Book Reviews Information

The Storyteller - Fiction Books!


Review by Jessica Dearborn
Tolucan Times / Canyon Crier - California

"The Storyteller, Volume I" by Martha Whittington
AuthorHouse, Paperback, 514 Pages, $24

When inspiration hits, it is usually followed closely by desire. A willingness to do whatever it takes to explain your inspiration, to create a picture. For a writer, her tool is her pen. Storytelling in and of itself can be quite a challenge. For example, what are you going to talk about? What story are you going to tell? You must have a beginning that truly grabs, a keeper climax in the middle, and a bring-it-all-back- together-again, ending. And, the dialogue? you constantly find yourself asking, "Do people really talk like that?" At that point you will either cringe, cry, laugh, or simply allow yourself a few moments of madness as you do all of the above mentioned, plus tear your only copy to mere scattered pieces of what used to be. Foreboding as it may be, writing can also be individually and socially rewarding.

That is, if you should decide to tread through your insecurities and walk the uncertain path to the publishing world. Many fear this path and will therefore, never walk it. On the other hand, there are writers who are not afraid and not only do they walk it, at times they skip. And this is due to having a few good stories to tell. Besides, that's all a writer needs, anyway? a good story. Martha Whittington has earned the right to tell her stories. She trekked around the world in her early twenties, no doubt having her own adventures, making me wonder where she has been and what she's seen during her travels. And with her memories, experiences, and creativity, she has brought to the reader a colorful novel filled with mystery and encourages every reader, with the turn of each page, to utilize all of their imagination.

The author shares some of her tales in "The Storyteller, Volume I." It contains six short stories titled: "The Fennigan Case," "A Unique Team," "The Hidden Knowledge," "A Gifted Child," "The Witch," and "Sand." Although there is an obvious lack of editing, and the language and grammar are careless, the stories are compelling and are worth delving into. In "The Fennigan Case," two rookie reporters are sent out on a last minute assignment that takes them through a walking nightmare, and then they disappear. "A Unique Team" is centered on the consequences of a man's choices. Within the pages of "The Hidden Knowledge," there is a teenaged boy who discovers he has a special gift that changes his entire existence. In "A Gifted Child," a child is born with the kind of soul that when combined with his discovered powers, he becomes less and less likely to be voted as Mr. Popularity. "The Witch" is a tale of a malicious woman that terrorizes a small town. And finally, "Sand" rejoices two brothers bond, and the perils they endure throughout their travels. Whittington's storytelling ability is magical.

All the stories are luring, some nail biting, and there are moments that are a little hair-raising. It captures the readers' senses; inevitably questioning that in which you thought you knew. Once you regain your composure, it's interesting to reflect on the story and the characters that you've met. To assume you know where the story will take you is nave. Martha Whittington is a naturally gifted writer and storyteller, and her work deserves to be read and acknowledged. As for her courage of facing the unknown world and the other world of publishing, she is fearless and inspiring.

www.storytellersbookclub.com

Martha Whittington


MORE RESOURCES:

Larry Wilson: We're all diminished by loss of book reviews
Contra Costa Times, CA - Dec 4, 2008
Book reviews are highly available online, or in other periodicals, noted Dr. Stephen Kanter, the Pasadena MD who is now a reader at the Huntington. ...


Fresh CCP Book Reviews
Charleston City Paper, SC - Dec 3, 2008
By José Saramago By David Carr Reformed-junkie memoirs are about as common — and unique — as tough-childhood memoirs, but New York Times contributor ...


Tumnus’s Book Shelf: The NarniaFans Book Reviews: The Magician’s Book
Narnia Fans - Dec 3, 2008
Welcome to Tumnus’s Book Shelf where we review any and all books related to the Chronicles of Narnia and CS Lewis. Today’s Review is of Laura Miller’s The ...


December book reviews from Highlands Ranch Library
YourHub.com, CO - Dec 2, 2008
By Margarita Engle The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom has won praise from children's literature experts because it does two things ...


Daredevil, X-Force among this week's comic book reviews
Creative Loafing, NC - Dec 2, 2008
By Carlton Hargro As usual, I read a ton of comics this week; however, no book stood out as incredibly good or awful. So for this edition of Comic ...


Book Reviews: Dawnkeepers
Monsters and Critics.com - Nov 30, 2008
By Sandy Amazeen Nov 30, 2008, 20:24 GMT Anderson’s second installment of The Final Prophecy series focuses on Nate Blackhawk and Alexis Gray, ...


Children's Book Reviews
Publishers Weekly, NY - Nov 30, 2008
I Heard God Talking to Me: William Edmondson and His Stone Carvings Elizabeth Spires. FSG/Foster, $17.95 (64p) ISBN 978-0-374-33528-1 Of interest to adults ...


Book Reviews
Dispatch Online, South Africa - Nov 28, 2008
By Jason Goodwin WHEN I first picked up The Bellini Card, I thought, “Here we go, another story about the wicked Muslims trying to overthrow all of ...


Book Reviews: 'Medical Miracles,' '7 Wheelchairs,' and 'The Sun ...
International Herald Tribune, France - Nov 28, 2008
Medical Miracles Doctors, Saints and Healing in the Modern World By Jacalyn Duffin Oxford University Press. 285 pages. $29.95. 7 Wheelchairs A Life Beyond ...


"'Things never happen the same way twice, dear one.'"
MovieWeb - 15 hours ago
I have read I do not know how many bad reviews of this movie because the book was better and more detailed. I really feel that those people had big ...

Book-Reviews - Google News

home | site map
© Ebookdownloads.biz 2007