Rise of the Valiant by Morgan Rice

The second book in the series was a vast improvement of the first installment; the story was less predictable than the first. It was refreshing to see Kyra relied upon her intellect, instincts, and training. I kept waiting for the author to use the tried and true strange power emerging at the right time to save the main character, but to my surprise, Kyra was written to survive on the training she received. Kyra struggling to survive her predicament by her own ingenuity was a relief and a pleasant surprise. Although the common description of weapons sailing through the air to hit the target every time was redundant, the story was pretty good and it kept me interested.

The Supernatural Bounty Hunter File: I Smell Smoke Book 2 by Craig Halloran

The second book in this series was an entertaining story, but I felt the story lost a bit of ground. FBI Agent Sidney Shaw has been assigned to a new case after the debacle of the Black Slate case and the disappearance of Adam Vaughn AKA AV. On the personal side of Agent Shaw's life, her sister Allison moves in with her parents; due to Allison's wild ways, this causes her father to have a health crisis. This health crisis seemed to be brewing for quite some time giving the stress of dealing with an addict.

In a strange turn of events, Agent Shaw is assigned to the Black Slate again, and her partner John Smoke has been released to help her with the case. Due to their close involvement in the case, Agent Shaw begins to develop some feelings for Smoke which she tries to deny. On the other hand, Smoke does not reveal any feelings towards Agent Shaw. 

The Black Slate case takes a radical turn since the author introduces a new character named Angi Harlow AKA Night Bird. Agent Shaw and John Smoke discover Angi Harlow can turn herself into a huge bird, and she seems to be immortal. I not sure of how Night Bird is connected to the Black Slate case...Agent Shaw's superior's keep her out of the loop of what's really going on....The author does not give a resolution to the disappearance of AV. I don't know, does Night Bird somehow relate to the Black Slate case in the same way that AV is connected? Is it because these are supernatural beings that make the connection between the two villains? I will continue to read the next book in the series to see where the author takes us.

Smoke Rising(Supernatural Bounty Hunter Book 1) by Craig Halloran

     This is my second series I have read by Craig Halloran. The first of which was called The Chronicles of Dragon; his development of characters are really good. You get a very good feel for them throughout the story. Alas, we come to FBI Agent Sidney Shaw who has been assigned to capture the most elusive criminal on the FBI's list Adam Vaughn AKA AV. To help her hunt down this criminal, she enlist the help of ex-navy seal and current prisoner at the Huntsville Detention Center in Alabama named John Smoke. It is an unlikely pairing of partners since Agent Shaw is a by the book field agent, whereas John Smoke is a get it done at any cost kind of person; this partnership makes for a very entertaining adventure into the supernatural world of monsters....On the other hand, the story introduces you to the softer side of Agent Shaw's character.... It is her devotion to her niece Megan. Megan is the daughter of Sidney's drug addicted sister Allison whom she has bailed out of trouble many times. Agent Shaw will do whatever she has to do to keep her niece safe even if that means using her skills to track down Allison for Megan's sake. All in all, I like the story so far. I can't wait to read book two to see how the story the develops.

Birth of a Nation and White Supremacy

     Here we are, as a nation, debating the relevancy of a Nate Parker's "Birth of a Nation.  It is currently getting mentioned as a probable Oscar nomination, but here's the trouble which comes with this issue.  Nate Park was arrested, tried, and acquitted in a 1999 rape case.  It should be enough for a person to be innocent until proven guilty or acquitted on all charges. This nation has shown a propensity to undue this belief when it comes to a men of color; it does not matter that Nate Parker is married with four children, and he has led an exemplary life after said event...It does not matter that he was acquitted of all charges....The goal here is obvious.  Men of color have been tagged with the notion of being sexual animals and lust to violate white women; the movie The Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith depicts white men in black face being sexually aggressive towards white women. Because of this movie, the second era of the KKK was spawned which led to innocent men of color to being lynched for the supposed protection of the white women's virtue. It has always been a fallacy that men of color would like to sexually assault white women. In fact, statistics show white women are more likely to be raped by white men. This isn't to say that men of color have not raped white women, but the statistics show a higher rate of incidents of rape and/or attempted raped by white men against white women; yet, the overwhelming response from white men and women alike is that white women will be attacked by men of color specifically black men. What does this have to do with Nate Parker? In his case, he was accused by a white women of rape; the history of white women shows they have used the accusation of rape to hide their consensual sexual unions with black men. Nate Parker's case is no different. I took the liberty of reading about the case and to my surprise(sarcasm), this was a consensual act between these two individuals prior to the night in question and on the night in question. Jean Celestin, co-writer and friend, was convicted of sexual assault, but the charges were over turned.

     The reason Nate Parker's rape accusation has been put forward is to deflect from the content of his movie Birth of a Nation; this movie tells about the slave rebellion of Nat Turner....You know that scary revolutionary that most white people wish not to discuss because in most of their minds, the slaves were happy an content with their lot in life; however, there is no truth to this sentiment since their were over 250 slave revolts in the colonies. Yes, 250 slave revolts which are never covered as part of American History. How can it not be covered? It is part of American history, but White Supremacy ensures the narrative built will be of docile slaves happy with being slaves. Nate Parker a violent sexual psychopath, even though he was acquitted. There is a concerted effort to minimize the very real content of the movie. The feign half-activist white people purporting to be angry because Parker's movie is considered relevant and generating wealth for the two men involved in the rape case in 1999. Say what you will, this movie will be impactful, and it is a welcome addition to the normal slave movie genre.

     

A Century of Dishonor by Helen Jackson

     This is one of the best books I've read on the subject matter. Helen Jackson does a great job of recounting how the US Government reneged on every treaty it signed with the Native American People.
     In reading this book for a second time, there were some issues which caught my eye this time around. The theory of right of occupancy in itself shows the arrogance of the interlopers from Europe.
The idea you would recognize the Native American people right to occupy said land because Europeans felt the legitimacy of their recognition would legalize the Native people to occupy land they lived on for thousands of years in which the foreigners conspired to steal through a plethora of treaties.
     I found it interesting Native Americans were considered unsaved because some of them rejected the foreigners religion of Christianity.  In all truthfulness, the Native American people were more Christian than the Europeans without the title of Christianity. Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces people stated once, he did not want the missionaries to bring schools and churches to the Wallowa Reservation because they would be taught how to quarrel about God the way Protestants and Catholics do; they did not want to learn that behavior because the Nez Perces people already understood there is no place to quarrel about God.
     This book is worth the time spent reading and studying; it is one of my favorites, so I had to purchase it to be part of my personal library.

   

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

One of my favorite authors. Stephen King has done it again; he is the master at creating a suspenseful thriller. The story begins as Retired Detective Bill Hodges receives a letter from the Mr. Mercedes(Brady Hartfield) who admits to killing eight people and injuring 15 people; the killer taunts Hodges with getting away with the murders, and he would never be caught because he does not plan on doing it again. Being the intelligent detective he is, Hodges goads Mr. Mercedes into committing more crimes through the social site "Under Debbie's Blue Umbrella," he was invited to by Mr. Mercedes. The story develops into a chess match between killer vs detective. It is an extremely well written story with many surprises along the way. It is worth the time spent reading.

Bogus Police Brutality Claim

     In the recent months, there has been several cases of legitimate police brutality cases; however, the case involving Earledreka White is not a case of police brutality or even excessive force. The problem with her claim is simple; she was pulled over for committing an alleged traffic violation. When you are stopped by the police as a person of color, your first priority is to get home safely...This requires you to do whatever is necessary to ensure your safety....Ms. White clearly did not think nor exercise wisdom in her encounter with the police officer. This incident could have ended badly for her, but the officer show a tremendous amount of restraint in light of dealing with a person who seemed to escalate this situation. Her first mistake was getting out of the vehicle; under no circumstance, she should have exited her vehicle after being stopped by the police. She should have had her driver license and insurance on the dashboard with her hands on the steering where they can be seen. By exited the vehicle, she put the officer on alert.  Staying in the vehicle, keeps her safe and the officer safe. Even if she did not commit the alleged traffic infraction, she needed to shut her mouth and not argue with the officer about the violation. Respond by saying Yes sir and No sir. This isn't the time to argue with the police about the traffic violation.  It is much safer to take the citation from the officer and refute it in court.  Because she tried this victimization garbage, she got arrested for resisting arrest and spending two days in jail. As a result of her stupidity, she has to go to court to answer for the resisting arrest charge. Here's an excellent video on how to conduct yourself when you are pulled over by an officer.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpcxN9JsoN8