 Stars) This book grabbed me by the throat from page one and refused to let go. Imagine Philip K. Dick collaborating with H.P. Lovecraft on a cyberpunk thriller, a" Read more of this review »
Aug 02, 2025 10:00PM · see review
Colin Searle liked A.B.'s review of The Call of Abaddon (The Abaddon Cycle Book 1): "Wow. Just….Wow! Bravo! “Come on in here boy, have a cigar, you’re gonna go far…” Truly. For a debut novel Colin Searle nails it! This story? A combination of The Matrix meets V for Vendetta meets.. dunno, something GREAT! There’s a lot of depth to this " Read more of this review »
Aug 02, 2025 08:32AM · see review
Colin Searle rated a book it was amazing The Call of Abaddon: The Abaddon Cycle, Book 1 by Colin Searle (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
Jul 28, 2025 04:14PM · like
Colin Searle rated a book it was amazing She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor, #1) by Shelley Parker-Chan (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
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Colin Searle rated a book it was amazing How to Stop Time by Matt Haig (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
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Colin Searle rated a book it was amazing The Call of Abaddon (The Abaddon Cycle Book 1) by Colin Searle (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
Jul 06, 2025 08:26AM · like

Colin Searle rated a book it was amazing

Chicken Man Vol. 1: The Attack of the Vegetable People
by Andrew Komer (Goodreads Author)

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great art, great writing, great jokes. get it!

Colin Searle rated a book it was amazing

Gwen’s Gambit: Excalibur's Legacy: An Elvish Space Opera - Book One
by A.B. Franklin (Goodreads Author)

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Gwen’s Gambit is a darn fun ride. It takes place in a well-constructed sci-fi world rooted in Arthurian legend, but scaled up into a space opera spanning many planets. This setup forms the backdrop for the elven princess Gwendolyn’s mad dash across w Gwen’s Gambit is a darn fun ride. It takes place in a well-constructed sci-fi world rooted in Arthurian legend, but scaled up into a space opera spanning many planets. This setup forms the backdrop for the elven princess Gwendolyn’s mad dash across worlds and star systems on a quest to locate the human genetic analog heir of King Arthur (Carter Hurley), and eventually, the sword of legend - Excalibur. While the concept isn’t original, a lot of the execution definitely is. It’s a rare indie book that can pull all that off!

For A. B. Franklin’s first foray into fiction, this was really well put together. The dual dramas on the elven world Allyndal and Earth, all the betrayals, reversals, complexity, twists and fun interplay between a pretty large cast of characters was great fun. It's a cross of Star Wars/Trek/LOTR in space, in the best possible way. Gwen is badass while still maintaining likeability in the relatable underdog kinda way, which isn’t an easy tightrope to walk. Everyone else, including her brothers, eventual allies on Earth (the Hurleys), and the villains are also likeable enough, even if they shouldn’t be. Morrigan is hot and uses that for manipulation (as to be expected with any character named Morrigan) and the elven King Arellan’s brother (the prince) is a jackass, but in a way that gets the plot going. The characters help to keep the tone light, even with a massive war between the elf and goblin species and some surprisingly gruesome deaths for the space opera genre.

One thing I really enjoyed was the sequence where Marty Hurley and another airline pilot are landing their plane, and spot Gwen’s alien shuttle coming down. My grandfather was an air traffic controller and the scene reminded me a lot of his stories from that part of his life. All the terms are correct because the author is drawing from personal experience, which helps believability and grounds the story.

Although this book is adult SF, there are some parallels to the YA Artemis Fowl series (sci-fi elven/fairy world crossing over with modern human civilization), the MCU iteration of Thor (specifically the first movie with Thor being a fish out of water on Earth, dealing with humans), and even Tartakovsky’s Sym-Bionic Titan animated series (with humanoid alien/humans escaping a coup on their homeworld by coming to Earth). There might even be a little Galaxy Quest in there, which I think is a great tonal match, if you're familiar with it. I make these comparisons in a very positive light - if you like any of the above media, Gwen’s Gambit oftentimes outdoes them.

The battles and action are well thought out, ranging from on-the-ground fights to Battle of Britain-esque space dogfights and other great stuff. The scene/location descriptions and rollout of exposition is generally very well done and not overwhelming. As a visual artist, I found myself having crystal clear images of most scenes in my head, which is exactly what you want.

If I had to poke holes in something, it would be the overall quality of proofreading - it could (eventually) use another pass to fix some basic grammatical errors, or improperly used words that sound the same but aren’t actually correct (and at least one your/you’re swap). This is really minor stuff though, and although some errors are noticeable, they don’t hurt the characterization, arcs or plot at all.

The dialogue is focused on fast-paced fun, though it's slightly cheesy at times (which is fine for this genre). While I’m ordinarily not a huge fan of overused exclamation points, I think they actually help amp up the blistering pace of this particular book.

It’s set up nicely for a sequel, which from what I hear is coming VERY soon! If you’re a fan of anything I’ve said above, grabbing Gwen’s Gambit is a no brainer. The pages turn on their own! Go get it! Now! ...more

Colin Searle and 6 other people liked Winter's review of The Call of Abaddon (The Abaddon Cycle Book 1):

"🌪️ When Cosmic Horror Meets Cyberpunk: A Thrilling Descent Into Madness

Rating:
🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4 /5 Stars)

This book grabbed me by the throat from page one and refused to let go. Imagine Philip K. Dick collaborating with H.P. Lovecraft on a cyberpunk thriller, a" Read more of this review »

Colin Searle liked A.B.'s review of The Call of Abaddon (The Abaddon Cycle Book 1):

"Wow. Just….Wow!

Bravo!

“Come on in here boy, have a cigar, you’re gonna go far…”

Truly. For a debut novel Colin Searle nails it!

This story? A combination of The Matrix meets V for Vendetta meets.. dunno, something GREAT!

There’s a lot of depth to this " Read more of this review »