Now let's begin with a question:

Have you a finished book of your own work?  Maybe something that's just loitering about on your hard drive, or in manuscript form hidden in a desk drawer.  Perhaps you've even approached publishers or an agency with a view of a deal or representation.  Sometimes it happens that actually identifying the correct publishing house or agency for your work is a hard and gruelling process.  Agents and publishers love categories and genres, but what if your effort doesn't fit into one of the pigeon holes?  Many specify certain chapter lengths, the amount of pages and even words your masterpiece should contain.  This can lead to an amount of creative strangulation.  Perhaps that chapter you feel is all important to the plot and continuation of the meat of the story is not quite what the "Man" (or woman) wants.  As an avid reader and aspiring author myself, I can readily identify with that anguish.  What do you do?  Answer:  Conform.

There is another way, and although it's as much of a gamble (maybe more so) than the chances of someone actually picking your hard-worked manuscript out of the slush pile, it's an opportunity nonetheless.  That way, my friends, is self publishing.  Yes, it's hard to locate many titles that have gained a degree of success from this route, but there are some examples.  The example I will lead your attention to here, is The Book With No Name.

Originally delivered as a series of installments on the World Wide Web, then self-published through Lulu.com, it was finally "discovered" by Michael O'Mara books www.mombooks.com and delivered onto the general book market.  So it is a fine example of what can be achieved by struggling authors, if you have the belief in your own work and are willing to put it up for possible destruction.  Ever thought that perhaps you are not good enough, perhaps what you see as a brilliant novel, is not what the publishing community would perceive?  The time has come to start believing, take a chance and see where it can lead you...

What do I make of The Book With No Name?  Well, now I'll finally give it the once over.

The Book With No Name is a fast-paced, no-holds-barred romp which will either leave you hungry for more, or shaking your head at the absurdity of it all.  It really is an opinion divider.

Set in the fictional town of Santa Mondega, a town which appears to be full of desparados, villains, murderers, vampires (and not the Stephanie Meyer kind either) and all other manner of low-lifes and social rejects, you find yourself thankful you are not an inhabitant.  This is a town that seems to belong in the late 18th century, more than the modern settings the book delivers.  Though secretly, you know this is where the action is, and haven't we all dreamt of being a hero in a place such as this?

Chock full of characters, ranging from pathetic no gooders, to bare-knuckle brawlers, to over-worked police officers, to dangerous men who would kill you as soon as look at you.  And let's not forget the visiting monks who, although honest and naive, have more martial arts prowess than Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, and Jet Li rolled into one.  Let us definitely not forget the Bourbon Kid...

Supernatural incidents and powers are abound as the story pushes ever onward, leading us from one violent encounter to the next.  A mysterious power-giving blue stone called The Eye of The Moon has been stolen, and it seems everyone in town is after it.  Including our two visiting monks who seek to return it to it's rightful place of belonging.

Do not expect any major plot twists here, as at times the book is a little predictable, but you need to turn that next page nonetheless.  At times the grammar isn't completely accurate, perhaps a few missed paragraphs here and there, sometimes it even feels a little sloppy.  So if you are a purist of the writing art, then you may find yourself aghast at the mistakes that appear in the book.  Though if you are able to overlook that and take the story for what it is, then soon you'll be forgetting the time as the book becomes increasingly hard to put down.

As already stated, this book is an opinion divider.  Whilst some may denounce it as fantastical drivel, others will hail it as original and compelling.  As you read you can already envision a possible movie coming from it.  As of yet, there have been no rumours or comfirmation that a movie deal is in the pipeline.

A word of warning:  If you are offended by a mass of odscenities, then do not even pick this book up.  The swear word count for this 379 page book must be in the high hundreds.

In summary, and personal opinion:

The Book With No Name is different to the vast majority of titles that achieve recognition, in that it gets in your face, doesn't masquerade as something it isn't, doesn't seek to deliver some alternate, abstract reasoning.  There is most definitely no reading between the lines here, what you see is what you get.

An enjoyable, fast flowing, page turning, easy to read and follow piece of escapism.  If you want something slightly different to what you would normally read, then go get yourself a copy, you will enjoy it, or the Bourbon Kid will kick you into submission!

7/10