Mike Bond

In Bond's preface he states that our purpose here is to find out what life is. Poetry, he contends, is an ideal vehicle for this quest, because it can help us find and prolong the glimpses we get of something more universal than ourselves.

Joy contains many poems, most fitting on a single page, some just a few lines. Most of the lines are very short, with only a very few exceeding six syllables. His themes include appreciating nature and celebrating life, and also dark, pessimistic views of life and a focus on death.

I am not a learned reader of poetry, so I cannot tell you quite what it was that left me so flat in reading these poems. Many of the short, pessimistic ones seem rather flip, and many of the earnest ones seem like something one might read on an inspirational poster. There is almost no detectable subtlety here, no instances of form and content reinforcing or commenting on one another. If there are invitations to think deeply about the poems' topics, I missed them. I'm afraid these particular poems did not open any new vistas wherein I might grasp what life is.

tl;dr: Meh. YMMV.… (altro)

Review of eBook

Sam Cohen, Paul Stinson, and Alex Vlasic work as guides in the Himalayas, leading an American photographic expedition into Tibet. When they meet up with a caravan of Sherpas, the Americans insist on traveling with them after their report of robbers in the direction they are traveling.

It isn’t long before the guides discover that the caravan is actually a hidden CIA weapons venture, smuggling weapons into Tibet to use against China.

And then the killing begins.

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Populated with unlikable characters who make what seem like phenomenally irresponsible decisions, the gritty tale begins on a low note with the main character’s repeated use of drugs. Violence and far-too-graphic scenes of torture are difficult to read; many readers may find the crude language offensive.

The sense of place is first-rate here as the story travels to many places around the globe. But brutality is the watchword for much of the action where drugs and human trafficking also play a part in the telling of this often life-threatening tale.

Recommended for readers who enjoy intense narratives that are both action-packed and adrenalin-fueled.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Mandevilla Press and NetGalley
#TibetanCross #NetGalley… (altro)

Review of eBook

Once upon a time, Joe Murphy served as an evacuation medic in Vietnam; now he smuggles drugs. He’s considering the possibility of this being his last run, but that is a decision made a moment too late.

Ambushed by soldiers, his plane destroyed, a wounded Murphy awakens to find himself in a Guatemalan village, a family caring for him. But the government officials are relentless in their search for him.

Will Murphy be discovered? And if he is, what will happen to him?

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Set in Guatemala in Central America and based on the author’s own experiences, this well-written, intense narrative is difficult to read. Filled with horrific brutality, the story both powerful and disturbing.

Although, at the outset, Murphy might seem to be a “bad” guy; the unfolding story paints him in a different light. With no nuances, the good characters are good while the bad characters are evil and Murphy is quite unlikable.

Despite the strong, evocative sense of place, the story is gritty, filled with cartels, deceitful government officials, politics, and, at the other end of the spectrum, people just trying to do the right thing.

Recommended, but with this caveat: this far-too-graphic story, filled with atrocities, vividly recounts man’s inhumanity to man. It’s despicable; it’s gruesome . . . made all the more insidious by its cruel veracity.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Mandevilla Press and NetGalley
#HouseofJaguar #NetGalley… (altro)

“We’re back in Guatemala.” “When we get out this time, I’m going to bag it too.”

But they waited one trip too long and Murphy’s life as a pilot flying marijuana from Guatemala to the States is over.

I’m not going into everything that is in the blurb, but I do remember hearing a lot about the CIA, the cartels, corrupt politicians…on both sides…those with their own agendas. To me, everything about the ‘drug wars’ and the way our government handles it is all wrong. A book like House Of Jaguar gets my emotions roiled. The tragic circumstances of the poor and those who get in the way, makes my heart break for them.

“For two years I do not see a track. Then since you came this one’s been near. He’s very rare, a black one…Tonight after the ceremony I go and call him. Then we’ll have money for more seeds – black skins are the most valuable.”

In tragic, dangerous circumstances, there are those who open their hearts, putting their own lives on the line to help others. Dona is one of those characters and Murphy has the misfortune (?) to fall in love with her. How can it be a happy ever after?

He knows too much and tries to tell the world what is being done to the Guatemalans. It is unfortunate that no one seems to care enough to do anything about it, other than hunt him down and shut him up. He is naive to think the things he does won’t end in a bad way. Lives will be lost, but he cannot help himself. He wants her. He wants to make a difference. He wants to be a good guy. He wants to make a difference.

They kill their own. Psycopaths are turned loose on the innocent. Men turn into animals. The savage violence turns my stomach, pisses me off to no end. Why? What makes them think they are more valuable to the world than the next person? Sometimes I think, do unto others should be done unto them. You reap what you sow. You take a life, you have to give one…yours!

Violence, tragedy, intensity, emotions…The author has lived them and it shows in the story he tells. I don’t read books like House Of Jaguar too often any more. They make me soooo angry, frustrated and disturbed because it seems like we, as a people, never learn and history does repeat itself…over and over again.

The ending….

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of House Of Jaguar by Mike Bond.

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