Book Reviews

By Sara Halleman

As a literary buff, I must admit that I sometimes find poetry a bit of a struggle. Perhaps it’s the lack of poetic material in my education or my "Just say what you mean!" mentality. Either way I have to say that I was drawn to Plum Stuff by Rolli. The colorful cover work and delicious title drew me in like Alice chasing a white rabbit and the collection itself was nothing short of Wonderland.

There is a lot to admire with Rolli’s debut work. The 116 pages of poetic wonder are broken up into nine sections. Each section is categorized by the subject matter. These subjects range from the bewitching to the philosophical, the literate to the illiterate, the English to the Egyptian. All of these sections offer something different to admire and explore. My personal favorite was the section "Things Pathological." Here, Rolli’s work matches the sections title, in a good way.

Rolli brought something to this collection that I hadn’t seen before. Every once in a while there was a break from the traditional poetry and a short dialogue would be included. Some were as short as two lines while others went on several pages. Whatever the length, these dialogues added a unique and often humorous touch, to the collection.

Another interesting addition was the author’s original artwork. Rolli spices up his poetry with sketches that coincide with his words. The drawings give the reader a chance to connect more with Rolli and his imaginative mind.

Rolli’s creativity shines in this debut work. His content is witty and bizarre and will leave readers entertained. There is a lot to digest in Plum Stuff, but there is no doubt, after reading it, you'll walk away full and satisfied.

By Meghan Morrow

Typically, I am annoyingly selective when it comes to reading sci-fi/fantasy novels. There are so many cookie-cutter stories out in the world that I have grown to dread seeing the cover of a new fantasy. When I picked up J.E. Browning’s novel, Tales of Roumanhi-Homequest: Liberation, fearing that it was just another attempt at science fiction, I can’t say that I was instantly intrigued, but upon delving further into the novel, I was sorely mistaken. Right from the beginning, Browning introduces her readers to a different world, complete with a mystical terrain and a new language. I have to say that the geek in me did a little flip at the thought of an entirely make-believe language.

Homequest: Liberation opens with a young environmental technician, T’skya, and her crash landing into a strange desert on her way to finding a new home for her people. After mysteriously transporting to the edge of the Roumanhi forest, she is captured by Cail and Hollum then accused of being a member of their enemy clan, the Kházakha. Both technologically superior and devoid of morality, the Kházakha corrupted the land of Roumanhi and continue to tyrannize the inhabitants. T’skya manages to convince the Roumanhis that she means them no harm and works with them. In between her new daily life and worrying about her people, T’skya becomes quickly attached to the Roumanhi clan, even allowing for a romance to kindle.

Days pass and cause T’skya to become more anxious about her ship until she finally warns the Roumanhis that her abandoned ship will alert the Kházakha of her presence so it must be located. The supplies T’skya finds after returning from a less-than-perfect search expedition allows her and the Roumanhis to hatch a plan that will sabotage the Kházakha. The mission goes awry and they lose Cail to the enemy, so T’skya and the rest of the Roumanhis must find a way to bring him back to safety—if he hasn’t already been lost.

In a world of fantasy, Browning has done a wonderful job not to stray into the unbelievable. From start to finish, Homequest: Liberation captured me. Every character had soul that leaped from the page and I found myself emotionally invested in every one of them. The land of Roumanhi is filled with, not only beauty, but dangers as well, and the trek along the terrain had me anxious and excited. Liberation is a maze of stories that take the reader off in several directions, but Browning was able to lead us easily through the labyrinth.