Blood Moon over Africa…Debut Reviews

Hi Everyone,

Here is something to roar about, well as far as I am concerned in any event, but I figured that I would share it all with you in one post, rather than make you run all over the show looking for them. Here is a collection of some awesome reviews for my debut book. Maybe they might sway you in the right direction and before you know it, you too will be caught up in the darkness of Africa.

None of these reviews are so called bought reviews. They are all from readers who were gifted a e-book or that bought the book and took the time to do a review, and to all of them…I THANK YOU.

Reviews for Blood Moon over Africa.

Blood Moon Over Africa

Book 1 of The Blood Trilogy

by Paul Zunckel

 

Africa, a place where superstition and witchcraft runs deep, a place of beauty, but where death lurks in the shadows. A land shrouded in mystery, with ancient beliefs simmering just beneath the surface – set on a collision course with modern western ideas.
An innocent act unleashes a horror that walks the African night… under the full moon… and nothing is safe.
Piet van Zyl, safari owner, finds himself drawn into a world of witchcraft, and face to face with a horror returned from the grave. With the support of Veronica Strydom, with her vast knowledge of African Culture, he must rid the night of the abomination, or die trying.

 

“…you cannot help but be compelled to read on…”

Reviewed by Lilian Flesher

This review is from a gifted eBook reviewer copy.

“You will be taken on a journey, an adventure, a scary trip that will have you rooted to the spot, whispering to yourself, WATCH OUT, perhaps yelling at the kindle like me!!! This is a fabulously well-written story, it tells the story of the old ways,  witch doctors, medicine men, of tribal beliefs, the things that scare the tribes, the information is endless, you cannot help but be compelled to read on, to follow the journey to the end, keep praying for a miracle because these pair along with their friends and helpers are going to need more than help, they are going to need every ounce of their wits, their courage, their skills, and prayers to protect them.!”

 

Review Rating:	4stars.
Reviewed By Janelle Fila for Readers’ Favorite I loved the opening lines of Blood Moon Over Africa by Paul Zunckel that said, “nothing is safe when the moon is full.” That sums up this story’s premise very well. Piet van Zyl, safari owner, finds himself drawn into a world of witchcraft, and face to face with a horror returned from the grave. An unspeakable evil is unleashed with a curse and awaits under the blood moon. In Africa, witchcraft, voodoo, curses, and superstition are so ingrained in society that everyone believes the magical, evil powers of things like the blood moon. The beliefs are so ancient that people can’t go against them. And so many mysterious and wicked things happen that people continue to blame it on the evils of the blood moon. One of the keys to this story is that in order to have hoodoo affect you, you have to believe in its magic. They didn’t want outsiders coming in as the magic wouldn’t affect them because they didn’t believe in the creepy powers that the magic held. But there is something about this setting, about the mystery of Africa and the witchcraft and the chanting that really pulled this story together. I believed that the blood moon was out to get me, and I was worried that it couldn’t be stopped. Very creepy, original story that should be read during the day (unless you are very brave).

4.0 out of 5 stars A modern H Ryder Haggard, encompassing mystery and murder … 17 Aug. 2015

By B. R. Jones

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

A modern H Ryder Haggard, encompassing mystery and murder with dark African undertones. Definitely a page-turner, its tautly written and carefully plotted. I believe this the author’s first major novel so perhaps even more impressive. A little more in the way of character development would have earned it five stars, and I will devour the next releases with relish

Flamingcrystal Softly Whisper with Paul Zunckel.

45 mins ·

Supernatural horror powers this story and delivers chills running down your spine.
The story is gripping, impossible to put down, and the prose is very descriptive. The author describes horrifying scenes without diving into over-the-top gore.
The story is a chiller with great characters, believable tragedy and nail-biting suspense.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this trilogy.

 

5.0 étoiles sur 5 Terrifiant à souhait… 19 septembre 2015

Par LORIN PHILIPPE

Format:Format Kindle|Achat vérifié

Paul Zunckel tient toutes ses promesses et nous tient en haleine tout au long du livre. Si comme moi vous aimez L’Afrique et ses rites les plus noirs, vous adorerez vous plonger dans l’action et partager les nuits blanches de Piet et ses ami(e)s. L’Amérique a Stephen King, l’Afrique a Paul Zunckel, et il est bien parti pour conquérir le monde. J’espère qu’il sera rapidement traduit en français pour le plaisir du plus grand nombre. Un immense plus: Paul Zuncker est un auteur à l’écoute de ses lecteurs et vous pouvez lui envoyer des messages sur Facebook, réponse assurée ! J’ai commencé à lire Blood démon revenge, les frissons sont au rendez vous. J’ai un nouvel ami, merci Paul.

Review by: Sub01 on Jan. 13, 2015 :
Talk about a roller coaster ride, a great story that keeps you guessing, and definitely an author to follow. His take on Horror/Thriller is such a fresh approach. It was so good, I could not put it down until the final page.
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

Review by: Kathy Rudman on Dec. 31, 2014 :
From the start of the book it grabbed me and had me in it’s hold. Loved the contrast of quiet calm descriptive passages suddenly erupting into the suspense of the unexpected. You never know what this writer is going to explode onto the next page. Several twists and turns with a shock ending !
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Haydn Johns on Dec. 19, 2014 :
Awesome and interesting book!
Well written and very easy to follow.
If you looking for something really different, I highly recommend following Paul as an author.
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: vano56 on Dec. 14, 2014 :
Riveting reading. Great story. Paul is a great writer with great suspenseful mystery horror stories!!! Really liking the character Veronica!!! Gonna have to read his second book asap!! I highly recommend you picking his books up and reading them.

Absolutely great book. Well worth my reading marathon as I could not put it down once I started. Great horror story mixed with witchcraft and ancient myth. A truly scary demon stalking the wilds of Africa, I wouldn’t want to run into to here!!!

Review by: VLY on March 30, 2015 :
“Short, pithy chapters driven by fast and furious dialogue . . .Zunckel’s plot is as engaging and brilliantly executed as a few of his characters are . . . a must read – and this is his debut novel Wow, keep it up Mr. Paul Zunckel, I’m a fan for life
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

Okay, enough is enough, but you have to admit, the reviews are pretty cool, and if you are interested, then Blood Moon over Africa is available in all e-Book formats as well as in print…plus in both English and Afrikaans…so sit back and enjoy.

Until next time..Take Care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Published Author

Hi there everyone,

Please excuse me for blowing my horn, but things are happing in my life that I never dreamed would…firstly being a resident of this wonderful country of ours called South Africa, and being in the minority the chances of finding employment at my ripe old age which for those who do not know will remain a state secret rocks your world as you need employment in order to meet all those bills at the end of the month. Not only that you need a roof over your head, and I give thanks to the Lord that it is not the roof of a bridge that we shelter under, but the roof of a lovely home.

Anyway, now I am getting off the subject. What I am trying to say is that I became one of the many unemployed in this country three years ago...and no matter how hard I tried to find a job, I was over qualified, too old, too experienced, had too much to offer…oh and too white as well. Now this is not a political thing…it is just the way things go over here…the truth is the truth, there is no getting away from it, and sometimes the truth can be ugly, so I apologize if I have offended anyone out there but before you jump up on your soapbox…come and walk in my shoes and many others in the same position first.

In August 2014 my darling wife convinced me to sit down in order to compile a short story, the title then unknown. I was challenged by her that it was something I would not complete…to cut a long story short, Blood Moon over Africa was born and my life as an Indie Author started.

Writing gave me the escape that I needed to get away from reality of being unemployed…it also gave me hope for the future and so a new career was born…one of being a writer and hoping to take the world by storm. I am blessed from above as the words just flow…Blood Spoor in the Dark, followed closely by Blood Demon- Revenge…and now we get to why I am blowing my horn.

I am very proud to announce that all three books that make up The Blood Trilogy are now available not only in English, but in a second language…AFRIKAANS…and I have VANILLA HEART PUBLISHING to thank for that and for taking me under their wing as a VANILLA HEART AUTHOR.

When I started sending out query letters to various publishers, I got a lot of yes, yes, yes but the bottom line was they were all VANITY PUBLISHERS…which was no good…they seem to cruise the shallows of the Indie Author sea like sharks, just waiting to suck you in and take your money…with no real prospect of getting your books out there, unless you pay them, and then if you are lucky they do some work…come on people…since when do you pay someone so they can make more money out of you.

So now you can see why I am blowing my horn…to date VANILLA HEART PUBLISHING have published five of my books…four of them already out in paperback…so yes, I do see hope for the future, and with the blessing that have come down on me, there are many more books to come, so the best you can do is get your hands on one and start the journey, before you get left behind…there is a fire burning in me, stories to be told and a desire to carve out a career as a PUBLISHED AUTHOR.

Oh wait a minute…I am a Published Author…you can find all my books at   http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00Q8L4NZ8

 

Fact vs Fiction…Affects Rating

Hi Everyone,

I know that I have not posted for awhile, but I have been very busy doing research for my next novel, and with this one I can allow my imagination to run riot but I have to make sure that my facts are correct as the subject I am building into my latest novel around is a bit of a prickly issue…in fact the people involved in where I am going are not even prepared to talk to me about it, so I have had to rely on my dark side, what information I can gather from newspapers, magazines and websites. It is going to be a work of fiction…in fact all my novels are a work of fiction…but I do use facts to build up the story.

Now, let’s talk about fiction and facts.

I found a review on Amazon from a reader who kindly bought the e-book of “The Devil in Eden” which was great but I only got a three star review from them…why you might ask…because my book was a work of fiction. Surely a reader can see when they are looking at a book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo etc that the novel they are about to buy is listed as a work of fiction. If I had stated that “The Devil in Eden” was based on fact, I would have been given a five star review. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, this reader really has no idea how much of this novel was based on fact…well we will just keep him guessing.

The other fact that affected my rating in the review was my use of AFRIKAANS. Now I ask you, if I had used FRENCH, LATIN, GERMAN as some very well know authors tend to do without the translation, would the outcome have been different. My main character Piet just happens to be Afrikaans and colors his dialog with a touch of Afrikaans. I read novels that have Latin, French and other languages that pop up…I do not speak these languages…I do not understand them, but I get the drift.

After all it is the publisher’s prerogative to remove or keep a foreign translation from a novel…maybe I should have used Shona or Zulu or even Xhosa but the problem was..how do I get the clicks in there.

I thank you kind sir for taking the time and effort to post your review and your rating,as it means a lot to an Author  and apologize for not listing my novel as fact, but my imagination has to take the credit…the man-eater is fact. The fact that man is encroaching into the habitat of the lion is fact, the fact that this is going to bring humans into more direct contact with the King of the Jungle is fact, man is the easiest prey and softest to hunt is fact, the superstitions of the locals is fact but please leave a little room for my imagination..the rest is all Fiction.

Please be warned…in my WIP…I use Portuguese as well as Afrikaans and Mask of Deceit has Italian being thrown around.

Just a little hint for all of you out there…most of my work involving Piet van Zyl is based on fact with a touch of my imagination running wild, but for those of you who do want factual stories…they are out there…look for them, and those who want to be entertained…well look no further, read my books, they will entertain and captivate you.

All my books, which are works of fiction with just a touch of facts can be found in all the e-book formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo and iApple and for those of you who are not sure which is fact and which is fiction…here is the list.

• Blood Moon over Africa Fiction   well most of it…you decide.
• Blood Spoor in the Dark Fact turned into Fiction…how much is Fact…you decide.
• Blood Demon-Revenge Fiction with a touch of Facts…the rest my imagination.
• The Devil in Eden Fiction mixed in with Facts…The lion does hunt in the dark.
• Mask of Deceit ..I promise. Blame my dark side for that.
• 

  

Right, I have had my say for today, Time for me to go out and gather the FACTS…so that I can turn them into FICTION for your enjoyment and reading pleasure…after all that’s what reading a novel is all about, but remember if you are looking for FACT…read History books, don’t read mine, they are all FICTION.

Take Care out there and stay safe…remember you never know what is watching from the shadows…AND THAT IS A FACT.

HAMBA KAHLE …That means…Go Well…Oh it is Zulu.