Ferry Tales (Book) - 4/14/2011 12:31:42 PM
Brendan Gisby has done it again! In this touching memoir, we’re transported back to 1950/60’s Scotland where the author grew up and are given a glimpse of his childhood.
I highly recommend this collection of short stories for anyone who enjoys travelling back to a simpler time. Both adults and young adults will like this humorous, sometimes sad but very relatable memoir.
In this collection of short stories, we meet his family and his friends and know everybody. If we don’t know them personally, we’re close to people very much like them. We suffer the hardships he and his family (and so many other families at the time) had to endure. We go on childhood adventures with him. We work alongside Mr. Gisby and his father. We even take his Dad’s place at work at one point in the book.
While this reviewer was reading Ferry Tales, she couldn’t help but think things like: “You’d think he’s talking about my sister.” Or, “I had a friend just like that.” There were several times throughout the book when I’d think, “I used to do things like that!” What is best about this book is that you don’t have to be from Scotland to relate to these stories or the cast of characters. Ferry Tales shows you throughout the book that people are the same the world over. Like Mr. Gisby’s other books, the characters and places are painted so realistically that we can reach out and touch them.
If you would like to learn more about Mr. Gisby and his works just visit his website at: http://www.brendangisby.com. He also has two Facebook pages! Just sign in at http://www.facebook.com and search for either Brendan Gisby, Scottish Author or Brendan Gisby.
The Olive Branch (Book) - 3/2/2011 7:54:54 AM
Completely startled, his mouth still agape, Jeff glanced quickly along the coastline, trying to pinpoint the origin of the explosions. His eyes finally came to rest at a point on the far left of his vision and opened in utter horror and disbelief as they watched the giant superstructure of the Forth Rail Bridge sink slowly and gracefully into a steaming sea; large orange flames licked around those parts not yet submerged. ~excerpt from The Olive Branch.
The communists have joined forces and are taking over Eastern Europe. Will they succeed? The Olive Branch has all the emotion, suffering and drama that come with war. Once again master storyteller, Brendan Gisby, brings us another amazing story in The Olive Branch. With the author’s talents for weaving a good story we feel despair and love. We feel the defiance of patriotism and the pain of torture. The reader can actually hear the pounding, crashing and the shrill squeal of bombs as they fly through the air. We watch through the eyes of Jeff, as the world he knows and loves, crumbles around him. We witness the horror of sexual abuse at any evil soldiers’ whim. What did Eastern Europe do to deserve such treatment?
In an attempt to save the peaceful world they know, small bands of resistance groups are springing up. Will they manage to do this?
I’m not fond of war stories but I highly recommend The Olive Branch. Through Brendan Gisby’s descriptive talents, he takes you through the range of emotions the characters feel. You actually experience what they experience. The characters are just ordinary people in an extra-ordinary position. They’re so relatable that I actually felt like I knew the characters!
What was best about The Olive Branch is the fact that Mr. Gisby shows us that something good can even come out of something bad. In the book we witness true love blossom and develop.
If you would like to learn more about Brendan Gisby, there are a few places to learn about him. One is at his website at: http://www.brendangisby.com. You can also visit with him on either of his Facebook pages. After you sign in to Facebook, just search Brendan Gisby, Scottish Author or go to his personal page by searching Brendan Gisby.
The Island of Whispers (Book) - 6/17/2010 11:57:30 AM
Twisted Foot, a Watcher, is a black rat who lives in an abandoned monastery on Inchgarvie Island. As Twisted Foot stands watch in the Upperworld, he realizes how cruel his home in the Underworld is.
He also considers what happened during the Selection. Broken Tail, the Chief Protector sniffed out the deformed and weaker of the newborn rats. He would swipe each across the snout marking them for destruction. Then, the newborns would be herded and guarded by the Protectors for food for the Rulers. Twisted Foot remembers that he had lost a couple of children this way.
He reminds himself they were broken up into different classes of rats. There were the Rulers who depend on the rat colony for substance and everything else for that matter. Next in the pecking order are the Inner Circle. These few advised the Rulers. There were the Hunters. The Hunters held a position of honor since they hunt each night to provide food for the rat colony. Of course, the Rulers get the best pieces of food. Next, come the Protectors. These bullies think that they can torture, kill and rape anyone in a lower class than they are. The ones the Protectors usually attacked were the Watchers and the Slave-rats. Not to mention the she-rats and their young. What to do about such cruelty? Was there a world beyond the Upperworld?
When Twisted Foot was on Watcher duty, he could see another land beyond the water. Was there a colony there too? Could they make a bid for freedom and escape?
You cheer as Twisted Foot, his friends, their mates and youngsters as they make their escape. The author holds you in suspense as they climb the Giant’s Foot to crawl across it. Will Twisted Foot and his friends find a place where they can start their own society of equality?
I fully recommend this book! This reviewer had to start The Island of Whispers several times. This is mainly because I can’t stand rats. The Island of Whispers is a ‘stick with it book.’ It is an engrossing tale from start to finish about breaking away from cruelty and dictatorship. The Island of Whispers is a fascinating and suspenseful story. The Mr. Gisby holds you in suspense from the beginning to the last page! His powers of description will have you both cringing and enthralled.
When You Stop Believing (Short Story) - 5/18/2011 7:36:48 AM
Great story, Brendan. Had me hooked from the first word to the last, and has a real, authentic feel about it.
