Hollowstone [Paperback]

Dennis R. Upkins Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 2011

 Life for Noah Scott changes drastically when he is accepted to Hollowstone Academy, one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the country set in the mountains of Eastern Tennessee. Within the hallowed halls of the illustrious school, Noah soon discovers that the world of the privileged is rife with social hierarchies, politics, depravity and corruption. It is also there that Noah meets his roommate and best friend, the charming and enigmatic Caleb Warner. Tragedy soon strikes when Cal is brutally murdered in a hold-up. But when Noah is haunted by Cal's ghost, he soon discovers that the random act of violence was in fact a premeditated one. Determined to uncover the truth and find Cal's killer, Noah soon finds that the school and its patrons have more than their share of secrets. Secrets they are willing to preserve at any cost. Through a series of prophetic dreams and visions, Noah also quickly learns that greater supernatural forces are at play. In a race against time, Noah must solve Cal's murder and uncover the truth before he's the killer's next victim.

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (June 2, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1463504373
• ISBN-13: 978-1463504373
• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 5.4 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,204,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dennis R. Upkins was born and raised in Nashville, TN. A voracious reader, a lifelong geek and a hopeless comic book addict, he knew at an early age that storytelling was his calling.

Receiving an academic scholarship, Upkins graduated from the University of TN at Chattanooga with a BA in English. After working as a reporter for a local newspaper for a few years, he moved from Tennessee and relocated to Atlanta, GA where he procured a BFA in media arts & animation from the Art Institute of Atlanta.

In addition to writing, Upkins is also a freelance artist and a digital photographer. His artwork and short stories have appeared in a number of publications, most notably Drops of Crimson. And his audio short, Stranger Than Fiction, can be found at Sniplits.

Upkins regularly critiques and analyzes the representation and portrayal of minorities in comics and media as a regular contributor to Ars Marginal and Prism Comics.

When he's not out saving the world and/or taking it over in his spare time, Upkins's hobbies include drawing, photography, rollerblading, martial arts and of course writing.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

153 of 176 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars A piece of terribly-written trash August 16, 2011

By D. Strider

Format:Paperback

Hollowstone is a poorly-written, poorly-edited piece of garbage. Before you finish the first page, you will understand why it was vanity-published. The grammar is atrocious; further, the structure and plot are reminiscent of a thirteen-year-old fanfic author's Supernatural/Twilight crossover.

And all of that is leaving out the egregious misogyny on the author's part. The protagonist's friend, meant to be a good character, nonchalantly characterizes two girls as "the biggest skanks in the school", adding that he would know, as he did them both in the hot tub -- completely unaware of the hypocrisy inherent in that confession. And that's not even the worst of it. In the world of Hollowstone, it's commonplace for Music Theory teachers to make crude oral sex jokes about their female wind instrument players.

If that statement was confusing to you, I must clarify: Yes, Upkins seems to be under the impression that Music Theory involves actually playing instruments. Many things in the world of Hollowstone do not work as they do in the real world. For further evidence, one needs only look to the courtroom scene at the end of the novel, in which the judge sees fit to overturn a jury's guilty verdict for no reason other than she felt like it. It's clear that Upkins cast a woman in the role of the judge for this very reason: Women are silly and irrational, after all. They can't see the evidence that's right in front of their noses.

In short, if you're looking for a good piece of fiction, you have better options than Hollowstone. And if you're looking for a piece of terrible writing to make fun of, you still have better options than Hollowstone. Pass this one up if you know what's good for you.

82 of 95 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars A let down June 20, 2011

By Siavahda

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

There was a lot of hype about this book in certain circles pre-publication, and I was one of those who were really looking forward to getting their hands on it. The characters sounded fantastic and it was great to see a main character who was a POC. Doesn't happen often enough.

And the characters are great. They're well-rounded and likable and almost enough to keep you reading past the terrible writing. Almost. I'll freely concede that I'm a nitpicker who twitched with every grammatical error and misuse of punctuation, but I kept reading until I was past the halfway mark in the hopes that the plot would carry me through. It didn't. The Satanic-esque evil of the bad guys is ridiculously predictable - place it in the midst of a high school and you have the recipe for a B-grade horror movie - and the writing style is jerky, stopping and starting every few pages. Most of the dialogue is terrible, with run on sentences that would require a breath or two given no punctuation at all detracting from what the characters are actually saying.

In short, while the issues of racism and prejudice are handled in a very eye-opening and realistic way, they're the only things that are. Hollowstone reads like a bad nano novel, and no matter how much you may want to enjoy it, the writing just won't let you.

117 of 138 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars men who hate women August 17, 2011

By fearand7oathing

Format:Paperback

If I could give it zero stars, I would. There is fanfic better than this, and with less obvious self-inserts. If you hate grammar but love virulent misogyny, this is the book for you!

Otherwise, don't waste your time or money.

89 of 104 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Upkins Lacks Integrity August 17, 2011

By Maru Maru

Format:Paperback

I won't comment on the misogyny inherent in the book, but I will comment on the author's own misogyny, as I've reviewed the book itself elsewhere ([...])

Mr. Upkins believes all prejudices gay men and men of color face are the fault of white women (and women in general, but mostly white women), so it's no wonder he's gotten women bloggers and reviews of his book, Hollowstone, banned under 'copyright infringement' and DMCA notices.

Because people dared to criticize his book for the gender existentialist, sexist piece it is, his sycophants have commented with all kinds of comments, including rape trolling. His false, manipulative whining led to the suspension of entries detailing his history of offensive statements in Livejournal as well. I've been harassed by his sycophants myself, but as a woman of color, I have no problems calling out Mr. Upkins on his self-serving hypocrisy.

Mr. Upkins, please don't write another book until you improve your mastery of the English language, as well as acquire some integrity as a writer, because banning negative criticism of your piece by getting women bloggers banned and balancing out negative criticisms by getting your friends and yourself to write five star reviews under sock accounts will spell disaster for your career as a proper writer and a bastion of social justice.

46 of 52 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Not ready for publication August 24, 2011

By H. Straws

Format:Kindle Edition

Although I was originally excited to see a YA novel with a POC as a protagonist, Hollowstone ultimately left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Misogynistic themes aside (because I feel other reviewers have hit on that point thoroughly), this is a poorly paced book that tries to fit in too many genres (mobsters! angels! demons! murder mystery! etc.), is packed with unlikable characters, and is dire need of some kind of editing. I find it hard to believe the author even reread and thoroughly edited this book; it's full of typos, misused words, and research failures. This is a good example of new writers needing to stick to what they know or can easily study - don't write about a musical prodigy if you are unfamiliar with basic musical terms (i.e. musical theory), and don't make your self-insert gifted poets if your own poetry is without rhythm and completely lacking in grace. This book was not ready for publication, and this is why vanity publishing isn't a good idea.