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A review by smcscot
Bay's End by Edward Lorn
4.0
I've been following E. on social media (twitter and youtube), and have been wanting to read something by him for a while, so I decided to begin with the first book in his longer, lightly connected story arc.
Wax poetic interlude: Feel free to skip this if you only care about the review...I'm a published author. I just haven't broken the money ceiling yet. In this journey, I'm trying to go outside of my comfort zone, or what I've thought of as normal, so I've gone into the social media venue to try and gain a little more speed. That's how I found E. He's a published author, and in fact he's exactly what I want to be...he supports himself with his writing. Much of his publishing is self pub, and I believe he has a number of books traditionally published.
I've worked in bookstores most of my life, and I've talked to a number of authors whom are traditionally published, and I can say, with assurance, there is a stigma against Self Pub. Books and Authors. The thought is that they weren't "good" enough to get traditionally published, so their work is considered bad. Otherwise they would have gotten a contract already. The truth is, it's not that easy. There has been some spectacular stuff I've read from self pub authors, and there have been a number of movies made from self pub authors (thanks to Netflix). We need to break down the stigma and read what you want when you want it. If a book sounds interesting to you, pick it up and ignore the fact that it's been self published. Rant Done.
The book starts out a little trite. I knew it was a coming of age story from the beginning, and was braced for cheap and tired jibes and comebacks and I wasn't disappointed. The writing is a bit juvenile, and the characters are a bit flat. Thing is, the further you get into the book (which is a shorty), those characteristics become a bit touching and narrow out to become plot driving. The writing seems to mature as well, and that all takes place right in the middle of the book. There is a slight shift in plot, and the reader for a moment feels a bit lost. There have been a few incidents, but none of them seem to hold together. Then E. tilts the floor and everything seems to come together. All the disparate story lines, and also the writing tone and voice. The twists were both unexpected and expected at the same time, because E. doesn't mind pushing the boundaries of normal. This would be a five star review, but for the slow start. I'm excited to see what happens next.
Wax poetic interlude: Feel free to skip this if you only care about the review...I'm a published author. I just haven't broken the money ceiling yet. In this journey, I'm trying to go outside of my comfort zone, or what I've thought of as normal, so I've gone into the social media venue to try and gain a little more speed. That's how I found E. He's a published author, and in fact he's exactly what I want to be...he supports himself with his writing. Much of his publishing is self pub, and I believe he has a number of books traditionally published.
I've worked in bookstores most of my life, and I've talked to a number of authors whom are traditionally published, and I can say, with assurance, there is a stigma against Self Pub. Books and Authors. The thought is that they weren't "good" enough to get traditionally published, so their work is considered bad. Otherwise they would have gotten a contract already. The truth is, it's not that easy. There has been some spectacular stuff I've read from self pub authors, and there have been a number of movies made from self pub authors (thanks to Netflix). We need to break down the stigma and read what you want when you want it. If a book sounds interesting to you, pick it up and ignore the fact that it's been self published. Rant Done.
The book starts out a little trite. I knew it was a coming of age story from the beginning, and was braced for cheap and tired jibes and comebacks and I wasn't disappointed. The writing is a bit juvenile, and the characters are a bit flat. Thing is, the further you get into the book (which is a shorty), those characteristics become a bit touching and narrow out to become plot driving. The writing seems to mature as well, and that all takes place right in the middle of the book. There is a slight shift in plot, and the reader for a moment feels a bit lost. There have been a few incidents, but none of them seem to hold together. Then E. tilts the floor and everything seems to come together. All the disparate story lines, and also the writing tone and voice. The twists were both unexpected and expected at the same time, because E. doesn't mind pushing the boundaries of normal. This would be a five star review, but for the slow start. I'm excited to see what happens next.