"Waves of Reprisal" Review

There have been many, seemingly countless stories and franchises over the years that have been set in a post-apocalypse Earth; some of the more well-known franchises include The Terminator and Resident Evil, I Am Legend and 28 Weeks Later, and The Walking Dead and Kill Zone.

This particular post-apocalyptic thriller novel, Waves of Reprisal by Malcolm Little, is set in a post-apocalyptic earth where most of the human race was wiped out in a mass-extinction event; before that happened though, the humans created a series of androids called Synthoids, who were put into cold storage with the intent of being awoken after the apocalypse to rebuild human civilization.  The humans who survived the mass-extinction event ended up forming a bunch of different villages and living in primitive tribes. 

Hanyma, a woman from the village of Kepler, witnessed the destruction of her village and the murder of her family at the hands of some nasty marauders; Hanyma then spends her days hunting down and killing off the members of this team of marauders one by one.  One day, Hanyma uncovers the chamber where Synthoid X-5, named Lascaux, lay dormant, and Lascaux explains to Hanyma that her mission is to restore human civilization back to what it was before the mass-extinction event, and she needs Hanyma's help to complete her mission.  Hanyma spends the rest of the story torn between her desire to help Lascaux complete her mission to restore human civilization, and her desire to exact vengeance on the group of marauders who slaughtered her village and family.  

Even though the book is less than 300 pages, I found that it was not a quick read.  While the level of detail in the sentences in terms of vocabulary used was very advanced, the flow of the story was very ragged and draggy at times, and it was hard for me to get sucked into the story even though this particular genre of writing is one that I like.  Granted, some people might find nothing wrong with the flow of the story and will get sucked into the book, I just wasn't one of those people.  On the other hand, I was very impressed with the action sequences and fight scenes, and would be interested to see them enacted on a movie screen if that ever happened for this book.

If you're looking for a post-apocalypse action novel that brings a different scenario than your average post-apocalyptic story, and you enjoy following a character who struggles to choose between duty and vengeance, then Waves of Reprisal is a book you should take a look at. 

Final Grade:  B

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To buy the book, go here.

"Driving Grandpa" review

Grandpas, for some people, can be a great source of joy in our lives.  They seem to know everything about everything, they can entertain us for hours on end with story after story about the crazy life experiences they've had, especially if they're a former war veteran.  For other people, grandpas can be a source of annoyance with their weird, unpredictable behavior, or their observance of social customs that modern society considers outdated.

In John Redstand's Driving Grandpa, Roy Steele is portrayed as the embodiment of both types of grandpas.  Grandpa Steele is also portrayed is being one of those grandpas who was unable to keep up with the advancement of technology  and the changes in the English language.

Throughout the story, the narrator allows grandpa Steele to tag along with him to help at his job sites, and in return grandpa Steele gets to travel to various locations to do the things he wants to do, such as try to get a patent on a boat propeller that he made for his boat, or visit the wife of an old friend.  While driving in the truck between locations, grandpa Steele tells different stories related to his involvement in WWII and his personal life.

As someone  whose grandpa was his biggest fan and was someone that I loved very much, I very much loved sitting down with him growing  up and listening to him talk about his life experiences, and I really enjoyed going to basketball and baseball games with him.  This story served as a good reminder to me of how awesome grandpas can be.

If you're someone who loves their grandpa  and you love their antics, then Driving Grandpa is the perfect story for making you laugh and giving you a few hours of hilarious entertainment.

Final grade:  B+

"Found" review

Has your life ever bottomed out?  Has everything you had going for you crumbled around you, and you found yourself with nothing left to live for?  Did all the relationships in your life vanish over time?  Are you alone in the world? 

In Found by Jason Smith, Noah Carpenter can sympathize with you:  His relationships with his girlfriend and her son have deteriorated to the point where they no longer care about each other, he just lost his job because he flew off the handle in a drunken rage, and then he get's pulled over for driving under the influence of alcohol before trying to run from the police officer.

Rather than taking Noah to the police station, the officer drops Noah off at a temp agency, where a man named Simon reveals  that he is over three hundred years old, and he shows Noah a sphere-shaped orb that is able to see everything that Noah has ever done in his life.  After this, Simon gives Noah a new place to live, a new identity, and a vague contract to live up to.

Over the course of the book, Noah's journey becomes a journey of redemption, of trying to help make things right for other people because he had failed miserably to do so in his old life.  The beginning of the story is so hair-raising and raises so many questions that you will end up reading through the book fairly quickly in an effort to see if those questions get answered.

Unfortunately, Found doesn't quite deliver when it comes to answering the questions that get raised.  For example, while the book did explain how the sphere orb affected Simon's aging, it never even tried to answer what Simon's life was like before his encounter with the Sphere.  While the story explains who the first person to encounter the spheres was, we never learn the origin of the spheres themselves.  Namely, we never learn if the sphere orbs were man-made devices, or if they were extra-terrestrial or spiritual in nature.  Now, if there are going to be sequels that answer these questions, then this complaint of mine goes out the window.

If you're looking for a book that will draw you in and leave you reading for more, and you don't mind certain questions about the story not being answered, then Found is the book for you.

Final Grade:  B

"In The Eyes Of Madness" Review

Growing up as a young man, I spent countless hours reading many different action novels, especially Christian supernatural action thrillers. On my bookshelf sits a few different Frank Peretti novels, and many more novels written by Ted Dekker have filled my imagination for years; those two authors have been the standard for what a Christian supernatural action thriller should be.

Recently, In The Eyes Of Madness by Michael Pang came across my radar, and after initially being turned off in the very beginning of the story, the action took off in a manner resembling a bull in a china shop. What started out as a chore turned into an all-nighter as I was unable to put down the book, and read it through in one sitting.

The story starts out innocently enough as Declan Peters is enjoying another day at the Central Florida Behavior Center, where his mom has been held for years after trying to drown him when he was seven years old. Before he knows it, he's attacked by a demon-possessed patient, and Declan starts to exhibit supernatural abilities.

On the other side of the story, Tristian and Zoe Sullivan, a brother and sister pair of half-angel, half-human demon hunters, find out that their parents were found dead in Florida, and they travel to find out what happened. After confirming that their parents were indeed dead, Zoe ends up going to a club and getting attacked by a demon-possessed club owner. Declan and his friends happen to be there, and an all-out brawl ensues, which ends up leading to an adventure whose details I want to leave to the reader to explore for themselves.

While the characters in the story feel like stereotypes of the genre, and while the story is somewhat predictable, the faster-than-the-human-eye-can-detect pace and violent nature of the action reminded me of some of the fights from Dragonball Z. Ultimately, the action was so crazy that I kept turning the page to see what would happen next; before I knew it, I had finished reading the book.

In conclusion, whatever In The Eyes Of Madness lacks in character originality, it more than makes up for in sheer, psychotic action. If you're looking for an exciting Christian action thriller to fill up your night, then take a peek In The Eyes Of Madness.

FINAL GRADE:  B+

To buy the book, go here.