Show Gratitude for Books (& maybe win a few!)

Beth Revis, author of Across the Universe, is really excited about Thanksgiving coming up.  I, too, am a huge fan of Thanksgiving (and the food!) and in honor of Thanksgiving, Beth suggested we bloggers post about the book we are most thankful for.  And she’s hosting an awesome contest (click the picture or link to learn more!) related to it!

I recently finished (and reviewed) All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin where printed books…ALL printed books…were collectors items and very rare.  Now, it didn’t say anything about eBooks being available, but I can only assume they are.  In Matched by Ally Condie, there were only 100 books saved by The Society.  Only 100 books!

Like most book bloggers, I read A LOT—over 50 books this year alone.  And to think about not having books or only having 100 (and only in digital form) is frightening!  I don’t know what I’d do if there weren’t any or many bound books.  My Kobo is like my second best friend and I don’t know what' I’d do without it, but there’s something special about a paper-and-ink book, the way is smells and feels.  The way the words are on the page, the texture of the paper.

Though I can’t pick one book that I am most thankful for, I am eternally grateful that we have books at our disposal any time we want them, digital or print.  Reading is my hobby.  The hobby.  It’s something I look forward to daily and something I take great joy in.  Reading enriches my life, broadens my horizons, and takes me to places that I’d never be able to go on my own.

And more than being thankful for books, I am thankful for the authors, the creative minds behind the stories that entertain me and make me think.  For, without the authors, there would be no books!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Now…

Get to reading,
Richard

Book Haul (5)

Here is my latest book haul!


What’d you get?

Get to reading,
Richard

*In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi, The Story Siren*

And the winner is…

Congratulations to the Awful, Ohio/Unbecoming of Mara Dyer giveaway! Show ‘em some love and check out their blogs!







Into the Hall of Books (Asheley Tart) won Awful, Ohio by Jeff Neal!












Songs and Stories (Lieder Madchen) won The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin!





Thanks to all who entered!  Check out my current awesome GIVEAWAY!

Now…

Get to reading,
Richard

Follow Friday (16)

Q:  If you could have dinner with your favorite book character, who would you eat with and what would you serve?

A: So, um ok, this is not an easy question to answer.  Mostly because I don’t have “favorite” book characters.  I immerse myself in whatever book I’m reading at the time, but don’t have any one character/series that is a “must read.”

I just finished Hounded by Kevin Hearne (review to come to the blog soon).  I was fascinated by how real he made Atticus and all the gods and legends.  So, I think that it would be awesome to sit down with Atticus O’Sullivan, the 21 century year-old Druid and just listen to him tell stories.

What would I serve?  Really? I don’t cook.  So, we’d hop on down to the Irish pub in town (McGee’s Irish Pub) and eat something there.

So, there you have it.

Now…

Get to reading,
Richard

*Follow Friday is a weekly blog hop hosted by Parakjunkee & Alison Can Read*

Interview & Giveaway: Sullivan Lee

Today I am pleased to announce that Sullivan Lee, author of Brightwing is joining us for an interview!  You’ve all seen my review of her book, so read below to find out more about her and be sure to enter the giveaway at the end of the post!




 
1.What was your inspiration to write Brightwing?
Every writer is searching for the untold story. I wanted to write a book solely from the criminal point of view, where every character is more or less bad, where the hero is defined by being not quite as reprehensible as the cop-killing, sociopathic rapist. For the duration of the book, the moral compass is skewed. I wanted to give the reader an unexpected set of new, uncomfortable definitions of right and wrong, and have them completely accept those terns by the end of the book. (Of course, I wanted to write an exciting adventure story and passionate love story, too!)

Brightwing is also a paean to Florida. The state itself is a character in its own right – a multi-faceted character, protagonist and antagonist both. I was born in Florida. I love it, and it drives me crazy – you know those kind of relationships! It is a very strange state, with a disturbing mix of the modern and the primitive. The oddest things happen in Florida, and people just shrug them off. The three main characters are archetypes of the three primary forces battling in Florida. Lucy of course represents Florida's history, its heritage, its endangered environment. Edgar is the modern Northerner, the Outsider, who comes to Florida cocksure and ends up assimilated. And Mallory reflects the emotionless, inhuman dangers intrinsic to Florida. You know, I think the thing I love most about Florida (perversely enough) is that it is one of the few developed places where you think about the possibility of being eaten every time you leave the house. Sure, other places have cougars and bears and sharks and alligators, but only in Florida does everyone seem constantly (but cheerfully) braced for attack.
 
2.Were you familiar with the Tequesta before writing? What kind of research did you do?
I've always been interested in Florida's pre-history. I'm an avid amateur fossil-hunter, and Florida is a perfect place for Pliocene and Pleistocene fossils (think mammoths, saber-toothed cats, giant sloths.) I've spent a lot of time underwater looking for their remains. Humans overlapped the giant mammals for a few thousand years, so I've also found occasional beads and tools from extinct Florida tribes.
 
I did tons of research to make sure I got the details right. Not a lot is known about the Tequesta – they died out by the 18^th century – but I made sure everything was as accurate as possible, given limited facts, and that anything I had to create was plausible. I researched primitive tool-making methods, native, medicinal and poisonous plants of Florida, tracking, hunting – everything the Tequesta would have had to do to survive, and all of the things Lucy Brightwing is still doing. And of course, I've also spent a lot of time in wild Florida!
 
3. Are the legends real or did you make them up for the sake of your book?
The few Spanish who had contact with the Tequesta left some reports – they probably did preserve the bones of important people; like many other indigenous southeastern cultures they drank the “black drink” (a highly caffeinated brew of yaupon holly, which they drank in great quantity and then vomited); and they are said to have practiced human sacrifice. (The last is certainly possible, but the Spanish were known for saying people practiced human sacrifice or cannibalism to justify the desire to conquer and convert them.)
 
But most of the current knowledge of the Tequesta comes from archaeological evidence, and as far as I know, none of their legends survive. I took what I knew, and then read as many other Native American stories and legends as I could find, to create stories unique to the Tequesta that were fictitious, but believable. As far as the Tequesta-Seminole alliance, well... that's also fictitious, but plausible. Most of the Tequesta probably died of disease, and some were likely sent to Cuba. But what if the survivors retreated into the swamps? What if they hid in the Everglades until the Creek tribes fled there, seeking refuge? It is easy to hide in the swamps (well, hard to survive, but hard to be found.) The Creek (who, with assorted other groups, became the Seminole) did remarkably well in the swamps, and probably because of their inhospitable home, are known as the only tribe that was never conquered. In my reimagining, they had a little help when they first arrived.
 
4. As a former deputy sheriff, I'm sure you've seen all kinds of criminals.  Are Lucy, Mallory, & Edgar based on anyone?
I came across some pretty foul people in my law enforcement days, but none of them were nearly as slick as Edgar, sick as Mallory or smart as Lucy. For the most part, criminals are a sorry lot – not nearly interesting enough to star in a novel. (At least, that's true for the ones who get caught. There are a few master criminals out there, but you rarely find them handcuffed in the back of cruisers.) Of course, most people need tweaking before they're novel-ready! Mallory and Edgar have elements of people I know – but I'm not telling who.
 
5. Are there things that you must have while you're writing (i.e. certain music, foods, clothing, etc.)?
The only thing I need when I write is solitude. Sometimes I can peck out a line or two while my son narrates a Chuggington adventure. (He has an amazing capacity for uninterrupted speech. His nickname is Buster, but I sometimes call him Filibuster.) But for the most part I have to wait until everyone is asleep to write. I owe every book I've written (except Under the Green Hill) to my son's nap time.
 
6. What can we expect from you next in this genre?
Right now I'm working on a paranormal romantic thriller with a great lead couple – a cannibal, and a deputy from a wealthy background “slumming” in the law enforcement world – who engage in Nick-and-Nora banter as they hunt killers and thwart a plan for world domination.
 
I'm very pleased with my self-publishing experiment with Brightwing, but I'd love to move into traditional publishing with my next adult work. (My children's books are all traditionally published.) My adored agent only represents children's books, so eventually I'll be looking for an agent to represent my adult fiction.

Thanks so much for having me on Bound and Determined!

Thank you, Sullivan for the interview and for the giveaway below!

Giveaway time!

Sullivan has generously offered to give each person who comments below an eBook copy of Brightwing!  All you have to do is leave your email address in the comments section!  How easy & awesome is that?!?!  Comments will be closed on November 4, 2011.

(be sure to use email[at]email[dot]com format to avoid spammers getting your address!)

WoW (9): Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog-hop hosted by Breaking the Spine that features books we are eagerly awaiting!

 

This week’s pick:

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Description:
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .
 
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
 

Why I’m Waiting:

Why? This just looks like pure awesomeness wrapped up with a side of awesome, served over awesome.  Androids? Beijing? Aliens?  Sounds like a winning mix to me!

So, what are you waiting for?

Get to reading,
Richard

Review: Brightwing by Sullivan Lee

Description:
Brightwing, a criminal love story, is a contemporary action/adventure with a touch of romance. Brothers Edgar and Mallory Battle – one a gentlemanly criminal, the other a sociopath – are on the run after a violent escape. They take Lucy Brightwing hostage, not knowing she's a thief fresh from her own heist. Lucy leads them into the Everglades, determined to kill them. But when she falls for Edgar she must decide whether to risk her heritage and the future of her tribe to save the doomed brothers.
(From the author)

Details:
ebook, 314 pages
Published July 8th 2011 by Laura L. Sullivan (first published July 6th 2011)
ISBN 0012842540 (ISBN13: 2940012842541)
(Goodreads)

Review:
Lucy is the last of her kind, and doing a major heist to get the coin to buy her people their own land is her purpose in life, to recreate the Tequesta Nation and save her people.  It’s honorable in the sense that she’s saving a tribe, but she’s stealing to bring it to fruition.  This is a criminal love story.  It’s not a good girl meets bad guy, it’s bad girl with a moral streak meets bad guy who’s a product of his situation in life.

Mallory is evil.  I mean, he’s a fictional character, but reading about him makes my skin crawl.  I wanted to read over his parts of the book so fast to keep from the icky feeling creeping up my spine.  Lee did an amazing job and making him sociopathic without giving too much detail.  This isn’t a blood and gore story, it is after all, a love story.

A major component of Brightwing is the love story between Lucy and Edgar.  It was an unbelievable love-at-first-sight kind of thing.  Nearly, from the instant Lucy laid eyes on Edgar, she had feelings for him.  I found this hard to believe since she was on the tail end of her multi-million dollar heist, and Edgar and Mallory were running from the police.  Someone as distrusting as Lucy would not have instantly fell for Edgar.  It doesn’t seem to ring true to her character.  Now, what I do like about their story is how their relationship developed throughout their days in hiding.

The majority of Brightwing takes place in what will become Lucy’s tribal lands.  Weaving together (what had the authenticity to maybe be actual) Tequesta lore with the developing love story against the background of the Everglades makes a very interesting story!

There were some of the usual grammatical errors and “missing” words, but for an independent publish, Brightwing does not disappoint!  There’s some movie-quality stuff that happens in there!

4 Trees: Sexy, intriguing, & adventurous.

Get to reading,
Richard
 

*This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review*

Be sure to come back Thursday for an interview with Sullivan Lee and giveaway of Brightwing!

Review: Zombie Safari by Ben Cheetham

Description:
Survivors of a zombie apocalypse have carved out new existences on islands, only visiting the mainland to hunt zombies. But things start to go wrong. Zombies don't die as they should. Hunters go missing. A trip that's supposed to be fun turns into a struggle for survival when four men make a discovery that causes them to question not only what it means to be a zombie but what it means to be human.
If you're looking for a fast fix of zombies, blood and guns, this tasty little novella will be perfect for you

Details:
ebook, Published August 3rd 2011
url: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/78656
 
Review:
Ben asked me to review a different book of his, and like any good reviewer, I did some digging into his other works, found this as a free eBook, and, since it’s a short novella, I decided to use it as a sample of his works.

An interesting story is woven here.  We’re post zombie-apocalypse here, and zombies are hunted for sport.  Hence the name of the novella.  It’s quite different from other zombie stories I’ve read, where people are killing them for survival, and scared to death of them.  Here, they pay big money to hunt zombies.  The zombie are just as dangerous, just as deadly, and incredibly fun to hunt.  The paid guides have this down to a science.

Though slightly predictable, this makes a fun, quick, Halloween-themed read.  Go download it, read it, and keep an eye out on the blog for my review of The Society of Dark Hearts coming soon!

3 Trees: A quick, fun read…and FREE

Get to reading,
Richard

Review: 30 Poems, 30 Days: Inside a Poet’s Mind by AD Joyce

Description:

This poetry collection contains poems written during April 2011 for National Poetry Writing Month, and also includes my commentary about each poem's origin and my interpretations.
(From the author)

Details:

Available as a free download from Smashwords here.

Review:

Ms. Joyce contacted me about reviewing her book of poetry that was composed during National Poetry Writing Month, I took the challenge.  And then I challenged myself to read them, in one sitting.  Doable? I thought so.  And I did it.

I went through a phase in late high school and into college where I was really into reading poetry.  Then, with the required readings and study and 18 hours and 3 jobs per semester, reading anything that wasn’t course related fell by the wayside.  And reading poetry again hadn’t even crossed my mind.  It was fantastic to read poetry again.   Joyce’s poetry is a great reintroduction into the genre.

Have you ever read a poem and wondered what it meant?  Well, something unique about this experience is that AD Joyce provides commentary on her inspiration and the meaning behind the poem.  You’re not left to make scholarly hypothesis or musings about the meanings, they’re there for you!  Joyce feels that some, if not all, of the poems in her collection are not polished because they were written so quickly, but they seemed slick and well-formed to me.

I found it interesting that one form of poem Joyce discovered as a way to share poems on Twitter.  It still astounds me how influential social media has become, even poetry!

Thank you, Ms. Joyce, for sharing your poetry with me!

4 Trees: Interesting, Refreshing, & Individual

Get to reading,
Richard

About the Author:

A.D. Joyce is a poet/writer/editor living in New Jersey. Her blog, Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, showcases her poetry and discusses topics such as the writing life, women's issues, and personal observations.
Blogs:
http://sweepyjean.wordpress.com
http://1plus1wednesday.blogspot.com
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/sweepyjean
http://twitter.com/1plus1wednesday
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/sweepyjean
http://facebook.com/1plus1wednesday

*This collection of poetry was provided to me by the poet in exchange for an honest review*

Follow Friday (15)

Q.If you could have characters from a particular book meet and form an epic storyline with characters from a particular TV series, which would you choose and why? 

A.  Hahahaha!  This is such a great question!  Hmmmm… let me think…[please standby while the gears turn]…GOT IT!  Are you ready for this?






Jessica Fletcher and Stephanie Plum.

Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher & Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum

I can only imagine what hilarity might ensue with these two on the case.  Who knows what kind of madness they would get themselves into!?!  It would almost be a comedy of errors…and so much FUN!

Get to reading,
Richard

Be sure to check out my GIVEAWAY!


*Follow Friday is a blog-hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read*

Review: Awful, Ohio by Jeff Neal

Description:
Every morning the sun rises, waking Awful, Ohio, overlooking all of its residents, guiding them towards another productive and profitable working day. The economy is strong and the money is abundant, all of which are offered to whomever produces and profits the most product. The masses rejoice daily over the informed opportunity, with the exception of Troy Slushy.

Troy Slushy wakes every morning to the intrusion of the sun abruptly charging into his home, removing him from his enchanting dreams. The sun exposes his collection of worthless possessions, his depressed wife seeking salvation, his withering home struggling for support, and the life-decimating job that is undesirably forced upon him daily. This is Troy Slushy's existence in Awful, Ohio, and because of this exposure to this monotonous misery, Troy's enemy is the sun.

Heavily sedated by a dream-enriched epiphany, Troy removes his concerns for the demands and priorities of Awful, Ohio, replacing them with the objective of permanently removing the sun from his existence. He gathers his wife and begins a quest to save them both from their sun-exposed lives of suffering in Awful, Ohio, concocting plans and blueprints of various sun-destroying methods. Unfortunately for Troy, this proves to be easier said than done. But luckily, Troy discovers that perseverance is much more eminent in accomplishing a goal than feasibility, as he is able to assemble a massive scheme to achieve perpetual darkness, but not without affecting Awful, Ohio and all of its production, profits, and population.
(From the book’s website)

Details:
Available for purchase from the Awful, Ohio website.

Review:
Jeff Neal contacted me about reviewing his first (at at the time still in printing) novel, Awful, Ohio.  He sent me the absolutely best request ever.  I hope that you can read it because it’s great!

So, after reading his email, checking out the website for the book, I decided it was a must-review book.  And, in order to help promote the inaugural printing, I bumped something around on the TBR and set about reading Awful, Ohio.

I know that many reviewers are wary of self-publishers, stating that quality of the writing is poor, as well as the pervasiveness of grammatical  and spelling errors.  I must be on a run of good luck, because all the self-published books I have read have been really good, including Awful, Ohio.

Neal uses a writing technique that is unlike anything I’ve read thus far.  There is a redundancy that propels the story along, reminding you of motives, reasoning, and the succubus-like tendencies of Awful, Ohio.  Troy Slushy, sets out one day, blaming the sun for being the root of his unhappiness, to destroy the sun.  So, as out-there as Troy is, I can totally sympathize with where he is coming from.  Working for the man at a dead-end job, discord at home, disarray in all aspects of life.  There’s got to be something to blame, right?  Most of us wouldn’t leap to the conclusion of the sun being to blame, but Troy does, and thus sets the plot in motion.

Quickly enough, Troy, with the help of his wife Lacy, realizes that destroying the sun is much to hard a task to accomplish.  So, they change plans.  I don’t always agree with how Troy goes about accomplishing his goal, but it is entertaining to see how his lunacy and  discontentedness drives him.

The story of how Sammy Ammo became Sammy Ammo is quite sad.  It seems to much like our legal system at times, to force values upon society that their upbringing or religious beliefs hold a different, even if not illegal.  I hurt for Sammy and understood where he was coming from.

I won’t spoil the ending, because I didn’t see it coming, and don’t want to ruin it for you, either.  I will say this about it, I really really like the ending.  And, if you follow my reviews, you know endings are important to me.

 

4 Trees: Awfully awesome.

Get to reading,
Richard

*This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*


Be sure to enter my 4 Month Blogiversary Giveaway [Giveaway has ended!] for a chance to win Awful, Ohio or The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer!

Review: Reckless by Cornelia Funke

Description:

Beyond the mirror, the darkest fairy tales come alive. . . .
For years, Jacob Reckless has enjoyed the Mirrorworld’s secrets and treasures.

Not anymore.

His younger brother has followed him.

Now dark magic will turn the boy to beast, break the heart of the girl he loves, and destroy everything Jacob holds most dear. . . .

Unless he can find a way to stop it.

 

Details:

Audio CD, 0 pages
Published September 14th 2010 by Listening Library (Audio)
ISBN: 0307583260 (ISBN13: 9780307583260)
series: Reckless #1
literary awards: YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2011)
(Goodreads)

Review:

Wow!

So, my wife recommended to me that I read something by Ms. Funke—she loves the Inkheart series!  I saw the dreadful movie, and just haven’t ventured into the pages of that series, but I have had it on my TBR to read The Thief Lord.  I saw this at the library, and checked it out thinking that I might like it, and, well, I more than liked.  I love this so hard.

The intricate and detailed way that Reckless is woven is magnificent.   It is like reading the brushstrokes of a master painter.  It is beautiful, hopeful, sad, and dark.  It is a very emotional book.  Heartache is at every bend.  But it never seems hopeless.

It is rare that I read a book and like all the main characters.  But that is exactly the case with Reckless.  I like them all.  Even most of the minor characters.  They are all equally tortured and desperate, loving and loved, miserable and joyful.  You can feel it all along with them.

The fairytale that Funke weaves is quite spectacular.  She manages to work in many of the human’s fairytales in a non-sappy natural manner.  It’s done in such a way that it is unexpected and surprising, but nonetheless awesome.

This is not a happily-ever-after book.  So don’t read it if that’s what you’re after.  The ending was a bit open, yet sufficiently closed that it could stand alone, but hinted slightly at a sequel.  According to Goodreads, there is a book #2 in the works.  Yay!

Here’s the book trailer:

4 Trees: Best read with reckless abandon

Get to reading,
Richard

Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Description:

It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance

Details:

Audio CD, 5 discs
Published April 5th 2011 by Penguin Audiobooks
ISBN: 0142428256 (ISBN13: 9780142428252)
series: If I Stay #2
literary awards: The Inky Awards Nominee for Silver Inky longlist (2011)
(Goodreads)
 

Review:

For starters, I highly recommend reading both books in this series back-to-back.  The non-ending of the first book (although a perfect ending for the story) left me dying to read Where She Went.  Gayle Forman, you are a genius!

If If I Stay is tragically beautiful (which it TOTALLY is), then Where She Went is brutally honest.  Told from Adam’s POV, we are taken on a journey through what happened since the accident that took Mia from him (ok, well, you can tell from the description above that she isn’t dead, but you’ll understand when you read this…that’s a command, by the way, to READ THIS BOOK!): his rise to fame, hardships of being a star, etc.  It is all very gritty and genuine.  And, if you’re anything like me, you’ll hate Adam for the first quarter or so of the book.  He’s such a pretentious jerk.  He’s angry, self-absorbed, and childish.  But as the story progresses, you being to she why he is that way and you begin to hurt with him, and build defenses with him, and hate the world for him.

New York to me, is one of those fantasy cities, where anything is possible.  I love that Forman set is as the backdrop of the second installment.  More than just a setting, it is a character in it’s on right and has taken an influential role in Mia’s life.  It sort of says a lot about who Mia is, as much as Los Angeles does about Adam.  About their transformation as people and how they have dealt with tragedy.

I’m trying really hard not to giveaway too much.  Geez this is a hard review to right.  So much happens that is central to the plot, that commentary on those things would give too much.  You don’t want to know what is coming next because if you do, I’m sure it will take some of the magic out of Where She Went.  You may just have to trust me on this: go read this!

4 Trees: Where She Went is definitely a place you should go!

Get to reading,

Richard

Review: The Kult by Shaun Jeffrey

Description:

People are predictable. That’s what makes them easy to kill.

Detective Chief Inspector Prosper Snow is in charge of an investigation into a serial killer called The Oracle who turns his victims into macabre works of art. But Prosper harbours a dark secret of his own. He and his old school friends were members of a group called The Kult who made a pact to dish out their own form of vengeance on bullies. Now a member of the group puts their friendship to the test when he makes a far darker request: that they murder someone that raped his wife.

To get away with murder, the friends decide to blame it on The Oracle, but events take a chilling turn when the instigator turns up dead, his body fashioned into a disturbing work of art. Now, one by one, the members of The Kult are being hunted down.

Just when Prosper thinks things can’t get any worse, his wife is kidnapped and he knows that if he goes to his colleagues for help, he risks his dark deeds being unearthed. If he doesn't, he risks losing all that he holds dear.
(From the author)

Details:

ebook, 179 pages
Published March 22nd 2011 by Shaun Jeffrey, via Smashwords (first published May 25th 2009)
ISBN: 001124562X (ISBN13: 2940011245626)
(Goodreads)
 

Review:

The Kult has all the makings of a fantastic crime drama: neurotic serial killer, cop with a past, vivid characters.  I was asked by Shaun Jeffrey to review his book, and I jumped at the chance.  It grabbed me from the beginning and didn’t let me go.
 
We start out meeting The Oracle.  Obviously, he’s the bad guy.  He’s creeptastic.  I love him.  He’s heartless and ruthless.  And seeking revenge.   And that’s about all we know about him, until way far into the book.  The mystery of his identity is fascinating and intriguing to the point of making me neurotic to find out who he is.
 
Prosper has ghosts.  You know something is up with him, and the more you read the more you know.  Fat kid, bullied, but with a group of loyal friends.  He’s also a pushover.  I hate him.  He needs to grow a set of cajones and do the right thing.  Which is apparently a difficult thing for him.  Since he caved to the peer pressure.  Come on, really? These aren’t teenagers we’re dealing with here.  This is not high school.  He’s a freakin’ cop! And he killed someone because he was pressured to.  As frustrating and irritating as this fact is, you really empathize with Proper and feel bad for him.
 
The Kult, started as a band, and morphed into a band of brothers, looking out for each other and standing up for each other.  Even though a little far-fetched, it was believable that teenage dudes would think this up.  Through thick and thin, loyal to the end.  I mean, literally to the end.

The last quarter of the book is where most of the action takes place.  Be sure to buckle up—it’s a bumpy ride!  So much action, so much intensity!  Be prepared to stay up all night to finish it once you get there.  This is a fantastic thriller, full of movie-worthy epicness.

Speaking of which, Gharial Productions started production of the movie in September 2010.  Here’s the trailer:

Check out the movie website for more info.  While you’re at it, check out Shaun Jeffrey’s website as well.

4 Trees: Drink the kool-aid.  You’ll be glad you did!

Now…

Get to reading,
Richard

*This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review*