Bruce Clothier Archives • Rabid Reader's Reviews

Rabid Reader’s Reviews – Best Reads 2012

2012 was a great year for me. I started my book review blog in February and have since met a number of wonderful people and reviewed 97 novels. Some of the novels were great and some…well, I’ve never met a book I regret reading because as a side benefit of age, I can always forget with time. High lighted in this post are the seven best Indie books that I’ve read this year.

Best Indie Novels of 2012
(in no particular order)

American Goddesses by Gary Henry

Two women are chosen for a program that gives them superpowers. Gary Henry’s American Goddesses gives the new superheroes a super-baddie who causes problems for the women in an unexpected way. The twists and turns in this story were astoundingly clever as were the ways in which Henry addresses the problems that arise in their daily life as a result.

Henry is working on the second book in this series.

[easyazon-link asin=”1480107336″ locale=”us”]Sedition: A Political Thriller[/easyazon-link] by Tom Abrahams

[easyazon-image align=”left” asin=”1480107336″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41lMXpTTG1L._SL160_.jpg” width=”107″]The President dies unexpectedly shortly after the Vice President’s demise. A tough, smart, female Speaker of the House is poised to take the main seat while the not yet sworn in, replacement, Vice President challenges her right. On the other side, an anarchist group sees this as their perfect opportunity to make their move (based on a real 1820 British plot). With an author who has spent many years as a political reporter, you can expect and get the best of the best political thriller.

In a Silva-esque move, Abrahams’s website gives us a look into the real places highlighted in [easyazon-link asin=”1480107336″ locale=”us”]Sedition: A Political Thriller[/easyazon-link].

[easyazon-link asin=”B009RAZ9AA” locale=”us”]Creator Class (The Creator Class Series)[/easyazon-link] by K.M. Breakey

[easyazon-image align=”left” asin=”B009RAZ9AA” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51i6K1dGHgL._SL160_.jpg” width=”100″]This book just squeaked in under the 2012 wire but would have certainly been on the 2013 list.

Shawn Lowe is a P-class 18-year-old who knows that there’s more out there than he can see. The Laws of Earthism that must be obeyed aren’t for him. Why can he only compete in the gaming rooms? Why can’t someone be recognized as the best at something? His Nana knows and she tries to tell him but talking about Pre-Great Transformation events is strictly prohibited. Up in C-class, unknown to Shawn, a 14-year-old girl watches. When she believes that Shawn will be terminated for blasphemous speech, she tries to warn and his friends in high places see this as a perfect chance to bring him to their world. Going to C-class may save Shawn’s life but the cost to him personally is great. [easyazon-link asin=”B009RAZ9AA” locale=”us”]Creator Class (The Creator Class Series)[/easyazon-link] is thought-provoking and poignant.

Action packed and entertaining, I can’t wait to read the next book in the series which is due out in 2013.

Continue reading Rabid Reader’s Reviews – Best Reads 2012

Specials

Bruce Clothier, Cary Attwell, Ford Forkum, Gary Henry, Paulette Mahurin, Tom Abrahams

A week ago, I joined a group of authors who support each other with reviews. I am not a writer but a very happy reader so jumped in feet first and this is the first review for a member of that group. I promise you, my readers when I do review those books here, every word I write is honestly meant and not simply to help folks with sales. The positive spin will be left for the bookselling sites.

That having been said, this first book needed no positive spin. This novel was simply a beautiful read. I hope you enjoy this review as much as I enjoyed reading the book and then if zombies, coming of age stories or dramas about human nature are your thing, head straight over to Amazon and pick it up.

Publication Date: April 2, 2012

In A Darkness Shattered by Bruce Clothier, Michael Nelson is a teenager, home alone when the Zombie Apocalypse begins. When it becomes apparent that his parents won’t be coming back, he sets out from Kansas City to his grandparent’s farm in Illinois. Along the way, he meets Abbie Nelson, a foster child who had been at the heart of the madness when it began and very narrowly escaped becoming one of the undead. This story follows the teenagers as they navigate the post-apocalyptic world with hope and trust in each other and a map they got from a gas station to guide them.