The Aeronaut by Bryan Young, Book Review

Robert Preston left the United States to fight for France. It was being called the War to End All Wars. He believed in the cause. But, he went to lose the rest of himself after his heart was broken. Instead he finds himself and his heart through the people he meets and the challenges he overcomes.

The Aeronautby Bryan Young is a memoir style telling of a World War I adventure of fighting, romance, and espionage. Woven into the story are elements of steampunk to draw interest to the events, providing additional levels to the intrigue and suspense. I picked up a copy of The Aeronaut from the author at the League of Utah Writers (website) Spring into Books 2018 event for review purposes.

Plot

Robert Preston shares his story. He is The Aeronaut telling of his time being a member of the French Army. He joined their battle against the German forces because he knew it was the right thing to do and because he was heartbroken and believed he had nothing further to lose. What he didn’t count on was how much he had to gain.

As comrades in arms fighting for a common cause, Preston becomes friends with LeBeau, then, Renault, and eventually Sara. LeBeau and Renault are soldiers he meets on the lines of battle, while Sara is an English nurse Preston meets while recovering from wounds he sustained while becoming what many consider a hero.

The main part of The Aeronaut takes place after Preston and Sara meet. Their love grows but they are still a part of the war even though their feelings for each other give them some times of being apart from the war. But the war still rages, and Preston is still a soldier who is required to do his part.

Preston is recruited for a clandestine mission behind enemy lines. It is something he doesn’t want to do, but is physically the perfect man for the job. Being in a position of not being able to reject his assignment, Preston pushes forward.

Style

The Aeronaut is a first person memoir. Robert Preston is telling you his story. Included are his perceptions and feelings. Some are presented to be a little raw. There are scenes sharing the violence man can do against man, but not with horrific descriptions. As a memoir, the foreshadowing is well structured and is brought together nicely at the end.

The adding of steampunk elements allows for easier relatability with modern day readers. Instead of seeing the battle from a soldier climbing up over the wire to charge into no man’s land, there is the view of the battle from Preston as he uses his jetpack to jump forward, perform his part in the assault, then jump back over the contested zone of lingering death.

Steampunk adds to the story without overpowering it. Bryan Young creates a personal story and stays with it throughout The Aeronaut. The steampunk elements weave into his tale, supporting the story. I have read other works where the fantastical element become the mainstay, overpowering the characters and the main story arc. Here there is enough description to explain how and why the elements are there to support the story.

Overall

The Aeronaut is a well-structured war story. The point-of view allows for the sharing of not only the scenes that are taking place, but some of the personal turmoil the lead character goes through. It is known that Robert Preston survives, because it is his story. From early on in the telling you know there is more to the story than just surviving, which gives interest to continue reading to the end.

The level of description is good for adults and young adult readers. Experienced readers may find some of the events more easily predicted. However, that doesn’t take away from the solid storytelling. The details shows the author has a strong understanding of the historical events portrayed

The Aeronaut by Bryan Young is published by Silence in the Library Publishing (website).

I give The Aeronaut4 out 5.

About the Author

I’ve met Bryan Young at other writing events and know he also considered an expert concerning the Star Wars Universe and writes articles about historical events and items along with his other novels. You can find more about him at his author’s page, brianyoung fiction.com and on Twitter (@swankmotron)

You can find The Aeronaut on Amazon (link).

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Donn’s Hill by Caryn Larrinaga, Book Review

Donn’s Hill, by Caryn Larrinaga, is a wonderfully told, haunting tale of Mackenzie Clair. A women in her late twenties who decides she needs a new start, after returning from her father’s funeral and finding her boyfriend in bed with another women. Mac has fond memories of the town of Donn’s Hill, a place her mother took her every year for the Afterlife Festival. The memories gave her hope. A place to start a new life away from the one she hadn’t really wanted herself, but had become a part of by following her now ex-boyfriend, Josh, after graduating from college.

I was given a copy of Donn’s Hill by the author at a recent writers’ event sponsored by the League of Utah Writers (website) for review purposes. Donn’s Hill received the award of Silver Quill from the League of Utah Writers in the Adult Book category and a finalist in The Dragon Awards for Horror category in 2017. Donn’s Hill and Caryn Larrinaga deserves both of these honors.

Plot

Donn’s Hill was a peaceful place from Mackenzie’s past. It was where she had happy memories of a time when it was her and her mother. She didn’t know her dad then, only after her mom passed away did she meet him. Now that her father had also passed away, and other parts of Mac’s life fell apart, she wanted a new start. She wanted a peaceful place.

Some townspeople remembered Mac’s mother and were quick to identify her because of their close physical resemblance. But her first greeting as she passed the town’s sign was a tortoiseshell cat. But, Striker, the cat, was not the first resident to seek out Mac.

While Mac works to create a new life for herself, she comes to understand she has the same gift her mother had, she’s psychic. And she is now an important part of solving a murder that happened before she arrived in town.

Style

Donn’s Hill is a great combination of mystery and the paranormal. The book is suitable for young adult readers with enough complexity for older readers. The location is well developed. The first person point of view lends itself to the telling, and the story elements are well handled.

Caryn Larrinaga does a wonderful job of creating the fictional location. The town of Donn’s Hill is known for its Afterlife Festival and its history of dealing with the supernatural. It is also listed as one of the most haunted locations in the states. With all of this going for it, the townspeople know truths about the supernatural that most people scoff at.

Mac tells her own story. Key points of her backstory are nicely interwoven with the events she’s now facing. This keeps the pace moving without bogging it down from an overload of details not important to the current situation.

Foreshadowing was given, an important aspect of mysteries, which helped build the story and deliver the climactic scene. The twist was still relevant without being overly exposed. Hardcore mystery readers will probably figure it out earlier, but it is still a fun read to see how Mac pulls the clues together.

Characters

There are great characters through Donn’s Hill. Mac has depth that is presented throughout the book. The characters are heroine interacts with have their own motivations as well. They are not stagnant characters as they move through the storyline on the sidelines of Macs activities. By the end of the book there are others who we have met that you will want to find out more about.

This is a good book to recommend for young adult readers. There are strong female characters throughout Donn’s Hill. We start by meeting Mackenzie, but along with her we have Penelope Bishop, the Deputy Mayor, Dr. Lee, the town veterinarian, Kit Dyedov, a new friend, Gabrielle, owner of the Nine Lives Book Exchange and old friend of Mac’s mom, and Deputy Wallace. These reminded me of women in my own life and it was good getting to know them.

The portrayal of Striker was a fun interlude between the points of tension. Anyone who’s had a close pet knows how they sense the mood of the people around them. Caryn uses Striker as a great counterbalance to relieve tension in the story, which pets naturally do.

Overall

Donn’s Hill was a good read that kept me interested. I quickly went through the 328 pages and was left thinking about what comes next for Mackenzie Clair.

The story is strong and has emphasizes the mystery. The horror element is present in the use of the supernatural and in solving the mystery. Since it is about a murder, there are some details written in.

Characters are alive and personable. They have depth even when they only come to the page a few times.

I look forward to reading more from Caryn Larrinaga (website).

I rate Donn’s Hill5 out of 5.

Donn’s Hill is available from Immortal Works (website).

Donn's Hill is available on Amazon (link).

About the Author (from the book)

Caryn Larrinaga is a Basque-American mystery, horror, and fantasy writer living in Utah with her husband and cats. Despite obtaining a degree in Anthropology (which is much cooler that you might think), she explored several career paths before deciding that she had to follow her passion. Suddenly, writing fiction was the only thing that made sense.

Watching scary movies through split fingers terrified Caryn as a child and inspires her to write now. She lives in a 90-year-old house with a colorful history, and the creaking walls and narrow hallways send her running (never walking) up the stairs from her basement whenever she has no other choice but to go down there. Exploring her fears through writing makes Caryn feel a little bit less foolish for wanting a buddy to accompany her into the tool shed.

When her fingers aren’t glued to her laptop keyboard, Caryn also enjoys binge-watching superhero television shows, reading, playing video games, and filling up her phone’s flash memory with pictures of her cats. She loves music, and plays the bass guitar.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Dead Shack, Movie Review Screened at FilmQuest 2017

Dead Shack is a horror/comedy/young adult (YA) movie with the tropes you've come to expect. It takes place in a cabin in the woods and there are zombies. There is the smart aleck younger brother. There are teenagers who save the day, and along the way they deal with some of their own teenager problems. There is humor which would push it to a PG level, and there is language, which would take it to an R rating. These elements combined to present a solid story, but none of them stood out to grab me.

That is because, Dead Shack is a YA horror film. The expected layers of a YA story are present. There are teenagers who, because of their familial situations, are socially struggling. They encounter a situation they bring to the adults. The adults don't believe the outlandish story, and then are unable to do anything about the problem. With a little luck and ingenuity, the youth come up with a plan bringing them through the experience. By the end the teens are changed, presumably for the better.

The Characters and Acting Are Solid

Each character in Dead Shack was their own person and the portrayals of the characters were enjoyable because personalities didn't break. Fitting into the YA setup is the tough sister, Summer (Lizzie Boys), her smart aleck brother, Colin (Gabriel LaBelle), and his friend Jason (Matthew Nelson-Mahood) who allows himself to be pushed around and likes Summer. The three are on a camping trip to a cabin in the woods by the sibling's dad (Donavon Stinson) along with his latest girlfriend (Valerie Tian). The kids go exploring and see the neighbor (Lauren Holly) feeding her family, who happen to be zombies.

The Plot is Young Adult

In a horror film I expect to see characters get killed. Some of them you want to see get it, while others are rooted for to make it through to the end. After the initial introduction to are main characters I was fairly confident of who was going to make it through and who wasn't. And those expectations were met.

I found the plot to be predictable because it fit into the YA format. I talked with others who were in the screening and they had different thoughts about the predictability of Dead Shack. They felt there were unexpected turns that kept them guessing till the end. The main point of enjoyment for them was the teenagers solving the situation.

The humor in the movie goes along with the genre. There are some funny situations and the commentary from Colin is a typical teenage boy who has few restraints.

Dead Shack also has some heart to it. Even with the dysfunctionality of the family, they are still family and they are going to do what needs to be done. This theme was carried through from beginning to end giving the movie coherence.

Overall

Dead Shack is a good movie for spending some time with. There is nothing overly gross or disturbing. A couple of scenes come close—it is still a horror movie—there is some flesh eating and hammer bashing.

The YA format in books and movies is strong right now and Dead Shack is a solid representation of the genre.

I saw Dead Shack at FilmQuest2017 in Provo, Utah. It is currently on the film festival circuit.

Dead Shack was shot and made in Canada.

Director: Peter Ricq

Writers: Phil Ivanusic, and Peter Ricq

Length: 82 Minutes

I give it a score of 3 out of 5, a solid movie

Originally published by Utah Geek Magazine.

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