Alexandrias Genesis new dystoptian novel from SW Strackbein

Alexandria’s Genesis

Steven Strackbein
Dystopian
 
Buy on Amazon
ebook $4.99
408 pp
Sisyphus Triumphant, Feb 24, 2026

About the Book

The world has ended.

What followed was not silence, but continuation. Roads still lead somewhere. People still gather. Old words still carry weight, even after the structures that gave them meaning have collapsed.

John moves through what’s left, carrying a past that refuses to stay buried. Kyra tries to hold onto something fragile in a landscape that rewards endurance more than mercy. Their lives intersect without design, in a world where endurance is mistaken for virtue and survival offers no absolution.

Alexandria’s Genesis is a post-collapse novel concerned with what people hold onto when everything else is stripped away. Persistence replaces hope. Memory endures as burden, shaping who people become when there are no longer clear answers.

This is not a story about the end of the world.
It is about what continues—and the cost of allowing it to continue.

My review

Strackbein’s latest novel is, at its deepest level, a story of resilience. Some people cling to what they know, some people adjust for good, many adjust for personal gain at the expense of any level of humanity. What would you do when everything you know is changed?

We step into a desert with a man named John, robed against the flying sand and thinking in flashes of sarcastic contemporary pop culture. The story feels like a Western until things don’t add up. A woman hanged on the grounds of a modern school building. Mostly empty towns guarded by piles of junk and men with weapons. Secrets…lies…want…greed. Even kindness has an underlying price. John was forced by desperation out into this unforgiving landscape in search of some means to stay alive. When he visits a nearby town, he unwittingly gets caught up in a post-apocalyptic struggle between an unhinged community leader and a girl, Kyra, who carries a secret worthy of hope. When John reluctantly calls on his past skills and teaches Kyra survival strategies, he hopes he’s given her enough and moves on, only to fall into another compromising situation.

Gradually through related flashbacks we learn the depth of the world’s woe and John’s personal story of tragedy. He becomes a grudging hero in spite of his fears and failures, and for that, his character is perhaps the best test of what makes us human. Strackbein’s novel is a thoughtful and provocative look at a potential future, of courage, and choice, and of keeping the light in sight.

About the author

SW Strackbein began writing in his early thirties, during his military training in the final days of the Iraq War. That season of intensity and reflection sparked a lifelong pursuit of storytelling—one rooted in a fascination with human nature and the hidden forces that shape people’s lives. He went on to earn degrees in Psychology, Mental Health Counseling, and an MBA, each one deepening his understanding of human behavior, motivation, and the struggles that define us. His writing reflects that layered insight—an exploration of the choices we make, the relationships we forge, and the moments of joy and despair that transform us.

  

Review of poetry What the Current Cannot Swallow

 

Review of What the Current Cannot Swallow by Debra Hall
 
December 15, 2025, 43 pp
Poetry (Chapbook)
Paperback, $10; Ebook $3.99
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About the Book:

What the Current Cannot Swallow is a soulful collection of poetry that traverses the vast and intimate geography of love, illness, caregiving, and mourning. Set primarily between Rome and the American Midwest, Debra Hall's poems move through embassy lines, a hospital on the Tiber, catacombs, hospice rooms, mountain trails, and a family kitchen. Hall attends to small, exact particulars-a deli counter, bear bells, a peppermint, a rosary, hail at the window, a grandson's birth-and lets them carry the weight of what cannot be said. The work stays close to the body and to the world. The pieces in it mark a crossing, and the daily work of living in the aftermath of survival.

My Review:  

When the dedication is a twist of joy, you know you’re in for a fulfilling experience.

Readers join the author in a fugue of exhaustion as a couple experiences medical crisis in the opening poems: “she (the case worker) warns me not to be so dark,” the author shares in “Flight Risk”; and “the hospital staff is anxious / for us to go home,” she writes in “A Welcome Overstayed.” The twenty-three prose poems set mostly in couplets and short stanzas tumble love and worry across the page. Many of the poems follow the experiences of filling last dreams of travel; revelation; desperation for healing as in the poem “Sacrament,” which holds the title line; and prayers for “a little more time” in “La Pieta.” A muse about how life might have been different made me smile when the author hints living in my hometown of Racine in “Danish Kringle,” with its “chewy almond paste” that persuaded “us to stay.”

Both the dignity of death and indignity of well-meaning advice when “the social worker had  / confused the order of magnitude / prepared me for the aftershock / not the blast” poignantly remind us that death is a unique experience. A dribble of peace comes through in “Legacy” where the author promises to keep Grandpa’s memory: “we will find your spirit there / and he will know your name Grandpa.”

The poem that spoke to me most was “Bear Bells,” in which the author grabs an experience to hold: “I try to remember why I / agreed to a trip more rugged / than romantic, yet saw a chance / to map your wilderness, find / a branch that holds the things you / guard under tooth and claw.”

What the Current Cannot Swallow is a beautiful tribute to a precious partner whose “spirit dances in ripples” and is truly immortalized.

The well-done prose poems will resonate with those who keep memory alive.

Little Book of Living by Jo DeMars

 

About the Book:

The Little Book of Living invites readers on a journey of self-discovery. Walk through gardens, explore the woods, and recollect memories that tickle the imagination, touch the heart, and heal the souls. Change is a constant and all living beings learn to adapt to it. In this ekphrastic memoir, Jo DeMars brings together her vivid photography and poetic reflections, exploring the ways that nature helped her discover the beauty in every day. Perhaps they'll provide a mirror on your life, suggest a new perspective, or simply make you laugh. Life is full of joy-let's share it.

178 pages, Paperback, $15

Published April 21, 2025

Goodreads

My Review:

I picked up this book intending to read one or two of the author's essays a day, but found myself turning page after page. Never overly personal or pedantic, DeMars shares observations and little snippets of life with lovely accompanying photos. One of my favorite selections was "Going the Wrong Way" something I do frequently and sometimes get mad at myself. The author uses one such trip to her advantage by finding an unexpected place to visit and having fun. "I need to do it more often." The Little Book is a wonderful book to keep around and pick up when you need a pick-me-up and also a great gift to share.

A Thousand Miles of Poetry review

 

A Thousand Miles of Poetry: Poemwalking Wisconsin’s Ice Age National Scenic Trail
Katrina Serwe
 
Poetry
Publication April 1, 2026 from Wisconsin Writers Association Press
5.5 by 8.5 inches, 200 pages
$29.99 – paper   $7.99 ebook   $39.99  Hardcover
 
ISBN paper: 979-8-3493-2254-9  ISBN hardcover: 979-8-3493-4121-2
ISBN ebook: 979-8-3493-2255-6
Subjects: Poetry/ Animals & Nature; Place; Motivational & Inspirational

About the Book: In this evocative poetry collection, poet, hiker, and outdoor enthusiast Katrina Serwe traces a thousand-mile odyssey along the Ice Age Trail, each segment etched into verse. Poemwalking, as Serwe describes it, captures the trail’s pulse across every season woven into recollections, layered metaphors, and the whispers of ancient moraines. These poems, like the glacial till that inspired them walk the reader over the rugged and gentle landscapes of Wisconsin shaped by the energy and ice of long ago.

About the author, Katrina Serwe

Katrina Serwe, PhD, worked as a therapist, professor, and researcher in the field of occupational
therapy for over two decades. She started writing poetry after a transcendent midlife crisis brought her back to her love of literature, art, and nature. Her first collection of poetry, First Steps (Brain Mill Press), was published in 2025. Her poems have been featured in a variety of publications such as The Solitary Plover, Blue Heron Review, Bramble, Portage Magazine, and Scrawl Place. Serwe’s awards include the Jade Ring in poetry (Wisconsin Writers Association, 2024) and the Muse Prize (Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, second place, 2025). Her favorite pastime is a made-up hobby she calls poemwalking. You can follow her journey at www.katrinaserwe.com.or scan the QR code.

Jim Landwehr's Review

A Thousand Miles of Poetry is a multi-faceted collection of both beauty and experience. As I read it, it seemed to shapeshift between a travelogue journal, a chronicling of personal achievement, and a documenting of the diverse and wild Wisconsin landscapes. Inside its pages, readers are invited to walk alongside Serwe as she winds her way over the hills and flatlands, past farms, lakes, forests and bogs, in all sorts of weather.

As a person who spent 37 years in mapping and Geographic Information Systems, I appreciate the way the book is structured around seven different sections of the trail. Each section begins with an image taken from the trail that gives the reader a sense of geographic place. Perhaps more importantly, each section also includes a trail segment map labeled with key natural and cultural features. These segments are also displayed in statewide overview maps that help the reader visualize where these poems were written in relation to surrounding counties and the state borders.

But all of this is secondary to the stunning imagery Serwe conjures as she steps her way through mud, across rocks and roots, and over eskers, moraines, and drumlins. As she pushes herself to complete each segment, she writes as part of her daily ritual to record the sights, sounds, and feelings of Wisconsin’s wild landscape.

For example, in “What Comes Next” she highlights the birds and their songs that accompany her and perk her ears.

I close my eyes to the smog and listen—
flicker, robin, rose-breasted grosbeak.
Follow the soundscape through maple shade—
hairy woodpecker, gray catbird, field sparrow.

These vignettes are observations that strike and penetrate the soul of the hiker, sometimes catching her by surprise. But enmeshed with her description of the wildlife, Serwe pays homage to the landscape as well. She eloquently describes how she sees and hears it using poetic prose. In “Inspiring Voice” she writes:

…And I listen to water
as it plays on the rocks downstream where it winds
behind willow and carves its deep ribbons on sand.

Serwe’s sensory-rich narrative pulls us into her journey and makes us a partner with her as she encounters Wisconsin’s abundant natural resources, its diverse wildlife, and the restorative qualities she finds in the quiet of the countryside. She is an evangelist for the environment and reminds us we are mere visitors in a larger ecosystem. This symbiotic relationship is exemplified in “Love is like Mycelia,” where she takes us deeper into understanding the natural cycle of life.

Down underground they are there,
in a network that’s always connecting—
words between roots of the trees,
and the taste of the sun’s sugars shared.

As an avid outdoorsman, I have always been intrigued about the challenges and resulting sense of accomplishment of those who have hiked the entire Ice Age Trail. This 1000+ mile “Poemwalk,” as Serwe so appropriately titles it, gives inquiring minds a sense for both the cost and rewards when undertaking such a formidable quest. I commend Serwe’s perseverance, her keen insights, and her aptitude for wrapping it all up in the beauty of her poetry; poetry she carried with her every step of the way. A Thousand Miles of Poetry is a fantastic collection for any lover of poetry, the outdoors, or both.

About the Reviewer:

Jim Landwehr, author of Tea in the Pacific Northwest, Thoughts from a Line at the DMV, Genetically Speaking, and more. For more on his writing, visit www.jimlandwehr.com

Jim loves outdoor sports including, biking, kayaking, canoeing, camping, and fishing. It was his love of camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota that led him to write Dirty Shirt: A Boundary Waters Memoir. The book features humorous accounts of trips he took to the area with his brothers, friends, and children over the past twenty-five years.

Writing Dirty Shirt sparked his lifelong interest in writing and he has since published three other memoirs and six books of poetry. He has a forthcoming short story collection, All That It Seems, (Cornerstone Press). Jim is retired and spends much of his time writing and fishing in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Wisconsin Writers Association and the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. He was the 2018/2019 poet laureate for the Village of Wales, Wisconsin.

Breathtaking WWII Military History by Jack Kruse

  

Cauldron
Jack Kruse
Sisyphus Triumphant Publishing, 2024
Military History Fiction, 300 pp
ISBN-13: ‎ 9798330374663
$3.99 ebook
$15.99 print
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About the book

The German attack to pinch off the Kursk Salient begins with a tremendous artillery assault.

Captain Alexei Demetrovsky’s unit of Lavochkin fighters defends the Soviet positions as Operation Citadel explodes across the Ukrainian Steppe, while he is investigated by the Soviet political officer of his squadron for disloyalty to the party.

On July 4, 1943, the largest tank and aircraft battle in history initiated a blistering fifteen-day period of intense combat.

My Review

Anyone who loves Russian history in particular, World War II stories and military history in general, will love this story and it’s companion, Crucible. The author has done his due diligence in portraying accurate and sometimes painfully honest detail about life in the trenches and the sky during this terrifying period of world unrest.

Told through the eyes of the principal players of Russian pilot Alexy Demetrovsky and German pilot Gerhard Schnell, readers are drawn in to the dogfights, the plotting, the betrayals, mistrust, and personal dramas of soldiers each believing their fight is just and right.

You’ll go on patrol, or engage the enemy, be drawn into the harsh realities of camp life, food, personal traumas of male and female soldiers on the war front. You’ll be drawn into their angst and regrets, their determination to survive, and dreams of the future.

This is a gritty challenging read, told with the type of detail that puts you right into the action, both sides drawing closer to that fateful battle. Well done.

  

Crucible

Jack Kruse
Sisyphus Triumphant Publishing, 2024
Military History Fiction, 354 pp
$15.99 print
$3.99 ebook
ISBN-13: ‎ 9798330374830
Buy on Amazon 
Goodreads 

About the Book

Katrina Safronova, along with a handful of other woman fighter pilots,
find themselves assigned to a squadron led by a Soviet Air Force commander who has rejected women pilots before. A veteran pilot, wounded at the battle of Stalingrad she must again prove her valor against relentless German forces. As Katrina leads her flight of women pilots on dangerous missions, she’s immersed in vicious aerial combat where no mercy is ever given. Set during the fall and winter of 1943 to 1944 above the Southwest Soviet Union, Katrina takes part in engagements from the Soviet retaking of Kharkov to the battle of the Korsun Pocket. When her senior officer professes his love for her she believes love amid combat must end tragically.

My review

Kruse bring to light and life the little-known squadron of female fighter pilots that were a matter of fact in Soviet World War II – the night witches.

In the dramatic companion piece and sequel to his blistering novel, Cauldron, set on the Russian front, Commander Katrina Safronova must face the toughest battle of them all – believing there is something to live for, after pledging her soul to save her country.

Both novels begin in the air to show their heroes know their jobs well. Combat pilots are a special breed of warriors, needing to be on alert for danger from any quarter, whether enemy or debris, outside, or aircraft malfunction, or mental state of the pilot and crew. It’s an exhausting job, and in war with continuous operations, they get little opportunity to rest. Sleep and provision deprivation, let alone lack of privacy, takes a toll. Katrina and her fellows arrive on the front after the Battle of Stalingrad, expecting to be harassed as female pilots. Katrina is surprised instead to meet Captain Pyotr Gorbumov who is instead respectful of their service and works to promote their much-needed service to the unit that’s taken heavy losses. As Pyotr and Katrina work more closely with each other, their mutual respect and relationship grows.

As with Cauldron, the author’s command of Soviet-era language and cultural detail is lovingly reproduced, as well as military and personnel historical records.

Lovers of military history, particularly of World War II and the Soviet front will love these breathtaking stories.

New poetry Aging in Place by Lynn Aprill

Aging in Place

Lynn Aprill
Water's Edge Press LLC (April 15, 2025)
Poetry‎40 pages

ISBN-13: ‎978-1-952526-25-1‎

Print $12

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Upon retirement, find them, become them

Those women who have time to go to the Y during the day, the poet says…those women are just finding their new place in life after age sixty, which feels like the new forty in Lynn Aprill’s latest book of clever, poignant, frank verse. It’s our job to jump in the deep end of aging and sink or swim.

Aprill uses form with relish, a zuihitsu checklist of the things we all have forgotten at one time or another; often multiple times during the day. I thought I lost my passport the other day and spent a half hour cleaning out old files anyway. In a sijo, we inhale the aroma of new grandson; in villanelle, the gradual realization that the everywhere of another’s discomfort, of pain, is now ours. It hurts everywhere, our shared nightmare. Couplets, three-line and five-line stanzas, glorious freeform, the poems are uncompromising in their poke at life, hazy memories fragmenting, the thought of what we once enjoyed, the drama of what we’re becoming.

Written in two segments with an epilogue poem, Aprill gradually guides us toward reconciliation with dreams of the house we hold until we die, the habits of a lifetime of ordering a suit every year, of visiting familiar places; the ravages of stroke, dementia, rehab we always hope is temporary. A favorite is a Boomer Pitch for a popular television reality show in which the reality is not just growing food, but preparing, preserving, herding it…while taking care of yard and the prize spouse.

A final thought in For My Daughter is a pause for all of us—how will I age? What will I remember…and forget?

Aging in Place is a thoughtful, beautifully drawn picture of who we are, will be, and once were.
Poetry lovers will return to read these poems over and over.

In the Heart of the Linden Wood by Ekta Garg

 

In the Heart of the Linden Wood
Ekta Garg
Atmosphere Press, Feb, 2023
368 pp
 
Paper, $17.90, Ebook $9.99, Audio $12.99 
 
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About the Book:

Winner of the 2024 Kindle Book Awards for Best Cover!
How do you overcome a broken heart?

For generations, the magic trees have supported the kingdom of Linden. The wood is prized in kingdoms everywhere for its special properties. It's one of the few good things King Christopher inherited from his late father, the evil King Vincent.

Vincent also gifted Christopher a lack of confidence. The only person who believes in Christopher is Queen Lily. When he loses her and their only child, Christopher's grief threatens to undo him. The love of his life has returned to the fates, and now all he wants to do is spend his days mourning her.
Then word comes that the trees are dying, and no one knows why.

Despite the urge to hide in the castle forever, Christopher meets the mysterious Keeper of the Wood to find out what's killing the trees. The answer demands he go on a quest with old friends and new allies. Along the way, they'll try to save hostages and mend another broken heart by putting it back together piece by piece

.
Through it all, Christopher will fight to conquer his doubt and prove to his people, the memory of Lily, and himself that he deserves the crown.

My review: Ekta Garg’s fantasy questing venture has a lot to love for those who like castles and kingdoms and magic wood. Who wouldn’t appreciate a wood so pure that it refuses to be shaped into weapons?

That’s just one of the many secrets in this fairy tale of living…ever after; happily is a state of mind. The story kicks off after about the first fifty pages of mourning a queen we meet only through others; one who left a huge hole in a kingdom that’s barely crawling out of the chasm left by the young king Christopher’s wicked father.

When Christopher struggles over priorities, he chooses a road that leads him away from his own castle in crisis in an attempt to save the kingdom itself.

The Heart of the Linden Wood is a delightful story, full of twists and reckonings, self-examination, and an underlying quest for justice. Nicely done.

About the Author: Working in niche publishing since 2005, Ekta has written and edited about everything from healthcare to home improvement to Hindi films. A writing contest judge for the Florida Writers Association and the Saturday Writers chapter of the Missouri Writers Guild, Ekta conducts writing workshops and also hosts Biblio Breakdown where she examines books and offers writing exercises. She blogs original writing, book reviews, and all things writing and editing at The Write Edge. Her award-winning holiday novella, The Truth About Elves, and her fairy tale for grownups, In the Heart of the Linden Wood, are available from Atmosphere Press.