Aliverse

Book Description From Amazon.com

A call in the dead of night summons Father Michael Jerome to a suburban Chicago hospital–a police officer has been shot. As department chaplain, Michael arrives to find that the officer will survive.

The same cannot be said for his assailant, who lays mortally wounded on a gurney, begging for absolution for some past sin. Offering last rites to the dying man, Michael hears his final confession and is shaken by the admission of a crime committed five years earlier.

A murder that shattered his family.

Struggling with the constraints of his faith, Michael moves cautiously as he tries to identify others involved in the vicious killing. But every secret he uncovers leads him further down a path where it becomes clear that someone is desperate for the past to stay buried.

Have you ever seen the movie Mercury Rising? I have. A zillion times. It’s one of my favorite movies. I’ve always meant to read the book “Simple Simon”. It was the inspiration for the movie. It says so in the credits or something…all I know is, I’ve seen the name for the book and kept meaning to look it up. So imagine my delight when I found the author in my Twitter feed! I don’t even remember how he ended up in there. But somehow Ryne Douglas Pearson popped up mentioning his books available for e-readers.

I should point out here that thanks to Twitter I have discovered that not only are authors generally awesome people, but they are totally down to earth too. I mean, they’re goofy and out there sometimes, but they are REAL. So far not a single author I’ve talked to has been the untouchable I thought they’d be. It’s fantastic!

So I asked Ryne which book he recommended for me to start with. I knew I’d eventually read “Simple Simon”, but I wanted to read something newer. I wanted to read something the author himself recommended. His response was to ask what kind of books I enjoy reading and is there a particular subject I prefer. Again, awesomeness! Thank you, Ryne, for taking the time to ask.  Ryne suggested “Confessions”, since it was suspenseful and kind of dark. Totally my bag.

I finished it in two days and I loved it!

How could I not love it? The main character is a conflicted priest who is trying to track down his sister’s murderer. How could that not capture your attention right away?

The pacing of the book is just perfect, in my opinion. There was never a time where I felt it dragged or there was a lull. I always wanted to get to the next page, read the next chapter, find out what was going to happen. The characters were ones you wanted to learn more about. They drew you into the story and made you want to know where they were going. Especially the main character, the priest I mentioned, Michael Jerome (Father Jerome to most people.)

Michael was so sympathetic because he behaved like a real human being. One of the things I loved the most about this book was Pearson’s ability to capture the absolute humanness of a priest. Any priest will tell you they are not infallible. They are human. They are very human, having the same desires, doubts, and concerns that everyone else has. They just have a calling that changes the way they can react to many of those desires or doubts. Father Jerome struggles with his ability to remain faithful. Starting with a chance meeting with a man who took part in his sister’s murder, and moving through the carefully woven tapestry of lies that led up to the cover-up, Michael is intensely human and real.

Throughout the book, Michael tries to solve his sister’s murder. Meanwhile he tries to remain strong for his father who must take care of an ailing wife. Alzheimer’s has destroyed all but the strongest of her memories. Once a loving, adoring mother, she is now paranoid, frightened, and can’t even recognize her only remaining child. When Michael does try to talk to her, she fearfully asks her husband who the stranger is. Then she proceeds to tell Michael about her wonderful, beautiful daughter.

This novel is well-paced, intriguing, and heart-wrenching. The characters will suck you in and make you want to know more. The turns this story takes makes it a page-turner from start to finish.

I can’t wait to read Ryne Douglas Pearson’s other novels. What makes them even more attractive to me is that they are easily, and affordably, available in for Kindle, Nook, and other e-pub formats.

Next up on the Ryne Douglas Pearson list is “Simple Simon”!

~4 out of 5 stars~

I won’t spoil the ending for you. For me, it was a nice surprise.

This review is going to be different than most of my reviews. I cannot honestly say I will be unbiased or objective. At this point, it is simply impossible for me.

So a month or so ago (roughly) I downloaded some books for my Kindle, as I’m wont to do these days. (and someday let me go off on the tangent of what it’s like to double-check my grammar/word-usage and find word snobs arguing about ‘wont’)

In the batch of books I’d downloaded, there was “Feed” by Mira Grant. First of all, it must have been discounted. Because I’d never heard of the book or the author (forgive me!), I would not have initially paid much. The idea of the book intrigued me, but I actually passed it up a few times before biting the bullet and getting it. After all, it’s a zombie book. I love zombie movies. Good ones, that is. I’m not a Return of the Living Dead chick. I prefer my Romero and 28 “somethings” Later movies. The idea of a zombie book being any good seemed unlikely to me. I’ll give “The Walking Dead” (Robert Kirkman) credit. Excellent graphic novel and seductive story-line! Otherwise, though, I’m not big on zombie books.

At least, I wasn’t. Until “Feed”.

by Mira Grant

Here I am, taking a look at my freebies or cheapies on my Kindle and I come across the title. “Feed“. *sigh* I’m still dubious. It’s supposed to be a contemporary zombie novel, full of technology and bloggers and Romero-esque fun. What author can possibly deliver on that promise? As it turns out, Mira Grant is that author.  (Before I go further, Mira Grant is the nom de plume for one Seanan McGuire.)

I finished “Feed” in two days. Luckily it was only a week before “Deadline”, the second novel in the trilogy, was to be released. The day after I finished “Feed” I pre-ordered “Deadline” for my Kindle.  I finished “Deadline” in three days.

These are two action-packed zombie novels with heart and intelligence. More importantly, they are well-written and have characters you fall in love with. You will care about them. You will root for them. You will cry for them. (seriously, not hyperbole)

The brother-sister team of George and Shaun Mason are dedicated to bringing accurate reporting of the news and live zombie action to their audience. As professional bloggers, they spend their time working with a small staff of Irwins (action-seeking thrill junkies who poke zombies with sticks), fictionals (self-explanatory…they tell stories and write poetry and stuff), and Newsies (news journalists who try to tell the truth and stay as objective as possible.) Buffy (Georgette Meissonier) is their head fictional and techie guru who keeps all the equipment working smoothly and gets the data where it needs to go. Shaun Mason is an unapologetic Irwin whose coffee-fueled zest for zombie poking and charismatic nature make him a ratings magnet and a fan-favorite on their site. Georgia Mason, though, is the serious-minded news-hound who anchors them all by bringing the unadulterated truth to their blogging audience every day.

After two miracle-cure viruses combine in an un-deadly fashion, Kellis-Amberlee (zombie virus) is unleashed on an unsuspecting world. Suddenly the dead begin to rise and only bloggers and fanatics seem to realize what is actually happening. By the time the CDC and government get involved, the infection has spread and everyone has to fight to keep the infected at bay. Years later, when society has resumed some degree of a normal life, the bloggers are who people turn to for news. They are the ones who told the truth during the Rising. They are the ones people turn to twenty-six years after the undead first began to shamble into their lives.

When George and Shaun get hired to cover the presidential hopeful Senator Peter Ryman, they are launched into a new sphere of responsibility and chaos. No longer ‘betas’ in the blogging world, they now get a much larger staff and it’s sink or swim as full-blown professionals. They go on the road with Buffy and the van, filming, recording, and reporting live on the campaign trail and their careers suddenly become a lot more life-threatening.

I won’t spoil the end for anyone, but I will say that I cried. By the end I didn’t know who could be trusted or who would live or die. This is, in my opinion, the hallmark of a truly great author. When you know that even your most beloved characters may not make it out alive, you are writing with all your heart. That’s what Mira Grant does. The book was fast-paced, adrenaline packed, and delivered on its promise of zombie-poking fun.

But wait, there’s more!

Check out my review of “Deadline”, the second book in the Newsflesh trilogy.

“Feed” gets a 5 out of 5

Go out and buy a copy, buy one for a friend, then download it for your e-reader.