Review: ‘Witches Protection Program’ by Michael Phillip Cash

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Chelshire Inc.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members’ Titles                                                                                                                                                                      Published: 14th May 2015                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Paperback                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ISBN:9781511411349  
Blurb
 Witches Protection Program is filled with adventure & suspense Michael Phillip Cash creates a tongue-in-cheek alternate reality where witches cast spells and wreak havoc in modern day New York City.

Michael Phillip Cash is an award winning and best selling author of horror, paranormal, and science fiction novels. Michael currently resides on Long Island with his wife and children.

My Review

Firstly, the plot; it has a great deal of potential and could be extended from this novella in to a full novel or even a series. I was disappointed with certain aspects – such as the explanation for Bernadette’s great conspiracy, and the reason Wes lost his original position. They just weren’t ambitious enough. If that was all I wouldn’t be too bothered but the insistent and weakly developed romantic plot irritated me.

Secondly the writing: not bad, although tension would drop in all the wrong places.

Characters: All the men are heroes of one sort or another, and all the women are horrible (either physically or psychologically) or weak. Returning to Bernadette, all her actions are predicated on the assumption that the romantic rejection by her sister’s husband would make her hate all men and want to lock them up in internment camps. Or Scarlett, who’s jealousy of Morgan should somehow drive her mad with power lust. It all tickled at something, and then I realised what it was. Straw-feminist arguments advanced by misogynists include ‘feminists hate men’, ‘women hate each other’, and ‘women compete for male attention’; I’m sure the author isn’t a misogynist, but his book read like an MRA fantasy, complete with the handsome white man coming in to save the day and get the, equally white, younger, pretty girl.

I really hope that is the ‘tongue-in-cheek’ aspect of the book.

Overall, I was underwhelmed by this book, although the idea itself has a lot of potential.

2/5

Review: ‘Affliction’ by Laurell K. Hamilton

 

2013

Headline

 

In the twenty-first Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novel, our heroine finds herself in an unusual situation: meeting her in-laws in Boulder. Unfortunately she’s meeting Micah’s parents because his Dad is dying from a zombie bite that’s rotting faster than the doctors can cut it away.

Probably not the best time for a family reunion?

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Continue reading “Review: ‘Affliction’ by Laurell K. Hamilton”

Review: ‘Broken Homes’ by Ben Aaronovitch

2013
Gollancz

Book 4 of the ‘Peter Grant Series’

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Peter, Lesley and their boss Thomas Nightingale (and Toby the dog) are back, continuing their search for the Faceless Man, while still dealing with all the weird stuff the rest of the Met would rather not admit existed. After several murders and the Spring Court, they track the Faceless Man and his organisation to a housing estate at Elephant and Castle.

Continue reading “Review: ‘Broken Homes’ by Ben Aaronovitch”