Book review: POWERBALLS: Be careful what you wish for.

POWERBALLS: Be careful what you wish for. Jimmy Clifton, Northport Communications, May 6, 2021, Paperback and eBook, 250 pages.

Review by Florence Osmund.

Author Jimmy Clifton’s Powerballs is a cautionary tale about what can potentially happen to ordinary folks who win big in the lottery and fail to seek out advice on how to avoid the dreaded “lottery curse.”

Husband and wife Henry and Rose Ball struggle to make ends meet and keep their marriage from falling apart. Henry hates his boss and wishes he didn’t have to go to work each day. Rose daydreams of a better life, one with someone more exciting than Henry.

When the Balls win a huge Powerball lottery—the answer to their prayers and solution to all their problems—things change fast. They spend scant time planning what they will do with the money and go on separate spending sprees with no concern for what consequences their actions might bring. It doesn’t take long for their lives to become completely out of control.

The story has a slow beginning (which I am sure was intentional), but once it gains momentum, it is filled with so many twists and turns that it is a challenge to keep track of all the players and myriad subplots. Clifton creates a succession of action-packed scenes in exotic and adventurous settings—locales that set the stage for what happens and affect the characters’ mood and behavior—but still maintain balance with the characters’ complicated emotional lives. The right amount of character introspection creates empathy, which is requisite in writing good character-driven fiction.

The characters in Powerballs are interesting and memorable, immersed in layers of personality and history. The author is masterful at developing the relationships that play such important roles in this story. The relationships that Henry and Rose build during their journey influence their decisions and determine their fates. The essence of the story is how the characters evolve over time and how they reevaluate what they want and need out of life. 

Clifton’s writing style is engaging, with short, compelling chapters that keep readers interested and turning pages. His skillful use of vocabulary and ability to weave a fascinating tale make for a captivating narrative.

Powerballs is about the effect that a sudden influx of money can potentially have on one’s perspective on life, what they value and their mental health. What satisfaction can wealth bring? Will it solve problems or create them? Can money buy happiness? Ask Henry and Rose Ball these questions. They know from experience.

Book Review: Shadows Unveiled

Shadows Unveiled. Amanda Berthault, EdenEcho Publishing, August 10, 2021, Electronic and Print, 229 pages.

Review by Lisa Lickel.

Shanley, a mysterious pool hustler, arrives in Kansas with little more than a truck to live in, dwindling cash in his pocket, and a need to earn money yet stay on the move. The drama escalates when a young girl, obviously alone and defenseless, comes to town wearing a t-shirt that means trouble to Shanley.

This contemporary action-adventure opens with a noir feeling as Shanley’s favored costume is a black fedora and sunglasses worn at all times. As we peel back the layers of secrets, we’re drawn into a life on the run. Shanley and Macy are engaging people, lovingly illustrated, and wholly engaging. Who couldn’t cheer them on as Shanley reluctantly agrees to help young Macy travel across the country? Their innocent adventure turns harrowing as they encounter the underside of humanity.

Shanley and Macy come from deeply flawed backgrounds and fight for survival after emotional and physical abuse. Shadows Unveiled shows the reader through narrow points of view and flashbacks. We are shown how they learn to make the best of themselves to work together to accomplish a common goal and face the consequences of their actions. 

Ultimately a story of survival and friendship, Berthault, a native Chicagoan with a passion for music, offers a novel that will start serious conversations about how we listen to each other and care about ourselves and our friends. I appreciated the reality of hearing how it sounds when I think I’m offering helpful advice. Plumbing the depth of someone else’s pain, letting them speak their story, and not pushing them deeper into an inability to cope by sharing platitudes and bare shoulders isn’t true support. Shanley can turn his experience around and do something that helps teenage Macy, whose outside life seems idyllic, as much as his own is obviously dysfunctional. Maybe Heavy Metal Fiction will become a shelf label.

I was intrigued by the way Berthault’s characters were so deeply affected by the music and lyrics in different ways. Shadows Unveiled is the first book in a planned trilogy, and I look forward to reading more.

Book Review: Last Hope for Hire

Last Hope for Hire. Matthew Wilcox, The Wild Rose Press, Adams Basin, NY, 2021, Paperback, 338 pages.

Review by Jose Nateras.

Last Hope For Hire, Matthew Wilcox’s debut novel, is an exciting, high-tech adventure exploit with futuristic mercenary Allen Moran as its protagonist. This book takes the trope of a super-soldier, the likes of Jason Bourne, and imagines what it might be like if said super-solider was a middle-aged father forced to put his experience to use as a mercenary to get treatment for his ailing son.

Wilcox effectively paints the picture of a loving father willing to do anything within his power to save his child while also building a world full of futuristic technology, robot soldiers, and a rag-tag team of adventuring associates—a testament to the author’s ability to embrace a variety of influences. Despite the high-stakes corporate espionage and sci-fi, action-hero antics of Last Hope For Hire, Wilcox never loses sight of the real world stakes at play for his hero—a real world where medical debt and access to health care are just the sort of struggles being faced by so many others. Similarly, by making his central protagonist a middle-aged father, Wilcox creates a character who is extremely relatable for his potential readers. A more typical Jason Borne-type protagonist, or even one similar to Liam Neeson’s character in the Taken films, while thrilling to watch, doesn’t encapsulate the experience of an aging soldier-turned-mercenary in the way that Wilcox’s Allen Moran does.

Despite this being his first novel, Wilcox creates a world and cast of characters that feel so thoroughly established that it almost feels like Last Hope For Hire might be the latest book in a larger series. For example, the book starts off with an exciting jungle escapade where Moran and the daughter of a former associate, Haley, battle off a robotic horde controlled by an out-of-control dictator. The sequence paints the picture of a man with a long history of former colleagues and field experience while establishing a relationship with a new generation of mercenaries. Right off the bat, Wilcox is building a world with decades of backstory and intergenerational relationships. The sequence also imbues humor to the sci-fi action as Moran’s cheaper, outdated weapons, and tech fail him.

Wilcox’s writing walks the fine line of genre fiction, allowing it to be familiar yet fresh, entertaining but grounded enough in relatable, real-world experiences. It imbues a sense of humor without undercutting the life and death stakes the characters are facing, nor the sci-fi action that makes this type of book so thrilling. Despite the fact that Wilcox’s Allen Moran starts the book off as a retired, returning to the fray to help his sick son, it feels as though Wilcox may be able to spin Last Hope For Hire into an ongoing series. He’s created a world and a rag-tag group of characters that are compelling enough for readers to come back wanting more.