Angry White Men: A Book Review

Angry White Men (AWM) by Michael Kimmel explores variations on the concept of aggrieved entitlement. According to Kimmel’s theory, when an individual or group expects certain privileges based on their status and reality does not conform to those expectations, a backlash can occur.

Aggrieved entitlement is used to explain a variety of social phenomenon in modern America including the upsurge in nationalism, hate radio, men’s rights groups, domestic terrorism, suicides, and white supremacy groups of all sizes. The common thread in all these trends comes from the demographics of the individuals engaged in these activities. As the title suggests, aggrieved entitlement is by and large the exclusive affliction of angry white men marginalized by multiculturalism, feminism, and gay liberation.

The book was written in 2013, when the Trumpocalypse was inconceivable as a realistic option for the country. AWM focuses on the conditions that gave rise to Trumpzilla, but it doesn’t speak directly to his corrosive impact. It also only hints at the underlying sexual frustration and insecurity I believe is at the heart of racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism and anti-gay bias. It does provide useful insight into an influential but warped strata of society, especially when read in conjunction with Carol Anderson’s White Rage and Aaron James’s Assholes.

Art and Fear: A Book Review

Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A concise and optimistic book about the mental and emotional process of creating art. It's uplifting without being delusional and helpful without being annoying. Highly recommended for anyone who is, was or wants to create art of their own.

View all my reviews

The Best American Erotica 1993: A Book Review

By Gamal Hennessy

From my perspective, Susie Bright is a luminary in the genre of erotic fiction. Not only has she written, edited, and published several books on the subject over the years, her writing guide How to Write a Dirty Story has been an inspiration for all six of the novels I’ve written. I’ve wanted to read her first anthology The Best American Erotica 1993 for years, so when it went on sale on Audible, I downloadedit as soon as I could. Unfortunately, my experience was less than ideal.

The book does have positive qualities. First, there is a wide array of authors who contributed short stories to this collection and the range of erotic expression is very diverse. LGBT, straight and BDSM flavors are all mixed and represented here. Characters of different ages, ethnic backgrounds, nationalities and economic realities all get time in the spotlight. And the range of sexual expression is also broad. Some characters fully explored their passions, others lost their chance just before they could attain satisfaction, and some struggled to repress or deny the only thing they couldn’t stop thinking about.

But all the stories shared similar flaws. The stories had little or no turning points, no crisis choice that the characters had to make to expose their true nature or alter their condition. They were unchanged from the beginning of the story to the end, and the sexual experiences they had (or didn’t have) did nothing to bring about change in their lives. What they did was on full display. Why they did it or how it defined them was always left out.

It doesn’t have to be that way in erotica or any other genre. We only have to look at the short stories in Delta of Venus, Night in a Moorish Harem or Erotic Interludes to see that sexual expression can be the catalyst for change in a character’s life. Of course, not every sexual encounter alters our existence, but when every story in a collection lacks that element, the whole book suffers.

In terms of the overall presentation of the audio book it’s also a mixed experience. The readers of each piece were very good and their voices matched the nature of the narrator well. However, most of the sex in this book skews towards the nonconsensual. There is diversity here too, as the scenarios range from lack of consent to rape and sustained torture. If you don’t enjoy those types of stories the book might be hard to get through.

Overall, I appreciated the diversity of Best American Erotica, but the stories themselves didn’t satisfy. The series continues for several more volumes, so perhaps the first one can be seen as a viable proof of concept.

Have fun.
Gamal

Two Ways to Get Wild Honey for Free!

Nikki Siriene is a spy who uses her seductive skill as a weapon in a secret war against modern slavery. But when her team is betrayed from the inside, Nikki finds herself isolated and suspicious of everyone she once trusted. When her enemies become reluctant allies and her friends are killed, how can a woman find her way out of the shadows?

Wild Honey is a thriller combining conspiracy, revenge and sexual tension. It stars two compelling and complex female characters on a tropical Caribbean island.

It’s going to be released on Memorial Day Weekend, but if you’d like to get it early and for free, consider these three options:

1.    You can vote for Wild Honey in the Kindle Scout program. If the book gets enough votes to win, then you and everyone who voted for me will get the e-book for free.

2.    If you’d like a guaranteed copy of the book and you like writing reviews on Amazon.com, then shoot me an email to gamalhennessy@gmail.com with a request for an advanced review copy (ARC). The ARC will go out in the next few days, so you can post your review in time for the launch.

3.    If you’re a fanatic you could vote AND get an ARC copy. Every writer needs a few fanatics in their corner and I would definitely appreciate the support.

There will be more info on Wild Honey in the coming weeks, so until then stay tuned and…

Have fun.
G 

What Readers Are Saying About Smoke and Shadow

When a writer releases a new book, anxiety is always part of the process. You never know how the audience will react to your work. You don’t know if the message you’re trying to send will be understood. You don’t know if your months of work will generate excitement or boredom.

Well, the initial reviews for Smoke and Shadow are in and I’m happy to say reaction has been very good so far. The full novel is still on sale for $.99, so you can get the book in time for Christmas and read it for yourself.

Here’s a sample of what my readers have said:

“[Hennessy] is a master at describing small missions and dangerous situations, leaving you on the edge of your seat, wanting the character to complete their mission...” - G. Blixer

 “Hennessy portrays internal torment well as his characters walk the fine line between brutality and empathy.” - P. Earle

 “Gamal's mission was to create a world of sensual suspense and tense violence. In that he has succeeded!!” - D. England

“The stories are full of determination, brutal execution, heartfelt emotions and internal struggles that allow the reader to catch a credible glimpse of what the life of a deep cover operator might be like.” - E. Scott

“What I truly admired is how the author uses an action driven genre to touch on human trafficking and slavery. There are plenty of demons driving these characters, and plenty of moments when being morally wrong is in the interest of survival.” - T. Werenko

I hope you take the chance to download Smoke and Shadow at the special $.99 price and enjoy it as much as these great people have. Either way, please enjoy your holiday and look out for my new books in 2016.

Have fun.

Gamal

Smoke and Shadow: Get It First. Get It Free

The members of my VIP mailing list and the community of book reviewers are an important part of modern publishing. Getting noticed by passionate readers can mean the difference between broad popularity and a lonely unnoticed release. I’m planning to launch a new book right before the holidays, so I’d like to reach out to thriller readers like you and offer and advanced copy of my book.

What’s It About?

Smoke and Shadow is an anthology series set in my Crime and Passion Universe. It is an international action thriller in a style similar to La Femme Nikita, Taken and the Bourne Identity. Here’s the description I plan to put on the back of the book:

“You’ll never see them coming...

In the dark world of espionage, Hamilton Chu and Harrison Trent are secret warriors. Driven by loyalty, excitement, and money, these modern mercenaries travel around the world to spy, sabotage and kill.

But how much of their humanity do they sacrifice with each turn of the knife or pull of the trigger? How can they cope with missions they can’t solve with violence alone?

If this story sounds like something you might be interested in, then I’d like to give you the e-book before anyone else gets it and without paying any money.”

— Promo Copy for Smoke and Shadow

What Do I Want?

I would like to ask you a favor in exchange for the free book. Reviews drive popularity and sales on Amazon, so the more reviews I can get, the more financially successful the book can be. I hope if I give you Smoke and Shadow free upfront, you’ll be nice enough to write me a review when you’re done. It doesn’t have to be a five star review (although those are always nice), it just needs to be what you think.

How Do I Get The Book?

If you want an advanced review copy of Smoke and Shadow in exchange for an Amazon review, please send an email to gamalhennessy@gmail.com before November 20, 2015 and I’ll add you to the list.

And if you want to spend more time in the world of Crime and Passion, sign up for the free RSVP Newsletter. 

Thanks in advance for taking the time to experience my work. I hope you enjoy the story.

Have fun.

Gamal

Espionage and Covert Operations: A Book Review

By Gamal Hennessy

Spying is often referred to as the second oldest profession (prostitution being the first). In Espionage and Covert Operations: A Global History, Professor Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius traces spying from Biblical mythology up to our current surveillance state. While the twelve hour audio book skims over or leaves out much of the global history of spying, the book is a good overview for anyone interested in the impact of espionage on history.

Liulevicius takes the reader on a trip through the major epochs of world history and attempts to peer behind the curtain to see how spying (stealing secret information for a political, military or economic goal) and covert action (secret attacks against opposing forces) have shaped historical events. The book does offer a fresh perspective on the world history you took in high school and draws out themes in tradecraft and operational methods for the readers of modern and historical espionage. Liulevicius even explores the relationship between spy fiction and the real world of spies, focusing on the impact of Kipling, Fleming, Le Carre and Clancy.

Where the book falls short is in its lack of global focus. The vast majority of the course is Eurocentric and biased towards the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia. The combined impact of the assassins of the Crusades, Chinese espionage during Sun Tzu’s warring states period and the rampant spying during the Sengoku period of Japan take up less than ten minutes in a twelve hour lecture. The organic covert action and spy activities by and against populations in Africa during the slave trade are left out completely. If you accept the term “global history” to mean “Western history” then the book has few flaws. Anyone looking for a true global history will need to add another source to this material.

Espionage and Cover Action is a solid overview of the second oldest profession. Anyone interested in history, military affairs, or spy fiction will enjoy the unique perspective the author provides. Like most introductory courses, it should be used as the beginning of an exploration into the subject and not a definitive analysis. But it is one of the better books on spy history I’ve read.

Have fun.
Gamal

Slave Ship: A Book Review

By Gamal Hennessy

I’m developing a science fiction novel about slavery called Humanity’s Fall. The basic concept is Twelve Years a Slave meets Star Trek and follows the ordeal of one woman ripped from her brownstone in Brooklyn and thrust into the belly of a ship to be sold on the other side of the galaxy. The research for this book includes several sources exploring the impact of the Middle Passage including well-known works like Roots and Amistad to more general books like The African Slave Trade and Still I Rise. But as I get ready to write the first draft of Humanity’s Fall, I think the book Slave Ship: A Human History by Marcus Rediker will have the most impact on my story.

Slave Ship looks at the mechanism of African slavery; the ships and men who captured, bought, confined, tortured, killed and sold millions of people over the course of three centuries. It explores in depth the functioning of the ship, examining the vehicle of the Middle Passage from several viewpoints. The slave ship is seen as:

• An investment for speculative European businessmen
• A debt prison for unwary sailors
• A marketplace for Africans selling slaves
• A prison for Africans captured
• A cemetery for slaves and crew killed in the journey
• A factory for the creation of slaves
• A battleground for slave inter slave conflict and collective rebellion
• An incubator for the concept of race
• A communal space for the creation of shared kinship
• A symbol of evil for abolitionists

Rediker breaks down the Middle Passage in stages, showing how ships were commissioned and purchased, how captains and crews were formed, the process of buying people, attempting to simultaneously break their spirit but keep their bodies intact for sale, the successful and unsuccessful attempts to escape, overthrow or commit suicide and the complex social relationships spending months on the ship would create. By drawing a historical and narrative thread from the people most distant from the process (who gained the most wealth) to the people most suffered the most intimate pain and lost the most, Slave Ship makes an argument for the ship itself to be one of the most influential and at the same time most ignored elements of social development in America.

I read this book during the surge in media coverage over unarmed black men being killed in various parts of the country and the groundswell of racism playing out in various levels of society. In light of this reality and against the backdrop of building my own novel, I began to see parallels between our own time and the collective experience of the slave ship. It was easy to see the bankers and billionaires as the distant businessmen, too far removed from the process to have any interest in it beyond their profit. The police became the sailors and reluctant prison guards. The minority communities become the slaves and the incubator, factory, marketplace and communal space of the ship became the spaces we inhabit now, on and offline. The ship came to represent so much of the American experience, it became easy, perhaps clichéd, to imagine America as a slave ship we are all trapped on. Slave Ship will have a lasting impact on me, not just for the inspiration it provides for my work, but in the way I perceive the world I live in.

Have fun.

Gamal