chrisdurston avatar chrisdurston author




Stories

A Recipe for Disaster

A Recipe for Disaster by Chris Durston

"With the cleverness and humor of a Douglas Adams novel, A Recipe For Disaster will make you fall in love with its colorful characters and cozy yet adventurous premise. You’ll almost certainly be asking for seconds!" - Astrid Knight, author of the Mages of Velmyra Saga "A perfect story for fans of Discworld" - JamReads In the desert city of Achten Tan, built within the bones of a long-dead leviathan, there's one truth everyone knows above all others: North Ribs Ribs is the best dang ribs restaurant in town. Rebellious teenager Old Crawman never wanted to inherit the North Ribs Ribs empire, but when he discovers an unsettling secret about their new competition, he has to do something. Unfortunately for him, that something gets him tangled up with an evil wizard of ancient legends... who is not at all as he expected. With Achten Tan's powers-that-be keeping a close eye on Old Crawman, he'll need all the help he can get if he wants to have his ribs and eat them too.


Chronicles from the World of Guilt

Chronicles from the World of Guilt by Chris Durston

What is Guilt? Is it an enormous flying whale? Maybe an alien, come from deep space to punish us? Some call it an angel or a god, others a demon. What nobody can deny is that it is the end. These tales chronicle the story of the Earth in the centuries after the apocalypse: struggles for survival against twisted, horrific foes; small moments of kindness and warmth in the dark; life going on, even as the whole world changes. These are the Chronicles from the World of Guilt.


Each Little Universe

Each Little Universe by Chris Durston

If Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett had written an earnestly nerdy story in a setting running on the ridiculous logic of Scott Pilgrim, it might have come out something like this. For two oddball inventors, taking care of an unexpected new arrival - a girl from the stars - is hard enough. Dealing with the things that want her back may turn out to be harder. A story about love in all its forms (but not a love story), Each Little Universe wonders with wit and insight about what it means to be human in a vast, peculiar cosmos. A celebration of all that is wonderful and strange about people, each member of its cast of twenty-first century weirdos is both larger than life and peculiarly familiar. Fans of Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere, American Gods), Bryan Lee O'Malley (Scott Pilgrim, Seconds), and Haruki Murakami (The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Killing Commendatore) will love this story, set in a world very much like our own but a little more strange, and the unusual take it offers on life, the human experience, and cats.


Reviews

Untouched

Untouched by Jayme Bean

Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Straightforward
Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down
Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Matches the story well

Read Full Review


The Flight of the Darkstar Dragon

The Flight of the Darkstar Dragon by Benedict Patrick

Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Mostly clear
Characters: Some more thought out than others
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Satisfying, fulfilling experience
Emotional Response: Didn’t feel much
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Matches the story well

Lesser Known Monsters

Lesser Known Monsters by Rory Michaelson

Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Mostly clear
Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Satisfying, fulfilling experience
Emotional Response: Engaging
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Matches the story well
Content Warnings: some violence, sex

LGBTQ+ found family saves the world, but somehow also gets enough time to breathe and develop as characters. Fantastic writing.

Read Full Review


The Kavordian Library Omnibus (Fyskar, Subject 15, Polaris Skies, Subgalaxia)

The Kavordian Library Omnibus (Fyskar, Subject 15, Polaris Skies, Subgalaxia) by Chapel Orahamm

Worldbuilding: Piqued curiosity
Plot: Mostly clear
Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Satisfying, fulfilling experience
Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Adequately represents the story
Content Warnings: Depictions and mention of sex, blood, gore, violence, abuse, suicide, rape, death, homophobia, racism, sexism, drowning, PTSD, psychological trauma, war, language, loss of pregnancy

I mean... wow. If you like having emotional reactions to characters with meaningful dynamics, this is for you.

Read Full Review



© 2024 Hakea Media | Terms | Privacy