Charles Miske Author

Stealthy Steps by Vikki Kestell My rating: 4 of 5 stars I won't dock this one points for horrible science, or overbearing "stop the storyline for a few pages" preaching, or for a few unrealistic characters. It's a decent enough story. It's odd the way most everyone is like monotone voice "oh, hey, invisible, wow, so now what?" - seriously? I'm not convinced that this totally unskilled newbie can defeat the US Gov by any description of her skillz or motives. But still, fun story. Next books? Probably not. I'm glad she ended as she did. Good enough. View all my reviews

A Rip in Time by Jeff Gunzel My rating: 3 of 5 stars As far as stories go, it was better than average. The girl who might have been the protagonist was a bit of a mystery, from her as well as us. Good job of protecting her history and abilities from us. The men were a bit caricaturish, but maybe that's just the genre, where everyone fits an archetype. The woodlands nation was Tolkien-esque, which might not be a compliment. I try not to read fantasy too much, which might be influencing my review. If I were more experienced in fantasy, I might see this from a different perspective. Wait, there are other books? This book did not convert me to become a hard-core fantasy reader, so nope. But if this is your cup of tea, totally, go for it and enjoy. View all my reviews

Gretel by Christopher Coleman My rating: 5 of 5 stars Great story. Most of the characters pretty well fleshed-out, except poor Hansel. Interesting world, maybe a bit like ours, but with a few futuristic twists (robot cars). Everyone has decent motivation, and the pace increases up to the end, drawing me into a binge read to finish the book. Fortunately it could be read as a stand-alone if you assume everything is just done-done. Reviews of Part 2 are iffy, so not sure what's next for me. Very minor editing issues, but nothing to deduct from the 5 stars. Adult themes, but nothing graphic. View all my reviews

The Twelfth Keeper by Belle Malory My rating: 5 of 5 stars I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. The story was well done and engaging. The characters were simple to empathize with and like. My only real complaint would have to be the quickness and simplicity with which the story was wrapped up. There was a lead-in to the next book, but it wasn't a cliff-hanger. You could easily read this as a stand-alone. My thoughts here on reviewers feeling left out of the world-building process. I prefer a world that leaves out the big picture and presents the little details in a natural flow. Taking time out of the story to explain the process by which cars evolved into self-driving would have been a drag on the flow. People don't naturally pause the action while thinking to themselves "I remember back about 50 years ago when the first ..." but rather in the action say "Car: take me someplace" View all my reviews

Diesel: A Short Story by Zachariah Wahrer My rating: 3 of 5 stars 15 minutes to read. Maybe I'm just slower than the other kids. A few odd choices of words (or mistakes) but nothing you can't read around if you've been reading modern self-published authors for a while. The story? Interesting enough. Characters are caricatures. Unexpected turn of events. Classy enough effort to destroy the evidence. Potential lead-in to a vigilante series. Why 3? It's just middlin'. Nothing too exciting, and in spite of my having lived this myself numerous times, I wasn't able to really identify with the protag. Just not enough time or words there I think. Like I just alluded to, this is real. It happens. I have experienced this exact same type of prejudice and bullying while riding my bike in Missouri. Apparently all the locals are super fit from drinking vast quantities of beer while ranting about having been on the football team 40 years ago. Yeah. Athletes they are. Legend...