| EXCLUSIVE FICTION4ALL AUTHOR Politically Erect Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Humour Available Formats: MOBI EPUB MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF In 1971 there were only three ways out of the soul-crushing, abject poverty of the Jersey City shithole of a slum they called the Duncan Avenue Federal Housing Project; prison, the military or the likely end to both – death.
In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Chance had a dream: to become a doctor.
All he’d have to do is finish high school, (something no one else in his family had ever done before), find a shit load of money, (something else no one else in his family had ever done), and get accepted to college, something no one . . . Words: 101600 Ebook Price: $6.95 | 
| Pages: 412 Paperback price: $11.27 | 
| | | 
More By This Author | Politically Erect Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Humour In 1971 there were only three ways out of the soul-crushing, abject poverty of the Jersey City shithole of a slum they called the Duncan Avenue Federal Housing Project; prison, the military or the likely end to both – death.
In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Chance had a dream: to become a doctor.
All he’d have to do is finish high school, (something no one else in his family had ever done before), find a shit load of money, (something else no one else in his family had ever done), and get accepted to college, something no one . . . Ebook Price: $6.95 |
| Paperback price: $11.27 |
| |
More By This Author Politically Erect Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Humour Ebook Price: $6.95 |
| Paperback price: $11.27 |
| | | In 1971 there were only three ways out of the soul-crushing, abject poverty of the Jersey City shithole of a slum they called the Duncan Avenue Federal Housing Project; prison, the military or the likely end to both – death.
In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Chance had a dream: to become a doctor.
All he’d have to do is finish high school, (something no one else in his family had ever done before), find a shit load of money, (something else no one else in his family had ever done), and get accepted to college, something no one . . . |
| EXCLUSIVE FICTION4ALL AUTHOR Kelly's Full House Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Humour, Historical Fiction Available Formats: MOBI EPUB MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF They say everything comes in threes. Here’s three rib tickling tales featuring three characters in three very different time periods and situations.
Kelly’s Full House is a great short story collection that will lift your spirits and help get you through your day by dealing with some of the most taboo subjects – The Press, death and politics.
1. 127 Alden Road
It’s July 1st, 2017 in Provincetown Massachusetts, original landing place of the Pilgrims. Words: 43400 Ebook Price: $6.95 |
| Pages: 180 Paperback price: $11.34 |
| | | 
More By This Author | Kelly's Full House Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Humour, Historical Fiction They say everything comes in threes. Here’s three rib tickling tales featuring three characters in three very different time periods and situations.
Kelly’s Full House is a great short story collection that will lift your spirits and help get you through your day by dealing with some of the most taboo subjects – The Press, death and politics.
1. 127 Alden Road
It’s July 1st, 2017 in Provincetown Massachusetts, original landing place of the Pilgrims. Ebook Price: $6.95 |
| Paperback price: $11.34 |
| |
More By This Author Kelly's Full House Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Humour, Historical Fiction Ebook Price: $6.95 |
| Paperback price: $11.34 |
| | | They say everything comes in threes. Here’s three rib tickling tales featuring three characters in three very different time periods and situations.
Kelly’s Full House is a great short story collection that will lift your spirits and help get you through your day by dealing with some of the most taboo subjects – The Press, death and politics.
1. 127 Alden Road
It’s July 1st, 2017 in Provincetown Massachusetts, original landing place of the Pilgrims. |
| EXCLUSIVE FICTION4ALL AUTHOR There's An App For That Combined Edition Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Historical Fiction, Humour Available Formats: MOBI EPUB MS Word PDF MS Reader Text From the author of the political, historical novels Operation Underworld, The American Way and The Wolves of Calabria comes a tongue-in-cheek look, punctuated with serious overtones, at some of the main events of the past which have strained, shaped and directed the course of Western culture of the Sixties and Seventies.
This collection of short stories and essays takes a private and personal POV at various events which, although experienced by the author, have affected tens of thousands. Words: 34700 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| | | 
More By This Author | There's An App For That Combined Edition Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Historical Fiction, Humour From the author of the political, historical novels Operation Underworld, The American Way and The Wolves of Calabria comes a tongue-in-cheek look, punctuated with serious overtones, at some of the main events of the past which have strained, shaped and directed the course of Western culture of the Sixties and Seventies.
This collection of short stories and essays takes a private and personal POV at various events which, although experienced by the author, have affected tens of thousands. Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| |
More By This Author There's An App For That Combined Edition Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Historical Fiction, Humour Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| | | From the author of the political, historical novels Operation Underworld, The American Way and The Wolves of Calabria comes a tongue-in-cheek look, punctuated with serious overtones, at some of the main events of the past which have strained, shaped and directed the course of Western culture of the Sixties and Seventies.
This collection of short stories and essays takes a private and personal POV at various events which, although experienced by the author, have affected tens of thousands. |
| EXCLUSIVE FICTION4ALL AUTHOR Paddy's back with more of his inimitable style of wit and charm! American Rhetoric Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Humour Available Formats: MOBI EPUB MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF Through shear dint of effort, Ronald Lump the third, now in his fourth and last term as president, had with tireless campaigning and unprecedented cooperation in both the House and the Senate, been able to whittle away at the 3% who controlled 97% of the wealth. He got it down to 1%. Worse yet, of the 47 candidates who intend to run for office to replace him none are qualified.
America was in trouble. Again.
However it is in Central Middleville, Ohio, a place where everyday life is abnormally normal, there resides a real hero. Words: 101300 Ebook Price: $6.95 |
| Pages: 380 Paperback price: $17.57 |
| | | 
More By This Author | Paddy's back with more of his inimitable style of wit and charm! American Rhetoric Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Humour Through shear dint of effort, Ronald Lump the third, now in his fourth and last term as president, had with tireless campaigning and unprecedented cooperation in both the House and the Senate, been able to whittle away at the 3% who controlled 97% of the wealth. He got it down to 1%. Worse yet, of the 47 candidates who intend to run for office to replace him none are qualified.
America was in trouble. Again.
However it is in Central Middleville, Ohio, a place where everyday life is abnormally normal, there resides a real hero. Ebook Price: $6.95 |
| Paperback price: $17.57 |
| |
More By This Author Paddy's back with more of his inimitable style of wit and charm! American Rhetoric Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Humour Ebook Price: $6.95 |
| Paperback price: $17.57 |
| | | Through shear dint of effort, Ronald Lump the third, now in his fourth and last term as president, had with tireless campaigning and unprecedented cooperation in both the House and the Senate, been able to whittle away at the 3% who controlled 97% of the wealth. He got it down to 1%. Worse yet, of the 47 candidates who intend to run for office to replace him none are qualified.
America was in trouble. Again.
However it is in Central Middleville, Ohio, a place where everyday life is abnormally normal, there resides a real hero. |
| EXCLUSIVE FICTION4ALL AUTHOR Check Mate The Audio Book Michelle Knight Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Science Fiction, Humour This is an audio book. Run time is approx. 05 Hrs 05 Mins 51 Secs . There are 18, parts to download and the total download size is approx. 109.2 Mb Life is a game of chess and we have been programming our computers to play it for generations; each time honing the programs to work smarter, faster, with more efficiency and higher accuracy than ever before.
A stroke of fate saw two memory cards being swapped. In a military laboratory, the most powerful game of chess ever written was accidentally loaded in to an experimental, highly agile, weaponised robot. From the moment they hit the run command, that robot had only one purpose ... to win the game... Words: 52000 Audiobook Price: $5.95 | 
| | | 
More By This Author | Check Mate The Audio Book Michelle Knight Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Science Fiction, Humour Life is a game of chess and we have been programming our computers to play it for generations; each time honing the programs to work smarter, faster, with more efficiency and higher accuracy than ever before.
A stroke of fate saw two memory cards being swapped. In a military laboratory, the most powerful game of chess ever written was accidentally loaded in to an experimental, highly agile, weaponised robot. From the moment they hit the run command, that robot had only one purpose ... to win the game... Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| |
More By This Author Check Mate The Audio Book Michelle Knight Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Science Fiction, Humour Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| | | Life is a game of chess and we have been programming our computers to play it for generations; each time honing the programs to work smarter, faster, with more efficiency and higher accuracy than ever before.
A stroke of fate saw two memory cards being swapped. In a military laboratory, the most powerful game of chess ever written was accidentally loaded in to an experimental, highly agile, weaponised robot. From the moment they hit the run command, that robot had only one purpose ... to win the game... |
| Meanwhile, In Italy Pierce Nahigyan Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Humour, Fantasy Available Formats: MOBI EPUB MS Word PDF Eleanor Stills is a music journalist working out of Washington, D.C. She's divorced, on the declining side of her twenties, and wondering if her career is really the dream she always hoped it would be. Amidst this quarter-life crisis, Reginald Sly falls back into her life. He's now the frontman for a bizarre indy band, and seeing him reignites Eleanor's memories of a long summer spent in Italy. Words: 31855 Ebook Price: $2.99 |
| | | 
More By This Author | Meanwhile, In Italy Pierce Nahigyan Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Humour, Fantasy Eleanor Stills is a music journalist working out of Washington, D.C. She's divorced, on the declining side of her twenties, and wondering if her career is really the dream she always hoped it would be. Amidst this quarter-life crisis, Reginald Sly falls back into her life. He's now the frontman for a bizarre indy band, and seeing him reignites Eleanor's memories of a long summer spent in Italy. Ebook Price: $2.99 |
| |
More By This Author Meanwhile, In Italy Pierce Nahigyan Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Humour, Fantasy Ebook Price: $2.99 |
| | | Eleanor Stills is a music journalist working out of Washington, D.C. She's divorced, on the declining side of her twenties, and wondering if her career is really the dream she always hoped it would be. Amidst this quarter-life crisis, Reginald Sly falls back into her life. He's now the frontman for a bizarre indy band, and seeing him reignites Eleanor's memories of a long summer spent in Italy. |
| EXCLUSIVE FICTION4ALL AUTHOR Sauchiehall Street Sugar 'Tis a Pity That She's a Whore Biff Grant Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Womens Fiction, Humour Available Formats: Palm MOBI EPUB Sony Reader (LRF) ;MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF Born in the dockside slum of Kinning Park in Glasgow three fifteen year old girls are working in Grey Dunn’s Biscuit Factory, they have been inseparable since their first day at school. Each one approaches life in an entirely different way and manage to rise. Words: 73000 Ebook Price: $6.95 |
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| Scenes In The City Book 1 of "Working Class Villain" Pierce Nahigyan Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Action/Adventure, Humour Available Formats: Palm MOBI EPUB Sony Reader (LRF) ;MS Word PDF MS Reader Text Freddy Funke is a henchman for hire. He's not very strong, he's not very scary, but he will beat people up for money. It's a lousy job and he knows it, but he's finally run out of options. In this dark but hilarious satire, crime is the last thriving industry in a dystopian Los Angeles, and Freddy is going to fail his way upward until he becomes the biggest supervillain in town. Words: 82740 Ebook Price: $3.99 |
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More By This Author | Scenes In The City Book 1 of "Working Class Villain" Pierce Nahigyan Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Action/Adventure, Humour Freddy Funke is a henchman for hire. He's not very strong, he's not very scary, but he will beat people up for money. It's a lousy job and he knows it, but he's finally run out of options. In this dark but hilarious satire, crime is the last thriving industry in a dystopian Los Angeles, and Freddy is going to fail his way upward until he becomes the biggest supervillain in town. Ebook Price: $3.99 |
| |
More By This Author Scenes In The City Book 1 of "Working Class Villain" Pierce Nahigyan Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Action/Adventure, Humour Ebook Price: $3.99 |
| | | Freddy Funke is a henchman for hire. He's not very strong, he's not very scary, but he will beat people up for money. It's a lousy job and he knows it, but he's finally run out of options. In this dark but hilarious satire, crime is the last thriving industry in a dystopian Los Angeles, and Freddy is going to fail his way upward until he becomes the biggest supervillain in town. |
| EXCLUSIVE FICTION4ALL AUTHOR Celebrity gossip tabloid trash The Jerk The Visitors 2 Paul Kruk Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Humour Available Formats: Palm MOBI EPUB Sony Reader (LRF) ;MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF The Supreme Court of the World was established in The Visitors by Paul Kruk but now in this new story it is closed ... but ready to be reopened with the help of the original Jerk Steve Martin, who dons a King Tut outfit and hopes to be the chief justice of this new, hilarious court. Along the way our guide Frank moves from scandal to scandal. Words: 10883 Ebook Price: $2.99 |
| | | 
More By This Author | Celebrity gossip tabloid trash The Jerk The Visitors 2 Paul Kruk Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Humour The Supreme Court of the World was established in The Visitors by Paul Kruk but now in this new story it is closed ... but ready to be reopened with the help of the original Jerk Steve Martin, who dons a King Tut outfit and hopes to be the chief justice of this new, hilarious court. Along the way our guide Frank moves from scandal to scandal. Ebook Price: $2.99 |
| |
More By This Author Celebrity gossip tabloid trash The Jerk The Visitors 2 Paul Kruk Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Humour Ebook Price: $2.99 |
| | | The Supreme Court of the World was established in The Visitors by Paul Kruk but now in this new story it is closed ... but ready to be reopened with the help of the original Jerk Steve Martin, who dons a King Tut outfit and hopes to be the chief justice of this new, hilarious court. Along the way our guide Frank moves from scandal to scandal. |
| EXCLUSIVE FICTION4ALL AUTHOR NEVER TRY AND CON A CON MAN The Art of The Con Milton Cust Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Crime Fiction, Humour Available Formats: Palm MOBI EPUB Sony Reader (LRF) ;MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF A greedy private eye thinks he can pull one over on an elderly man who is near death. Read about his antics as he attempts to collect a bundle for finding his long, lost family. Words: 19587 Ebook Price: $3.99 |
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| Who ever said Earth blood was easy? Earth Blood Is Easy An Out-of-this-World Vampire Romance Emily June Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Science Fiction, Humour Available Formats: Palm MOBI EPUB Sony Reader (LRF) ;MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF Alexxia is an unapologetic vampire who works hard and plays harder. Some of her coworkers find her abrasive, but you don’t become top seller under twenty-five by being a polite little wallflower.
When Alexxia’s vacation rolls around, she’s got big plans for a sunny beach holiday on Planet Plai. Too bad her interstellar module has different plans. It breaks down on Earth, and she’s stranded without a blood source. What a buzzkill! Especially since boring old Earth is nothing like her home planet, where you can walk into a restaurant and order blood by the glass. Words: 34000 Ebook Price: $3.99 |
| | | 
More By This Author | Who ever said Earth blood was easy? Earth Blood Is Easy An Out-of-this-World Vampire Romance Emily June Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Science Fiction, Humour Alexxia is an unapologetic vampire who works hard and plays harder. Some of her coworkers find her abrasive, but you don’t become top seller under twenty-five by being a polite little wallflower.
When Alexxia’s vacation rolls around, she’s got big plans for a sunny beach holiday on Planet Plai. Too bad her interstellar module has different plans. It breaks down on Earth, and she’s stranded without a blood source. What a buzzkill! Especially since boring old Earth is nothing like her home planet, where you can walk into a restaurant and order blood by the glass. Ebook Price: $3.99 |
| |
More By This Author Who ever said Earth blood was easy? Earth Blood Is Easy An Out-of-this-World Vampire Romance Emily June Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Science Fiction, Humour Ebook Price: $3.99 |
| | | Alexxia is an unapologetic vampire who works hard and plays harder. Some of her coworkers find her abrasive, but you don’t become top seller under twenty-five by being a polite little wallflower.
When Alexxia’s vacation rolls around, she’s got big plans for a sunny beach holiday on Planet Plai. Too bad her interstellar module has different plans. It breaks down on Earth, and she’s stranded without a blood source. What a buzzkill! Especially since boring old Earth is nothing like her home planet, where you can walk into a restaurant and order blood by the glass. |
 - Average 4.0 from 1 ratings
 -
From jbgarner58.wordpress.com:
Happy coincidence has brought a recently-released dish onto this
reviewer’s plate today. The chef, Michelle Knight (interviewed here),
was already in my review queue for some time now with an older recipe
but, as her newest book came up for sale, I decided to take up this
newest dish instead. So is this near-future military sci-fi with a
side of wit and comedy make for a fabulous meal or some bland tinned
biscuits?
Before we cut open the MRE package, let us recite the Starving Review
creed:
I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the
genre
I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible.
Here’s the rub, my literary foodies, there’s a fine line between using
humor to flavor a serious dish and overseasoning with humor to ruin a
dish. Comedy, especially dark comedy, is hard. Good comedy is even
harder. So, let me put this particular dog to bed and say that the
sugary sprinkles of comedy are properly used in this piece. There is
a certain Doctor Strangelove sort of feel to the comedic elements, as
well as that dry British wit to the whole affair, and it sits well in
this Reviewer’s stomach.
With that clear, let’s attack the rest of the components of this meal.
Check Mate presents a diverse cast of characters and handles those
characters quite well. Even the occasional stock minor characters is
gifted with a particular spark of flavor that makes them just a bit
more three-dimensional. There was obviously care taken by the chef to
make the characters more than the title of their jobs, no matter how
stereotypical they may seem at first blush, and that defiance of
stereotype is appreciated.
The plot takes some interesting turns in the classic recipe of
‘military-killer-robot-goes-haywire’ (and yes, that IS a classic by
this point!) while keeping its feet grounded in the realm of
near-future technology. The initial start is a bit more mellow than I
expected it would be. In fact, it veers dangerously close to an
extended info-dump, yet it wasn’t to the point of off-putting. It was
a thick crust of necessary exposition but, past that initial bit, the
pacing turns into a even and consistent flow of action and events,
leading to a rather enjoyable final course.
Stylistically, Check Mate is solid. Once it hits its stride, the
courses come along well, properly seasoned, with dutiful wordsmithing.
If I have any stylistic complaints, it’s the occasional slip of
British turns-of-phrase in a distinctly American setting. Naturally,
most readers probably won’t catch these, as I barely did and I’m a bit
of an Anglophile, so I don’t see this detracting from most people’s
meals.
My one real quibble with this particular meal is I wish there was a
bit more done from the haywire military robot’s point-of-view. Not
much, but there were a few bits early on that gives the reader some
flashes of what is going on and I found those particularly brilliant
while not giving away the overarching plot. Some more scenes like
that I think would have added a bit of needed spice at points during
the last half of the book (into which I can delve no deeper because
SPOILERS!).
To bring it all together, Check Mate is a tasty near-future military
romp mixing some dark comedy with killer robots! It’s not *quite*
perfect, but it’s really quite good and I can gladly recommend this
meal to any lover of science-fiction or enjoys a splash of distinctly
British dark humor with their meals! Remember, again, to check out
the Starving Interview to get a glimpse into the mind behind the
book.
FINAL VERDICT: **** (A tasty near-future military romp mixing some
dark comedy with killer robots!) 4 out of 5 (visitor) More By This Author | | EXCLUSIVE FICTION4ALL AUTHOR Check Mate Michelle Knight Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Science Fiction, Humour Available Formats: Palm MOBI EPUB Sony Reader (LRF) ;MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF Life is a game of chess and we have been programming our computers to play it for generations; each time honing the programs to work smarter, faster, with more efficiency and higher accuracy than ever before.
A stroke of fate saw two memory cards being swapped. In a military laboratory, the most powerful game of chess ever written was accidentally loaded in to an experimental, highly agile, weaponised robot. From the moment they hit the run command, that robot had only one purpose ... to win the game... Words: 52000 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| Pages: 178 Paperback price: $8.80 |
| | |
-
- Average 4.0 from 1 ratings
-
-
From jbgarner58.wordpress.com:
Happy coincidence has brought a recently-released dish onto this
reviewer’s plate today. The chef, Michelle Knight (interviewed here),
was already in my review queue for some time now with an older recipe
but, as her newest book came up for sale, I decided to take up this
newest dish instead. So is this near-future military sci-fi with a
side of wit and comedy make for a fabulous meal or some bland tinned
biscuits?
Before we cut open the MRE package, let us recite the Starving Review
creed:
I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the
genre
I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible.
Here’s the rub, my literary foodies, there’s a fine line between using
humor to flavor a serious dish and overseasoning with humor to ruin a
dish. Comedy, especially dark comedy, is hard. Good comedy is even
harder. So, let me put this particular dog to bed and say that the
sugary sprinkles of comedy are properly used in this piece. There is
a certain Doctor Strangelove sort of feel to the comedic elements, as
well as that dry British wit to the whole affair, and it sits well in
this Reviewer’s stomach.
With that clear, let’s attack the rest of the components of this meal.
Check Mate presents a diverse cast of characters and handles those
characters quite well. Even the occasional stock minor characters is
gifted with a particular spark of flavor that makes them just a bit
more three-dimensional. There was obviously care taken by the chef to
make the characters more than the title of their jobs, no matter how
stereotypical they may seem at first blush, and that defiance of
stereotype is appreciated.
The plot takes some interesting turns in the classic recipe of
‘military-killer-robot-goes-haywire’ (and yes, that IS a classic by
this point!) while keeping its feet grounded in the realm of
near-future technology. The initial start is a bit more mellow than I
expected it would be. In fact, it veers dangerously close to an
extended info-dump, yet it wasn’t to the point of off-putting. It was
a thick crust of necessary exposition but, past that initial bit, the
pacing turns into a even and consistent flow of action and events,
leading to a rather enjoyable final course.
Stylistically, Check Mate is solid. Once it hits its stride, the
courses come along well, properly seasoned, with dutiful wordsmithing.
If I have any stylistic complaints, it’s the occasional slip of
British turns-of-phrase in a distinctly American setting. Naturally,
most readers probably won’t catch these, as I barely did and I’m a bit
of an Anglophile, so I don’t see this detracting from most people’s
meals.
My one real quibble with this particular meal is I wish there was a
bit more done from the haywire military robot’s point-of-view. Not
much, but there were a few bits early on that gives the reader some
flashes of what is going on and I found those particularly brilliant
while not giving away the overarching plot. Some more scenes like
that I think would have added a bit of needed spice at points during
the last half of the book (into which I can delve no deeper because
SPOILERS!).
To bring it all together, Check Mate is a tasty near-future military
romp mixing some dark comedy with killer robots! It’s not *quite*
perfect, but it’s really quite good and I can gladly recommend this
meal to any lover of science-fiction or enjoys a splash of distinctly
British dark humor with their meals! Remember, again, to check out
the Starving Interview to get a glimpse into the mind behind the
book.
FINAL VERDICT: **** (A tasty near-future military romp mixing some
dark comedy with killer robots!) 4 out of 5 (visitor) More By This Author | Check Mate Michelle Knight Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Science Fiction, Humour Life is a game of chess and we have been programming our computers to play it for generations; each time honing the programs to work smarter, faster, with more efficiency and higher accuracy than ever before.
A stroke of fate saw two memory cards being swapped. In a military laboratory, the most powerful game of chess ever written was accidentally loaded in to an experimental, highly agile, weaponised robot. From the moment they hit the run command, that robot had only one purpose ... to win the game... Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| Paperback price: $8.80 |
| |
-
- Average 4.0 from 1 ratings
-
-
From jbgarner58.wordpress.com:
Happy coincidence has brought a recently-released dish onto
this reviewer’s plate today. The chef, Michelle Knight
(interviewed here), was already in my review queue for some
time now with an older recipe but, as her newest book came
up for sale, I decided to take up this newest dish instead.
So is this near-future military sci-fi with a side of wit
and comedy make for a fabulous meal or some bland tinned
biscuits?
Before we cut open the MRE package, let us recite the
Starving Review creed:
I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan
of the genre
I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible.
Here’s the rub, my literary foodies, there’s a fine line
between using humor to flavor a serious dish and
overseasoning with humor to ruin a dish. Comedy, especially
dark comedy, is hard. Good comedy is even harder. So, let
me put this particular dog to bed and say that the sugary
sprinkles of comedy are properly used in this piece. There
is a certain Doctor Strangelove sort of feel to the comedic
elements, as well as that dry British wit to the whole
affair, and it sits well in this Reviewer’s stomach.
With that clear, let’s attack the rest of the components of
this meal. Check Mate presents a diverse cast of characters
and handles those characters quite well. Even the
occasional stock minor characters is gifted with a
particular spark of flavor that makes them just a bit more
three-dimensional. There was obviously care taken by the
chef to make the characters more than the title of their
jobs, no matter how stereotypical they may seem at first
blush, and that defiance of stereotype is appreciated.
The plot takes some interesting turns in the classic recipe
of ‘military-killer-robot-goes-haywire’ (and yes, that IS a
classic by this point!) while keeping its feet grounded in
the realm of near-future technology. The initial start is a
bit more mellow than I expected it would be. In fact, it
veers dangerously close to an extended info-dump, yet it
wasn’t to the point of off-putting. It was a thick crust of
necessary exposition but, past that initial bit, the pacing
turns into a even and consistent flow of action and events,
leading to a rather enjoyable final course.
Stylistically, Check Mate is solid. Once it hits its
stride, the courses come along well, properly seasoned, with
dutiful wordsmithing. If I have any stylistic complaints,
it’s the occasional slip of British turns-of-phrase in a
distinctly American setting. Naturally, most readers
probably won’t catch these, as I barely did and I’m a bit of
an Anglophile, so I don’t see this detracting from most
people’s meals.
My one real quibble with this particular meal is I wish
there was a bit more done from the haywire military robot’s
point-of-view. Not much, but there were a few bits early on
that gives the reader some flashes of what is going on and I
found those particularly brilliant while not giving away the
overarching plot. Some more scenes like that I think would
have added a bit of needed spice at points during the last
half of the book (into which I can delve no deeper because
SPOILERS!).
To bring it all together, Check Mate is a tasty near-future
military romp mixing some dark comedy with killer robots!
It’s not *quite* perfect, but it’s really quite good and I
can gladly recommend this meal to any lover of
science-fiction or enjoys a splash of distinctly British
dark humor with their meals! Remember, again, to check out
the Starving Interview to get a glimpse into the mind behind
the book.
FINAL VERDICT: **** (A tasty near-future military romp
mixing some dark comedy with killer robots!) 4 out of 5
(visitor) More By This Author Check Mate Michelle Knight Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Science Fiction, Humour Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| Paperback price: $8.80 |
| | | Life is a game of chess and we have been programming our computers to play it for generations; each time honing the programs to work smarter, faster, with more efficiency and higher accuracy than ever before.
A stroke of fate saw two memory cards being swapped. In a military laboratory, the most powerful game of chess ever written was accidentally loaded in to an experimental, highly agile, weaponised robot. From the moment they hit the run command, that robot had only one purpose ... to win the game... |
| EXCLUSIVE FICTION4ALL AUTHOR Sudden Light Biff Grant Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Humour Available Formats: Palm MOBI EPUB Sony Reader (LRF) ;MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF A few quotes from the novel to indicate where we’re going:
I sometimes think that God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his abilities.
It serves me right for putting all my eggs in one bastard.
Two things are infinite; the universe and human stupidity: and I’m not sure about the universe. Words: 73000 Ebook Price: $5.99 |
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More By This Author | Sudden Light Biff Grant Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Humour A few quotes from the novel to indicate where we’re going:
I sometimes think that God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his abilities.
It serves me right for putting all my eggs in one bastard.
Two things are infinite; the universe and human stupidity: and I’m not sure about the universe. Ebook Price: $5.99 |
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More By This Author Sudden Light Biff Grant Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Humour Ebook Price: $5.99 |
| | | A few quotes from the novel to indicate where we’re going:
I sometimes think that God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his abilities.
It serves me right for putting all my eggs in one bastard.
Two things are infinite; the universe and human stupidity: and I’m not sure about the universe. |
| EXCLUSIVE FICTION4ALL AUTHOR The Fox And The Gander Michael D. Card Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Humour Available Formats: Palm MOBI EPUB Sony Reader (LRF) ;MS Word PDF MS Reader Text The year is 1961 and Roddy Matthews, chief sub-editor with a small town newspaper, the Muddley Chronicle, is press-ganged by his editor into participating in a week of survival and initiative exercises. The event, sponsored by Madison Neoplastics, a local company, is to take place in a remote Scottish location provided by a department of the Royal Navy whose function is to look after the leisure interests of junior ratings. Words: 160720 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
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More By This Author | The Fox And The Gander Michael D. Card Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Humour The year is 1961 and Roddy Matthews, chief sub-editor with a small town newspaper, the Muddley Chronicle, is press-ganged by his editor into participating in a week of survival and initiative exercises. The event, sponsored by Madison Neoplastics, a local company, is to take place in a remote Scottish location provided by a department of the Royal Navy whose function is to look after the leisure interests of junior ratings. Ebook Price: $5.95 |
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More By This Author The Fox And The Gander Michael D. Card Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Humour Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| | | The year is 1961 and Roddy Matthews, chief sub-editor with a small town newspaper, the Muddley Chronicle, is press-ganged by his editor into participating in a week of survival and initiative exercises. The event, sponsored by Madison Neoplastics, a local company, is to take place in a remote Scottish location provided by a department of the Royal Navy whose function is to look after the leisure interests of junior ratings. |
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