Dr. Homebrew – Testimonials & Reviews
A very well written book. The plot centered around a crafty homebrewer in a not so friendly legal environment draws you in and puts you in the middle of the mystery with the quality of writing I haven’t seen since some of Grishims early work. Can’t wait for S. Hudson’s next work.
A wonderful book. Only complaint about it and the story, it ended. I wanted to keep reading! Go read it!
One of my good friends told me about this book and said that both my son and I would love it – she was right. This short book was very nicely written and it was extremely interesting! I started reading it while laying in bed and I didn’t go to sleep until I finished it. My son was the same way! He got home from school one day, and he got on my Kindle and read it within two hours. I highly recommend this. It is written great and you will easily get attached to the characters!
To start with, I adore this cover. It sets the feel of the book before you even start page one. It’s what originally attracted me to the book. As a matter of fact, it’s only the cover that really makes this a steakpunk novella. The technology isn’t really described in enough detail to clue the reader in to its technological genre (normal, sic-fi, steampunk, etc).
I quite enjoyed the story, didn’t immediately figure out the mystery, adored Max and Amber and felt really sorry for poor Chief Inspector Hastings (even if maybe I shouldn’t have). I couldn’t decide if this was supposed to be an indictment of the perceived lack of choice available in the modern Western market or not. I think some of us would be surprised at how little variety is actually available to us once you consider that choice really is only an illusion if you’re only allowed to choose between the same few options. Not to mention how many of those options are actually owned by the same companies. But again, I couldn’t decide if this was or wasn’t the theme here. It could have been or it could just be me reading too much into it.
The novella was written in a tight, snappy narrative style that moved along nicely. I did find it just a little bit repetitive and thought it wrapped up quite quickly at the end. It definitely left ample opening for a second book. I look forward to reading it.
Overview: First I have to say well played. The first thing that popped up in my head when I read the last words in the novella was well played. The book had a snarky tone throughout making good use of the third person voice it employed. Dr. Homebrew (a fantastic and original idea in my humble opinion) is set in a dystopian/steampunk environment where Lake Ltd. has a monopoly on the brewery business ruling a small British town with a proverbial iron fist. Dr. Homebrew is standing up to the law providing the people with excellent beer compared to the crap Lake Ltd. makes. It incorporates Steampunk, Mystery, and science fiction quite nicely to make for a great read.
Review: Well a book like this doesn’t appear in my e-mail everyday. The author (well actually Amber from the story e-mailed me the book) sent me a digital copy, but I decided to jump at the Kindle free promo because I prefer books in that format. Even though it wasn’t on the top of my queue I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was 93 pages of secrecy, deception, business, smiles, and brewing! The characters were well put together and felt real someone you could actually imagine in real life which I enjoyed. Highly recommendable and an excellent wrap up at the end.
Rating: 5/5 Easily deserves a high rating because it was a great book. That’s probably why it was the #1 free Steampunk book two days in a row and now at around #70 paid steampunk. Book looks very promising in a category that is one of my personal favorites.
This short(ish) novelette is an intriguing tale of Doctor Mason, a psychiatrist by day who goes about his job largely uneventfully. But what happens when the doors to his practice close? He goes down into a secret vault – not to unleash secret and dastardly plans to overthrow the world powers… but to brew beer. This in his world is illegal and the Police are hot on the trail of the “Drink Criminal”.
And why is his seen as the town’s worst criminal? Because there is just one drinks company in the town and they have managed to convince the authorities to make it illegal for anybody else to produce alcohol of any kind. Their own beer tastes like piss too (ok so this is a critique of Budweiser then, haha) leaving people with no choice but to drink the foul fluids they offer. That is until the “drink criminal” starts giving people what they actually want – good beer, spirits and wine.
His father is murdered by a Police Officer when he is young – but the powers of the Police in this world are absolute and nobody challenges, questions or launches an enquiry into why he should be so cold-bloodedly killed. They move away to another town that is practically identical to the last – all is not well in the world. It seems this is a sort of capitalist dictatorship and Lake Ltd (the drinks company) wants the illegal brewer caught and made an example of.
Doctor Mason has been the “drink criminal” for many years until one day he gets a mysterious letter seemingly from an outside source saying that they know what he is up to – oh dear.
This is a quirky little tale yet dark at the same time in the tradition of something along the lines of China Mieville (but without the Marxism) and Doctor Seuss (but without the rhyming). It is not an easy feat to pull off so maximum marks to the writer for managing it. Nor will it be everybody’s pint of real ale (it certainly was mine) – especially with the dark undertones. I thoroughly enjoyed the subtext of the capitalist dictatorship though I am not sure whether this was supposed to be a clear and definite critique of capitalist monopolists influencing governments too much or whether that was merely a plot device. As a connoisseur of good beer myself, I’d prefer to think of the former. Thankfully I do not see this world emerging – certainly not in Europe where we are spoilt for choice!
I felt the ending was a little unsatisfactory, it was wrapped up all too quickly and I felt the idea was so good that it deserved to be longer. I wanted to know more about this world. What turn of events caused this Corporate Dictatorship? Precisely which organisations does the police force work for? This would have been great with a little more humour and a bit more substance.
Book was amazing. I must say the book (novella) was very intriguing and packed a lot in the short 93 (I think) pages it had.
Excellent crisp writing that moves the plot forward. I had never read a steampunk book before. This was a great introduction. The author crafted a world that was exciting and detailed. Max is a great character that will stay with you long after this book has been completed. The books is quick and can be read in one sitting, weighing in at 93 pages. I would recommend this book to all my friends.