The Seaboard Review: March 3rd, 2025

Date Volume 2, Issue 9

Hello, TSR Subscriber! March came in like a (tamed) lion here in Miramichi leaving a few inches of snow behind. I hope things are starting to look a little more springlike where you are.

Spring Ahead!

Next Sunday (March 9th), the clocks go ahead one hour in most parts of Canada. According to Time.com, “About one third of the countries in the world participate in Daylight Saving Time, though the day that it starts can vary by region, according to the Pew Research Center. Most of those countries are in Europe, and parts of the U.S. and Canada practice it too, as do Latin America and the Caribbean.”

New Feature!

Something new starting in this issue are “Hot Takes” which are a paragraph or two about a recent book which one of the contributors has read, but hasn’t fully reviewed for TSR. We hope you like this feature, as it helps us to make our subscribers be even more “book aware”! Your comments are always welcome on any aspect of this issue, and clicking on a review will take you to the full article on our website.

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Michael Greenstein Reviews:

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Hot Takes!

(Note: clicking on the underlined link takes you to the book’s publisher page for more information or for purchasing purposes)

Catherine Bush’s novel, Blaze Island, bases itself on Shakespeare’s The Tempest to comment on climate change in Newfoundland. Bush’s lyrical prose captures the island’s language and landscape beautifully, and the reader is drawn into the lives of her main characters as well. The main drawback, however, occurs in the didactic melodrama of a rushed ending with its cops-and-robbers chase gathering alongside its moral lesson of climate disaster. Her major characters are finely developed, but her minor characters are less appealing. She briefly introduces the protagonist’s grandparents, who mysteriously never appear to look for their lost granddaughter stranded in Newfoundland. (Contributed by Michael Greenstein)

The Forgotten is, as its subheading says, “A Novel of the Korean War”. I have read novels based on other wars, but this was the first set in the years of the Korean War (1950-1953). It follows Charlie Black and the 13th Platoon as they find themselves no longer peacekeepers, but a fighting unit in an all-out war. Author Robert W. Mackay, himself a Canadian Navy vet, has penned a page-turner of a war novel that has embodies all the fears of the young men sent to fight there.

“The ear-splitting crash of twenty-five-pounder shells reached a crescendo and stayed there, explosion on explosion fractions of a second apart. The ground shook. a The sheer terror of lying in a hole in the ground while ran- JI dom forces beyond his control decided whether he would live Or die constituted an unspeakable horror of its own.”

From their training to their overseas voyage by ship to their on-the-ground fighting, tasked with taking hill after hill back from the Chinese and North Korean troops, we are with Charlie and 13 Platoon as they experience the horrors of war. Recommended for those who enjoy a well-written war novel. (Contributed by James M. Fisher)

“I co-read the work with my resident young adult and we agreed: the author is very, very excited about science, knows a lot of stuff, and could really use some editing, shaping, and focus: the metaphors come fast, loose and mixed and the sentences can be run on — suggesting a brainy writer who has more excitement for ideas than discipline to craft prose… yet. An attempt to connect the dots is more of a scattering of dots, as strewn as the stars themselves.

Hot take: The Language of the Stars tries to be all that for a young adult audience and update the vibe of A Brief History of Time. The author is very young, at only 17 themselves, so their molten magma proud nerd-core fuelled prose has plenty of time to cool and coalesce, doubtless into mature star-worthy works in the future.” (Contributed by Emily Weedon)

Grand Opening of The Write Cup in Saint John, NB

With its grand opening on Saturday, March 1st, The Write Cup — operated by Partridge Island Publishing — provides a new (and much-needed) addition to the Saint John café scene for creatives.

There’s a good selection of sandwiches, sweets, and drinks to keep you fuelled for long writing and reading sessions, along with warm lighting and a variety of chairs, couches, and long family-style tables. The gumball machine with writing prompts and whimsical touches throughout the café (e.g., fairy garden on the mantle) are also there to spark creativity.

While I couldn’t stay to browse the shelves of local authors or settle in to work on my own manuscript, the coffee I got to-go was one of the best ones I’ve had in the city. That, and the generous hours, will have me returning for a better assessment soon. (Photos and article by Bryn Robinson)

Location:

Market Square

Hours:

Mon-Wed, 830am—9pm

Thurs–Fri, 830am—10pm

Sat, 10am–10pm

Sun, 10am–8pm

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Thanks for reading this issue of The Seaboard Review!

James M. Fisher, editor-in-chief