Joe Stein - Cold Fire, Calm Rage and Another Man's World

Crime fiction novels are my favorite read of all and I am delighted to announce that Joe Stein writes satisfyingly good books. His first novel featuring Garron, an ex-boxer turned bodyguard, Cold Fire, Calm Rage and the sequel, Another Man's World, are published by bluechrome. Joe also writes short stories in many different genres and will occasionally post one of them here.

Garron is an engaging, complex and likeable character despite or perhaps because of the way he behaves in his world. The world he lives in has many more sharp edges than you or I encounter is our daily lives and as expected this has roughed him up, hardened his psyche. The few mentors he has had, have served to sand down his rough edges, making him a more efficient criminal rather than into a reformed 'good guy'.

Garron is an extremely believable character, who questions his actions, loses sleep over his perceived failings as a human and all the while he is behaving the way he must to exist in his dangerous world, there is a gentle element to his makeup which is subtly woven in. The theme of no one being all good or all bad is almost imperceptible but there none the less and I liked the books all the more so for this glimmer of positivity.

Garron has very few friends both by choice and circumstance but those he does have, he values with a fierce, almost palpable, intensity. The lengths he goes to in order to end one friend's debt goes beyond what many people would endure even for family. Garron is a pensive, introspective character whose reflections on life and love are concise and and insightful.

I have Asperger's syndrome which is a form of Autism and because of this, empathy is not one of my stronger characteristics. I have been socially conditioned over the years to know the appropriate responses to other's plights and moral dilemmas. I can usually be relied upon to to voice them at the necessary times but rarely, if ever, do I truly 'feel' for the other person except for a few family members that I am very close to on a daily basis. However while reading Joe's books I could feel myself begin to 'get it', I innately was able to understand why Garron behaved the way he did and why he felt his choices were the only right ones in those circumstances. That, my friends, is some very clever writing indeed.

Garron muses about life in a series of amusing one liners in both novels, my favorite of which is:
'Women have this really upsetting habit of asking very direct questions often in very direct tones.' (In Another Man's World)

Both books made me reflect on what I have and how very lucky I am to be where I am. I was sometimes lost in the world Garron lived in and relieved when I put the book down and realised that I was in my own safe world. These books are hard hitting and brutally blunt at times, no fluff whatsoever can be found within the covers. They appear to have been written for the 'thinking reader', are a sobering read in a few places and all the more valuable for it. I could not say which of the two I like best as both are written in a slightly different 'tone' and each gives Garron depth in equal measures.

My only regret is that there is not (yet?) a 3rd book in this series. My recommendation is that you buy both the books at the same time to prevent the withdrawal symptoms that are inevitable if you have to endure a break between reading Cold Fire, Calm Rage and Another Man's World.

If you enjoy a good crime novel (and I assume you must if you've read this far), then go buy Cold Fire, Calm Rage and Another Man's World! I found one on Amazon for $50.24! I suggest you go here or here for a more affordable read.

If there are any agents reading this then I suggest you try to get Joe to allow you to represent him. I think that, with the right promotion, Joe Stein's books are good enough to achieve world wide recognition.

Disraeli Avenue

This exquisite novella written by Caroline Smailes will be published as a truly limited edition of 500 hardback books and all 500 books will be signed and numbered.

The pre-order will be available direct from bluechrome at only £10 and this book should arrive before Christmas, being dispatched on December 01 2008.

Please note that if you order from Amazon you will not receive Disraeli Avenue in time to give yourself and others an extra special Christmas present. Don't wait until the official release in January because this one is going to sell out well before then.

Most importantly, all profit from the sale of Disraeli Avenue will go to One in Four the charity run for and by people who have experienced sexual abuse.

Click here to pre-order a copy or three.

The State of Me

The State of me, by Nasim Marie Jafry and published by The Friday Project (an imprint of Harper Collins), is a thoroughly enjoyable read.

So I suppose it is now going to seem a bit strange when I explain that it is about a woman's journey through illness!

Somehow, as I read this painful story about a victim of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), Nasmin managed to wrap her words around me and whisk me away on a merry dance. Almost against my will I realised that I was enjoying myself. I don't know how Nasim did it but it happened, time and time again, chapter after chapter.

I know of many readers who are forever raving about how dialogue is what makes a book great but for me it is descriptiveness that brings the story alive. The prose in The State of me is wonderfully descriptive.

Nasim paints images with words:

'A man with a staircase of fat from his neck to his groin was eating ice cream at the next table'.

'A woman with an arse like a shelf was wedging herself into the seat in front. She hated me from the start. I accidentally dunted her seat and she turned round and glared with shark eyes'.

'We lay like spoons and he put his arm round me. I could feel him breathing on my neck. It was like agony iced with hundreds and thousands'.

Two pages into the book I thought 'This is perfection on paper'. Then I had to put the book down for a while as I felt faint with jealousy.

Warning...this book is best read in between the writing of your own novels not during...

For a more traditional book review on The State of me, you can click on either of the following links : Sally Zigmond's book blog or Caroline Smailes's

I strongly recommend that you make this book one of your must reads for this year.

Doggone

Don't be fooled by the innocent looking cover! This book dishes up piping hot surrealism by the ladleful. Best read while imbibing your favorite tipple in order to lubricate your brain to an appropriate viscosity.

It was often 'laugh out loud' funny, though tainted with a disturbing aftertaste of doubt; was it really appropriate to have laughed at that point in the book?

I feel it only fair to warn you that this is the kind of book that works its way into your subconscious and you will find yourself unexpectedly thinking about it.

Like the more notorious roller coasters, the ending leaves you thinking, 'That was a bit scary but whoo hooo what a ride!'. I was left with a somewhat masochistic desire to re-read it in case I had missed any of the subtle nuances the first time round.

Unexpectedly enjoyable from cover to cover with characters I loved and ones I loved to hate!

Doggone, written by Erik Ryman will be published by the wonderful world of Bluechrome on Oct 1st 2008. Get in the queue now for this book which is likely to become a cult classic...'what kind of cult?', did I hear you ask? Well you'll just have to read the book and find out!

Tangled Roots

I've had the privilege of reading a fabulous book, Tangled Roots by Sue Guiney and published by Bluechrome. Sue weaves her story much in the same way as magicians perform their acts during a live stage show.

I read this book with growing anticipation, assuming I knew what was about to happen and eagerly wanting to reach that point. Unexpectedly and with amazing cleverness the words frequently became twisted puffs of a magic spell; blending and wafting before me, clouding my vision only to have turned into something else once I was able to see clearly again.

I would recommend this book to those who take their reading seriously and to those who savour their books. Tangled Roots is unique and very special. I adored each sentence and wish Sue all the success she deserves with this magnificent debut novel.

Gents - an exquisite read

My advice to you would be to not read this book....until you are able to treat yourself to a slice of time which will allow you the luxury of reading it from cover to cover in one sitting.

The main characters in this book reach out from the pages to welcome you into their world. The dialogue is exquisite, crafted in such a way that it burns into your mind. It left me incapable of putting the book down for more than a few minutes without burning with desire to find out what happened next.

Between the covers of this absorbing book resides an opportunity to observe another world, one that many of us will never enter and that some of us wish they did not have to. It is a tale of strong contrasts. The reader is presented with vicarious experiences such as the sensation of being held at knife point. Yet there is an underlying message of good love and hope, of the potential for realisation of dreams by overcoming fears and looking beyond the situations that threaten to overwhelm. I read the last page with a smile on my face and a feeling of lightness shimmering inside.

Click here to treat yourself to a copy (go on, you know you deserve it!) of this delightful book by Warwick Collins (published by the Friday Project).

The Suicide Shop

The Suicide Shop by Jean Teule and published by Gallic Books is due for release in July 2008. I first read about it on Scott Pack's blog. Consumed with jealousy over the cleverness of the title, I jumped at the opportunity to review it, hoping to find it was nothing more than a clever title.

It arrived on my doorstep as a spiral bound manuscript. I spent several Aspie moments delighting over how it opened out flat without the usual struggle to break the spine of the book...before I forced myself to stop digressing and got on with discovering the contents of 'The Suicide Shop'.

The blurb describes it as a black comedy, a term I've seen used many times before without grapsing the concept until I read this novel. It is set sometime in the future and tells the tale of a rather morose and dysfunctional family who are perfectly suited to managing the day to day business of their 'suicide shop'. The fact that they have no repeat customers is testament of their skillful sales recommendations to individual customers. The only aberration in their fur lined rut of misery is the youngest child who, from the moment of his birth, is an inextinguishable ray of golden sunshine.

I found the book filled with exquisite imagery: 'Soap bubbles are flying up from it. They rise and fall, float, coloured and shining, in the Suicide Shop. They find their way, carelessly, between the shelving.' 'Something escapes from Mishima's throat like a song that has lost its way.' 'Overexposed in the artificial brightness, he is also haloed by the vibrations of an incredible self-destructive passion.' are just a few examples of the vivid, emotive, literary treasures that await the lucky reader.

The book is only 75 pages long and towards the end I began to feel the story line was becoming slightly tedious in its predictability. I thought that until I reached the startling surprise of an ending! Then I realised how the last chapters had lulled me into making false assumptions in order to hammer the final message home. I recommend this book to everyone simply on the genius of that alone. This book isn't big, but it is clever! Follow the link to Gallic at the top of this post, if you ask nicely they may allow you to reserve a copy so you can beat the rush in July!