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Retirement. Publishers, thank you for the many years of reading pleasure you gave me, but all good things must come to an end. Due to failing eyesight I am forced to retire. I can no longer review your books, and any that you send will be donated to the local library, unread. Do not send any more. I can only read for a couple hours every day, and this does not allow me to finish a book in reasonable time. I will be devoting time to my own books from now on, and reading on a personal level. Books that interest me. I prefer paperbacks and hardbacks, not eBooks. My eyesight has been failing the last few years, and I cannot handle hundreds of review books any more. My books are still available for review. Anyone interested in reviewing any of them, they are found in the Link to Tom’s Books On Amazon. Contact me for pdf copies at fadingshadows40@gmail.com

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Sting of The Scorpion


Sting of The Scorpion
By Warren Stockholm
ISBN #978-0-97679143-0
103 Pages
Price $9.99
September 2006
Rating: 5-Stars

Steeltown, Penssylvania. In this alternate universe, the Germans won WWII, but after forty years of occupation, they’ve been driven from America. Five years later, we are living in a world of Internet, email, fax machines and speakeasies and mob rule. Out of the chaos rises a paladin to battle the criminal element that the underworld knew only as The Scorpion. But the past has come back to challenge this defender of the city. As a child he was German born, and raised as a superman, one of many clones. And the evil that he must face is one of his own, a brother, and a superman just like him. But he is pure evil.

This was actually conceived as a possible series, as a new pulp magazine, titled SCORPION. This first story was powerful, the concept fantastic, and the action moved at a wonderful pace. The writing is intelligent, but the narrative awkward, switching from 3rd person to 1st person sometimes, plus typos that a proofreader should have caught. A second novel was advertised, The City of The Living Dead, but has not appeared yet. The author pays homage to the old pulps. There is an intersection named Robeson & Gibson Streets, another street is named Stockbridge. A Fortress of Solitude is mentioned, etc.

Besides the very minor flaws in editing mentioned above, this is a wham-bang action novel in the tradition of the old pulps, and the best new character I’ve read in many years.

This Week's Amazon Ratings


This Week’s Ratings

#1) Bad Moon Rising 118,953 (self-published on Kindle)
#2) Pangaea: Eden’s Planet 560,528 (self-published on Kindle)
#3) Queen of Jur 615,344 (self-published on Kindle)
#4) Jur: A Story of Pre Dawn Earth 670,785 (NTD)
#5) Drums of Jur 693,808 (self-published on Kindle)
#6) Lost Land of Jur 699,277 (self-published on Kindle)
#7) Savage Land of Jur 700,398 (NTD)
#8) Seven Men of Greed 710,483 (self-published on Kindle)
#9) The Soul Stealers 712,547(self-published on Kindle)
#10) Treasure of Jur 726,320 (self-published on Kindle)
#11) Guns of The Black Ghost 822,249 (self-published on Kindle)
#12) The Spider’s Web 835,373 (NTD)
#13) The Black Shadow 908,144 (self-published on Kindle)

The same books are still maintaining a good standing on Amazon. But it’s easy to see they continue to dip week after week, so I’ve got to make sure the word gets out there. I don’t want readers to forget about my books.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Bad Moon Rising


The short novel of a Recon Team and the dangers they faced in Vietnam by a soldier who was there. These soldiers aren’t your Hollywood heroes, they were only men who wanted to survive and go home. This is a collection of short episodes facing the fictional combat team led by SSgt Martin at the height of the war. Based on true incidents, and some things you may not have known about the Vietnam War.

Available on Amazon Kindle for  $.99.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

My Amazon Kindle Ratings


This Week’s Ratings

#1) Bad Moon Rising 224,153 (self-published on Kindle)
#2) Pangaea: Eden’s Planet 369,824 (self-published on Kindle)
#3) Queen of Jur 507,712 (self-published on Kindle)
#4) Drums of Jur 598,674 (self-published on Kindle)
#5) Seven Men of Greed 605,211 (self-published on Kindle)
#6) The Soul Stealers 607,866 (self-published on Kindle)
#7) Jur: A Story of Pre Dawn Earth 606,604 (NTD)
#8) Lost Land of Jur 613,640 (self-published on Kindle)
#9) Savage Land of Jur 619,900 (NTD)
#10) Treasure of Jur 620,044 (self-published on Kindle)
#11) Guns of The Black Ghost 780,216 (self-published on Kindle)
#12) The Spider’s Web 784,665 (NTD)
#13) The Black Shadow 874,384 (self-published on Kindle)

The same books are still maintaining a good standing on Amazon. But it’s easy to see they continue to dip week after week, so I’ve got to make sure the word gets out there. I don’t want readers to forget about my books.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Against The Ropes


Against The Ropes (Fight Card)
By Jack Tunney (Terrence McCauley)
Fight Card Productions
BOOBF2UDFE
Kindle $2.99
Rating 5-Stars

“Take A Dive Or Die!”

That was the word Terry Quinn received as he prepared for his elimination match before fighting for the Heavyweight title. There was never a question that Quinn was going to win the bout, but the mob wants their man taking the title away from Jack Dempsey. That meant Quinn had to lose in the elimination to clear the way for their fighter.

This story is a prequel to Terrence McCauley’s novel, “Prohibition”, and takes place in 1925 New York. Terry Quinn grew up in St. Vincent’s Home For Boys, and taught to box by Father Frawley. This is another outstanding Fight Card, and sets up the novel, “Prohibition” quite well.