May 2025 Indie Book Reviews

The Forgotten Guardian by Yin Leong

Demolishing the Wrong Temple Might Unleash the Beast
An Indie Book Review by Joseph Poopinski
4 Stars

An abandoned temple isn’t ordinary enough to suffer being demolished for “progress” without a fight. The demon-slaying, geomancer tandem of Junie & Joe take on a cleansing case in the wake of two grisly murders. Junie’s gifted & must strike out on her own since Joe’s inherited normalcy prevents him from entering the “other” temple. However, a few of Joe’s deceased father’s secrets surface, primarily in the shape of a family feud.

Memorable highlights of The Forgotten Guardian: Learning how salvaging & appreciating relationships is as important as wielding magic swords. Rooting for the underdogs, like when Junie finally finds her ambition. Visualizing the iconic movie-quality imagery, especially both the scary monster (a face-stealing mogui taunting Junie & feeding on her fear) & intrepid hero (Junie riding the tiger god).

A Crack in the World by James Mordechai

Occultist & Bodyguard Versus Body-Snatching Demons
An Indie Book Review by Joseph Poopinski
4 Stars

While towns & their inhabitants vanish, flowing through a crack in our world, disturbs everyone, it’s just the appetizer. The looming entrée, what monstrosities from realms beyond the fracture will soon emerge in ours, won’t inconvenience us but rather devastate all life as we know it. Fortunately, a burly gumshoe & a clever occultist endeavor to thwart doomsday. With sigils & pistols blazing they confront the past, investigate death metal maniacs & pursue devilish mystagogues.

Definitely Lovecraftian, the tale waxes eerie from the very first page (“A mist clung to the floor, unperturbed by their feet, hiding the uneven, rocky surface.”) and, like Coelho’s The Alchemist, emphasizes omens (or events of “acausal synchronicity”). Shouldn’t how the heroes outfox their enemy’s henchmen with tentative alliances & foresight prepare them for an inevitable interdimensional encounter with the scheming villain himself? Perhaps, but wait till you read what caused the crack… Dang!