Joey Madia, New Mystics Reviews

   (M. Schmidt Productions, 2022). ISBN: 978-0-578-32451-7 There is an encouraging trend I am seeing as of late where children’s book authors are using the Heroes and Dragons fantasy subgenre to introduce young people to social justice and health and safety issues. From Stranger Danger to desirable emotional and personality traits using D&D-type formats, the magic and wonder of this subgenre are helping to create a more peaceful world. Given the popularity of movies and television shows that exploit this subgenre primarily to promote violence and sex, this is an encouraging counterbalance. In the case of Davy’s Dragon Castle , the hero of the story is a dragon who—going against popular and longstanding conventions—doesn’t attack a castle, but lives in one, along with his wife Lily and their children. Sitting in an idyllic, North Pole–like setting, the castle is the centerpiece of the town. It is so important to the daily life of the citizens that the town is called ...

 (A Mike Stoneman Thriller, KDP, 2019). ISBN: 9781700401083 Several months ago, I had the opportunity to read and review the first book in this five-book series, Righteous Assassin . I was impressed with the author’s depth of research and craft in deftly working within the narrow tropes of the serial killer police procedural to create a high-stakes, page-turning, still-something-new narrative featuring well-rendered characters and an interesting villain. I closed the review with my hope that future books would further illuminate the tough, veteran detective that is the hero of the novels, Mike Stoneman, and Chapman does not disappoint. In this second novel, the serial killer is replaced by a set of shadowy rogue cops who are operating a drug and prostitution ring out of a seedy hotel. This, the author tells us at novel’s end, is based on a true story where the ringleader was generating two million dollars a year from a similar operation. If you have seen The Batman , you know...

  (London/New York: Routledge, 2022). ISBN: 978-0-367-74888-3 With the COVID-19 pandemic almost all but behind us (although two Broadway shows were shut down last week because of lead actors testing positive), the theatre community is trying to get back on its feet and back to work. As a playwright, script doctor, director, artistic director of a theatre company, and actor, I’ve met with the challenges, repercussions, and sometimes joys of cutting scripts for over thirty years. Audiences, while able to sit in a movie theatre for three hours to watch, for instance, this year’s The Batman , are far more impatient when it comes to the length of stage productions, which makes it especially difficult for those specializing in Shakespeare and other public domain classics of considerable length. In a perfect world—as opposed to the theatre, which thrives on imperfection—plays would always be the perfect length. After all, a playwright is a skilled technician specializing in conflict...

   (Brentwood, TN: CamCat Books, 2021). ISBN: 9780744304947 Every so often—and it is, as it should be, very rare—I read a book for review and think, “If only there were six stars in the rating system, instead of five…” So imagine my surprise when I realized that this is the author’s debut novel. It is admittedly a perfect storm for me, as a reader, paranormal researcher and experiencer, and a creative. It combines the gumshoe detective genre of the 1940s with the birth of Las Vegas and UFOs. Those are some rich ingredients for a novel, and Holmes combines them like a master pastry chef into a true guilty pleasure. The novel opens in June 1947, at the time of the fabled Roswell, New Mexico UFO incident. As that craft is (crash) landing, a livestock agent/special ranger named Jefferson Sharp witnesses a similar event in Texas. This is a multilayered inciting incident, not only kicking off the central narrative of the mystery of the UFO sightings, but delivering a trip...