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Wayline: a Science Fiction Novel
“Matt Shuck’s story is great. After reading the first few pages, I had an idea that I was in for something like V (the NBC series from the 80s and 2010s and the book series by A C Crispin). While I have nothing against an action-packed story of alien invasion and human resistance, it’s been done a lot. I wondered how Shuck could top Independence Day or Plan 9 from Outer Space. And then the plot evolved. As soon as I had recalibrated my expectations, it changed again.
These changes weren’t the cheap, 180 turns you see in some poorly conceived direct-to-Netflix films, either. Each time the plot evolved, it made sense within the story. I never felt like any change or surprise was shoehorned in; rather, each one felt like the groundwork had been laid long ago. Chekov’s guns that I thought wouldn’t be fired were fired at the most interesting times. Foreshadowing that seemed like character development took on a new meaning 150 pages after it was introduced. I was thrilled.
In addition to the fresh direction of the story, Shuck peppers in a little philosophy. What does is mean to be good or bad when you think you’re fighting for a just cause? Do ends justify means? The book would have been good without the addition of these grey areas but they did make me more invested in the characters and their motivations.
I was not able to put the book down for the last 50 pages. Shuck does a good job of creating stakes for the conflict in his world (not everyone you like makes it to the end) and they play out masterfully.
If I was going to nitpick, I would say the book could be longer. There is enough history, backstory, and character development that Shuck could have taken a page from JRR Tolkein and Brandon Sanderson and written an 800 page epic. Does the average reader have the patience for something like that? No. So Matt Shuck made the right choice to keep Wayline at the standard novel length. Still, I wonder if he’s got a follow up planned that might expand on some history.
Anyway, pick this book up. You’ll enjoy it. Support an indie author and make a science fiction fan’s holiday or birthday more exciting with Wayline as a gift. They’ll totally dig it.” — Kristopher J. Patten, Amazon customer
“Douglas Adams would be proud of this book….. then jealous that this author possiblly does his style a little better, causing him to sue; only to lose once it is brought to the courts attention that Mr. Adams is, in fact, dead. And therefore does not have the right to sue. (Undead civil rights being a little behind the rest of ours, as it were).
Refreshingly new and nostalgic at the same time. Which makes for a wonderful read, unless you spend too much time thinking about how something can be both new and nostalgic, in that case you might feel like you have a headache brought on by too many concussions. My advice is don’t think about it, eat some schoffles, and just read the book.” — No, Amazon customer
“This was completely unexpected and broke my sensitive little heart! Well done.” — reddit commenter
“Friends of the Dark: 8 Stories for Children Who Sleep with the Lights Off is an nice collection of short stories and poems for children and adults alike. For a 30 year old man, these aren’t exactly the pulse pounding stories I’m accustomed to reading, but for children, I could see these dark stories coming to life in their imaginations. Some of my favorites in this collection include: “The Fiend of Framingham”, “Separation”, “One Wish For Christmas”, and a special mention of “Magnamuru and The Forbidden Forest, which was my favorite story. It’s a short dark fantasy story with all the trimmings of a longer story condensed into a few pages for a particularly cool tale. Certainly could see it being fleshed out into a longer YA book.
Overall, I would certainly recommend it to parent’s looking to introduce their children into stories with a bit of edge to them. A little something for the Halloween season which won’t give them nightmares or scar them for life.” — The Unaverage Bear, Amazon customer
“I have never been a fan of Noir as a genre, it typically fails to keep my attention. This book however left me hungry for more. Everything was captivating from the powerful imagery to the engaging dialogue, every detail fell into place to tell an amazing story. I highly recommend picking this up whenever you get a chance!” — definitelynotnic, Amazon customer
The stages of grief as told by my adolescent self through poetry. Collected from 1999-2004 when I was a teenager going through a difficult transition to adulthood. From obsessively latching onto the unattainable idea of the perfect soulmate 3,000 miles away, through all the stages of grief as found out the hard way that no one, including myself, was infallible.
Each chapter is a collection of poems and writings that, to me, encapsulated which stage of grief I was in while during those difficult years. From obsession to denial, to anger, to bargaining, to depression, and finally to acceptance.
It is my most sincere hope that someone who may be going through a similarly tough time might read this and realize they aren’t alone.
As yet, unrated
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Matthew Shuck 