Official Review: Solitary Eyes on Fire and Other Stories

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Supergirl1
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Official Review: Solitary Eyes on Fire and Other Stories

Post by Supergirl1 »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Solitary Eyes on Fire and Other Stories" by John David Wells.]
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2 out of 4 stars
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Solitary Eyes on Fire and Other Stories is a collection of 15 short stories aimed at giving the reader a glimpse into the deep moral decay and depravity in the world today. Aldous Huxley’s words sum it up thus: “Maybe this planet is another planet’s hell.”

Solitary Eyes on Fire tells the story of Todd Benjamin, a psychotic addict, and his gradual descent into schizophrenia. In his delirium, he believes he can see the Apostle John, mentioned in the Bible book of Revelations, on his girlfriend’s TV. The story shows him having irrational thoughts and carrying out actions typical of an insane person. Another short story is centered on domestic violence and tells of a woman with three kids who marries a man she has only known for three months. He traumatizes the entire family, and she eventually runs away with her kids. However, her son is determined to one day find his stepfather and make him pay. Some other stories in the book have themes like illicit sex, alcoholism, and rape.

In most of the different stories in this book, the author, John David Wells, gives the viewpoint of the people directly affected by the problems being addressed. An example is Dean, whose ex-wife Karen tries to explain her adulterous behavior as resulting from OCD. Expectedly, he does not believe that. Another example is Danny and Jackie who have to take responsibility for their sister Monica, a junkie addicted to heroin. It is glaringly obvious that moral depravity of all kinds can disrupt the lives of not just the people involved, but those of their loved ones as well.

Please note that this book is not for the sensitive or prudish reader. It contains a lot of swear words and other offensive vocabularies. The author has decided to be as explicit as possible and does not gloss over the sensitive parts of these stories. Sex scenes and orgies are described in detail, and there are also scenes depicting violence, even against children. However, these stories serve as eye-openers into the level of depravity in the world today. They also give a glimpse into the likely end results of making irresponsible decisions in the course of living for pleasure.

Sadly, I am unable to award this book more than 2 out of 4 stars. This is due to the awful formatting and grammar errors. Inconsistent font type and size were used all through the book. The paragraphs were also not properly aligned in some places. Then it had quite a number of missing words. Nevertheless, if you are not easily offended, you are likely to find this book rather interesting.

******
Solitary Eyes on Fire and Other Stories
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Sahani Nimandra
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Post by Sahani Nimandra »

After reading your synopsis I believe you on the account of this book is not for a sensitive person. I am happy that it reflects on the today world's situation. The crisis that humanity has fall into. Too bad about the grammatical errors though but I think will give t a try. Thank you!
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Post by joshfee77 »

I’ve read a lot of horror and some dark thrillers but this one might be a bit full-on even for me! I applaud the author for pulling no punches, though. I would skip it based on the poor formatting and editing, anyway. Very distracting if you are trying to really get into a story.
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Post by Helen_Combe »

Great review, but I don’t think I could cope with so much negativity in one book.
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Post by Supergirl1 »

Sahani Nimandra wrote: 08 Jun 2018, 01:06 After reading your synopsis I believe you on the account of this book is not for a sensitive person. I am happy that it reflects on the today world's situation. The crisis that humanity has fall into. Too bad about the grammatical errors though but I think will give t a try. Thank you!
You’re welcome.
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Supergirl1
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Post by Supergirl1 »

joshfee77 wrote: 08 Jun 2018, 02:34 I’ve read a lot of horror and some dark thrillers but this one might be a bit full-on even for me! I applaud the author for pulling no punches, though. I would skip it based on the poor formatting and editing, anyway. Very distracting if you are trying to really get into a story.
When I see poor formatting I wonder why the author would take the time to write a full book and not ensure it is visually appealing. Like maybe he/she just feels like tormenting the reader? :) :(
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Supergirl1
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Post by Supergirl1 »

Helen_Combe wrote: 08 Jun 2018, 03:30 Great review, but I don’t think I could cope with so much negativity in one book.
Thanks for stopping by. :D
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Post by kandscreeley »

I guess I would be one of those sensitive readers who would not enjoy this content. I appreciate that the author tries to explain these mental illnesses, but the grammatical errors and constant formatting changes would drive me nuts. However, those are easily fixable with a good editor. Thanks for the information.
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Supergirl1
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Post by Supergirl1 »

kandscreeley wrote: 08 Jun 2018, 07:58 I guess I would be one of those sensitive readers who would not enjoy this content. I appreciate that the author tries to explain these mental illnesses, but the grammatical errors and constant formatting changes would drive me nuts. However, those are easily fixable with a good editor. Thanks for the information.
I hope the author decides to have those issues fixed. Some of the stories are actually quite interesting.
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Post by Samantha Simoneau »

Books that "tell it like it is," and make us face and reflect on ourselves and our nature, are important. I think this particular one is too heavy for me, though. Thanks for the balanced review!
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Supergirl1
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Post by Supergirl1 »

SamSim wrote: 08 Jun 2018, 17:06 Books that "tell it like it is," and make us face and reflect on ourselves and our nature, are important. I think this particular one is too heavy for me, though. Thanks for the balanced review!
I’m glad you enjoyed the review. Thanks for stopping by.
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Post by Nmesoma »

Your review was great but unfortunately I'm one of those sensitive squeamish types that distaste violence and depressive stories, so pass.
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Post by Ana-Maria-Diana »

It may be seen as a dystopian story that unreveals the uglyness of this world.
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