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The Savion Sequence
The Savion Sequence Connie Bradley Book Review This review is of the 2011 version of The Savion Sequence My interest was recently piqued by a trailer which appeared on the AALBC.com discussion b...
Blend In or Fade Out: A Memoir
Blend In or Fade Out: A Memoir Robert Fleming Book Review The main theme of identity takes center stage in Colnese M. Herndon’s emotional riveting memoir, Blend In Or Fade Out, as the writer in...
Bamboozled
Bamboozled Michael Dequina images/bamboozled.jpg Film Review Bamboozled Release Date: October 6th, 2000 (LA/NY); October 20th, 2000 (wide/moderate) MPAA Rating: R (for strong la...
Sympathy For The Devil
Sympathy For The Devil Thumper Book Review I wasn’t expecting such an excellent, non-stop reading novel when I embarked on Christopher Chamber’s debut novel, Sympathy For The Devil. I wa...
Alternate Sources
Alternate Sources Eryka Parker Book Review When picking up a prescription, you probably haven’t given much thought to how many hands the contents passed through before reaching the bottle. You may tr...
Mixed Me!
Mixed Me! Kam Williams Book Review Mom and Dad say I’m a blend of dark and light:“We mixed you perfectly, and got you just right.” Mike has awesome hair. He has LOTS of energy!...
Two Wings to Veil My Face
Two Wings to Veil My Face Tony Lindsay Book Review There is genre fiction, and there is literary fiction. Within these two categories are groups; in part, genre fiction consists of mystery, romance, ...
The Black Rose
The Black Rose Paige Turner Book Review Journalist and novelist Tananarive Due is fast establishing herself as a professional writer who can master any genre she deigns to approach. With her previ...
Shades of Jade
Shades of Jade Thumper Book Review I was debating on whether I should start this review by writing All Hail The New Queen. Why not? I'll only live once, so, All Hail The New Queen of AA mystery...
The Blackbird Papers
The Blackbird Papers Thumper Book Review It never fails that every year there is one book in which the book’s good publicity reaches me before the book does. This year one of the books is Ian ...
Too Beautiful To Die
Too Beautiful To Die Thumper Book Review It had been a long while since I read a suspense/mystery novel’too long. I had a stroke of good fortune when the most recent mystery book I read was To...
Flight
Flight Kam Williams flight-moive-poster.jpg Film Review Hero Pilot Participates in Cover-Up in Special F/X-Driven Legal Thriller Flight (2012) In Theaters: Nov 2, 2012 Wide Drama Directed By: Robert...
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Kam Williams startrek-2013-blueray.jpg Film Review Read the comments now. Read our review after you see the film (there some spoilers). Kirk Matches Wits with Rogue Co...
Dr. No
Dr. No Robert Fleming Book Review “…a hilarious, fantastic satire of our times and culture.” —Robert Fleming Bestselling author Percival Everett is a literary alchemist wi...
God Ain’t Blind
God Ain’t Blind Idrissa Uqdah Book Review God Is Getting Tired And So Am I I think you have to really love the books and the characters in the God Don't Like Ugly series to still be reading th...
The Gods of the Bacteria: The World Before Darwin
The Gods of the Bacteria: The World Before Darwin Robert Fleming Book Review Dr. Billy Earley, a veteran practitioner and graduate from the Charles Drew School of Medicine and Science, brings his e...
A Distant Shore
A Distant Shore Linda Watkins Book Review Caryl Phillips may have out done himself with his newest novel, A Distant Shore. It is in my opinion one of the most accomplished works I have read this ye...
The Henry Louis Gates
The Henry Louis Gates Robert Fleming Book Review Henry Louis Gates, Jr., one of the nation’s most acclaimed scholars, is a masterful jack of all trades, including educator, editor, critic and ...
Heart and Soul: Poems of Thoughts & Emotions
Heart and Soul: Poems of Thoughts & Emotions V.S. Chochezi Book Review Masterful New Poetry Collection for Sipping or Gulping My observation has been that many wine drinkers tend to have a wide ar...
Go Tell it on the Mountain
Go Tell it on the Mountain Angeli R. Rasbury Book Review Originally Published in Sacred Fire Go Tell It on the Mountain is considered to be James Baldwin’s greatest novel. Like muc...
We Cast a Shadow
We Cast a Shadow Tony Lindsay Book Review In Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s first novel, We Cast a Shadow, the reader meets a complex and unnamed protagonist. The main character of this futuristic nov...
Cry Me a River
Cry Me a River Thumper Book Review I have said it before, and most likely, I will say it again, but there is no drama like family drama. With Ernest Hill’s Cry Me a River, I got exactly that&...
The Last King
The Last King Thumper Book Review Now is a time of rejoicing. Nichelle Tramble has finally released her much anticipated second novel, The Last King: A Maceo Redfield novel. I have been...
The Black Sleuth
The Black Sleuth Thumper Book Review Suggested Title: Tale of Early Black Detective Prescribes Strong Medicine Or Forgotten Black Writer Doses Up Strong Medicine Northeastern University Press, in its...
Silent Conspiracy
Silent Conspiracy Thumper Book Review Damn, that was good! I have to stand up and applaud! I’ve just finished what I consider one of the best mysteries that I’ve read all year. With the ...
The Emperor of Ocean Park
The Emperor of Ocean Park Thumper Book Review Conservative Pundit’s Mystery Novel Only Partly Successful Stephen L. Carter makes his debut as a fiction writer with The Emperor of Ocean Par...
Sweetsmoke
Sweetsmoke Thumper Book Review When I heard of the novel Sweetsmoke by David Fuller, I was intrigued. The novel takes place during the Civil War, 1862, at its heart lays a murder mystery wi...
The Memory Librarian
The Memory Librarian Robert Fleming Book Review When I think of singer-actor-fashion icon Janelle Monae, the word eclectic comes to mind. She is everywhere in the media, on every platform. Along with...
What A Woman’s Gotta Do
What A Woman’s Gotta Do Thumper Book Review Now this was a fascinating book. What A Woman’s Gotta Do is a fascinating book that successfully weaved together the spiritual, science, and my...
Prisoners
Prisoners Kam Williams prisoners.jpg Film Review Parents and Police Search for Kidnapped Kids in Mesmerizing, Multi-Layered Mystery Prisoners Now Available on DVD Win a Copy of Prisoners on ...
Fishing for Love on the Net
Fishing for Love on the Net Kam Williams Book Review ’Many people have tried online dating with no success. The steps necessary to secure love online still remains a mystery. Many more ...
Street Judge
Street Judge Thumper Book Review In his fiction debut Judge Greg Mathis, star of the syndicated Judge Mathis TV show, releases Street Judge, a mystery/thriller with a message. Although I ha...
Fearless Jones
Fearless Jones Thumper Book Review After 5 years, Walter Mosley has returned to the mystery scene with a new pair of crime solvers for his novel Fearless Jones. It’s as if Mosley had never said...
The Color of Justice
The Color of Justice Thumper Book Review Gary Hardwick, author of Cold Medina, Double Dead and Supreme Justice, is back on the literary scene with his latest inner-city crime drama, The Color of Just...
Beulah Hill
Beulah Hill Thumper Book Review I am sounding the alert that I just read a novel that has a strong black male character in it. Let’s imagine that I’m waving a big neon sign with...
Secrets, Lies & Family Ties
Secrets, Lies & Family Ties Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Author Sylvia Hubbard has written a wonderful sensual tale of intrigue and family drama in her latest release, Secrets, Lies & Family Tie...
The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation
The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation Robert Fleming Book Review South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn’s The First Eight: A Personal Histo...
Think Like a Man Too
Think Like a Man Too Kam Williams think-like-a-man-too.jpg Film Review Think Like a Man Too In Theaters: Jun 20, 2014 Wide Rated PG-13 for profanity, drug use, crude humor, sexual references and ...
Meet Dave (2008)
Meet Dave (2008) Kam Williams meet_d27.jpg Film Review Eddie Murphy Misfires as Brother from Another Planet Meet Dave Rated PG for action, suggestive...
The Story of Lovers Rock
The Story of Lovers Rock Kam Williams loversrock1.jpg Film Review Nostalgic Documentary Celebrates Influential Black Brit Music Genre The Story of Lovers Rock [2011] Unrated Running t...
A Mighty Love
A Mighty Love Linda Watkins Book Review Relationship novels are for escapism. The content should tantalize the reader’ evoke deep emotion and keep one’s attention. Unfortunately, A Might...
Charcoal Joe
Charcoal Joe Tony Lindsay Book Review What was refreshingly abundant in Walter Mosley’s Charcoal Joe was Black male characters. From strong Black men to Black men seeking guidance, the reader w...
To Funk and Die in L.A.
To Funk and Die in L.A. Tony Lindsay Book Review Nelson George’s To Funk and Die in LA, offers the reader multiple mysteries to solve. The protagonist, D Hunter (a New Yorker), is immediately w...
Speaking of Summer
Speaking of Summer Brenda M. Greene Book Review Mental illness in fiction provides a lens and a relatively safe space by which readers can examine its complexity and impact on the lives of the indivi...
Read Until You Understand
Read Until You Understand Robert Fleming Book Review With a solid array of books to her credit, Farah Jasmine Griffin has possibly written one of the artistic highlights in the national book marketpl...
Sorry You’re Having A Bad Night by E.K. Robertson
Sorry You’re Having A Bad Night by E.K. Robertson Denolyn Carroll Book Review From its prologue to its epilogue, E. K. Robertson’s Sorry You’re Having A Bad Night delivers on the hallmark...
Every Man a King
Every Man a King Robert Fleming Book Review For those who love the creators of the hard-boiled private dicks from the 1930s such as Dashiell Hammett, James Cain, and Raymond Chandler, Walter Mosley&r...
Shoe Fetish 2: Grown Into High Heels
Shoe Fetish 2: Grown Into High Heels Carol Taylor Book Review Shoe Fetish 2: Grown Into High Heels is part social commentary, murder mystery, female empowerment novel; and is as much a search for sel...
Black Pulp
Black Pulp Robert Fleming Book Review In his succinct introduction, award-winning novelist Walter Mosley, creator of the noted private eye Easy Rawlins, explains the appeal of fiction printed i...
Terminus: Tales of the Black Fantastic from the ATL
Terminus: Tales of the Black Fantastic from the ATL Amanda Robinson Book Review Atlanta is one of the most popular cities in this country. This metropolis is one of the few epicenters dripping Black ...
Zodiac Saga 2 The Balance of Power by Kaitlyn McKnight
Zodiac Saga 2 The Balance of Power by Kaitlyn McKnight Robert Fleming Book Review There are quality novels in the Young Adult novel market. It’s not easy or simple to do these hybrid collection...
Be Careful What You Pray For
Be Careful What You Pray For Thumper Book Review It has been a few years since I have read a book by Kimberla Lawson Roby. I decided to break that trend and read her latest novel, Be Careful What You...
Jelani’s Key
Jelani’s Key Mel Hopkins Book Review Pain into Promise An immeasurable loss leads to a journey of cultural enlightenment, friendship, and self-discovery for 11-year-old protagonists Jelani and Bak...
I Hate Muscular Dystrophy: Loving a Child with a Life-Altering Disease
I Hate Muscular Dystrophy: Loving a Child with a Life-Altering Disease Kam Williams Book Review "This is a personal story of a family’s ability to love and support each other through the...
Known to Evil
Known to Evil Thumper Book Review Walter Mosley is back with the second installment of his new, magnificent Lenoid McGill Mystery series, Known to Evil. Believe it or not, I got my hands on Known...
Going Home
Going Home Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Home Is Where The Heart Is Evelyn Palfrey is an author who writes romance novels. The unique thing about her books is that she writes romance for the "...
What Next
What Next Paige Turner Book Review During these times of turmoil between the United States and Iraq the creative community is using the full extent of its powers to offer solutions. Walter Mosley, ...
Harlem Redux
Harlem Redux Thumper Book Review Persia Walker busts on the literary scene burnin’ rubber and smokin’ with her debut novel, Harlem Redux, a multi-faceted fictional tapestry. Harlem Redux...
Sleep Don’t Come Easy
Sleep Don’t Come Easy Thumper Book Review I came across Sleep don't Come Easy by J.D. Mason and Victor McGlothin some time ago. I threw it in my ’to read’ pile when I spotte...
Black Water Rising
Black Water Rising Thumper Book Review Attica Locke’s debut novel, Black Water Rising, got a lot of press last year, a lot of good press. I’ve been slowly getting back into the gro...
Everything In Its Place
Everything In Its Place Thumper Book Review Everything In It’s Place is the first novel that I read by Evelyn Palfrey. When I finished the novel, I remembered a conversation I had with the lat...
Wrapped In Rainbows
Wrapped In Rainbows Thumper Book Review Zora Neale Hurston ensured her place of prominence in the American literary canon with her masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Her career was filled w...
Paradise Interrupted (Carole Ann Gibson Mysteries)
Paradise Interrupted (Carole Ann Gibson Mysteries) Thumper Book Review I want to state my bias up front. I look forward to this time of the year when a new “Carole Ann Gibson” installment...
The Cutting Season: A Novel
The Cutting Season: A Novel Emanuel Carpenter Book Review Attica Locke’s (Black Water Rising) latest novel, The Cutting Season, takes place on a sugar cane plantation in Louisiana. Though the s...
Caught in a Rundown
Caught in a Rundown Thumper Book Review If this post isn’t a shining example of a recommendation, forgive me. I’m a little slow from not getting enough sleep last night all because of a...
Premium Rush
Premium Rush Kam Williams premium-rush-movie-poster.jpg Film Review Manhattan Serves as Backdrop for Adrenaline-Fueled Bike Thriller Premium Rush (2012) In Theaters: Aug 24, 2012 Wide Rated PG-13 ...
The Purge
The Purge Kam Williams thepurge-movieposter.jpg Film Review Barricaded Family Fights to Survive in Futuristic Horror Flick The Purge In Theaters: Jun 7, 2013 Limited 1 hr. 25 min. Rated R for profa...
Repentance
Repentance Kam Williams repentance.jpg Film Review Repentance In Theaters: Feb 28, 2014 Limited Rated R for profanity, violence and torture Running time: 90 minutes Mystery & Suspense, Ho...
Safe House
Safe House Kam Williams safehouse_movieposter.jpg Film Review Rookie and Rogue Agents Make Strange Bedfellows in High Body-Count Spy Thriller Safe House In Theaters: Feb 10, 2012 Wide Rated R fo...
2 Guns
2 Guns Kam Williams 2-guns.jpg Film Review Washington and Wahlberg Co-Star in Implausible Crime Caper 2 Guns In Theaters: Aug 2, 2013 Wide Rated R for profanity, brief nudity and pervasive ...
Cover
Cover Kam Williams vivica41.jpg Film Review DVD Mystery Explores Life on the Down-Low Cover Click to order via Amazon Studio: 20th Century Fox DVD...
The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises Kam Williams dark-night-rises-banner.jpg Film Review Batman Emerges from Exile to Battle Terrorist in Trilogy Finale The Dark Knight Rises In Theaters: Jul 20, 2012 Wide ...
A Phat Death
A Phat Death Thumper Book Review A Phat Death (or, the Last Days of Noir Soul) is the latest Nina Halligan novel by Norman Kelley. I have been a fan of Nina Halligan and her creator since I read t...
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol Kam Williams mimovieposter.jpg Film Review Cruise and Company Go Undercover for Dangerous Assignment in Russia Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol Rated ...
The Words
The Words Kam Williams the-words-moive-poster.jpg Film Review Plagiarism Exacts Emotional Toll in Tale of Overwhelming Regret The Words (2012) In Theaters: Sep 7, 2012 Wide Rated PG-13 for smoking,...
96 Minutes
96 Minutes Kam Williams img21.jpg Film Review Gangstas Carjack College Coeds in Character-Driven Crime Caper 96 Minutes [2012] Order via Amazon.com In Theaters: Apr 27, 2012 Limited On DVD: May 2...
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man Kam Williams images/spiderman-movie-poster.jpg Film Review Andrew Garfield Stars in Reboot of Marvel Comics Franchise The Amazing Spider-Man In Theaters: Jul 3, 2012 Wide ...
Blue Caprice
Blue Caprice Kam Williams blue-caprice.jpg Film Review Beltway Sniper Saga Revisits 2002 Reign of Terror in DC Area Blue Caprice In Theaters: Sep 13, 2013 Limited Rated R for profanity, drug use a...
The Girl Is in Trouble
The Girl Is in Trouble Kam Williams the-girl-is-in-trouble.jpg Film Review The Girl Is in Trouble In Theaters: Apr 3, 2015 LimitedOn DVD: May 11, 2015Runtime: 1 hr. 34 min.Rating: UnratedGenre: Myst...
13
13 Kam Williams images/13_movieposter.jpg Film Review Remake of French Thriller Revolves around Grisly Game of Russian Roulette 13 Click to Buy via Amazon.com Rated: R Ru...
The Cabin in the Woods
The Cabin in the Woods Kam Williams cabininthewoods.jpg Film Review College Kids Hunted at Haunted House in Harrowing Horror Flick The Cabin in the Woods [2012] In Theaters: Apr 13, 2012 Wide Rated...
The Equalizer
The Equalizer Kam Williams the-equalizer.jpg Film Review The Equalizer In Theaters: Sep 26, 2014 Wide Rated R for graphic violence, sexual references and pervasive profanity Running time: 131 minu...
Gravity
Gravity Kam Williams gravity.jpg Film Review Astronauts Struggle to Survive Shuttle Disaster in Harrowing Outer Space Thriller Gravity In Theaters: Oct 4, 2013 Wide Rated PG-13 for inte...
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games Kam Williams hungergames_movieposter.jpg Film Review Teens Forced to Compete in Fight to the Death in Futuristic Sci-Fi The Hunger Games [2012] In Theaters: Mar 23, 2012 Wide PG...
Shayla Sweet and Her Magical Pen
Shayla Sweet and Her Magical Pen Denolyn Carroll Book Review “…And a little child shall lead them…” (Isaiah 11:6 NKJV). While spending summer break at her grandmother Nani&...
Black Hands White House: Slave Labor and the Making of America
Black Hands White House: Slave Labor and the Making of America Robert Fleming Book Review Renee K. Harrison, an associate professor of African American and US religious history at Howard University, ...
My Hair Can
My Hair Can Shaundale Rénā Book Review Profoundly inspiring, My Hair Can is a picture book full of wit and charm. Each page is vibrant and affirms joy and positivity for little Black boys and girls a...
Goony Goo-Goo and Ga-Ga Too!
Goony Goo-Goo and Ga-Ga Too! Kelly Starling Lyons Book Review Drawing inspiration from her own children, author Kia Morgan Smith has written a fun picture book about the trials and triumphs of ...
Thank You, Omu!
Thank You, Omu! Neoma Nwasike Book Review How important is community to you? Is it at the epicenter of your heart, and do the people who make up your unique and wonderful community, allow you to thri...
Ordinary Girls: A Memoir
Ordinary Girls: A Memoir Brenda M. Greene Book Review Jaquira Diaz, in her memoir Ordinary Girls, crafts a story that illustrates the intersection of race, ethnicity, sexuality, and poverty on the li...
Oil and Water and Other Things That don’t Mix
Oil and Water and Other Things That don’t Mix Robert Fleming Book Review If you take a trip to the once-scenic Gulf Coast, you will see there is more to be done in the restoration and rejuvenation...
Different and the Same
Different and the Same AALBC Staff Writer Book Review In an age where there is a proliferation of emotional and physical Black trauma, that is videotaped and viewed widely online, we should strive to...
Hair Power - Skin Revolution: A Collection of Poems and Personal Essays by Black and Mixed-Race Wome
Hair Power - Skin Revolution: A Collection of Poems and Personal Essays by Black and Mixed-Race Wome Kam Williams Book Review "I can honestly say I have a passion for language… I enjoy writi...
The New Brownies’ Book
The New Brownies’ Book Clarence V. Reynolds Book Review In the November 1910 premier issue of The Crisis, the official journal of the NAACP, historian, scholar, civil rights activist, sociologist, an...
Lion’s Blood
Lion’s Blood Thumper Book Review Steven Barnes, has emerged with one of the best books of 2002, a novel that explores a "what if" question; What if the United States of America had a past w...
And On The Eighth Day She Rested
And On The Eighth Day She Rested Thumper Book Review Lately, I have been in one of my lazy reading moods. I wanted a book that would go easy on my ol’ noggin. As you all know, my normal readi...
Riot and Remembrance
Riot and Remembrance Thumper Book Review Although some say that times and attitudes are changing, I’m rather skeptical. Only now am I aware of events, individuals that I should have been introd...
Perfect Combination: Seven Key Ingredients To Happily Living & Loving Together
Perfect Combination: Seven Key Ingredients To Happily Living & Loving Together Kam Williams Book Review “Jamillah and David Lamb are the dynamic couple behind the successful Off-Broadway play...
God’s Will and Other Lies: Stories
God’s Will and Other Lies: Stories Camille-Yvette Welsch Book Review “[T]here was so much hurt and pain and fear and sorrow … that I needed more than one kind of song to sing,” says...
The Mermaid Princesses
The Mermaid Princesses Judy Allen Dodson Book Review Meet these three charming princess sisters, Anaya, Shante, and Kianna. They invite us into their underwater world with their bright and bold perso...