October 2024 Indie Book Reviews

The Revenge of Thousands by Michael Roberti

When Wars Erase Words & the People Who Wrote Them
An Indie Book Review by Joseph Poopinski
4 stars

There’s a sense of inevitability in this tale set in a realm of swords & knights. Ruling families scheme behind the scenes to bring about a war but perhaps their private agenda differs from publicly stated objectives. Maybe magic works there too, for when someone dies his or her handwriting vanishes from all existing documents. Even cooler, an atmosphere of creative traditions especially concerning alcohol (drink from a friend’s beer first) & the deaths of any loved ones (speak poorly of the dead so those jealous dark gods don’t harm their souls) brings the story to life. Each chapter follows a major character for a spell leaving readers with grey areas, suspense & intrigue. However, the slick & innovative outnumbered battle scene foreshadows greatness. Lastly, I enjoyed the gritty but hopeful yet nonetheless occasionally ironic tone & prose which so wonderfully captured such a people’s spirit or predicament: “If the Reach was stuck in the past, the Crowlands were straight out of antiquity.”

Married to the FBI by Sheila Fowler

Soulmates Investigate a Fake Crime
An Indie Book Review by Joseph Poopinski  
3 stars

Will a family’s extreme dysfunctions (from book 1, this being book 2), the presumed internationally tricky kidnapping or betrayal from within the ranks of the FBI itself prevent our heroine & her first-rate, first-choice mate (and agent partner) from eventually tying the knot? Lots of spice & weeping (of all sorts, hormonal, grief, joy, etc.) ensues. The most endearing & memorable characteristic of this tale is the infatuated first-person narrator’s cute fallibility errors: ex. She claims to be all business when working a case, but there’s actually as much smooching & groping happening on company time as they do off the clock.