Eric Vall

Vall, Eric. Planet Broker. Planet Broker No. 1. Kindle, 2018.
Kindle Unlimited is the perfect venue for a first novel like Eric Vall’s Planet Broker. You might feel guilty about reading it, but at least you don’t have to feel guilty about buying it. You get hints of what you are in for from the cover art and from a warning in the blurb that says the book contains “harem elements.” Here’s the set-up: CT has just been fired from his job selling mining and ore processing rights to the show more natives of newly contacted planets. But he still has a working spaceship crewed by a genetically modified, very affectionate cat-girl and an AI that complains about being stuck on the ship. He rescues a comely engineer from a failing smelter and makes it his mission to compete with his old company. Think Cyrano Jones of Trouble with Tribbles fame morphing into Jerry Maguire with harem elements. This stuff is so pulpy you want to floss afterword. 3 stars. show less

This title was a lot of fun and I hope a sequel is in the works. This would have been a 5 star rating for me but there was quite a few spots that needed some repairs. Other than that, this I highly recommend this title. It's got a little of everything in it and would probably make an interesting video game, graphic novel, or film (animated) someday.

Vall, Eric. Summoner School. Kindle, 2022.
Eric all is an independently publishing fantasy writer with quite a few books to his credit. He has another series called Summoner, and this YA may or may not be related to it. Vall, who must have a practical bent, says he will write a second book in the series as soon as this one hits 100 reviews on Amazon. If nothing else, Vall has introduced me to a publishing business model I have not seen before.
If you want a book with all the fantasy tropes in show more one place, Summoner School will do. Our first-person narrator, Andrew, is a likeable high school graduate who has put college plans on hold and taken a warehouse job to care for his grandmother who is in a home suffering from brain cancer. The old woman sends him to retrieve an amulet from her attic, which transports him to a school for mages in an alternate universe populated by elves, nymphs, minotaurs, and other magical folk. His roommate is a tree man, his girlfriend is a nymph, his antagonist is a bullyish minotaur (sorry, I could not resist), and his frenemy is a snobbish elf. Some evil is about to return, and his grandmother wants him to fix it. So, yes. Lots of Harry Potter. 3 stars. show less

This was such a fun sequel to book one. Between the concept of this world and the structure of rules, the stress of if this scientist will be caught, and all these colorful and fantastic characters, I am definitely hooked on this series. Now, I am looking forward to book three!