Exciting YA Thriller - History, Reincarnation, Demons, Heroes, Adventure

Keeping up with so many amazing new releases produced by independent authors is an incredibly challenging task. They're coming out faster than I can review. So I've decided to add a splashy new feature to the blog: Thrilling Indie Authors. It's great way to let readers know about more than just one book at a time.


This month I'd like to introduce readers to Caron Rider, author of Silver Knight. Her Young Adult novel is a very promising beginning to an exciting new series, The Silver Series. It combines reincarnation, history, and battling evil with a touch of romance in a highly original tale. Her second book, Silver Demon is scheduled for release this summer.


To get started, here's a description of Silver Knight:

A Struggle Against Evil-Love Through the Ages-A Destiny to Fulfill


When seventeen-year-old Diana recognizes an elderly priest in a video on YouTube, she realizes that reincarnation is real and that she's been alive before! Every night in her dreams, she views her past lives learning that it's kill or be killed. Now a bishop at the Vatican whom she saved in another life calls on her once more. She is needed to help defeat an infestation of demons living within the catacombs of Rome. But when she arrives in Rome, she meets Alexander - the man of her dreams! Through the centuries she has loved him...betrayed him...been killed by him. Will she give him another chance or this time will she strike first? Silver Knight takes you on an adventure where demons and heroes from the past blend with history, action, and just a hint of romance.  


***** 
5 Star Review:


"All I could think once I started reading this book was WOW! My only warning is that once you start reading this story you are not going to be able to put it down!" -Readers Favorite (Read more at: http://readersfavorite.com/review/5699)


I recently picked this novel up at Amazon and was immediately impressed by how well written it is. I was drawn in right away; it's quite the page turner.


So that other readers can discover just how skilled this author is, I've added the author's profile and some very useful links:

Caron Rider's Bio:

  I began teaching adults to use computer software, hardware, and networking back in the 1990s. After several years, my clients became younger and younger until I found myself tutoring high school dropouts to pass the GED. I found working with at-risk teenagers so rewarding that I changed her undergraduate major to Education.
   Upon graduating from the University of South Alabama with a B.S., I began teaching high school history and I continue to teach history classes online. I now live in rural Missouri with my two kids, two dogs, two cats, and father.

Some useful links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Knight-The-Series-ebook/dp/B006PI0Q9Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1332978328&sr=8-2

Website: www.caronrider.com

Blog: www.caronrider.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Silver-Series/217988348281222

Twitter: Caron_Rider

Thrilling Adventure and International Intrigue

Recently, I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of the action adventure novel Resurrect by Kane Gilmour for review.  I understand this is a first novel and to say it was impressive would be an understatement. It was a thrill read to say the least. Lucky for us, it's only the first in what promises to be a series of fictitious adventures featuring engineer and rock climber Jason Quinn.


Starting out like a well researched historical fiction novel, the reader is first thrown into 19th century China at the end of a rebellion. It was engrossing but after reading the novel synopsis I wasn't sure what to expect. What I can say is that this historical snapshot was a great introduction to the story. It let the reader know right away that they would be in for some very intriguing situations with just the right amount of detail and action. Jump ahead to a second, very different scene with an old man about to embark on a secret journey. Initially I was puzzled, like I was being handed torn pieces of a photograph to piece together, but that only drove me further into the story to find out what was going on.


It's after this part that the real story begins.


It's the present and a small team of archaeologists is on its way from a dig site near Xinning to Hong Kong via an old Xinjiang Airlines aircraft.  With the archaeologists' plane crashing far from its intended destination and what then turns out to be a series of narrow escapes from unknown assassins, the reader is introduced to the real hero of the story, Jason Quinn. Together with his friend Curtis Johnson, Jason takes it upon himself to protect the lone surviving female archaeologist from the pursuing assassins. Not surprisingly, she is the intended target and an unknowing part in a conspiracy that proves to be far reaching.


Now I don't know about every reader, but sometimes, the more implausible the action scene the more I enjoy it. And there were plenty of those such action scenes. If you were thrown from a speeding train, then miraculously found your way over a mountain back on to said train only to be throw off again...  how good would you look? If you were Jason Quinn, pretty darn good.


For me, the action scenes were the best part of the book.


Over all I found it to be a very entertaining action thriller. Well paced and hard to put down, it reminded me of a few international thrillers that take the reader on an adventure from one exciting locale to the next. Well worth it if you love the genre.


 I should also point out that like many books in this genre, there is that possibly controversial aspect to it. It does paint quite a large number of people belonging to one particular culture in a villainous hue. So I guess it depends on how politically correct you like your fiction. Some readers are sensitive to that kind of thing while others remember that it's just fiction.


The reason I held back on the full five stars was that the ending seemed a little too abrupt for me. It wrapped up just a little too quickly and I really felt there should have been more - really, there should have been. But of course that's just my opinion. I can still see many readers giving it five stars. In fact, many have.


It should be a best seller. Here's the Amazon link.


Resurrect







Reviewed by E. Bard
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A Future Best Seller?

  *****

Amazon Link

I had better start with stating that I'm giving it five stars right away. It was quite a suspense filled Sci-Fi YA Adventure. I can see it becoming a bestseller very quickly. I hope it does.


In The Annihilation of Foreverland, the author has created a very scary alternative reality scenario that hints at plausibility in the future. He combines it with a fast pace and plenty of action. In fact, it reminded me of those dystopian teen worlds spawned by the minds of James Dashner and Neal Shusterman - although the author Tony Bertauski clearly has his own style. (Plus he stuck his characters on a luxury tropical island. Go figure.)


That said, this one really threw me for a loop when I started it. The beginning reads like every parent's worst nightmare. Thirteen year old Danny Boy wakes up in hospital-like room with an old man at his side. He doesn't know the old man and has no memories of his own. He discovers he's on an island populated by boys and old men. The boys belong to 'camps' that compete with each other and gain privileges by winning computer games (essentially). It's more than a bit creepy. I will admit I was worried at first, but as other characters show up (I'm not including the old men) and different points of view are introduced the readers gets carried away by the story.


I really enjoyed the author's focus on the plot and action. It should  appeal to 'guy' readers without being just a 'guy's' read.


The story is well thought out and without giving too much away - there were a couple of nice surprises that happened to some of the characters. It was a pleasant change from the relentless stream of nasty that happens in some of these Sci-Fi stories.


Technically, I would rate it just shy of five stars because there were a few editorial slip ups  that I found a little irksome - but not enough to really take away from the story. It happens in e-books sometimes.


Highly recommended.

The Jackpot
 Amazon link


I picked this one up a week ago and I'm oh so glad I did. Five Stars! The Jackpot is a crime thriller that offers you more than just a racing heart and compulsive need to find out what happens next. As a crime/psychological thriller, it's well thought out and intelligent. The characters are  skillfully developed and the reader is so easily pulled in by them. From the first page on, the reader is hooked.


So what's it about? The story grows from such a simple seed: a winning lottery ticket. But when Julius Wheeler, a janitor who works at a swanky law firm and lives in what could be one of the most dangerous housing complexes in Richmond, Va. wins an enormous jackpot he is immediately thrown into a race to save his life.  A 415 million dollar lottery ticket can be a powerful motivator.


The action starts in the first couple of pages. It's the second Julius realizes he's won and just how dangerous a thing that is. When Julius seeks help from the very law firm he CleanSweeps - a safe move he believes at first - he soon discovers it won't be enough to save him. No one is immune to the pull of the money it seems.


Page by page the suspense builds and the reader is met with surprise twists and turns. I thoroughly enjoyed  this novel. In fact, it was half read on the first sitting and I only put it down because I had to. It's as good or better than many crime/legal thrillers I've read that were traditionally published. It's so well written. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good thriller. And yes I would pay the full cover price. Worth every penny.
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http://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/12967469-widowmaker
Widowmaker - A Book Just to Die For
   Amazon Link


Quite a thrilling read! I picked it up a while ago but didn't have a chance to start it until recently. When I did start it, I just kept on going until I was finshed. It was that good. It was also what I would call a very satisfying piece of horror. It had gore, suspense and an ending I never saw coming. Really, I wasn't even close.


The horror starts right from the begining at a film festival showing of the movie, Terror in the Trees. Horror film buffs waiting outside for the next showing are treated to a gruesome spectacle when they witness audience members trying to escape the theatre in various states of self mutilation hysteria. People die when they watch the film, and sometimes when they aren't even watching the film. There's a lot of blood. Everywhere. Soon an FBI agent is brought in to investigate, and a new depth to the story is created. Humour, romance and several interesting characters flesh it out. Plenty of mystery and suspense are created around the horror movie that kills people.


It was very creative and I really liked that it had an ending I never would have guessed at. The writing was enjoyable and there were references to pop culture throughout. I recommend it to readers of horror, horror movie buffs and yes, teenagers. Quite a thrill read. Definitely worth the cover price.


Next week: Nearly Departed in Deadwood (Ann Charles), Night of the Assassin (Russell Blake)