But corrupt ’em in the good way.

No, no. Not that good way! Settle down.

Patricia Scott (aka Dragonwomant) reviews my book, Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom, for BSC Reviews:

Fans of pulp stories hoping to recruit a new generation of readers can rejoice.  They now have a fantastic pamphlet they can use to corrupt the younger set in the form of Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom.

That kind of corruption. The “turning kids on to classic pulp adventure tales” kind of corruption.

Which was all part of my sinister plan…

I think that this book would be great for [those] who like adventure stories, especially if they’re very fond of Indiana Jones movies or shows about exploring far-flung locales. I also think that this book would be a hoot for reading aloud, it would certainly lend itself well to very animated story telling.

There’s a good deal more, including this great line:

The Wildes are all practically superhumanly good-looking, frighteningly intelligent, and so skilled in combat only large groups of idiots willing to fight them would even think about trying to attack them.

Read the whole thing here.

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Travis Jonker, an elementary school librarian, reviews my novel, Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom, at 100 Scope Notes, and takes an unusual approach:

Chapter 1

Travis sits down to review the new middle grade adventure Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom. He decides to incorporate the book’s cliffhanger-heavy style into the review when there is a knock at the door. He gets up as the knocking becomes more urgent. When Travis opens the door, he can’t believe what he sees.

He follows with several short “chapters” lampooning the style and structure of the book, but in a fun way (not a mean way). It’s kinda smartass. But from me, that’s praise.

There are some spoilers in the review, so be warned. His ultimate summary is:

Inspired by the Doc Savage pulp adventures from the ’30s and ’40s, Doc Wilde and his family are heroes in the classic sense: smart, athletic, strong, well-traveled, and good-looking. The author, aware of how impossible this is, presents these over-the-top characters with a bit of subtle humor, which every kid won’t pick up on. This fact isn’t likely to deter many, however.

The whole thing is here.

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As blogged yesterday, I’ve been on a net vacation of sorts driven by my fine Celtic melancholy (that’s a poetic way of saying my shifty brain chemistry and the crap I went through in my formative years). During that time, there were a few stars sparkling out of the blackness, one of the main ones being the continued excellent critical response to my novel, Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom.

I have a short backlog of reviews I haven’t blogged about yet, but I don’t want to toss them all out at once because that might be tedious for folks reading. So I’m going to parcel them out over a week or so.

Today’s comes from MyShelf.com, and is by writer Janie Franz (author of Freelance Writing: It’s a Business, Stupid!).

Move over, Doc Savage. Get out of the way, Indiana Jones. Make room, Artemis Fowl. There’s a new adventure hero / family in town!…I was thoroughly excited by Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom…Not only was there non-stop adventure but there were interesting characters…I can’t wait for more adventures from Doc Wilde and his intrepid family.

She also reinforces other folks who have pointed out that the book isn’t just for boys…

Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom is a great read for kids. Though some of the blurbs on the back of the book tout this as an adventure novel for boys, its appeal is certainly not restricted to them. Wren is definitely a very clever and capable little girl and just as courageous as her brother, Brian. This story will most certainly appeal to girls who are as enamored of narrow escapes, crazy gadgets, and unusual creatures.

At this point, I’ve had the opportunity to hear from several young readers (and even more grown-up readers) who loved the book, and I’ve actually heard from more girls than boys (a fact with no actual statistical bearing, I’m sure, but the girls who read it dig it as much as the boys).

I’ve quoted only part of the review, as usual. The whole thing is at this link.

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Yesterday, I got notification of a new review of my novel Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom. When I finished enjoying it (because it was by someone who really enjoyed the book), I glanced at my email, and lo, there was another new review.

So I clicked over to it, ready to enjoy, only to find the closest thing to a bad review I’ve gotten yet (out of nearly twenty).

It’s an interesting bit of happenstance that these reviews appeared at pretty much the same time, because they are from two very distinct viewpoints: that of someone who knows and loves pulp adventure stories, and that of someone who isn’t familiar with pulp and seems not to care for it. Continue reading →

A new review of Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom has been posted, this time at Enchanting YA:

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I started DOC WILDE AND THE FROGS OF DOOM, but the story quickly drew me in within a few pages. Immensely detailed, it soon felt like I was on the trail of Grandpa Wilde right along with the family. The mystery element was strong throughout the entire book and the characters of Doc Wilde and family are bigger than life…An interesting start to what should be a very entertaining series, readers looking for something different will no doubt enjoy this tale.

The rest is here.

I love this review of Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom, from Mulluane at Old Bat’s Belfry…

It begins:

The fun with this book starts with the front cover and does not stop until the very last page!

How can I not love this review? It was love at first sight!

…There is more then just nonstop action and adventure in this story, though it has those in spades, it is also educational. There are explanations for everything from nanotechnology to meditation techniques. This book was written for the 10+ age group and while I agree that some of the educational portions of the book (I loved those by the way) might be lost on younger kids, I still kept having the same vision. I kept seeing myself reading this book to my grandkids, who are 5 and 6 years old. Not them reading it themselves mind you, but me reading it to them, a few chapters at a time, explaining things myself if needed. They might not understand some of the more technical aspects but it would not matter, they would LOVE the story! And, possibly learn a few things along the way. This book would be perfect for bedtime reading, the chapters are short and there are plenty of cliffhanger chapter endings to keep them begging for “just one more chapter…pleeeese…” You may find that you have a hard time putting it down yourself!…

…It was perfect. Fast paced, fun, entertaining and even I learned a few things in the process. There was also a touching family quality to the whole thing that was priceless. It was one of those rare books that leaves you feeling really good once it is done. What a great story and a great way to end my day.

There’s more to it than that, so go read it here. How can you not? It’s a very loveable review…

The latest review of Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom is up at Reading Junky’s Reading Roost. It’s kinda spoilery, so I’ll just quote the important part:

DOC WILDE AND THE FROGS OF DOOM offers non-stop excitement, terrific special effects, and tons of science/geek information.

The latest review of Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom is from Tia Nevitt at Fantasy Debut (and also has the distinction of being the first actual reader review posted for the book at Amazon, where she gives it 5 stars).

She seems to love it:

The adventure is a blend of Cthulhuian gods and a 10-year-old boy’s passion for all things squishy–like frogs. I mean, who can possibly find a frog anything but harmless? If anything, they’re a bit icky, but they don’t even have claws! They have little suction-cup thingies…kind of cute. . .in an amphibian kind of way.

Not Mr. Byrd’s frogs. They are green menaces! They have claws and gnashing teeth! And tentacles!

It’s fun. It’s also smart. There’s all sorts of interesting stuff in this little novel, like dark matter, nanotechnology (in a rather over-the-top way) and a smattering of Latin…

You can read the rest here.

There’s a good deal more, and she manages to say a lot without spoiling stuff, which I deeply appreciate (as will most readers, I think). I’m also very impressed with Fantasy Debut‘s review format, which includes a block at the start of the review that gives Amazon links for the USA, UK, and Canada, links to both the official Doc Wilde site and the Doc Wilde blog (which is different than this, my personal blog), and a link to the excerpt from the book I’ve made available. They’re really serving their readers well.

…is pretty darn good, thankfully.

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It’s just a few days before the book lands in bookstores (Thursday, May 14th), so I figured I’d post a roster of the reviews it has received thus far for the interested:

Action adventure is just the tip of the iceberg because this book is actually crammed full of interesting and, dare we say it, educational tidbits…Parents, don’t be surprised if you find yourselves enjoying this fun pulp fiction just as much as your kids.

—Sandy Amazeen, Monsters and Critics