Return to Reviews

Return to Reviews

Return to Reviews




My novels are publicly available on other web sites that showcase erotic fiction. Inevitably, they have attracted the critical attention of some of the readers. These readers are not professional reviewers, but that does not necessarily mean that their observations are the less valid. In the interests of shameless and blatant self-promotion, I include here reviews that have been complimentary to my fiction. These reviews are already publicly available.

 

 

The Anomaly Trilogy: Volume One
The Battle for the Known Unknown

 The Battle for the Known Unknown
l c
(Smashwords)
This was by far my most enjoyable read so far this year - all categories
. 
It is rare to find an author that is able to write stories that combine an interesting plot with relevant discussions on scientific discoveries, religion/philosophy, as well as keeping a nerve in the story with regards to both suspense and adult content. 

High quality narrative and flow. Near perfect editing.

When I put it down I immediately looked for parts 2 and 3. This should be a must read for anyone browsing this category.

Anonymous
 This is Volume 1 of The Anomaly, an erotic science-fiction adventure novel. The main plot is strong and kept me reading straight through the three volumes in one night.

Georg H
(Wordpress)

 I wonder why you didn’t receive many replies on your novel’s first part, as I can freely admit I love it. It is witty indeed, shows a humanly understanding and care of which paths of life others may follow, seems to mirror a vivid fantasy regarding future technologies, and amuses me in the erotic department. Great pleasure, indeed, and you can be convinced that I am looking forward to the next volumes! 


Degrees of Intimacy

Degrees of Intimacy

Antheros Three chapters already online and five to go (but already published at Ruthie’s Club). I really like the way Bradley describes the settings and the characters’ moods. He manages to convey much of what the characters are feeling through the way they talk, and the descriptions of the places are carefully chiseled, with a careful choice of words; his prose is one of the best I’ve read online. I’m looking forward for the rest of the story.


Glade and Ivory

Glade and Ivory
Bluerabella
(LibraryThing)
When I was younger I devoured the Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean M. Auel. So when I stumbled upon this novel, tagged Satire, Prehistory and Lesbian, in the Historical and Erotica categories at Smashwords, and seeing it was free, I had to have it.

There are indeed a lot of lesbian sex scenes in this novel, but just as many gay, straight and menage scenes. Besides entirely consensual encounters, there are many sex scenes of the non-consensual and dubious consent variety.

The setting reminded me greatly of the trek Ayla and Jondalar and before that Jondalar and Thonolan make across prehistoric Europe, with the difference that it is the Mammoth Hunters' shaman Glade, who has done most of the travelling, and not as a result of her own free will to begin with.

Of the two main characters, it is Glade and the people she comes into contact with who formed the more interesting characters. Ivory remains a rather more flat character. Despite her name being in the title of the novel, the story being told is really Glade's story.

Because of Glade's wandering, from Africa to somewhere in Eurasia, there is a strong element of exploring by way of description and comparison of the social mores, codes and structures of the various peoples Glade comes into contact with on her journey.

This experience leads Glade to some interesting insights and convictions, and it's a good thing that not more of the tribe she lives with are aware of the texts she uses for incantations and her beliefs regarding the spirit realm.

To call the novel satirical is stretching the definition of that word a bit too far, in my opinion. I did see the tongue in cheek element of writing a novel set in prehistory that is not honey-glazed sweetness like the Jean M. Auel novels are. (In fact, some of the scenes may be far too violent, bloody and/or raunchy for many readers.) And in some places, the description of a particular tribe's characteristics immediately leads one to compare the tribe to modern day societies. There were passages where I smiled at the mild amusement offered. But satire has at its heart caustic wit, and I found that wanting in this novel.

Glade's journey is an entertaining read though. The sequencing and intermingling of her background story and Ivory's story is well executed. I thought the ending was a little too abrupt; I would have liked just a few more pages to tie off the loose thread of the immediate future of Ivory's mix-and-match tribe.

Recommended for those looking for a rather more depraved version of Jean M. Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear series.

Lbousson
(GoodReads)		 A very rich, well thought out story. Both Glade and Ivory were well thought out characters and their relationship was well developed. Ivory and Ptarmigan’s relationship was not as well thought out and it did not flow as smoothly; I think their background could have been better developed.

Lewlew
(Amazon)		 I think the description needs to be amended that this is a very erotic novel involving war rape and later ritualistic gang sex as a shamanistic duty. Only to warn the reader...am not criticising the author's choice of delivering the story.

I was hooked by the first three or four pages, then it just descended into the above. Sadly this could have been a great story of an epic journey of a courageous woman. Instead is totally involved her sexual torments and later her obsessions that ruled the story.

Sorry, not for me... and it needs a heads up on the very violent content.


No Future

No Future
Jim Bade
(Smashwords)

Let me start by saying that I am a vociferous reader of all kinds of books from Isaac Asimov to James Michener to Tom Clancy to Danielle Steele. I love all kinds of books with all kinds of viewpoints, and am particularly fond of Post-Apocalyptic novels lately, which is why I chose to read No Future by Bradley Stoke.

With my perspectives defined, I am going to start with the good. Mr. Stoke has a definite gift for writing. His phrases and terminology are both apt and well-chosen to convey the intended meanings of his story, plot and characters. I found the book fairly easy to read and only a few spelling and grammatical errors. Not bad at all for a self-published book.


However, if asked how the author of this book could be described I would have to say that Mr. Stoke appeared to be an over educated, narcissistic, foul mouthed, sex obsessed, drug addict with a paranoid irrational dislike of authority and a total lack of faith in humanity. OR, just the opposite and one hell of a writer! I can’t be sure which.


The reason for the above is to try to make sense of this book, which I did read to the end despite several urges to just give it up. I had to see if I could find the point in the book, other than the rampant sex and drug use, plus the universal lack of humanity in nearly every character in the book. Even with the numerous characters and jumping back and forth through time and story lines, and even with the minimal attempts at building the characters into something, if not likeable, at least resembling conventional humans, I could not quite keep up with who was what and when. I really needed a diagram of character names and jobs to figure them out. Not sure it would have helped.


I am a generally empathetic person, and found that the deaths of the people in the book left me flat because there was not one character that I could identify with. ALL of them were sex and drug obsessed, most of them swore in every sentence, most of them were hypocritical in an almost extreme sense, and oddest of all, most of the characters were very well educated, though pretty much every one of the female characters eventually became prostitutes and the men Johns. I guess my point is that nearly none of them were what most people would consider normal. None of them, to me, were people I would wish to be friends with.

In the end, it just ended, with no one left alive, death and destruction and no real point other than people basically suck!