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HomeRougeski Reviews-Speculative

Rougeski Reviews-Speculative

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 Rougeski Reviews: My Way

The Method to my Madness  pro_reader_120

Time slips away from us more and more quickly every yea10 Book Reviewsr. As a result, the time we can allot for reading shrinks at the same speed. Because of this, readers must carefully choose which books deserve their time. In order to enhance their ability to choose wisely, many readers look to review sites to augment their decision making process. However, a good number of review sites, even highly respected ones, simply churn out simple plot outlines (that are very similar to the text on the back cover of the book) punctuated with a thumbs up or down graphic. Readers deserve more.Reviews Published

In order to help readers make enlightened decisions, the goal of Rougeski Reads is to offer a more in-depth analysis of novels. Yes, plot is very important. However, much more should be considered. With this in mind, reviews will address higher levels of analysis. These aspects will be visually broken down in a review box at the bottom of each review. Categories that will be considered include:

Plot: Is the plot intriguing and well thought out?

Characters: Are the players engaging, believable?

Setting: Is the setting interesting, and does it support the action and clearly contribute to the story?

Complexity: How deep is the text? A low score means that the read is quick and easy. A high score denotes higher reading levels which by their nature insist on a larger time investment by the reader.

Literary Quality: Does the text operate on more than a simple surface level? Does it make use of literary elements such as symbolism and foreshadowing and so much more?

Originality: Has this plot been used many times before, or has the author blazed a new trail that gives evidence of great creative abilities?

Last but not least, instead of the ubiquitous thumbs, Alphonse Alligator simplifies the whole process by offering sage advice to readers not interested in details or percentages. If Alphonse is smiling, he likes the book. If he gazes above and appears lost, he is undecided. If he glares at the book with an evil scowl, he is very unhappy with the book.

Reviews that do not include the enlightened assistance of the discerning Alphonse were most likely written by guest reviewers.

Authors who wish to request a review should join my email list. I will post current submission details.

Behind the Door cover art with alponse
Rougeski Reviews-Speculative

Behind the Door | Mary SanGionvanni | Rougeski Review

June 19, 2018 Rougeski 0

Behind the Door, by Mary SanGionvanni, is a tale that hearkens back to the archetypal theme posed in stories such as The Monkey’s Paw. Be careful what you wish for. In the forest near the [more]

Massacre of Mankind cover art with Alphonse
Rougeski Reviews-Speculative

The Massacre of Mankind | Stephen Baxter | Rougeski Review

September 20, 2017 Rougeski 0

          The Massacre of Mankind by Stephen Baxter is a time machine. The moment a reader holds this treasure in his hand, a transformation will take place.  He will be hurled back to the day when [more]

Wakeful Children cover art with Alphonse
Rougeski Reviews-Speculative

Wakeful Children | S.P. Oldham | Rougeski Review

September 10, 2017 Rougeski 0

Wakeful Children by S.P. Oldham is a delightful collection of extremely well-written short stories guaranteed to hearken readers back to a cherished past, when they sat by a fire and listened with rapt attention as [more]

American Gods cover art with Alphonse
Rougeski Reviews-Speculative

American Gods | Neil Gaiman | Rougeski Review

July 2, 2017 Rougeski 0

American Gods is a chimera, a creature born of a fusion of disparate parts.   Except for the obligatory invocation, American Gods follows the conventions of the classic epic.  Yet, it is also visionary fiction, horror, [more]

Sussurres cover art with Alphonse
Rougeski Reviews-Speculative

Susurrus | B. Morris Allen | Rougeski Review

June 15, 2017 Rougeski 0

Susurrus by B. Morris Allen No evil sorceress is born evil. Susurrus begins as the protagonist Iskra staggers helpless in a desert, apparently near death.  She is there to complete a rite of passage that [more]

City of Miracles cover art with Alphonse
Rougeski Reviews-Speculative

The City of Miracles | Robert Jackson Bennett | Rougeski Review

June 3, 2017 Rougeski 0

City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett is the third epic in his Divine Cities Trilogy.  In the first novel, City of Stairs, readers follow three fascinating characters: Shara Kamayd, spy and politician, her Beowulf-like [more]

The Devils Call cover art with Alphonse
Rougeski Reviews-Speculative

Devil’s Call | J. Daniell Dorn | Rougeski Review

June 1, 2017 Rougeski 0

Devil’s Call by J. Danielle Dorn is a first person narrative, the memoir of a witch, lovingly written to a daughter she may never be able to know. Li Lian comes from a long line [more]

The Fear cover art with Alphonse
Rougeski Reviews-Speculative

Fear | Rae Louise | Rougeski Review

June 1, 2017 Rougeski 0

Fear by Rae Louise is a tale of an extreme haunting.   Complex situations force Mia, her young daughter, and troubled sister to move into a home inherited from a deceased uncle.   Once they get [more]

Call of the Forbidden cover art with Alphonse
Rougeski Reviews-Speculative

Call of the Forbidden Way | Robert Owings | Rougeski Reviews

April 10, 2017 Rougeski 0

Around the world of alternative religions in 80 days. Call of the Forbidden Way by Robert Owings poses as a novel.  However, seasoned readers will find it to look more like a thinly veiled vehicle [more]

Fever in the Blood cover art with Alphonse
Rougeski Reviews-Speculative

A Fever of the Blood | Oscar de Muriel | Rougeski Reads

March 26, 2017 Rougeski 0

A Fever in the Blood by Oscar de Muriel could have been great. As far as plot goes, A Fever in the Blood does not blaze new ground.  However, the author does have the laudable [more]

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Cauchemar Media

Cauchemar Media

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Publications

Behind Lace Curtains

Behind Lace Curtains  

Jake Preston, New York photographer, spent his life searching for something more, a magic he could never quite perceive--yet he always let the lens see for him.  He hungered for a revelation, but was terrified at the prospect of finding one . . . until he discovered his lover, dead on his blood-spattered bathroom floor, and on a mirror, a Cajun French message scrawled in fresh blood, the words merging with his reflection like sordid war paint.

  Even though he cannot translate the scarlet message, he knows what it means.  The murder is his fault--blood for blood.   With unblinking eyes, Jake smears the haunting words into a meaningless blur of red and then with scarlet-stained fingers transcribes the message onto his flesh, transferring the bloodguilt onto his soul, completing the ritual by painting his face with a glistening mask of red.  He knows what he has to do.  

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Books A Million

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Library Angel

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Jimmy and Julia, two college students, are haunted by oppressive memories of tyrannical, deceased mothers; Julia responds by becoming a reclusive overachiever and Jimmy, a serial killer. Their lives become inextricably intertwined by a shared fixation for a missing library book that contains marginalia detailing plans for the brutal murder of a local woman.

  Julia, believing she has uncovered information that can stop a string of serial killings, struggles to find a way to prevent the murderer from striking again, never realizing she has embarked on a perilous, unconscious quest for freedom from the past.   And Jimmy goes hunting . . . for Julia.

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Books A Million

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At the Devil's Own Game

When Gina, a former prostitute and drug addict from Chicago crosses paths with Zachary, a Louisiana Satanist posing as a defrocked priest, sparks fly.  Each has something that the other requires in order to prevail.  What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

Kaitlyn suffered an abusive childhood.  Her nightmare family life drove her to become one with the Chicago night world of prostitution and drugs, all she believed she deserved.  Visions of her father naked under his black bathrobe continued to haunt her.  Years later, she ends up in prison.  A well-respected judge, mesmerized by her beauty, frees her from jail and marries her.  However, Kaitlyn is still a prisoner, owned by another man who wears a black robe.  Unable to conceive a child, she believes she is doomed to live without the only love she might ever find.  During a suicide attempt, a drop of her blood lands on a newspaper article which promises her the pure love she longs for.  She takes on the former name of her only friend, a nun, and is reborn as Gina, apostate nun, who heads to Louisiana to fulfill her dream.  But first, she must beat the devil at his own game.

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