Generous 5-Star Review of CANALS

I admit I don’t visit Goodreads often enough. Sometimes not for months. But, when I do, I like to see if any new reviews have been posted for my novels. 

I found one today. Here’s the link in case you want to see the original review.

Here’s the text of the review:

Canals starts off as a typical crime thriller as Detective Daniel Lawless comes to the scene of a dismembered body by a canal in California. Everett Powers then develops a wonderful story written in the style of a good police drama. Every character the reader meets is given a full introduction, it is not a case of "this is John, a 20 year old man" - you get to know each character as a real person. This character development is true for everyone, whether they continue to the end of this novel or meet a violent death.

Detective Daniel Lawless is a different type of policeman and has a quirky character. He likes opera and has a collection of 82 pairs of shoes giving him the nickname of shoe boy when he was at school. Before he can solve this death by the canal, another death occurs along a nearby canal. Something is going on around the canal network but can Danny solve the case before more people are killed?

Slowly the reader finds that this is not your typical crime thriller. Little bits of information are drip fed into the story to make you think that something nasty may be lurking in the canals. Bit by bit this story becomes a science fiction novel.

Everett Powers develops a wonderful plot that bit by bit becomes a race for Daniel Lawless to save the day. The reader along with Daniel begins to understand just what is going on along the canals and we begin to get the bigger picture.

Canals is a very entertaining read. I like the way it moved from a crime thriller to a thought provoking science fiction story. The message at the end is very moving and forces you to consider real life global issues.

I can find nothing wrong with Canals. It is a great story that was told with precision and detail. The writing is top quality and it was a joy to read. I enjoy walking my dog along canals and now I will always wonder what may be in the water. I vote this book the top score of 5 stars. Canals is available as a 609 KB Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2011.

CANALS was the first novel I completed and my only horror/sci-fi novel. The Grant Starr novels are thrillers.

CANALS can be purchased for 99 cents right now at your favorite ebook retailer. 

I noticed Amazon is selling the quality paperback for $14.39, though I don’t know why. I never lowered the price from $15.99 and it’s sold only on Amazon.

5-Star Review for CANALS

I recently received a 5-star review for my horror novel, CANALS. It now has an average of 4.6 stars over 10 reviews. The review is brief so I've copied and pasted it in its entirety.

"This book kept me on the edge of my seat and made my heart race! I grew up in Modesto and it was interesting reading about places I am actually familiar with. I highly recommend this to anyone looking to really get involved in a great thriller! I got this book for a low price of .99 cents, but had I pay $10 it would definitely have been worth it and I would not have been disappointed! Awesome!"

Now, I admit it might look like I know this person. Let me assure you I don't. She purchased the eBook for 99 cents, read it, and left a review of her own accord.

I had hoped, when writing CANALS, that it would appeal to Modesto-area residents. The locals who've read the book have said they enjoyed reading about local sites and businesses, but it hasn't yet caught on big. I'd imagined throngs of citizens gobbling it up... A goal for the future.

CANALS remains on sale for 99 cents.

Review of Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz

Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


One of the better Koontz books, in recent years. Not quite as good as his Odd Thomas books, though. My problem with Koontz is, in the last 10 years or so, because he spends so much time telling us what's going on inside a character's head, little actually happens in the book.

Prodigal Son has a lot of that going on, but not insufferably so. A lot happens in this book and the writing is, in general, outstanding. I don't care for a lot of the silly dialogue between the two lead detectives, but it wasn't too distracting.

I love the Deucalion character. Very well written. A touch of the supernatural.

This book does not have an ending but rather leads into the second Frankenstein book. I've started that one.



View all my reviews

1st Review for DEATH OF A MATADOR: 5 Stars

I received my first review on Amazon.com for my latest novel DEATH OF A MATADOR. I'll save you the time of clicking on over to Amazon and publish the review here:

Powers delivers a page-turning police procedural with Death of a Matador, the latest thriller featuring Detective Grant Starr. The action takes place in--until now--a peaceful little dusty town in Central California. From the first page, the story plunges into the fascinating culture of the local Portuguese community, back-stabbing small-town politics, and the inner workings of a police department dealing with crimes related to current hotbutton issues: animal rights activism and the emerging corporate farming of medicinal marijuana.

Powers is a natural storyteller and the dialogue is especially entertaining. You feel like you're riding along with the detectives and officers listening in on their good-natured ribbing, privy to personal and confidential conversations as they unriddle a sudden spate of murders and scramble to protect witnesses. The banter is rich with cultural lingo, convincing police jargon, and spot-on buddy-cop wit.

I also enjoyed the vicarious excitement of wheeling Detective Starr's 1970 Ferrari along a California highway at 120 mph with gorgeous Detective Amber Whitehall riding shotgun! :-)

While the motivations of the corrupt mayor are fully explained, I'd like more insight into the mind of the matador killer. It's understandable that most people like animals, and most people fear going to prison, but I feel that this villain puts himself in extreme peril as an animal-rights activist and as a criminal avoiding capture. I'd like a little more explanation into what makes him tick, what drives him to activism and allows him to be capable of such cold-blooded actions.

Also, I'd like to see Grant Starr put in a bit more personal danger. Sure, he gets shot at, and others rely on him to save their necks, but I'd like to see him sweat-it-out a bit more, to see him in more up-close and personal all-out, whup-ass conflict with the bad guys.

All in all, this story kept me flipping the pages with fully-formed characters, tight action and suspense, very little fluff, and a surprisingly exotic setting via the Portuguese community and their traditions. If you're in the mood for a riveting detective thriller, I recommend it!

I'd love to get more reviews and would be willing to gift a copy of the book to anyone interested in reading and reviewing it. Honest reviews, of course.

Enthusiastic 5 Stars for CANALS

I found this review on Goodreads, a site I don't visit often enough. I won't leave the name of the reviewer but you can check out CANALS on Goodreads here and see who wrote it.

Most modern authors make me break my five page rule. I prefer to find myself attached to a novel within those first five precious pages. I find myself having to break this rule-often- just to keep reading alive. Powers well captivated me within the first five and only sucked me into his story deeper with each turning page. 

This is a darker novel and with that, I find his mastery of words worthy of wanting more from his twisted and brilliant imagination. 

This is a perfect example of what literature should be. A full five stars.

Hey wait a minute! "Twisted"? Still, it's nice when something you do is appreciated. By strangers.

It's not all kisses and hugs though:

Horror and sci-fi are NOT my favorite genres, so I'm probably not the best critic. This was way too gory for me, I ended up skipping over huge sections of the story. I was like yeah, yeah, blood and guts, human suffering, gore, gore. I get it. This monster is evil. 

He is a good writer, though, even if I didn't like the content.

It's true, there is a lot of blood and guts and suffering. Okay, and some gore.

And boy is that monster evil!

THE MIGHTY T in Top 5 Books of 2012

Rick Bylina, author and blogger, has posted that THE MIGHTY T was one of the top five books he read in 2012. He reviewed it on his blog as well as on Amazon. You can read his post here:

Book Review: Best Books For 2012

I appreciate Rick for taking the time to write and post book reviews on his blog as well as posting the reviews on Amazon.com. Very few people go to the trouble of doing that. I'm also quite pleased he liked THE MIGHTY T. I think it's the best of my three novels.


Speaking of novels, I've given up the battle with CreateSpace to get them to print my book correctly. The most recent email I received from them said my book printed correctly, which it most assuredly did not. Here's what page one looked like:

Notice any missing text?

So I reset all text set in the Dante Small Caps typeface to Dante and then capitalized the words. It doesn't look as professional, but I don't feel like going through another round of proof-email-email back-nothing's-wrong-with-your-book with them. When you ring them up you get someone who sounds like a 16-year-old on their first job.

Two New Reviews for The Mighty T

I recently received two new reviews for The Mighty T on Amazon. I don't know either of the reviewers, although one is an author. We recently followed each other on Twitter, but you know how that goes. I have 3,700 or so followers.

Review one (5 stars):

A really good detective thriller. Enjoyable setting, fun protagonists, and really nasty villains.

The setting in the San Joaquin Valley was well done and unique in my reading experience. Powers seems to know it well.

Grant Starr, Benson and Amber are a well matched team featuring brains, humor, and a bit of sexual tension. A cop who drives a Ferrari because he is an investment whiz is also interesting and unique.

I said the villains were nasty, but sometimes I felt sorry for them and their situation. There was an intense mix with varying motivations.

The suspense and tension kept me reading much later than I should have. It is an absorbing read with a realistic, unusual plot.

C.M. Lance
author of Wizard Dawning

Review two (4 stars):

This book had my attention from the first paragraph, then tossed me aside in the final chapter. I was thinking 5 all the way to the end. Reading this book is like building a mansion and then failing to paint it. Why waste so much effort in creating characters, building tension, crafting a plot and then quitting? It's like a great teacher resigns and lets a student conduct the last week of school.

I have to admit I'm puzzled by this review. The ending of The Mighty T was full of tension and suspense. I don't know the reviewer meant by "quitting." I certainly didn't quit.

Unless the reviewer wanted the second dam blown up.

Perhaps he or she was referring to the final wrap-up pages where I detail what happened to the Hetch Hetchy Valley after Lightfoot blew up the O'Shaughnessy Dam.

In any event, I appreciate the reviews and feedback I've received recently. I'll take a four-star review any day of the week.

Book Review: "Van Raighan's Last Stand" by R.J. Davnall

This review is for episodes one through four of R.J. Davnall’s “The Second Realm” stories, which are contained in the volume titled “Van Raighan’s Last Stand.” It can be found here on Amazon U.S. and here on Amazon U.K.

It’s been many years since I’ve read a fantasy book, but I’ve been trying to expand the genres I read. I ran across Davnall’s blog, enjoyed his writing there, and decided to give his stories a read.

The story is set some seventy years after the “RealmCrash,” where, presumably, the First and Second Realms somehow collided, causing the death of most of Earth’s inhabitants (if indeed the book takes place on Earth). Pre-RealmCrash cities are in ruins but a form of government still exists. Story conflict takes place between inhabitants of each Realm, with those of the Second Realm being more powerful than those of the First.

Davnall plops the reader right down into the story, without a prelude, which I had mixed feelings about at first. It was difficult to follow the plot at times because I didn’t know what terms like “Gift Giver” and “Clearseeing” meant until I’d read most of the first story. Later I decided it was the right thing to do as it allows the plot to flow naturally. You’re fed the back story a little at a time instead of all at once, which shows restraint by the author and good story-telling ability.

The scenes where the Clearseeing is done are fantastic. You’re really taken into the mind of the Clearseer, Rel, and are led to feel what he’s feeling and see what he’s seeing. I really enjoyed the final, forth story; very exciting.

There’s a bit too much text spent inside Rel’s head for my liking, what he’s thinking and feeling, but I’m an action kind of reader: I want something to happen! And he’s a bit too temperamental for me, too, prone to emotional outbursts and pouting.

All-in-all, a superb fantasy story! The ending is a cliffhanger, making me look forward to the next installment. Highly recommended.

Kind Review for THE MIGHTY T

I received a nice review for THE MIGHTY T last week.As I've written before, I appreciate honest reviews from readers I don't know. Actually, I appreciate honest reviews period.

I think both of my novels are good entertainment. I hold no delusions I'll ever win a Pulitzer for them, but I think I give my readers more than their money's worth.

Here's the review in it's entirety:

Okay, I admit it. I actually had a dream about this thriller. The Mighty T by Everett Powers is a well-plotted and written indie book. His characters--stars, average Joes, and dumb asses--are real and given their appropriate due. The dialogue is tight. And Powers keeps upping the ante on the level to which an eco-terrorist will go to get what he wants. While I found the ensemble cast a bit difficult to keep straight at the start, the story and characters straighten out quick enough once Detective Grant Starr starts dominating the page. The story is analogous to a real investigation. It starts with a measure of confusion that ultimately gets clarity. The villain is thought-provokingly delusional and bad to the bone. The secondary villain is a bit more difficult to fathom, but that's okay. She's a throw-back hottie with an edge.

One thing that bugs me about thrillers is the amount of mayhem authors often give away before it's necessary. This story gave some away, but not enough to ruin what happens next or at the end. The last 140 pages flew by - that's great, because I stayed up to two a.m. to finish reading it. I love when that happens. The dénouement, however, dragged a bit. The story was over; the adrenalin rush dissipated; close it out. Some may find the technical information too much to absorb, but I liked it. The environment/economic message was evenly played.

There is a lot to like here, and I'm tempted to read Powers' next book, Canals. Despite some minor flaws, this is a great read for a thriller lover and a really good read for the rest of us. But how did it end up on my Kindle? It's a borderline baby, but any book that makes me dream about it before I'm finished with it gets extra points. The minor flaws keep it from being a total knockout, but it still slides under the wire into the "5" camp of books that deliver and deserve to be read. Well done. Read it.

The reviewers criticisms are fair and not new to me. His/her (Rick? Carrie?) rating of 5 stars is more than generous.

I'd like to ask a favor. Would you please visit my THE MIGHTY T page on Amazon and "like" this review? "Like" any others you, er, like, as well. Thanks.

Here's the link.

Reviews from Random Readers

One of the disadvantages of publishing your own books is getting them reviewed. If I had signed with a publisher, and they thought I had a good chance of making them some money, they would have sent my books to professional reviewers. Then, when the glowing reports came back, they'd use them for dusk jackets and other marketing. This is called third-party validation. In other words, I wouldn't be tooting my own horn when I said my books were great.

(Mind you, if your publisher didn't think you stood a good chance of making them some money you'd have to do this kind of legwork yourself.)

As an Indie (independent publisher) you have two options. Well, three.

1. Give a copy of your book to your friends and relatives and ask them to read and review it for you. This is usually frowned upon as few people think friends and relatives would say anything negative about your writing. Reviews of this nature are typically easy to spot and are ignored by astute book buyers.
2. Ask a fellow Indie to read and review your books. I don't think there's anything wrong with this provided an honest review is requested. Fellow writers can be shills as well as friends or relatives, but they can also be objective. If you gave them a copy to read for free, then a review should not be expected, IMO. You'd hope a review written by a writer would be better written than a review from a reader, but that's not always the case.
3. Wait until someone buys your book and reviews it on their own. I call these reviews from "real" readers or "random" readers. These people don't know you and couldn't care less if they hurt your feelings. Good or bad, these can be some of the best reviews. They may not be written as well as a professional review or a review from another writer, but they're honest (or should be). 

I received two such reviews for my horror novel CANALS recently. They either bought the book off Amazon or got it free during my promo in January. Here they are:

"Canals" starts off with an interesting and grabbing premise. A different sort of monster. But the story soon goes off on tangents that really catch one off-guard. By the time you have finished with this book, you will wonder where Powers ever got his ideas from? Is he trying to tell us something? Is he an...Advocate? An exciting and quite gory story that you just sit back and enjoy. "Canals" is well worth the read."

Mr. Powers does a fine job blending elements of horror and science fiction in this fast-paced and often gruesome tale. The story reminded me of those good old monster movies that I loved as a boy, updated with plenty of splatter. Mr. Powers presents some nicely developed characters in a satisfying and fun little thriller that I would certainly recommend to anyone who enjoys the horror genre."

I don't know either of them and after looking at some of their other reviews, they hand out 4 stars with a light hand.

Now, I know I won't get all 4 or 5 star reviews but as long as I satisfy most of my readers I'm okay.

Incidentally, the last time my mother stopped by my office she bought both of my books in paperback, against my protestations. "Mom, I can't charge you!" She insisted. A week or so later she told me she was reading CANALS. I cringed. My mom is an angel mistakenly sent to Earth almost 80 years ago; I can't imagine her reading a horror novel. As you read in the review above, there is some gory stuff in CANALS.

Anyway, she said she love it (I assume not the rougher parts) and found it very difficult to put down toward the end (because she was anxious to get it over with?). And, she found an additional 13 typos or improper word usages—thanks Mom. I've already uploaded them to Amazon. The print version will have to wait.

Review: "A King in a Court of Fools"

I finished reading this delightful book last night. You can find it and my review on Amazon here.

I "met" the author, Larry Enright, on Twitter, and wondered how he'd gotten so many rave reviews for his books. A King in a Court of Fools has 29 reviews and 28 are five stars, the highest rating Amazon allows. No one has that many friends and relatives willing to write glowing reviews for a book.

Well, I can now say that Larry has earned every five-star review he's received for this book.

A King is set in the 1950s in Pittsburgh, PA. The main character, Harry Ryan, is the youngest in a family of seven (or eight, I'm not positive--a lot of kids). The premise is, the oldest child, Tom, is made to keep a journal that chronicles the adventures of "The Caswell Gang," a group of neighborhood kids that includes the Ryan siblings. Later in life Harry picks up the journal and recounts the story
.
At this time in their lives, the gang has found a pink Corvette in the woods. How did it get there? Did someone crash or was it stashed there, hidden from view? The kids want to know and set about doing just that, under Tom's leadership.

As they solve the mystery, we learn about life in their family, school, and neighborhood. There are streetcars, strict Catholic nuns running the parochial school, bullies and brats, bravery and cowardice, drive-in movies, old-time candy and ice cream, and a little romance for Tom, who is a sixth grader.

At $1.99 for the ebook, A King in a Court of Fools is a steal. Pick it up and you'll get hours of entertainment for less than an order of large fries at McDonald's.

Review: "Jerusalem Imperilled" by Harry Freedman

Jerusalm Imperilled

by Harry Freedman

“Jerusalem Imperilled” takes you back to Jerusalem circa 67 A.D., in Roman-occupied Judea. As stated in the book’s description, the story is told by Levi, a young man sold into slavery shortly after his wedding day. He ends up in Rome, penning his story as he hears it from slaves and others who come ashore at the dock he oversees.

I’ve not been a big fan of historical fiction but I decided recently I need to broaden my interests. I’m glad I did; Jerusalem Imperilled is a fascinating and engaging read. And it’s cleverly written. As a writer, I’m impressed with Freedman’s work.

I tend to favor books with a lot of action and Jerusalem Imperilled is loaded with action: a successful assault on the impenetrable Masada; hand-to-hand combat on the streets of Jerusalem; a daring broad daylight rescue of a boy cruelly condemned to lose his only good eye; a siege; and middle-of-the-night conspiratorial meetings.

I don’t like holes in a plot big enough to drive a truck through; things have to make sense. I would suppose with historical fiction an author must be given some creative license, especially when the book is set in a time with little reliable historical records. The plot of Jerusalem Imperilled is solid. Having studied the Old and New Testaments, a knew a little about Jewish life from that time and everything jived with my study.

Whether or not a book is good depends on its ability to hold the reader’s interest and attention. I stopped reading at least ten books in 2011 because they were either poorly written, horribly edited, or just plain boring. I looked forward to picking up my iPad when reading Jerusalem Imperilled. As a writer, there is no higher compliment. It’s a nice long satisfying read.

I highly recommend Jerusalem Imperilled.

P.S.  I, too, thought "imperilled" was incorrectly spelled. Gasp! In the title! My Dictionary.com app said the British spell it with two "L's". Those Brits.

Interviewed by Jay Krow - Check It Out Please

Author and blogger Jay Krow published an interview he did of me on his blog today. You can read it by clicking here.

I've done several "interviews" in the past month, but none have been personal like Jay's. He took the time to read THE MIGHTY T before he wrote the questions. I felt like I was being interviewed by Larry King, except Larry King probably didn't read the books he said he did.

Jay also takes the time to do careful book reviews. Please check out his blog if you get the chance.