Category: Action/Thriller
The Road to Justice by David Carner
(Cover picture courtesy of GoodKindles.)
At some point in everyone’s life you experience hardships. John Fowler went from the highest of highs; great career in the FBI, beautiful wife, and a wonderful marriage, to the lowest of lows; alcoholism, his apartment exploding in front of him while his wife was inside, and leaving the FBI.
The Road to Justice – A John Fowler Novel, is the tale of a man’s redemption. This is the story of a man trying to rebuild his life after the loss of his wife, the attempt to rebuild his career, and the attempt to rebuild relationships with those he hasn’t spoken to since his wife’s funeral. I hope you’ll join me in his journey.
John Fowler was one of the top FBI agents until a year undercover in the mob turned him into an alcoholic and may have led to the brutal death of his wife. His old team needs his help and has brought him in for what they think is a two week old case. The case is actually over 25 years old and involves some of the most powerful people in the world.
John Fowler has returned to the FBI after a three year layoff at the request of his team to try and solve a murder that they are having little to no success with. John has been given the promise if he agrees to help; he will be given the case file to his wife’s murder and be allowed to work on it. The Road to Justice – A John Fowler Novel is the story of a man trying to rebuild his life after the loss of his wife, the attempt to rebuild his career, and the attempt to rebuild relationships with those he hasn’t spoken to since his wife’s funeral.
[Full disclosure: David Carner sent me a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.]
I’m not the sort of person that reads a lot of detective/thriller fiction, but I know many of the tropes and clichés from movies of the same genre. And let me tell you, David Carner uses very few of them in The Road to Justice, which really surprised me.
Okay, so you have an ex-FBI agent who quit after his wife died because of one of his investigations. At the beginning of the novel he’s forced by circumstance back into his old job and ends up deciding that maybe he should move on with his life. That sounds like a pretty standard formula in detective fiction. However, David Carner’s twist on this old trope is great. John Fowler actually has some depth and there’s believable explanations for his decisions, so they feel natural and not contrived at all. It feels like the characters, not the magical hand of the author, are pushing the story forward.
John Fowler’s a pretty good character, but the main appeal for me in The Road to Justice was the plot. It was everything an action/thriller novel should be: unpredictable and fast. Yes, you seem to have the old conspiracy reaching the highest levels of government trope, but again David Carner puts an unique spin on things. I couldn’t predict a lot of the plot twists and the fast pace of the novel kept me glued to my computer screen for hours.
Despite my love of the characters and plot I definitely have a bone to pick with the dialogue. THERE ARE TOO MANY CAPITALS AND EXAMPLES OF MULTIPLE PUNCTUATION!!!!!! I’m all for using capitals/italics/multiple punctuation for effect, but such tools become dull with overuse. And in an otherwise great book, David Carner has relied on these tools far too much. It gets pretty frustrating after a couple chapters or so, actually. The overall quality of writing was excellent, but the dialogue felt pretty stiff as well and there were some examples of you’re vs. your. Such things could easily be fixed by having an editor look over it.
Although the dialogue needs work, I’m actually looking forward to reading more books in the John Fowler series because David Carner is one of those writers that will only improve with time and practice.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
“The Infinity Ring: The Trap Door” by Lisa McMann
Dak, Sera, and Riq return to the United States in the year 1850 when the nation is divided over the issue of slavery. The Underground Railroad provides a light of hope, helping runaway slaves escape to freedom. But the SQ has taken control of the Underground Railroad from within. Now Dak and Sera are left wondering who to trust…
It’s been a few months since the last time I had a book from The Infinity Ring series to plow through and share my thoughts about, so if you need a refresher as to what has been going on in the two books previous you can refer to my comments about book one and book two respectively if you need.
The release of The Infinity Ring: The Trap Door, the third book in the series took me a little by surprise to be honest. I knew it was probably coming out soon, but didn’t know how soon until it randomly showed up on Amazon as a recommended read that had just been released. A pleasant surprise to say the least as I quite enjoy these books even though the target audience is for kids less than half my actual age…
After meeting Christopher Columbus and then taking on a horde of vikings, Dak, Sera, and Riq get to come home to the United States in the year 1850 and see what they can do about the fact that the SQ has taken over the Underground Railroad. I’ll honestly say that I was quite impressed that whomever is planning out the historical events that are being used as plot devices for these books decided to go with the Underground Railroad theme. It’s something we all learn about in school, but then we don’t get a lot of exposure to later in life. I’m guessing that given the target audience is children ages 8-12 that this historical event was chosen on purpose because its one that you learn about when you are that age. Excellent foresight by the editors and authors in my opinion.
While the first two books were mainly about Dak and Sera, this book is almost exclusively about Riq. His ancestors were involved with the Underground Railroad and so the things the three kids are doing are going to have a direct impact on him specifically, possibly even erase his existence. When Riq figures all of this out he has a very serious and impressive moment of growth about who he is, what he stands for, and what he’s willing to give up for the ultimate safety of mankind. I liked that as a reader I finally had the chance to be inside of Riq’s head for a little bit instead of hearing once more about how Dak’s impetuousness dropped the group into a heap of uncalled for trouble.
There is also some pretty important foreshadowing about where things might be going several books down the line in a small scene with Sera that I’m not going to reveal because it will be fun for you to find it on your own. Oh, and Dak finally calms down and seems to understand he can’t just do whatever he wants. Finally.
Next up in the series is The Infinity Ring: Curse of the Ancients, due to be released on June 4, 2013. So, it will be a little while before I get to revisit these books, but if previous evidence can be trusted, it will be worth the wait.
Grade: B
Length: 192 pages
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“Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens” by Brandon Sanderson
Alcatraz Smedry, the boy with the incredible Talent for breaking things, has a lot to prove and little time in which to do it. In this final adventure, Alcatraz faces an army of librarians–and their giant robots–as they battle to win the kingdom of Mokia. If the librarians win the war, everything that Alcatraz has fought so hard for could end in disaster. Alcatraz must face the robots, the evil librarians, and even his own manipulative mother! But will he be able to save the kingdom of Mokia and the Free Kingdoms from the wrath of the librarians before everything comes crashing down?
I’ve been enjoying these middle grade books by Brandon Sanderson quite a bit over the past few weeks and I’m glad I finally made it to the last installment (at least to this point). In Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens the Librarian invasion comes to its climax as Alcatraz, Bastille, and their various cohorts try one last time to thwart their efforts.
The relationship between Alcatraz and Bastille takes a long-awaited, very exciting turn when they finally have a moment where they break down and honestly admit their interest in each other. Bastille makes it perfectly clear that the reason she is so hard on Alcatraz is because of her interest in him and Alcatraz takes this news as the motivation to reciprocate to a certain extent, but more importantly as a motivation for actions that will turn him into a true leader in this conflict.
Even more shocking and mystifying is the sharp turn in the relationship between Alcatraz and his mother. There are some reveals near the end of the book that turn everything Alcatraz thought about his parents on its head, toss it through a blender, and spit it back out a million times sideways. I wasn’t expecting it, I don’t think very many who read the book will be expecting it. As one would expect, this revelation has a very significant impact on Alcatraz emotionally. It causes a lot of conflict in his mind as well as his heart.
Brandon Sanderson has said before that this series has always been intended to be five books in length. This is book four. According to the most recent statements that I’ve personally seen, the final book is “indefinitely postponed” for reasons that haven’t been revealed to the general public as of yet. My guess is that it has something to do with publishing rights, interest by Scholastic, or some other such red tape silliness.
Regardless, it is clear Sanderson knew that the fifth book might be a long time coming, if it came at all, and he set up the conclusion of Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens in a way that satisfies the reader, but leaves himself open to completing the series as he originally intended at some point if he is able.
Length: 304 pages
Grade: B
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“Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia” by Brandon Sanderson
When Alcatraz and Grandpa Smedry make a pilgrimage to the Free Kingdom city of Crystallia, the Smedry home base, Alcatraz is shocked to see that he is, in fact, a legend. When he was a baby he was stolen by the Evil Librarians, and his mother, a Librarian herself, was behind the whole scheme. Now, with his estranged father, who is acting indeed strange, Bastille, who has been stripped of her armor, and Grandpa Smedry, who is, as always, late to everything (that’s his Talent), Alcatraz tries to save a city under siege. From who? Why, the Librarians of course!
I’ve reached the third installment of Brandon Sanderson’s Alcatraz series and I have to say that I’ve been rather impressed with where he has taken this story. A lot of times when you get to a third or fourth book in a series a lot of time has passed for the characters which sort of spreads things out, but not with these. By the end of Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia there has barely been six months of time since the beginning of the first book, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians.
As usual, this book follows the humorous, snarky, side-tracked, whimsical nature of the first two books, but in addition it adds a little bit more depth. The relationship between Alcatraz and Bastille takes an interesting turn into what I’m sure if familiar territory for most 13-year-old boys and girls. As a result of previous actions Bastille goes through a tough time and Alcatraz wants to help as her friend but just finds everything so awkward and difficult while trying to. Awkward interactions between friends at that age is something most of the intended audience can certainly relate to on a personal level I think.
Even more impressive to me was the chance that the reader finally has to visit Nalhalla, the capital of the Freelands. For two books I’d been wanting to see what life was like for the Freelanders in comparison to the Hushlanders and I finally got my wish. A city of castles, magical dragon taxis, teleportation rooms, etc. It took the whimsy and fun to an entirely new level for the series. Impressive, considering there are talking dinosaurs in the first book.
Bastille goes through some serious growth in this book and I found it interesting to watch the decisions she makes as a result. She sort of learns to stand on her own opinions more than simply what is “expected” of her by the Knights of Crystallia. Of course, Alcatraz in his usual way completely fails to understand what’s going on with her until the last minute.
Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia continues the story of Alcatraz Smedry in a great way while still allowing for the characters to break out of their shells from the first two books without changing who they are at their core. I think it provides some great lessons for young readers buried in between the fun and silly that permeates the pages. If you haven’t already, give these books a try, I think there is a little something for everyone, young and old alike.
Grade: B
Length: 336 pages
Book Review: “Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener’s Bones” by Brandon Sanderson
This is actually the second book in this series by Brandon Sanderson. If any of you are interested, you can find my review of the first book in the series, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians over at 20four12 here.
With that out of the way, we can get to the actual review. Alcatraz and his trusty companions are once again at odds with the dastardly faction of Librarians intent on taking over the world. This time, the group is trying to track down some more information about Alcatraz’s father who has disappeared because he is supposedly the only person who knows the next step to defeating the Librarians.
Alcatraz puts his amazing (and much more important and powerful than originally portrayed) power of breaking things to use quite often in this installment as he explores the ancient Library of Alexandria. This time, his uncle is along for the ride who happens to have the power of getting lost. His cousin is around as well with the power to wake up looking ugly.
If you can’t tell by now, this entire book is written somewhat tongue in cheek by Sanderson, as is, I’m expecting the entire series. At first reading this book is a little bit difficult because the narrator (Alcatraz) is often running off on tangents, discussing what appear to be trivial details, and being rather self-deprecating; all while advancing the story. It takes a little getting used to but it works, trust me. I wouldn’t want to read books like this over and over in a row, but one every so often is a bit of a humorous treat. Unless your heart is made of stone you should find yourself laughing or chuckling fairly regularly at this book. Both the situations that the characters find themselves in and the quirky humor of the author give it a light-hearted, fun air.
The characters of Alcatraz and Bastille grow up a bit in this book from where we left them in the first book. They learn a little bit more about themselves, what they really want to be as they get older, and what their responsibilities mean. It’s not overbearing, but just enough growth that you can start to feel for them as characters a little more.
Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener’s Bones is technically a middle grade level book, but I heartily recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good yarn. It’s outrageous, daring, quirky, and has surprising depth.
Grade: B
Length: 336 pages