Book Review - The Book of Three
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| Cover image courtesy of Barnes and Noble. |
Author: Lloyd Alexander
Publisher: Square Fish
Publication Date: March 12, 1964
Version I Read: Paperback
Rating: 5/5
I'll make no secret of it - I think The Chronicles of Prydain is one of the masterworks of the fantasy genre, children's series or no. So, bam, five star rating right there. Going into a bit more detail why:
The Book of Three is the first novel of the Chronicles of Prydain series by American author Lloyd Alexander. While not a retelling of Welsh mythology, the series heavily borrows elements and characters from the legends, while introducing new ones. Despite the title, The Book of Three and its sequel, The Black Cauldron, were mashed together to form the basis of the 1985 animated Disney film (that no one remembers) The Black Cauldron.
The Book of Three begins the story of Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper of Caer Dallben. Taran, like the protagonists of most fantasy novels, dreams of being a hero but as his title implies, is stuck looking after the pig Hen Wen. Hen Wen, however, is far from ordinary: she is the only ocular pig in Prydain, with the power to show what one is asking for. When Hen Wen runs off, Taran sets off to find her, leading him to a group of odd companions and eventually to confront the dreaded Horned King himself.
Spoilers.
All of the books in the series feature a complex, uncommon moral/lesson/theme that makes them all stand out in one way or another. To illustrate this, I give you an exchange from the end of The Book of Three:
"I have no just cause for pride," Taran said, taking his usual place on the familiar bench. "It was Gwydion who destroyed the Horned King, and Hen Wen helped him do it. But Gurgi, not I, found her. Doli and Fflewddur fought gloriously while I was wounded by a sword I had no right to draw. And Eilonwy was the one who took the sword from the barrow in the first place. As for me, what I mostly did was make mistakes."
"My my," said Dallben, "those are complaints enough to dampen the merriest feast. Though what you say may be true, you have cause for a certain pride nevertheless. It was you who held the companions together and led them. You did what you set out to do, and Hen Wen is safely back with us. If you made mistakes, you recognize them. As I told you, there are times when the seeking counts more than the finding."
The writing itself is quite poetic and even beautiful in places. The pacing is good, the plot moves along logically without characters having to act stupid or random events happening, and there aren't any superfluous scenes. The world-building is simplistic - perhaps a little too simplistic, but I think it works okay in this book, at least. In fact, I think that's one of the only weaknesses of this series: that the world-building is a little confusing at times in later novels.
The characters are all quite memorable in their first appearances here and only become more so as the series goes on and they develop. Eilonwy is spunky and talkative, Fflewddur is the voice of reason in the group despite his tendency to exaggerate. And Doli, well, Doli is just a sourpuss, but his magical abilities make him extremely useful, and he genuinely grows to care about the band. Taran himself is in whiny farm boy mode for most of this book, but it serves to set up his development as a character over the course of the series and he genuinely realizes his mistakes. As the above exchange says, every character gets to do something that is important to the plot and they all have consistent and strong personalities. Gurgi in particular, I feel, is a lot less annoying in the books than in the film adaptation.
The Verdict: The Book of Three is a rousing adventure story set in an interesting fantasy world with complex and somewhat uncommon ideas about heroism and growing up. The characters are also well-developed and memorable.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
The Book of Three is the first novel of the Chronicles of Prydain series by American author Lloyd Alexander. While not a retelling of Welsh mythology, the series heavily borrows elements and characters from the legends, while introducing new ones. Despite the title, The Book of Three and its sequel, The Black Cauldron, were mashed together to form the basis of the 1985 animated Disney film (that no one remembers) The Black Cauldron.
The Book of Three begins the story of Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper of Caer Dallben. Taran, like the protagonists of most fantasy novels, dreams of being a hero but as his title implies, is stuck looking after the pig Hen Wen. Hen Wen, however, is far from ordinary: she is the only ocular pig in Prydain, with the power to show what one is asking for. When Hen Wen runs off, Taran sets off to find her, leading him to a group of odd companions and eventually to confront the dreaded Horned King himself.
Spoilers.
All of the books in the series feature a complex, uncommon moral/lesson/theme that makes them all stand out in one way or another. To illustrate this, I give you an exchange from the end of The Book of Three:
"I have no just cause for pride," Taran said, taking his usual place on the familiar bench. "It was Gwydion who destroyed the Horned King, and Hen Wen helped him do it. But Gurgi, not I, found her. Doli and Fflewddur fought gloriously while I was wounded by a sword I had no right to draw. And Eilonwy was the one who took the sword from the barrow in the first place. As for me, what I mostly did was make mistakes."
"My my," said Dallben, "those are complaints enough to dampen the merriest feast. Though what you say may be true, you have cause for a certain pride nevertheless. It was you who held the companions together and led them. You did what you set out to do, and Hen Wen is safely back with us. If you made mistakes, you recognize them. As I told you, there are times when the seeking counts more than the finding."
The writing itself is quite poetic and even beautiful in places. The pacing is good, the plot moves along logically without characters having to act stupid or random events happening, and there aren't any superfluous scenes. The world-building is simplistic - perhaps a little too simplistic, but I think it works okay in this book, at least. In fact, I think that's one of the only weaknesses of this series: that the world-building is a little confusing at times in later novels.
The characters are all quite memorable in their first appearances here and only become more so as the series goes on and they develop. Eilonwy is spunky and talkative, Fflewddur is the voice of reason in the group despite his tendency to exaggerate. And Doli, well, Doli is just a sourpuss, but his magical abilities make him extremely useful, and he genuinely grows to care about the band. Taran himself is in whiny farm boy mode for most of this book, but it serves to set up his development as a character over the course of the series and he genuinely realizes his mistakes. As the above exchange says, every character gets to do something that is important to the plot and they all have consistent and strong personalities. Gurgi in particular, I feel, is a lot less annoying in the books than in the film adaptation.
The Verdict: The Book of Three is a rousing adventure story set in an interesting fantasy world with complex and somewhat uncommon ideas about heroism and growing up. The characters are also well-developed and memorable.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
Why I Raised the Prices On My Ebooks
Here's the problem: it didn't work for me, and I'm starting to think it's not an approach that will work well for other authors either, in the long run.
A quick story, and raise your hand if you've had a similar experience: When I got my new NOOK, I started looking at the free ebooks on Smashwords to buff up my library. I also purchased a few books by traditionally published authors as well. Can you guess which ones I actually got around to reading?
I think readers are running into this problem more and more these days, because there is such a glut of low-cost ebooks available that by pricing our books low or free, we are having to fight harder and harder to gain an audience and, more importantly, keep their attention. I think we, as authors, would do better to price our books more as if they were released by a traditional publisher (that being said, I wouldn't ever exceed $10 for an ebook). This is especially important for self-published authors who do view themselves as professionals and desire their peers and their audience to do so as well.
The major advantage of this pricing method (besides more money per sale, obviously) is the fact that it doesn't scream self-published author. I love self-publishing and I think it is one of the best things to happen to the publishing industry, but the negative stigma is still very visible and very much there. A higher price tag sends your readers a message: that you are a professional, that you expect them to spend this kind of money on your product because it is worth it. It also makes your book look as though it was professionally published, which might help it catch the attention of readers who avoid self-published books for the aforementioned reasons. And, readers are more likely to invest the time to read your book after they have spent money on it.
The jury is still out on whether or not this new pricing model will work for my books, but I personally feel a lot better about it. I feel more professional, and I think my books seem that way too. What better message can you send to your readers to help them gain trust in how serious you are about your craft?
Agree? Disagree? Where has your "sweet spot" price been for ebooks, as both a reader and a writer? I look forward to hearing from you!
Book Review - Through Wolf's Eyes
Labels:
book review,
firekeeper,
jane lindskold,
through wolf's eyes
·
 |
| Cover image courtesy of Barnes and Noble. |
Author: Jane Lindskold
Publisher: Tor Fantasy
Publication Date: June 17, 2002
Version I Read: Mass Market Paperback
Rating: 5/5
This is one of those books I read a long time ago and recently reread. Needless to say from my high rating, Through Wolf's Eyes holds up. Big time.
Years ago, the king of Hawk Haven disowned his youngest son, and the prince left on an expedition to found a colony on the other side of the mountains. He was never heard from again. Now that the king's other children have died and a fight for succession has erupted, an earl decides to lead an expedition to find out what happened to the missing prince, and, hopefully, bring either him or any heirs back.
Thus begins the tale of Lady Blysse, or, as she would rather be known, Firekeeper. A survivor of Prince Barden's ill-fated expedition, she has been raised by wolves (bigger, more intelligent wolves that live beyond the mountains), leaving her more wolf than human. With some urging from her adopted family, she chooses to return with the humans to their kingdom, the kingdom of her birth.
Spoilers!
This book knows how to do political intrigue! As the plot centers around the extended royal family fighting over the throne, unsurprisingly, there is a lot of plotting and a couple of assassination attempts, as well as strategic marriages and characters plotting out their every move. Allister Seagleam, who is the son of the king's sister who was married off to the Bright Bay nobility to ensure peace and eventual unification of their two lands, is also in the running, to the chagrin of the Hawk Haven nobility, even though a decent portion of the people support his claim. In one of the later chapters, we get the history of the Bright Bay throne explained to us too, and it is similarly creative, fascinating, and realistic. One thing that doesn't clutter up the story is the fact that there is nothing barring women from holding positions of power (in fact, Hawk Haven was founded by a woman), meaning Lindskold doesn't take unnecessary time on feminist stories that have been done to death in similar stories.
I love the setting, specifically the idea that the kingdoms where the story takes place were founded after colonizers from the Old World withdrew to deal with issues closer to home. This idea is interesting, because it is not only something I haven't seen in fantasy too often (and gives it a very "New World" feel), but it adds an extra angle to the people in power: that their power is only somewhat solidified.
Firekeeper herself is a great character - both naive in the ways of humans and wise in the ways of the world. The way her mind works is very well-written, as she constantly compares the goings-on in the human world to how the animal world works, most commonly and perhaps obviously, to power dynamics in wolf packs. Firekeeper's relationship with Blind Seer is also something of note; most readers would expect her to eventually fall in love with a human (namely Darian), but not Firekeeper. Her soulmate truly is Blind Seer and, while she is searching for a way to become a wolf in body as well as in spirit through forbidden ancient magics, she shares a kind of beautiful bond with him in spite of the fact that they are of two different species.
Pretty much all of the other characters, especially Sapphire, Derian, Elise, and Doc, are distinctive and well-rounded. I appreciate that the main villain's motivation is that he feels tossed aside after the death of his wife, who would have been Queen, and so he wants to take the power he feels is rightfully his.
The fact that magic in this world is rare and not even accepted (considered to be a relic of the Old World and not something any of them want; it is something they fear enough to go to war over the threat of it being used) is also nice, and gives the story a realistic feel while still maintaining the power and majesty of fantasy.
Perhaps the best part of the story is the ending and the resolution to the conflict. Firekeeper is not chosen to be the next queen. She is not even Prince Barden's daughter but the daughter of another member of the expedition. I love that the king knows this and accepts her into his court anyway, because he appreciates her wisdom and he genuinely likes her. Instead, the crown will go to the character that perhaps gets the best development in the story: Sapphire Shield. Sapphire goes from being an alpha bitch completely under the control of her mother to a strong independent woman and remains a complex character. Her betrothal to Allister's son ensures the promise made years ago to unite the kingdoms of Hawk Haven and Bright Bay into a stronger whole. This makes the end of the story not only perfectly logical, but also emotionally satisfying.
Years ago, the king of Hawk Haven disowned his youngest son, and the prince left on an expedition to found a colony on the other side of the mountains. He was never heard from again. Now that the king's other children have died and a fight for succession has erupted, an earl decides to lead an expedition to find out what happened to the missing prince, and, hopefully, bring either him or any heirs back.
Thus begins the tale of Lady Blysse, or, as she would rather be known, Firekeeper. A survivor of Prince Barden's ill-fated expedition, she has been raised by wolves (bigger, more intelligent wolves that live beyond the mountains), leaving her more wolf than human. With some urging from her adopted family, she chooses to return with the humans to their kingdom, the kingdom of her birth.
Spoilers!
This book knows how to do political intrigue! As the plot centers around the extended royal family fighting over the throne, unsurprisingly, there is a lot of plotting and a couple of assassination attempts, as well as strategic marriages and characters plotting out their every move. Allister Seagleam, who is the son of the king's sister who was married off to the Bright Bay nobility to ensure peace and eventual unification of their two lands, is also in the running, to the chagrin of the Hawk Haven nobility, even though a decent portion of the people support his claim. In one of the later chapters, we get the history of the Bright Bay throne explained to us too, and it is similarly creative, fascinating, and realistic. One thing that doesn't clutter up the story is the fact that there is nothing barring women from holding positions of power (in fact, Hawk Haven was founded by a woman), meaning Lindskold doesn't take unnecessary time on feminist stories that have been done to death in similar stories.
I love the setting, specifically the idea that the kingdoms where the story takes place were founded after colonizers from the Old World withdrew to deal with issues closer to home. This idea is interesting, because it is not only something I haven't seen in fantasy too often (and gives it a very "New World" feel), but it adds an extra angle to the people in power: that their power is only somewhat solidified.
Firekeeper herself is a great character - both naive in the ways of humans and wise in the ways of the world. The way her mind works is very well-written, as she constantly compares the goings-on in the human world to how the animal world works, most commonly and perhaps obviously, to power dynamics in wolf packs. Firekeeper's relationship with Blind Seer is also something of note; most readers would expect her to eventually fall in love with a human (namely Darian), but not Firekeeper. Her soulmate truly is Blind Seer and, while she is searching for a way to become a wolf in body as well as in spirit through forbidden ancient magics, she shares a kind of beautiful bond with him in spite of the fact that they are of two different species.
Pretty much all of the other characters, especially Sapphire, Derian, Elise, and Doc, are distinctive and well-rounded. I appreciate that the main villain's motivation is that he feels tossed aside after the death of his wife, who would have been Queen, and so he wants to take the power he feels is rightfully his.
The fact that magic in this world is rare and not even accepted (considered to be a relic of the Old World and not something any of them want; it is something they fear enough to go to war over the threat of it being used) is also nice, and gives the story a realistic feel while still maintaining the power and majesty of fantasy.
Perhaps the best part of the story is the ending and the resolution to the conflict. Firekeeper is not chosen to be the next queen. She is not even Prince Barden's daughter but the daughter of another member of the expedition. I love that the king knows this and accepts her into his court anyway, because he appreciates her wisdom and he genuinely likes her. Instead, the crown will go to the character that perhaps gets the best development in the story: Sapphire Shield. Sapphire goes from being an alpha bitch completely under the control of her mother to a strong independent woman and remains a complex character. Her betrothal to Allister's son ensures the promise made years ago to unite the kingdoms of Hawk Haven and Bright Bay into a stronger whole. This makes the end of the story not only perfectly logical, but also emotionally satisfying.
The Verdict: An engrossing and compelling book that amazingly combines the story of a feral child raised by wolves and a political struggle for a crown.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
The Highest Hope - Chapter 3 and NaNo Updates
Chapter 3 of The Highest Hope is now available on FictionPress. I always appreciate reviews and constructive feedback.
An important note: I am putting this story on hiatus indefinitely because of other more pressing obligations, and the fact that I have a NaNo novel from the prior year that deserves my attention first. You have my word that I AM NOT abandoning The Highest Hope and it will be continued to be serialized as soon as possible.
Read the newest chapter here.
Speaking of National Novel Writing Month, I am participating again this year. My profile is here and here is the synopsis of my project, a historical fantasy about, le gasp, vampires:
1875 Transylvania
After years of war, rebellion, and outside rule, Romania is ready to become a sovereign nation, taking with it the formerly independent principality of Transylvania. For strigoi - vampires - it is the end of a once-magnificent era, their society hardly resembling what it once was.
Struggling against encroaching humans with new, powerful weapons, as well as a terrifying new disease known as the Blood Poisoning killing their people, the last strigoi struggle to survive.
Two brothers, outcast Sorin and youngest member of the Great Council of the Dragon, Viorel, might just be the ones to lead their people into the future. If they can muster the courage to let go of the past.
Things I Will Never Include In A Story
Have you ever noticed that ONE thing that could happen in a story that makes you roll your eyes or even put the book down? Sometimes, an element that can even make you never pick up the book again?
- Love triangles
- Amnesia storylines
- Jesus allegories
- Not passing the Bechdel Test (might not apply to short stories)
- Bad futures
- Epilogues that take place in the future
I'll update as I think of more.
Do you have any themes or plot twists that you would never include in YOUR story?
Do you have any themes or plot twists that you would never include in YOUR story?
Thoughts on Star Trek Into Darkness
Labels:
khan,
Khan Noonien Singh,
opinion,
racism,
star trek,
star trek into darkness,
whitewashing
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I've been a Star Trek fan since I was ten years old, and I've had mixed feelings about the reboot ever since the first film came out. I liked it when I saw it in theaters but my opinion degraded over time. It just didn't feel like a Star Trek film. A great Hollywood sci-fi action film? Yes. A great Star Trek movie? Hardly.
So now to the rebuttals of common criticisms of the film:
Khan's whiteness makes more than perfect sense in context (apparently they even clarified it in a tie-in comic). I adored the characterization of Khan and Cumberbatch's performance and found myself rooting for him for most of the movie (he really only does one thing that is entirely inexcusable). I still don't see a reason why the villain of this film couldn't have been a contemporary of Khan's (another warlord from the Eugenics Wars) instead of Khan himself, but whatever.
After seeing the film, I may not fully agree with making Khan white, but I certainly understand why that choice was made. Back when TOS was airing, the idea of the perfect human being brown was novel and groundbreaking. But we now live in a world where showing a brown man perform acts of terrorism just perpetrates negative stereotypes, no matter the history of the franchise or the character.
Even the ending both made sense (people say it came out of nowhere but there was another huge piece of foreshadowing I think everyone missed...) and was emotionally resonant, if not original.
Pretty much the only thing I didn't like was the lack of originality - it did feel like they were trying to remake Wrath of Khan. But that was pretty much it - I now have much higher hopes for the next film.
Book Review - Falling Kingdoms
Labels:
book review,
epic fantasy,
falling kingdoms,
fantasy,
high fantasy,
morgan rhodes,
young adult
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| Cover image courtesy of Barnes and Noble. |
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: March 11, 2014
Version I Read: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5
I'm pretty conflicted about this book. On the whole, it's a good story that, at least in this first volume, is a little superficial. The major characters are both likable and infuriating, which means they are most certainly not boring. Oh, yeah, and my favorite character dies. When I read it for the first time, I was so angry I didn't want to pick up the next one. But something about this world kept calling me to come back, and I'm honestly glad I did, because, putting my emotions aside, this really is a good book.
There are three kingdoms on the continent of Mythica: prosperous Auranos to the south, poor Paelsia in the center, and cold and strong Limeros in the north. The story is told from four perspectives: Cleo, the headstrong princess of Auranos who, though no fault of her own, sets off an international incident; Jonas, a young man in Paelsia, who, after being wronged, ends up becoming a budding rebel leader; Lucia, the princess of Limeros, who, unknown to except a few, is destined to become one of the most powerful sorceresses who ever lived; and Magnus, the prince of Limeros, who harbors a forbidden love for his sister and struggles to hide his true self from his tyrant father.
Some spoilers.
The action kicks off when a party including Cleo and her soon-to-be fiance Aron go to Paelsia to purchase some wine and are involved in an altercation where the wine-seller's son is killed. Cleo has nothing to do with this - Aron was trying to rip them off - but the incident becomes a rallying cry for the people of Paelsia. With the murdered man's brother out for revenge and the cruel king of the north seeking to take advantage of the tragedy, the powder keg finally explodes into all-out war. I like that a single isolated incident like this is enough to start a major war - after all, throughout history, a seemingly small event has set things in motion when tension has been boiling beneath the surface for years.
There are three kingdoms on the continent of Mythica: prosperous Auranos to the south, poor Paelsia in the center, and cold and strong Limeros in the north. The story is told from four perspectives: Cleo, the headstrong princess of Auranos who, though no fault of her own, sets off an international incident; Jonas, a young man in Paelsia, who, after being wronged, ends up becoming a budding rebel leader; Lucia, the princess of Limeros, who, unknown to except a few, is destined to become one of the most powerful sorceresses who ever lived; and Magnus, the prince of Limeros, who harbors a forbidden love for his sister and struggles to hide his true self from his tyrant father.
Some spoilers.
The action kicks off when a party including Cleo and her soon-to-be fiance Aron go to Paelsia to purchase some wine and are involved in an altercation where the wine-seller's son is killed. Cleo has nothing to do with this - Aron was trying to rip them off - but the incident becomes a rallying cry for the people of Paelsia. With the murdered man's brother out for revenge and the cruel king of the north seeking to take advantage of the tragedy, the powder keg finally explodes into all-out war. I like that a single isolated incident like this is enough to start a major war - after all, throughout history, a seemingly small event has set things in motion when tension has been boiling beneath the surface for years.
I think the biggest problem with this book is that the writing and narrative itself are a little superficial, which doesn't work well for high fantasy. There are no organic detours from the main plot, which I think detracts from what is otherwise a good story.
The characters swing from likable to nearly intolerable, which, whether you like them or not, means they invoke strong emotions, so the author is doing something right. On the likable side, you have Cleo, who, while she makes mistakes and bad decisions some of the time, is a rather fleshed out and believable character, given her age and status. I ship her hardcore with Theon. *Sob*
Jonas has the least development of the main characters (he also has the least amount of POV chapters, which I find a little odd). I'm not sure why the author gave him so much less to do than the other main characters, and, as a consequence, he's much flatter than the others. He also changes his opinion more or less at the drop of a hat, which is rather poor writing.
Lucia is naive and easily manipulatable, which gives some depth to her otherwise Purity Sue character, as these are some major character flaws that have terrible consequences towards the end of the story. Seeing where she's going to go from here will be interesting.
Magnus is a little harder to get behind because of what an ass he can be, but as the story goes along you do see why he is the kind of person he is. We'll see which road he chooses to take in the sequels.
The mythology of the Kindred and the Watchers is also pretty well thought-out and adds a lot of depth to the story. I always like it when worlds have their own mythology and stories that get told to the readers - it makes the story feel all the more real.
There are also some minor (Why did Jonas bother getting with Chief Basilius' daughter in order to gain an audience rather than request one directly as the brother of the man who was killed?) and not-so-minor logic flaws, namely, why Jonas was so obsessed with getting revenge on Cleo when she was clearly not comfortable with the situation (and even tried to get them all to leave!). Fixating on Aron would have made sense, and I understand people do stupid things when they're that upset, but it still feels contrived by the author to make the plot move along rather than something the character would logically think or do.
(And why did you have to kill Theon off? WHY?!)
The characters swing from likable to nearly intolerable, which, whether you like them or not, means they invoke strong emotions, so the author is doing something right. On the likable side, you have Cleo, who, while she makes mistakes and bad decisions some of the time, is a rather fleshed out and believable character, given her age and status. I ship her hardcore with Theon. *Sob*
Jonas has the least development of the main characters (he also has the least amount of POV chapters, which I find a little odd). I'm not sure why the author gave him so much less to do than the other main characters, and, as a consequence, he's much flatter than the others. He also changes his opinion more or less at the drop of a hat, which is rather poor writing.
Lucia is naive and easily manipulatable, which gives some depth to her otherwise Purity Sue character, as these are some major character flaws that have terrible consequences towards the end of the story. Seeing where she's going to go from here will be interesting.
Magnus is a little harder to get behind because of what an ass he can be, but as the story goes along you do see why he is the kind of person he is. We'll see which road he chooses to take in the sequels.
The mythology of the Kindred and the Watchers is also pretty well thought-out and adds a lot of depth to the story. I always like it when worlds have their own mythology and stories that get told to the readers - it makes the story feel all the more real.
There are also some minor (Why did Jonas bother getting with Chief Basilius' daughter in order to gain an audience rather than request one directly as the brother of the man who was killed?) and not-so-minor logic flaws, namely, why Jonas was so obsessed with getting revenge on Cleo when she was clearly not comfortable with the situation (and even tried to get them all to leave!). Fixating on Aron would have made sense, and I understand people do stupid things when they're that upset, but it still feels contrived by the author to make the plot move along rather than something the character would logically think or do.
(And why did you have to kill Theon off? WHY?!)
The Verdict: A more ambitious YA fantasy than most which falls short in some places but ultimately holds up.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
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