AXES OF EVIL

AXES OF EVIL                                       ALEX S. JOHNSON, etc...
Posted:  Sept. 28, 2014

Axes of EvilCarnage. Blood. Damage. Diatonic scales. Bone shards. Blast beats. Chaos. Chromatics. Gore. Guitars. Diabolism. Double bass. Riffs. Wreckage. Monsters. Music. AXES OF EVIL An original anthology of heavy metal-themed horror stories, edited by music journalist (Metal Hammer) and author Alex S. Johnson Featuring Lucy Taylor, Bram Stoker Award-winning author for The Safety of Unknown Cities Sephera Giron, author of over 15 published books, including The House of Pain and Borrowed Flesh Terry M. West, author of What Price Gory, director of the cult classic horror film Flesh for the Beast Del James, author of The Language of Fear, music journalist, songwriter (Guns N' Roses, Testament, etc.) And 30 more of the finest writers in the horror field today. I have determined that this astounding collection of horror is not merely an anthology but a coded Grimoire of magic. -Robin Dover As a reader and avid horror fanatic, I often find myself saturated with supposedly great horror fiction only to be let down by the quality. With this anthology, I got everything I could possibly want; Horror and Metal. Thirty-four stories with bite and balls make this a must read. Axes of Evil isn't just a book; it's an epic tome of brutality.-Dale Herring LET THE SHREDDING BEGIN"

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
I really liked this book and the way each story was presented. I don’t think you need to be a fan of heavy meatal music, or this genera of material because the writing that each story offers holds up on their own. At least for me. I will say that like any group of stories there are some that stand out for each person. For me the two stories written by, Charie D. La Marr, the first one I think she could actually write an entire book from that story it really was amazing, from the characters to the story line. Her second one was just as well written but from a totally different genera for she was doing it memory of the people who had lost their lives in the Station at Warwick Rhode Island February 20, 2003. And for the people who were also injured or who had lost someone dear to them, a very moving story. There was another story that was about a concert in Bakersfield, thought that was funny because I live there. Each story is well thought out and though it is tied to heavy metal the way each story comes back to the music is unique and that is what makes this book a good read. The stories are well thought out and not just put together, you really have to think about what you are reading. The way each story moves you is not a way I would have thought I could have been moved, but each one got me. Even now writing this review I am still thinking of a couple one about a clown, and another one about a young man always wanting to be a heavy metal rock star but instead is working as an attendant picking up dead people and taking them to the morgue, this has a an ending you really want to read about. You see each story is different and that is what makes this book a very good book and one I am grateful to the author to allow me to read.

THE BATTLE OF THE BRIDGES

THE BATTLE OF THE BRIDGES           FRANK VAN LUNTEREN
Posted:  Sept. 28, 2014

The Battle of the Bridges: The 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment in Operation Market GardenOperation Market Garden has been recorded as a complete Allied failure in World War II, an overreach that resulted in an entire airborne division being destroyed at its apex. However, within that operation were episodes of heroism that still remain unsung.On September, 17, 1944, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, floated down across the Dutch countryside, in the midst of German forces, and proceeded to fight their way to vital bridges to enable the Allied offensive to go forward. The 101st Airborne was behind them; the British 1st Airbourne was far advanced. In the 82nd s sector the crucial conduits needed to be seized.The Germans knew the importance of the bridge over the Waal River at Nijmegen as well as James Gavin and his 82nd troopers did. Thus began a desperate fight for the Americans to seize it, no matter what the cost. The Germans would not give, however, and fought tenaciously in the town and fortified the bridge. On September 20 Gavin turned his paratroopers into sailors and conducted a deadly daylight amphibious assault in small plywood and canvas craft across the Waal River to secure the north end of the highway bridge in Nijmegen. German machine guns and mortars boiled the water on the crossing, but somehow a number of paratroopers made it to the far bank. Their ferocity thence rolled up the German defenses, and by the end of day the bridge had fallen. This book draws on a plethora of previously unpublished sources to shed new light on the exploits of the Devils in Baggy Pants by Dutch author and historian Frank van Lunteren. A native of Arnhem the site of The Bridge too Far the author draws on nearly 130 interviews he personally conducted with veterans of the 504th, plus Dutch civilians and British and German soldiers, who here tell their story for the first time. REVIEWS "Through years of painstaking research and close contact with 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment veterans, Frank van Lunteren has added much to our understanding of Market Garden. On these pages, the human story comes to life, sometimes tragic, sometimes amusing, but always poignant and compelling." John C. McManus, Ph.D., Author of SEPTEMBER HOPE: THE AMERICAN SIDE OF A BRIDGE TOO FAR and THE DEAD AND THOSE ABOUT TO DIE, D-DAY: THE BIG RED ONE AT OMAHA BEACH It is rare to find such an engrossing book as Frank van Lunteren s The Battle of the Bridges. Anyone who wants to read firsthand experiences of one of the most amazing actions in the western European Theater of the Second World War must get this book. Doug McCabe, curator of the Cornelius Ryan Collection Battle of the Bridges provides an exhaustively researched account of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment s exploits during Operation Market Garden. The legendary crossing of the Waal river to seize the Nijmegen bridges is covered in exceptional detail. Steven Zaloga, Author of US Airborne Divisions in the ETO" and his most recent "The Devil's Garden: Rommel's Desperate Defense of Omaha Beach on D-Day""

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
I will admit I am a little partial to any WWII books about the 82 Airborne. This is mostly about the 504 but it does talk about the 505, 508, and the Glider Company and an artillery unit assigned to the 82. This mission is named Market Garden or The Bridge too Far. The 82 was to jump 57 miles behind enemy lines and capture and hold four bridges, (7, 8, 9, &10), these bridges were over the Mass-Waal Canal and also included the longest bridge in Europe or longest span Nijmegen. The author starts off with the history of the 504, and how they took a beating with the two jumps in Italy, they would not jump in D-Day due to lack of personal. By September 17, they were ready to jump with the rest of the 82. My father was with the 508, and he did not talk much about the war but I do remember that when the movie came out we went to go see it and he did not say whether he liked it or not. He was very critical of other units not American, just felt that Americans always watched out for each other. He was also very vocal about the officers in the 82nd, saying that they would always be right there with you know matter what. That even in this battle Gen. Gavin got in the water with the men and that always impressed him. I found out that in many of his interviews that many of the family members did not know what their fathers or grandfathers did during the war, they just did not talk about it. They had a job to do and they did it. This book is filled with a lot of information, for example that some men would get crushed by the supply packs that weighed 1800 lbs. that was the first time I read about those. The 504 with grit and determination does take charge of the bridge. Crossing the river is really what cause the most casualties for they had to do this in daylight and at the same time make that the Germans did not try to blow the bridge. I know the author criticized Gavin for not having boats their right away, but let us not forget that this was Montgomery’s idea and how when the U.S. planed an invasion they were the ones responsible to have the equipment there when needed. The British did not have to request the day of the attack they should have known if you are expecting infantry to capture a bridge from the other side of the canal you need a boat. My father did tell me that the canal was like a river. The 82nd captured all of their objectives before the British were to arrive with their tanks. The day they arrive they stopped instead of going as far as they could until night fall. Why they stopped in the afternoon is knows idea. But what is known they never got to their own 1st division Paratroopers and from there it just seem to get worse. With the Germans sending in more troops and these were veterans that were combat experienced this fight would continue on for days. The 504 after a day’s rest was sent to relive and help the 508 north from where they were at to recapture a town this would go on back and forth. This is a fascinating story told by men who were there and though some have passed on since the Author interviewed them I feel privileged to have read their accounts. They were all heroes though they never thought that they were. A good book. I got this book from net galley. 

FORGOTTEN SUNDAYS

FORGOTTEN SUNDAYS                      GERRY SANDUSKY
Posted:  Sept. 28, 2014

Forgotten Sundays: A Son's Story of Life, Loss, and Love from the Sidelines of the NFLForgotten Sundays is the coming-of-age story of a father-son relationship and the value of a good name, which Gerry Sandusky knows all too well. He has had to endure having an unfortunate name in sports, but to him the Sandusky name means something entirely different: honor, integrity, endurance, and suffering and sadness.
Forgotten Sundays follows the life and relationship between Gerry Sandusky and his father—former NFL tackle John Sandusky and coach for the Baltimore Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, and Miami Dolphins under the tutelage of legendary Coach Don Shula. Gerry spent his summers observing his father in NFL training camps and his Sundays with superstars, Hall of Fame players and coaches from Johnny Unitas to Dan Marino, from Don McCafferty to Tom Landry.

Gerry’s relationship with his father evolved through stages of worship, disillusionment, vulnerability, tragedy, and friendship. Along the way he learned about the nature of manhood from observations, clues, and interactions—more often than not unspoken. It was when Gerry reached fatherhood himself and when John Sandusky began to tumble into the gauzy confusion of Alzheimer’s disease that he began to understand his father on a much deeper level.
Heartfelt, intelligent, at times humorous, at times tragic, Forgotten Sundays explores the intricacies of a father-son relationship and the nuances of how and what a son learns from a father. It plumbs the meaning of a family name, and it is an inspiration to others to embrace their own legacy and cherish their memories.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

This is a wonderful book about life not only as a son of a football coach, but just about life and growing up. Especially if you went to parochial school or had a father like myself that fought in WWII. There were so many parts of this story I could relate to. Times when he was being scolded for something and being told this is the way it is. Maybe it was an East coast thing my father growing up out there I don’t know? First let me say John Sandusky was a football player for the Cleveland Browns during the 50s, he played on those great Browns teams with Otto Graham, Paul Brown as coach and many others and played in the N.F.L. Championship from 1950-1955, winning three, his last year he was traded to the Packers and retired after the 56 season. After two years as an asst. coach at Villanova, in 59 he was hired as an asst. with the Baltimore Colts as a line coach, he would spend the next 13 years there and this is where most of the story takes place. Written by his youngest son Gerry, this book has NOTHING, I REPEAT NOTHING, to do with the Sandusky from Penn St. which is spelled with a ( J ) Sadly just the last name is the same and they are not related. Gerry is the youngest of five children and some of the stories that he talks about really made the book for me. For my father was loud and big and everything was at times ready to explode and we went to church all the time, like he talks about. The sad parts are when his older brother passes away and then some years later his mother. While his father was asst. coach with the Dolphins Gerry was working his way into broadcasting and there were some funny stories. But there is nothing funny when a family member or friend is diagnose with Alzheimer’s. He leads you through their time with their father the good days and the not so good. The funeral and then getting up in church to say the eulogy and seeing Don Shula, Dan Marino, Bob Griese, Larry Little, Dwight Stephenson just to name a few. He had spent 43 years in the N.F.L. and 26 years working for Don Shula, 19 months fighting in WWII and so much more. Then after he buries his father the news breaks of what has been happening at Penn St. people not knowing the spelling of the two first names one with a (J) and his name with a G, start to send him hate mail every possible way, twitter, e mail etc. he even changed information to say my name is spelled with a G and I am a sportscaster in Baltimore. This did not work. Then letters would arrive at his house, his wife and his two children were verbally attacked when they went out. his daughter was in college and his son was a junior in high school, these attacks were even worse than what he had to face after his father team the colts lost to the Jets in Super Bowl III, the verbal attacks continued even when he would call a game. He was the announcer for the Baltimore Ravens. During this time he told his family to not talk back to just go on, and as difficult as it was it worked out. By a year later the Ravens were in the Super Bowl and he was doing interviews and nothing about his even came up it was just about the game, by him not responding was the right thing in the end. The strength he learned from his mother and father he was able to pass it along to his children and in the end that is what we want to do as parents. I hope I gave this book the justice it dissevers I was truly enthralled with the beginning of the book seeing what life was like from a coach’s son side but then there were some similarities, either because of age or who knows? The last part is what got me I to got up and spoke in front of my father’s friends at his funeral but having to deal with such hatred was truly remarkable. A fantastic book! I got this book from net galley.

FAKE IT

FAKE IT                                                   JENNIFER CHANCE
Posted:  Sept. 28, 2014

Fake It by Jennifer ChanceNew grad Anna Richardson works hard—so hard that she’s given up having a romantic life. Anna has even convinced her friends that she’s dating an amazing guy—who they’ve simply never met. But now Anna has a wedding to attend and needs to produce the hottie she’s been lying about for the past six months. Enter Jake Flynn, her infuriating, motorcycle-riding, jaw-droppingly gorgeous neighbor, who’s more than willing to fake it for a weekend. In fact, Jake won’t be satisfied until things get real.

Though Jake is only playing the role of adoring boyfriend, he’s starting to feel the heat, and judging by Anna’s sweet blush, so is she. Letting chemistry this intense go to waste would be a real shame. Soon, though, the thin line between fantasy and reality fades. Jake may not be what every buttoned-up fast-tracker wants, but he’s sure as hell what Anna needs. And if she takes a ride with him, their adventure never has to end.

MY REVIEW:
     I really enjoyed this story in fact it is the second in the series for me that I have read.  This story revolves around Anna Richardson, a professional in corporate world.  She put herself through college and has worked her way up the corporate ladder.  She rents a room at the brownstone of Erin Connelly, a frustrated artist that works at an art gallery.  Erin also rents out another room to Dani Michaels who is a bartender and a very hip and cool chick.
     Anna has always been very insecure due to her background.  She has secrets that she holds close to her chest like an iron lung.  There is only one soul that knows everything and all their old college friend will be there.  Anna feels accomplished enough it’s her personal life that is causing the problem.
     You see Todd her ex has moved back to town after he was the one who broke up with her, he now wants to get back together.  She has been avoiding him which is hard to do since they are back working together.  Second problem, she had been telling Kristen her old roommate from college and future bride, all about Dave her imaginary boyfriend.  Kristen knows she’s lying but Anna won’t admit defeat.  Anna is hoping she can recruit someone either tonight or tomorrow night to be her boyfriend for the weekend.  Then they can learn their part of Dave in 5 days for the weekend getaway.
     In walks her, “walking orgasm” for the last six months, Jake Flynn, her new neighbor.  He is a rough, Alpha Male, buff, and a bike.  Anna had been scoping him out for the last six months.  Never getting up the nerve to talk to him.  Everything about him scared him but she couldn’t figure out why he always had an easy smile and a smooth style about him.
     Jake also had been checking her out with her bouncy hair, to proper suits, and flirty shoes.  She reminded him of a forties pinup model which he took liberties with that in his fantasies one too many times.  He too was having some very day and night orgasmic dreams about Anna too.  He could tell she didn’t think she was attractive but she was a knock out.  Yes, she is what “they” would call full figured but Jake called her all woman.  Stacked on top, thin waist, and long thicker legs.  Perfect for him.  Instant chemistry between them.
     Neither was looking for a committed relationship just a weekend of fun.  So, not thinking he would really want to do it she tried to shake him off but he insisted.  The trip turns out to be quite the adventure of a lifetime.  I just wish there would have been a epilogue at the end, also it started a to ramble a little about ¼ of the way in and then again toward the end for me.  I for that reason gave this book 4 stars.  Provided by Net Galley.
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