Indie Scouting Report: June 2017

Our monthly look at the best-reviewed self-published titles from BookLife authors.

This month’s roundup of the best-reviewed BookLife titles highlights a caffeine-fueled essay collection, a YA time-travel adventure, a biography of theoretical physicist Paul Dirac, and more.

★ Blowback ’07

Brian Meehl

Synopsis: In this first installment in a planned trilogy, when high school quarterback Matt Grinnell is accidently sent back to 1907 by an antique English horn, his friends must work to retrieve him.

PW’s Takeaway: Meehl’s SF adventure hits all the right notes. Believable characters infuse energy into each scene—readers will eagerly await future installments.

Comparable Titles: The Girl from Everywhere

Sample Line: “Iris never assembled the ancient cor anglais when anyone was home. It was her secret and the greatest mystery surrounding the disappearance of Octavia Jongler.”

Read the review.

One More Cup of Coffee

Tom Pappalardo

Synopsis: Pappalardo visits coffee shops to sample brews and jot down his impressions of baristas and customers.

PW’s Takeaway: These hilarious shorts are a perfect snarkfest.

Comparable Titles: Me Talk Pretty One Day

Sample Line: “Over by the trees, a man takes a photo of his latte. Is it on Twitter now, that moment in time, the brief existence of that pretty floating foam leaf? Did people favorite it and retweet it? That latte photo’s probably trending right now. Trending across the goddamned planet.”

Read the review.

The Absent Superpower

Peter Zeihan

Synopsis: In this look at the flow of the world’s energy resources, Zeihan forecasts the 21st century.

PW’s Takeaway: Zeihan’s knowledge of current global affairs, regional conflicts, and the energy sector is impressive.

Comparable Titles: The Next Decade; A World in Disarray

Read the review.

Simply Dirac

Helge Kragh

Synopsis: Kragh synthesizes the biographical and intellectual in this volume on theoretical physicist Paul Dirac.

PW’s Takeaway: Kragh goes some way to giving Dirac and his legacy the attention they deserve.

Comparable Titles: The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom

Read the review.

Fort Enterprize

Kevin Emmet Foley

Synopsis: A writer interviews his great-uncle, who recalls sailing amid warships battling Barbary pirates.

PW’s Takeaway: Fine writing and gripping naval action sequences ignite the pages of Foley’s tale.

Comparable Titles: The Pirate Coast

Read the review.