The Translated Man and Other Stories

If that title makes any sense to you whatsoever, do yourself a favor and buy this book immediately--and then clear your schedule for however long it takes you to read it. The author has created a mischievous and dense world of his own, seemingly drawn from the aspects of the Cthulhu mythos, Edwardian-era boys adventure stories, and light-hearted fantasy a la Terry Pratchett. A first-rate debut, and I for one look forward to the next installments in the series. And for the record, no, I am not the author.

As a big fan of Lovecraft, and a new Kindle owner, I was recommended this book and I enjoyed it very much. The mythology created is rich and interesting -- an entire alternate world of geopolitics, metaphysics, and some very strange diseases. It was no surprise to me to hear that the author is working on more stories set in this world -- there are so many concepts thrown about, almost offhand, that could function as entire fantasy cycles in their own right (I REALLY want to know more about the nature of Cross the Water and the City of Brass) that it can almost cause ones head to spin. The writing in itself is not particularly Lovecraftian; its descriptions of the world of Trowth, are extraordinary in their detail, whereas HPL would be more likely to just use lots of disturbing adjectives and let you sort it out yourself. But when horror strikes, and it does, the way Braak leaves just enough to the imagination to let you freak yourself out is deftly handled and worthy of the association. A fast, fascinating read, and a steal at only five bucks, if youre a fan of fantasy, thrillers, and/or horror, you dont have a good reason not to pick this up. My copy had some formatting problems, but apparently thats fixed and Ill be taking the author up on his offer to sort that out.

This book was interesting, dark, and extremely imaginative. Even with the fre-quent ran-dom hyphen-ations, I could hardly put it down! I wanted to transport myself there to look around--the visuals were just that incredible. Looking forward to reading the next book. Good work, Mr. Braak.

Super fun book. Great example of modern pulp. A little Lovecraft, steampunk, noir detective, and more all mixed up in a fun batch.

This is a wonderful story / novel. Steam punk but more than that. It has a steam punk setting that is full and rich with texture but its the story line that make the novel!

I read this some time ago but its imagery, characters and unique themes come to mind over and over. So often books like this veer off into faeries and wizards, which is where I stop reading. But Chris Braak builds a believable and enjoyable world for his characters to act within. He does this quite skillfully, never beating the reader to death with endless description or forced passages. If you just want to take a trip and enjoy a world that is immediately recognizable but still delightfully foreign to our own, and ride shotgun with some memorable characters, this book is for you.

I was a little leery of the book because self-published work tends to be short on the editing. Aside from random hyphen-ation, a problem common with all Kindle titles, it had no more grammatical or typographic errors than the usual book. Oh, and it was a ripping good read! And by that I mean besides all the good plot, good characterization, and good scenery, Mr. Braak also a solid wordsmith, delivering evocative and well-crafted sentences. So, if you were thinking about *not* buying this book, you should reconsider!

I had one of the weirdly formatted ones but it didnt matter. Its a textured read with layers of stories and styles interwoven. Its dark but also has a flawed hero who keeps trying and winning when he should fade away, a blind girl with almost supernatural powers, a 13 year old mathematical genius an a bunch of odd and nasty characters. I loved it - 6/5 from me. Cant wait for episode 2

I purchased this book for my Kindle and enjoyed the read a great deal. Chris Braak creates strong characters in fully realized world. The writing is crisp. There is some dry wit to the story as well, particularly the main character. the supporting cast is excellent. i would love to see more works in this setting. highly recommended.

I am only writing this review cause im betting the author reads these. More please! Read this and stitch and am hankering for more