"One Just Man" by Stan I.S. Law will be a mind expanding feast for some, but others may find it's philosophical theme well-traveled and well-worn ground

Review by KEN KORCZAK

Two central motifs that pervade ONE JUST MAN center on dualism and paradox. And so it is appropriate that my review will be somewhat dualistic and paradoxical. That is, I am going to very highly recommend this book, but I will also offer some rather sharp criticism.

The premise is one common in literature: a man who has a Messiah complex, or a man who really is the Messiah, but doesn’t know it yet. It’s a theme that pops up across all genres: In science fiction there is Michael Morcock’s “Behold the Man” and Philip K. Dick’s “The Divine Invasion.” In New Age literature there’s Richard Bach’s Don Shimoda. In contemporary literature Chuck Palahnuik’s creates Victor Mancini. In classic literature there are many: Camus’ Meursault, for example. Of course, Nikos Kazantzakis reimagined Christ himself in his 1953 classic, “The Last Temptation of Christ.”

In ONE JUST MAN, then, we have Dr. Peter Thornton, a brilliant, up-and-coming Montreal physician who slowly begins to realize his powers of healing go well beyond medical science. He’s a resistant and reluctant messiah, but eventually his “gift’ overpowers him. As the novel progresses, he must accept his fate for what he is.

Because the best fiction is based on character author STAN I.S. LAW scores high marks for crafting a viewpoint character in a way that is subtle yet powerful – but it is another character that looms over every moment of the narrative in an even more subtle and powerful way – the family butler Winston Smith.

Imagine if you could a mix of Batman’s man Alfred with the legendary Hermes Trismegistus. Or maybe if you combined equal amount John the Baptist, Simon Magus, Erwin Schrödinger and Sir John Gielgud – you would then have the mysterious Winston Smith.

The first third of the novel is absorbing because Dr. Thornton's fierce introspective struggles are compelling. We meet a cold-as-ice clinician who is the consummate professional, yet has a penchant for sleazy liaisons; he “relieves tension” by banging nurses in hospital linen closets, only to forget their faces before he gets his pants zipped up. All his off duty time is spent in heartless, robotic study of the chemistry and plumbing of the human body so that he can become the most efficient doctor, more akin to a mechanic of bodies than a healer of people with souls.

To paraphrase Viktor Frankl (echoing any number of Zen masters): “One does not pursue enlightenment; it must ensue.” This is the case with Peter Thornton. The time comes when he can no longer deny the reality that he has the power to heal by touch. His transcendence from ordinary doctor to messianic healer happens quietly but definitely. He doesn’t ask for it, but he gets it.

Thornton suddenly cannot suffer personal material wealth and possessions; prestige means nothing; all goals and graspings drop away. He becomes a simple “faith healer” of men, banishing pain, disease and suffering with a touch.

But then the novel goes drastically off course. Peter Thornton becomes a conduit for healing, but he has no control over his gift. The power of healing nearly kills him, even as it gives life to others. He then is rescued by the mysterious Winston Smith and proceeds to enter upon a long period of convalescence. Unfortunately for the reader, this period of integration involves endless discussion and heady philosophizing with his girlfriend in a remote cabin in the Canadian wilderness.

There’s a lot of lofty philosophical blather, but nothing happens.

All tension is drained from the narrative. Thornton and his partner are free to enjoy food, sex, blissful natural vistas and starlight as they ponder the enigmatic duality of soul and spirit, the paradox of matter as energy, and the numbing conclusion that a particle singularity exists simultaneous as a wave form.

One of the most inexplicable choices the author makes is to reduce Dr. Thornton’s love interest from a brilliant, beautiful, powerful woman crackling with aggressive sexuality into a simpering girlish sycophant – she goes from being one of the world’s most erudite physicists to a mildly confused scrub woman, cook and sex partner for her exulted new Messiah, who adopts the appallingly pretentious (egotistical?) name, Petrus Latter.

I mean, if the original Jesus Christ was as preachy, dull and bordering on maudlin as this guy, it’s little wonder he was crucified.

Stan I.S. Law

What seems to be happening here is that the author has contrived a fictional scenario to serve as a vehicle to deliver his metaphysical determinations – he does an excellent job of creating interesting, vivid characters, but then settles in to string them like puppets, commanding them to chatter on about the nature of human reality, physical reality and consciousness – and about how all of it is informed by implications falling out from quantum theory.

But does the author at least present a sound philosophy and metaphysics? Yes, he certainly does – and he does so with great lucidity and eloquence. Stan I.S. Law is obviously a brilliant guy, and a writer with a great heart. He is a marvelously elegant wordsmith. His prose is effortless and beautiful. However, in the meta-analysis, there is not a single revelation being made here that isn’t already known by a large segment of today’s reading public.

So the measure of how much you enjoy this novel depends on the level to which you understand timeless, universal principles of metaphysics (Vedic, Buddhist and Gnostic Christian ), and your awareness of how modern quantum mechanics appears to support what enlightened visionaries have been shouting out to us for millennia.

If you don’t know a lot of this stuff, you’ll find this book a scintillating, mind expanding feast. But if you already have at least an intellectual understanding of the metaphysical concepts presented here, you might be bored stiff through the last half of the book.

Ken Korczak is the author of: THE FAIRY REDEMPTION OF JUBAL CRANCH

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Free ebook: "The Autobiography of a Cornish Smuggler" not much about smuggling, but a rather a man's spiritual journey to renounce the greed, violence and suffering of the world

Review by KEN KORCZAK

When I saw this free ebook, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A CORNISH SMUGGLER, I eagerly downloaded it and settled in for what I hoped would be tales of intrigue, danger and adventure on the high seas. The book is based on the manuscript of Captain Harry Carter an Englishman who was born and raised in Cornwall, and who grew up to adopt the life of a smuggler.

But there’s precious little about smuggling in this manuscript.

Most of the document written in 1809 by Carter describes his personal spiritual journey as a God-seeking Methodist after abandoning the illegal and harrowing life of a smuggler.

But I must also add that I was not entirely disappointed. His quest to find God and inner peace does not read like most of today's (or any era's) insufferable Christian tripe. Rather, Carter’s journey projects more like the journal of an acetic monk. He pitches no dogma, offers no haranguing lectures and does no proselytizing.

His journey might better be compared to that of a Buddhist renouncing all the material illusions of the world, or a Hindu seeker determined to focus only on the transcendent, and a desire to merge with the omnipresence of Universal Consciousness.

Carter’s strength is his ignorance, something he confesses to repeatedly throughout his many travails and travels. He possesses what Zen master D.T. Suzuki called “beginner’s mind.” Innocent like a child, he uses the broad tenets of Methodism, but finds his own way with constant simple prayer, fasting, singing (chanting), and a refusal to strive and grasp for wealth. He never resists the aggressive forces which confront him along the way. He only doggedly seeks peace, anonymity and to be left alone.

Carter is like a spiritual Ulysses, buffeted about by the winds of chance and circumstance. Like Ulysses, he often finds friends and aid at unexpected moments. His post-smuggling travels take him all the way to New York – which must have been a fascinating place in 1789 – back to England and then to France where he was caught up in the Reign of Terror precipitated by the French Revolution.

He becomes a political prisoner, but his incarceration is light-handed and mostly “in-house.” Carter demonstrates that a man who has absolutely nothing to gain, nothing to lose, and absolutely no worldly agenda cannot truly be imprisoned.

His aura of complete humility, his renouncement of all things material and his laser focus on aligning his soul with God is inspirational, no matter what your faith, maybe even for an atheist.

Even more famous than Harry Carter’s was his older brother, John, who to this day enjoys a lustrous status among Cornish culture. In Cornwall, John Carter's star eclipses that of another legendary English social malcontent -- Robin Hood -- except Carter was certainly a real person and a real smuggler.

Smugglers were part pirate, part free-enterprise businessmen, part organized crime – but for the most part – few of them considered what they were doing wrong, even though they knew it was illegal under British law. The people of Cornwall were dirt poor. Their only options were to work seasonally in local tin mines as near slaves, scrabble out a living on a rocky patch of farm, or maybe eke out a living as fishermen.

Smuggling was a road to riches – it not only enriched the smuggler, but the loot trickled down considerably throughout Cornish society.

This document was published in 1900 under the auspices of John B. Cornish, who provides a helpful introduction and notes, and who is also listed as editor. A bit of Internet sleuthing turned up nothing about Mr. Cornish, so I’ll leave it at that.

My bottom line is that I find this to be a remarkable tidbit of history. It may not provide much insight into the world of Cornish smuggling, but “Captain” Harry Carter is an endearing and admirable soul. I was delighted to to have met him through the words he left behind.

Ken Korczak is the author of MINNESOTA PARANORMALA

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"The Roswell Legacy" by Jesse Marcel Jr. is written by a man who was there, but this book offers nothing new and the prose struggles

Review by KEN KORCZAK

Let me just say that Jesse Marcel Jr. has my great admiration. He’s lived an honorable life as a hard-working physician, healer of the sick, father of eight children, grandfather, National Guard member, served in the Iraq War for 13 months as flight surgeon – he's a classic all-around, All-American good guy.

He also projects a warm, avuncular vibe in the TV and video interviews I have seen -- he’s obviously a marvelous human being – I wish he was my uncle or my next door neighbor.

And thus it pains me to inform my readers that THE ROSWELL LEGACY is a fairly awful book.

There isn’t a single new revelation to provide a single shard of information that might shed new light on what really happened at a remote desert about 75 miles from Roswell, New Mexico, on June 14, 1947. Everything said about the supposed crash of an alien spacecraft (or something) at the location has already been aired ad nausea in a blizzard of other books, articles, TV shows, movies, Internet sites.

True, Marcel is more than a footnote in the annals of UFO lore. By virtue of his fiddling for about 20 minutes with some of the debris of whatever crashed in the desert when he was an 11 year old boy, Marcel has gained a minor star in that strange constellation of players that comprises the field of ufology.

He says he wrote this book to clear up scads of egregious misinformation and false statements that have been made about his father by debunkers and skeptics over the years, as they questioned Jesse Marcel Sr.’s role as one of the first men to see the Roswell crash site, and collect some of the wreckage.

Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr.

But he adds absolutely nothing new to the record. Everything he tells about his father is known. If anything, Marcel somewhat dulls the luster of his father’s reputation. He describes Marcel Sr's slow descent into alcoholism and a bitter sense of cynicism and alienation from the military, possibly related to the government’s attempt to control whatever message it wanted to control about the Roswell incident. I give the author high points for unflinching honesty, however.

The quality of the writing is barely adequate, if not poor – it reads like a high school student turning in a report about what he did on his summer vacation. There is also more than a little flat-out padding with bland information about space travel anyone can find on Wikipedia, a superfluous appendix, too much info about weather balloons, and a chapter written by his wife who adds minor, irrelevant pleasantries.

A number of errors are made as well, – for example, the Soviet-Era space station MIR is misidentified twice as “Muir.” Also J. ALLEN HYNEK'S name is incorrectly spelled “Hyneck.”

Furthermore, Marcel mistakenly says that the famous “swamp gas” concept was a favorite go-to explanation that Dr. Hynek used to debunk UFO reports. The truth is, it was reporters who misunderstood something Hynek said in a press conference which led to the popularization of the “swamp gas” term, and it was the media which subsequently hammered “swamp gas” into the public consciousness.

If the price was maybe .99 cents for the Kindle edition, I would say go ahead and buy it. But this is not a significant contribution to the Roswell legacy.

Ken Korczak is the author of: MINNESOTA PARANORMALA

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"Captured! The Barney and Betty Hill Experience" is a surprisingly absorbing read which reveals never-before-released information about this most famous alien abduction case

Review by KEN KORCZAK

I was two years old when what is still probably the most famous case of alien abduction of all time occurred in 1961 – that involving Barney and Betty Hill of New Hampshire. When I was about seven years old I was struck with a magnificent obsession for astronomy, and that naturally led to an interest in the possibility that Earth was being visited from the stars.

So I have been aware of the Hill abduction saga virtually all my life. Over the decades, I have read a book or two and dozens of articles about the case. It’s also frequently discussed in other UFO books. I vividly remember being glued to the TV as a teenager over the 1975 made-for-TV docudrama of the Hill story starring James Earl Jones and Estelle Parsons.

Thus, ever since KATHLEEN MARDEN'S book CAPTURED! THE BARNEY AND BETTY HILL EXPERIENCE first came out in 2007, I've been taking a pass on it, thinking, “What more is there possibly to say about this already over-analyzed case?” and:

“Do we really need another Barney and Betty Hill book?”

I now know the answer is “Yes!” I decided to purchase “Captured” partly on a whim, but also because it's been too long time since I read a good UFO yarn. I was flabbergasted by how much I still did not know about the case after all these years – in fact, I can say that I have an all-knew perspective.

I have opted to move myself out of the “skeptic” column regarding the Hill abduction into the “believer” column – as difficult as that is for me to say.

Marden (who is the primary author of this book and who is Betty Hill's niece), rolls out a case that may be wholly circumstantial – but the weight and the aggregate of all this circumstantial evidence as presented here would be more than enough to hang a man in any court of law.

By contrast, the alternative explanations offered by some of the greatest skeptics and debunkers – including Carl Sagan, James Randi and Philip Klass – seem petty, sparse, cherry-picked and highly theoretical by comparison.

Kathleen Marden and Stanton Friedman

In Captured!, Marden (along with famed UFO investigator STANTON FRIEDMAN who consulted on the book and also wrote a couple chapters), presents a painstaking, point-by-point analysis of every aspect of the case, from an in-depth analysis of the hypnotic regression sessions compared with consciousness memory accounts and Betty's dreams; the lives and character of the Hills; actual physical evidence (left on her dress); the famous “Star Map”; follow-up events and sightings – and how the aftermath played out in the lives of the Hills for decades to come – the latter of which shows how the case actually has gained credibility over the years.

I noticed that some other reviewers were turned off by one of the late chapters in which the authors launch an intense and scathing attack on skeptic and debunkers. I think some will find the tone of this chapter a bit overwrought, harsh and even mean – and yet, there is not charge made that does not point to direct and obvious, egregious errors committed by debunkers – which they seem to get a free pass on.

That’s because the general public – even myself at times – still find is astoundingly difficult to wrap our collective minds around the implications which naturally fall out of the Hill abduction case. I mean, if their story is true – it means space aliens are running around, picking up ordinary people, sticking anal probes up their orifices, and conducting studies on human being like so many wildlife biologists drugging and tagging animals.

The danger, though, is in making comparisons that are mundane. The true meanings behind alien abduction scenarios like the Hill case have their actual basis in a kind overarching-meta-reality … or … or … perhaps in terms of some greater, higher dimensionality of thought and conception of the universe.

The bottom line is: Barney and Betty Hill may have had a genuine abduction experience, but what the event actually means and implies may be something that can never be known in terms of the current way we model our ideas about what is real and what is unreal. It is something that is beyond the ken of material and empirical science – but also beyond any level of metaphysical and spiritual conceptions we have managed to develop as a species at this point in our evolution.

Ken Korczak is the author of: THE MAN IN THE NOTHING CHAMBER

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Free ebook "The Sex Life of the Gods" by Michael E. Knerr is a super campy, hilarious science fiction read from the early 1960s

Review by KEN KORCZAK

In the 1950s and early 1960s there was a certain market for “smutty” science fiction novels. They were often issued by small shady publishers who worked out of a crummy one-room apartment or maybe some seedy rented office. They paid $250 to $500 for 50,000 words. The thin paperbacks sold for 50 cents.

Sure, $500 was decent money back in the ‘50s, but it still wasn’t exactly lifestyles of the rich and famous. But one good thing about it for writers was that it was a way to break into the business, and hopefully move on and up to better things.

One such writer in this game was Michael E. Knerr. He was from a small town in Pennsylvania and he very badly wanted to carve out his place in literature, maybe science fiction, or writing historical books and westerns. He was a close friend of the more famous H. Beam Piper, also of Pennsylvania. Piper was one of those guys who clawed his way out of the science fiction gutter to gain considerable respect in that field – until his career cooled off and he put a bullet in his own head. He was Knerr’s role model.

This offering, THE SEX LIFE OF THE GODS by Knerr is a classic example of what, in effect, was the Internet content mill of the day – cheap novels designed to be written fast and published with salacious titles and lurid covers. They promised steamy sex mixed with thrilling space opera. They were distributed to book stands in drugs stores and vanished from the shelves three months later, never to be seen again.

The market for such fare was most likely young male loners – you know -- teenage boys, perhaps, or early 20s men who were not exactly slick with the women – the kind of guys who probably read a lot of comic books, glued together model airplanes and, well, I’ll say no more.

But they could live vicariously thought these novels thrilling to the escapades of flinty-eyed, square-jawed heroes who could make beautiful women squirm with sexual desire just by walking into the room. The space jockey was fast with a ray gun, could expertly pilot a starship, do sword battle with bug-eyed aliens – they were Han Solo, Buck Rogers and Captain America all rolled up into one.

Books such as Sex Life of the Gods was considered “soft porn,” in their day, but as Knerr himself said: “We could have read them to our children.”

He was right about that. The so called sex scenes in this book, by today’s standards, barely constitute a trip to first or second base, if you know what I mean. Believe me, there’s more sexually charged content in any of today’s family prime-time TV sitcoms. A daytime soap opera is hard-core porn by comparison.

Knerr and others like him wrote these books at lightning speed. They were strictly “one-time through the typewriter only jobs” and then rushed off to the publisher. The next challenge was getting paid. Writer’s like Knerr were sometimes cheated out of pay, or often had to settle for half the $500 originally promised. They worked with no written contracts – just verbal agreements and maybe (maybe) a handshake. The latter is unlikely because the relationship between writer and fly-by-night publisher was usually dicey and unfriendly, to say the least.

Some aspects of Knerr’s life as a hack writer may sound care-free and romantic – those who knew him said he could live on one $500 or $600 payday for months. He lived on a sailboat in California while gaining traction as a popular writer – but sometimes he starved, and I mean literally. He once subsisted on a few cans of cranberries and dry crackers for days.

MICHAEL E. KNERR

Knerr eventually had to opt out of the freelance novelist game to work as a small-town newspaper reporter back in Pennsylvania, but he never gave up writing. Reports vary on how many books he actually published – some say six or seven, others say as many as 20. He may have published under several pen names, and he apparently eventually gained some momentum as a writer of western novels.

Sex Life of the Gods, for me, was an enjoyable read in the extreme because of the campy fun effect – you know, like watching an egregiously bad science fiction movie, such as PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. Knerr said guys like him “stole their plots right out of TV Guide.” Ha, ha! That’s for sure. Sex Life of the Gods is just so cookie cutter in terms of plot and character, it’s almost like he used a flow chart – “Name hero – give him x problem – have him meet/fall in love with sizzling dame – make him on the run from (insert cops, CIA, military, aliens) – enter chase scene here --- has sex here …” and so forth.

I suggest you download this free gem immediately and have an incredibly great laugh and some pure camp fun– but at the same time – reserve some respect for a bona fide hacky pulp fiction artist who was actually much more than that – by all accounts. Michael E. Knerr developed some serious literary talent and published some quality books before he died in 1999 at age 64.

NOTE: This is a free download at Project Gutenberg which you can find HERE.

Ken Korczak is the author of: THE MAN IN THE NOTHING CHAMBER

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Kindle ebook science fiction short story "4EVAH" strives to be a humorous spin on immortality but comes off as irritating and snarky

Review by KEN KORCZAK

Here's the thing about a short story: The writer has very few words to create a satisfying piece of fiction. Writing a great short story is one if literature's most difficult feats. That's because, ideally, you should masterfully include the four basic elements of literature: Plot, character, setting and theme.

If you fail at any one of the four, the short story is a bust.

The great writers who have proven themselves can break the rules or ignore the "same old" because they have paid their dues and earned some artistic license to create an innovative piece of writing. But if you are an unknown author with little or no reputation, you better be paying attention to plot, character, setting and theme.

This short story, 4EVAH by WRIGHT FORBUCKS, doesn't get the job done. There no real plot here - only a scenario, or maybe a premise - a drug has been invented that bestows an unlimited lifespan upon the user. The story describes how such a drug might reshape society and the consequences it has for things like population control, social structure and war.

But lots of speculation about the crazy kind of world an immortality drug might create is not really a plot which a believable viewpoint character can work through as the readers cheers him or her along.

That's what drives a great story - a vivid, sharply-defined character struggling to solve a problem as he/she works though a plot, heading toward a happy or tragic conclusion.

What we get here is a vague, poorly developed character - with a rather snarky and irritating voice-- describing his school, telling us about this, telling us about that, calling this person a "moron" and that person "stupid" - which is merely annoying and not at all compelling.

Ken Korczak is the author of: BIRD BRAIN GENIUS

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"Autumn Shadows In August" by Robert W. Norris is okay as novel, but would be powerful as a memoir

Review by KEN KORCZAK

It has been a while since I have been as mystified by the technical choices a writer has made in crafting a novel as I was when I read this offering, AUTUMN SHADOWS IN AUGUST by ROBERT W. NORRIS.

Here is a book that has everything going for it:

• A writer of significant skill, heart, and passion for his craft

• A powerful central premise

• Superb real-life material to draw upon

• An often absorbing no-nonsense writing style …

… and yet … well, I just keep asking myself, “Why?”

Why, for example, the choice to present this as fiction? There’s nothing inherently wrong with creating a novel based on real-life experiences, but this piece begs to be a memoir, not a novel.

Before I rave on, a brief synopsis: An American ex-patriot, David Thompson, is living in Japan, the final destination of a man who chose self-exile after opting for the roll of conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. He was drafted into the Army, but refused to fight, and so was thrown into a military prison. They tried to break him, brainwash him and reprogram him – but he outlasts them. They spit back into society as an “undesirable.”

This prompts Thompson to launch himself on a life of wandering the world, much of the time in a pot and LSD-soaked haze. Since he has been robbed of his fundamental self-identity as a “normal American” his journey is a search for self-meaning and perhaps to find or build a new identity. Along the way he encounters some of the most dangerous and depressingly hopeless enclaves on the globe, such as the horrifying, filthy, disease-ridden poverty in the darkest allies of Calcutta.

But Thompson eventually finds a kind of secular salvation in that he lands a stable job teaching English in Japan, finds a loving, beautiful wife, and achieves middle class mediocrity – albeit not in America-- but among a modern culture which accepts him.

The novel plays out when Thompson and his wife take a vacation trip to Europe partly so Thompson can retrace some of the pain of his past, and also reconnect with a kind guru-friend figure – Thomas Knorr – only to find that Knorr has just died.

ROBERT W. NORRIS

Also, the author states this book is an homage to two writers of tremendous influence on his life: Hermann Hesse and Malcolm Lowry.

The problem for me: The character David Thompson is a molecular-thin veneer sprayed with an atomizer over the identity of the author himself, Robert W. Norris.

Yes, yes, yes I realize there are mystical elements and events, such as when Thompson-Norris meets none other than a character from Hesse’s novel Steppenwolf in an Amsterdam pot den – the mysterious Pablo. Pablo from Steppenwolf supplies Thompson-Norris with hallucinogenic mushrooms, a bit of advice and a kind of magic chess set.

So some might say: “That’s why this has to be presented as fiction; the real Norris could not have met a fictional character from another author’s book in a work of nonfiction.”

Wrong!

Robert W. Norris could indeed have met Pablo in Amsterdam and that meeting would have been every bit as real and legitimate as if he had met any other living human being. That Pablo comes in the form of imagination (or even a drug-induced reverie) does not make him one iota less authentic.

If you don’t think so, then I invite you to find the nearest engineer and tell him that he is no longer allowed to use imaginary numbers (i) in calculus equations when he is designing some machine that will have real application in the objective, physical world. Making use of that which is “unreal” or "imaginary" has never bothered mathematicians, scientists and engineers – why should it bother an author, or memoirist?

Or maybe the author hoped to shield the real people he encountered in life? However, the skilled memoirist would have no problem finessing these kinds of details – but enough, I’ll drop it. The author chose to make this a work of fiction – I’ll honor that while finding it vexing.

Several other aspects of this work also seemed jarring and incongruous to me. For example:

When Thompson-Norris swallowed the powerful magic mushrooms supplied to him by shamanic figure Pablo, I strapped on my seatbelt and prepared myself for a Terrence McKenna-like or perhaps William S. Burroughs-like journey into the disturbing strange and intense – but instead, I found myself being treated to a breezy scene far more akin to something out of Ray Bradbury’s “Dandelion Wine,” or perhaps his short story, “The Sound of Summer Running.”

The hallucinogenic mushroom prompts him to relive with exceptional vividness a joyful time from his childhood when he became immersed in that most profoundly spiritual-American game, baseball. He shares this sun-soaked carefree time with his boyhood best friend, Damian (inspired by Hesse’s “Demian?”).

But why should this completely normal, wonderful, decent and absolutely non-dangerous re-lived memory need be induced by a powerful magic mushroom supplied by a shamanic figure? I confess: I don’t get it.

I will say, however, that I loved the way the blissful baseball vignette transitions into the disturbing accounts of his journeys through India, Turkey and Iran – it makes for a brutal contrast that is literary gold. (So much about this novel is excellent.)

But, but ... there are many other “Whys” I might air – such as why include that baffling opening shemp (I borrow a jargon term from cinema out of desperation) – which quietly dissipates as something barely necessary. It is also mistake to call this an homage to Hesse and Lowry. These magnificent novelists influence and inform the book yes, but -- now I'm just quibbling -- and I've gone on too long already. So here’s my bottom line:

This has the making of an excellent memoir – indeed, it is a memoir -- a significant and important piece, possibly even a “Great American” memoir. What men like Norris did in adopting the mantel of conscientious objector is an act of tremendous heroism and commands my utmost, undying respect.

The writing is often brilliant and engaging, even absorbing.

However, presenting this document as fiction drops a clog into the whole system of the book, knocking it off kilter in more ways than one. Making us try to believe this is fiction is a crippling distraction. That's because fiction requires the reader to adopt that “willing suspension of disbelief” -- which in this case in untenable.

We never believe in a fictional character named David Thompson, but we do believe in Robert W. Norris. He's the real deal.

Ken Korczak is the author of THE FAIRY REDEMPTION OF JUBAL CRANCH

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Skip Atwater's "Captain of My Ship, Master of My Soul" is about a lot more than remote viewing; It's a profound testament of one man's spiritual journey

Review by KEN KORCZAK

A twist on an old Hindu proverb goes something like this: “There are a million paths to God (or enlightenment or heaven); it doesn’t matter which one you take, as long as you get there.”

It’s this quote that makes me think of FRED HOLMES ATWATER, best known as Skip Atwater. Here is a man who found his personal path to enlightenment, but ah, what a strange road he took.

Think back to when the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was grinding away. Both sides are harboring enough nuclear weapons to not only destroy the other – but take out the whole world in the process. The hate and enmity of these two behemoths threatened swallow our beautiful blue-green planet in a nuclear fire of mutual madness.

Now imagine that one of the key warriors in this global stalemate of loathing is working diligently to ensure that his side prevails. He is a member of the most feared corps of elite warriors – an operative in the dark, seamy, paranoid, dangerous world of military intelligence -- he's a spy.

Skip Atwater could fairly be described as a kind of elite “super spy,” not because he was traveling the dark corridors of the world collecting information or performing assassinations – but because of the amazing assignment he landed.

It became Atwater's task to study, and possibly develop, a team of psychic spies that could use ESP to snoop on the Soviet Union, or any enemy of America. Even today this sounds like an insane idea –- a mixture of New Age or occult voodoo mixed with the militaristic paranoia of the Cold War. It sounds more like a paranoid Philip K. Dick novel.

Except that it's all true. Skip Atwater was the spearhead that led the U.S. Army to spend millions of dollars and years of manpower to develop elite super corps of spies who could reach out with only their minds to get behind any wall, bunker or secret hidden base the Soviets might be hiding anywhere in the world.

By all accounts, Skip Atwater would seem to be the opposite of anyone’s definition of a Cold War spy. He is a gentle man by nature – sweet, kind, humble, unassuming, blonde and handsome – a guy with a natural but quiet charisma -- the kind of guy that makes everyone feel strangely good when he enters a room.

That’s the way I bet you will feel when you read Atwater’s book, CAPTAIN OF MY SHIP, MASTER OF MY SOUL: LIVING WITH GUIDANCE.

These pages are part autobiography, and part detailed record of what Atwater did to develop the now famous (or infamous) PSI method known as remote viewing as a tool for U.S. intelligence.

Atwater starts with his childhood, telling of strange mystical events he experienced, but which his metaphysical-minded parents encouraged him to think of as “natural.” These experiences including things like out-of-body experiences, seeing auras and even an instance of levitation!

SKIP ATWATER

Atwater voluntarily joined the U.S. Army at a time when the Vietnam War was heating up and getting ugly – but he joined only to stave off being drafted, and to prevent himself from having to kill someone. Instead, Atwater asked to join military intelligence – and he got his wish –or as he repeatedly puts it, "I was on my path, I was being guided, I was on track, I was being protected”by something he calls "Guidance."

The middle part of the book is a fairly detailed and exacting account of how the remote viewing program was developed, including some pretty terrific “how to” information for those interested in trying their own hand at this esoteric process.

For me, the juicy part of the book (to borrow a phrase from DEAN RADIN who wrote an intro) is the latter third where Atwater describes his work at the Monroe Institute in Faber, Virginia, his post-military job.

THE MONROE INSTITUTE was established by the famous out-of-body traveler ROBERT MONROE, author of several superior books on the topic.

It was here that the now also famous HEMI-SYNC TECHNOLOGY was developed – an audio system using something called binaural beats – to enhance brainwave activity, enabling people to explore alternate or advanced states of consciousness.

Atwater's is probably the very best book I have read about remote viewing (though I have only read about a half-dozen). It goes well beyond remote viewing itself to discuss issues of spiritual growth and expansion.

Like another early remote viewing pioneer – physicist Russell Targ – what began for Atwater as a hard-nosed attempt to bring scientific understanding and military application to ESP ended up a journey of profound spiritual transformation -- and his story is beautifully and eloquently told in these pages.

Ken Korczak is the author of THE FAIRY REDEMPTION OF JUBAL CRANCH

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"Limitless Mind" by famed laser physicist Russell Targ combines the implications of remote viewing with Buddhist-inspired thought

Review by KEN KORCZAK

The CIA knew during the height of the Cold War that the Soviets were putting a ton of time and money into psychic spying research. It concerned our government enough to fund their own research. CIA spies may have even gotten reports that the Russians were having some success.

And so, a couple of brainy, eccentric physicists caught the attention of CIA Super Spooks. One was Russell Targ, who was an expert on lasers. The other was Hal Puthoff who was into gravitational physics. Both had worked successfully for years in their fields.

Incredibly, these two brainiacs had decided to put their careers and reputations on the line to study ESP – extrasensory perception, mind reading, clairvoyance – you know, all that voodoo. They were working out of a small lab at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI).

The CIA was worried enough about the Soviets to jazz up Targ and Puthoff with some serious government cash. And so the legendary top secret method of psychic spying “remote viewing” was born.

In this book, Russell Targ gives us a brief review of those early days beginning in 1972 of how remote viewing was developed. In his words, he says: “Ingo Swan taught us about remote viewing, we taught the army, and the army taught the world.”

Ingo Swann was an obscure artist who had decided to volunteer as a one of Targ’s guinea pigs. It turns out that Swann had some amazing psychic abilities. (See my review of Swann's free ebook, PENETRATION). It was Swann who coined the term “remote viewing.” So early on, Swann became a central figure in this strange quest which entangled all of them with the U.S. military the CIA, and international intrigue.

In general, however, that's not what this book is really about. Rather, Targ’s work in remote viewing led him slowly but surely toward a more expansive view of life and reality, which was also heavily influenced by Buddhist thought.

Like many others, Targ could not help but notice the similarities between ancient Buddhist and Vedic teaching and a new model of reality emerging from the implications of quantum physics.

RUSSELL TARG

And so in this book, Targ gives us heady doses of Buddhist-influenced philosophy. But he also draws heavily upon New Age thinking -- that which no doubt makes his peers -- hard, reductionist, materialistic, scientists -- gag!

Targ credits none other than A COURSE IN MIRACLES by Dr. Helen Schucman as the “main stepping stone” which finally propelled him to abandon his prestigious position at Lockheed Missiles and Space. In his words: “I launched myself on a different path to spaciousness that didn’t require a missile.”

Targ chose to live his life in a state of “non-wanting,” “spaciousness,” the “abandonment of the ego and striving” to live in a way that is at one with a Buddhist-Quantum conception of God – immersed in a kind of universal field of intelligence-love energy which Targ describes as a “loving syrup.”

Yes, Targ will plod through some of the statistical results of his early remote viewing experiments and tediously describe how double-blind protocols were set up, and what all the data means. He also spends a chapter talking about “remote healing,” a field in which is late daughter Dr. Elizabeth Targ was deeply involved.

In short – and I’m very sad to say – I think some will find this book a disappointment. Those looking for intensive information on remote viewing will get “more of the same” and the same basic information available on thousands of web sites or other books. Other might be surprised at the lectures on Buddhist philosophy (not really lectures, but more like Targ’s personal testament of what Buddhism has meant to him and what he believes it can do for others) – but the end result is a book that may seem disjointed. It’s not really enough about one thing, but then again not enough about the other thing either.

To be fair, however: I think Targ was attempting to present the legitimacy of remote viewing as a science by providing a greater overall framework – a new model based on new physics – to show how it all works together beautifully, and so has a foundation for credibility.

Aslo, I was already extremely familiar with remote viewing before reading this, and I have been practicing Zen meditation for 30 years now – so much of this information seemed old hat from my perspective. It may not be that way at all for you.

Ken Korczak is the author of: MINNESOTA PARANORMALA

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Celtic Mysteries book by Philip Imbrogno and Marianne Horrigan has no credibility now that co-author Imbrogno has been shown to be a fraud

Review by KEN KORCZAK

Wow – let me tell you something, it pays to do a little research on the side before you prepare to review a book.

I was about to give this book, CELTIC MYSTERIES: WINDOWS TO ANOTHER DIMENSION IN AMERICA'S NORTHEAST maybe a “B” or perhaps something like a 7-out-of-10 rating – then I stumble on the “big news.”

Apparently one of the authors, the prolific Philip J. Imbrogno, who is among the most respected paranormal researchers, is a fraud. That is, Imbrogno apparently has not only been “padding his resume” all these years, but also seems to have been lying about a lot of other life experiences as well – including having served in Vietnam as a member of an elite Special Forces unit.

Imbrogno claims no less that this:

Holds an undergraduate and graduate degrees in physics, astronomy and chemistry from the University of Texas and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2010, awarded a Ph.D. in theoretical chemistry from MIT. Staff member of the McCarthy Observatory in New Milford, Connecticut, and is a founder and former director of the Astronomical Society of Greenwich, and former director of the Bowman Observatory.

But then well-known skeptic Lance Moody decided one day – apparently just for the heck of it – to see if he could verify Imbrogno’s credentials with MIT. The folks at MIT professed to have never heard of him. They said they never graduated any Philip Imbrogno from anything.

To make a long story short, Imbrogno’s credibility has been destroyed. He announced he is “leaving the paranormal field.” The co-author of his latest book, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, announced on her web site that she has cut ties with Imbrogno, and also stated she was “blindsided” by the recent revelations.

So what about this book? I mean, It also has a co-author, Marianne Horrigan, whose reputation is still intact, I assume. I don’t know. It’s a tragedy, I guess. She probably gets taken down with her co-author, at least for the sake of this book. Remember, Imbrogno first became famous and respected as co-authoring a landmark UFO book with the late great J. Allen Hynek.

It’s too bad because the information in the book appears based on some solid in-the-field legwork and careful research in the dusty archive rooms of libraries and historical societies.

Celtic Mysteries makes the case that certain stone structures scattered throughout New England were built by ancient visitors to North America – Druids, Celts, Irish Monks, perhaps even the Phoenicians.

The evidence they present is somewhat impressive. The general consensus among the scientific community and public is that these stone structures are nothing more than root cellars built by early American colonists. But the authors show that some of the stone structures are marked with characters of Ogam – an early medieval alphabet used by the ancient Celts. This claim was verified by respected Harvard scholar Dr. Barry Fell.

PHILIP J. IMBROGNO

Imbrogno also claims to have found an obsidian dagger in one of the chambers which was examined at the University of Pennsylvania. It was determined to have originated in either Greenland or Iceland and may be at least 4,000 years old.

Imbrogno and Horrigan also give us exacting details and descriptions of a variety of the stone structures, and based on what they tell us, it seems impossible to believe all of them could have been merely root cellars. For example, some contain at least what appear to be “sacrificial tables” and others are multi-chambered and form alignments with astronomical events, such as the spring equinox, similar to Stonehenge in England.

But they also veer wildly into heavy New Agey, nonscientific territory that would make even mild skeptics gasp – as when they bring in psychics who make contact with the spirits of deceased Native Americans and Druid priests.

Yet – what has always made me willing to give Imbrogno something of a pass on his more outlandish claims was the fact that he had stellar credentials – I mean, he is an MIT-trained scientist with a lofty Ph.D in a very exacting scientific field, right? Well ... wrong.

Does this mean we should throw out the baby with the bathwater? Could it be that Imbrogno has done legitimate work in the field of UFO investigation and other areas? Does Celtic Mysteries still make a credible argument that stone monuments in New England were built by ancient Europeans? Perhaps, but alas, but it probably doesn’t matter now. Others will have to make the case.

Imbrogno’s credibility is shot.

See also my review of Imbrogno's: ULTRATERRESTRIAL CONTACT

Ken Korczak is the author of: THE FAIRY REDEMPTION OF JUBAL CRANCH

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Free ghost hunting ebook takes you back 100 years: Violet Tweedale was the 19th Century British counterpart of today's paranormal investigation team

Review by KEN KORCZAK

Ghost hunting clubs and paranormal investigation has become a mega-popular trend in the past decade. Local folks everywhere are starting up clubs and teams, dedicated to seeking out proof that the dead still live on another plane.

The first order of business for these types is printing up some cool t-shirts with neato logo. Then some cool hats with logo. Oh, and you have to have a web site and a Facebook fan page. Also required is the latest electronic gear: full-spectrum cameras, shadow detection devices, gizmos that show changes in local magnetic fields, detectors that can ferret out anomalous cold spots, subhuman-frequency audio recorders…

Yes, what is old is new again. Today’s paranormal investigation teams would do well to get this free ebook copy of Violet Tweedale’s, GHOSTS I HAVE SEEN. (Just click on the link to download free copy).

Tweedale is the late 19th Century and early 20th Century version of the modern ghost hunter. She didn’t have access to all the slick electronic toys – when she started she didn’t even have electricity! Tweedale and her fellows relied on mediums and the “psychic attunement” of their minds and belief systems.

Published in 1920, Ghosts I Have Seen makes claims of paranormal sightings that none of today’s ghost enthusiasts can come close to matching, even with the arsenal of high-tech tools at their disposal.

Tweedale tells of dozens of confrontation with bona fide ghosts encountered in the flesh – and I mean in the flesh. She relates a plethora of stories of seeing dead people that look every bit as real and solid as any living person. But that’s only for starters. Tweedale also reports on her (or other’s) encounters with:

• Elementals

• Familiars

• Haunted houses

• Possessed mediums

• Evil spirits

• Mythical creatures, such as satyrs

• Demonic presences

… And much more.

Tweedale was a British aristocrat of the top order. She traveled among the supreme upper crust of British royalty – her book is replete with references to lords and ladies, baron, baronesses, counts and countesses.

She was first and foremost a Scott. Her father was Robert Chambers, the publisher of Chamber’s Journal, a powerhouse publisher based in Edinburgh. This in turn allowed her to consort with some of the most illustrious literati of all time, including the likes of poet Robert Browning and artists Frederic Leighton and John Mallais. She was also an associate of the famous Madam Blavatsky, founder of Theosophy.

VIOLET TWEEDALE, DIED 1936

The question is: How believable are her stories? They’re sensational, certainly. Was Tweedale a bored intellectual society heiress showing off her useless education to fill the endless days of tedium of the wealthy elite – the teas, the gala balls, the society functions, attending to the affairs of her castle-like dwellings? Or did her wealth allow her the freedom to probe deeper into the world of mysticism and esoteric in a way that was meaningful and legitimate?

It may be a bit of both. My impression in reading Ghosts I Have Seen is that Tweedale indeed was witness to some pretty bizarre phenomenon. After all, her stomping grounds were the ancient, stony castles of northern Scotland.

Imagine how picturesque! Centuries old drafty, dreary monstrosities with real dungeons. There thousands of poor souls were tortured or murdered in dark holes – locations where the political machinations of the Scottish clans played out their blood revenges and plots against Scot, Celt and Saxon alike.

It must be said that Tweedale, despite her wealth and position, was a hard-working novelist and writer. She produced more than 30 books. But she was also known to be a political activist, philanthropist and frequently got her hands dirty by working down in the trenches with the lowest tier of society.

In one segment, she mentions sitting with a prostitute while the pathetic woman was slowly dying in a poor house bed – a depressing facility where Tweedale worked as a volunteer to aid those at the bottom rung of Britain’s slums.

It would seem that VIOLET TWEEDALE was a woman of intelligence and character. Because of this, I am willing to give her a bit of leeway and accept some of her personal tales of ghost encounters with some credibility.

All in all, this is an interesting enough read. It often rambles and should have at least 50 pages edited out. There are pointless digressions. It’s interesting to observe how ghost hunting today and ghost hunting 100 years ago is more or less the same – if anything, today’s high-tech paranormal investigators seem behind the curve compared to Violate Tweedale.

The reviewer, Ken Korczak, has also written a book of paranormal investigation: MINNESOTA PARANORMALA

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Free ebook: The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment by Thaddeus Golas still reads fresh and powerful more than 40 years later

Review by KEN KORCZAK

Many years ago when the world was all green and I was in my 20s I came across a thin volume in a bookstore. It was The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment by THADDEUS GOLAS. Even though it was like, five bucks, but obviously only a couple hour’s read, I still plunked down an Abe and took it home.

This little volume really blew me away those many years ago. I thought it was an elegant piece of literature. It was written in a groovy 1960s style. The concepts presented were profound, but at the same time not lofty, preachy or pretentious. Or I should say, the ideas were lofty without seeming lofty. What Golas was saying was amazing – yet believable – and it made sense to me. It had the ring of truth.

Now, some 30 years later – much older, wiser, more skeptical and jaded – I continue to consider Thaddeus Golas’ book a small masterpiece. More than three decades on, it reads just as fresh. Better yet, the ideas presented here have an untarnished aura of legitimacy and authenticity.

Thaddeus Golas was a Polish-American born in New Jersey, and at first lived what could be called a normal life. His gift for writing was noticed early by his teachers, and as a young adult worked for a while as an editor and in the publishing industry. He served with competence in World War II in the 604th Engineer Camouflage Battalion. He was rejected for service at first because of bad eyesight, but managed to “trick” his way into the Army anyway.

After the war, Golas eventually became part of the counterculture – first a beatnik hanging around all the cool locations in New York, and consorting with other counterculture icons, such as Allen Ginsberg and the soon-to-be notorious Timothy Leary.

Golas’ beatnik days transitioned naturally into aging hippy status, and he moved west and hung out “on the scene,” dropping a lot of acid and scraping by like a classic dharma bum on little or no cash. He wrote this book while “sitting penniless in my San Francisco apartment” he mentions in ‘Lazy Man’s’.

Although he never came close to achieving the legendary counterculture status of a Ginsberg or a Leary, or even someone like Ram Dass, Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment became a major underground cult hit. It was said that Ginsberg and Leary were envious of Golas’ ability to sell books.

THADDEUS GOLAS

How would I describe what’s in the pages of this short book? It most closely resembles Zen philosophy, but mixed in with a smattering of modern physics, some LSD-induced visionary revelation – but mostly, this reads like something that is entirely unique and fresh, even if the most fundamental concepts can be found in other esoteric philosophies – especially the best Zen writings, such as that found in “Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind,” the marvelous book by Zen Master D.T. Suzuki.

The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment eventually went out of print, but it has been recently resurrected by SEED CENTER BOOKS, where you can purchase a paperback version. It’s also available as a Kindle selection – but if you want to, you can read it for free here: LAZY MAN'S GUIDE

Note that the free online version of Lazy Man’s Guide To Enlightenment is not technically an ebook because it’s not formatted in any downloadable formats as far as I can see. You’ll have to read it on your computer screen. But it’s a short read, and even if you don’t like reading straight from the computer screen, it's easy to get through.

Do yourself a favor. Check out The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment. It’s truly a timeless classic. In fact, it gives the concept of “timeless” all new meaning – as you will discover for yourself.

Ken Korczak is the author of: MINNESOTA PARANORMALA

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First-time novelist Tarah L. Wolff breathes new life into fantasy fiction with the boundry-pushing "Embraced by Darkness: Sacrifices"

Review by KEN KORCZAK

EMBRACED BY DARKNESS: SACRIFICES is a richly feminine, dangerously dark sword & sorcery fantasy epic that often transcends mere genre to become something more – literature -- perhaps even great literature.

Just about every page is redolent with a musky aura of earthy-animalistic yearning and sensual passion.

Also at the heart of this ambitious tale looms the ever-present shadow of the feminine archetype – exploring what it means to be a woman -- and the eternal central dilemma of the female sex. It’s the predicament of womankind since the beginning of time – dealing with the dangers of violent male predation and lust, while also aching for the pleasure and passion of an all-absorbing union with the male archetype.

A latent theme of rape or threat of rape never strays far from the narrative. At the same time, the female characters often willingly enter into intense sexual unions of mind-boggling, soul-shattering pleasure with men … and, yes, even man-like things!

Certainly, a Freudian psychologist would have a field day analyzing the sexual allegory suggested between that of women and horses in these pages. Yes, yes … I realize that a centaur is half-human, half-horse, but the women here seem equally enamored with regular horses and the feel of them “between their legs.” (I put that latter phrase in quotes because it appears more than once in connection with a woman riding a horse). (Also: Just how does a woman have sex with a centaur? Hmmm. Ponder that for a moment!)

But wait a minute – let me step away from pedantic nerd mode to tell the reader that I think anyone can enjoy this this novel on any level one wants to. If you’re looking for an entertaining, sweeping sword and sorcery epic filled with all the props of that genre, you’ll find it: Hunky sword wielding men, gorgeous gutsy women, elves, mythical creatures, dragons, demonic ghouls, a dark lord – it’s all here.

The central plot is strong enough, if somewhat derivative of the genre formula. The characters are sharp, vivid and real; they come alive on the page – even if you find them spiteful, obnoxious or too good to be true – you’ll still care about what happens to them. The background fantasy world is richly imagined. It does what a great fantasy novel needs to do – it takes you away, allows you to escape, to an magical universe that is alive with shimmering wonder.

The pacing is decent, although I’ll stop short of calling this a page turner; it’s actually something better. Some may be challenged by the 400+ page length, but I think most will be eager to keep reading.

Yes, good wins out over evil in the end. (I’m not giving anything away; all fantasy novels end that way). However, what’s terrific about this novel is that those who are “good” and those who are “evil” are not always sharply defined as so – so even in their victory, the reader may wonder if the heroes really deserved to triumph at all.

That’s especially true of Jezaline – one of three primary female characters who anchor the narrative. And the tough-as-nails tomboy Osondrous is an incredible, unstoppable ass-kicker of epic proportions. Oh my, what a woman! Only the saintly Karalay represents what we would recognize as the personification of a traditional heroine -- pretty as an angel, selfless, giving and pure of heart. (I should also give Constance and honorable mention, a kitten-sexy soft beauty who is a visionary with a poetic soul. I suspect Constance will play a large role in the sequel, due out later this year).

Finally, I must mention the writing itself. My friends, this young author, TARAH L. WOLFF, can flat out turn a phrase. She crafts and weaves sentences that are beautiful. The reader will be treated to graceful paragraphs that flow out and glide across the page. True – it’s not consistently thus throughout – but who cares! Often enough, the author seems to “go unconscious,” something “clicks in” and she spins out page after page of marvelous flare and elegance.

If you have a pulse, this writer’s prose will give you goose bumps.

The author’s tells us her goal in creating EMBRACED BY DARKNESS was to push the envelope of the fantasy genre further, taking it to greater heights and perhaps a deeper level significance. Mission accomplished.

Ken Korczak is the author of THE FAIRY REDEMPTION OF JUBAL CRANCH

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Pickle Bumps for Baby Dill by Bob Fulton is a delightful children's book with an important and timely message for today's adults and young people

Review by KEN KORCZAK

Perhaps the image most people have of a college chemistry professor is that of a no-nonsense scientific-minded guy who demands exacting calculation and laboratory excellence from his students – but when I met Bob Fulton at a small-town arts fair recently, I encountered a warm, avuncular man who developed a happy twinkle in his eye when speaking of his cadre of chummy grandchildren.

BOB FULTON spent 39 years teaching chemistry at the university level, but in retirement, he’s the author of a charming children’s book, enchantingly illustrated by artist MELISSA MEYER. I had a chance to page through PICKLE BUMPS FOR BABY DILL and it’s a pure delight.

It’s the story of a dill pickle who was born slight different – without pickle bumps! (Gasp!) This situation affords an excellent opportunity for the author to address an issue which has been much in the media of late – bullying. So Pickle Bumps for Baby Dill is the story of a little pickle character who stands out because he’s not exactly like everyone else, yet he is embraced within an aura of acceptance by the pickle society he must grow up and make his way within.

Bob Fulton

Fulton rather ingeniously creates a variety of characters – olives and pickles – who have names certain to elicit laughter from young children. There’s Gert and Martin Gherkin, Olive Pitt and Karl Kalamta. It’s funny and replete with tongue twisters to challenge the kids start their enjoyment of reading early – with a timely, positive message of acceptance of those who are different among us.

So Pickle Bumps for Baby Dill gets my best recommendation for those looking for entertaining yet instructive for children. It’s designed to be read out loud and encourages adult-children interaction.

Bob Fulton spent his working life teaching chemistry, and now he has found a way to create a loving chemistry between children and adults -- and also catalyst of acceptance between those who might stand out as “different” in our society.

Further information: PICKLE BUMPS FOR BABY DILL

Ken Korczak is the author of: THE FAIRY REDEMPTION OF JUBAL CRANCH

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An expert author reveals insider secrets about the Amazon Kindle ebook publishing system that self publishers will find extremely valuable

Review By KEN KORCZAK

Since I came up through the writing ranks slogging it out as a daily newspaper reporter, I'll apply one of the fundamental rules of basic journalism to this review right now. I won't "bury the lead." So my primary message is that I am recommending this book. It delivers what it advertises, and those who buy it, read it and apply it's ideas, will move their Kindle publishing careers forward.

So get the book. I bet you need it.

In a moment I will air a few qualified criticisms and some minor quibbles - but first a brief overview of what you will learn in this brief offering, AMAZON CATEGORIES CREATE BEST SELLERS, by much published author AGGIE VILLANUEVA

I've been in the kindle ebook publishing game for a number of years now, have learned a lot, but after reading this Kindle book, it made me realize there is still tons of stuff I don't know - and need to know. At least one revelation about a specific policy of Amazon was rather stunning to me. (That's right; I was floored!) It's something I didn't know, but now extremely glad I do.

I also already had a basic understanding about Amazon categories - but Villanueva has obviously been combing through Amazons methods and policies - analyzing everything in critical detail, and what she has discovered is significant and important. Those who want to sell more Kindle books, get more attention, get higher rankings - and get on best seller lists - must have the information offered here.

I'm also extremely thankful to the author for this: After learning how to check how my books were fairing in specific categories - I was delighted to discover that one of my own titles (SECRETS OF A GRANT WRITER) is a best seller in three categories! Woooo-hoooo! That's the kind of encouragement and motivation I needed just about now!

This is also valuable information I can use to leverage my marketing message to get more readers and more sales.

Now: I must say that there is a ton of self-promotion in this book - in my mind, a little more than is prudent. The real useful meat of the book doesn't really start until about 20% in. There are also links, links, links, and more links aplenty sending the reader to the author's other resource sites - these include tutorial videos and more in-depth information that expands on what is being discussed here.

There are two ways to look at this:

1. The cynical person may be turned off by what seems to be a heavy amount of self-promotion. After all, you paid for a book on this topic, right? Shouldn't all relevant information be packed into this document? Why pay an author for a bit of information and then scads of self-promotion designed to drive traffic to the author's other sites?

2. On the other hand: Most of the links are indeed useful to the reader and informative. Certainly, if one follows all the links, one will gain a rich treasury of valuable marketing information that will absolutely help you become a superior ebook marketer.

I'm in Camp 2. That's because I satisfied that the author has managed to create a win-win situation here - she is creating more traffic and interest in her own books and business - but doing it while providing an enormous service and aid to those of us who are eager to not only write ebooks - but get them into the hands of readers - and yes - make some cash.

Would I have included a little less self-promotion and author bio information? Yes, I would have. I have no doubt that some will be rubbed the wrong way by what at least appears to be a lot of self-serving links and promos. That's for all of you to decide.

For me, however, a driven writer and ebook publisher, this book is more than a short education on Amazon categories; it's packed with loads of additional resources that I am glad to have access to.

So I say, without reservation: Buy the book.

Ken Korczak is the author of: MINNESOTA PARANORMALA, VOLUME 1

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Free eBook: Mushroom Town by British Author Oliver Onions is a Powerful Novel That Will Reward the Patient Reader

Review by KEN KORCZAK

In today’s world where Twitter message are considered meaningful communications, is it possible that many people are reading the likes of British author OLIVER ONIONS? I doubt it.

This novel, Mushroom Town, is like the ultimate “Anti-Twitter Experience.” Lengthy; heavily descriptive; loaded with deeply developed metaphors, zillions of digressions for allusions and observations; in-depth character development – you know – great literature.

Published in 1914, Mushroom Town reveals a powerful writer at the height of his skills. Mr. Onions published more than 40 novels. Oh, by the way, certainly “Oliver Onions” must be a pen name, right?

No! It’s his real name – George Oliver Onions. Interestingly, he later legally changed his name to George Oliver in 1918 (gee, I wonder why), as which point his real name became his pen name.

OLIVER ONIONS

What Mushroom Town Is About

The setting of Mushroom Town is the tiny fictional hamlet Llanyglo, Wales. The time is the early 1880s. Llanyglo is little more than a few merchant shops, three tiny churches and some scattered dry-scrabble farms. But the tiny town has an ideal location next to the ocean, and potentially a terrific beach for water recreation of all kinds.

Llanyglo catches the attention of Edward Garden, a shrewd, well-to-do English businessman. He initially brings his family to spend two weeks in a seaside cabin to bolster the failing health of his 9-year-old daughter.

However, Mr. Garden knows a secret about Llanyglo – he has inside information about a new rail line that will soon be laid down and pass very near the hamlet – which means that, for the first time, this once remote, inconsequential region will suddenly have easy two-way access to the bigger cities of England, such as Manchester and Liverpool.

Mr. Garden recognizes the potential to transform tiny Llanyglo into a resort town – it’s an ideal, peaceful and lovely get-away by the sea for the bone-weary residents of England’s grimy, coal-dusted cities of the north. Thus the title, Mushroom Town.

So little Llanyglo “mushrooms” in just a decade from a sleepy backwater town to an energized, thriving, crowded tourist destination with gigantic new hotels, tourist shops, a Ferris wheel, lamp-lighted pavilions, a magnificent boardwalk pier that thrusts out into the ocean, and which is bordered by fancy restaurants.

Against this backdrop is played out a clash of cultures – the backwards, kind, rural and simple people of rural Wales are confronted with shocking quickness the invasion of the Saxon English who bring their big money, big-city ways and big demands to Llanyglo.

Although I said character development is strong, there really is no viewpoint character in Mushroom Town. The hamlet of Llanyglo itself and its culture are the primary characters. The tumultuous events surrounding the urban transformation of the town are what drives the narrative.

Should You Read It?

I have always said that those who want to find a powerful experience through literature must give as much as they receive from a significant piece of writing. Certainly, a book such as this one will try the patience of modern readers – but you have to remember that long, plodding paragraphs and whole chapter filled with description and no action was the style for late 19th and early 20th Century writers.

However, if you settle in and read slowly and patiently, Mushroom Town will seep into your bones and vividly transport you to late 1800s Wales – it may be the next best thing to actually stepping into a time machine and going there for real. You’ll experience a simpler times in a blissful rural, mountainous region next to a sparkling ocean – a time before hyper-capitalism, crass commercialism and shallow tourism despoiled something once natural, earthy and beautiful.

The last segment of the book affected me deeply. In the final 100 pages, or so, Mr. Onions paints for us a powerfully tragic love story between a wealthy young Englishman and a penniless Welsh gypsy woman – two people from entirely different worlds, cultures and classes – whose different circumstances will almost certainly doom their love – or will it?

The love story between a wealthy Brit and a gypsy (the latter at the bottom of the caste even among the Welsh as compared to the English of those times) serves as an amazing metaphor which captures the plight of Llanyglo not as a mere phenomenon of sociology, but as an event with implications for the very soul of humanity itself.

People, have no doubt: Oliver Onions was a major literary talent. His work deserves as much readership today as do some of his contemporaries, such as E.M. Forester, Thomas Hardy and W. Somerset Maugham.

Ken Korczak is the author of: THE FAIRY REDEMPTION OF JUBAL CRANCH

Follow @KenKorczak