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Book Review: Crown of Ash (Blood Skies- Book 4).

Firstly, let me say that this was not a paid-for-comment type of thing. The author posted on social networking sites, asking for people who might be interested in previewing a book for review, in the hopes of generating some interest or conversation about their upcoming book prior to release. I put my hand up. If I thought the book stank, I would have written that as much as I would have written anything else. So all opinions are actually my own, and do not stem from being paid for my pleasantries… which I wasn’t… because I’m not generally pleasant.

This book is well entrenched in the fantasy genre, but it’s not your average swords and star-crossed lovers coming together under impossible circumstances. The characters are well developed, with no gaps that force you to make up your own back story to flesh them out. The world is far enough separated from our own to make it “other-worldly” but not so far removed that pages are needed to describe the simplest of concepts. The action is believable, with powers and magic having flaws just as any other combat style might.

“Eric Cross and his team have been to hell and back, but their journey isn’t over yet.”

It has a certain ring to it. And indeed they have. If you haven’t read any of the series, I strongly advise you do so. They are an easy enough read. We’re not talking Lord of the Rings trudging to be done here (aaaaaand, cue the hordes of menacing Tolkien fans who want to rip my head off and offer it up as tribute to the Eye of Sauron). The pace is easy to keep up with and, unlike some other writers, I do not find that it goes from dull when developing the story to the world zipping past you in times of action.

Marooned in the remote criminal city of Blacksand, the only way for the mercenaries to get home is to help a local crime boss protect his territories from the Ebon Cities.

To complicate matters, Danica Black is also being hunted by The Revengers, a powerful band of corrupt prison wardens, while Cross himself is trapped in the Whisperlands, a realm of darkness controlled by a cadre of evil mages known as the Shadow Lords.

The team will battle their way through corroding wastelands and deadly vampire outposts, but even their considerable skills might not be enough to save them from the cruel machinations of the Shadow Lord’s mysterious master, a malevolent creature who has manipulated their destinies right from the beginning…

Return to the world of The Black in Book 4 of the BLOOD SKIES saga!”

If you like you fantasy with a touch of reality, try this series. If you like you like a good amount of action served with your dystopian world, go for it. I just really enjoyed them and I think for a light, yet engaging read, you could do a lot worse.
You can buy Steven Montano’s book from Amazon in either Kindle edition or hard-copy.

AAAAAAARGH!!!!!!

What’s that?

It’s the sound of automated feed filling by a site that only allows you to sign in with a pre-existing social media account. And you know what? I’ve had enough!

ImageThere was a ruling in Germany this week slapping Facebook over the back of the hand in regards to their facial recognition data. They have been told to delete it, because it’s deemed to be against EU regulations, even though it’s perfectly fine by Irish standards, where Facebook’s European offices are located.

So what does this all mean?

Well, at the heart of the matter is the fact that Facebook did not allow users to opt-in for this. Instead, it was forced upon them and they had to opt out. Now, if you remember from when you signed up to Facebook (because we all read the Terms of Service, didn’t we?), we gave them the right to use any and all information we publish on their site in any which way they want. That’s right. We don’t own our own information, they do. So when we are forced to use some kind of facial data recognition, and that data is stored, anything published that employs that until we opt-out of it (which, in some cases is darned hard to find), is therefore theirs and they can use it however they want.

Likewise, other SNSs (Social Networking Sites, for the uninitiated) that only allow you sign up using a pre-existing SNS account are responsible for adding to that information. I am looking at Spotify, Pintrest and other useful sites that are fast becoming part of the social media/community manager Must-Have ToolBag (or, at the very least, we need to know about them in order to explain why we wouldn’t touch them with a bargepole). These you can only sign up to with an existing social media account. I understand that Facebook now owns Spotify, but why can’t I use it without attaching my facebook account to it? I have to download it… and THEN you want me to sign up with my facebook account? WHY?! Why isn’t my email address good enough? And then having automatic posts “on my behalf” (read: “whether you like it or not”) until I go and turn it off.

Now, I know I’m banging on a lot about Facebook and the evils of it when I use it for so much. I know I am just as responsible for the perpetuation of these unethical allowances as any other user. However, I am aware that whatever I put out there is no longer mine, but if it’s so bad and I hate it so much, why don’t I just opt out of Facebook altogether? Well, there’s a simple answer to that. “If you can’t beat them, join them.” I was going to disable my account and shut it all down. Cancelling Facebook alone would have had far-reaching ramifications to my “displacement activities” when assignments were due. In fact, I probably would get more done. Thing is, I accept that it still, for a little time at least, is the number one SNS of the world, which means I need to keep up with what is going on in, on and around it. Also, until my friends understand what I have been saying now for over a year that Facebook will not keep its “top dog” position in the SNS world for too many more years (I’m guessing about seven to ten more years tops), I will miss out on much of the invites to parties, knowledge of life and whatnot. It’s a sad but true fact.

 

So, what do I suggest you do? Stop. Think. And if you really need to sign up to these things, please, for the love of all that is lovely and dear to the people of the world, opt out of those updates STRAIGHT AWAY! Don’t let Automatic Update Syndrome be the thing that turns your friends to opting out of your updates altogether.