Posts Tagged ‘review’

Snake: Published!

Posted: June 10, 2014 in Novel, Writing
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Snake

How far would you go for love and revenge?

I don’t know what I should be happier about: today’s my 21st birthday, it’s exactly two years from the day I began work on Snake, and it’s also the day that Snake has become available for the public. I think two of those are cause for public concern!

Anyway, I’d like to focus on the latter, if possible. I’m very excited to announce that Snake is now published and available in paperback and e-book. It should be, anyway: it always takes Amazon a while to get e-books on the same webpages as the paperback versions. So if you go onto Amazon and you don’t see the version you’d like immediately, please come back later and hopefully it’ll be there. (I’ll write another post when all the kinks are sorted through).

It’s still pretty amazing to me that two years of work is finally available to the public. I just hope the public wants to read it and enjoys it now that it’s out! And if you do decide to buy a copy of Snake, please let me know what you think once you’ve read it. Did you love it? Did you hate it? Did something strike you as totally weird or that made it hard for you to enjoy the book? Did you get turned off by the painting of a naked woman on the cover (if you did, then that might be judging a book by its cover)? Let me know. I love feedback, whether positive or negative (except when it comes from trolls).

Anyway, if you’d like to check Snake out, you can go to Amazon to get a copy. I hope you like it and thanks for checking it out. And if you’d like to know a bit more about Snake before checking it out, you can click here.

That’s all for now. I’ve got some work to do, so I’m going to get on that. Have a great day, my Followers of Fear.

Review: Maleficent

Posted: May 30, 2014 in Review
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For my first review upon returning from Europe, I’d like to do Maleficent, a retelling of the 1959 Disney film Sleeping Beauty. And like its predecessor, Maleficent has some storytelling problems. Emphasis on the “telling” in “storytelling”: during the course of the movie more is left to narration in this film than to actually showing us the exact events as they happen. So we basically skip over several of the formative events in Maleficent’s early life, and in King Stefan’s early life as well. The result is that we really don’t get to know the characters very well, We just see Maleficent go from sweet girl to young woman to angry witch, all in the course of maybe half an hour. We also don’t get to see Stefan’s development either, which would’ve made his character easier to understand and relate to.

And this is only the tip of the problems with the story here. I don’t want to go into great detail, but let’s just say the writing and the lack of characterization leave much to be desired, with huge plot holes and characters that are as two-dimensional as paper cut-outs and as unrelateable as them too. I know Disney made this film mostly to catch in on the trend of retelling old fairy tales for a new, modern audience (explaining why Once Upon a Time is heading into its fourth season and why Disney is doing retellings of Cinderella and a Cruella DeVil movie and Alice Through The Looking Glass, among others), but it wouldn’t have destroyed te studio to add maybe another forty to fifty minutes to a ninety-seven minute film and fill out those characters and plug up the plot holes.

Overall, I give Maleficent a 1.6 out of 5. Not even its good moments (few and far-between) are enough to redeem this film. Not even Angelina Jolie can fix it, and she’s an amazing actress! I really can’t wait to see how the guys at How It Should Have Ended decide to fix this film up. Because like I said, it’s not a very good film.

The One Diverse Character

Posted: May 28, 2014 in Reflections, Writing
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Diversity is a big thing these days. We need more diverse student bodies, more diverse workforces, and above all, more diverse casts in movies, books, and TV shows. And I don’t consider that a bad thing. On the contrary, diversity is a good thing, because it represents our diverse population and the many wonderful people on it.

However, I take issue when writers stick in a single minority character or one female character into the main cast and say, “Diversity element added”. Because that’s not diversity. That’s just being lazy. You see, a really diverse cast doesn’t just have a couple of characters you don’t usually see in these sort of stories. A really diverse cast has fully developed characters that grow and evolve over the course of the story, and they all come from many different backgrounds.

Take the main cast of Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier (I would’ve done Reborn City instead, but I have a strange feeling that more people have seen Captain America 2 than have read RC. Just a feeling, but it’s a strong one). In that movie, the four main characters have great depth, they do some growing in the movie, and we see sides to them that have not been revealed previously. Three of them also happen to be the exact opposite of the usual superhero protagonist, namely a white guy on the front lines. Black Widow is a woman and Falcon and Nick Fury are both black, but neither of those traits define them or are the main points to make them interesting.

Okay, the main points that make them interesting is their fighting abilities, cool gadgets, and the awesome things they can do, but that’s beside the point! There’s more to them than the fighting and what’s on the surface. They are all given a chance to grow in this film, and we really get a chance to know them. Natasha and Steve Rogers develop a relationship over the course of the film that swings between best friends and a sibling love for each other, while San Wilson becomes the one person who can relate to Rogers because of their shared experience. And Nick Fury, besides revealing information about himself that might have been a surprise to many fans, also had to question the organization he lead. Specifically, is it doing more harm than good? And is it worth it to keep SHIELD around?

All these characters are different from what might be or have been considered normal for superhero films, but that’s not what makes them great. What makes them great is that they have depth, they have growth, and whoever wrote the film didn’t feel that just because they were black or female that was character development enough!

So with the upcoming Batman vs. Superman film, they’ve apparently already cast Wonder Woman (who is obviously female) and Cyborg (who is black). I don’t know what sort of role they’ll have in this film (or in any sequels which will inevitably pop up), but I do hope that their characters are given as much time to develop and grow and reveal their hidden sides in the movies as the other characters. There’s a huge literature from which the writers can draw wonderful storylines from. I’d really like to see what they do.

And if they only focus on Wonder Woman’s being a woman or don’t give Cyborg enough treatment as a character, it’ll diminish my enjoyment of the film that much more.

So thanks for listening to my rant on the need for real diversity in our popular media. I’ve got a flight in a few hours, so I’ll write again when I can (though when that’ll be I have no idea). Have a lovely day, my Followers of Fear.

Reborn City: Six Months Since Publication

Posted: May 1, 2014 in Living and Life, Novel, Review, Writing
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Reborn City

It’s been exactly six months since Reborn City was released. I can’t believe how long it’s been since RC first came out. I’ve sold some copies, gotten five reviews, and I managed to get to the second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Not bad for a first book.

For those of you who don’t know much about RC, the novel is the first in a trilogy. It tells the story of Zahara Bakur, a Muslim teenager living in a world that has emerged from the ashes of a third world war. The society she lives in is made up mostly of small nations and independent city-states, some of which are plagued with Islamaphobia due to the role certain terrorist groups played in the war. This includes Reborn City, where Zahara lives, and this hatred gets her parents killed. Soon afterwards, she is forced to join an interracial street gang, the Hydras, in order to repay one of the leaders, Rip, for saving her life. However things get worse after that: the leaders in the Hydras all have very strange powers, and there is a rumor it’s connected to the corporation that rules over Reborn City, the Parthenon Company. The decisions she and her new friends make will impact not only her life, but the lives of so many others.

And apparently people have enjoyed reading it. Check out some of these reviews:

This is not a genre I typically delve into, but I took this book on vacation and couldn’t put it down. The plot had me turning pages at quite the clip. The characters were unique and interesting and the imagery had me creating my own visual of what Rami’s interpretation of the future looked like. For first time novelist, Rami Ungar, this was an outstanding showing of talent and commitment to his passion of writing. Looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next!

Michele Kurland

Gangland violence, superhero-like enhancements, a futuristic setting, and social commentary that stems from a semi-post-apocalyptic theme. And then there’s a story where people come together as a family to deal with mutual loss and tragedy. What’s not to like?

Matthew Williams, author of Whiskey Delta and Papa Zulu

As a reader who does not read books in this genre, I must admit that I could not put down the book. I attribute this to the talent of the author. I am looking forward to reading the next books published by Ungar. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy action with features of supernatural powers and sci-fi.

Enji

And for the six-month anniversary, I’ve done some really awesome things. For one thing, I’ve uploaded a second edition, free of any editing or technical problems with the book (I hope). Secondly, I’ve put RC‘s ebook on sale. From today, May 1st, to May 31st, RC’s ebook will be available for $0.99. That’s two dollars lower than usual. Afterwards from June 1st to June 14th, RC will be available for $1.99.  So right now is the best time to get the e-book and see for yourself whether or not you like Zahara and the Hydras.

I wish I could say that the print paperback is also on sale. Regrettably though, Amazon controls that, not me. But you can still get the physical book for $8.80, which is a very good price for a book.

So if you decide to check out Reborn City, you can find it on Amazon and on Smashwords. If you’d like to read a bit of it before you do, you can read some of it by checking out this excerpt. And if you do decide to read RC, please let me know what you think. Write a review or leave a comment. Positive or negative, I really don’t care. I just want your feedback.

That’s all for now. I hope you all enjoy reading RC and I hope to do some editing on the sequel, Video Rage, this summer when I get back from Europe. Have a wonderful day, my Followers of Fear!

Review: “Jewel of the Thames” by Angela Misri

Posted: April 26, 2014 in Novel, Review, Writing
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I was very excited to read Angela’s first book (you should read my interview with her back in late March) and I’m sorry it took me so long to get through it. Now that I have, I have to say I had a lot of fun reading the first book of the Portia Adams adventures.

Jewel of the Thames is three stories (or “casebooks”) in one book, each detailing a different case young Portia Adams, a young woman with an inquisitive eye and a thirst for knowledge who moves to London from Toronto upon inheriting a very notorious property from some very distinguished ancestors. When she gets to London with her guardian Irene Jones and moves into 221B Baker Street (yes, you read that address right), she soon finds herself getting into some very interesting mysteries, each one more thrilling than the last, and all will have you scratching your head till the last page. Of course, the most interesting mystery will turn out to be Portia’s ancestry, and its resolution at the end of the book will leave you stunned. Or at least it did me, and I had an inkling on how the story would end.

I only had a few critiques on the story. One is that a couple of moments in the story, Angela uses more telling than she does showing. That’s not a huge problem, but I thought a little more showing would make the scenes a bit more real to me. Also, I would’ve liked to see more delving into the lives and personalities of the other characters, even those that only showed up for one or two pages. Portia’s the most developed of all the characters, and I’d like to know more about Constable Brian Dawes, or about Sergeant Michaels and Mr. Archer, or even that snooty girl from Portia’s class at Somerville (I’d love to see her mentioned in a sequel! Imagine if they became friends).

All in all, JotT is a wonderful book for mystery readers looking for an exciting new read and especially for fans of Sherlock Holmes stories, earning a 4.5 out of 5 from yours truly. I can’t wait to read the sequel.

Reborn City: Reviews, ABNA, and a Big Sale!

Posted: April 16, 2014 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Review, Writing
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Reborn City

I’ve been meaning to write this post since Monday (along with 2 or 3 other posts) but life hasn’t been kind enough to allow me to do so. In addition to classes and work and homework, there was Passover, the Jewish holiday celebrating the Exodus from Egypt. I’ve been to two seders in the past two days, and both of them consumed my evenings, so there was definitely no time to write a blog post.

But today miraculously I finished my homework in the early afternoon, so now that classes are over, the laundry is running, and I’ve nothing else to draw my attention right now, I’m going to knock out some blog posts, starting with this one. And if you’ve seen the title, you can tell it’s about Reborn City.

First, I’m happy to say that RC got its fifth review on Amazon last week (I would’ve posted about it sooner but I wanted to see how things went with the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. More on that below). It’s taken a while to get to five reviews, but I’m happy to say it finally happened. And this one comes from my dad, who despite being my dad is not one to pull his punches and say everything I want to hear about my novel. I’m not kidding, he’s panned some of my early work before.

Anyway, my dad gave me a five-star review, which he entitled A real page turner. This is what he had to say:

As a first published novel, this is a great effort. There are some technical/editing issues, but the story is quite good.
Characters are well-developed and the world that the author creates is quite believable–even with the superpowers of the Hydra members. I am looking forward to the sequel as there is definitely some unfinished business.

Well Abba, I hope to have the next book in the trilogy, Video Rage, edited by the end of this summer, so hopefully we can resolve that unfinished business sooner rather than later. And I’m glad you enjoyed the book and found it believable. I’ve always been the kind of guy who’s believed that a story isn’t good unless the reader can believe it, so it’s good to know that at least one reader does.

Now for some sad news. On Monday afternoon, I found out that Reborn City did not make it to the quarter-finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Yeah, I know. I was hoping it would get to the quarter-finals as well. But you know what? This was my first novel, so I wasn’t expecting an underdog coming to the forefront and winning the whole darn thing. And my aunt made a good point on Facebook, that it was amazing that I made it to the second round to begin with. So I’m not too bummed out, though I’m a little jealous of the other authors who made it to the quarter-finals. And there’s always next year. Snake will be out by then, so maybe I’ll have a bit more luck next year than I did this year. You never know.

And finally, I’ve got a big announcement. May 1st is the six-month anniversary of Reborn City being published. In honor of that–and partly because I’ll be out of the country for most of the month–I’m putting RC‘s ebook on sale for the entire month. Instead of costing $2.99 as it usually does, the ebook will only cost $0.99 from May 1st to May 31st. And from June 1st to June 14th, the ebook will cost $1.99, after which it will go back to regular prices. Sounds great, right?

As for the print book…well, Amazon kind of sets the prices for that, so that’s kind of out of my power. But hey, if you want to read the print version, it’s a little less than nine dollars right now, so it’s definitely more affordable than a month of Netflix.

If you would like to check out Reborn City, you can find it on Amazon and on Smashwords. And if you’d like to read an excerpt before you check out the reviews, you can click here. And if you do decide to read RC, please let me know what you think of it when you’re done. I love hearing feedback from readers, positive or negative (just as long as it’s not a review left by a troll. Those are never fun).

That’s all about RC for now. I’ve got 3 more blog posts to write, so I’m going to get on them. Wish me luck and Happy Passover!

Some Good News, Some Bad News

Posted: April 11, 2014 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Reflections, Review, short story, Writing
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Good News: Somehow I managed to get several articles written for Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors, all of which will come out in the coming weeks leading up to my study abroad trip. The next one comes out tomorrow, if I remember correctly.

Bad News: As the end of the semester comes closer, I’ve got a number of exams and papers to prepare for, including a 25-30 page paper for a research seminar! Oy vey! So as much as I’d like to focus on making progress in Laura Horn before I go abroad, I doubt that with my workload I’ll make it to Chapter 35, which would be a nice stopping-point before I go on my trip.

Good News: A short story I wrote for a class assignment got an A+ from the teacher, who “cried at the end of the story” and wanted me to publish it, along with some suggestions on ways to edit it. I plan to submit it somewhere this weekend, as well as submit a couple other short stories to other magazines.

Bad News: Another short story I wrote got rejected from a magazine this morning. I’ll try submitting it somewhere else, but I worry. Some of the criticism the editor gave me made me wonder if this short story is as good as I thought it was.

Good News: Reborn City got another five star review. This, along with a sale I plan to hold next month and the possibility of making it to the next round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award make me hopeful.

Bad News: I won’t know about the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award until Monday most likely, and I don’t want to go into more detail about the review or the sale until I have that info. Plus, RC‘s my first novel and I’m up against 399 other books in my category, all vying for 100 spots at most. I hope the excerpt I gave them is good enough!

Good News: I’ve found a camcorder that is within my budget that I can get after I get back from my trip. Creating book trailers and maybe starting a YouTube show or improving my YouTube channel might get easier with one of those camcorders.

Bad News: My local theater isn’t playing a movie I really want to see, a horror film with Karen Gillan of Doctor Who fame. Well, that’s not as bad as it could be. I might know a certain woman (my mother) who’ll want to go see it with me, even if we have to drag her fiancee with us to do it. Forget I mentioned it.

When you get right down to it, a self-published novelist’s life is never easy, especially when you also happen to be a student with a part-time job and a lot of homework. Sometimes, like when I get criticism from magazine editors, I feel a little down. But there’s always opportunity for improvement. There are people who enjoy what I write and let me know when they get the chance to do so.

When I first started writing this blog nearly three years ago, I was just some freshman with one publishing credit to my name, a novel in need of some serious editing, and no idea how I was going to build a following or get my novel onto the printed page. Nearly three years later, I have a few more publishing credits, I’ve got two books out, a third on its way, and two more in various stages of writing/editing. I write articles occasionally for another website to help other self-published authors out, and I’ve made some friends who’ve been invaluable assets in helping me get this far.

So is my life as a writer ideal? I don’t know a single writer who can say that their lives are ideal. Even the biggest names in the industry are wracked by the usual anxieties, wondering if their work is up to scratch or if people will think their manuscript is sh*t or if they’ll ever live up to their childhood idols or if they’ll sell any copies.

I think for where I am at this point in my career, I’m at a pretty good stage. Would I like things to be better? I don’t know a single writer who wouldn’t want that. But I’m a lot better off than I could be, and I have plenty of space to improve, and the resources and friends to allow me to do that.

So as the weekend creeps nearer, I’m going to work to improve, to write and to publish and be the best I can be.

Good News: The future is open, and my Tarot tells me fortune is headed my way. I’m heading to meet it.

Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Posted: April 5, 2014 in Review
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It’s been a while since I reviewed anything. What was the last thing I reviewed? Oh my God, it was American Horror Story: Coven! That was back in January. It’s been a while. Well, no time like the present. Let’s get started.

Well, Captain America is one of my favorite Avengers (the other is Iron Man), and I was really hoping that this movie would be a lot better than Thor 2 (that one sucked). I got my wish: Captain America 2 was awesome! The story starts out with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) finishing up a morning run and making a new friend before heading off on a rescue mission. Or so he thinks: events on the mission take a turn for the dark, and from there things just get worse. Before we know it, Rogers is running for his life with Black Widow (Scarlett Johanssen) and they discover a plot that will not only threaten to destroy SHIELD, but possibly destroy the free world as we know it.

Although I’m of the camp that wants less franchises spanning several movies and more original films that bring new ideas and concepts to the screen, I have to say this is Marvel Cinematic Universe at its best. There’s not only action and explosions, but an actual plot where we see character growth and themes that reflect our modern world. The actors were stunning, the story kept you guessing, and the ending made you wish for more (unfortunately, Age of Ultron isn’t due out till next year, and I don’t think Guardians of the Galaxy will have that many connections to the other films in the series). Oh, and near the end of the film, there’s one moment that’ll remind you of another one from Man of Steel. Even Marvel can do that better than DC. Yes, Marvel beat you at your own scene, one you used in advertisements but one Marvel didn’t include in a single ad. Must be sad to know your biggest success in the movie industry ended because the director wanted a perfect ending and decided against a spin-off, doesn’t it?

And if you do go see the film, stay through the credits. There will be two special bonus scenes that’ll contain hints of what is to come in possible future films. Don’t miss it.

Overall, I’m giving Captain America 2 a 5 out of 5. Yes, it’s that good a movie. And if it makes you want more, it deserves that score. I just hope they end the movies in 2028, which is how far they’re apparently planning this franchise. After a while, things tend to get repetitive and boring. God knows it’s just sad to see a franchise that should’ve ended long ago still putting out movies that nobody wants to see (*cough cough* Transformers 4, Jurassic Park 4, Indiana Jones 5, Harry Potter spin-offs *cough cough*).

Now if you need me, I’ll be writing. For some reason, NBC is having trouble broadcasting SNL, so that’s out for tonight. Too bad, too. It was starting to get fun before the broadcast started getting f***ed up.

The Quiet Game: Review #9

Posted: April 5, 2014 in Review, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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tqg cover

I received quite the pleasant surprise this morning. My collection of short stories, The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones, had received its ninth review, this one coming from author and friend Matt Williams. I’ve been waiting to hear Matt’s thoughts on that book since he told me he bought a copy, and I’m glad to see he finally got through the book, which he gave 4 stars. Entitling his review An inspired romp, this is what he had to say:

Imagine if you will a young Stephen King penning dark scenarios inspired by his youth, and what you get is this anthology. Through this collection of short stories, Rami Ungar brings us into the world of dark urges, childhood traumas, ghosts, phantoms, and dark psychological thrillers. An inspired creation, and definitely a good intro to this indie author’s world!

Okay first, I love being compared to Stephen King. My mom did that when she read an early draft of one of the short stories in the collection, but I thought she was being nice! Glad to see someone agrees with her. He’s been such an influence on my work and I still hold him in high esteem. And second, I’m glad Matt enjoyed the book so much. I can’t wait to read your latest book, Papa Zulu, as well. I just need to get it.

If you’d like to check out The Quiet Game and read some of the other reviews, you can check it out on Amazon and Smashwords. It’s available in both ebook and print paperback, and it’s a quick read, so I promise it’ll be worth your time.

All for now. I’ve got a paper to work on, so I’m going to do that now. See you all later.

Amazon BreakThrough Novel Award 2014: Reborn City Made It To The Second Round!

Posted: March 18, 2014 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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I’ve been meaning to blog about this since I found out the good news this morning. Unfortunately I had work, and then I had classes, and then I had a 2-hour orientation for my study abroad trip and then I came home and started on homework and laundry, and these next two days will probably be crazy as well, and–whack!–I just slapped myself to stop me from rambling on. My friends are right, I would make an interesting late-night host or sitcom character.

Back to the point of this post (if we were ever at the point of this post to begin with): I submitted Reborn City to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award in the Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror category about a month ago. I figured that it was free-of-charge, that it couldn’t hurt to try, and that even if I didn’t get a cash prize, after a certain round or two you got reviews from the judges. At the very least I might get a few more people to read RC. So why the heck not? I submitted RC through my account on Createspace, and I went back to my life.

This morning, keenly aware that today was the day that the results would be released letting authors know who got to the second round, I went online to find out if I was among the lucky winners. I scrolled through the list of 400 authors and novels in my category, trying to find my name and RC‘s title among them. And on the third or fourth page, my name popped out at me. Rami Ungar. Reborn City. I’d passed the first round.

I was ecstatic! I’d figured that since it was my first novel, RC probably wouldn’t make it past the first round. Sure, I’d gotten some amazing reviews off Amazon and from friends and family who were in the middle of the book, but I was sure I was too inexperienced an author to get to the second round. Well, just goes to show that authors can be the worst judge of their own work sometimes. RC passed.

Now that the first hurdle has been overcome, it’s time to get ready for the second round. I believe instead of an excerpt of RC, the full manuscript is required, so I’m going to try to upload it tonight. I don’t believe I’ll get to the finals or win the whole contest (like I said, it’s my first book and I’m not as good as I could be yet), but I’d like to at least get to the quarterfinals. At that stage they give reviews of your book, and any feedback, positive or negative, is welcome.

Well, I’ve finally blogged about it, so I’m going to get everything else out of my way so I can focus on getting to the quarterfinals (which are announced on April 11). I’m so excited, and I’m extremely grateful to be given this opportunity to possibly expand RC to a wider audience and to get some constructive feedback from experienced professionals. Wish me luck, Followers of Fear!

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