Quill Pen Recommended Reads

It has been some time since I wrote here so I figured that I really should unload some wisdom, and a few great titles that you may wish to consider for the upcoming festive period. By clicking on the images, you should go directly to the respective sales pages of those titles.

Quill Pen TOP 3 of 2015

This is my NUMBER ONE read this year and you’ll see my review written at the time that I read this book, below.

Infinity – Nico Laeser

My Review of Nico Laeser’s Infinity

Infinity – It seems like such an incongruous word in a world that strives …, April 23, 2015

By

IAN D. MOORE

This review is from: Infinity: An Anonymous Biography (Paperback)

Infinity – It seems like such an incongruous word in a world that strives for order, a world lead by technology that shapes our very lives to the point that it can change the way we eat, sleep and work. Nico somehow manages to take the lead character, a seven year old boy, doing what ordinary seven year olds do and from there, create a truly mesmerising account of his troubled life – seemingly after death. The narrative is beautifully created in such a way that emotions felt by the boy are transferred to the reader, in doing so, the different levels upon which this story is created become apparent. There are so many layers folded neatly upon each other that this novel will have you thinking about it long after you have put it down – and that’s not easy to do. Such was my captivation with this book, the need to follow the harrowing young life as it unfolds into violence from his father, ignorance and denial from his mother, to an almost natural state of progression spiralling downward, that I found myself reading well into the night. I cannot say that there is a definite turning point where my perception of what might come began to peak, I can though, state hand-on-heart that this book is quite profound in it’s perception of life, of it’s true meaning and of the notions and expectations of redemption that we place upon higher powers. Viewing the world through the eyes of first the young boy, mistreated and made to feel worthless, right through to the teenager and young man, there were many times when I would have jumped head-long into the story to save him from further harm, to guide him. Having now finished the book, I can see that my actions would have been futile – not least because from the very first line, the young boy is already on the path to saving himself – it’s just that we, as the reader, don’t have the perception to figure that out at that point.

The ability of the author to depict scenes in the readers mind’s eye is nothing short of staggering, I could see the artistic impressions that emanated from somewhere deep inside the lead character, impressioned upon stretched canvasses, as if I were looking over his shoulder at the finished piece. The feeling generated by the descriptive chapters about the effects of narcotics upon the younger boy, coupled with the inevitable growth to stronger, more addictive substances sees him hit rock bottom to the point where I thought there might be no recovery but then, as the story begins to morph with subtlety, we find that the beginnings of enlightenment find their way into the readers mind until BAM! I finally realised what the journey was about and it left me completely in awe.

This novel is nothing short of fantastic, it epitomises everything I could hope for in a story and yet, there isn’t an explosion, sex scene or overly oppressive character in sight, save for the spider. I have Nico Laeser’s Skin Cage primed and ready upon my Kindle and I’ll be getting to that with great expectation having been blown away by Infinity. This author just earned himself another dedicated fan – justifiably so.

This book captivated me from beginning to end, the first I had read by Nico Laeser and as such, it has endeared me to this author for all time. My kindle now boasts Skin Cage, the next offering and one that I am eager to get to. Highly recommended 5* read.

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The Drowned Phoenician Sailor – Lesley Hayes

This is my second top read of 2015 and justifiably so. It comes from one of my favourite newly discovered authors, Lesley Hayes. Not only have I had the pleasure of finding her work, but also in working with this lady on a charity anthology entitled, You’re Not Alone. You’ll find my review of this book below.

My Review 5*

I’ve just this minute finished this book and felt the urge to share my experience of it. From the outset, it seems that Lesley has the ability to lull the reader into a false sense of security. It’s a little like a swimming pool, you know the type, they have a shallow end and a gently sloping gradient and at first, you feel great. You splosh straight in, the water covers your toes and you swish about making foamy bubble patterns, then you take a few steps forwards and the water reaches your knees, and then your waist, as you continue to laugh at the tingling sensations. Before you know it, you’re taking more steps forwards and soon find yourself immersed completely. That’s how this book grabbed me.
It came at a time when my emotions had been steam-rolled by a common foe. Oddly, the nature of the story has given me an immense sense of solace, of understanding and even a degree of acceptance of recent events – for that alone I owe a great debt to Lesley Hayes. I read the first 50% of this book in just one sitting – then it occurred to me that I didn’t want to get to the end. The story centres around the insecurities of Fynn/Kaya, a lady with a degree of mistrust, condemnation even, of the world and almost everyone in it. She hides behind the emotional walls of her logic, able to explain most things in a sensible, reasoned manner – that is until events lead her into the core of her own mind causing her to re-evaluate her entire being.

The way that this story is written is nothing short of epic. Lesley’s ability to utilise words in such a way as to induce questions in a readers mind really is a talent – you think you know what’s coming, but do you really? The depiction of each character allows a reader to bond with them, able to almost feel their feelings, particularly in the case of Fynn/Kaya; there were several times when I mentally wrapped her up in my own arms to protect her. One of the things I really liked was the introduction… the explanation of how the title to the piece came about. If ever there were were a more appropriately titled book, I have yet to find it. Kudos for the intro indeed.
I loved the fact that time was taken to let us know what happened to each of the characters, as a reader, they belong to me, and the relationship I develop with them as I read means that it matters to me.

You’ll notice that I haven’t gone into the actual details and plot of this story, that’s because I don’t want to spoil the effect that reading it will have upon you. It is one of those books that I’ll read again at some point, one that literally commands a place on a bookshelf, if such a place is at all possible on a kindle. Lesley Hayes, I take my hat off to you. Today, you earned a new fan, justifiably so.

A beautifully written story and another of my highly recommended reads. I have just purchased Dangerous People, the very latest Lesley Hayes novel. Eager to get to it too.

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Darkly Wood – Max Power

This is my number three for 2015. I shall be listing other top reads in the very near future of those memorable authors that I have discovered. My review of this work is below.

My Review

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin … Those words have remained ingrained in my memory for almost 35 years. They are synonymous with a program of the 1980’s called Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Anyone from that era should also remember Tales of The Unexpected which followed once a week. These were programs suited to anyone with a slightly darker disposition and for me, even at that age, they fed my imagination. Now, I hear you ask, what does this have to do with Darkly Wood?
I picked up this book, well, the kindle, to be more precise, and began to read with gusto. Now, I’d never read anything by Max Power, let alone read many by any other indie authors so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The start of the book really sets the mood and for me and it only gets better the further into the secrets that Darkly Wood itself holds at its heart. Our heroine comes in the form of Daisy May Coppertop who proves to be quite the adversary to the all powerful “Woody” in an utterly masterful depiction pieced together in a series of masterfully written macabre tales.
For me, Patrick (Max) Power’s style as he created this story was nothing short of being reminiscent of that I remember listening to as a boy sat watching Alfred Hitchcock. Each and every story has its own merits without being combined as they are, in doing so, what has been created is, without a doubt, one of the most enthralling reads I have read in quite awhile. I am not ashamed to admit, such was his ability to create realism in this story, there were a couple of occasions when I actually felt the shiver run through me and that, in any book, takes some doing.
This book, this author, is testament to the quality that relatively unknown writers can produce and I have no doubt that in the future, this is one author that a lot more people will be fortunate enough to discover. He has certainly gained another fan in me, justifiably so. You will notice that throughout this review, I have resisted the urge to relate the story and plot, this is because you should read it for yourself, based on the reviews you see and the curiosity that I do hope they create inside you.
Well done Patrick (Max) Power, I could rate this no less than five stars.

I loved this story from beginning to end, snippets of stories each with their own twists, brilliantly written and crafted together for an enthralling recommended read.

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Those are my top three in part one of this series of posts for Quill Pen Recommends – stay tuned for more enthralling books here.