The blog of author Stacy Kingsley

Book Review of THE OTHER SISTER by Dianne Dixon

7/29/2019

The Other Sister by Dianne Dixon was a quick read, but it was also an unsatisfying read. I read this over a few hours, and was incredibly disappointed that I wasted my time with this novel.

The plot of the book sounded interesting. Morgan and Ali are fraternal twins. Morgan feels Ali has had all of the luck and that maybe, just maybe, life would be better for her if Ali never existed. The end of the synopsis adds, "As their lives spin toward something neither one of them can control, a terrifying crime reveals how those who know us best can destroy....or save us." This made the book sound like a crime thriller, which it was not. It wasn't a domestic thriller either. I don't think this book knew what it wanted to be.

The character of Morgan was an annoying and underdeveloped character. She had only part of her own self in this story, and most of the time she spent was feeling angry or jealous of her fraternal twin, Ali. Part of this is understandable. Ali is engaged to and eventually marries a man named Matt. This man met Morgan first, and he was interested in her, until he met her sister, Ali, then he fell in love quite quickly. Morgan feels like this sums up her life with Ali as her sister. Everyone loves her Ali and Morgan is always second best.

When tragedy strikes and Morgan feels that her sister has abandoned her, things begin to change. This is really where the story got dull. In the beginning it seemed like it would be a story of revenge or of sisters who eventually learn to love each other, despite the terrible things one sister has done. Then it acted as if it was going to be a thriller or mystery, as Matt left and was discovered the next day looking beaten and abused, by Morgan. Then it changed again after the tragedy happens and Ali has several decisions to make. It never really makes up its mind what genre it wants to be, or what story it wants to tell. Instead it tried to accomplish too much and became very dull.

In the end several things happened, and a few of them didn't seem at all realistic, or even true to the story. The crime committed seemed to be put into the novel only to force something bad to happen to a character, and for another to discover what everyone would eventually know before she breaks her silence. It also made several of the female characters look dumb, like they all only cared about one thing, money, not love, or their children, or even what was going on in their marriages.

Of course, there is a lot of stuff around the husbands, and the secrets every is keeping, some of which are really stupid.

So, after stating all of this, would I recommend this book? No. Nope. Zero percent. Skip it, this is one book that is just too frustrating to read.

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Virginia Writer's Symposium on August 3

7/28/2019

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Hello everyone in Internet land! I will be running a workshop at the Virginia Writer's Symposium on "How to Write Horror."

I will be delving into fear, writing, and publishing horror.

I want to invite everyone to join, as there will be a lot of great workshops there! Come see me and others who can help you in your writing careers!

The theme this year is From Pondering to Publishing to Promoting. Invite anyone and everyone that needs help with any of these in their writing career.

See you on Saturday.

You can sign up at:
www.virginiawritersclub.org/Workshop-Information

You can look up the workshops at:
www.facebook.com/VirginiaWritersClub/

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Book Review of TALON OF GOD by Wesley Snipes and Ray Norman

7/23/2019

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I want to start this review by saying I don't often read Christian or spiritual fiction, so my review may be a little off putting for someone who is spiritual, just because I found that aspect to be an annoying part of the story. My fault though.

What is Talon of God about? Talon of God by Wesley Snipes and Ray Norman is about a holy warrior who has to make Lauren, a doctor with no faith, believe so they can stop powerful demon and his minions from bringing hell to earth. Everyone who becomes "possessed" is lacking of faith, ad is easily duped into letting a demon inhabit their body and feed off of their souls. This books is set in streets of Chicago, and revolves around Lauren, the aforementioned doctor, her ex-boyfriend, Will, a cop, and Talon, a man on a holy mission.

Overall, this book read like it was the beginning of a script for a movie. It was full of dialogue and action, which made it enjoyable for someone like me, who doesn't read a lot of Christian or spiritual fiction. It was an honest mistake on my part. I saw the book for sale, saw that it was written by Wesley Snipes, and only briefly read the synopsis. If I had read the synopsis I probably wouldn't have bought it. It is not the typical book for me, and when I read other descriptions it sounded more like urban fantasy and not so much like a religious book, although the notes were there.

The characters were okay, although Will and Lauren both became a little dull in their quest to not follow or believe anything Talon was saying, and it was written so Lauren had some special magic that made her great for helping those who were possessed, but there was really not an explanation as to why she was the "one." The religious debates and chats they continued to have throughout the book, well, they were a little drawn out. I wished that they could have been a little less frequent, especially since they lasted through the entire book, and Lauren took too long to get through her doubt. In the end it was over probably two-thirds of the book before Lauren really started to think about her beliefs.

Will was an okay character a lot of the time, but he also got tedious with his "I am a cop" and "I don't believe in this stuff" attitude. I was a little annoyed with where the book went, and wish that it had left some things out. For example, I would have liked the human element to remain a human element, without the interference of angels and outside forces. It would have made it a more interesting book. It would have also given us the struggle of the humans as they came to the idea of what having faith meant to them. Instead, once again we get angels and demons who help the characters come to realize what their beliefs might actually be.

Another thing that disappointed me was the ending. Obviously, this book was written to be part of a series, as the ending left things a little up in the air. This frustrated me, only because I didn't have a clue what the relationship was of some of the characters to heaven or hell, and this made assumptions about these characters and what I needed to know, without really giving me all of the information.

Overall, this wasn't a bad book, but it also wasn't the best. I would have liked a little less spent on convincing Lauren and Will that God exists, and a little more spent on the development and the story. As it was it took me a little longer to read because there were moments where the novel was a little overdrawn and I wanted to give up and quit reading it. So, if you want to read this one it is up to you, as I can't help in the field of religious fiction.

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Book Review of THE BUTCHERING ART by Lindsey Fitzharris

7/15/2019

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The Butchering Art by Lindsey Firzharris is about the Quaker surgeon Joseph Lister, who would change the course of history. The story begins as Lister begins, and his claims that germs were the source of infection, and could be stopped by antiseptics. The novel focuses on the period of his life from 1850-1975, and informs the reader about several issues that plagued the medical community during this time. It reveals the dreariness of the hospitals, the dirty medical schools, deadhouses where the students studied, and the graveyard, where they sought cadavers for use in their education.

The book mostly focuses on surgeon, Joseph Lister, a young Quaker with big ideas, as he tries to make surgery safer, and unite medicine and science.

After reading this book, I was happy to have been born when I did, with the advances that we currently have in medicine. I would have hated to have been one of the poor souls who had been operated on without anesthesia of any sort, and who would end up with only a slight chance at survival. During the time focused on in this novel, surgeons were under a clock when they operated. The point was, get in fast, get is fixed fast, and finish as fast as possible.

Lister was a curious young man, who almost didn't become a surgeon. He became overwhelmed and told his father he was feeling far from his faith and wanted to become a Quaker minister. His father, a confident man, was often the one to turn young Lister around. Through his life he continued to depend on his father, and eventually his wife, Agatha, as well. He was a man with a dream to find a way to keep people from dying after a visit to the hospital.

In the end, Lister's ideas were incorporated and used as it was proven that they did keep people from dying.

I did enjoy this book, although there were some parts where the timeline was a little confusing. An example of this is that it was stated that Lister's father died in 1869, and his father-in-law died in 1860, when in fact his father-in-law died in 1870. I would have also liked a little more about Agatha. I wanted to know more about their relationship and how they got along. While it seemed that Agatha was happy to help her husband, she wasn't incorporated enough in they story. I would have liked to know more about how she felt when her husband operated on his patients on her dining room table.

It was also quite frightening how operations took place. People were losing limbs left and right. People often died of sepsis due to infection after any kind of surgery, especially when a limb was removed or a if there was a compound fracture. Once ether was introduced surgery did become a tad easier, as the patients were not fully awake during the operation. However, the issue was often cleanliness and sterilization. Surgeons would go from one operation to another, without changing or cleaning themselves or their instruments. It was no wonder that so many people died when they had surgery.

There were parts of this book that were a little to superfluous, and they could have been edited out, but the last quarter of it was very interesting, when Lister started publishing his work, and when people began trying to discredit him. I'd recommend this to anyone who is interesting in history, and the history of medicine. It took me a while to finish it, only because I was listening to it on audio book, and only listened when I went out for a walk, but otherwise, I think this is likely to be a fast read and I do recommend it.

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Book Review of PARASITE by Mira Grant

7/11/2019

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Parasite by Mira Grant is an apocalyptic book that revolves around medical fears and what helps in the medical community. I enjoyed it, but don't know that it would be realistic or relevant because who would willingly put a parasite inside of themselves?

Sally has been in a coma for a few years, and she isn't expected to wake up, until she does. The day she wakes up is the same day her family is asked to give up and let her go. When she wakes up she doesn't remember anything before the coma. She doesn't remember who Sally used to be, or what happened to cause the accident. The only thing she seems to hold on is that she is afraid to be in a car. Deathly afraid. The SymboGen Corporation have a problem that no one knows about. Humanity has a problem they can't figure out. Sally, well she has a problem because she doesn't know who she can trust.

Sally, or Sal as she wants to be called now, has been awake for six years, but she feels like a child. While she has a boyfriend, Dr. Nathan Kim, and a part-time job at a shelter, she doesn't understand certain phrases, body gestures are strange, and people keep telling her that she isn't the girl they all knew before. Her family has guardianship over her, partly because every now and then she has fainting episodes, and partly because, since she can't remember anything from before the accident people think she can't be trusted to take care of herself. Suddenly, she has to figure out who to trust, because people all over the country are falling victim to a "Sleeping sickness," which is causing them to forget who they are, move towards an unknown source, and ignore the world around them. After a little while they start becoming violent, and people start to die. The cause? Only the doctors who created the cure can fix the problem. Yet, Dr. Banks and Dr. Canti don't have the same agendas, so the truth? Still not known. Is the problem imagined, or are the parasites to blame?

I've never read anything my Mira Grant, and I thought that this was an interesting idea. I did wonder who would allow themselves to be infected with a parasite to forgo taking medicine or control a medical problem (think allergies or diabetes). There were points in the book I thought could have been edited out. In all honesty, Sal became an annoying character. We didn't need to see as many frightening car freak outs as we did, and the fact that she didn't understand things was stated over and over and over, to the point where I just did not care anymore.

Sal's family was a little over-the-top, especially after one section. After one point in the story her father and mother both allude to the fact that she isn't the same, and this brings up issues for her, especially the way she is treated by her father and then her mother, after something traumatic happens to her. Nathan is too willing, at one point, to welcome someone back into his life who had disappeared long before he even became a doctor, which seemed very out of character for him.

There were only two characters I wished I could have seen more of. Those characters were Tansy, a psychotic little serial killer who had fun with whatever she was doing, and Joyce, Sal's sister. Otherwise, I have to say I got a little bored with the characters. Sal was a little too over anxious, Nathan was dull and I didn't feel that he had much of a personality, the medical professionals were all too obvious as to who they were and what they wanted, and everyone else, besides Tansy and Joyce, weren't developed enough to care about.

This book is the first in a series, and while I though the idea was an interesting choice for an apocalypse, I am not sure the characters were interesting enough to make me want to continue to read. I do have to say, the ending of this book was quite predictable, and I'm not sure it should have ended the way it did.

This might be more interesting for other readers, for me it didn't hold my interest. So why three stars? The writing wasn't bad, and I didn't hate it enough to stop reading it. Plus, when you read enough to like any of the characters I think that is a good reason to give a book more than just a few stars.

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Book Review - FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

7/1/2019

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I have never read Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley before, which may be surprising since I have a Masters in English, and I'm a horror author. It doesn't seem to be one of those books that one studies anymore, and I am not sure if it is because of the tone, the writing, or the story itself.

If you are unfamiliar with it the story follows a young man named Robert, who is trying to accomplish a mission by sailing from one point to another. He runs across a young man who is floating on an ice sheet. This man turns out to be a man with a surprising story, a story of murder, horror, and creativity. This man is Victor Frankenstein. The story he tells is one of committing an atrocity by creating a monster, one of murder, and one of incredible loss. Victor wants revenge for everything he has been through, but he isn't quite sure how to achieve it.

I am familiar with popular Frankenstein stories, and the plot points of the movies, but besides Frankenstein being the being to create the monster, most of the stories don't actually follow the book. First, we never know how exactly Frankenstein creates the monster, as he never wishes to divulge his secrets. He is worried that someone else with create a monster like he has, and he doesn't want to bring this horror out on the world. Second, in most versions, the monster isn't very verbal, and the monster in the book is actually quite articulate. We actually learn quite a bit about what the monster has gone through before he meets up with his creator again.

There are several other things in the story that are not quite like the movies that have been made to represent it. There are murders that don't happen in most movies that set things in motion for Victor. We learn a lot about Victor's life previous to his leaving for school and creating the monster.

The novel doesn't quite end like most of the movies do either, which did surprise me. I would have liked it better if it had ended like most of the movie versions.

There are things about this novel that I truly enjoyed. The question of who should or should not play god is a very interesting question that we still ask about today. What, as creators, do we owe our creations? Are we responsible for their reactions after we leave the to their own devices? Are we responsible for their bad behavior and should we stop them if we can?

I know this novel is recognized as a horror novel, but I think it is more of a science fiction or a mystery novel, especially since it has science fiction elements and the elements of a murder mystery. I do think this was a good book, and obvious a classic. If I were going to compare it to novels today, I would say I would have liked a different ending. I didn't quite think it was a good ending for the story, and what the audience wants. It feels as if there should be a book two.

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Book Review of THE OTHER SISTER by Dianne Dixon

Virginia Writer's Symposium on August 3

Book Review of TALON OF GOD by Wesley Snipes and Ray Norman

Book Review of THE BUTCHERING ART by Lindsey Fitzharris

Book Review of PARASITE by Mira Grant

Book Review - FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Stacy Kingsley

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