Molten Fire and Ash is a collection of intense poems. This collection is confident in the fluid environment that has been created where time and space become suspended. Divided into 3 sequences, this work remarkably summons themes on self reflection, fatherhood, politics, mental health, and family values, in an imaginative and animated way.
Strong word-play is exhibited as the author finds diverse ways to engage and stimulate his readers. This collection will speak to the reader who loves the page, as well as fans of spoken word. If youβre looking for a book where words are performed with force, then youβve found it.
Genre: Poetry
My Rating:
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Rating: 3 out of 5.
My Review:
I recieved an ARC in return for an honest review. Clarence Barbee has written a wonderful collection of poems that speaks volumes. I loved the writing style and diversity in it’s patterns. The most interesting thing about this book is that diverges into three steps, heat, fuel and oxygen. The poems under each category alligns with his thoughts on our economic and political status as well as parenthood and self-inflicted pain on our soul.
Dada will die and go to hell for their happiness.
His poems are unique and expressive. He is an eye opener of our current status and he instills his thoughts in a few words. “In kind In Motion” was one of my favourite. “Reverence Evaluation” was heart melting.
Speak belief into their souls so deep that ten toes on feet will embrace new adventures, and never fear the soil, they walk upon. Never fear the sea, those feet will kick in, Never fear the sky those toes will glide in.
I could easily relate to”Sometimes before tomorrow and 5 pm”. “Smoke Another” was powerful and it left me with goosebumps. I enjoyed some and I’d rate it a 3 star for it was really hard to get into it at the beginning and some poems were not as astounding as the others [atleast I felt that way]. I would have to liked to hear about his thoughts on political problems around the globe as well ΓΎor have a wider range. But this is a good collection that I’d recommend to anyone who has a love for poetry, politics.
They took our strength for sensitivity, and now the movement is in the back seat.
Clarence Barbee has been writing and performing poetry for over a decade. He has produced 9 spoken word albums, under the pseudonyms Nabraska and Poet402. Clarence is now working on self-publishing books of essays and short stories.
In his professional life he has worked with, educated, and supported many children. Clarence believes in keeping an eye on political planes and social occurrences such as changes in world leadership, and social inequalities. These actions of men are a huge curiosity to the author; he believes in writing about them, and discussing them, so solutions can be made.
Clarence has taken these experiences and written about them extensively. He asks, βwho doesnβt want to be happy,β then goes about the business of finding the answer. Please take some time to join him on this journey as they are set through words, sometimes with music, and always taken with a grain of salt.
40-something hannah, 50-something Mitsy, and 60-something Pandora indulge in a creative assortment of addictions that obscure the mysterious connection to a common past that haunts them all.
Estate reserve pinot noir, QVC, and a deck of maxed-out credit cards drive Hannah and her Virginia horse farm into a financial corner. Religion, spiritualism, and an addiction to the telephone mystic, Pandora, create the agoraphobic cave into which Mitsy retreats from everyone, including her critically ill 15-year-old daughter, Sydney. Pandora trades her green tea and tofu for the cigarettes, coffee, snickers, fine wine, and hashish that muddy her mystical vision just when she needs it most.
The link to their recovery is Sydney, the child among them, and the stake they all share in her perilous condition and unlikely cure. As Syd submits to weekly treatments for an illness she refuses to grace with a name, she plays The Anesthesia Game, a game that ultimately leads her to the origin of her disease and a possible way out of the struggle that binds them all.
Genre: Metaphysical fiction
My Rating:
ββββ
Rating: 4 out of 5.
My Review:
The Anesthesia Game is a wow factor. I was swept away by the charecters and the way the author constructed this amazing tale. Rea Nolan Martin is a genius. This story has an apt title with a deeper meaning.[I Don’t want to spoil itβ¦ I recommend this to everyone who has a fascination with the mystic world]. I recieved this ARC from the author via Booktasters
You have to let go. You have to remember how to say yes to life even when it pushes you off a twenty-story ledge into a pile of broken glass.
This story starts of with Hannah realising her addiction towards money and how broke she really is. It has an amazing starting. But the only turn of at the start was the very detailed description of almost everything. But don’t you worry, the pace gets incredible and better as the story picks on. Then, our little angel Sydney is introduced. I’d say she is the reason I love the whole book. Every charecters where built with problems, addiction or trials of their own. I liked how the author brings about the liveliness within each of them. For animal lovers like me, there is a dog involved and her name is Godiva and horses. What more reason do you need to pick this up.
No one understands how demanding the pure life can be. The only way to cleanse yourself of it is to plunge yourself into the murky pit of veniality. For a time. Not forever, obviously. Enough to remember what it was like to be tainted. To be real.
The plot is going to make you feel like crying, laughing and depressed all at once. The ending is really great and everything you could hope for. Relationships were beautifully constructed in this book. How a family revolves around one another and how every one of your action might affect the ones you love.
βShouldnβt you know my name? Arenβt you psychic?β βOh, right, the belligerent skeptic,β Pandora says. βOh right, the heretic fraud,β Hannah retorts.
I enjoyed this with my whole heart. The life of Hannah, the fiery shopping addict, Mitsy, the one who is broken, Sydney, a fierce soul, Pandora, our phsycic with a tint of humor and ofcourse Godiva, my cute little pie, will make your life better. I’d rate this book a 4 star. The cover is beyond gorgeous!
1. Wow, Love how Mitsy charecter develops. I felt bad and angry at her.
2.Hannah is the best aunt ever!
3. Sydney made me cry.
4. Did I mention that I love the horses and the farm? Dane is a darling. Haha, and the way he calls Sydney “an indigo babe” is cute.
5. I really love the auraus, astral projections and Pandora’s chapters where intruiging.
βWeβll just have to be persuasive. I canβt kidnap you as much as Iβd like to.β
6. I rated it a 4 star because it was predictive, atleast to me I guess. Morever the pace at the start was a problem too. I knew Sydney would walk up on Dane and her friend. I predicted sooner that Anjah might be the queen. The concept is nice though
About The Author:
Rea Nolan Martin is the author of three novels:THE SUBLIME TRANSFORMATION OF VERA WRIGHT (2009); MYSTIC TEA (2014); THE ANESTHESIA GAME (2015); and a collection of inspirational essays, WALKING ON WATER (2016). She is the author of numerous short stories and poetry published in national literary magazines and anthologies, as well as a founding editor of INKWELL literary magazine. Her inspirational blogs are published regularly in HUFFPOST and SIVANA EAST.
MYSTIC TEA is the recipient of the 2014 Independent Publisher’s IPPY gold medallion and US BEST BOOK award for Visionary Fiction, as well as the 2014 PINNACLE gold medallion in the category of Literary Fiction. It was a finalist in the 2014 International Book Awards. THE ANESTHESIA GAME garnered five star medallions from both Readers’ Favorite and Clarion/Foreword, as well as the 2016 IPPY gold medallion for Visionary Fiction. Most recently, THE ANESTHESIA GAME was honored as an award-winning finalist in the 2017 International Book Awards. WALKING ON WATER is the recipient of a 2016 silver Nautilus Book Award in the category of Gift and Specialty Books. Nautilus awards are granted for literary contributions to spiritual growth, conscious living, creativity and inspirational reading.
Her fifth book, GOOD GRIEF, a novel, has a current release date of January 2018.
Book description: The world is on the brink of disaster. The environment, society and mankind itself are facing extreme challenges in a world that is both more connected, and yet more divided than ever before. Fear and confusion seep into all parts of everyday life now, more than ever, the world needs one voice, one guide…
One day the Earth is plunged into darkness and when light appears again so does a man – call him Joe – claiming to be the son of God.
Can Joe bring the world’s most creative thinkers and leaders together to tackle the ills of mankind?
Can he convince us all to follow him before it’s too late?
In this compelling and prescient novel, Martin van Es and Andrew Crofts highlight the key concerns of our time and imagines a future where we, at last, all work together to ensure the future of our world and all the life that calls it home.Β
My Rating:
βββ
Rating: 3 out of 5.
My Review:
I recieved a copy from Netgalley in return for an honest review. Call Me Joe is an extraordinary read where you will be plunged into the problems of our current lifestyles. The author boldly explains all the flaws in our system and way of life.
βBe the change that you wish to see in the worldβ Mahatma Gandhi
One day the whole world is in darkness for 13 minutes before the sun appears again. Sarah is a school teacher and she loves her students. They meet a stranger in white robes who claims to be the son of god. The children later decide to call him Joe. Poltical leaders all over the world are exasperated and in mayhem. Joe’s appearance and the sun’s short dissappearance makes them all fear that their leash on people would break and that their power will be extinguised.
She had discovered that when powerful people become fearful they tended to lash out.
Charecters Apart from Joe and political and religious leaders, the charecters of the books seemed undevoloped. Sarah is an intruiging charecter but she falls for the son of god too soon and I really didn’t think her relationship with Joe was necessary. It seemed unnatural and awkward. The 12 acolytes’ charecter development was okay.
βDonβt waste your time reading other peopleβs opinions of this,β Joe said, kindly. βThey will either flatter you or annoy you. You know what happened; you donβt need to know what other people think about it.β
Plot The plot is fast and very intersting. I loved the idea of this story and the way the author expresses our concerns in a strong willed and confident way. World Building The world building was vast but lacking a bit. Although the potrayal of the world if such an incident were to occur, would be exactly as the book has conveyed. Relationships Joe is a humble man and the idea of the son of god in a relationship was a bit uncomfortable to read, as he and sophie are not truly in a romantic realtionship. But the way the other charecters relationship with one another and the accuracy of the way politicians would react, was accurate and entertaining.
βTreat nature like you treat the people you love.β
Conclusion What I like was the guidelines they proposed and I would definitely recommend it for everyone who is interested to be given a morale to which our life should be based upon. Changes cannot happen with an individuals effort. It has to be all of us united against the doom that we are creating just by existing.
I am rating it 3 stars for the lack of charecter building and because Joe’s invlovement in consumption of drugs and acceptance to society’s need for lust. This didn’t sit well with me nor Sophie.
βIt is harder to persuade people to do what we want if they are all united,β he spat the final word out like it was poison.
About The Author: Martin van EsΒ is a successful entrepreneur. As managing director of Europe’s two leading packaging companies he was a key driver of sustainable innovation. He is a strategic advisor to a number of companies and NGOs, providing outside-the-box solutions.Β Andrew CroftsΒ is one of the world’s best known ghostwriters.
Transform Your Business Relationships Through Great Conversation
Learn how to build authentic relationships by finding out as much as you can about the other person in a way that leaves them understood and affirmed. Sounds simple, right? With practice it is easy, but the energy and approach you bring to the conversation are essential.
Learn The Six Principles of Putting Genuine Emphasis On Others
In The Coffee Shop Interview, we discuss how to create a safe space for your conversation, how to prepare, how to set the right tone. After the interview, youβll be able to determine if what youβre offering is a perfect fit for them.
Become A Great Listener And Build Trust
Reach out to prospects and customers based on a desire to help. When you present your idea, you base your message on what they said, not using an unwelcome sales pitch.
Print Length:Β 24 pages
Genre: Fiction
My Rating:
ββββ
Rating: 4 out of 5.
My Review:
The Coffee Shop Interview is your guidebook to a successfull interview. Tom and Adrian Chenault gives you a simple set of ways to get your Business running in the right track. This book is an eye opener to not be self centered and to express empathy. This does not only apply to interviews but in all aspects of every relationship you might have.
“In conversation, it is far better to be interested than interesting.”
You will find this book precise and on point. Tom has designed an app where you could follow up and make your life easier. I recieved a review copy for an honest review.
However I rate this a 4 star as I don’t like the app being promoted in this book. It makes the great ideas that he has given before insignificant as it gives more of an advertisement vibe.. Other than that I really loved it.
As a Red, Darrow grew up working the mines deep beneath the surface of Mars, enduring backbreaking labor while dreaming of the better future he was building for his descendants. But the Society he faithfully served was built on lies. Darrowβs kind have been betrayed and denied by their elitist masters, the Goldsβand their only path to liberation is revolution. And so Darrow sacrifices himself in the name of the greater good for which Eo, his true love and inspiration, laid down her own life. He becomes a Gold, infiltrating their privileged realm so that he can destroy it from within.
A lamb among wolves in a cruel world, Darrow finds friendship, respect, and even loveβbut also the wrath of powerful rivals. To wage and win the war that will change humankindβs destiny, Darrow must confront the treachery arrayed against him, overcome his all-too-human desire for retributionβand strive not for violent revolt but a hopeful rebirth. Though the road ahead is fraught with danger and deceit, Darrow must choose to follow Eoβs principles of love and justice to free his people.
Woah! Now Imagine you have Time bomb with a minute left to disable itβ¦ Every chapter was like a second. You finally disable it at the last second but there was another bomb you didn’t know and you get blown to bits. Now thats how I felt when I read this book. It’s a masterpieceβ¦ If you thought Red Rising was epic wait till you read this Gemβ¦
(view spoiler)[ This book was so realistic, that I felt every blow. I didn’t know why it took me so long to pick this book up. So, our Darrow is in the academy trying to earn a fleet that he could use to defeat his enemies.. The story starts of with an incredible battle you could die for(literaly). But not all goes as planned, does it? Alas Darrow loses to his nemesis and his worth is questioned by Augustus who then sells his contract in a bidding.
They cannot kill me, I cannot kill them. Not here. Not now. All of us know how this dance will end. But dance we do. – Darrow
Things get interesting after thatβ¦ The world building was extraordinary, vast with many aspects and charecters involved. Even though we get to know the story through Darrows perspective, it doesn’t get boring or irritating. I just love the writing style of the author, you will get drowned and sucked into his world deeper and deeper.
βA fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.β
The charecters were brilliant and soooo realistic that I was weeping. Darrow is brilliant and cunning but he realises his mistakes and learns from them. His pov is so fun to read. Mustang is a badass and she deserves to know everything. Sevro is just hilarious and I love himβ¦ When Tactus was killed, I just couldn’t take it anymoreβ¦
Even the cruel feel pain. And even the cruel can change.
I liked the twist and turns. It was unpredictable and BLOODYDAMN(unbelievable)β¦ My poor Roque! What have you doneβ¦ I dont think I can describe this in words.. you gotta read it!!! Β¨C22CΒ¨C14CThat Cliffhangerβ¦ I was shookethβ¦ What is going to happen.. oh! I can’t wait. So, for this perfection I would rate it a million stars but lets stick with 5 for now. Β¨C15C (hide spoiler)]
AboutAuthor: Pierce Brown is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Rising, Golden Son, Morning Star, Iron Gold, and Dark Age. His work has been published in thirty-three languages and thirty-five territories. He lives in Los Angeles, where he is at work on his next novel.
Excerpt:
1
Warlords
My silence thunders. I stand on the bridge of my starship, arm broken and held in a gelcast, ion burns still raw on my neck. Iβm bloodydamn tired. My razor coils around my good right arm like a cold metal snake. Before me, space opens, vast and terrible. Small fragments of light prick the darkness, and primordial shadows move to block those stars on the fringes of my vision. Asteroids. They float slowly around my man-Βof-Βwar, Quietus, as I search the blackness for my quarry.
βWin,β my master told me. βWin as my children cannot, and you will bring honor to the name Augustus. Win at the Academy and you earn yourself a fleet.β He likes dramatic repetition. It suits most statesmen.
Heβd have me win for him, but Iβd win for the Red girl with a dream bigger than she ever could be. Iβd win so that he dies, and her message burns across the ages. Small order.
I am twenty. Tall and broad in the shoulders. My uniform, all sable, now wrinkled. Hair long and eyes Golden, bloodshot. Mustang once said I have a sharp face, with cheeks and nose seemingly carved from angry marble. I avoid mirrors myself. Better to forget the mask I wear, the mask that bears the angled scar of the Golds who rule the worlds from Mercury to Pluto. I am of the Peerless Scarred. Cruelest and brightest of all humankind. But I miss the kindest of them. The one who asked me to stay as I bid her and Mars goodbye on her balcony almost a year ago. Mustang. I gave her a horse-Βcrested gold ring as a parting gift, and she gave me a razor. Fitting.
The taste of her tears grows stale in memory. I have not heard from her since I left Mars. Worse, I have not heard from the Sons of Ares since I won at Marsβs Institute more than two years ago. Dancer said he would contact me once I graduated, but I have been cast adrift among a sea of Golden faces.
This is so far from the future I imagined for myself as a boy. So far from the future I wanted to make for my people when I let the Sons carve me. I thought I would change the worlds. What young fool doesnβt? Instead, I have been swallowed by the machine of this vast empire as it rumbles inexorably on.
At the Institute, they trained us to survive and conquer. Here at the Academy they taught us war. Now they test our fluency. I lead a fleet of warships against other Golds. We fight with dummy munitions and launch raiding parties from ship to ship in the way of Gold astral combat. No reason to break a ship that costs the gross yearly output of twenty cities when you can send leechCraft packed with Obsidians, Golds, and Grays to seize her vital organs and make her your prize.
Amid lessons of astral combat, our teachers hammered in the maxims of their race. Only the strong survive. Only the brilliant rule. And then they left and let us fend for ourselves, jumping asteroid to asteroid, searching for supplies, bases, hunting our fellow students till only two fleets remain.
Iβm still playing games. This is just the deadliest yet.
βItβs a trap,β Roque says from my elbow. His hair is long, like mine, and his face soft as a womanβs and placid as a philosopherβs. Killing in space is different from killing on land. Roque is a prodigy at it. Thereβs poetry to it, he says. Poetry to the motion of the spheres and the ships that sail between. His face fits with the Blues who crew these vesselsβΒairy men and women who drift like wayward spirits through the metal halls, all logic and strict order.
βBut itβs not so elegant a trap as Karnus might think,β he continues. βHe knows weβre eager to end the game, so he will wait on the other side. Force us into a choke point and release his missiles. Tried and true since the dawn of time.β
Roque carefully points to the space between two huge asteroids, a narrow corridor we must travel if we wish to continue following Karnusβs wounded ship.
βEverythingβs a damn trap.β Tactus au Rath, rangy and careless, yawns. He leans his dangerous frame against the viewport and shoots a stim up his nose from the ring on his finger. He tosses the spent cartridge to the floor. βKarnus knows heβs lost. Heβs just torturing us. Leading us on a little merry chase so we canβt sleep. The selfish prick.β
βYouβre such a little Pixie, always yapping and whining,β Victra au Julii sneers from her place against the viewport. Her jagged hair hangs just past ears pierced with jade. Impetuous and cruel, but neither to a fault, she disdains makeup in favor of the scars sheβs earned through her twenty-Βseven years. There are many.
Her eyes are heavy, deeply set. Her sensual mouth wide, with lips shaped to purr insults. She looks more like her famous mother than her younger half-sister, Antonia; but in her capacity for general mayhem she far outstrips both.
βTraps mean nothing,β she declares. βHis fleet has been dashed. He has but one ship. Weβve seven. How about we just bust his mouth?β
βDarrow has seven,β Roque reminds her.
βYour pardon?β she asks, annoyed at the correction.
βSeven of Darrowβs ships remain. You called them ours. They are not ours. He is Primus.β
βPedantic poet strikes again. The point is the same, my goodman.β
βThat we should be rash instead of prudent?β Roque asks.
βThat it is seven against one. It would be embarrassing to let this drag out any longer. So, letβs squish the Bellona thug like a cockroach with our sizable boot, fly back to base, take our just rewards from old Augustus, and go play.β She twists her heel for emphasis.
βHere, here,β Tactus agrees. βMy kingdom for a gram of demonDust.β
βThat your fifth stimshot today, Tactus?β Roque asks.
βYes! Thank you for noticing, Mommy dearest! But I grow weary of this military crank. I believe I desire Pearl clubs and copious amounts of respectable drugs.β
βYouβre going to burn out.β
Tactus slaps his thigh. βLive fast. Die young. While youβre a boring old raisin, Iβll be a glorious memory of finer times and decadent days.β
Roque shakes his head. βOne day, my wayward friend, youβre going to find someone you love who makes you laugh at the silly person you once were. Youβll have children. Youβll have an estate. And somehow youβll learn there are more important things than drugs and Pinks.β
βBy Jove.β Tactus stares at him in utter horror. βThat sounds resolutely miserable.β
I peer at the tactical display, ignoring their banter.
The quarry we chase is Karnus au Bellona, the older brother of my former friend, Cassius au Bellona, and the boy I killed in the Passage, Julian au Bellona. Of that curly-Βhaired family, Cassius is the favorite son. Julian was the kindest. And Karnus? My broken arm stands testamentβΒheβs the monster they let out of their basement to kill things.
Since the Institute, my celebrity has grown. So when news reached the Violet gossip circuit that the ArchGovernor was finally sending me to further my studies, Karnus au Bellona and a few handpicked cousins were dispatched by Cassiusβs mother to βstudyβ as well. The family wants my heart on a plate. Quite literally. Only Augustusβs badge holds them back. To attack me is to attack him.
In the end, I could give a bloody piss about their vendetta or my masterβs bloodfeud with their house. I want the fleet so I can use it for the Sons of Ares. What a mess I could cause. Iβve made a study of supply lines, sensor stations, battlegroups, data hubsβΒall the pressure points that might cause the Society to stagger.
βDarrow .β.β.β Roque comes closer. βGuard your hubris. Remember Pax. Pride kills.β
βI want it to be a trap,β I tell Roque. βLet Karnus turn and face us.β
He tilts his head. βYouβve set your own trap for him.β
βNow, what makes you say that?β
βYou might have told us. I could haveβΒβ
βKarnus falls today, brother. That is the simple fact of the matter.β
βOf course. I only want to help. You know that.β
βI know.β I stifle a yawn and let my eyes sweep the bridgepits behind and below me. Blues of many shades toil there, working the systems that run my ship. They speak more slowly than any other Color save Obsidian, favoring digital communication. They are older than I, graduates of the Midnight School, all. Beyond them, near the back of the bridge, Gray marines and several Obsidians stand sentinel. I clap Roque on the shoulder. βItβs time.β
βSailors,β I call to the Blues in the pit. βSharpen your wits. This is the final nail in the Bellona coffin. We put this bastard into the ether and I promise the greatest gift in my power to giveβΒa week of solid sleep. Prime?β
A few of the Grays near the back of the bridge laugh. The Blues just rap their knuckles on their instruments. Iβd give half my substantial bank account, compliments of the ArchGovernor, to see one of those pale airbrains crack a smile.
βEnough delay,β I announce. βGunners to positions. Roque, cluster the destroyers. Victra, attend targeting. Tactus, defense deployment. Weβre ending this now.β I look over at my wispy helmBlue. He stands central in the pit beneath my command platform amid fifty others. The snaking digiTats that mark the Bluesβ bald heads and spidery hands glow subtle shades of cerulean and silver as they sync with the shipβs computers. Their eyes go distant as optic nerves revert to the digital world. They speak only out of courtesy to us. βHelmsman, engines to sixty percent.β
βAye, dominus.β He glances at the tactical display, a globular holo floating above his head, voice like a machine. βMind, the concentration of metal in the asteroids presents difficulty in assessing spectro readings. Weβre a mite blind. A fleet could hide on the other side of the asteroids.β
βHe doesnβt have a fleet. Into the breach,β I say. The shipβs engines rumble. I nod to Roque and say, βHic sunt leones.β The words of our master, Nero au Augustus, ArchGovernor of Mars, thirteenth of his name. My warlords echo the phrase.
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