Author: John

by Rick Riordan

Published by Disney Hyperion

A review by John Irvin

CLICK HERE TO GO AND BUY THE TITAN’S CURSE!!!

“Then she was gone, and I was left alone with the twelve-year-old goddess.” –Percy Jackson

            Grover, the Satyr, is a friend of Percy Jackson’s—they’re linked in a mental kind of way, I’m not meaning crazy. But Percy gets a distress call from his friend and enlists himself on a quest to the rescue. He discovers that Grover has found two significant demigods, children of Hades.

            But what they soon realize is: they’ve walked into a trap designed by none other than Kronos the Titan Lord himself.

            Taking on powerful allies, will Percy Jackson be able to vanquish Kronos’s plan again? Will his friends make it out alive? What key roles do these two new demigods—Half-Bloods—have to play?

            This Greek-myth urban fantasy for young adults and teens is given a five star by me. Can there be any more stars? Yet again, I was brought to laughs by Percy’s clean humor. Yet again, I was surprised by the plot twists. And with yet another chilling prophecy, the team works it out well.

            Titan’s Curse could stand on its own sort of. It is book three in the series, but with the few mentions of past quests, Riordan gives good brief explanations that don’t take you out of the story world—they simply help you recall past adventures.

            What I’m saying is, Riordan keeps to his role as an amazing master at the narrative. The book is written in first person like the past two, from Percy’s perspective naturally. So you feel like you’re standing right next to Percy the whole time while you’re seeing what he’s seeing with him offering his own thoughts to you.

            Percy also does some growing and learning along the way—he’s growing up.

            And like its previous sibling works, this book kept me turning the pages and I was finished reading in around 2 or 3 days!

            So, take my recommendation and click this link to go buy it: THE TITAN’S CURSE.

As a side note, I am required to inform you that my links provided are affiliate links to the said products. Hey, I’ve got to pay the bills somehow. I hope this is understandable!

I’m also a Patreon artist–the cool thing about Patreon is it allows people to support artists by monthly pledges which allow the artists to have more time to work on their own passions. Here is my account: PATREON.COM. If you’d like to support me, I would be eternally grateful! I’m also considering adding a second tier in which those patrons would get an exclusive short series, an episode once a week. If you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear them. 

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com

by John Irvin

A commentary by John Irvin

CLICK HERE TO GO AND BUY STARQUEST EPIX!!!

“City-planet?’ Josh glanced over his shoulder at the Major, ‘Like that planet in a galaxy far, far away?’”

            A prequel to the Novel, Epix, brings us to a new world where everything just seems extra-large. The USS Patriot is even given a second body, giving it hulking mass.

            Johan Eryn and his team are simply on a visit to the planet, making allies with the King himself, but when one of the moons takes on living form, plummeting to the planet, will the band of freedom fighters be able to withstand a god?

            Back to my StarQuest Anthology, Epix is the sequel to Forgetfulness and prequel to the Novel. Did I enjoy writing this short science fiction drama? Yes! I already knew the designs for the space ship, seeing as she’d appeared in the novel years before, but actually seeing how she got to be the Ultimatum was a blast.

Also, the beating up a false god was pretty fun too—wasn’t exactly expecting that when I first started writing the fiction.

Though, you could read the novel before reading this space fantasy, I would recommend reading this one first. It may not be a huge build-up, but still a nice little entertaining addition to the Anthology.

Click this link to go check it out: STARQUEST: EPIX.

As a side note, I am required to inform you that my links provided are affiliate links to the said products. Hey, I’ve got to pay the bills somehow. I hope this is understandable!

I’m also a Patreon artist–the cool thing about Patreon is it allows people to support artists by monthly pledges which allow the artists to have more time to work on their own passions. Here is my account: PATREON.COM. If you’d like to support me, I would be eternally grateful! I’m also considering adding a second tier in which those patrons would get an exclusive short series, an episode once a week. If you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear them. 

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com

by Libba Bray

Published by Delacorte Press

A review by John Irvin

CLICK HERE TO GO AND BUY A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY!!!

“And then the scream I’ve been holding back comes pouring out of me hard and fast as a night train just as the sky opens wide and a fierce rain pours down, drowning our every sound.”

            Gemma Doyle’s last words to her mother are the most hateful—and now she has to live with it. But Gemma’s not like other girls, she sees visions of future events that have a deniable knack of coming true.

            When Gemma is institutionalized at Spence Academy in London, she finds herself thrust into a circle of the school’s most powerful women—dark entangled twists and turns that slowly reveal an wicked secret. Gemma’s power to draw the supernatural powers grows stronger.

            Then there’s the shadowy group that calls themselves the Order. Who are they? What do they want? What did Gemma’s mother have to do with them?

            And who is this tall, dark, and mysterious young lad apparently stalking Gemma?

           When I first sited this book in the bookstore a couple years ago, I was immediately drawn to the beauty of the cover. I must say, whoever did the artwork is a master! Then I opened the cover and feel even deeper in love. Why? Because the very first page holds several paragraphs of one of my most favourite poems: the Lady of Shalott by Tennyson.

            A gothic tale, starring elegant and complicated characters, unfolded itself before my eyes. The back of the cover states that it is a “curl-up-under-the-covers kind of book.” Now, I didn’t exactly do that, but I did spend quite a few hours sprawled out on my bed or my couch just reading and reading. If you want a magical fantasy to yank you out of this reality and drag you kicking and screaming all the way with but a few moments of respite, then you will adore this first book in a emotion-gripping trilogy.

            So, take my recommendation and click this link to go buy it: A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY.

As a side note, I am required to inform you that my links provided are affiliate links to the said products. Hey, I’ve got to pay the bills somehow. I hope this is understandable!

I’m also a Patreon artist–the cool thing about Patreon is it allows people to support artists by monthly pledges which allow the artists to have more time to work on their own passions. Here is my account: PATREON.COM. If you’d like to support me, I would be eternally grateful! I’m also considering adding a second tier in which those patrons would get an exclusive short series, an episode once a week. If you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear them. 

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com

by Rick Riordan

Published by Disney Hyperion

A review by John Irvin

CLICK HERE TO GO AND BUY SEA OF MONSTERS!!!

“We only came close to dying six of seven times, which I thought was pretty good.” –Percy Jackson

            Percy is in seventh grade and everything seems to be going well—no monsters attacking, an actual peaceful year. That’s until the dodgeball incident with the cannibalistic giants.

            Then Annabeth shows up with more news that adds to the bad repertoire.

            Camp Half-Blood is in over its head—the protective barrier that has guarded the camp for centuries is poisoned. If no cure can be found then there will be no more safe haven for demigods. Monsters could come and go as they please.

            This popular sequel to the Lightning Thief brings a fresh new vision of Greek mythology in present-day times. Percy and his crew must dive into the Sea of Monsters—somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle, naturally. There’s a golden fleece—what Greek-based story would be complete without a magical golden fleece?

            But there’s also Luke Castellan, bringer of dark times and raiser of an ancient force so evil the greatest of the gods had to plot together in secret to destroy it.

            Though related to its film-counterpart, Sea of Monsters has its own unique plot twists and storyline. It had me laughing half the time.

            It’s been over a week since I wrote the review for the first book, I know. But the idea is to give enough time for you to order the previous one, read it, then be ready to order the next book in a series—such as this one.

            You know how a lot of sequels just don’t seem to live up to their predecessors? Well, this book is not one of them. It was definitely a worthy follow-up and the characters were living, breathing people in my mind. Percy’s sardonic tone as he relates the events will have you chuckling out loud.

            Yes, like its prequel, this work is focused more on a younger age group, but being a 29 year old, I still found it an entertaining page-turner.

            So, take my recommendation and click this link to go buy it: SEA OF MONSTERS.

As a side note, I am required to inform you that my links provided are affiliate links to the said products. Hey, I’ve got to pay the bills somehow. I hope this is understandable!

Another side note, I’m also a Patreon artist–the cool thing about Patreon is it allows people to support artists by monthly pledges which allow the artists to have more time to work on their own passions. Here is my account: PATREON.COM. If you’d like to support me, I would be eternally grateful! I’m also considering adding a second tier in which those patrons would get an exclusive short series, an episode once a week. If you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear them. 

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com

by Kelley Armstrong

Published by Penguin Group

A review by John Irvin

CLICK HERE TO GO AND BUY STOLEN!!!

“So you don’t believe in werewolves?’ Her lips curved in an annoying half-smile.”

            Elena Michaels is the only living female werewolf. She is on a mission for her elite pack, being lured into Tyrone Winsloe’s fake scientific investigation of “other races. Winsloe is a dirty Internet billionaire who is willing to even kidnap Elena to study her in his underground lab hidden within the forests of Maine.

            But werewolves aren’t all that exist in the Otherworld. There are many various paranormals being studied in Winsloe’s mad-scientist facility. Witches, vampires, and shamans are among the unlucky to be captured and studied like lab rats.

          That’s not all. These “specimens” are released and hunted to the death in a reality game. Is Elena this lunatic’s match? Will she be able to stop Winsloe?

            Yes, it’s werewolves again. I have many books on that species. Every one, whether standalones or series, seem to portray them in unique lights—Stolen is no different.

            Werewolves are just like most animals, they live to feed, fight, and reproduce—this is the way of nature. But when you hand thousands or even hundreds of thousands of wolves in scores of packs across the globe and all of them are male…except for one, what is that?

            It wasn’t until after I bought this book that I found out it’s relations with the TV show Bitten. There is actually a prequel novel of which the show is named. I’ve seen just the first season I think—haven’t been able to finish it yet—so I don’t know if Stolen’s plot plays are part later on.

            What I do know is, I loved this book. In all of it’s weird dark fantasy—it was a great read that had me chuckling, snickering, wiping a couple tears from my eyes out of certain character’s hopeless moments, and overall, falling in love with Elena and her pack.

            I’d put this in the dark fantasy genre—definitely. Or urban fantasy, those seem to coincide quite a bit.

            So, take my recommendation and click this link to go buy it: STOLEN.

As a side note, I am required to inform you that my links provided are affiliate links to the said products. Hey, I’ve got to pay the bills somehow. I hope this is understandable!

Another side note, I’m also a Patreon artist–the cool thing about Patreon is it allows people to support artists by monthly pledges which allow the artists to have more time to work on their own passions. Here is my account: PATREON.COM. If you’d like to support me, I would be eternally grateful! I’m also considering adding a second tier in which those patrons would get an exclusive short series, an episode once a week. If you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear them. 

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com

by Michael Kerrigan

Published by Amber Books Ltd

A review by John Irvin

CLICK HERE TO GO AND BUY CELTIC LEGENDS!!!

“Classical commentators were struck by the centrality of “religious observance” in Celtic life; at the same time they struggled to understand a creed without written scriptures, graven images or constructed shrines.” –Chapter 1, The Celtic Cosmos

            An enchanting and mesmerizing history filled to the brim with tales of love and war and family feuds, along with outlaws and traitors, the legends of the Celts stirs in the heart of a ready that primal affection for the supernatural.

            The Celts rose to power between 750 BC and 12 BC. Their people group was focused in central and western Europe. They were overtaken or thrust out by the Roman Empire, shoved into the nether regions of the Atlantic fringe: northwest Spain, France and Britain. Their mythology grew stronger in spite of this push.

            During medieval times their stories were recorded in the Mabinogion, the Ulster and Fenian Cycles. Thanks to Roman Christians we know of the old beings like Morrigan, a shape-shifting queen, Cu Chulainn, a chief above chiefs in Celtic lore. Even Fionn mac Cumhaill, the giant who built the famous Antrim’s Causeway has a part.

            This book is illustrated with more than 180 artworks and the read is both entertaining and educational.

            Do you enjoy reading ancient mythologies? I do and I believe this work was an amazing add to my collection. Being Scot-Irish originally, the Celts have always been an intriguing people to me. Finally delving more into their legends and mythologies, mostly with this book, I was quite satisfied to learn the awesome tales.

            Being a fiction author as well, I was inspired by many of the stories too. They in fact still help me in weaving a few of my own narratives.

            But even if you’re not a writer, the mysterious pull of the supernatural cosmos behind these myths should still be entertaining for you.

            So, take my recommendation and click this link to go buy it: CELTIC LEGENDS.

As a side note, I am required to inform you that my links provided are affiliate links to the said products. Hey, I’ve got to pay the bills somehow. I hope this is understandable!

Another side note, I’m also a Patreon artist–the cool thing about Patreon is it allows people to support artists by monthly pledges which allow the artists to have more time to work on their own passions. Here is my account: PATREON.COM. If you’d like to support me, I would be eternally grateful! I’m also considering adding a second tier in which those patrons would get an exclusive short series, an episode once a week. If you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear them. 

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com