Reviews
The inspiration for this page comes from the fact that it has been said that to be a good writer, one has to have read at least 1000 books. Likewise, to be a good storyteller, it is perhaps necessary to read 1000 stories. I would like to go further than just reading – I think that reading a story alone is not enough. One has to analyse it, review it and be able to critically appraise a story. This, then, will be the aim of this column but with an emphasis on all manner of storytelling. With that in mind, certain things need to be pointed out:
- As this website caters for storytellers, this column will feature all manner of storytelling.
- We accept reviews written by other storytellers as well. Please note that we do not pay for reviews.
- There is no specific genre of stories reviewed here.
If you’d still like us to publish a review you’ve written, please send an email to editor @ howtotellagreatstory.com
Pretty DollsBy Kimberly DanaPaperbackPublisher: Tate Pub & Enterprises Llc 2011-11-15 (2011)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 1613464169ISBN-13: 978-1613464168ASIN: B0071GK7L8 Pretty Dolls by Kimberly Dana, a finalist in the Children’s Picture Book category at the 2011 Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Contest, is a delightful story about overcoming jealousy and the love a girl can share with her special doll, no matter what she looks like. Little Tasha has several dolls, but her favorites are Emily-Nicole and Gracie. Emily-Nicole is the most beautiful of all, with porcelain skin, silky red hair and turquoise-blue eyes. She spends most of her days perched on the top bookshelf…
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Monday, 01 October 2012 19:34
Hitler’s Silver Box-A Novel by Allen Malnak
Written by Aneeta Sundararaj
Hitler’s Silver Box-A NovelBy Allen MalnakPaperback: 328 pagesPublisher: Two Harbors Press (December 23, 2011)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 193729336XISBN-13: 978-1937293369 Hitler’s Silver Box is a compelling, exciting thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end. In a two-story Georgian house in one of Chicago’s affluent suburbs, Max Bloomberg, an old bookseller, is brutally killed. Before murdering him, the killers burn his holy books and ask him for ‘the box.’ The old man refuses to give them any information. However, unbeknown to them, he’s left his secret journal to his nephew. Enters Dr. Bruce Starkman, Chief ER Resident…
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Monday, 01 October 2012 18:05
Byzantine Gold (Volume 2) by Chris Karlsen
Written by Aneeta Sundararaj
Byzantine Gold (Volume 2)Chris Karlsen (Author)Paperback: 286 pagesPublisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (January 17, 2013)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 1481980726ISBN-13: 978-1481980722 Book description… A sunken warship from the Byzantine Era carrying an unusual cargo of gold has been found off the coast of Northern Cyprus. News of the valuable cache has attracted the attention of a terrorist cell. They plan to attack the recovery team’s campsite and steal the artifacts. On the Black Market, the sale of the relics will buy them additional weapons. Charlotte Dashiell, an American archaeologist, and her lover, Atakan Vadim, a Turkish government agent, are scheduled to be part…
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The Underlying HandBy Roger P KochPaperback: 346 pagesPublisher: Xlibris Corporation (January 1, 1900)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 1465300201ISBN-13: 978-1465300201 Combining elements of drama, historical fiction and science fiction, The Underlying Hand is an original, fascinating novel that explores controversial subjects such as the origins of mankind, the Sons of God, Eden, and The Flood. The story begins in the Nibiru Space Station 64,000 years before The Flood. Having escaped from near annihilation, the Marduks are now in search of a solar system and habitable planet that can sustain their existence. They must find a new home as soon as possible because they’re being…
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Monday, 01 October 2012 17:59
A World of His Own: In the Land of the Creoles by Arlette Gaffrey
Written by Aneeta Sundararaj
A World of His Own: In the Land of the CreolesBy Arlette Gaffrey Paperback: 400 pagesPublisher: Outskirts Press (November 16, 2006)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 097888910XISBN-13: 978-0978889104Websites: http://www.arlettegaffrey.com http://www.outskirtspress.com A World of His Own is an enjoyable historical novel set in New Orleans in the early 1800′s. The novel spans a few years and centers around the life of Andre Raphael de Javon, an ambitious and handsome Frenchman who comes to America in order to become one of the richest plantation owners in Louisiana. The story begins when he’s just arrived by ship to New Orleans in the company of his friend Charles,…
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Monday, 01 October 2012 17:56
Five Dances with Death: Dance One [Kindle Edition] by Austin Briggs
Written by Aneeta Sundararaj
Five Dances with Death: Dance One [Kindle Edition]By Austin Briggs Format: Kindle EditionFile Size: 726 KBPrint Length: 242 pagesSimultaneous Device Usage: UnlimitedPublisher: Helvetic House (July 25, 2011)Sold by: Amazon Digital ServicesLanguage: EnglishASIN: B005EJGYJ8Website: http://www.austinbriggs.com/ If you’re a fan of historical novels, are interested in the Aztecs, and would like to try something different, you’ll enjoy Five Dances with Death: Dance One by Austing Briggs. Written in first person from the point of view of Angry Wasp, the story begins in 1516, during the era of the Spanish Conquest in Mexico. Angry Wasp, military leader of Tlaxcala, wants to keep his…
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Monday, 01 October 2012 17:53
The Lucky Baseball: My Story in a Japanese-American Internment Camp (Historical Fiction Adventures) by Suzanne Lieurance
Written by Aneeta Sundararaj
The Lucky Baseball: My Story in a Japanese-American Internment Camp (Historical Fiction Adventures)By Suzanne Lieurance Reading level: Ages 10 and upPaperback: 160 pagesPublisher: Enslow Publishers (November 2009)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0766036553ISBN-13: 978-0766036550 The Lucky Baseball is a highly entertaining and educational novel about a young Japanese-American boy whose dream is to become a famous baseball player. Set during the time of the war between the US and Japan, the book teaches about that dark era of our time while providing young readers with a fast-paced, interesting plot and a strong and sympathetic protagonist. This middle-grade historical novel begins on the eve of…
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Monday, 01 October 2012 17:49
Darla Jade and the Balance of the Universe by D. L. Reynolds
Written by Aneeta Sundararaj
Darla Jade and the Balance of the UniverseBy D. L. Reynolds Publisher: XlibrisPublication date: November 11, 2011ISBN 13 (Trade Paperback): 978-1-4628-8762-0ISBN 13 (Hardback): 978-1-4628-8763-7ISBN 13 (eBook): 978-1-4628-8764-4http://www.theguardians.cohttp://www.darlajadeandthebalanceoftheuniverse.comhttp://www.dlreynolds.co Darla Jade and the Balance of the Universe is part of an exciting YA series for fans of fantasy, adventure and Christian literature. The story begins in a cemetery when 13-year old Darla Jade’s soul is ‘raised from her grave’ by Striker, the creature that calls the souls at the resurrection before they’re to go to either Heaven or Hell. Darla is sent to Heaven while another boy, Johnny, is sent to into…
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Point DeceptionBy Jim GilliamPaperback: 250 pagesPublisher: Booklocker.com, Inc. (December 5, 2010)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 1609106202ISBN-13: 978-1609106201Website: http://www.pointdeception.com What happens when your loyalties are in conflict and you must betray your old mentor in order to fulfill your duty? What if this old mentor who used to protect and help you as a kid is now a dangerous drug-and-human trafficking overlord? This is the predicament our protagonist, Tim Kelly, faces at the beginning of this partly autobiographical suspense thriller by talented first-time author Jim Gilliam. An undercover narcotics officer now working in the Mexican hacienda of Guzman, his old mentor, his real identity…
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Monday, 01 October 2012 17:43
Becoming: The Life & Musings of a Girl Poet by Nadia Janice Brown
Written by Aneeta Sundararaj
Becoming: The Life & Musings of a Girl PoetBy Nadia Janice BrownPaperback: 52 pagesPublisher: lulu.com (April 8, 2012)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 1257989170ISBN-13: 978-1257989171Website: www.nadiajbrown.com I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of poems by Nadia Janice Brown. They are spiritual, inspirational and full of ‘writer’ sensibility, which I love. The tone is ‘quiet,’ making this little collection perfect for your night table, to be read before bedtime. Brown’s pen touches upon various subjects: God, the Genesis, marriage, fear, happiness, love, inspiration, writer’s block, and the daily tribulations and insecurities of writers, just to name a few. Some poems break the general tone and are…
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Monday, 01 October 2012 17:38
The Silent and the Lost by Abu Bin Mohammed Zubair
Written by Aneeta Sundararaj
The Silent and the LostBy Abu Bin Mohammed ZubairPaperback: 458 pagesPublisher: Pacific Breeze Publishers, LLC; 1ST edition (June 27, 2011)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0982593961ISBN-13: 978-0982593967Author’s Website: http://www.zubair.com The Silent and the Lost is an interesting and educational novel about the war between East and West Pakistan in the 1970s. The story starts in Brentwood, California in 1997 at the beautiful wedding of Alex Salim McKensie & Sangeeta Rai, a couple deeply in love. Alex, our hero, was adopted at the age of four in Pakistan by an American couple and brought to the United States in 1972. A war baby haunted by…
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Monday, 01 October 2012 17:26
Advaita: ‘Tools’ for Spiritual Unity by Merlyn Swan
Written by Aneeta Sundararaj
Advaita: ‘Tools’ for Spiritual UnityBy Merlyn SwanPaperback: 85 pagesLanguage: EnglishISBN-13: 078-0-646-54079-5 ‘Advaita: ‘Tools’ for Unity’ is a work of non-fiction. The author writes that the book is a result of her ‘close study of Advaita for over forty-eight years’. The reason she has written the book is because she’s seeking a wider audience for this topic. The theory and philosophy or ‘Advaita’ has never been an easy topic to write about. Indeed, many people, over many centuries, have tried to write about it and failed miserably: more often than not, they start from one point and slowly, in over-explaining their…
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Hollywood StationBy Joseph WambaughMass Market Paperback: 432 pagesPublisher: Vision (October 1, 2007)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0446401242ISBN-13: 978-0446401241 ‘I have been waiting a long time for this book,’ says Michael Connelly, best-selling author of LA-based police detective thrillers, ‘and two pages in I knew it was worth every minute, month and year. Joseph Wambaugh is the master of the modern police novel and Hollywood Station sets the standard once again. A story of cops working the street at the same time as the streets are working the cops, it’s full of grit. humour and truth that make it impossible to put down.’ All…
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Friday, 28 September 2012 20:14
Matters of Life and Death by Bernard MacLaverty
Written by Aneeta Sundararaj
Matters of Life and DeathBy Bernard MacLavertyHardcover: 240 pagesPublisher: W. W. Norton & Company (September 17, 2006)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 039305716XISBN-13: 978-0393057164 Bernard MacLaverty now has five novels to his name and five collections of short stories, too – and Matters of Life and Death (2006) is his best collection of short stories to date. Not that there was anything amiss with what went before. But there seems to be a thematic quality to Matters of Life and Death which necessarily ensures that the whole is always going to be weightier and more meaningful than the sum of its parts. There is…
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