Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I rarely write reviews, and I usually only bother if it's a book I really liked. I hate to discourage writers, but there were so many 5-star reviews for this book, and the book was so poorly written, I felt compelled to speak the truth to potential readers and offer advice to the author. Mr. Gorham, I think you had a good concept for this tale, but it seems like you rushed through the actual writing. There were no in-depth depictions of place, character or action, and although creating a realistic world peopled by believable characters takes a lot of effort, it's what makes a story come alive in the reader's mind. If I were you I'd practice with some short stories and really try to concentrate on creating scenes with concrete details so the reader can "see" them; and when narrating from a character's point of view, don't just describe their thoughts and actions, let them actually speak and act. And when they speak, try to use realistic dialog; much of the dialog in this book is generic and stilted. Two other small quibbles and I'll stop, Mr. Gorham. You use commas incorrectly; here are a few examples: "two, small, navy ships"; "frightened, Asian, cleaning lady"; limited, government, food stockpiles"; and "a single, flickering candle". None of those phrases needed a single comma. Also, when talking about the Davis family, they are 'the Davises", not "the Davis's". I wouldn't have minded if errors like these happened once or twice, but your book was riddled with them. Again, I think you had an interesting premise for the book but you need to practice, practice, practice writing, and study up on grammar and punctuation. And for those readers who bother to read one-star reviews when there are so many 5-star reviews - I don't know how the reviews could be so lopsided, but I have my suspicions. Suffice to say, I always read the 1- and 2-star reviews, because that is often where the truth is. It's easy to write a generally glowing review, but if someone (like me) takes the time to write a detailed critique there is usually a legitimate reason for it, and in my case it's not because anyone asked me to, it's because I wanted to balance the scales a bit and to give a truthful and detailed reason for returning this book for a refund (yes, you can get a refund on Kindle books within seven days of purchase).