James MaxeyCritiques

Love this book. The characters are great, the moral dilemma's are intriguing and the world is a mixture of sf and fantasy. The dragons are different than in other stories and yet they really are dragons. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Not a review. Includes my reprint story "P is for Pet."

Jake Urry does it again!

My first book narrated by Jake Urry was a psychological thriller, and his way of narrating really got to me. I then listened to his performances of an occult thriller series; so when I found out that he was the narrator of Greatshadow, and fantasy being my favourite genre, I absolutely ‚had‘ to listen to it.

Now, the brain is a funny organ: when starting Greatshadow, at first I couldn’t help picturing Harlan Ulrich, the main protagonist from the occult thriller series. I hasten to add, that this is none of Jake Urry’s fault, his narration was immaculate, as I’ve come to expect from him. So, I had some serious talking to myself, and after a while, Ulrich faded, and Stagger and Infidel came to the fore.

I thoroughly enjoyed the narration, the various characters and voices. The good thing is: I enjoyed the book as much as I enjoyed the narration!

Being an avid reader/listener of fantasy stories, I sometimes wonder what new stuff authors can still come up with, cause it seems I should have read it all by now.

Far from it! On the foreground, this is a book about mankind’s fight against the evil dragon, but there is so much more to it.

The world building is excellent, and the world is populated by very strong and different characters and fascinating races. The narrator’s perspective is a bit of a funny one, because he is dead. Yes, you read that right. And he isn’t the sort of ghost I would have expected, either, because he can still feel like a living being — only he can no longer act like one, which causes him a lot of frustration.

Then there’s Infidel, an invincible woman who doesn’t let anyone push her around.

There are mercenaries with various special abilities, there’s the knight in shining armour (and he isn’t as boring as I expected him to be,either). And of course there’s a representative of the church who claims to hold the one and only truth, and there’s his (and the church’s) antagonist, some sort of Antichrist. And then there’s the mysterious — well, sort of wise man,or wizard — who knows it all.

Theses are only the main characters, but the sidekicks are just as fascinating and memorable. I hope in a sequel we’ll get to know more about the Black Swan, for instance.

All these characters make for a hell of a mix in their common goal to slay Greatshadow, the most powerful dragon on earth, not least because their motivations for the mission are so very different.

The story is full of surprises, and it is funny in parts, too. The mix of action and reflection, disputes and building of friendships makes for great entertainment, and I highly recommend it.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Jake Urry. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Dreadful. Embarrassing audio quality, narration, just a total fail on every level. Avoid

**I received a copy of this book from Falstaff Books via NetGalley in exchange for a fair, honest review**


There are times when more actually is better. When it's donuts or ex-wives -- no. But when it's tales of urban fantasy? Yes, all day long!

Modern Magic is an anthology of novel-length urban fantasy tales available in digital format for a limited time. I knew when I opened the book and started reading the first story (Cellar by Karen E.Taylor) that this book is a treasure trove of quality fantasy! Ranging from urban fantasy to paranormal romance, sci-fi and horror, this collection is amazing! And the price is right -- only $1.99!

I know I'm using a lot of exclamation points, but I'm really enjoying this book. (There. That's a period...I have gained some control over myself.) I'm a big fan of Jim Butcher, Simon Green and others who write urban fantasy series. When I saw the listing of authors for this collection, I saw several who are new to me. I'm always willing to expand my reading horizons! (There I go again....)

All of the novels included in this collection are first in a series. Many of them I had not read before. My TBR list is definitely increasing!

Here is the list of authors and novels in this collection:

Cellar - Karen E. Taylor. Originally published as Twelve Steps From Darkness, is the tale of addict Laura Wagner. Laura is battling her demons, both inner and supernatural. Taylor is also the author of the Vampire Legacy Series.

Hard Day's Knight (Black Knight Chronicles, Vol 1) - John G. Hartness. Children are missing. The police are baffled by the serial kidnapping case. Halloween is coming, and Vampire detectives Jimmy Black and Greg Knightwood are on the case to stop an ancient evil bent on destroying the world. Harkness also writes the Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter series.

Tainted (The Blood Lily Chronicles, Book 1) by Julie Kenner. When her little sister is raped, Lily Carlyle wants revenge. She gets it, but at the cost of her own life. Then she is resurrected into the body of a waitress named Alice, and becomes an assassin in the battle of good vs evil. Kenner also writes the Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom series, and the Codebreaker Trilogy.

Days Gone Bad (Vesik #1) by Eric R Asher. Damien Valdis Vesik is a necromancer. Vesik has battled evil many times, but now he's up against an ancient darkness beyond anything he has faced before. Asher also wrote the Steamborn trilogy.

The Tentacle Affaire (A Slip Traveler Novel) by Jeanne Adams. Slip Traveler Cait Brennan is on a mission to retrieve a lost octopus-like creature but ends up embroiled in an insidious alien plot. Adams is the author of several sci-fi and suspense novels.

Bill the Vampire (The Tome of Bill, Part 1) by Rick Gualtieri. Bill is a nerd. And a vampire. A master vampire has put him on 90-day probation. He has to prove his worth as a vampire, or die, permanently this time.

Touch a Dark Wolf by Jennifer St Giles. (Shadowmen #1). Nurse Erin Morgan finds herself on the run in the Tennessee mountains after witnessing a murder. When she hits a wolf with her car, she discovers not everything is as it seems.

Southern Bound (A Max Porter Paranormal Mystery) by Stuart Jaffe. Max Porter relocates to North Carolina to start over. When he discovers his office is haunted by the spirit of a 1940's detective, he finds his new job takes him in directions he never imagined. Jaffe also writes the Malja Chronicles, an apocalyptic fantasy series.

The Soul Cages by Nicole Givens Kurtz. Sarah lives in disembodied misery in Valek's soul cages, until she escapes. Now she must go back to save the others trapped in that hell. Kurtz also writes the Cybil Lewis sci-fi series.

Nobody Gets the Girl (Whoosh! Bam! Pow! #1 A Superhero Novel) by James Maxey. Accidentally erased from time by a a super-genius, Richard Rogers becomes Nobody, the world's ultimate spy. Maxey also writes the Dragon Age and Dragon Apocalypse fantasy series.

Trifles and Folly (A Deadly Curiousities Collection) by Gail Z. Martin. A collection of short stories from the Deadly Curiosities' universe, where dangerous magical and supernatural items must be found and protected. Martin writes several sci-fi/fantasy series, including Chronicles of the Necromancer.

The Nimble Man (A Novel of the Menagerie) By Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski. The Menagerie is a group of supernatural and other-worldly beings who must come together to battle the forces of darkness. Evil is working to resurrect the most evil of all the fallen angels. The Menagerie is the only thing standing in the way of the total annihilation of the human race. Golden and Sniegoski have both written several novels in the horror, sci-fi and fantasy genres.

So, this collection covers a wide range of fantasy from superheroes to shapeshifters, fallen angels and disembodied souls. All for $1.99!

I definitely recommend this collection to all lovers of sci-fi, urban fantasy and horror!

This was a great book reading all the different ideas of humans and dragons living in earth together. I would really like to see it formatted better, to where it would be easier to follow. It was also very frustrating to get to the end of the book and feel as though there was no closure for all the great characters I grew to lovr.

There's nothing wrong with this book. It just marks the moment when I stopped being able to care about new fantasy series.

I picked this up because it seemed like a good concept of dragons ruling the world and having a lone antagonist hunting them. And it could have been, if executed correctly. This one fails.

I'm one who reads the prologue. It's still part of the story to me. So while reading it, I was trying to decide if this is an allegory for the bible or someone bible thumping in fantasy. (At least it interrupted the possible rape scene.) It was my first sign the book wouldn't work well for me.

The writer had me semi confused, as the dragons are described like they are in a human form. Or perhaps they are anthropomorphic in set up. The dragons speak of the humans doing the work for them. None of it had made for a compelling set up. The best part was when they did the whole hunt the human set up. But that quickly devolved into uselessness.

By page 66, I'd determined that the prologue has no bearing on the rest of the book. It attempted to create a legend of a character, however, it lacks the details to truly make it a legend.

With all my struggles, I thought I'd try the audio to see if it improved any... Even the audio book reader shows little inflection to his voice and sounds bored as he reads. I pushed to page 81, got thoroughly done with the whole waste of text and gave up. No compelling characters, a very dry and boring text. Nope. Dud.½

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

4.5 stars
A cool addition in listening to the audiobook for me, we get small sound effects! There's a noise that matches the waterfall, lightly in the background to give us the feel of the story with the narration. I enjoyed the sly or laid back, knowing voice of the clientele at Black Swan that he used. Very fitting of the characters! I found I really enjoyed Jake as the narrator for this book. He felt to bring life to the words and characters as he spoke. When listening to audiobooks, sometimes a wonderful thing happens - you don't even know you are listening. Yep, it happened here. Jake told the story with what felt to be the characters personalities and lived in their emotions. This brings a book to a whole fourth dimension that's enjoyable for us.

We start off with seeing Stagger and Infidel in their full character as they escape a lava pygmy temple. How they escape says a lot about their personalities and friendship. Also gives us a action start to bring us into the world with them. I totally loved it. I was sold on the daring characters from the opening.

Infidel is one brutal woman! I love it! She's magically strong and seems to have no fear with her strength as she does withstand some heavy events and keeps on going. Infidel comes to a realization early in the book and grows from it as we move through events. Infidel feels to have been a person in need of healing, and didn't realize it until she lost one person dear to her. Wonderful writing for Infidel and her growth.

I very much enjoyed the story from the beginning. It's told from Stagger's view of things happening. I was pleasantly surprised at how well everything fits as we watch and experience with him. We interact with many different beings from Ogre to dwarf and magic inclined people. And of course, dragons. Very interesting world.

The story plot has an overall slower pace like traditional fantasy. But it's what happens in those moments that are amazing. Even though the plot is slower, the story is far from it. We get to see the world and know the characters through adventure and danger. There is magic and different beings present that we get to meet through actions. I even found I got to smile and chuckle at this story. When you meet Reeker and get to witness what he can do, you'll be smiling too. lol.

I found it interesting how the characters on the journey to kill Greatshadow have their lives intertwined with this adventure. We learn a great deal about them and face dangers as we journey, and I didn't realize that we were still working to get to the dragon. I didn't feel as though the book needed to skip ahead or anything. I truly enjoyed the story from the view point we got it.

I received this #Audible #audiobook in exchange for an honest review via #LibraryThing.

TBH, the first 30 minutes or so of the book, I was not sold...in fact, I almost DNFed this one.

I am glad I didn't.

This was a very entertaining read...it reminded me a little bit of Eragon, but for adults. It was adventurous, funny, and all-together captivating!

I loved the different characters in the group...their powers were fantastic and really pushed the book forward in regards to keeping my interest...what will happen next!? I love the fantastical creatures and people, I would love to see a prequel in this series for the Black Swan...definitely an interesting character!

I really hope that I can be a reviewer for any future books in this series! The narrator was fantastic, which also helps with maintaining engagement as a listener.

#punkrocklibrarian

I had the pleasure to read a paperback copy of this book some years ago and I recall I really enjoyed it. That hasn’t changed at all now with this new audiobook version. It was a real treat to revisit this epic quest and these interesting characters.

In this little corner of this world, there are plenty of islands and some of the last bastions of true wilderness. That’s because an elemental dragon, Greatshadow, resides in the depths of one of the islands volcanic mountains. Stagger, who dies very early on in the book, watches as his friends, frenemies, and a few unknowns are gathered together to take on the great task of killing Greatshadow. They hope to free humans from his tyranny, forever making fire safe to humans to handle. each of the questers has their own reasons for going on this journey, ranging from a holy quest to a great treasure hunt. Stagger is along for the right, his spirit being tied to his old dagger that he left with his drinking buddy Infidel.

First, lets talk about the characters. Yes, there are plenty of them, but most of them are pretty interesting. Stagger is a 50ish man that never did much more with his life than hunt up treasure, drink himself stupid, and hold a silent crush on Infidel. Now as a ghost, he’s taking an active role in one of the greatest (and perhaps most foolhardy) acts of humanity in recorded history – the not-insignificant attempt to slay an ancient and elemental dragon. Through this quest, he has to face some old acquaintances and also see people he cares about put in danger. So, he’s kind of having a midlife crisis without actually being alive. These circumstances force him to grow if he wants to make a difference.

Then there’s Infidel. She’s the true focus of this story. Being in her 30s, she’s got this unusual power of super strength and nearly impermeable skin. She’s a tank build like a healthy young lady on the short side. With the death of her best friend Stagger, she has to reassess what she wants to do with her life. She realizes that Stagger made treasure hunting and drinking fun and that she didn’t need much more than that. With him gone, she’s ready for a change.

Aurora was my next favorite character. She’s an ice ogress, complete with tusks. She’s quite good with her ice magic and very talented with a harpoon. In fact, she’s seeking a sacred weapon that belongs to her people and she suspects that one of their party has that weapon hidden away. Then there’s Wreak. I don’t really like him, per se, but he was just so interesting. He’s a half-seed, meaning that his mother bought some alchemically enhanced animal semen and applied it appropriately, coming up with a baby Wreak 9 months later. Unfortunately, it appears she purchased skunk semen…. perhaps on purpose. Just one of those little mysteries that we may never solve. The character list is littered with odd misfits aplenty: righteously angry religious man, a deformed strong man with almost no face, another zealot who can alter reality, a dream spinner (Blade) and his deadly assassin of a dream (Whisper), a flying knight with his shiny armor and mighty hammer, a tattooed man that can shape shift (Menagerie), the time traveling Black Swan, and the thought stealing Relic.

Then we have this quest that’s all told from the viewpoint of dear departed Stagger. It’s not a straightforward quest; the group suffers plenty of set backs. I liked that there was a mix of motivations for going on this quest and then that the quest itself was not so easy. There’s some internal conflicts and pygmies and just the jungle island to cross. Then toss in a little romance that isn’t expected to go anywhere in a hurry. I loved the girl talks between Aurora and Infidel, two warriors with vastly different experiences when it comes to sex. Not all of these would-be heroes make it to the end of the book. Some die out of stupidity. Some die from jungle traps set by the pygmies. Some die doing what they do best and in a noble manner. A few I wanted dead and a very few I nearly cried when they did die.

The ending held a few more surprises. Things didn’t end as I expected them to and that made me happy. This is not a predictable sword & sorcery tale. While the ending wraps things up for this tale, it leaves thing open for the sequel. It was a most satisfying book.

I received a free copy of this book.

Narration: Jake Urry brought a new level of enjoyment to this book. He really pulled out the stops for the variety of voices. I especially loved his creepy voice for Whisper. His muffled voice for the strongman with the face abnormality was well done. His voice for Greatshadow was excellent – deep, ancient, somewhat haughty, and powerful. He had distinct voices for all the characters and his female voices were believable. There were many emotions the various characters lived through in this book and he did a great job at showing those as well. All around, a fantastic narration.

My original Greatshadow audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Stagger and Infidel are bounty hunters searching for highly prized dragon bones. While chased by pygmies, Stagger accidentally stabs and kills himself with his bone knife, and is transformed into a ghost tied to his knife, he must go where it goes. Infidel, the beautiful warrior with impenetrable skin and unnatural strength, mourns his death, not knowing Stagger is still following her. She joins a strange band of magical warriors and priests to slay the elemental dragon, Greatshadow, to free the world of his control of fire.

This is an extremely complex story with imaginative characters and demons. Maxey paints a richly detailed world of magic and adventure: impenetrable armor that only exists as long as long as 300 monks pray for its existence, a deceiver who can change reality by convincing others of his lies, a mercenary who can change into an animal from the tattoos on his body, an ice priestess who can freeze anything with a touch and many, many more. The story’s originality and fresh ideas alone are worth the visit, but it is the richly developed characters that will keep the listener enjoying the ride.

The plot is far too complex to describe here. Each character has his or her own reason for searching out the elemental dragon, Greatshodow. One wants to kill it for king and country, others just for the money, another as an enslaved magician and Infidel to bury her grief. It is an epic adventure that will satisfy fantasy lovers.

Jake Urry performs the story magnificently. He brings the story to life with his exceptional voice and character portrayals. A beautiful dance of narrator and story and a pleasure to listen to.

Greatshadow is a thoroughly entertaining action adventure fantasy. It even throws a bit of philosophy into the mix about when messing with nature is going too far. It is book one in the series, but stands alone as a complete novel. You’ll definitely want to listen to book two when it is available. If you enjoy fantasy at its best, this is a must listen. Highly recommended.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

I found this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for sharing!

The reason why I wanted to read this book was obvious - fantasy novel including gay relationship!

I like the other cover a lot more.

The story begins from the first meeting of the main characters which is not so common in fantasy. There is not a lot of introduction to the world created but we find out about it from conversation. I really wanted the narrator to see the world only trough Faran's eyes but alas, that's not the case. I think that weakens the story.

This is the world that is not scared of gay men and men who have feelings which is why it probably won't be very popular with the usual fantasy readers. But for those who like a well created world and not-so-typical story this is a good read (warnings for some sex scenes).

I would recommend this book to those who are captivated by the description, for those who have never read a fantasy novel that is more inclusive. It's a really relaxing read but I wanted it to be much longer.

I wish all the luck to the author and I hope that this is only the beginning for interesting relationships in fantasy.

tree stars for originality and nice writing.

In this sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy has grown up and become an investigative journalist. She still has the silver slippers, which help her go places she otherwise wouldn't be able to get into. She's investigating War Secretary Diggs, the former Wizard of Oz, who has constructed a huge factory in Kansas to build dirigibles. His goal: to get back to Oz, and Dorothy must stop him.

I enjoyed this lightweight adventure (albeit with a high body count). Maxey clearly knows much more about Oz than I do, and he's evolved the main characters and brought in one new and interesting one: Esau, billed as the "Flying Monkey Man," a former carnival sideshow freak and engineering genius who constructs gliders and jumps from hot air balloons as his act. Diggs' theory on what Oz actually is was really intriguing, and I wish that aspect had been followed up more. Clearly, this loving tribute to the Oz books is left open for a sequel.

Not my usual fare, but I read this because Maxey is from my hometown, and this was our book club pick (we frequently try to read local authors).

Are you looking for something scary and short to read? This ebook collection features short horror stories by four authors, including me.

In "Handicapped," a real estate agent searching for his missing wife will find a unique horror inside the house that's For Sale.

I also did the interior illustrations.

I tried to read this book but only got about a third of the way into it. The biggest problem was this book is print on demand and not available in bookstores. (No, I don't have a Kindle or a Nook, nor do I want one). This was the October pick for Watch the Skies book group. The de book took 2 weeks to arrive in print form. The discussion was good, but only half the group actually finished the book.

I received a copy for free through GoodReads’ First Reads.

It was a pretty fun read, and there was a lot that I admired about it. I appreciated that the descriptions of place and people were vivid without being florid. The author gave enough information that I could visualize a person, place, or thing while leaving enough room for interpretation that my imagination never got tripped up by unnecessary and trivial details. Personally, I think that makes for a much richer reading experience.

Maxey’s uncluttered writing style is also great for fights and physical comedy. Some of the latter was downright slapstick, which I’ve seen very few writers pull off. I mean, we’re talking about largely visual humor in a text-based medium—impressive. I guess in a lot of ways the physical humor was tied to character (such as when the somewhat prideful Tower, a man who flies around by gripping his “Gloryhammer,” faceplants into a wall in the false matter room—great way to take the 'shining hero' down a notch), so maybe that’s why it worked so well. Still, I kept thinking this would make a fun movie. It would take a big budget to do it right as live-action, but maybe we could do an animated version? With Nathan Fillion voicing Stagger, of course.

My reservations mostly stem from plot propulsion and emotional impact, which probably weren’t powerful enough to warrant a full four stars for me, at least as I normally gauge books. But . . . there was enough novelty and interest and fun that I found Greatshadow to be a pleasant surprise. I can open it to almost any page and find something I enjoyed. With that in mind, I'm going to go ahead and round up to four.

see http://www.sfsite.com/12a/fo285.htm

As is my usual preamble, I received this book as part of a GoodReads giveaway. In fact, I would like to thank the author once again because not only did he send me this book in specific, but also the two predecessors as well. Despite this very kind consideration, I give my honest feedback below.

So, you’ve no doubt noticed that in addition to this book I also made my way through the previous two books the author sent along. When I received the unexpectedly voluminous package in the mail I will admit that my first thought was, to put it succinctly, “I sure hope these don’t suck.” There’s nothing worse than 1100 pages that you feel mildly obligated to read. Luckily, those thousand plus pages were really quite engaging.

In previous reviews I’ve gone on and on about Maxey’s originality, his ability to stretch the typical “ogres and dwarves” platform to entertaining limits and his unique ability to mix sex, violence and fantasy in just the right ratios. In deference to those recent reviews I won’t prattle on further about those characteristics. However, a new thing that I realized about the series in this book specifically was that he has a very solid way of just letting things go once they’ve played out. In a lot of modern books characters and plotlines carry on far beyond their welcome. They’re like Joe Montana in a Chiefs uniform. You can understand why someone might have thought it was a good idea but ultimately you just wonder if it would have been better had things just ended. Authors seem to get married to their characters and drag them on and on through book after book. In Maxey’s books when a character’s work is done they just die. You mourn for a moment and then, like life, Maxey comes along with something else to entertain you. He’s an author who’s in love with his world, but like any God he’s willing to just let bits and pieces go for the benefit of the whole. It’s surprisingly refreshing.

In summary, I will relate a brief illustrative story. My fiancée perused a few pages on the strength of my previous reviews and after a short read she handed it back to me and stated simply, “reads like Tolkien.” Early on I had the same thought but felt it rather cliché to put such a thing in a review but I think she’s right. There’s just something that rings true about Maxey’s work, a richness that’s missing in almost of all of his modern peers. It should be noted that my fiancée didn’t express any desire to read the rest; this is clearly ‘guy lit’ but that should not diminish the positivity with which it should be regarded.

As a slight variation to a usual theme, I received this book as a result of a GoodReads giveaway but somewhat indirectly. I won the third book in the series but the author was exuberantly kind enough to send the entire series. Despite this wonderfully kind consideration, my candid opinions follow below.

It is difficult to begin without resorting to cliche, assuming that the opening about winning a book in a GoodReads giveaway is not already cliche. Maxey's work, to sum it up, has a touch of everything. There's a slight thread of testosterone. A twinge of adventure. A modicum of adventure. A dollop of humor (the long accepted standard unit of humor has long been acknowledged to be the dollop, I will point out). Unlike the vast majority of novels which try to walk such a wending and tormented path, Maxey's work actually manages to make it all function together in a pleasing way. The humor isn't tortured. The testosterone isn't fetid. The adventure isn't overwrought. It all balances well together and through the whole thing he manages to introduce fresh new ideas. He takes the standard orc/ogre/dwarf/elf milieu and stretches it into something that has the and pleasing aroma of originality.

To back up moderately, Maxey's plotline is nothing fancy or innovative. Boy meets girl, girl meets boy, boy-girl somewhat happy though ironically and comically star-crossed, boy-girl set out to slay terrible beast. There's nothing shocking about any of that but the brush that Maxey paints with is one of almost dizzying originality.

Furthering the positive commentary, Maxey isn’t afraid to make a broader statement with his work. His villains aren’t mere pasteboard with no analogous relative in real life, no simple shadows upon a puppeteer’s screen. Like Tolkien before him he has a sociological statement to make and he’s not afraid to put it front and center.

In summary, and resorting completely to cliché, this book is one of the most entertaining things I’ve read in a long time. While it is fairly narrow in scope to the fantasy genre, among those players I think it ranks rather highly. Greatshadow is great “mind cake” with a thin thread of substance for those who wish to partake of it. To put it even more summarily, I’m impressed. I’ve read quite a lot of trite and worthless drivel and this quite nicely makes up for it. Highly recommended.

As a slight variation to a usual theme, I received this book as a result of a GoodReads giveaway but somewhat indirectly. I won the third book in the series but the author was exuberantly kind enough to send the entire series. Despite this wonderfully kind consideration, my candid opinions follow below.

Like Maxey’s immediately previous novel, Greatshadow, this book has a touch of everything. Sex, violence, and humor abound in optimal proportions. Hush picks up exactly where Greatshadow leaves off and continues the same basic plotline. While this is a continuation of previous work Maxey does a good job of helping the second novel stand on its own if you haven’t made time for the first.

Hush is a novel almost identical in tone to the first though at one point the story does become rather maudlin. Otherwise our author does very well at build a milieu for the reader that is not only entertaining but thought provoking. As usual Maxey proves himself a master of the fantasy genre.

I'm not sure why I'm not enthusiastic about this book. It's a nice story, with a few twists that are rather surprising. Well, until you've read the hints that is. The book tends to lift the veil a bit, and afterwards to explain the entire thing. Unfortunately, after the veil has been lifted, the idea is pretty much clear. Perhaps the problem is that the goal of the book is to assemble the puzzle, and that the characters feel as pieces of the puzzle because of that. As a result, I can't really care about them. At the end (the last quarter or so), I wanted to finish the book to see how the last loose ends would be tied together, not because I really cared. Still, the ideas in the book are a nice surprise, and not what you'd expect when you start reading. And it's really not that badly written, so I expect others will have a higher opinion of this book.

Reading self-published novels is seldom more rewarding than a tedious chore. They're generally poorly written, poorly plotted, poorly proofed, poorly printed, and just poorly executed all around. So I'm excited to say James Maxey's Burn Baby Burn is none of the above! While it does lack the polish that a publishing house complete with a full staff of professional editors, copyeditors, and proofreaders could provide, it still manages to be both immensely readable and insanely enjoyable. With that extra layer of polish, Burn Baby Burn could be a truly great novel. Or at least a great super power novel, as I doubt anyone not interested in the genre would enjoy it. That's the book's only real flaw: that it is unlikely to be accessible to anyone outside its built in target audience. Overall Burn Baby Burn is fun, action-packed, humorous, and, at times, philosophical. In other words, it's everything you could ask for from super power fiction outside of four colors.½

This is an amazing follow-up to [b:Nobody Gets the Girl|397756|Nobody Gets the Girl (Whoosh! Bam! Pow!, #1)|James Maxey|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1323069347s/397756.jpg|387219]. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that it is better in just about every way than the first book.I've always been a sucker for books where the lines of good and evil are not clear-cut. Sunday was brainwashed by her father. Pit was damaged and confused. Servant/Ogre was a conflicted bully. None of them were completely innocent, nor were they completely guilty.The nods to [b:Nobody Gets the Girl|397756|Nobody Gets the Girl (Whoosh! Bam! Pow!, #1)|James Maxey|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1323069347s/397756.jpg|387219] were nice, while I appreciated that no knowledge of the first book was required in order to enjoy the second book.