Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author H. Meadow Hopewell for their latest release, Rage Against the Machine.
Book: Rage Against the Machine Author: H. Meadow Hopewell Series: The Given Path Trilogy (Book #1) Publication Date: November 22, 2024 Genres: Science fiction, Speculative fiction, Spiritual Science fiction Page Count: 345 pages Publisher: Elk Lake Publishing
About the Book
Award-winning director, Roare Murdock, is approached by a private group of investigative journalists who invite her to spearhead a documentary. She agrees to join the project to expose the dark side of transhumanism. With the assignment comes grave danger to herself and those around her. And someone in her close circle of trusted associates is not what he seems. She wonders why God would choose a wayward follower like her to warn the masses of an imminent threat to humanity.
Amid the challenges and dangers of research and filming, Hunter Barraclough, Roare’s biological father, enters her life for the first time. When Roare reaches her breaking point, help comes from an unlikely source, Sloane McInerney, Roare’s bodyguard. Sloane has his own reasons to join forces with Roare to unmask a malevolent AI lab whose CEO plots to destroy human souls through AI and other-worldly technology. As she battles demonic forces, Roare uses fear and anger to her advantage. But how long will she last before she questions her own survival?
You can find Rage Against the Machine here: Amazon | Goodreads
About The Author
H. Meadow Hopewell
H. Meadow Hopewell discovered a love for creative writing in college. A move to New Zealand reignited the flame. Between her love for science, pursuing God, and writing, her first novel An Emerging Star was born. When not writing, she maintains a photography blog. She lives on the North Island with her husband, two spoiled cats, and a farm dog who wants to be a house pet.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author: Karl Hörnell Release Date: April 30, 2024 Series: Genre: Science-Fiction, Thriller Format: E-book Pages: 154 pages Publisher: Blurb: In a near future where artificial general intelligence has been achieved, AIs that develop self-awareness are becoming a problem. Difficult to contain, they are often hunted and destroyed, but a team of exceptional ones has been spared to take down the most dangerous rogue AI of all time. Singularity Minus Twelve is a sci-fi thriller that delves into the near-term philosophical and societal implications of artificial intelligence, while having some fun playing with characters inspired by popular fictional AIs.
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I love a thoughtful, well-executed narrative and Singularity Minus Twelve by Karl Hörnell was an absolute treat for me. This is one of those rare books that grips you with its sharp intelligence.
Set against the haunting backdrop of a future shaped—and perhaps doomed—by runaway artificial intelligence, SingularityMinus Twelve beautifully blends fast-paced action with deeply philosophical questions about agency, consciousness, and the terrifying, blurry line between human and machine. From the nerve-wracking opening scene of a doll-like rogue robot outsmarting a tactical team, to the subtle but chilling political undercurrents about global AI arms races, author Hörnell builds a disturbingly plausible world.
The characters, especially Blake, are written with emotional depth and nuance. His struggles with memory loss and identity ground the bigger tech-driven narrative in something heartbreakingly human. I loved how even amid the breakneck plot, the novel kept circling back to one core question: What happens when we create minds we don’t understand—and can’t control?
The pacing was relentless but never at the cost of intelligent storytelling. If I had to nitpick, I’d say a few sections could have been tightened just a bit, but honestly, that’s just me wishing the story could have flowed even smoother because I was so invested.
If you love hard science fiction with heart, danger, and razor-sharp insight into where humanity might be heading, you cannot miss Singularity Minus Twelve. This is sci-fi at its finest—bold, unsettling, and fiercely intelligent.
Welcome to TRB Lounge! We’re thrilled to host author Harrison F. Kraustoday, who will be unveiling an exciting excerpt from his latest release, Of Gods and Men Book 1: Men. Dive in and get an exclusive sneak peek into this superb book!
About the Book
Of Gods and Men Book 1: Men
The war to end all wars has already been fought—and darkness has won. In the realm of Aezigar, gods clashed, dragons roamed, and mortals fought for survival. But when the war between light and shadow reached its end, the god of darkness, Umbra, emerged victorious. His dominion is unchallenged, his hunger insatiable. Now, even as the land of Aezigar suffers beneath Umbra’s shadow, the god of darkness turns to a new world to conquer: Earth. But Umbra’s conquest is far from assured. On Earth, unexpected powers awaken in the unlikeliest of Earth’s inhabitants: an uncertain younger brother, a fiery older brother, an ignored son, an aspirant student, and a hardened military captain. Soon these heroes begin to discover their extraordinary connections to their parallel selves in Aezigar.
Meanwhile, in his arrogance, Umbra has left embers of rebellion still smoldering in Aezigar. In that alternate universe, the heroes begin to stand against a world dominated by the forces Umbra left to rule in his absence: a hunter in service to the darkness, two brothers fleeing for their lives, a coward hiding in enemy lands, a leader of a shattered people, and a reaver seeking plunder in the chaos. Now, the fate of two worlds hangs in the balance. Will the heroes of two worlds be able to stop the darkness that the heroes of Aezigar alone could not? Or will the light of both worlds be extinguished forever? … Of Gods and Men is a sweeping blend of fantasy and superhero genres, crafted for those who crave epic tales of courage, sacrifice, and hope. Spanning two worlds—modern Earth and the fantastical realm of Aezigar—it weaves multiple interconnected storylines into a grand narrative of rebellion, redemption, and resilience. With heroes shaped by their struggles and choices that echo across realities, this is a story where every action carries weight, every bond is tested, every sacrifice matters, and the fate of entire worlds hangs in the balance. Prepare to embark on an unforgettable journey of parallel worlds, godlike battles, and the enduring fight against darkness.
You can find Of Gods and Men Book 1: Men here: Amazon | Goodreads
Excerpt
Prologue: The Man
Before the turn of the millennium, there was a man. He was tall, about 6’4”, with a skinny enough build that he nearly gave off the impression of being malnourished. However, if he wasn’t eating enough, his clothing gave enough indication to assume that it wasn’t due to a lack of financial means. He sat at a desk in an office overlooking New York City while wearing a three-piece suit. His pants, socks, shoes, jacket, vest, and tie were all black, as had been most of his clothing since he was a teenager. At the moment, he had his feet propped up on his desk. He held in his hand an audio recording device that he had purchased the evening before.
He spoke. “Today, I have resolved to stop.” The audio device had been recording for hours, but he hadn’t said a word. He wondered if it was even storing anything anymore.
He erased the recording and started again. “Today, I’ve made up my mind to put an end to the madness. Certain practices have been going on here, in the very company I founded, that can only be described as shameful, cruel, and downright evil. I’ve tried to stop this many times, but I failed. For the past three months, I’ve lain awake every night thinking about what’s been happening here, and every night, I’ve promised myself I’d put a stop to it. But every day, I’ve failed. It always pulls me back in. So today, I’ve decided to end it tonight. The truth is, I’m the one responsible for every crime, every cruel act, and every wrong done. I’ve given the orders, and I’ve pulled the trigger. I’ve dragged others into this life, and I’ve brought them down to the point where they’ve begged for mercy. I have to admit, I enjoyed the power and control. I’ve ruined lives and hurt people I claimed to love. To be honest, I don’t know if I’m capable of that… love. I never thought I was, but I thought that if I said the words, maybe they’d become true. Maybe if I pretended to be a trustworthy person, I’d become one. But I haven’t. To those who followed my lead, I lied. This life is destructive. But it might not be too late for you. It’s certainly too late for me. I have one honorable option left. I’ve tried to quit, but I can’t. As long as I’m alive, this will never end. I’ve lost control. So, I’ve decided to end the madness, stop the injustices, and kill the villain.”
About The Author
Harrison F. Kraus
Harrison F. Kraus has always been drawn to complex, multi-character narratives. Though he holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering, storytelling remains his greatest passion. He spent many weekends in college library study cubbies crafting his novel, balancing scientific rigor with creative worldbuilding. His stories often begin with a hand-drawn map, a habit that extends to his Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. Exploring themes of internal struggle, unity, and consequence, his work is subtly shaped by his Christian faith. Now residing in Greenbelt, Maryland, with his wife, Nisha, and their cat, Mika, he continues to write stories that reflect his lifelong love of epic storytelling.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB Lounge! We’re thrilled to host author Miles Joyner today, who will be unveiling an insightful excerpt from his latest book, Bazaar, an action-packed techno-thriller with a heart. Dive in and get an exclusive sneak peek into this superb book!
About the Book
Bazaar
A high-profile homicide of a former ambassador’s son in the nightlife district of the nation’s capital gets connected to an assassination market on the dark web, turning the DC area into a battlefield over a new generation of class warfare. When the ex-diplomat, Chiedu Attah, hires an elite executive protection team headed by siblings Yemi and Karen Uzunma to guarantee his safety, the security firm realizes they are going up against a young inventive contract killer who is determined to finish off the political VIP by any means necessary.
Bazaar is the first book in a series that follows the security contractor Raptor as it deals with the ramifications the prediction market has on the political celebrities of the capital region.
The only lighting inside the dark room was a couple of red LED lamps. They didn’t bother the eyesight of eighteen-year-old Aaron Williams, who was wide-eyed in fascination at his Ultramaker XT 3D printer going to work. The last of the white filament flew out the extruder onto the print bed, and he couldn’t have felt any more like a father watching his wife through the glass, holding their newborn baby.
He reached onto the platform and gripped his new plastic handgun that shot real, metal bullets. Like its predecessors, the Mini Talon had been banned from all sites hosting 3-D printing design files. However, Aaron was able to obtain it through torrents online, and now he had the opportunity to add it to his family of firearms that lay around the room, including an assault rifle with a lower receiver printed with the same material. But unlike the rest of its siblings, the MT wouldn’t be another one of Aaron’s toys to fire off rounds at tree targets deep in the woods. Some of the former models exploded on tests from the videos Aaron watched online, but he was confident the new version would not fail to take out his intended target in a few days with its untraceable ballistics.
Danny would be his escape. The son of a local pho restaurant owner was Aaron’s only friend outside the digital realm. Danny Phat took very little in life seriously, but for all the flaws, he knew every back road of the entire DC, Maryland, Virginia area. He could whip his raggedy-ass decade-old Nissan Altima pretty well. Either way, Aaron had no driver’s license and he wouldn’t risk getting pulled over or traced to a rideshare app. The young 21st-century gunsmith couldn’t take his eyes off his latest creation. He loaded a magazine, cocked the weapon, and listened satisfyingly to the crisp click. It blew Aaron’s mind to think the ammunition clip had fit perfectly into a gun made from the same material as his storage cabinet.
He was ready to test the gun. Would it fire smoothly? He had two days to test it and find out before he had to execute his assigned job.
August 20th, 2024. 1:30 AM. Washington, D.C.
Liquor-induced shrieks and screams of laughter carried over the bass thumps throughout a bumping Adams Morgan, the corridor of D.C. that served as one of the city’s nightlife hot spots. Neon lights shined on the designer-brand, clean-cut, modern-day yuppies who strut out of the nightclubs and the plaid-shirt bearded hipsters who stumbled out of the brewing taverns. A lot were on their nights off from studying, but the cost of drinks was far higher than college town prices so the professional class of everyone from policy aides to software engineers got just as wasted. Regardless of education or socioeconomic background, many women looked for their best friend whom they lost in the partying, and many male counterparts hoped to be that lucky dude they might have run off with.
Isaiah knew that’s what his best friend Adamu Attah wanted to be at that moment. But it was past Last Call, and Isaiah had put pressure on him for them to start heading back to their university dorms. He could tell Adamu didn’t get it. The youngest patriarch of the politically rich Attah family from Nigeria had no issues getting cheeks back home, butAmerican girls apparently weren’t as impressed with his super-forward approach. Isaiah tried to explain this to Adamu outside the Astro Lounge on 18th Street with neither a female around his arm nor a single new contact in his phone, but before he could bother to listen, a tipsy trio of curvy young women strolled out after him and caught his eye. Long braids, luscious shapes formed from their Lycra dresses, flawless different shades of ebony skin. Isaiah just knew Adamu would try again.
“AY!” The belles reluctantly turned toward the source of the attempt at a mating call. “Where we goin’ tonight?”
“Nowhere that involves ugly!” The tallest out of the three formed a smirk under her glasses, her two graduate degrees having only enhanced a life’s worth of sharp rebuttals to catcalling in her neighborhood. She laughed, and the pack began to leave the scene. No different than a kid eyeing the milk chocolate bar right before checkout, Isaiah knew Adamu just couldn’t take no for an answer. The shorter one with the most voluptuous figure became the unlucky winner to have her hand grabbed without permission.
“C’mon mami, ditch these bitches—” Adamu was snatched mid-sentence by a bouncer whose neck rolls formed a poop emoji and got tossed like a rag doll into the hands of Isaiah a few feet away.
“Dumbass!” screamed the short one as the three marched off down the street.
“I’m royalty, hoes! Some other BITCH will get blessed with this big dick tonight!”
“HEY!” The head of Astro Lounge security had enough. So had Isaiah.
“I’m so sorry, sir, he’s drunk.”
“Get him the fuck outta here before I break his jaw.”
“Yes, sir. Again, I’m sorry!”
The situation was all too familiar to Isaiah. Except now, instead of guiding a destroyed Adamu down the Terrapin-flagged residential streets of College Park, Maryland, from one frat house to another, they had graduated to bar hopping in D.C., where the young bachelor had been able to finally drink legally for the past ninety minutes.
“Sometimes you’re a freaking embarrassment, Adamu.”
“Shut the hell up and get an Uber. We’re going to Starline.”
“Starline?”
“Strip club.” Adamu gulped down a wad of vomit from coming out. Isaiah looked away in disgust, but something else caught his eye as they turned the corner.
A Metrobus stop bench rested thirty yards from their position. He figured that was where they could gather themselves after such a night. He used the remainder of his stamina to finally reach the bench and slap the back of Adamu to the hard rubber as if to try to wake him up. Isaiah checked his phone. 2% battery.
“Dammit…Adamu!”
His eyes opened, barely able to comprehend where he was even at, let alone being able to give Isaiah a response.
“Your phone. Mine’s about to die.” Body in total slow motion, Adamu managed to tap his pockets.
“Sh-Sh-Sh-Shit” eeked out of Adamu’s mouth.
“WHAT?!” Isaiah tapped his friend’s pockets. “Where is it?! Or your wallet?” Another tap. Wow. Alcohol and a night of partying caused his buddy to lose track of his valuables. Unbelievable.
“The hell is wrong with you? This isn’t Saint Catherines anymore!” Isaiah yelled at him, referencing their boarding school back in Victoria Island.
Vomit rose through his esophagus, except Isaiah could tell from the lump in Adamu’s throat that this batch was going full projectile. Isaiah jumped out of the way right in time for only a chunk to get on his shoes. The rest of Adamu’s day’s intake became a red-yellow puddle at the side of the bench. The gross site, as well as the realization that their options were fading, prompted Isaiah to throw his fist and scream a few “fucks” to himself. He looked up at the bus stop sign and saw that the 92 bus had a destination of SHAW-Howard, a Metro station. Maybe the route was their best bet if the bus got there within fifteen minutes and they made the last train, figured Isaiah as he composed himself.
He looked away, and something else caught his eye. Several blocks down Marion Street walked a hooded figure. Not too brisk, but certainly with purpose right toward their position. Isaiah squinted, and the street lamps revealed a teenager in a dark blue hoodie with jeans. The getup, time of night, and even the location were enough for Isaiah’s nerves to merge into his skin. Yeah, they were in the “nice part” of D.C., but Isaiah’s classmates had been robbed on campus, so it could happen anywhere. The young male got closer. When he was thirty feet away, Isaiah was still unsure of how to react or whether to react at all. The feeling might have been what his student counselor emphasized as overthinking.
“Com’on now.” Shifting from foot to foot, Isaiah sunk his hands deep into his pockets, a reflex move he made whenever he was nervous. At the same time, he heard his parents’ judgmental biases about inner-city youth, fighting to stave off his own similar thoughts.
“Hey, bro,” the figure said once he reached the bus stop. They traded ‘sup’ nods. Isaiah’s was way more reserved. “My phone’s dead. You got the time?”
“Mine’s dead, too. Sorry.”
“Hate when that happens out of nowhere.” Isaiah started to ease up to the source of the voice that seemed extra friendly with a hint of anxiety. The jitters he noticed from the kid were probably from him panicking over his phone being dead, figured Isaiah. Something he clearly could relate to, given his own situation. The original image shaped in his head was starting to look too judgemental. The teenager looked at Adamu who hung over the bench, motionless and barely conscious. “I’d ask him, but he looks done.”
“Yeah, he lost his at the club. Long night.” Isaiah gandered at his friend draped over the bench, now sharing sympathy with his comrade.
“Ah, so THAT’S why the phone is dead. Had it out the whole time booking them females. Can’t even be mad at him.”
“Not even,” laughed Isaiah, trying to shake off whatever anxiety he had left. “Word, y’all heading to Howard?”
“Nah. We go to Maryland. Trying to figure out a way back, actually.”
“Shit, I’m in the same position. Know where the closest metro is? Wonder if we can make the last train…”
The sign, Isaiah remembered. They had to just keep walking down Marion.”Yeah, I think—” POP POP. The friend of the target was not getting up from the two .380 caliber bullets that were just blasted through his skull with the utmost precision and professionalism. Aaron didn’t waste a beat as he tactically shifted the open sights of his plastic 3-D printed pistol to a groggy Adamu struggling to get his words out. “Please,” he cried. “I-I don’t have my wallet, but I can give you anything. I’m rich as fuck I swear— ” POP. Three total gunshots.The first one might have caught attention, but the second one was supposed to send any potential eyewitnesses running. At least, that’s what he learned from observing the few shootings he witnessed around his way. Aaron stowed the pistol away in his waistband holster. He checked the surroundings for the fifth time that night. There was no sign of anybody. He picked the right spot and predicted Adamu’s every move since the club perfectly. But where the hell was Danny? His Altima was supposed to be turning that corner before the first shot. VROOM. SCREECH. There it was. Revved and making too much damn noise as it peeled from an alleyway to scoop Aaron. The passenger door flew open, and Aaron jumped in. They took off before any sirens could be heard.
“Woo!” yelled Danny as he whipped around another corner. The two dressed pretty similar but everything Danny did was exaggerated in an attempt to blend into the projects they were heading back to. Everything from the Commander’s fitted hat to his Foamposite pressed against the gas pedal contrasted the plainer attire of Aaron, who didn’t care at all about the brands his former classmates worshipped on a daily basis.
“Fool you a BEAST!”
Aaron needed a moment to gather himself. Despite his success so far, taking someone’s life for the first time was a difficult realization to settle into. Let alone two lives. His parents never intended to raise a killer. His dyslexia limited the options the school offered. Danny’s advice about selling drugs or sketchy affiliate marketing plans wasn’t a solution either. He knew what would end up to him down that familiar path. He also took note of how naive Danny’s hype was in the latest additions to the district’s homicide rate.
“You were late” was the first thing out of Aaron’s mouth.
“Chill, fam. Traffic around the corner was O-C. Stop acting like I ain’t do my job.” Aaron’s eyes just rolled in response. Maybe if it was another debate at Danny’s spot about Harden Vs. Curry over some french fries drenched in mambo sauce, he’d entertain the bickering. But not after carrying out his first homicide. He wanted silence.
“But yeah, slim, you did the damn thing. How much did those lames have anyways? Real live starving in this bitch.” Aaron’s eyes widened. Unbeknownst to Danny, Aaron was just supposed to make it only look like a robbery.
“Shit, I forgot to run through their pockets.”
“The fuck you mean forgot? Nigga what was the whole point of tonight?”
“I still got you…and I told you not to use that word around me.”
“Imma call you a whole lot of other things if you don’t get my bread, muh fucka. Fuck type shit you think this is—”
“DANNY! SHUT THE HELL UP! Please.” Aaron didn’t yell often, but the authentic rage in his voice shut down whatever gangsta persona Danny was going for. By then, Aaron knew Danny finally realized it wasn’t another discussion about the NBA playoffs.
“Just get us to P-G,” Aaron said. P-G was the county of their home right outside the nation’s capital, Prince George’s. “Stop somewhere, and I’ll cover, but I can’t talk right now.” Nothing but the sound of road bumps and night traffic until Danny began to piece together a hint as to what the real motivation for that night had been.
“Aaron.” Danny had to pause for a moment. “Are you saying this was a hit?” Aaron didn’t care to answer Danny’s curiosity. He stared at the night-lit city outside the car window. He had just clocked out, and there was no desire to talk about work. The murder of Adamu happened two hours after midnight, meaning his death landed on the date Aaronhad bet on the assassination market called the Bazaar.
About The Author
Miles Joyner
Miles shifted to novels after years of filmmaking and editing television in the Washington, DC area. He particularly loves the technothriller genre at the moment and is an active member of International Thriller Writers where his first novel, Bazaar, was selected for their Debut Authors program. He also attends monthly meetings for the writer’s group, Novels in Progress DC.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author: Richard Pratt Release Date: September 1, 2024 Series: Genre: Classic fantasy, Epic Journey, Coming-of-age, Hidden Legends, Magical Realism, Folklore-Inspired Fantasy Format: E-book Pages: 229 pages Publisher: Earnshaw Books Blurb: Can you save the world with a dance? Can you call dragons with music? And can you do this when no-one believes that such things exist or are possible? The dragons of Tianya guard the balance between the forces of order and randomness, of heaven and earth, and when things are stable, no-one remembers they exist. But any disturbance can create tragedy, and only the mysterious dance to wake the dragon, performed at the ancient site of Zamai, can save the world. And the only person who knows the dance in this new age is Shengli.
Shengli lives in a remote village with her friends, her dog companion, and a wise old neighbour who is one of the last in Tianya to understand the ancient ways. She embarks on a dangerous mission, with her friends and the mysterious Renzi, to perform the dance at Zamai and the journey offers trials and tests that demand courage, cunning, and comradeship. With echoes of Lewis, Tolkein, and Pullman, but with a wholly original voice, this is a classic quest adventure in a fresh setting that explores contemporary themes in a timeless format.
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
A Dance to Wake a Dragon by Richard Pratt is a beautiful, lyrical, and utterly heartwarming fantasy adventure that swept me away from the very first page. Reading it felt like stepping into a snow-laden, otherworldly village where ancient traditions, stubborn young hearts, and mystical forces weave together into an extremely powerful narrative.
At the heart of the story is Shengli, a spirited, brave girl who dances not just for joy but, ultimately, to save her world. Through her friendship with her clever fox-like dog Boken (who’s now one of my favorite fictional animal companions!) and the bonds she shares with her village and friends, Shengli’s journey is about hope and honoring the wisdom of the past in a world eager to forget it.
The writing is tender yet intelligent, laced with whimsical humor (especially through Boken’s delightful “conversations”) and thoughtful insights. Author Pratt’s prose has that rare timeless quality which reads like a classic fable but remains fresh and vibrant.
There’s a subtle depth running beneath the playful surface, about cycles of life, the price of forgetting our roots, and the small acts of bravery that change the world. I also loved how the book gently critiques modern cynicism without being preachy and simply lets the magic of tradition speak for itself.
If I had any tiny critique, it would be that the beginning meanders slightly (though charmingly) before the main quest kicks into motion, but honestly, I didn’t mind spending extra time in Shengli’s snow-covered world.
If you’re looking for a heartful, exquisitely written fantasy full of dancing, dragons, and characters you’ll miss long after the book is over, A Dance to Wake a Dragon is pure magic. It’s the kind of story that feels like a warm fire on a winter night: comforting, glowing, and unforgettable.
Welcome to TRB Lounge! We’re thrilled to host author Bernt Erik Bjontegard today, who will be unveiling an insightful excerpt from his latest book, History Rules My Tomorrow. Dive in and get an exclusive sneak peek into this amazing book!
About the Book
History Rules My Tomorrow
A question to ponder: are we as humans pre-programmed to “follow in our father’s footsteps?” Is there something inherent in our heritage? Do we repeat what our forefathers and mothers did? And if so, can we apply these inherited cross-generational learning methods as we invent the next generations of intelligent systems? Rather than creating AI that is artificial and intended to replace human work, can we create intelligent systems that AUGMENT the human’s work and support him or her? Can we invent intelligent systems that learn and improve themselves with the mind of creating betterment for all humans as well?
Erik Bjontegard left Norway when he was 18 to study in the UK, then moved on to California. Not realizing until later in life, his actions and behavior, his quests for new discoveries, and his desire to invent followed his father and grandfather on his mother’s side. Now an accomplished inventor, former NASA rocket scientist, deep sea robotics, and submarine explorer, he is now navigating the new Phygital realms connecting the physical and digital.
In this engaging and inspiring autobiography, Bernt “Erik” Bjontegard narrates his life filled with the stories of his grandparents’ sacrifices during WWII, his own mistakes and discoveries, and poses important questions on how to engage the listeners and their families to assist in creating and inventing better human-technology interfaces. Learning from his history, he is embarking on the journey to make his tomorrow better than today.
While my own life story does not include war, Mayan Indians, Nazis, or building new countries or nations, you may start to see some interesting trends that I have only now started to understand as my hair is turning gray.
I left Norway to study in the UK at 18 instead of attending the university in Norway where my father was a visiting professor. I had been accepted, and staying in Norway would have been easier. All the education was in Norwegian. In England, they speak English a lot, even more so in the university classes.
I worked on subsea engineering and robotics. I got stuck in a submarine at the bottom of the North Sea. It made me look into space and explore other paths, which eventually brought me to the USA. So, I shifted from subsea robotics to aerospace and worked with NASA on their space shuttle at one of their big sub-contractors.
I had great success and was on the corporate ladder, supporting Boeing and Airbus in certifying their aircraft for the FAA, but I wanted more adventure. So, I ventured into a completely different realm, from deep-sea robotics, aerospace, and deep space to the equally mysterious world of make-up and fashion. As you may be able to tell, it is not a typical employment path.
From there onward, I moved into another entirely different business sector: building new homes and communities and becoming a real estate broker and land developer. Once that wasn’t exciting enough, I went onto something brand new.
Mobile technology. Another brand new frontier. I came into telecommunications, looking for new ways to connect the physical and digital worlds and build a way to enhance daily experiences.
As an American sci-fi author, Kage Baker said, “I don’t think humanity just replays history. We are the same people our ancestors were, and our descendants are going to face a lot of the same situations we do. It’s instructive to imagine how they would react to different technologies on different worlds.”
You must have figured by now that I am somewhat unusual. I don’t choose the road that most take. Instead, I create new paths. While different from my forefathers and parents, we will explore some remarkable similarities.
I am a patented inventor. I have started new companies and have also gone bankrupt.I have made a fortune and have lost it all. I’ve lived in tiny apartments and huge mansions. I have had a large family to feed and have sometimes been alone with my boy with little support.
But throughout it all, I seek answers to new questions! I ask, then paint visions of the future in my head. I think outside the box. I have been recognized by the high-tech giant CGI as one of the top technology visionaries in the world and have won numerous awards and accolades, from recognition at the White House to magazine cover stories.
I choose to do things differently. I’m an idealistic inventor and fascinated by technological and scientific innovation. I have conceived and invented things that affect millions of people and more to come. The common thread between all these various industries has been my desire to do something different and deliver better outcomes. I model, recreate, build, and deploy, and then I seem to get bored and go to the next challenge!
Weird, huh?
I have traveled the world and met key political figures across the globe, from 10 Downing Street in the UK to the White House in the USA, from Abu Dhabi to Norway, and from Hong Kong to Thailand.
As I look to the future, I wonder what we can learn about the past. Can we look at my family’s history and see how this can be used to improve the algorithms of augmented intelligence systems of the future? Is this my next destination? I am building solutions that connect the physical and digital, creating new worlds—Metaverses and Phygital spaces.
During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, I discovered my interest in the lost art of storytelling. My family, our four kids, and my fiancé had conversations around our dining table and shared ideas. I have observed my kids’ changing use of technology over the years. Now, we sat down and talked about it instead of using it. This made me realize that technological advancement has challenged the human transfer of knowledge and experience. Before, it was the tech that enabled us to talk. Now, we sat down at the table and spoke.
It was as if we had rediscovered something powerful. The COVID pandemic made us pause and observe how we had become dependent on tech for tech’s sake. We had lost the art of storytelling.
Personally, as you may be able to tell, I’ve always been driven by the challenge of combining science and innovation in ways that improve our lives. This is especiallysignificant in today’s ever-changing digital world, but we must keep the human elements.
It’s about taking advantage of the latest communication innovations delivered to everyone’s hand, wrist, and pocket. We all walk around with these connected “supercomputers” —our mobile phones. They are far faster and superior to those my grandfather used at UCLA or those my father used to find oil. Better than those used to build and used to operate the Space Shuttle to deliver people to space and back! Vastly more powerful than those I used to ensure we are all safe when we fly commercial airliners. We have enabled businesses and organizations to drive dynamic marketing, services, and communications. The result is the ability to easily bring real-time, relevant experiences to people in places like convention centers, universities, airports, medical centers, hospitals, events, office buildings, and tourist destinations. We even use these computers to play games when in the restroom! With my patented platform, we even deliver a layer of contextual intelligence to communications, turning engagements into relationships. Today’s norm was crazy science fiction only a few years ago. Imagine what we will consider normal 5 years from now?!
An excerpt from Yuval Noah Harari’s book, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow, reads, “If Kindle is upgraded with face recognition and biometric sensors, it can know what made you laugh, what made you sad, and what made you angry. Soon, books will read you while you are reading them.”
This is possible today. My platform can do this and more… much more. Even when shopping, stores can read people’s reactions to products and ads served on shelves in real time. Creating experiences like those in the SciFi movie “Minority Report” with personalized ads and offers to those in front of the signs is quite easy with my platform. We can even do more. We can send that offer to your phone there and then, and with a single button, ship it to your home! Why is it not everywhere yet, you may ask? Sometimes, just because you can doesn’t mean you should. The creepy factor of these interactive AI displays is rather high. But soon, this will be common. Imagine a flight display at an airport changing the flight and gate information to your flight as you approach it and then sending the gate information to your phone’s indoor navigation system so the phone will tell you where to go. This is possible now with contextually intelligent signage systems, integrated indoor navigation, and hybrid mobile app interfaces. It’s all part of a Contextually Intelligent Communication Platform ecosystem.
Nowadays, technology is all around us; as we fast forward deeper into the territories of intelligent computers and brain interfaces, the question of whether technology isneutral or not arises. One can argue that no moral value can be accredited to technology.
Technology is blind, is the thought. Thus, tools only have value when a person with their value system applies them, and thus, the technology is dependent on the value system of that individual.
Hence, this outlook advocates that the operators are responsible for the ethical use of technology. This argument is used all over. Crypto itself doesn’t cause terrorism. Terrorist do. Another such argument is that we shouldn’t blame guns for killing people. It’s not the gun that kills in and of itself. It’s the person pulling the trigger. Guns are neutral; people aren’t. But isn’t the fact that the gun enabled the killer and that crypto enables terrorists to do their horrible acts of violence? So, then, the tech enables actions. In fact, in a way, with this mindset, the technology augments the human’s actions.
When evaluating technologies and what to invent, should we consider why and what they can be used for? Surely, the invention of the atomic bomb had these diabolic considerations—if you drop one bomb, hundreds of thousands will die. But if you don’t drop the bomb, the war will continue, and many more will be lost. Is it our values that determine what technology to build? It’s the consideration of what is good and what is right. If a choice to invent something may be used for evil and wrong reasons versus not inventing it at all, I would suggest that it’s better to invent and then invent ways to control it. Someone else will eventually invent something similar and may not have the same moral considerations as you do!
While the actual value for the technology users will determine how the technology is used, the fact that it only exists because of our values makes them inseparable. Thus, we can debate that technology can be maneuvered. It can add choices or improve processes that point in a specific direction.
In addition to that, when we get too used to how things are, it takes a greater struggle to see how things could be different. It takes a more creative mind to see it in any other way. As time passes and familiarity grows, the technology and its functions become so entrenched as to be hardly thought about or questioned.
In 1986, Robert J. Welchel wrote in IEEE Technology and Society Magazine:
“This moral neutrality is based upon viewing technology purely as a means (providing tools for society to use) with the ends (the actual usage of technology) lying beyond and outside the realm of engineering; this position also assumes that available means have no causal influence on the ends chosen. If technology truly is only a means, then engineering is a second-class profession since we are the mere pawns of the real power brokers. We buy our innocence at a tremendous cost: To be innocent, we must be powerless.”
A vital impediment here is our inherent acceptance of the failure to predict the future. If no designer, inventor, or company can foresee the future benefits and costs of what they build, how can they ensure they embed good values?
So, using the information we have, we must find the best explanations or predictions we can. We can learn from our mistakes and make better decisions if we consider how different technologies progress and their consequences.
This is important, as future technologies will likely be much more powerful and consequential than today. Can we find ways to ensure these systems are based on knowledge of what works elsewhere? What worked before? Is there a way to learn from this transfer of knowledge that passes from generation to generation when the ages cannot physically meet? Naturally, I cannot meet and talk with my great-great-grandfather; he passed away long before I was born. How am I following his path so closely?
So, we are heading into a future where it is important to start asking strange and new questions. When intelligent machines make their own ethical choices, it will make no sense to say that technology is neutral, and aligning our values will be tremendously important.
Now it is getting interesting, isn’t it? There is much more to ponder and think about. We all know that there are consequences to our actions. Now, we must consider that there are consequences to our thoughts, dreams, and visions.
About The Author
Bernt Erik Bjontegard
Bernt “Erik” Bjontegard is the inventor of the patented, award-winning Spark Compass™, a Contextually Intelligent™ communication platform used globally to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time and place. As founder and CEO of Total Communicator Solutions, Inc., Erik has led innovative deployments at events like Wimbledon and America’s Cup, for brands like Puma and Coca-Cola, and even for public health initiatives in the UK. He holds multiple pioneering patents, many of which have been cited by industry giants, including IBM, Apple, Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm. Originally from Norway, Erik began his journey as a snow shuffler and windsurf instructor, later earning a full scholarship to the University of Salford in the UK. He became a mechanical engineer, designing deep-sea robotics before working with NASA on the Space Shuttle program—something he proudly recalls with his favorite phrase: “I used to be a rocket scientist!” He later certified aircraft designs for Boeing and Airbus and has contributed to technologies that are now part of 5G infrastructure.
Erik’s career path has been anything but conventional, spanning fashion, real estate, and advanced telecommunications. His time with Qualcomm’s Corporate R&D team saw him contribute to emerging platforms like Vuforia and Gimbal, and it was there he learned to write patents and began his deep dive into innovation. Erik is also an honorary Fellow at the University of Salford and serves on advisory boards for several universities, sharing his visionary insights with future generations. In his autobiography, Erik reflects on his life journey, his family’s sacrifices during WWII, and the inherited spirit of innovation that connects generations. He explores how human experiences can shape the development of intelligent systems that enhance rather than replace human work. Through personal stories and big-picture questions, Erik invites readers to imagine a better future—one where technology supports humanity, not the other way around.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB Lounge. Today, I’d like to welcome Miles Joyner, author of Bazaar, for an author interview with The Reading Bud.
About The Author
Miles Joyner
Miles shifted to novels after years of filmmaking and editing television in the Washington, DC area. He particularly loves the technothriller genre at the moment and is an active member of International Thriller Writers where his first novel, Bazaar, was selected for their Debut Authors program. He also attends monthly meetings for the writer’s group, Novels in Progress DC.
Welcome to TRB! Please give our readers a brief introduction about yourself before webegin. (We’d love to know beyond what your Author Bio says about you.)
I’m a writer who primarily writes novels and screenplays. I love most genres, but if I had to pick a favorite it’d probably be technothrillers. Nothing much else to say about to me other than what’s in the book 🙂
Beyond the official blurb, could you offer us a unique insight or a behind-the-scenes glimpse into your book?
I first came across the concept of an assassination market in the early 2010s, specifically the one conceived by the controversial engineer Jim Bell which is the basis for how the Bazaar in the novel functions. I was pretty surprised that even though the concept of crowdsourced assassinations may have been used in fiction, I couldn’t find a story based around Bell’s concept about a Crypto-backed dead pool revolutionizing politics. I had always wanted to write something about a tactical squad and I realized the area I grew up in would serve as the perfect backdrop for a dark scenario where Bell’s vision is a reality.
Every book has a starting point. What was the spark or pivotal moment that inspired you to write this one?
Bazaar was originally a TV pilot I wrote. It did pretty well in some screenplay contests, however it was constructive feedback that gave me the idea it was fitting to write the novel. A reader had remarked that while the idea had limitless potential, the characters felt a bit flat except for the anatgonist, Aaron. I wrote the first chapter sometime in late 2019 and it immediately became an addiction.
Is there a core message or theme in your book that you wish readers to discover?
The major theme that seems to fascinate me the most during the writing process is entrepreneurship. In a way, both Aaron and Yemi are entrepreneurs with a common goal, financial freedom. They’re just on opposite sides of the law. One is a contract killer and the other a contract bodyguard. They pursue their goals relentlessly as rapidly evolving technology and widespread sharing of information show the cracks in the modern political system. Other things such as class, corruption, and power are also mixed up in there, but I’m not trying to preach anything. My favorite raction so far has been certain readers wondering if this could really happen given the direction society is going.
Of all the characters in your book, do you have a personal favourite? What makes themspecial to you?
I love them all for different reasons, but I think my personal favorite may be Damien. He only appears in one scene in the latter half of the novel, yet he has two very different sides to his personality, one he thought he left in the past but is forced to make an appearance when he is faced with the potential for violence. Hopefully this doesn’t spoil the story, but I like how he’s pretty much the only person who humbles Aaron.
How do you approach character development, ensuring they resonate with readers and feel authentic?
I base characters off real life people I’ve met that intrigued me in some shape or form. Even if I didn’t get a long with them. It’s impossible to write something that appeases everybody, so I just focus on creating characters I personally find fascinating or interesting.
What was the inspiration for this book? Was it an idea, an anecdote, a dream, or something else?
That’s hard to pin down, but I pretty much tie it to my fascination with stories centered around squads whether it be video games, films, or novels combined with me learning more about how an assassination market works.
Thank you, author Joyner, for taking the time to answer our questions and for all your insightful and interesting answers!
About the Book
Bazaar
A high-profile homicide of a former ambassador’s son in the nightlife district of the nation’s capital gets connected to an assassination market on the dark web, turning the DC area into a battlefield over a new generation of class warfare. When the ex-diplomat, Chiedu Attah, hires an elite executive protection team headed by siblings Yemi and Karen Uzunma to guarantee his safety, the security firm realizes they are going up against a young inventive contract killer who is determined to finish off the political VIP by any means necessary.
Bazaar is the first book in a series that follows the security contractor Raptor as it deals with the ramifications the prediction market has on the political celebrities of the capital region.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author: Adam Knight Release Date: September 1, 2024 Series: Genre: Memoir Format: E-book Pages: 259 pages Publisher: – Blurb: Made of Iron: The Dina Jacobson Story 1939, Southern Poland. Dina was a young Jewish woman. She anticipated getting married and raising a family in the same small town where she had grown up. War broke her life. But it would not break her. Dina endured years of suffering in Auschwitz concentration camp, then more years of homelessness after the war. She finally settled in America where, after finally raising that family, she dedicated her life to sharing her story with young people. I was one of them.
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
As a writer and editor who scrutinises stories for their emotion and authenticity, Adam Knight’s Made of Iron resonated deeply with me. This is not just another Holocaust survival memoir—it’s a multi-layered narrative that blends history, memory, and creative reconstruction into something incredibly powerful and, at times, soul-stirring.
Author Knight approaches Dina Jacobson’s life story with the sensitivity of a memoirist and the precision of a journalist. What I admired most is his transparency—he doesn’t pretend that every moment can be captured with historical certainty. Instead, he leans into the gaps, the fragility of memory, and what emerges is a narrative that feels deeply profound. He handles the framing of memory as both limitation and liberation beautifully, an editorial decision I found both courageous and honest.
Dina’s voice shines through, and the way author Knight reconstructs her life—from her warm, hardworking childhood in Poland, through the devastation of Auschwitz, and into the quiet rebuilding of life in America—makes you feel like you’re walking every painful and powerful step with her. There’s reverence here, but also realism. Dina is portrayed not as a flawless saint, but as a woman who endured unthinkable horror and still chose to live, speak, bake cookies for strangers and smile at children.
The author’s narrative structure—interweaving interviews, research, and recreated scenes—feels innovative and deeply respectful. And the chapters with Kalman, Dina’s husband, added an unexpected depth to the book that made the entire narrative feel like a shared legacy, not just a singular survival story.
For anyone looking for an unforgettable and deeply emotional reading experience, Made of Iron is it. It’s raw, intimate, and a vital piece of history told with literary grace.
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Suze Leonie for their latest release, Yonah and Devorah’s Traveling Music Theatre.
Book: Yonah and Devorah’s Traveling Music Theatre Author: Suze Leonie Publication date: 1 October 2014 Genres: General Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction Page Count: 157 pages Publisher: Fidessa Literary
About the Book
When famous new media artist Eli Schmidt inherits a mysterious chest from his emotionally detached grandmother that he is instructed not to open, he can’t curb his curiosity. Inside, he finds a lost and lonely doll named Devorah, who begins to heartbreakingly scream for the love of her life, Yonah. Wishing he had obeyed orders, Eli has no choice but to go on a journey to reunite the pair. To his great distress, this means he must give up his treasured peace and quiet and do what he loathes the most: interact with other people. While Eli desperately tries to break free from this burden, Devorah amplifies her control, embroiling him in a battle that will forever change the course of his life.
You can find Yonah and Devorah’s Traveling Music Theatre here: Amazon
About The Author
Suze Leonie
Suze Leonie is a literary fiction and children’s fiction author and illustrator from a Dutch coastal town. She has a passion for literature and philosophy and when she isn’t writing or drawing, she’s usually found with a book in her hand. In the spring of 2024 Suze Leonie made her debut with the novel Ivan, Boris and Me, which is the first book in a collection of literary works that heavily focus on human psychology. When Suze Leonie is able to let go of her precious books she enjoys going to museums, good food, board games and long walks on the beach.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Bernt Erik Bjontegard for his latest release, History Rules My Tomorrow.
About The Author
Bernt Erik Bjontegard
Bernt “Erik” Bjontegard is the inventor of the patented, award-winning Spark Compass™, a Contextually Intelligent™ communication platform used globally to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time and place. As founder and CEO of Total Communicator Solutions, Inc., Erik has led innovative deployments at events like Wimbledon and America’s Cup, for brands like Puma and Coca-Cola, and even for public health initiatives in the UK. He holds multiple pioneering patents, many of which have been cited by industry giants, including IBM, Apple, Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm.
Originally from Norway, Erik began his journey as a snow shuffler and windsurf instructor, later earning a full scholarship to the University of Salford in the UK. He became a mechanical engineer, designing deep-sea robotics before working with NASA on the Space Shuttle program—something he proudly recalls with his favorite phrase: “I used to be a rocket scientist!” He later certified aircraft designs for Boeing and Airbus and has contributed to technologies that are now part of 5G infrastructure.
Erik’s career path has been anything but conventional, spanning fashion, real estate, and advanced telecommunications. His time with Qualcomm’s Corporate R&D team saw him contribute to emerging platforms like Vuforia and Gimbal, and it was there he learned to write patents and began his deep dive into innovation. Erik is also an honorary Fellow at the University of Salford and serves on advisory boards for several universities, sharing his visionary insights with future generations.
In his autobiography, Erik reflects on his life journey, his family’s sacrifices during WWII, and the inherited spirit of innovation that connects generations. He explores how human experiences can shape the development of intelligent systems that enhance rather than replace human work.
Through personal stories and big-picture questions, Erik invites readers to imagine a better future—one where technology supports humanity, not the other way around.
A question to ponder: are we as humans pre-programmed to “follow in our father’s footsteps?” Is there something inherent in our heritage? Do we repeat what our forefathers and mothers did?
And if so, can we apply these inherited cross-generational learning methods as we invent the next generations of intelligent systems? Rather than creating AI that is artificial and intended to replace human work, can we create intelligent systems that AUGMENT the human’s work and support him or her? Can we invent intelligent systems that learn and improve themselves with the mind of creating betterment for all humans as well?
Erik Bjontegard left Norway when he was 18 to study in the UK, then moved on to California. Not realizing until later in life, his actions and behavior, his quests for new discoveries, and his desire to invent followed his father and grandfather on his mother’s side. Now an accomplished inventor, former NASA rocket scientist, deep sea robotics, and submarine explorer, he is now navigating the new Phygital realms connecting the physical and digital.
In this engaging and inspiring autobiography, Bernt “Erik” Bjontegard narrates his life filled with the stories of his grandparents’ sacrifices during WWII, his own mistakes and discoveries, and poses important questions on how to engage the listeners and their families to assist in creating and inventing better human-technology interfaces. Learning from his history, he is embarking on the journey to make his tomorrow better than today.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB Lounge! We’re thrilled to host author Adam Knight today, who will be unveiling an insightful excerpt from their memoir, Made of Iron: The Dina Jacobson Story. Dive in and get an exclusive sneak peek into this beautiful book!
About the Book
Made of Iron
Made of Iron: The Dina Jacobson Story 1939, Southern Poland. Dina was a young Jewish woman. She anticipated getting married and raising a family in the same small town where she had grown up. War broke her life. But it would not break her. Dina endured years of suffering in Auschwitz concentration camp, then more years of homelessness after the war. She finally settled in America where, after finally raising that family, she dedicated her life to sharing her story with young people. I was one of them.
Stepping into the lecture hall of my high school filled me with a sense o freverence and awe. Ordinary classes on ordinary days took place in ordinary rooms, but the lecture hall was for special events. As a freshman, I had never been inside. I scanned the banked rows of hard-backed plastic seats and the laminated tables that curved in a semicircle around the lighted stage. A pair of chairs sat in the middle of the stage. One, I knew, was for my teacher; the other was for the guest—the guest for this special event.
I took a seat in the second row. I didn’t dare sit in the back row. People who sit in the back row send a certain message to the speaker. I also didn’t sit in the front. That was too close. I was, and will always be, a sit-in-the- second-row type of person. I set my overloaded backpack down by a seat, then plunked myself down. The seat swiveled. How fancy! How collegiate! I could hear the squeaks and groans of all of the other seats in the hall. My classmate who sat next to me commented about how we should have class here every day. I smiled and agreed. It’s just a thing to say.
Recently, in history class, we finished a unit about the Holocaust and genocide. It was the first time I learned about these topics, and as always, I studied and did well on the test. Our teacher, Mr. Adessa, invited this guest speaker to give us a better understanding of the material. Since I had already gotten an A on the test, I did not see how much better understanding I could have, but I welcomed any assembly that broke up the monotony of the school day. I was 15 years old.
Mr. Adessa stepped onto the stage. He was tall, over six feet with a military bearing that made him seem taller still. Mustachioed, hair swept back, he was a man who rarely smiled, I had come to recognize him as a teacher who was tough and demanding and expected more of his students than they realized they could handle. A teacher who would give a B+ to an A student, so the student worked harder to realize what an A requires. Me.
He welcomed us and invited us to sit and pay attention. His students obeyed.
“I have with me here an important guest to our school. She is also a dear friend of mine. In class, you have learned about the Holocaust. You have heard of the Auschwitz concentration camp. You have learned a little bit about what happened to those who survived. I want to introduce you to my friend, Dina. She lives in Elmira, about an hour from here. She has a family there and has lived here in upstate New York for almost 50 years. But before that, she grew up in Poland and—well, I will let her tell her story.”
He escorted a woman to the chairs on the stage. He stooped down to offer an arm, though she did not need it. This woman could not have been more than five feet tall, with curly white hair and piercing eyes. She seemed old, the age of my grandparents, but she moved with a sense of strength and surety that made her seem like she could live forever. She sat in one chair. Mr. Adessa took the other.
“Thank you,” she said, and I immediately heard the Eastern European accent. She faced the audience. “My name is Dina Jacobson, and I was in Auschwitz concentration camp.”
I listened, silent and respectful, as Dina spent the next hour telling us about her life. She told us a few details about growing up on a farm in Poland. She told us about Nazis coming to her hometown and taking her family away, then eventually taking her. Much of her talk consisted of stories about her years in Auschwitz. She told about the abuse she suffered at the hands of guards, about living off of no more than a cup of ersatz coffee and a thin slice of bread each day. She rolled up her sleeve and showed us her forearm, where a number was written in blue ink. I couldn’t see the number clearly, as I was two rows back. Mr. Adessa told us that if we want to come up and see the tattoo up close at the end of the talk, we will have an opportunity. I already knew I would not. That would be too close.
Dina finished her talk by telling us a little about liberation from the camp, and about living in Elmira. Then she took questions, and students wanted to know more about the concentration camps. They wanted details. They wanted to know how terrible it was, and Dina did her best to explain. I asked no questions. I was moved, though not to tears, like some of my classmates. I assumed that this talk, like most educational experiences, will settle into my memory and stay there. I assumed that between the unit in history class and the presentation that day, I learned most of what I needed to know about the Holocaust. I assumed my relationship with Dina would end after the talk, and my relationship with my history teacher would end in June.
About all of these assumptions, I was completely wrong.
About The Author
Adam Knight
Adam Knight is an author and teacher in northern New Jersey, USA. His novel, At the Trough, was published in 2019 by NineStar Press. His memoir, Made of Iron: The Dina Jacobson Story, was published in 2024 by The Wordsmithy. His short fiction and essays have been published in a number of anthologies and online venues, including Arcturus Press, Daily Science Fiction and Escape Pod. He is currently seeking publication for a cosmic horror novel about the sinking of the Titanic.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Miles Joyner for his latest release, Bazaar.
About The Author
Miles Joyner
Miles shifted to novels after years of filmmaking and editing television in the Washington, DC area. He particularly loves the technothriller genre at the moment and is an active member of International Thriller Writers where his first novel, Bazaar, was selected for their Debut Authors program. He also attends monthly meetings for the writer’s group, Novels in Progress DC.
A high-profile homicide of a former ambassador’s son in the nightlife district of the nation’s capital gets connected to an assassination market on the dark web, turning the DC area into a battlefield over a new generation of class warfare. When the ex-diplomat, Chiedu Attah, hires an elite executive protection team headed by siblings Yemi and Karen Uzunma to guarantee his safety, the security firm realizes they are going up against a young inventive contract killer who is determined to finish off the political VIP by any means necessary.
Bazaar is the first book in a series that follows the security contractor Raptor as it deals with the ramifications the prediction market has on the political celebrities of the capital region.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Bernt Erik Bjontegard for his latest release, History Rules my Tomorrow.
Book: History Rules My Tomorrow Author: Bernt Erik Bjontegard Publication date: 12/5/23 Genres: Memoir, Biography Page Count: 366 pages Publisher: –
About the Book
A question to ponder: are we as humans pre-programmed to “follow in our father’s footsteps?” Is there something inherent in our heritage? Do we repeat what our forefathers and mothers did?
And if so, can we apply these inherited cross-generational learning methods as we invent the next generations of intelligent systems? Rather than creating AI that is artificial and intended to replace human work, can we create intelligent systems that AUGMENT the human’s work and support him or her? Can we invent intelligent systems that learn and improve themselves with the mind of creating betterment for all humans as well?
Erik Bjontegard left Norway when he was 18 to study in the UK, then moved on to California. Not realizing until later in life, his actions and behavior, his quests for new discoveries, and his desire to invent followed his father and grandfather on his mother’s side. Now an accomplished inventor, former NASA rocket scientist, deep sea robotics, and submarine explorer, he is now navigating the new Phygital realms connecting the physical and digital.
In this engaging and inspiring autobiography, Bernt “Erik” Bjontegard narrates his life filled with the stories of his grandparents’ sacrifices during WWII, his own mistakes and discoveries, and poses important questions on how to engage the listeners and their families to assist in creating and inventing better human-technology interfaces. Learning from his history, he is embarking on the journey to make his tomorrow better than today.
Bernt “Erik” Bjontegard is the inventor of the patented, award-winning Spark Compass™, a Contextually Intelligent™ communication platform used globally to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time and place. As founder and CEO of Total Communicator Solutions, Inc., Erik has led innovative deployments at events like Wimbledon and America’s Cup, for brands like Puma and Coca-Cola, and even for public health initiatives in the UK. He holds multiple pioneering patents, many of which have been cited by industry giants, including IBM, Apple, Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm.
Originally from Norway, Erik began his journey as a snow shuffler and windsurf instructor, later earning a full scholarship to the University of Salford in the UK. He became a mechanical engineer, designing deep-sea robotics before working with NASA on the Space Shuttle program—something he proudly recalls with his favorite phrase: “I used to be a rocket scientist!” He later certified aircraft designs for Boeing and Airbus and has contributed to technologies that are now part of 5G infrastructure.
Erik’s career path has been anything but conventional, spanning fashion, real estate, and advanced telecommunications. His time with Qualcomm’s Corporate R&D team saw him contribute to emerging platforms like Vuforia and Gimbal, and it was there he learned to write patents and began his deep dive into innovation. Erik is also an honorary Fellow at the University of Salford and serves on advisory boards for several universities, sharing his visionary insights with future generations.
In his autobiography, Erik reflects on his life journey, his family’s sacrifices during WWII, and the inherited spirit of innovation that connects generations. He explores how human experiences can shape the development of intelligent systems that enhance rather than replace human work.
Through personal stories and big-picture questions, Erik invites readers to imagine a better future—one where technology supports humanity, not the other way around.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author: Morgan Hatch Release Date: July 31, 2025 Series: Genre: Crime Fiction, Political Thriller, Suspense, Socio-Political Fiction Format: E-book Pages: 310 pages Publisher: – Blurb: The first in a suspenseful new trilogy, a fast-paced thriller set in the streets of Los Angeles, featuring a Mexican American high school senior embroiled in a conspiracy that threatens to destroy his neighborhood. Javier Jimenez is on a glide path to college while his brother, Alex, has done a 180 and is heading for trouble. Neither, however, have any idea what’s coming their way when George Jones sets in motion his plan for their neighborhood. “Some people flip homes. I flip zip codes.” It’s a cataclysmic vision of urban renewal replete with manmade disasters, civil unrest, and a tsunami of ambitious Zoomers.
Meanwhile, Alex and Javier’s feud quickly escalates, even as Alex finds himself in way over his head with Denker Street, the local gang. The bodies start falling, and Javier soon realizes Jones has put a target on his back. It’s time to go to ground. Can he keep Alex from falling further into the streets? Can he outplay Jones at his own game? All this and his own hopes, once so bright, now fading like a smog-shrouded LA skyline.
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Gone to Ground by Morgan Hatch is a bold, razor-sharp novel that dives headfirst into the urban sprawl of Los Angeles and never once comes up for air. As a writer and editor, I found myself appreciating not just the story’s complexity but the control with which author Hatch moves between perspectives, timelines, and characters. It’s dense but never bloated, gritty but with a heart that pulses beneath the asphalt.
The story follows Javier, a high school senior doing his best to keep his little brother Alex from falling into the gravitational pull of gang life in the San Fernando Valley. What begins as a familiar tale of familial loyalty quickly expands into a high-stakes political and financial thriller, complete with corporate sabotage, environmental scandal, and cold-blooded real estate warfare. The threads are numerous, but author Hatch pulls them taut with precision.
What I particularly loved was the author’s ear for dialogue and his eye for detail. Whether it’s a classroom filled with half-asleep teens or a power-lunch between political sharks, the writing is immersive and confidently observant. Characters like Betzaida—the tough, queer tow truck operator and half-sister to Javier—leap off the page with authenticity. And George Jones, the book’s Machiavellian fixer, is a villain you love to hate, dripping with charm and menace.
The pacing is deliberate, and that’s the one reason I’m giving this 4 stars instead of 5. Some narrative detours, while insightful, felt slightly indulgent and slowed the momentum during otherwise taut sequences. But it’s a small price to pay for the scope and ambition of what author Hatch accomplishes.
Gone to Ground isn’t just about a city, it’s about the people hanging on to their dignity as the ground shifts beneath them. It’s a book that challenges, informs, and, most importantly, feels alive. Highly recommended for fans of Don Winslow, George Pelecanos, and Walter Mosley.
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Adam Knight for his latest release, Made of Iron: The Dina Jacobson Story.
Book: Made of Iron: The Dina Jacobson Story Author: Adam Knight Publication date: September 2024 Genres: Memoir Page Count: 259 pages Publisher: The Wordsmithy LLC
About the Book
Made of Iron: The Dina Jacobson Story 1939, Southern Poland. Dina was a young Jewish woman. She anticipated getting married and raising a family in the same small town where she had grown up. War broke her life. But it would not break her. Dina endured years of suffering in Auschwitz concentration camp, then more years of homelessness after the war. She finally settled in America where, after finally raising that family, she dedicated her life to sharing her story with young people. I was one of them.
Adam Knight is an author and teacher in northern New Jersey, USA. His novel, At the Trough, was published in 2019 by NineStar Press. His memoir, Made of Iron: The Dina Jacobson Story, was published in 2024 by The Wordsmithy. His short fiction and essays have been published in a number of anthologies and online venues, including Arcturus Press, Daily Science Fiction and Escape Pod. He is currently seeking publication for a cosmic horror novel about the sinking of the Titanic.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author: Tony Jaehrling Release Date: November 12, 2024 Series: Betrayal(Book #2) Genre: Fantasy, Magic, Witchcraft, Demons Format: E-book Pages: 438 pages Publisher: Peter Anthony Jaehrling Blurb: In her first few months on the Lorynthian throne, Tamyr Thimpor survived internal assaults to her reign, including two assassination attempts. Just when the internal difficulties have been brought under control, an external threat manifests. Tamyr is kidnapped and transported to the Badlands where she is held captive by a witch and seven demons who intend to take her to Nyv’ral, the mountain city, where she is to be executed.
Val Telt and the Loyal Guard, along with the Meghian witch, Zinoeth, ride in pursuit, but they are a long way behind and there are numerous enemies intent on barring their way. Can Val and his allies win their way through? And even if they can, will Tamyr be alive when they arrive? There is one factor that can change the odds in Tamyr’s favor: her enemies are unaware that she is a witch. If she can keep this secret, that is her advantage. How is she to do this when she is surrounded by powerful witches and predatory demons? Her own survival, and Lorynthia’s, depend on her solving this problem. The Reluctant Queen must become the Hidden Witch, or all will be lost.
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Hidden Witch by Tony Jaehrling picks up right where Reluctant Queenleft off, thrusting us into the Badlands with Tamyr, a protagonist who is rapidly evolving from reluctant monarch to formidable force. What struck me most in this installment is how Author Jaehrling expands the worldbuilding with detailed magical systems, various witch factions, and yes, demons that are both terrifying and compelling.
The pacing is brisk, the action scenes tight, and the emotional threads are handled with care. Tamyr’s inner turmoil of her self-doubt, anger, and resilience, feels authentic and hard-earned. There’s also a layered richness to the supporting cast. Lowen especially is a standout being a pale-haired witch walking a moral tightrope.
Author Jaehrling does a great job of making this a darker, more introspective middle chapter. If Reluctant Queen was about legacy, Hidden Witch is about survival, and preparing to fight back. I knocked off one star only because I wanted slightly more breathing space between high-stakes scenes, a moment or two more for emotional reflection and character interaction, but honestly, this is a gripping, propulsive read.
If you’re a fan of morally complex fantasy with strong female leads, Hidden Witch absolutely delivers.
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Miles Joyner for his latest release, Bazaar.
Book: Bazaar Author: Miles Joyner Publication date: March 24, 2025 Genres: Crime, Thriller, Suspense, Technothriller Page Count: 355 pages Publisher: World Castle Publishing
About the Book
A high-profile homicide of a former ambassador’s son in the nightlife district of the nation’s capital gets connected to an assassination market on the dark web, turning the DC area into a battlefield over a new generation of class warfare. When the ex-diplomat, Chiedu Attah, hires an elite executive protection team headed by siblings Yemi and Karen Uzunma to guarantee his safety, the security firm realizes they are going up against a young inventive contract killer who is determined to finish off the political VIP by any means necessary.
Bazaar is the first book in a series that follows the security contractor Raptor as it deals with the ramifications the prediction market has on the political celebrities of the capital region.
Miles shifted to novels after years of filmmaking and editing television in the Washington, DC area. He particularly loves the technothriller genre at the moment and is an active member of International Thriller Writers where his first novel, Bazaar, was selected for their Debut Authors program. He also attends monthly meetings for the writer’s group, Novels in Progress DC.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB Lounge! We’re thrilled to host author Morgan Hatch today, who will be unveiling an intriguing excerpt from the first installment of their new suspense-thriller trilogy, Gone to Ground. Dive in and get an exclusive sneak peek into the intriguing plot they’ve crafted in their latest work!
About the Book
Gone to Ground
The first in a suspenseful new trilogy, a fast-paced thriller set in the streets of Los Angeles, featuring a Mexican American high school senior embroiled in a conspiracy that threatens to destroy his neighborhood.
Javier Jimenez is on a glide path to college while his brother, Alex, has done a 180 and is heading for trouble. Neither, however, have any idea what’s coming their way when George Jones sets in motion his plan for their neighborhood. “Some people flip homes. I flip zip codes.” It’s a cataclysmic vision of urban renewal replete with manmade disasters, civil unrest, and a tsunami of ambitious Zoomers.
Meanwhile, Alex and Javier’s feud quickly escalates, even as Alex finds himself in way over his head with Denker Street, the local gang. The bodies start falling, and Javier soon realizes Jones has put a target on his back. It’s time to go to ground. Can he keep Alex from falling further into the streets? Can he outplay Jones at his own game? All this and his own hopes, once so bright, now fading like a smog-shrouded LA skyline.
Halfway through lunch, the pair from Denker would arrive, Itchy and Scratchy, the former notable for his insistent, vacuous smile and the latter for his slightly forlorn appearance. They’d take the bleachers two at a time, stepping over lunch trays on their way to the back row. Itchy always had on a pristine ball cap turned at a jaunty angle, a shiny decal still affixed to the bill, and Scratchy, hands shoved deep in his pockets, wore a hoodie that bisected his skull and swung off the crown of his head as if glued in place. Itchy would plop down next to Alex, stick one hand in the bag of chips, then drape an arm over Alex’s shoulder, a telling combination of coercion and brotherhood that had grown over the first semester. Three months ago, Alex would have given the boy all shoulder, kept his eyes on his phone. Here it was October, now with the dap and the head nods, a steady drip of street-love like water for the thirsty. Itchy, the salesman, brought the hype, and sad-sack Scratchy brought the promise of violence. Javier held the most contempt for guys like Scratchy, follow-ons who kept the whole charade going. Javier had known a handful of Scratchies—his friend, Chuey, exhibit A—and knew they had more choice in their lives than the Itchys of the world who couldn’t help but inspire the worst in others. Scratchies lacked imagination, and without them, Itchys were just gas.
The Gaither lunch bell rang. Scratchy scanned the quad like a farmer looking for a good place to plant corn. He clutched the side of his jeans and climbed down the steps, a pop-and-lock that gave him the appearance of old age. Then Itchy stood, having sold Alex a vision of vidaloca now for ten minutes, and offered the cherry-on-top out of view of the school cameras. His hands, belt-high and with the fluid grace of an interpreter for the deaf, flashed the Denker trademark S-R-V: the first letters of the three street names, Sepulveda, Roscoe, and Van Nuys, which bounded their neighborhood, Barrio Horseshoe, or as everyone called it, the Shoe.
There was no fourth street because the southern boundary of the Shoe was a lunar landscape called Dogtown, a 500-acre vacant lot in the middle of East San Fernando Valley big enough to site a football stadium. Fifty years ago, when this part of Los Angeles had been mostly farmland, the area had been a man-made lake. Seen from above even today, it resembled an enormous footprint minus the toes. On Google Maps, it was cryptically referred to as a hazard abatement area, a lake long since dried up and now a tent city for the Valley’s destitute. Both code and law enforcement took a hands-off approach, certain that a close look would trigger enough paperwork to keep everyone behind their desks for months.
Javier watched Alex slow-walk to class like he was underwater. Another bad sign.
“Dumb and Dumber come by?” Raffa broke in.
Class was ending, Patel now returning to the mundane world of homework and Friday’s quiz. Javier looked at the whiteboard and made a mental note of the page numbers to read and the problem set to finish. Raffa knew Javier had been watching Alex and the daily ritual. “He’s in eighth grade, big brother. They’re all stupid.” Raffa zipped up his backpack. “Trust me. Jocelyn belongs in a cage.” Jocelyn was his sister. “I say put ‘em all on an island, come back in a year. Whoever survives gets to go on to high school.”
Javier thought of smiling but couldn’t. “Kid’s a follower, and he’s angry about something.” He stuck his notebook in his backpack and watched Alex disappear around a building. “Those two mooks been working him since August.” He couldn’t shake the fact that it was Alex, not Beto or Augusto, who’d been the target these past three months.
The bell rang, and the class stood to leave. Javier nudged Gio who was now staring at McRibbs, the skeleton parked in the corner, its head tilted toward the floor as if he’d dropped a set of keys. Enrique was already macking on the girl next to him who had the hunched posture of someone expecting a bomb to go off. Javier, Raffa, and Gio left him there and walked into the hallway traffic, a human salmon run after fourth period.
Raffa turned to Javier over his shoulder. “Relax. He’s gonna join a tagging crew, throw up his placa three times, get busted on the fourth when he shows up on camera.” They wound down the stairwell and outside to the quad. “Then Mendez’s gonna turn the jets on his ass.” Raffa took out his water bottle, offered a sip first to Gio then to Javier; both declined. “Then you’ll take him to Walmart to buy a new set of chones.”
Officer Mendez was the school police officer who’d made it his life’s mission to put wayward boys like Alex back on the path their mothers wanted them on. Twice a year he’d round up the Gaither frequent fliers and put them into a room with a group of veteranos who’d lived the life, done the time, and now put the fear of God into boys like Alex. Their facial scars webbed with stitch lines belied a history of violence, their jailhouse tats now blurred and illegible. Eight of them would put their chairs in a row, a firing squad for each of the Gaither bad apples.
See this paperclip? That’s what Papi will use to ink his initials on your neck, entiendes? Then another would push in closer, an ugly, staring face with dead eyes. Each fatherless boy, an unexpected spark of need suddenly welling up, as if summoned by this stranger, so close now, he could hear the man’s breath whistling through his nose. One by one, their chairs scraping the floor, until they formed an OG semicircle. One of them—whichever one still had his prison swole—would whip off his shirt to reveal a torso slabbed with muscle.
Gonna put salt on yo ass. Hahahahahaha. Yo ass taste better with salt. More riotous laughter then Mendez would get up and leave the room to take a call, and that’s when some of the boys would pee themselves.
About The Author
Morgan Hatch
Having been a teacher for thirty years in the public schools of Los Angeles, Morgan Hatch now writes about the people and places he’s encountered in the classrooms and neighborhoods in which he’s worked. Inspired by true events detailed in his blog, Gone To Ground is his debut novel. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife where he is forever trying to learn his mother-in-law’s dal dhokli recipe.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author: Robert Jaffee Release Date: December 21, 2024 Series: Genre: Memoir Format: E-book Pages: 289 pages Publisher: Robert Jaffe Publishing Blurb: Oy vey! It’s 1979 and a young Israeli girl finds love with an American doctor during a brief visit and risks it all to get married after a brief romance. Now the young couple must really get to know one another post-nuptials while trying to survive as fish-out-of-water in rural Texas. This true love story will have you laughing and crying through life’s ups and downs while experiencing a marriage story like no other.
What could Bob, a newly minted New York physician, and a 18 year-old Israeli woman, Iris, have in common? From New York to Tel Aviv and finally of all places, Odessa, Texas they develop a mutual love. While struggling to outline the boundaries of a marriage Iris is determined to find her own identity, apart from just a doctor’s wife. She must master a new language, face antisemitism and fight the loneliness of being away from family and friends in a new land. Both see a new culture in Texas meeting boots, the Texas two-step and differing religious views. Follow Bob and Iris as they travel from the skyscrapers and mountains of New York to the hills of Jerusalem and on to the desert of Texas. Meet the people they knew, New Yorkers, Israelis, Texans, and situations of marriage, culture and self-identity that many of us share. This true story is of hard-won triumphs and unexplained tragedy.
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Eyes of a Different Color by Robert Jaffee is an intimate and disarming exploration of a connection that defies easy categorization. Author Jaffee writes with the honesty of someone unafraid to examine the messy, uncomfortable corners of desire, identity, and self-worth, and that’s exactly what makes this book so compelling.
At the heart of the story is Iris, a fiercely independent 18-year-old Israeli woman whose presence challenges and revitalizes the life of the narrator, a somewhat reserved and introspective ophthalmologist. Their conversations, which are sharp, vulnerable, frustrating, and at times hilarious, form the backbone of a relationship that never really settles into a comfortable shape, and that’s the point. This is not a traditional love story. It’s more of a reckoning. A snapshot of a relationship that’s as fleeting as it is formative.
As a writer and editor, I admired the boldness of the narrative choices. Jaffee doesn’t clean up the emotional mess for the reader, he lets us feel it. The dialogue feels genuine, and the inner reflections often hit a little too close to home in the best possible way. There are moments of poetry here, hidden in the mundane.
What held me back from giving it a full five stars were a few lulls in pacing and some scenes that could’ve benefited from a tighter narrative lens. But those are small quibbles in what is otherwise a deeply resonant, character-driven piece of literary storytelling. If you’re a fan of books that lean into emotional honesty over plot, that explore relationships that don’t follow a perfect arc, and that leave you thinking about the “what-ifs” long after turning the last page, then this book is for you.
Author: Robert A. Walker Release Date: April 30, 2025 Series: The Legends of Baelon (Book #2) Genre: Fantasy, Adventure Format: E-book Pages: 393 pages Publisher: – Blurb: “Revenge is a temptress, full of promise, but she rarely satisfies… and almost always exacts payment.“Still grieving over the loss of his wife and daughter, King Axil of Aranox declares war on The Guild of Takers. The GOT’s High Order responds, strengthening its efforts to kill both of Baelon’s monarchs. Tristan Godfrey seeks his brother’s murderer, and true love is made to wait again as Sibil Dunn embarks on a solitary crusade. Saved from the guillotine, Overseer Reynard Rascall looks to avenge Spiro’s death, while retired Royal Guard, Rolft Aerns, recovers from his wounds and puts away his sword—until, that is, he learns of Sibil’s quest. And all of Baelon hangs in the balance.
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
There’s epic fantasy, and then there’s Baelon. Author Robert A. Walker returns with Two Crowns, Three Blades, an emotionally rich and expansively plotted tale that refuses to be boxed into the usual tropes. This book took me deeper into the world he so vividly carved in Six Moons, Seven Gods, but this time, the narrative heart is Sibil Dunn, and what a heart she has.
Author Walker has this unique ability to blend the elegance of high fantasy with the grittiness of lived trauma. Sibil’s journey that is part grief-soaked pilgrimage, part battle cry, is full of tenderness, fury, and painfully honest introspection. From dreamlike forest encounters to political maneuvering in war-torn castles, every chapter feels like a painting: atmospheric, emotionally charged, and tinged with bittersweet tension.
The prose flows beautifully, it is lyrical yet grounded, and I truly appreciated how much depth was given to the emotional fallout of war and vengeance. Author Walker doesn’t shy away from the weight of loss. He lets his characters breathe through it. But what really made this book sing was its handling of legacy, both personal and political. We see young people like Sibil and Tristan trying to reconcile inherited grief with the need to carve out their own purpose. There’s an almost Shakespearean tension between duty and identity, particularly in the climactic moments between Sibil and King Axil. It’s subtle, powerful, and brilliantly done.
If I had to nitpick (as an editor, I must), I might say that the middle sagged just slightly under the weight of dense political strategizing. But that’s a small matter in the grand scope of what Author Walker accomplishes here. This is what fantasy should be: grand in scale, intimate in voice, and unafraid to ask hard questions about loyalty, love, and the cost of courage.
I highly recommend it to fans of Robin Hobb, Tad Williams, and emotionally intelligent fantasy in the vein of The Priory of the Orange Tree or The Faithful and the Fallen. This book (and series) is a must-read!
The Reading Bud 