I offer professional, unbiased book reviews to help authors gain credibility. See https://readerviews.com/ for all the great book titles they have.
The Separation of Briin
K.I.S
K. Schultz (2025)
ISBN: 978-0796173621
Reviewed by Scott Hall for Reader Views (03/2026)
In The Separation of Briin, author K.I.S weaves together a mounting novella that features fantasy world-building mixed in a stew of spy craft and uncovered prophecies. The book is complete with social, political maneuvering, emotionalism, and violence.
The Separation of Briin is set in the fantasy genre and is a prequel novella to The Chronicles of Aitarbith. The familial bonds of two brothers, Hiirn and Briin, provide the scaffolding and base plot to a fight against a secretive group known as the Witchlings of Hoondaer. Along the way, the reader is immersed in the Guild of Magic, complete with all of the political hurdles and examinations required to get in and become a Magister.
The writing has an authentic and original feel due to the variety of protagonists and antagonists. There is a lot of supplemental material, including a helpful glossary, which I recommend perusing first if you are new to the author and reading fantasy. The author uses letter writing between the brothers as a method to share plot and character development, which I liked. The Separation of Briin wends its way between one brother and the other while highlighting the differences between the two. Like an older sibling looking out for a younger sibling, but in extreme circumstances, the dialogue may be familiar to some neurodivergent readers and their siblings, as seen in this snippet,
“A clever fellow, your brother… But then, so are you, my boy—in a different way. So strange that you two are twins and yet so exceedingly disparate…” Master Sirdai
Another unique portion of the book includes a dream series that is eventually interpreted, but only after great cost. The emotional depth of the book, particularly around guilt, is well done and speeds up the reading. Where the book might be improved is to pair the strong dialogue with more on-page action to make the scenes feel even more dynamic. Additionally, some darker characters, such as the Gruxhoon, could be more developed. What makes them so bloodthirsty? They felt a little outlined and less defined.
The author, K.I.S., is dedicated to her craft of fantasy fiction, and it shows in her writing. She includes a glossary, a map, and an afterward that brings the humanity of the author and her reflections and choices to the reader. Fans and new readers alike will enjoy the immersive and quick reading experience of The Separation of Briin.
“Dark Threads” by Kat Farrow
Dark Threads
Kat Farrow
LoreWeaver Press LLC (2025)
ISBN: 978-1959123095
Reviewed by Scott Hall for Reader Views (01/2026)
What do magic, poison, and dark secrets have in common? They are all brought together in one volume called Dark Threads: A Gathering of Dark Fantasy Tales by Kat Farrow. Dark Threads brings together three distinct stories into one volume. It can be best described as a collection of short stories or three tales that immerse us in three mythical worlds.
The author builds out the reader’s understanding by movement and a sort of directed exploration as seen in this passage: “I look to the west tower of the temple and see the pendulum lantern swinging in the window. After a few passes, the color changes from pale yellow to dark orange. A signal that time is running out.”
What becomes clear as each tale unfolds is that the protagonists are right in the middle of their life-and-death struggles. Each character has their own special abilities.
“Breath Borrowers” are blessed creatures and directed not to speak. They do, however, attack. How they combat and wrestle with evil and their own power is the subject of this first tale. It comes down to choice: the choice of giving a life to take a life. Readers will enjoy the tension between reckoning with one’s conscience and fulfilling a sacred mission that requires dealing out death.
In the mystery-building, “The Withering,” the author takes us along a tale through the Underland in search of a cure. There is bartering with ethereal and scary creatures that wear masks. The protagonist, Neela, must make life-and-death decisions on whom to trust, as reflected here: “The chicosk guarded and cared for them. But there were other things in the Underland. Things that fed off the thoughts as much as tended them.” Neela has to escape this Underland, but not everything is as it seems. Change, perception, and sacrifice run throughout this dark tale.
In the “Vapors of Misuse,” the third tale, the author weaves in the backstory from a great calamity that befalls a society three generations ago. Off-world class envy and politics are front and center throughout this short story as two twins work and fight for survival. The Reapers, Larrin and Silvy must use their combined power to overcome an insidious evil.
The antagonist, Vyanna, holds a special vendetta against the twins. She knows them, and they know her. All she wants is absolute power, and to get it, she is prepared to steal theirs, as seen in this confrontation with her and her henchmen:
Vyanna placed cold, fleshy fingers upon his chin and raised it to peer up into his eyes. She studied his face for a moment, then grabbed his left wrist and stretched his arm toward her. Larrin resisted the urge to react. He didn’t have the strength to end her now. Even with the strength of all the Harvests they had saved, he wasn’t sure he could; but he knew he must try… soon.
Power, influence, and vengeance form the scaffolding that sets up this dark tale of survival.
Across all three stories, the author spins together a series of what seem to be insurmountable challenges. Without giving anything away, each protagonist and their antagonist bring together deadly skills that only they can wield, but always at a cost. Readers of fantasy and far-off worlds will enjoy the novel revelations and sustained tension that are explored throughout Dark Threads.
“Six Functions, One Vision” by Dorothy Kudla
Six Functions, One Vision
Dorothy Kudla
Lioncrest Publishing (2025)
ISBN: 978-1544546957
Reviewed by Scott Hall for Reader Views (01/2026)
In Six Functions, One Vision: A Practical Guide for Modern Leaders, Dorothy Kudla gives us an umbrella-style approach to leadership and its supporting foundations. As the name suggests, Six Functions, One Vision, lays out six distinct functions within a framework that support each function. Students of business will recognize the cadence of defining a vision, setting expectations, dealing with motivation, building talent, cultivating collaboration, and ultimately performing.
Throughout the book, Kudla weaves in a variety of tools to help the reader understand, all while practicing each of the functions. She provides tactical-level advice by asking probing questions to help managers make sense of the scenarios they are encountering. She couples the functions to real business areas, such as marketing, in order to get readers to think about how they can change their thinking. One such area was cross-pollination, or planning in a different functional area than the employees are used to working in. She highlights the approach here, saying, “Asking people to think about marketing more broadly is especially effective at getting the team to think outside of their own functional and organizational bubble, which can generate different, more innovative ideas.”
The author builds the basic scaffolding for personality assessments as a way to map behaviors and elucidate how individuals can be best aligned with the work at hand. She puts together a helpful guide for the reader to learn how to recognize the difference DISC styles. For those who are not familiar with it, the DISC personality assessment is a popular personality tool that measures behavior styles across four traits: dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness. Business management readers will immediately recognize its close relation to the Myers-Briggs test, as well as other tools such as the enneagram and 4-color theory tests. Each chapter comes with a helpful summary at the end.
Six Functions, One Vision works to hold up the functions with what the author calls pillars. The pillars include self-awareness, situational awareness, and intentional action. She adds sample dialog to each area that helps readers see typical complaints and how to handle them. She deftly handles a chapter on motivation, including the psychology of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation, without making the reader feel like they are reading one of their old management 101 textbooks. She posits,
Motivation isn’t one-size-fits-all. Each person is driven by different factors—what ignites one person might not even spark interest in another. That’s why it’s crucial for leaders to take the time to truly understand what makes their team members tick. You need engagement and motivation together.
This leads to a chapter about developing employees. She encourages readers and aspiring leaders to develop a dual-track mindset of thinking. Kudla says, “I encourage leaders to develop a dual-track mindset when interacting with others and focus on two aspects of the conversation: (1) what the conversation is about and (2) how the conversation is unfolding..”
The author is careful not to veer into the usual business terms and well-worn clichés. She takes the time to break things into their very basic definitions, such as function, into a set of related actions. She uses these and other business axioms to help build out a case for coaching, investing, and ultimately leading others. Both advanced and beginning managers will find Six Functions, One Vision interesting and an easy read.
“Layered Leadership” by Lawrence R. Armstrong
Layered Leadership
Lawrence R. Armstrong
Matt Holt Books (2025)
ISBN: 978-1637746356
Reviewed by Scott Hall for Reader Views (01/2026)
In his alliteratively titled book, Layered Leadership, Lawrence R. Armstrong lays out the success, history, and leadership techniques of Ware Malcomb, an industrial design firm. Armstrong maps his journey into three parts. Along the way, he weaves in his artistic approach to layering subjects. He takes us from a foundational approach to the advanced concepts of driving financial growth. Armstrong pays close attention to maintaining and growing a strong corporate culture. According to the author, “Layers are a metaphor, a methodology, and a framework for synthesizing the vast amount of knowledge required for our lives and work.”
He uses layering as a conceptual way to think about business. Throughout Layered Leadership, the author puts in some graphic images and artwork completed by himself to juxtapose text and show the concept of how layers are synthesized across life and business itself. He periodically dips into nostalgic vignettes from the founders, Bill Ware and Bill Malcomb, whom he refers to as Bill and Bill throughout the book.
Armstrong’s self-account of leadership leads him to some self-discovery where he says, “Finding the leader within you at some point requires betting on yourself and your abilities.” Armstrong toggles between risk-taking and cutting a new path with authenticity that is different from the company’s competitors. He draws inspiration from some genius personalities, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, and speaks about how these personalities extracted forward direction and vision from non-linear activities. He suggests a broad approach to business acumen with a strong supporting scaffolding in and around curiosity. He suggests having fluency in different subjects, from Profit & Loss (P&L) to leading others, rather than trying to be a pinnacle expert.
The author tells us that a constant-growth mindset plays a key role in business success and getting to the next level of profitability. He suggests a strong mentoring approach to groom and prepare new leadership rather than just having a senior executive hang on until the end. He makes a good point about mentorship pairing with non-direct reports to ensure honest and open feedback occurs. He emphasizes dealing with customer issues sooner rather than later or before they become contentious.
True to its name, Layered Leadership: Drive Double Digit Growth and Dominate Your Competition with Creative Strategies and Execution, it spends some white space talking about preparing financial statements and suggests that all executives should keep an eye on their assets and liabilities, along with setting measurable goals. The author suggests his fellow executives keep on a path to financial stability and ensure they are prepared to navigate difficult business periods such as the Covid-19 shutdown and other historical moments that impacted his industry, even suggesting that executives prepare themselves to forgo their own salaries during lean times to protect the workforce.
Layered Leadership also makes use of several metaphorical models, such as the Road Runner and Coyote cartoon, to represent business development versus business operations regarding their speed of movement. Other models, such as the ‘Ultimate Ware Malcom vision,’ come off as a little more contrived in nature. Still, there are other models employed, such as the Visible Light Spectrum framework that draws from academia and indirectly maps to diversification and acquisition strategies that are helpful.
The author finishes with sage advice on succession planning for senior leaders. In some areas, the author hits his target, while in a few sections, it seems a little aspirational and tangential to bring it all together, outside of a particularly skilled person. He strives to merge art, business, and strategy into one easy-to-read book. It is ideal reading for young managers and soon-to-be senior leaders.
“100 Years to Extinction” by Peter Solomon
Peter Solomon
Munn Avenue Press (2025)
ISBN: 978-1960299932
Reviewed by Scott Hall for Reader Views (09/2025)
In 100 Years to Extinction: The Tyranny of Technology and the Fight for a Better Future, author and scientist Dr. Peter Solomon puts together an ambitious telling of what can only be described as a movement. He builds everything around the late Stephen Hawking’s warning about the earth’s inhabitants having 100 years left before extinction. There are a variety of reasons why, from potential nuclear war to climate change and a lesser-known threat of genetic engineering.
The author deftly translates complex topics into easy-to-read prose, weaving them into a three-part story. The story starts with two young siblings and their cousin making a promise to one another. The two future scientists and an aspiring politician are obsessed and focused on science, schoolwork, and the urgency to do something to save humanity from the calamity laid out in Stephen Hawking’s dire warning.
As 100 Years to Extinction unfolds, Solomon creates a backdrop and context to the current problems by including real-world tie-ins to recent events, complete with a website that provides detailed information about the threats, as well as offering potential solutions. The author also provides back matter in an author’s note that further describes the science written about in 100 Years to Extinction. Solomon is careful not to overwhelm or immerse the reader in heavy science but stays at the wave-top level just enough to make the reader curious. The author also includes artwork to give the reader a sense of what a toroid-shaped spaceship might look like in real life.
Set in the very near future, the author brings the protagonists into conflict with another group of people, The Proud Earthers. The author’s antagonist is quick to hate: “The score was ten of the SAVE THE PLANET guys sent to the hospital compared to just five of ours,” giving 100 Years to Extinction a feel of real conflict and drama in modern times, while not being consistently violent. The novel’s signature point is how all-encompassing and thought-provoking it is about what it takes to get to Mars. Solomon works hard at generating dialogue that highlights the solving of complex problems, such as creating a portable fusion power engine to get to Mars while also exploring wormholes as a potential way to speed up space travel.
At times, a few plot points could have been more developed, and some parts of the dialogue felt drawn out, while in other parts, they were a little thin. There were parts of 100 Years to Extinction when the soaring dialogue led to anti-climactic moments. The ending felt unfinished, and although the characters have aspirations that Solomon backs up with academic rigor, it felt like they lacked the personal risk that we are told they are experiencing. The book could also benefit from more actions from the antagonists and less dialogue.
To the author’s credit, 100 Years to Extinction is an easy read while not being weighed down under its starting premise. There are some serious scientific topics like gene editing (i.e., CRISPR technology), along with artificial intelligence and nuclear energy, that are thoughtfully spoken to while not fully expounded on, which kept the book moving.
“Going Over” by Josh Bresslin
Going Over
Josh Bresslin
Hoyt Publishing Group (2025)
ISBN: 979-8989432523
Reviewed by Scott Hall for Reader Views (11/2025)
In Going Over, a fun novel about entertainment wrestling, Josh Bresslin crafts and delivers body blows while quickly moving the story along with personal tension. The author braids in the character actions with conflict while highlighting the darker aspects of revenge, ‘roid rage, and dealing with their own egos.
The novel follows the two protagonists through their aspirational career paths from wannabe professional wrestlers to title champs to the ultimate APWF circuit.
The story starts with a young man named Garrett. Garrett is an aspiring wrestler with ambitions to get “scouted.” Getting scouted could lead to him getting picked up on a lucrative contract with the American Professional Wrestling Federation, or the APWF, as they refer to it. The story unfolds in the ring of a local wrestling academy. It is run by Kent, who leans towards running a full-time Membership Mill and is less interested in the lives of his students. Kent arranges a variety of different wrestling bouts, all designed to lead up to the main event between Garrett and another protagonist named Aquil.
Garrett’s anxiety-laden talents and athletic prowess run headlong into Aquil’s equally attuned athletic prowess. Each wrestler considers how they will outmaneuver the other in somewhat pre-scripted bouts. When they go off script, things begin unraveling into revenge thinking and one-upmanship in the ring. The story takes us through their individually damaged lives to include how this plays out in a series of failed relationships and ‘roid rage.
The author’s insights and storytelling are skillful, with meaningful action and dialogue that keep the pacing moving. Bresslin combines the character’s obsession with prestige and body-slams them with bad decisions to keep the bad karma coming and to keep the book authentic and entertaining. The novel’s power lies in its endless pursuit of get-even moments and revenge-thinking on the part of the protagonists. Even the supporting characters are looking to put the protagonists into a headlock.
Going Over is a good read due to its authenticity and well-paced dialogue. Going Over can be imagined as a giant funnel with both protagonists circling down into a ring of chaos and life ambitions in their quests for the title and a chance to make the pro circuit. Whether or not you are a fan of wrestling, Josh Bresslin’s Going Over will keep you on the ropes and have you sweating over what’s going to happen in the final title bout.
“Coach to ALIGN” by Shaine Hobdy
Coach to ALIGN
Shaine Hobdy
Independently Published (2025)
ISBN: 979-8285309369
Reviewed by Scott Hall for Reader Views (12/2025)
In Coach To ALIGN: Building Empowered Teams Together the author, Shaine Hodby, articulates a framework that is designed to help managers become better leaders. It could be read concurrently and would make an excellent supplement to a week-long management workshop. The book is geared towards leaders and is designed to give them the tools to create a productive work environment.
Hobdy starts by mapping and explaining four critical personality types: feeler, thinker, controller, and entertainer. The idea is to help each team member understand the unique communication styles of their fellow workers. The author dives into how to recognize these diverse personalities as well as how they interpret and learn new things.
The book comes with extended information and a helpful personality calculator on the author’s website that calculates the personality type and the individual’s dominant traits. There are some similarities to color theory typing based on the work of Psychologist Dr. Carl G. Jung. The secret, of course, is identifying the personality type and Hobdy speaks to this throughout his book. He spends a significant amount of the book speaking about how to coach each of the four personality types so they can reach optimal performance.
The author includes helpful sample statements and questions to ask as well as walking through what is called the SMART goal criteria. It is about changing the culture and creating a culture of innovation and learning. At the end of each personality chapter, the author puts a handy matrix so employees can align their communication styles with those of differing types.
After thoroughly breaking down the personality types, the author dives into what is called the ALIGN Coaching model. The model, as the reader might expect, does align to an acronym. Hobdy also provides worksheets at the end of these chapters that help check off the different approaches to developing employees. He calls it the ALIGN Coaching Roadmap. According to the author, “It ensures that leaders can address each employee’s distinct developmental needs, making coaching more responsive and relevant.”
Coach To ALIGN works at getting to the root cause of behavior performance by suggesting who, what, when, why type of activities that are designed to bridge the gap between expected performance and actual performance. In the book, the author speaks about how an employee’s actual performance must align with measurement and manager agreed-to performance. Along the way the author provides helpful coaching and feedback discussion questions to help map the expected versus actual performance gap. Hobdy provides both qualitative and quantitative suggestions and includes some analysis measurement recommendations.
The author demonstrates the flexibility of the Coach To ALIGN framework as he speaks about On The Spot ALIGNment or OTSA and the ability to make immediate feedback adjustments. He deftly speaks about diversity in learning and how when we teach others, we are reinforcing our own understanding.
The Coach To ALIGN model and framework provides a helpful guidebook for employees and managers to engage with one another. Coach To ALIGN ultimately covers so much ground but remains conscious that how we learn is custom to each of us.