Dear Musea Reader,
This online version of the Musea issue #198
is a teaser.
The print version of the Musea issue has
the complete short novel, a children's mystery called Downtown With The Book of
Renown, or "?" Here I give you
only the first chapter! But if
interested in reading more please see all the main book streaming sites on the
net. It's there and waiting to be read!
Next I include two reviews of the complete
novel that have come in. Very
flattering! And at the end some in house news such as the latest on the Texas
Video Showdown.
So here you go - the intro and first
chapter of Downtown With The Book of Renown, followed by what the critics are
saying
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Happy Holidays Musea Readers!! This is a
special, limited edition, BIG, issue of Musea.
It’s our annual Musea Christmas Story (though this story is more mystery
than holly). Take a rest from your busy
schedule and find out what Brad and Tommy are up to. (Later this will be a
book, so stay tuned for that.) I wish
you all a great Christmas season and an even better New Year and 2016. See you
then - Tom
---------------------------------------------------------------
'DOWNTOWN WITH THE BOOK OF RENOWN’ or '?'
Chapter One. The Signal.
Upstairs in his room, Tom had just opened a
new mystery book. He read the first
line, a grabber, "It was a dark and stormy night..." Three pebbles hit his window. The signal!
Tom tossed his book aside and rushed to
open the window. Down below, beyond the
hedge, looking up, was his friend Brad.
He looked like he had been beat up!
Tom:
What happened to you?
Brad: I've been beat up by a gangster. Then he got murdered. But I've got bigger news! Go to the front door and let me in.
Tom closed the window and tiptoed down the
stairs. Before he could go 2 steps the
doorbell rang. How could Brad get round
the house that fast!
Both his parents were dressed up and
heading for the door. They opened it.
Under the porch light was Mr. and Mrs. Baker, Brad's parents.
W. Hendricks: Hi folks. Glad to see you.
He ushered them inside. Brad came round the
corner of the landing and followed his parents into the house.
Rose Hendricks: (When she saw Bradley all
bandaged, she gasped, and turned to his mother.) What happened to Bradley?
Mrs. Baker:
You won't believe the day this boy's had...
Brad: (Feeling embarrassed at being fussed
over, interrupted them.) I'll go find Tommy.
Brad headed up the stairs, saw Tom, and
went with him back in to his room. The
four parents went into the living room and sat down.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Title:
Downtown With the Book of Renown
Subtitle:
?
Author:
Tom Hendricks
Genre:
Young Adult - Mystery
Overall
5 of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers'
Favorite
Downtown With the Book of Renown: Question
Mark is a young adult
short mystery story written by Tom
Hendricks. Tom and Brad love
mystery stories, and the two boys found
themselves right in the middle of
their own mystery/adventure after Brad’s
strange accident outside the
basement cafe where he and his parents were
eating. Brad had finished
early and decided to
look around outside the cafe while his parents
finished their meals. A
large man rushed out from behind them and raced
to the door, knocking
into Brad and causing him to fall down. Brad was
trying to get back onto
his feet when he heard loud voices and gunshots
from the street level.
He could see the fat man's body half hanging over
the wall over his
head, and he noticed the man's hand opening. A small
black book fell from his
fingers and landed right near Brad's shoe. He
couldn't help but grab it
and put it in his pocket. What he found inside was
quite irresistible
indeed.
Who can resist the lure of a treasure map?
I certainly couldn't, nor would
I have expected mystery buffs, Tom and
Brad, to do anything more than
follow the clues. Tom
Hendricks' short mystery story for young adults,
Downtown With the
Book of Renown: Question Mark, sparkles with
excitement and energy as the
two adventurers travel downtown in search
of treasure. The
reader is privy to the enhanced effects their enthusiasm
lends to even the most
prosaic everyday scenes witnessed from the
windows of a public bus,
and one can't help but get more and more
involved as they near the
spot marked X on the map. I had a marvelous
time reading Downtown
With the Book of Renown. Tom and Brad’s
adventure was reminiscent of
those classic Hardy Boys adventures I grew
up reading, and I'm
sincerely hoping to read more of their further
adventures. While geared
toward a young adult audience, preteen
readers and adults who are
still young-at-heart will most likely enjoy
Downtown With the
Book of Renown as much as I did. It's most highly
recommended.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Title:
Downtown With the Book of Renown
Subtitle: ?
Author:
Tom Hendricks
Genre:
Young Adult - Mystery
Overall 5 of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Lex Allen for Readers' Favorite
The synopsis for Downtown with the Book of
Renown by Tom Hendricks
goes like this: “Two
boys have one big adventure, when Bradley finds a
treasure map and two keys
in a memo book from the hand of a dead
gangster. He names it the
‘Book of Renown.’ The map in the Book of
Renown leads him and his friend Tom
downtown to the Clarks Hotel. But
how will they get
inside, and what treasure will they find if they do?”
Though I thought this blurb intriguing, I
also felt it a little meager. As it
turned out, it was
perfect and the answer to the question was not close to
anything I imagined.
I would not have known what to write as a
review of this little story had I
not done some
investigation into the author and his other published
works. With that
information came enlightenment, so to speak. That
Downtown with the Book of Renown is a well
written, delightful read is,
for me, a positive
sign of Mr. Hendricks' imagination and writing skills.
That it is also far off the current
standard for fiction storytelling regarding
plot,
characterizations, dialogue, narrative detail and backstory is both
intriguing and refreshing. It
reads more like a script or screenplay, with
little location
description or narrator detail. Dialogue is written with the
name of the speaker,
followed by a semi-colon and then the words. There
are no adverbs or
adjectives to show the speaker’s emotional state; the
author leaves that to me
(and you) the reader. Excellent! Conversely, it
misses the mark of
purebred script/screenplay by quite a lot, as well.
I discovered that all of Mr. Hendricks’
written work follows this style to
some degree and that it
is intentional. The author’s stated goal is to “give
an alternative to
generic corporate arts.” He has accomplished this
objective with resounding
success. I am a new fan and I will read more
by this author.
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Musea #198: Annual Christmas Story
Issue: Nov/Dec/Jan
(c) Tom Hendricks 2015 - Art work too.
[Note:
Some copies of this limited edition issue, may have a color cover. ]
Musea is: Tom Hendricks 4000 Hawthorne #5
Dallas Texas 75219
email: tom-hendricks@att.net / or search my name in wikipedia
Websites: Musea.us (zine)// hunkasaurus.com
(music)// musea.wordpress.com (blog)
BIG NEWS:
The "TEXAS VIDEO SHOWDOWN" is my YouTube indie challenge to
all the corporate pop stars. Search
those 3 words and please vote for me.
More BIG NEWS: CD Baby recently posted to
YouTube, 150 videos of my music - one for every song I recorded!!! To find them search, CD Baby + Hunkasaurus.