Indie Reviews

BOOKS IN REVIEW

BR

SHELF UNBOUND’S Books In Review

Self-Published & Small Press Book Reviews

SPONSORED BY

Revelation Through Science.

BY JAMES G. MARTIN

Adult

PUBLISHER: XLIBRIS James G. Martin confronts the science-versus-faith controversy in Revelation Through Science, not only opining that this isn’t an either/or proposition, but also that science itself has become a modern expression of Divine Revelation.

Armed with a PhD in organic chemistry, as well as his lifelong personal faith journey, Martin has produced a work aiming to make scientific principles more accessible and to shed light on some of the historical clashes between science and faith.

Organized in a modular fashion, the book can be tackled chapter by chapter, or perused by preference of focus, including science specialties (e.g., biology, physics, organic chemistry) and hot topics such as creation versus evolution. Readers can even begin with the final chapter, to see how the author feels his faith informs his belief that science is integral to Divine Revelation.

The book is generally accessible, but those with more than just an upper level high school science comprehension will find it an easier read. Martin excels in navigating the common minefields in this type of debate. For example, to the charge that the religious hierarchy suppressed Galileo, Martin presents historical facts showing that the theory was not necessarily in question, but that Galileo was censured for disseminating it prior to approval. Similarly, the author responds to Intelligent Design proponents with scientific proofs countering the highly quoted concept of the impossibility of the evolution of the eye.

Martin names the usual pantheon of scientific giants: Darwin, Watson, Crick, Schrodinger, and others. However, he neglects to note that some science heavyweights were also clerics. For example, Georges LeMaitre, who proposed the “Big Bang” theory, was a Catholic priest.

The author presents his case confidently and knowledgeably and has done his research. However, while he includes a general list of references, the lack of specific citations is a miss.

Nevertheless, his conclusions, based on his own admitted Protestant viewpoint, are wellpresented and make for a thought-provoking read. 

Effacement.

BY HIERONYMUS HAWKES

Adult

With Effacement, Hieronymus Hawkes merges science fiction and thriller genres to depict a dystopian world of government surveillance and altered reality.

In the near-future, people have largely traded the real world for a virtual reality made possible by implanted biometric chips that record an individual’s entire existence on a “lifelog” and are the only way to perform many functions, such as getting a bank account or hailing a cab.

Protagonist Cole Westbay, one of the inventors of this technology, is trapped in a web of intrigue when he wakes to find his short-term memory erased and his chip removed, cutting him off from the augmented world. As he attempts to discover why he was assaulted, Cole grows disillusioned with his creation. The world has become filled with dilapidated infrastructure because people no longer maintain the non-virtual world, and those non-augmented for privacy or financial reasons can’t perform many basic functions.

It becomes clear that Cole’s technology has been co-opted by a clandestine government agency for surveillance and other nefarious purposes. To clear his name of the ironic charge of unplugging from his lifelog, known as “effacement,” Cole teams with an underground organization dedicated to fighting the augmented lifestyle.

Hawkes’ plotting is taut and effective, and the world he creates is credible. The reader will easily imagine a future where the shadowy Federal Department of Fidelity epitomizes the surveillance state.

Cole is richly depicted as a clueless technologist who slowly realizes the horror that he has created. Other main characters exhibit the same depth, especially Cole’s fiancée, a vibrant but narcissistic personality who plays a critical role in the plot. 

PUBLISHER: HIERONYMUS HAWKES

Born in Salt.

BY T. C. WEBER

Adult

PUBLISHER: FREEDOM THORN PRESS T.C. Weber’s Born in Salt chronicles the aftermath of an alternate history in which Charles Lindbergh fomented a coup against FDR, sided with the Nazis, shredded the U.S. Constitution, and ushered in an oppressive oligarchy. Set in 1983, eugenics are now the law of the land, corruption is rampant, and poverty is ubiquitous.

While the set-up is much like Philip Roth’s Plot Against America, this story takes up where Roth’s book left off, showing the long-term effect of Lindbergh’s ascent. In rural New Bethany, Illinois, Ben Adamson—young, white, and poor—is trying to help his dad hold onto the family farm. When Ben’s brother, Jake, is killed suspiciously while serving in the Army after trying to expose American imperialism in Cuba, Jake’s fiancée Rachel is haunted by the death. Ben, also devastated and rapidly falling for Rachel, joins in her obsession.

Feeling betrayed by the government, they’re easy recruits for Paul, his best friend Sarah’s mysterious revolutionary cousin. Unfortunately, before the resistance can begin, Rachel and Ben are arrested. Now Ben has one shot to escape his sadistic incarceration and earn Rachel’s freedom in the bargain: He must go undercover to betray the very revolutionaries he sought to join. But can Ben save Rachel without condemning Sarah and putting his father at risk?

Both cerebral dystopia and cat-and-mouse thriller, Born in Salt succeeds on every level. The political commentary is incisive but never bludgeoning, helped considerably by a relatable protagonist. Constantly faced with lesser-of-two-evils choices, Ben tries hard to do the right thing, nonetheless. Throughout, Weber expertly adds layers of suspicion and paranoia, complicating relationships and ratcheting up the tension.

Born in Salt is an indictment of far-right autocratic impulses, and like the best dystopias, it feels utterly relevant. But its appeal transcends any ideology, with a desperate story of love and conflicting loyalties that builds breathlessly to a satisfying reckoning certain to keep readers hooked to the final page. 

it’s come to this: A Pandemic Diary.

BY LAURA PEDERSEN

Adult

PUBLISHER: LAURA PEDERSEN With equal measure of lively wit and solemnity, former New York Times columnist Laura Pedersen powerfully recalls the unprecedented events of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lest the dizzying rollercoaster ride of the pandemic become a blur of press conferences, toilet paper shortages, and, more seriously, a stupefying loss of life, Pedersen details 2020’s events, bringing new insights to its intensity. The author, a seasoned New Yorker, writes that as Covid spiraled from faraway China into a plague that ravaged the U.S., “the Democratic party urged people to remain inside, [while] the Undemocratic Party reveled in spring break, indoor weddings, birthday parties, and church services.”

Meanwhile, she muses, retail curbside pick-up gave new meaning to “drive-by” in New York City, and “We suddenly switched from Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) to Fear of Going Out (FOGO).” She observes that “the city that never sleeps went to sleep.”

Pedersen alternately evokes tears with hard facts (New Yorkers dying of Covid every other minute) and laughter regarding the new normal (coping with “Covidiots”).

In addition to evoking appalling images of exhausted health care workers and refrigerated trucks serving as morgues, Pedersen skillfully recalls the year’s political polarization, blazing wildfires, police brutality, dire civil rights concerns, and Capitol insurrection, among other events. The intersection of these with the pandemic, she asserts, inexorably elevated the nation’s collective anxiety.

Many problems remain. Yet, quoting Kahlil Gibran, she notes: “You have been told that, even like a chain, you are as weak as your weakest link. This is but half the truth. You are also as strong as your strongest link.”

Pedersen writes from a decidedly left-wing bent, deftly condensing the year’s events to remind readers that 2020 was unprecedented by most standards. Her work helps us reconcile feelings of anxiety and dismay by validating our shared experience. Moreover, she accomplishes this all with great humanity.

Hall of Skulls.

BY JAMIE EUBANKS

Adult

PUBLISHER: JAMIE EUBANKS This science fiction adventure tale with a romantic twist delivers a labyrinthine plot that will delight readers who enjoy following a hero figure on a complicated quest.

Koa Kai is chosen to become Captain of the Mokuteki people, take leadership of the planet Churi, and literally occupy the Tei Tog—“the [golden] captain’s seat named after the legendary captain who had reigned millennia ago.” But first, he must prove himself worthy of this great honor by undergoing a torturous series of trials called “the Kezrado.”

His winding quest through portals of space and time takes him to other eras on both his own and alien planets, to the period of the legendary Tei Tog himself, for whom the great chair is named, and even to the world of the Thrakens, alien invaders who had nearly conquered his world 2,000 years before.

Various events of the present become entwined with the past worlds of the Mokuteki and Thrakens, and Koa Kai must not only avoid being trapped in temporal and physical locations, he must also rescue his betrothed, Asher, who has been abducted as part of the challenge, and taken to the Thrakens. While attempting to return both himself and Asher to Churi, he must also observe all the laws of the ritualized Kezrado, or face humiliation when—and if— he manages to return.

This is a markedly clever story, with excellent characterization and an utterly believable time travel milieu. The careful, deliberate pacing, instead of a speed-driven highadventure writing style, serves the narrative well by weaving the complexities of time travel and a multilayered plot into the story at a pace readers can absorb, while dropping hints about what may come. And a stunning ending will inspire readers to review the book to see where the author left clues they might have missed the first time around.

In all, science fiction fans will savor this plot-driven, romantic adventure that ushers them seamlessly through time and space. 

Abundance.

BY JAKOB GUANZON

Adult

PUBLISHER: GRAYWOLF PRESS Jakob Guanzon hit one out of the park with his debut novel, Abundance. This gripping tale of a man and his son drew me in.

The author’s stylistic choices were evident throughout, giving this harrowing story of poverty and pain a layer of elegance. The contrast between chapter titles, raw details, and lyrical word choice is incredible.

Reading the sensorial details of Henry’s abject poverty left me needing a reality check of my own socioeconomic status whenever I put the book down. However, those episodes were few and far between,

as I was constantly drawn back to the pages of Henry’s life desperate to find out what would happen next.

Abundance is the story of Henry, a single father desperate to make a life for he and his son. The problem? Every time Henry takes one step forward, he ends up taking two steps back. It’s a pattern he’s experienced his entire life that doesn’t stop him from trying. Readers get a close-up view of Henry’s attempts. They get to see young Henry and the hidden events of his life that you wouldn’t see if you just passed him on the street or interviewed him for a job.

Guanzon has a way of introducing a character and then cracking him open to let the reader understand the character’s triumphs and his pain.

The Center of Everything.

BY JAMIE HARRISON

Adult

PUBLISHER: COUNTERPOINT In this beautifully written novel by Jamie Harrison, the Yellowstone River and Polly Schuster’s mind are quite possibly the center of everything.

In an interesting twist, the river and Polly’s mind are deeply entangled. The community gets together to search for a missing young woman, beloved by all who knew her. Meanwhile, Polly searches for the answer. She’s her personal gumshoe looking for clues to her friend’s disappearance, for her purse, for words and memories that have been pushed aside following a nasty bump to the head.

One of the unique intricacies of The Center of Everything is how the Yellowstone River becomes a character. It is the epicenter of Polly’s world, both historically and in the present day. It is along the river’s edge that she discovers family secrets. It’s where she searches for and aches for her missing friend. The family drama, the animals the river encounters, the boaters, and the tourists come here. This river holds the answers to so many questions.

Children, memory, and grief are explored at the river’s edge. Tears are shed, childish games are played, and Polly’s childhood is excavated. Through it all, the river rushes past. It waits while Polly wanders, and wonders about the answers she seeks. 