In this issue, Tony brings the Thunerbolts into a mission...but little did he know, they had really started it weeks ago.

The End of the World is Nigh is a humorous tale about a stern researcher, a rich and eccentric older gentleman, and a ditsy doomsday prepper whom fate has decided need to work together in order to solve a mystery.

Like Tony’s other tales, this book had a little something for everyone; humor, mystery, light romance, historical elements, and a bit of suspense!

The tale was told in two timelines- one in the present when a new prophecy was discovered, and one in the past that lead up to that same prophecy being written.

I enjoyed the timeline that was set in the present, but I absolutely loved the timeline in the past! It was so fun and exciting, and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next! I also loved that the author mixed in some more modern elements into the narration and the story itself. On more than a few occasions the sudden mention of something modern made me laugh out loud.

In the tale, there were a few sections that I just had to highlight because of how much I enjoyed them!

The first was a section on how the rumor about the end of the world spread. Seeing what the various theories were was equally hysterical and unnerving. It’s so amazing to think about how quickly news spreads and gets blown out of proportion like a game of telephone.

I also loved the scene where Nostradamus taught Philibert the rules of writing a prophecy. I thought this sequence was so clever!

There was a sequence where Chambard tried to capture a wild boar… My goodness, this had me laughing with tears streaming down my cheeks!

Lastly, the opening of chapter “A Bump In The Night” was so perfect! I loved the formula to a successful horror movie! I adore when the author goes off on what seem like tangents at first, but it soon loops back to the story perfectly.

The Characters:

Ally– a researcher and expert on Nostradamus. Called in to check out a book to see if it was really annotated by Nostradamus. Quite abrasive and close-minded.

Antoine– the man that owned the house the book in question was found in. Open-minded, and on the hunt for answers. Rather eccentric and very upbeat.

Philibert, aka Phil– a man locked in a jail cell with Nostradamus who has lived the life of a wanderer, escaping a life of poverty. His latest goal was to learn how to be a prophet.

Chambard– a man that taught Philibert about being a wanderer and worked with Phil to try to make sure his prophecies came true.

Michel de Notredsme, aka Nostradamus– the original prophet. Very dramatic, selfish, and full of himself.

Gabriel Janvier– a ditsy doomsday prepper that goes off into the woods to try to save herself from the flu that was killing people. A type of person that seems to be the stereotypical millennial that the older generations hate.

Ally’s negativity toward millennial’s was incredibly frustrating, but also well done. This tension certainly highlighted two stereotypical individuals from each generation. Ally’s character was so clearly upset by the younger generation that she took one look at Gabriel, judged her in an instant, and didn’t let anything convince her otherwise. This really hit this topic on the nose! If I had a dollar for every time someone judged me because of my age and actually told me so… Ugh.

I’m so glad there were positives about millennials mixed in there from Gabriel’s standpoint because just straight millennial bashing would have been exhausting. And when Gabriel had her little monologue when she got coffee… just wonderful.

My Favorite Passages
The end of the world was coming. The exact circumstances and timelines were a bit sketchy, but it was almost certainly going to be on a Tuesday, and it was definitely going to be messy.

Whether the prophecy was authentic or not didn’t stop it doing laps of the internet faster than a ‘cat falling off a ladder’ meme.

Jacques drew a blade from his belt and advanced slowly on the unwelcomed guest. To protect himself, Phil spontaneously drew the only blade that he carried, a slightly bent, short and blunt lock picking knife. If it came to actual sword play his weapon was a raspberry against a watermelon.

Thanks in large part to the hugely popular online group the Oblivion Doctrine news of the apocalypse had spread in hours like the free movement of liquid from a split mug of tea. And just like a tea spillage the volume on the table always far exceeded the apparent capacity of the mug.

“It looks to me, from the way you are dressed, that you too are a noble. The correct response in that situation would have been to challenge the other to a dual. What was your approach?”
“I waved a rather inoffensive bent pen-knife at him.”
“Unconventional.”
“And ineffective as it happens,” added Phil.

Charles had a habit of insisting on items that simply didn’t exist, like a mug of lightening or a nurse with three nipples. Whether Charles knew he was asking for the absurd or not didn’t seem to restrain him. It was as if his preposterous desires were purposefully designed to instigate his second favourite past time, losing his shit.

“This is ridiculous, sit down.”
“I don’t think you understand. I will not be bullied by anyone, male or female, friend or stranger, ally or foe. If you wish to learn something from me you will need to act accordingly.”

“Palomer is a word used mainly in Provence and comes from the seventeenth century. It has two meanings; mild in manner or keeper of pigeons.”
“Oh dear, I’m not overly keen on pigeons. I think I’ll go with the first meaning.”

Light was now trying desperately to penetrate their ground floor window in order to introduce them to a new day. Phil didn’t know how many more he’d spend here or whether the next one would bring news of his fate.

But then again, what was truth? To be certain that you’d found it you had to do research, check facts, use your own brain and have an open yet skeptical mind to all information and opinions. Truth took ages. It was much easier to seek out opinions that backed up what you already believed. Plus you could substitute the time you might have wasted discovering the truth by angrily debating your own beliefs on Twitter with people you’d never met before, often capitalizing the word FACT as the only one evidence to back up your argument. In the twentieth century that was all people needed.

I’m just a small lamp in the great dazzling glow of enlightenment that is illuminating our world. I dedicated my life to the advancement of the human race in order to fulfill our species potential, to be more than we currently are.

… he said carefully placing the manuscript on Philibert knees to stop some of the pages making a gravity assisted dash for freedom.

So far none of his strategies had worked. Trying to reason with one had been highly ineffective. Creeping up behind one quietly in an attempt to mount it at the last moment had also not gone well. After multiple attempts the best he’d managed was the faintest of ankle tackles and a mouthful of forest floor. Coaxing them with a variety of tasty lures had been no good either. Hours he’d waited for one to venture out and devour the pile of mice and eggs he’d left as bait, only to find they’d waited long enough for him to fall asleep before eating the lot and depositing a steaming pile of boar dung as a thank you note.

By week three the topics of discussion became stretched. In a possible sign of madness the questions being posed had absolutely nothing to do with their past or current plots. There were hour long debates about ‘why dogs never walk in their own poo, when humans seem incapable of avoiding it,’ and ’which came first botulism or the plague,’ and ‘if a horse mates with a cow and had babies would they be called hows or courses.’

“… None of us can change the road on which fate had placed us… but we can decide which steps to take.”

My Final Thoughts
Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this tale! I loved each of the elements that were woven together so wonderfully, especially the mix of humor, light romance, and mystery!

If you enjoy novels that you can get totally immersed in, but which also touch on a few topics that make you stop and think, then I would highly recommend this one to you!

Still Lives by Maria Hummel is a slow burning tale about a woman who, even though she is haunted by her history as a reporter’s assistant, just can’t help but snoop around and put herself at risk in order to try to solve a murder case.

When this won the vote for my book club pick for February, I couldn’t wait to snag a copy from my local library!

While the very beginning started strong, unfortunately this one was a miss for me…

When this book begins, we meet a woman that is just itching to leave the place where she works in order to beat rush hour and avoid the big party. I was immediately drawn to this character, as I, too, leave work at a time to miss rush hour. And I totally understand being a bit tired of people and just wanting to go home.

As the story continues, I was so intrigued to learn more about her place of work and a few of her other coworkers, who were all getting ready for the big party in their own ways.

Once the party rolled around, I just loved the excitement and nervousness of the event. Up until this point, the anticipation that was built up before finally seeing the paintings was quite intense!

Unfortunately, the story went downhill from there for me.

Immediately after the big gallery reveal, I started to lose interest. There were bits and pieces of the case that were introduced that I was interested in. I thought for sure that the story was going to go in one very interesting direction that would be filled with puzzles and dropped hints, but nothing ever came of those elements. Instead, we just see the main character have an emotional break and then snoop around rather obviously to try to figure out who the murderer was.

When I was nearing the end, I told my husband that I thought the book may be gearing up for some fast paced action and craziness right before the big reveal. But that never happened. When I got to what I would say was the climax of the story, I was (and I hate to say it) bored.

When I closed the book, I was a bit bummed. The synopsis sounded so interesting but this one just fell totally flat for me.

My Favorite Passages:
In the dozen steps it takes me to round the maroon wall of cubes to Juanita’s, my heart starts beating so fast it feels like a flash mob is assembling in my chest.

If she had a sense of humor, it must be buried somewhere deeper than the tar pits on La Brea.


My Final Thoughts:
This book started out pretty strong for me, but it soon grew a bit tiresome, and then took an odd turn that still has me scratching my head…

I would say that I enjoyed reading this one, but it was just an okay ready for me. When it comes down to voting thumbs up or thumbs down for my book club, I’d have to go with a thumbs down. Part of me enjoyed the overall plot and many of the characters, but the slow pace of the story line and the execution of the plot and the conclusion just didn’t work for me.

While I wouldn’t read it again, I would definitely recommend it to readers that enjoy slow moving mysteries with an art focus, and that don’t mind a rather lackluster ending.

Threshold by J.M. Kaukola is a suspenseful tale about a group of friends in a relatively small town. Boredom allows them to stumble upon something that they would have been better off not seeing, and good intentions further drives them into an unbelievable situation that only gets more intense by the minute…

While reading this book, I had to fight myself to put it down.

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

Oh my gosh, this book. I had so much fun reading it! It was a great mix of interesting and really well developed characters, humor, nerdiness, and horror.

The first half of the book was really all about the character development. I loved that we really got to know each of the characters and what their relationships with one another was like. I especially loved learning about each of the character’s hobbies! The main character’s LARPing was especially interesting to me as I have heard about this here and there, but didn’t know much about it. I loved learning more and these scenes were so much fun to read!

I have to say, when I first heard that the main character knew how to properly use a sword, I had my fingers crossed that we were really going to see him in action rather than holding back to make sure he didn’t actually hurt someone. I was not disappointed!

While the author gave me a heads up that the horror would come later, I found myself getting totally lost in the tale in the first half and kept forgetting my anticipation for the horror!

Now don’t get me wrong, there were certainly elements that were put in here and there that alluded to the horror that would come later. I especially loved the last sentences of many of the chapters that made it clear that something was going to happen. And boy, did the story take a turn around the 50% mark!

I struggled so hard to put this book down and get to work! I just had to know what was going to happen next!

When I arrived at the last page, I set my kindle down and had to take a deep breath.

Bravo, Mr. Kaukola! This what quite the tale!

My Favorite Passages:
If there were two things it was good at, it was wasting money and desecrating Indian burial grounds. They should put it on a postcard. ‘Historic Landen. We bulldozed two of these fuckers, and we ain’t haunted yet!’
The lack of poltergeists made sense. Even vengeful ghosts would take one look at Landen, remember they had standards, and fuck off upstate.

He drank in silence, his eyes locked on the cut-out hills. After a moment, he lowered his can and passed the half-empty to me. He said, “Hold my beer and watch this.”
That phrase was a hillbilly red flag. It meant that bad decisions were imminent. With Shane, that was double.

In the Old West, cowboys shot one-handed to keep the control of the reins of their horse. Shane shot one-handed so he could keep drinking.

He reached forward and turned on the radio. With the windows down and radio up, we sailed through the night and straight toward disaster.

I remembered coming here as a kid. At least, I think I did. The problem with “little kid memory” was that it got blurred and hiccuped; it was built from flashes of scenes, vague feelings, and single points of clarity.

If someone asked me a question, I was damn sure gonna answer. It was like when the doctor hit your knee with the mallet, except with words.

Say what you will about bravery, but there was a time and a place for running away, and that time was five minutes ago.

There was no way I was getting out of this ‘okay.’ It wasn’t in the cards. I was fucked. Doomed. College student number seven-thousand-seven-hundred-thirty-four was no goddamn match for this. My skills were pop culture and sarcasm. When the living dead came for me, what was I gonna do? Snark them to death?

My Final Thoughts:
If you enjoy the mix of humor and horror based around an awesome young adult cast with a lovely coming of age element, then I highly recommend this one to you!

Like I said above, I had so much fun reading this one! I just loved each of the characters and their realistic banter. Everything was so wonderfully organized, it felt like you were right there in the story with them!

Holy cow. I love Daniel Handler's writing, but this one was so not for me. This honestly felt like a rough draft. It felt so incredibly scattered and I just didn't have the patience to deal with it. I had to bail very early on.

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales is a hilarious collection of stories that are a bit familiar, but with darker twists. These tales have wonderfully odd illustrations and they are organized in such an unconventional but fun way.

Since this one was such a memorable book from my childhood, I would love to recommend it to children today.

However… I will note that some of the names, content matter, and illustrations are quite odd and a bit violent and may be a bit too much for some. So just a note of caution there for more sensitive children. Parent’s you’ll see what I mean below.

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka, Illustrated by Lane Smith
Just seeing the cover of this one on the internet randomly one day reminded me of my childhood! So of course I immediately requested it from my local library.

When my hold was ready, I brought it home and sat down to read it. As I opened up to the first page, I laughed out loud! I had totally forgotten the obnoxious hen and how she started squawking about her tale right on the end paper. Next up was the dedication page, which also made me chuckle. Then there was a quick introduction, which also made me laugh. Oh, this was going to be a fun ride! And then we were off and running with the “Fairly Stupid Tales!”

I remembered many of the tales so clearly, but I had totally forgotten a few!

As an adult reader, I realized that a lot of the humor in this one had been lost on me as a kid. I remember laughing at the illustrations the most back in the day, even though they are certainly odd. This time around, I was laughing at the absurdity of the tales, how often the fourth wall was broken, and the abrupt endings. This type of humor was such a hit for me!

I had mentioned it above, but I will say it again- the overall organization of this book is so clever! Not only are elements of the book scattered around, but the typography is also very cleverly organized! Everything was so well thought out and wonderfully done!

Here are some notes about each story, which range from short thoughts to summaries of the tales.

Chicken Licken
In this tale, something falls out of the sky and sets Chicken Licken off in a frenzy. In her panicked state, Chicken Licken runs into Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, and Cocky Locky, who each join her in her quest to tell the president that the sky is falling.

Jack the Narrator pops back into the tale to announce that he forgot the Table of Contents, but the crew ignores his.

Chicken Licken, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, and Cocky Locky then run into Foxy Loxy who says that they should follow him because he has a shortcut… but before they are tricked by the fox, the Table of Contents drops in and squashes everyone.

The Princess and the Bowling Ball
This tale is based on The Princess and the Pea, but in this story, the Prince meets the girl of his dreams. Knowing the test that his parents have put other girls though, the Prince sneaks in and puts a bowling ball under the stack of one hundred mattresses…

The Really Ugly Duckling
This poor duck!

The Other Frog Prince
What would the result of The Princess and the Frog have been if the Frog has been lying about the curse? You’ll find out in this tale! The ending of this one made me laugh so hard!

Little Red Running Shorts
In this tale, Jack the Narrator is back. But in his excitement about finally having things run smoothly, he summarizes the tale, much to the dismay of the two main characters who end up walking off the page.

Jack’s Bean Problem, Giant Story, and Jack’s Story
In this tale that has three parts, we begin with our narrator, Jack, who is excited that he finally gets to share his story! Or so he thought… But the giant has other plans. The Giant dives in with his own story, that doesn’t impress Jack. When Jack comments, the Giant grabs him and pulls him onto the next page where a very clever story begins!

The typography in these tales is lovely and so creative!

Cinderumpelstiltskin or the Girl Who Really Blew It
My favorite part of this one was that in the illustration, we get a glimpse of what was happening on the last page!

The Tortoise and the Hair
I didn’t like this one much as a kid. The same holds true as an adult.

The Stinky Cheese Man
This tale spans quite a few pages. It’s such a funny one and my goodness, the illustrations are too funny!

And then we reach the end where that hen makes yet another appearance, trying to tell her tale. However, the Giant has other plans… The last page is SO CREEPY! The Giant himself is scary enough, but Jack’s evil smile is even more sinister!

This was such a fun re-read as an adult! While I really enjoyed the oddity and the darkness, I’m not sure I would get this one for my future kiddos until they are a bit older.

The Principal from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler, illustrated by Jared Lee is one of the weaker tales in this series.

On the third day of school, our main character is sent to the principal's office... and big surprise, he's heard that the principal, Mrs. Green, is a real monster!

This one had one illustration that wasn't awesome. This is also the very same Mrs Green from the first tale, so we were lacking creativity there.

I remember really loving the silliness of these tales as a kid. Granted, I read these in a time where our principal would threaten to, "string you up by your toes and hang you from the basketball hoops" if we were misbehaving, so my sense of what was okay to joke about and what was not may have already been a little skewed.

In this tale, the main character is nervous to meet the new gym teacher that he has heard rumors about. The teachers name is Mr. Green!

Mr Green is rumored to make kids do all kinds of crazy things in class like running laps, taking fitness tests, and lifting a pickup!

Of course, when the coach blows the whistle, the main character learns that he's just a regular guy.

These books were another staple from my childhood! I remember really loving the silliness of these tales as a kid. Granted, I read these in a time where our principal would threaten to, "string you up by your toes and hang you from the basketball hoops" if we were misbehaving, so my sense of what was okay to joke about and what was not may have already been a little skewed.

I think the tales would be a fun read for a kid that may be a little nervous about their first day as it would help them see that there isn't anything to worry about.

In this tale, the main character and his class are headed to visit the library, but they've heard some scary things and they're nervous. But when they get to the library, the learn that it is a pretty great place!

This tale was the cutest one out of the bunch!

The Teacher from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler, illustrated by Jared Lee is a humorous tale about the rumors kids have passed around and the fear about the first day of school where everything is new.

These books were another staple from my childhood! I remember really loving the silliness of these tales as a kid. Granted, I read these in a time where our principal would threaten to, "string you up by your toes and hang you from the basketball hoops" if we were misbehaving, so my sense of what was okay to joke about and what was not may have already been a little skewed.

I think the tales would be a fun read for a kid that may be a little nervous about their first day as it would help them see that there isn't anything to worry about.

In this tale, our main character is off to his first day of school. He's nervous about who his teacher will be. Before class, he's so exhausted that he shuts his eyes. The next thing he knows, Mrs Green walks in and she's a real monster!

She does very scary things to each of the kids in class ranging from dismembering them, to biting one of them in half. Granted, this is written in a very humorous way that most kids will laugh at, it could be a bit much for some readers.

But good news! It was all a dream. The real Mrs Green walks into the classroom, startling our main character awake and boy is he relieved to see her!