Twice Upon A Prequel by Derald Hamilton Review...

 About the book:

 

From the pages of The Call, Elmo Piggins and Reginald Dexter are given their own stories as part of this anthology.

The Astonishing Elmo Piggins introduces young Elmo Piggins as the prototypical Southern preacher's kid. His older sister seems to eclipse him, until she leaves home and he joins the Navy following highschool graduation. While at sea, Elmo experiences a Road-to-Damascus transformation, turning his life and relationships on their ear.

The Rebirth of Reginald Dexter tells of tenured professor of psychology who is forced to retire at sixty-five. It is both a funny and inspirational story that supports the life-affirming notion that it's never too late for new beginnings.

.Taken Up Before The General follows the misadventures of a hapless military brat who is pummeled into submission at every turn. This story provides a blistering portrait of a social order that grants no quarter to those who just don't fit in ... anywhere.

The War Comes Home explores the same social dynamics -- that of self-sacrifice for the sake of conformity -- only this time, the story is told through the eyes of a military wife saddled with the task of avoiding any upsets upon her husband's return from war.

Any finally, there is A Liter Bit Of Wisdom -- a darkly humorous tale that explores the possible repercussions that might result from our actions or inactions. Or could it be simply the workings of fate?

About the author:

Derald Hamilton was born in Santa Cruz, California on July 22, 1950 and seven days later adopted by Derald and Naomi Hamilton, two products of rural Iowa. His father was a career soldier who fell in love with Army life during World War II. His mother worked as both a secretary and an accountant, until bad health forced her into early retirement.

Belonging to a military family, he moved around a lot to such bases as Fort Leonardwood, Missouri, Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, Fort Polk, Louisiana, Fort Benning, Georgia, Fort Lee, Virginia, Fort Dix, New Jersey, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and one overseas tour to Kaiserslautern, Germany. While in Germany he visited such places as Belgium, Luxemburg, Switzerland, and Austria, along with the expanse of Germany.

When health issues took precedence, Derald and his mother settled in a suburb of Sacramento, while his dad continued moving to wherever the Army assigned him. After high school, Derald enrolled in the community college where he took a course in creative writing. His colleagues and fellow students found him too young and naïve to write credibly, and the criticism caused him to put aside his aspirations. After graduating from community college, Derald transferred to U.C. Davis where he majored in American Studies and became active in the campus Christian program.

During the time he was active in that program, he received what he interpreted as a call to the ministry, but upon graduating from U.C. Davis, he found himself without the funding necessary to pursue seminary studies. With no scholastic help available, Derald worked at a few temporary jobs and finally secured a clerical job with the State of California.

After working for about a year-and-a-half, he had saved enough to continue his studies, and enrolled in Phillips Graduate Theological Seminary in pursuit of a Masters of Divinity Degree. While pursuing this degree, he became disillusioned, perceiving the church atmosphere to be a hotbed of politics and competitive showmanship.

A few years later, Derald pursued a Masters Degree in Library Science. He earned the degree, but found library jobs to be quite scarce, so he took an administrative support job, this time with the Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority, where he’s been for the past twenty-six years.

Derald continued freelance writing, and at the age of forty, decided he had done enough living to lend credibility to fiction writing. He has since been able to have four of his short stories published, along with non-fiction articles, and, while now closing in on sixty, is about to bring his first novel into print.

Derald still lives in the Bay Area of northern California and enjoys playing his banjo in bluegrass and old time jam sessions. 

My review:

I liked reading this book. It was good. Not bad. Not great. Would I have picked this book out in a store probably not but I am glad I got it to review for my blog because I did liked it and would never have read it otherwise. I give the authors props as the whole book is good. 

Stars I give this book:

**** (4)

(I have personally reviewed the product listed above. I did receive a free product to try out so I could evaluate and use it for my review. My thoughts & opinions in this review are honest and your opinions may be different than mine. I am not responsible for delivery of any giveaway items won from this blog, but if you have any questions about the item you have won, please email me and I will look into it.)