At the end of the day–actually, at the beginning and middle too–there's really only one thing that puts a book in a new reader's hands.
Word of mouth.
So what is word of mouth? Yes it's you–you there on the left, you at the back, all you you-s reading this–telling your friends about that new book you read, and what you thought about it. But as well as telling your friends? Well, there's telling your not-friends. Your enemies? Tell them about that book you read. If you hated it, tell them it was great–they might go read it and suffer with you :-). That'll show them who rules! If you loved it? Well, tell them anyway, because it shows you have better taste and better better-ness than them 🙂. But also?
Tell people you don't know. People you've never met, and likely never will meet. Because, yes–book reviews rule!
Book reviews are a great way of supporting an author–or even to offer honest less than positive thoughts. They can help the author grow as a writer, and help people find books they might like, even if you didn't. Or did :-). So I'd like to invite everybody here to leave book reviews. Where? Amazon is great, Goodreads is great, your web page is great (heh–but please tell me about them, so I can read them too). But no author, and no book, ever had 'too many' book reviews. So come on in–the reviewing water's fine! And just to show, here are some reviews JACK SHADOW has had so far–some of them from Advance Reader copies, some of them from strangers, some of them from people who have read other books of mine. But none of them paid for or written by me 🙂:
AMAZON:
"Jack Shadow is a character who will stay with you long after you turn the last page of Mr. Smith's eponymous book. He does not easily fit any ready-made mold - is he a good guy or an evil one? Does he care only about himself, or does he concern himself with the welfare of others? He commits some pretty brutal acts - are these justified, or are they the display of something seriously wrong inside? I kept asking myself these questions while reading the book, and thanks to Graeme Smith's mastery of his material, the answers were never easy. Indeed, the book does contain some breakneck paced action, it takes you to some pretty brutal and dark mental and physical spaces and it contains enough twists for several books, all deftly handled and all perfectly logical (I had to re-read some passages a few times, to ensure Mr. Smith was not cheating, but was following logical threads). The adventure is never boring, never dull, and always exciting. I will avoid giving any spoilers, but do give this book a chance to take you to a new place, and I bet you will be craving a sequel or three - I know I am!"
"This book really forced me to utilize my imagination to its full potential! Jack Shadow is indeed a mysterious character who provokes your thought and makes you wonder where he originated from! I won’t go into too much depth, but the storyline was exciting and adventurous! It involved shape-shifters, time-travel, and the possible paradoxes that could be encountered along the way. I enjoyed this book because its plot was somewhat of a challenge and brain-teaser for me, and it hence forced me to really scrutinize the events that were taking place in order to comprehend the logical connections between them! Loved it all! Only Graeme Smith’s mastery can create such an exciting literary enigma!"
"It wasn't bad for a quick read. After you get used to the jumps the character makes it's easier to read. Don't think I would the series, if there is one. The perspective just seemed of putting somehow. Still okay for a quick read."
"I will say up front I know this author from online groups and really like his writing. He has a tremendous voice. While the voice is here in Jack Shadow, the story is baffling. I had a hard time following what was going on. There were some quirky things I enjoyed -- the author does quirky really well! -- but on the whole I was too busy trying to figure out what the heck was happening. I'm still not sure what the plot was about. Except it had something to do with time. And people after Jack. And Jack after people. 'People' not exactly meaning... Never mind. I won't go there. I read the first few pages of this long ago and thought Jack was too unlikable to use as a main character. Either I didn't read far enough or the author's lightened him up. Jack works fine as a main character. Anyone reading this review should realize the problem in understanding what JACK SHADOW's about likely lies with me. I feel sure a sharper mind will follow the story and enjoy it tremendously. Especially one who loves SF/fantasy. That's the reason I give it four stars."
"Jack is a terrific character and you really don't know what's going to happen next! Just when you think you know where the story is going, Jack makes sure that you're wrong.........or are you? This was truly a fun read and I really would love to know what Jack will get up to next. The only hint I'll give to new readers is this: read it and don't be afraid to question what's happening. That's half the fun! There are details within details and even some explanation for real life puzzles. I've said too much....Jack may object!"
"While the plot line was rather intriguing, The way the author delivered the story in a series of sometimes only three words per sentence quickly led to me believing this book was not for me. And we get it, you are just a guy who walked out of a bar. You don't need to continue saying such."
"So, it all ended when I am going to be starting to return to finish reading this book. And then it got confusing! I just finished, and now I have to go back and start over to see if I can figure out what just happened. Graeme Smith does a great job, playing with time travel, dragons, Dracula, Jack the Ripper and a Host of other characters. Definitely worth reading for fans of Douglas Adams, Simon R Green, or Piers Anthony."
"Light. Dark. Dark. Light. Shadow. Jack Shadow just walked out of a bar one day. He walked straight into my imagination and he's never left it. He'll never leave it. He sort of lurks over there in the corners. In the shadows. Who is Jack? Where did he come from? The answers? Will. Blow. You. Away."
GOODREADS
Jack Shadow
"I give this book a 4 star rating alone for the voice and humor. I love Graeme's wit in all of the books/stories he writes. He has an intelligent sense of humor that I quite enjoy.
He is also quite crafty at coming up with the most interesting concepts and plot twists.
I would agree some with (another Goodreads account name), there is a quite a bit going on with characters and arcs, so that is why I give it 4 out of 5.
The ending is definitely interesting and certainly not predictable."
longandshort reviews
Jack Shadow
Danger is the spice of life when one is in certain lines of work.
Jack had a well-rounded, intriguing personality that made me want to learn more about him. I appreciated his wry sense of humor and how intelligently and cautiously he approached every aspect of his work. He was the sort of character I’d want to hang out with during an emergency due to how closely he paid attention to small details in his environment as well as how prepared he was for a wide variety of possible outcomes in life, both positive and negative.
This was one of those tales that tossed the reader into the action and asked us to figure out what was happening as the protagonist attempted to stay alive and well. As much as I enjoy the challenge of this style of writing in general, I did find myself wishing for a little more exposition in the beginning in this case. Even a few more paragraphs worth of it would have catapulted this to a five-star rating for me as I enjoyed everything else about it and thought Jack was definitely someone worth getting to know better.
The time travel aspects of the storyline were handled nicely. It can be a complicated topic, especially when more than one trip is involved or when multiple characters are involved, so I was glad to see Mr. Smith spend some time digging into the risks involved and what the characters hoped to earn from their hard work.
Jack Shadow was fast-paced and adventurous.
