Cobra Talon by Patrick Sydor

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MWSA Review

Cobra Talon is a compelling look into the Vietnam era through the experience of an author who was there with the US Air Force as a combat security policeman. Vietnam era—but not Vietnam: Like many Air Force personnel at the time, author Patrick Sydor served in Thailand, where excessive eating, too much drinking, and drug use leading to addiction was commonplace. The characters are well drawn, but the narrative doesn't leave out the lives lost and frightening battles engaged in, including the rescue attempt on USS Mayaguez, a real American container ship that had been seized by the Cambodian Khmer Rouge in May 1975. Pop culture references such as this serve to add the "historical" to the genre historical fiction.

One of the centerpieces of this true-to-life wartime narrative are the counterpoints in main character Nick Parker's love life. Professed as a Christian and in love with his girlfriend back home, Nick eventually succumbs to the classic military-in-Thailand lifestyle, including a local girlfriend with whom he's also in love and an affection for
recreational drugs. This creates a dissonance in his emotions that results in him dividing his love in two directions with no clear way home. Once he's injured in battle and sent home as a medical casualty, his decision is made for him. But a reader wonders legitimately how it might have worked out differently if he'd stayed in Thailand longer.

This narrative will appeal to Vietnam veterans of any service, but most especially to Air Force vets of the time who served in Thailand. For the uninitiated, there is a comprehensive glossary in the back to demystify the liberal use of acronyms and ranks. All told, a good look at a dangerous time.

Review by Daniel Charles Ross (June 2020)
 

Author's Synopsis

A fictional thriller based on true events, Cobra Talon is an action-filled tale with many poignant moments detailing the effects of war on a young, idealistic, honor-driven man and the two women who love him.

Nick Parker is plunged into the unpublished war in Thailand following alongside the Vietnam War. His assignment: develop an effective defensive strategy for a CIA/USAF radar site, a job his immediate boss expected to take on. Hostility escalates between them as Nick refuses to give up his sarcastic humor in the face of his boss’s demands.

Off duty, Nick and his friends frequent the local culture for adventure and entertainment. As a Christian, Nick is faced with the demoralizing effects of extensive injuries and the ready availability of drugs and alcohol to get through his days. Then, one of his best friends, a man under his command, commits suicide. Nick is accused of murder.

Back home, his Sunday School teaching girlfriend longs to help him while a beautiful Thai educator is there by his side. He slips further away from his roots and ideals. The final blow comes when he’s drawn into the last horrific battle of the Vietnam War to emerge barely alive. Will he ever see any of his loved ones again?

ISBN/ASIN: B07XCR8ZLH
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 274

Rice Paddy Stew and Saigon Tea by Kerry Pardue

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MWSA Review

Rice Paddy Stew and Saigon Tea is a combination of verse and prose. The verse is extraordinary—heartbreaking in places, thoughtful in others. In its entirety, the book explores the impact of war that follows young soldiers home after the fighting is over, whether they are dead or alive when they make that journey. For example, the first poem, “A Brand New Day,” is determined and hopeful, ending with these lines:

“Today is a guide to build upon future days
I choose to respect life
I choose to be more loving and kind
I choose to be loving in word and deed
I choose to begin with changing me
I choose to be thankful for events in my life even PTSD
I choose by loving me.”

Certain lines make the reader smile, like in a poem called “Chris Jackson,” where the poet ponders what a friend might be doing now: “As I think of you in Heaven I know you will make the Angels blush and/St. Peter will shake his head when he hears them complain and/ All he can say is that Chris Jackson acting up again?”

There are stories about old vets and young, some who made it home and some who didn’t. Coming from a medic who tried to rescue them all, each battlefield loss is painful and the reader can feel the author’s ongoing personal connection with the many ghosts of war.

One poem is especially vivid. “In the Shadow of The Blade” is about a Huey Helicopter, #091. It begins: “We were soldiers brave and true/ Who rode upon you in our youth.” It ends with: “After fifty years it is time for both of us to rest/ We both know we did our best our story is finally complete/ For we are HOME at last.”

Other poems—like “Why Do the Good Ones Die So Young” or “Your Life Made a Difference to Me” or “Wrong Place at the Wrong Time”—make the reader put down the book for a moment and think about the ghosts who haunt this author. Perhaps the most poignant of all, “We Lost Another Corpsman/Medic Today,” will haunt his readers.

 Review by Joyce Faulkner (June 2020)

 

Author's Synopsis

After leaving the Army, he tried to put Vietnam behind and lead a normal life. Though he’d go on to be outwardly successful, on the inside he battled demons of anger, guilt, traumatic memories, and inability to trust, leading eventually to getting fired and other destroyed relationships. Almost forty years later, after a breakdown and PTSD diagnosis, Kerry began to examine his torment through writing. This book is the gripping story of his experience in Vietnam and how it shaped his life for decades to come.

Being a Medic in the Infantry isn't for the faint of heart. Gunfights and medivacs are daily activities. Every decision means life or death in the heat of combat. Follow along as Doc Pardue recalls his combat tour with the U.S. Army's 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam

His journey is one of hope that help did come from many sources, the VA, his writing, going to group with other medics and corpsmen, and actively serve medic and corpsmen in leadership roles in their organizations.  He found that his service was honorable, that he did much to relieve the pain and suffering of those that he served with that were wounded. He saved lives and he held the hands of those that did not make it helping them to cross over death’s portal.

ISBN/ASIN: ASIN: B08787WG6V,  ISBN-13: 978-1477414989,  ISBN-10: 1477414983
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Poetry—Poetry Book
Number of Pages: 278

Student, Sailor, Skipper, Survivor - How WWII Transformed the Lives of Ordinary Americans by Julia Gimbel

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MWSA Review

Author Julia Gimbel took her father's draft, an unpublished memoir, and expanded on it to give us her interesting book Student, Sailor, Skipper, Survivor. Her father, Robert T. McCurdy, was in college when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and like so many of his peers volunteered to join the military to help his country win the war. As a college student, he had the opportunity to enlist as an officer in the Navy. He took advantage of that and never regretted his choice. McCurdy served on a landing craft tank (LCT) in the Pacific, transporting men and equipment on and off the islands. Many of the men he returned to the larger ships were injured. McCurdy survived the war, and after a while, he began to jot down his memories of the war years. While author Gimbel's discovery of her father's memoir and war years correspondence served as the inspiration to write this book, once she got started, she realized she needed to expand her research. She researched military archives and talked to more World War Two survivors. This book is not about major military victories or the feats of heroes. Rather it takes a look at the common sailor and what life was like so far from home and so close to death. It's a good book that I recommend. 

Review by Bob Doerr (May 2020)

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Author's Synopsis

Student, Sailor, Skipper, Survivor goes beyond the often-told battle stories to describe the life experiences shared by millions of Americans serving during WWII. Using her late father's journal as the framework, researcher and author Julia Gimbel fleshes out what it was like to go through accelerated officer training, set sail, and live life at sea during the tumultuous war years.

Step into the shoes of one sailor and, by extension, millions more to catch a whiff of the American spirit and determination of WWII. Learn how young Americans navigated military life and connected with their new brothers over the simple pleasure of a meal or a smoke, all while keeping their eye on the goal of returning home to resume the life they put on hold.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1645381068
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Review Genre: Nonfiction—History
Number of Pages: 307

House de Gracie by Dennis Maulsby

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MWSA Review

Dennis Maulsby’s House de Gracie is an excellent mix of fantasy fiction and military action that will leave the reader wanting more.

Hugh de Gracie is a worn out, half-blind, shot up military officer who is out of the Army because of his injuries. He doesn’t have long to live, and so he returns to the family mansion to live out his remaining days. While home, he learns two important things. First, being home has completely cured him of any illness, and second, he has started a blood feud with the family of terrorists he killed when escaping Taliban activity. As he learns more of his family history, he realizes that the timelines don’t make sense. His father should be MUCH older than he looks. More and more, as Hugh learns that things are not what they seem, he is hurtling down a path of reckoning with a Muslim fanatic that will see much bloodshed by both families.

While I am not a fan of fantasy fiction, I am a fan of military fiction, and I love how Maulsby weaves both together to create one of the most unique stories I have ever read. The story seems perfectly plausible, even though it shatters the normal boundaries of time and the human relationship with nature. It’s very well done, and a fun read besides. I am absolutely hoping for a sequel!

Review by Rob Ballister (June 2020)

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Author's Synopsis

After ten years in the U.S. Army, Major Hugh de Gracie returns to the five-hundred-year-old family mansion in New York's Adirondack Mountains. A terminal bat-borne disease caught in Afghanistan gives him very little time to reconcile with a family he rejected a decade ago. Only his pending death provides a powerful enough reason to bring him back into an isolated Gothic household of many secrets. His family and their residence -- in both mind and flesh -- are more intimately intertwined than Hugh can possibly imagine.

The illness is not the full extent of his problems. An implacable Taliban enemy made on the battlefield will attempt to destroy him, his family, and his house. Supported by wealthy Saudi interests, the enemy will force a climactic battle on his front lawn.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN: 978-1-945663-27-7, ASIN: B0843S5X5C
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Horror/Fantasy/Sci Fi
Number of Pages: 315

Saigon Summer: Corruption & Murder During/After the Tet Offensive 1968 by Robert M. Pacholik

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Author's Synopsis

“SAIGON SUMMER: Corruption and Murder During/After the Tet Offensive 1968” is a fictionalized account of real events during the nine months and three phases of the Tet Offensive, in South Vietnam.

During and after Tet, five military photo/journalists covered the war in the rice paddies, the cities, the mountains and highlands, and all across the Mekong Delta. While fighting raged, these same enlisted men discovered that Black Marketeers based on the Saigon Docks, were stealing and selling 45 tons monthly of uniforms, weapons, equipment and supplies, GI socks, ammunition, vehicles, MOGAS and AVGAS to both sides for obscene profits.

Tasked to photograph and report about the war, these young men saw US military infantry and support units starved of equipment, and infantry men dying because of the stolen goods. Two of the five set out to find out who is running this corrupt operation, how it works, and expose it to the two major Commands that ran the US effort in Vietnam. (namely MACV, and USARV).

Through the prism of a Public information Office on the Saigon Docks, we see both US military officers and non-com sergeants who operate the Black Market on a day-to-day basis. These active-duty men censor, distort, and destroy evidence of the operation run by four American military men.

Photo/Reporters endure terrifying firefights, monsoon rainstorms, rancid mud and insects, and hardened VC/NVA troops daily. Their work is censored and distorted to show that things are going well, despite facts to the contrary. As time passes, these “photo guys” find stolen American goods in every part of the country. And a steady expansion of further Black Market activities into all four tactical zone of Vietnam, is in the works.

They also find out about phantom ships delivering non-existent AVGAS to pipelines that don’t exist, from ports that have no record of these ships ever arriving. All to enrich these insulated “Four Horsemen.”

The enlisted men are subject to (Article 15) discipline, bogus charges and trumped-up Courts Martial charges, and repeated daily harassment and physical abuse to, “go along/to get along.”

Murders follow in the path of Black Market expansion, and men on both sides fall victim to “stop at all costs, or terminate them,” and keep the Black Market ‘pipeline’ running at full speed.

You will not like SAIGON SUMMER, but every detail of this story is true, based on personal accounts and eyewitness testimony. Evil flourished in Saigon in 1968.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN#  978-0-988-1773-5-2       (for E-book)
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 210

Plans That Made God Laugh by James Allen

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MWSA Review

Captain James "Bluto" Allen, USN (Ret), has had a heck of a life. His earliest dream had always been to live that life in the air as a Naval Aviator (think "Top Gun"), and except for his unshakable Christian faith and a powerful, military-grade level of personal determination, Life itself might have veered him onto a different course. Only an inability to quit chasing his dreams is ultimately responsible for his success, and this is fully debriefed in Plans That Made God Laugh.

Emerging from an early family situation that moved him around in a military lifestyle (his father flew B-52s), Allen prospered in college and flight school, which is not to say it was easy. Indeed, Allen makes it very clear that military aviation is hard, sometimes made harder when his problems weren't his fault. A minor sketchy eye exam kept him from flying front seat in the Navy's then-premier air superiority jet fighter, the F-14 Tomcat, but he was still able to get the back seat as a naval flight officer.

The memoir is a telling narrative that, yes, details his life and times, career set-backs and progressions, and happy times and less happy times. But more than anything, Allen's faith in God and in himself overcame every obstacle until after his active Navy days, he became a civilian airline pilot at the age of 47. The tale begins a bit slowly, with the usual early years depictions of family and college life. But the story, while not a thriller, soon accelerates like an EA-6B Prowler launching hard off the bow catapult.

The phrase "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans" is attributed to movie director and comedian Woody Allen, not believed to be Captain Allen's relation. But author Allen has managed to keep his good humor and optimistic outlook throughout a readable memoir—and a life—distinguished both by his faith and by his extraordinary service.

Recommended—and a must-read for military aviators.

Review by Daniel Charles Ross (June 2020)

 

Author's Synopsis

“If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” 

My plan: As long as I can remember, I wanted to fly. 

From humble beginnings in Kansas, to flying as a back-seater in a Navy carrier-based jet, to flying big spy planes and training airplanes, I forged my own path.

After many crushing defeats and unexpected victories, and combat experiences in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, I finally realized my dream of flying as a commercial airline pilot at age 47.

Plans that Made God Laugh is my story.  I’m the little guy with the big dream.

It’s an example of what you can do, with God's help, if you put your mind to it.

ISBN/ASIN: B0864YJWXB
Book Format(s): Kindle
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography
Number of Pages: 475

Caribbean Cabal by Hugh Simpson

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MWSA Review

Caribbean Cabal by Hugh Simpson is an action-packed, full-throated adventure story that is fast-paced and engaging. Since this is the second book in a series, it would have been helpful to have a quick summary of the story arc from the first Hap Stoner book at the beginning. If you hadn't read it, it was confusing as to how all the main characters got together and knew one another and the back story that they constantly refer to. Once you get beyond that, the story moves along well. The overall plot and the execution of the story line is a little unlikely in that all the cascading events in the story would emerge and pile on one another; but what the heck: it's fiction, and anything goes. It’s a good story to take to your den, curl up in your favorite chair, pour some Jameson over ice, and then engage in this boisterous and escapist adventure.

Review by Phil Keith (July 2020)

Author's Synopsis

A ruthless Central American President wants it. And he's willing to play a dangerous game of geopolitical chess with Russia and China to get it. Former LtCol Hap "Kang" Stoner owes his life to Will Kellogg and Will Kellogg owes a dangerous international banker millions of dollars. Hap and Will know where the Nazi gold cache is hidden, and they'll take every imaginable risk to seize control of it first. Russia, China, a Central American President bent on expanding his power throughout Latin and South America, collide with hap Stoner's gritty team of warriors.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-949393-04-0,978-1-949393-03-3
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 467

Alter Road by Mark James

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MWSA Review

Alter Road by Mark James is described by the author as a political thriller. The title refers to the road that is a border between troubled Detroit and wealthy Gross Pointe.

The 1967 Detroit riots lasted five days in the heat of the summer. The seven days of riot described in this book, set in a brutally cold winter in Detroit, were sparked by power shut-offs for non-payment, which led to many fires as residents tried to heat with dangerous gas heaters. The effects of the conditions leading up to various actions and to the riots are described from multiple viewpoints: students at Wayne State, various gangs, militia, politicians, CID, and the U.S. Army. The backdrop of the riots is critical to the story—significant unemployment, decreasing city budgets which affected infrastructure as well as the number of police available, and the huge number of abandoned homes and businesses. The death of a popular retired school teacher and her family provided the spark to set off the riots that spread to several neighborhoods and other cities in Michigan. Criminals took advantage of the chaos to kill members of other gangs, and some were smart enough to avoid any area that was being photographed by the media, knowing that after the rioters were controlled, law enforcement could use that footage. The Army’s massive numbers, equipment, and organization were finally needed to end the riots. All in all, a very disturbing examination.

Review by Nancy Kauffman (May 2020)

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Author's Synopsis

After decades of deindustrialization, economic decline, income inequality, and political polarization, parts of America are a tinderbox.  In Detroit, the match is lit when the local power company routinely shuts off the electricity of households behind in their monthly payments even in the midst of an unusually brutal winter.  Thousands of households resort to portable gas and kerosene heaters, causing a spike in house fires and fire-related deaths. Following the death of a popular retired school teacher and her family, massive protests erupt.  An underfunded and undermanned police department is quickly overwhelmed, and the U.S. Army is deployed. Welcomed at first by exasperated residents, the Army soon finds itself navigating internecine conflicts, an international refugee crisis, and failing infrastructure.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-948035-41-5, 978-1-948035-42-2, B086DS52G1
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle, Audiobook
Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 302

Spycraft: Essentials by Bayard and Holmes

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MWSA Review

For nearly six decades Mad Magazine featured “Spy V. Spy” as a popular feature. Piper Bayard and Jay Holmes bring these fictional antics into real life. As a source for spy novel writers, Spycraft: Essentials, reveals the not so humorous, but “real stuff” antics of spying. Backgrounds on various intelligence agencies and their interactions, along with insider-revealed unknowns are divulged. Knowledge from an experienced operative with over forty years inside is shared (but not the spy-writer’s real name) in this 276-page book. Revealed are tradecraft techniques; information about who spies and spooks are as people; the life they may lead depending on their roles and tools of the trade; and how they live (or die) in some incredibly special circumstances.

Writers wanting help with their characters and actions—even including details on weapons and their use—may want to refer to this book. Sidebars include: Conflict Alert, Side Notes, Bottom Line, Writing Tips, Pro Tips, and astute quotes by co-author, Jay Holmes. One of the two Mad Magazine cartoon characters, according to the authors’ definition, would appropriately be called a “spook.” The spook, of course, being on the good side. Spycraft: Essentials is an interesting read, churning ideas in the espionage-genre writer’s mind for their next (or first) spy story.

Review by Tom Beard (May 2020)

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Author's Synopsis

What do the main intelligence agencies do and where do they operate? How do they recruit personnel? What are real life honey pots and sleeper agents? What about truth serums and enhanced interrogations? And what are the most common foibles of popular spy fiction?

With the voice of over forty years of experience in the Intelligence Community, Bayard & Holmes answer these questions and share information on espionage history, firearms of spycraft, tradecraft techniques, and the personalities and personal challenges of the men and women behind the myths.

Though crafted with advice and specific tips for writers, Spycraft: Essentials is for anyone who wants to learn more about the inner workings of the Shadow World.

“Bayard & Holmes have done readers and writers of the espionage genre a great service. . . . From novices to experts, I suspect everyone will find something in this book that they did not know before.”

~ Doug Patteson
Film Technical Advisor and Former CIA Operations Officer

"Bayard and Holmes have done the unprecedented: crafted a fully informative, while wholly unclassified, overview on American spycraft with a special focus on preparing novelists for realistic scene writing. Spycraft: Essentials delivers solid, valuable information as a comprehensive primer on how the Intelligence Community really operates. It is a must-read for all involved Americans."

~ Rob DuBois
Retired US Navy SEAL and NSA Collector

“As a writer, I’m always looking for those books that open my eyes to the shadowy ways the world truly works. I found just such a resource in the insightful, well-researched, and oftentimes humorous book by Bayard and Holmes, Spycraft: Essentials. For any author, this is the new bible for crafting stories of espionage. It’s also perfect for anyone who wants to know the lengths nations will go to keep or steal secrets and the methods they will use to do so. This is a bombshell of a book.”

~ James Rollins
New York Times Bestselling Author of The Last Odyssey

ISBN/ASIN: 978-0991569212, 978-0991569250
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle, ePub/iBook
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Reference
Number of Pages: 300

Obsessed by Joseph Badal

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MWSA Review

Obsessed by Joe Badal is an apt title for this rip-roaring second book in the Curtis Chronicles series. It is a perfect one-word adjective for the main “bad guy” who was introduced in book one of the Curtis Chronicles. But the adjective might also apply to more than one of the other fascinating characters you’ll meet in this book.

Taking up where we left off in The Motive, we are reacquainted with Lonnie Jackson, a truly evil person, who will stop at nothing to get his revenge. However, in Obsessed, there is more than one person obsessed to some degree about killing one or more of the other characters.  In fact, more than once, killers find themselves waiting in line for their turn to rid themselves of their adversaries. 

Badal carefully crafts an ever-increasing level of suspense leading up to an abrupt surprise ending. There are plenty of bodies strewn across the pages of Badal’s latest thriller, but they probably won’t end up being the bodies the reader or the book’s players might have expected. To find out what it all means, you’ll have to pick up your own copy of Obsessed and see how obsessively you’ll flip the pages and then anxiously wait for the next installment.

Review by John Cathcart (May 2020) 

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Author's Synopsis

A world-class thriller with non-stop, heart-pounding tension and action, “Obsessed” brings back Matt Curtis and Renee Drummond and their villainous nemesis, Lonnie Jackson. This second installment in Joseph Badal’s The Curtis Chronicles takes the reader from Rio de Janeiro to the mountains of New Mexico to the Mexico/United States border, following a crazed Jackson on his single-minded quest for revenge against the two people he blames for the deaths of his mother and brother and for the destruction of his criminal empire in Hawaii.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN 978-1987559354, ASIN B07BRFQ9QT
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 373

Dark Angel by Joseph Badal

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MWSA Review

The dynamic duo returns in Dark Angel, Joseph Badal’s latest book in his Lassiter/Martinez Case Files series, and they do not disappoint.

Barbara Lassiter and Susan Martinez, having been promoted to detective sergeant rank in the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department of Violent Crimes/Homicide Squad, are handed a mysterious murder case. A child killer with a long record, released because of a corrupted chain of evidence, is discovered dead—stripped naked with a 14-inch tent peg embedded in his chest. No fingerprints, no body fluids, no hair, no evidence of the assailant are found at the crime scene, and to make circumstances more unusual, the cause of death was not the tent peg. And, so it begins.

Lassiter and Martinez follow the breadcrumbs, and the trail leads to similar unsolved cases. Soon, they realize that a vigilante-style serial killer is on the loose—the victims all outsmarted the legal system and avoided punishment. The plot becomes more complicated when they stumble onto an active FBI investigation.

Badal’s tale has all the essentials: suspense, tension, and excitement. The language is colorful and details vivid. His memorable characters are well developed, sympathetic, complex, and credible.

Dark Angel will keep readers “on the edge of their seats,” devouring page after page until the end.

Review by Sandi Cathcart (June 2020)

 Author's Synopsis

In “Dark Angel,” the second in the Lassiter/Martinez Case Files series, Detectives Barbara Lassiter and Susan Martinez pick up where they left off in “Borderline.” Assigned to a murder case, they discover that their suspect is much more than a one-off killer. In fact, the murderer appears to be a vigilante hell-bent on taking revenge against career criminals who the criminal justice system has failed to punish.

But Lassiter and Martinez are soon caught up in the middle of an FBI investigation of a monstrous home invasion gang that has murdered dozens of innocent victims across the United States. When they discover a link between their vigilante killer and the home invasion crew, they come into conflict with powerful men in the FBI who are motivated more by career self-preservation than by bringing justice to innocent victims.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN 978-1542366595, ASIN B01NCQBZ93, Audio B07W6J3CQ3, Audio/CD ISBN-13 978-1094068671
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle, Audiobook
Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 340

Grandman Dean goes Big Shopping by Warren Martin, and Star Huddleston - Illustrator, Karen Tucker - Editor

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MWSA Review

Grandman Dean Goes Big Shopping by Warren Martin is a lovely story about a grandfather who loves to spend time shopping with his grandson. The adventures are made special by the names they have for each other and for their adventurous outings. The book is completed with a companion coloring book, a wonderful opportunity for a child to work with pictures, colors, and numbers. The illustrations in both books are charming and appealing to old and young alike.  

Review by Nancy Panko (April 2020)

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Author's Synopsis

Join Pop Pop and his Grandman Dean as they spend the day together and go Big Shopping.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN 978-0-9854727-4-0    ASIN: B084DKMB36
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Review Genre: Children & Young Adult—Picture Book
Number of Pages: 34

Enchantment Book 3 in the Maagy Series by Virginia Stringer

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MWSA Review

Author Virginia Burton Stringer has spun a fascinating story for the young adult reader in her book Enchantment, Book 3 of the Maagy Series. This book starts off on Princess Maagy's sixteenth birthday, the day Maagy's father, the king, can finally tell her the truth behind her mother's murder years earlier. On this day, Maagy also learns of her true heritage and the dangerous destiny in front of her. She is bewildered and upset with the knowledge but soon realizes the path she needs to follow. She and friend Mary apply to the Academy to become knights, and the two are the first females to be accepted into it. The Academy tests their strength, knowledge, and determination. In her struggles, she realizes that she is developing into a young woman with emotions and a temper that she will have to better control. No challenge, however, is greater than the one she faces when her father is kidnapped. I recommend this book.

Review by Bob Doerr (June 2020)

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Author's Synopsis

Princess Maagy has had some great adventures and a few harrowing moments in her life, but none compares to what King Henry reveals to her in the forbidden east tower on her sixteenth birthday. The greatest unknown in Maagy’s life has been her mother Queen Melania, but her father’s refusal to talk about his wife has left Maagy with a growing rage. Now, to find out the truth about what really happened to Queen Melania brings that anger to the surface causing a rift in the idyllic father/daughter relationship. Maagy’s rebellion turns her stubborn determination toward becoming a soldier against King Henry’s strong objections. Maagy has always been intrigued by her own striking resemblance to the warrior woman in a portrait at Whitmore Estate, but no one seems to know her identity. However, it is obvious to Maagy that she is an ancestor. Little does Maagy know the significance of the portrait, the woman in it, or how her life will change when she takes hold of the mysterious blue crystal and discovers she is the Chosen One. Once again, Maagy’s life is cast into turmoil, as her path twists and turns in directions neither she nor King Henry could predict. Maagy’s destiny was sealed centuries before her birth with foreboding incantations and curses spoken out of revenge. A sapphire amulet, glowing rubies, and the Sword of Aradin are her inheritance from the past and are the keys to her future.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-4808-4911-2
Book Format(s): Soft cover, ePub/iBook
Review Genre: Children & Young Adult—Young Adult (fiction or non-fiction)
Number of Pages: 421

Combat To College by John Davis

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MWSA Review

There are many issues that veterans have when they leave the military and decide to go forward and pursue higher education. Combat to College is the perfect companion to take with you to assist you in that learning journey. I could relate to some of those many issues because I went back to college when I got out of the Army, was married, and had two children. Even though this book is aimed at today's veterans, I still could relate, decades later!

Author John Davis gives many personal examples of how he felt and, more importantly, how he handled it. He shares his feelings about professors/teachers who have a different view of the world and life than veterans may have. I felt that he realistically covered that issue and others with sound intelligent advice.

If one is looking for a guidebook for transitioning to college, then this is your needed how-to-do-it manual. It will prepare you emotionally and aid your college experience. I recommend this book as a great gift to yourself—or others who are going from combat to college! Great reference book!

 Review by Bill McDonald (April 2020)

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Author's Synopsis

Combat To College is the book for veterans who want to win the college battle. Veterans must utilize the unique skills and discipline gained in the military to succeed in higher education. Your experiences make you capable of not only graduating but creating the life you want after military service. When veterans get out of the military, their plan of action often determines whether they live out their dreams or their nightmares. How well you do in college often dictates how well you do in life. Rise up to your potential and navigate college with these straightforward lessons. Maintain your military bearing, confidence and unwavering determination into your next chapter. Make your college success non-negotiable, you earned your GI Bill and it's time to grit your teeth and use it.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-0-578-66338-8
Book Format(s): Softcover, Kindle
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Reference
Number of Pages: 149

The Hidden Sphinx: A Tale of World War II Egypt by Zita Steele

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MWSA Review

Author Zita Steele has given us a delightful story of suspense and romance in her book, The Hidden Sphinx, A Tale of World War II Egypt. Steele sets the story in and around Cairo during the early part of the war, and effectively weaves into her book the ancient history and landmarks of the region. The story's two protagonists meet in Cairo: Major Frost, the no-nonsense British Army investigator, and Eve Weathers, an American journalist. The two work together to find the murderer of a British officer. The trail leads them throughout the Egyptian desert, in and out of several ruins, and has them on a hunt, not only for the murderer, but also for a cursed, ancient embalming knife. Their chase takes them into conflict with German soldiers, various tomb raiders, and deserters from both sides of the conflict. With wisps of the supernatural always dancing around the edges of the story, Eve and Frost still find time to fall in love. The question is, will either survive to the end of the story? I recommend this book. 

Review by Bob Doerr (April 2020)

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Author's Synopsis

Egypt, 1942. War rages in the Western Desert. As a series of murders and tomb robberies plague the British Army, ruthless and daring Major Desmond Frost is called to investigate. His path leads him straight into the arms of fiery young American woman Eve, who captures his heart as he unlocks a mystery surrounding tomb raids, an ancient haunted dagger, and a renegade German Afrika Korps ranger. The darkness pits him against a Nazi spree killer and the East London leader of “Commando Group Sphinx,” elite Special Forces troopers gone rogue.

ISBN/ASIN: B07YS2SMCQ, 1941184294, 978-1941184295
Book Format(s): Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 351

Micah by Glenn Starkey

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MWSA Review

Micah, by Glenn Starkey is a novel based on the history of human/ape experiments in the Soviet Union in the early decades of the 1900s. Yuri Grechiko, a member of the state secret police—roughly equivalent to the SS in Nazi Germany—provided his sperm to the scientist who wanted to “mix” it with sperm from a great ape, and then impregnate slave-labor woman with the concoction…all geared to creating a super-race of warriors for Stalin.

After the scientist artificially inseminates women, Yuri has a change of heart and leads them out of bondage. He lives with two of them in the mountains, and each one gives birth to a human/ape hybrid. One female child (Alexsa) and one male (Micah). Yuri is their father, at least in part, though their mothers were different.

Both Alexsa and Micah are half-siblings but maintain a marital relationship. They live in a cave, sequestered from humans. Their father made sure they were educated, and most of the time they behave as humans, although they look like apes. Both Micah and Alexsa struggle with being neither fully ape nor completely human.

The story focuses mostly on the relationship between Micah and his father, Yuri, and reaches a climax when an encroaching secret police patrol with a butchering leader destroys their anonymity. Then, a terrible injustice is committed. Micah decides the only way to avenge the injustice is to allow his animal side to dominate him.

There are some scenes of extreme violence, including rape.

Many chapters alternate between the years the experiments were conducted in the 1920s and the years when Micha and Alexa have grown up in the 1940s. It is a nice way to handle the past as it relates to the present within the story.

It’s an interesting read, with the main character—Micah—struggling to exist in two worlds. The reader will come to love him.

Glenn Starkey writes in an easy-to-read style. Short chapters, with thoughtful or cliff-hanger endings, invite the reader to turn the page.

Review by Patricia Walkow (April 2020)

Author's Synopsis

1926, Russia. Red Terror has reigned for years with secret police, forced labor camps, and executions now a part of everyday life. Dr. Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov is obsessed with creating a human-ape hybrid and it drives him to horrific ends. Stalin's support and desire for inhuman super soldiers provides fuel for Ivanov's shocking experiments. When Yuri Grechiko, a member of the state secret police, falls in love with Sonia, a human experiment from a labor camp, he risks it all by fleeing with her and others to freedom on the Ural Mountains. There a boy and girl are born, neither human nor ape. An experiment that the mad scientist Ivanov never knew had succeeded. But Yuri's past returns to haunt him. As Stalin's secret police climb the mountains Yuri's world is brutally shattered. From the horror of shocking experiments and devastating civil wars comes Micah, a gentle forest giant. The mountains will tremble as he seeks his retribution.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-54399-576-3, 978-1-54399-577-0
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 202

Still Come Home by Katey Schultz

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MWSA Review

Katey Schultz weaves a story of three people's lives using an Afghanistan War thread. The reader finds Aaseya, Nathan, and Rahim not happy with their circumstances. It's easy to understand Aaseya's dismay after all members of her family are murdered. Forced at fourteen years old to marry Rahim, she is unable to have children. She is shamed by Rahim's family and villagers. Prevented from completing her education, her life is at a dead end.

The reader is not told why—after six years in the Army National Guard and completing his fourth deployment—Nathan remains a second lieutenant. He loves leading his men. His men are loyal to him. The mission is paramount. Nathan's unhappiness stems from following orders which he does not fully understand. Lamenting the loss of his men haunts Nathan as he questions his actions in combat. Nathan's battlefield focus is interrupted with thoughts of home and family.

Rahim presents himself as a brick maker. He is paid by the Taliban warlords for his services. He resents Aaseya's independence and yearns for a family. He does not like the Taliban but enjoys the money working with them brings. There are no other opportunities for Rahim in his village.

Supporting characters bring Schultz's story to life. Rahim's sidekick Badria believes he is a worthy warrior and wants to please the Taliban. Rahim's sister Shanaz is scornful of Aaseya and was instrumental in Aaseya's family being targeted by the Taliban.

Nathan's men, each quirky in their own way, have their own problems to overcome. Nathan's wife Tenley and daughter Cissy move in and out of the story, letting Nathan explore the love of what he does on the battlefield and the love he craves at home.

Ghazel, age six, a mute unkempt street urchin, gives hope to Aaseya. Aaseya sees a way out of her miserable life by adopting Ghazel. Ghazel is the glue that brings Aaseya and Rahim together. This family unit allows Nathan to do something he feels good about in his quest to find meaning on the battlefield. Helping Aaseya's family escape to a better life brings purpose to Nathan's life. Nathan returns home and finds the love that is waiting for him.

 Review by Frank Taylor (May 2020)

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Author's Synopsis

When the odds are stacked against you, doing everything right still might not be enough to protect yourself and the ones you love. The three characters in Katey Schultz’s novel are each searching for the best way to be, the best way to live—all the while fighting cultural, societal, and political forces far beyond their control. As their paths intersect over the span of three days, Still Come Home explores how their decisions will forever alter each other’s lives.

 Aaseya, an ambitious, educated Afghan girl, struggles to walk the line between social disgrace and faith that her hometown of Imar can unharden and heal. Though she cannot bear her older husband, Rahim, a child, and she suspects her sister-in-law played a part in her family’s murder, Aaseya maintains self-reliance and dignity by rebelling against the misogyny and violence surrounding her.

Second Lieutenant Nathan Miller blames himself for the death of a soldier under his command and worries that his constant absence from his North Carolina home has permanently damaged his marriage. 

When Rahim learns that the Taliban, whom he reluctantly works for, are hatching a violent plan, conflicting loyalties to country, to enduring peace, and to his young wife take all three down a road that will change their lives forever.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1627202312
Book Format(s): Hard cover, Soft cover, Kindle, ePub/iBook
Review Genre: Fiction—Literary Fiction
Number of Pages: 250

Under Fire with ARVN Infantry by Bob Worthington

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MWSA Review

Bob Worthington’s Under Fire with ARVN Infantry: Memoir of a Combat Advisor in Vietnam 196 – 1967 is a must-read memoir for those seeking to understand America’s involvement with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam at the tactical level during the early war years. Written with humility, honesty, and keen self-reflection, Worthington’s writing is absent much of the bravado or exaggeration found in many military memoirs. Instead, readers will find an honest assessment of American and South Vietnamese soldiers as Worthington saw them at the company and battalion level. His later life as a psychologist and journalism professor is evident in the writing and analysis present.  

Review by Tim Heck (May 2020)

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Author's Synopsis

From 1945 to 1973, more than 100,000 members of the US military were advisors in Vietnam. Worthington's first tour (1966-67) as a combat advisor began with training at the US Army Special Warfare School and then the Defense Language Institute for Vietnamese. In Vietnam he served as the senior advisor to Vietnamese infantry defense forces securing the city of DaNang and then an Army of the Republic of Vietnam infantry mobile reaction battalion. He worked alongside ARVN forces staging combat operations against Viet Cong and regular North Vietnamese units. He depicts an 8-day battle when his unit of 320 men made a night helicopter assault into a 1200-man NVA regiment. The NVA unit was destroyed but the ARVN suffered 45% casualties. Another night the Viet Cong stopped fighting so Worthington could arrange for a US helicopter medevac for a wounded VC baby. Training and fighting with ARVN Infantry are described as his combat advisors lived and fought with their Vietnamese counterparts.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-4766-7436-0, 978-1-4766-3444-9
Book Format(s): Soft cover, ePub/iBook
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography
Number of Pages: 232

A Lion's Share by Brad Graft

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MWSA Review

A Lion’s Share, Brotherhood of the Mamluks, Book Two by Brad Graft is a well written story of 13th Century Middle East warriors who are developed from abducted and enslaved nomadic youth into well trained and highly prized military units. The book is set during the 7th Crusade and is told from the perspective of three warriors who operate at different levels of the Egyptian Sultan’s army. Each man’s security is dependent upon the ability and the survival of the Sultan, for when one Sultan dies, his troops must find another home. There is much royal family in-fighting, which complicates the lives of their men. The Mamluks are well trained in the weaponry of their era as well as military tactics. The main characters are well developed and illuminate the world at the top, the middle, and the lower level of leadership. Weak leaders place not only themselves but also their troops in mortal danger. Rewards given by one Sultan may be taken away by a subsequent Sultan. With the death of a Sultan, rivalries between units cause further danger.

The three main characters are Leander, a former French Crusader with unusual linguistic skills; Cenk, a combat veteran who becomes adviser to the Mamluk Sultan who succeeds the beloved Sultan as-Salih; and Ox, a soldier who is often passed over for promotion. Viewing the events through each of the eyes offers a well-developed story.

Book Two includes not only wonderful maps of the region but also a striking cover that clearly shows the uniforms of the Crusaders and the Mamluks and Leander’s two military careers.

Those who have lived through basic training and the rigors of military life will relate to the experiences of these characters. All readers will enjoy a well told story.

Review by Nancy Kauffman (June 2020)

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 Author's Synopsis

A Lion's Share is the second book in the Brotherhood of the Mamluks trilogy. The story is set in the 13th Century Middle East, during the Seventh Crusade. Told from the Egyptian perspective, it is a rare view of life among the Mamluks--elite Muslim warriors largely unheralded in the West--whose ranks ousted the Crusaders and Mongols from the Levant, preserving Islam.

On the eve of a historic battle, Leander, a disenchanted Crusader, surrenders to Muslim amirs with the intent of joining the revered Bahri Mamluks. His move seems fated. The young Frenchman avoids the mass slaughter suffered by the Christian alliance and earns himself a place with the elite cavalry regiment, serving the Sultan of Egypt. Yet once King Louis IX of France seeks vengeance and sets Cairo as the objective of his campaign, Leander is faced with warfare against his native people as he defends his new home, comrades, and religion.

When the Bahri's adored sultan dies and Leander becomes tangled in forbidden love with an Egyptian woman, his world unravels further. As the Mamluks seize rule for themselves, a rivalry between opposing regiments turns bloody and the newly-formed Mamluk Sultanate tumbles into chaos, with Leander and his mates scrambling not only for position within the realigned empire, but also for their lives.

ISBN/ASIN: 13: 978-1-950154-05-0, 10:1-950154-05-x
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 335

The Hope of the South by Bruce Thomas

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Author's Synopsis

Wyoming, 1863: Colonel Augusta Smith has been given a secret mission—to hide an immense treasure for the South that will allow the Confederate government to fund a rebirth after the end of the Civil War. Colonel Smith must pick the men and secure a location to hide the treasure, and he must survive the war.

Colorado, Present Day: The Special Project Unit (SPU)—a clandestine organization that operates outside the normal US government bureaucracy—has been tasked with helping the government determine who is behind a terrorist event that could leave the eastern United States without electrical power…and plunge the entire government into chaos.

From secret offices deep below the Denver International Airport, SPU Director William “Wild Bill” Eddy and Special Project Officer Mark “Vector” Jones race to collect the information needed to stop the next terrorist act. And two eras collide when a chance encounter results in Wild Bill discovering a secret letter that connects his current situation with that of his great-great-grandfather, Colonel Augusta Smith.

As Air Force Academy graduates, Wild Bill and Mark have a bond that transcends work. But will they be able to stop the madman from Europe before all hell breaks loose?

Bruce Thomas is a retired US Air Force fighter pilot and a current captain with a major US airline. A graduate of the US Air Force Academy in 1980, he is the father of five children and nine grandchildren, and lives in Overland Park, Kansas, with his wife, Vivian. The Hope of the South is the first book in the Special Project Unit series.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-9772-0525-4
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle, ePub/iBook
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 324