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Showing posts with label adventure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adventure. Show all posts

Monday, January 2, 2017

Review: The Sage Stone Prophecy


The Sage Stone Prophecy
by N.S. Wikarski

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GENRE: Adventure, Mystery

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BLURB:

Where do you hide a mysterious artifact that could change the course of history? You scatter clues to its whereabouts across the entire planet. Five objects buried beneath the rubble of lost civilizations point to the hiding place of the fabled Sage Stone. A secret society and a fanatical religious cult vie against one another in a global treasure hunt to claim the prize. The Arkana wants to preserve it for posterity. The Blessed Nephilim wants to exploit it to create a terrifying new world order. Only one faction can win. More importantly, only one can survive.


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EXCERPT:

Alma Jones slowly eased the SUV over the causeway at Cahill’s Crossing.

Cassie gulped. She leaned out her window to gauge the height of the water. Even though the tires were only submerged about half a foot, the current was swift. She didn’t want to imagine crossing this land bridge with a flash flood racing under the wheels.

“You told us to look out for salties,” Daniel said, barely above a whisper. “What’s a saltie?”

“Good goddess, man!” Griffin’s tone was exasperated. “None of us want to know that!”

“There’s one.” Alma inclined her head to the right, both hands firmly gripping the steering wheel.

Her three passengers scanned the water on the driver’s side.

“Please tell me that’s a tree trunk floating out there,” the Pythia implored.

“No,” Alma demurred. “It’s a saltwater crocodile. Saltie for short though they don’t spend much time in salt water. They prefer watering holes—billagongs as we call them. The males can run six meters in length.”

“Translation?” Cassie turned toward Griffin.

“Six meters would be roughly twenty feet.” As an aside to the others, he explained, “She’s taken a firm stand against the metric system.”

“Freshies or freshwater crocodiles are much smaller and they eat fish not humans,” Alma added. “The salties are the ones to watch out for. Your American alligators are nearly as big but they aren’t always looking for a fight. Salties are natural-born brawlers.”

“Has anybody died at Cahill’s Crossing?” Daniel asked.

“Yet another fact we don’t want to know,” the Scrivener grumbled.


My Review:
 The Sage Stone Prophecy is full of conflict. Nothing less than the future of the entire world is at stake. The villains are dreadful, the heroes brave and daring. The book presents a daunting puzzle to solve, and it must be solved or the consequences are catastrophic. In fact, I got mad at the bad guys which is something I usually don't do, but Abraham ticked me off a lot. The author got me invested in the characters which is something every writer should do.

This is book 7 in a series, and if you've missed the other books you might need the character guide at the front. It's nice to have it because it clarifies the characters if you need it.

I enjoyed the book, and if you like adventure and mystery this is a good book for you. I give it 4 stars and a recommendation.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

"There's a 52% chance that the next Dan Brown will be a woman ... or should we just make that 100% now?"
--Kindle Nation Daily

Nancy Wikarski is a fugitive from academia. After earning her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, she became a computer consultant and then turned to mystery and historical fiction writing. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, the Society Of Midland Authors, and has served as vice president of Sisters In Crime - Twin Cities and on the programming board of the Chicago chapter. Her short stories have appeared in Futures Magazine and DIME Anthology, while her book reviews have been featured in Murder: Past Tense and Deadly Pleasures.
She has written the Gilded Age Mystery series set in 1890s Chicago. Titles include The Fall Of White City (2002) and Shrouded In Thought (2005). The series has received People's Choice Award nominations for Best First Novel and Best Historical as well as a Lovey Award for Best Traditional Amateur Sleuth.

Her seven-book Arkana Archaeology Mystery Series is a #1 Amazon Bestseller. Titles include The Granite Key (2011), The Mountain Mother Cipher (2011), The Dragon’s Wing Enigma (2012), Riddle Of The Diamond Dove (2013), Into The Jaws Of The Lion (2014), Secrets Of The Serpent’s Heart (2015), and The Sage Stone Prophecy (2016).

http://www.mythofhistory.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1867557.N_S_Wikarski
https://www.facebook.com/pages/N-S-Wikarski/111546722263900?ref=hl





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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

The author will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the link below to enter.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Monday, May 5, 2014

Unseasonal War



Unseasonal War
by David Englund

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BLURB:

Clark Jackson’s travels, for the first time, put him in touch with an intriguing species remarkably human-like. He becomes instantly fascinated with the Fronents and envious of their advanced technology. Striving to befriend them and learn more, his uncontrolled enthusiasm forsakes the use of appropriate caution and suspicion. Could their cold reception be a byproduct of their war with a vile species in this corner of the universe, or something else?

The magnificent splendor of an unexplored galaxy, new species to encounter and the adrenalin rush of space battle feed Clark’s awestruck hunger for exploration and adventure. Unfortunately, the more he learns the more he questions; including the wisdom of his entangled involvement in their war.

Meanwhile, back home in Des Moines, Iowa, Clark attempts to maintain an inconspicuous lifestyle to avoid attracting the attention of a certain relentless federal agency. His girlfriend’s own secret, however, could unravel it all.

**Even though the book is the second book in the series, it IS standalone

EXCERPT:


Mouth chomping, the alien swayed his head back and forth, then back and back again.  His eyes darted from left to right, unblinking.  He took a step in Clark’s direction, stopped and sniffed anew.

 Maybe invisibility isn’t . . . good enough.  What to do?  No shape to fight.

Clark inched his way along the wall from his seated position.  Slowly, quietly, he distanced himself from the curious pursuer.  The sound of marching echoed in the hallway.  He wanted to avoid the hard gaze of the vile creature, but Clark’s head would not move.

No, no, no.  Stay away.  Nothing here.

The tenacious searcher took two steps forward.  Fingers flexed open and closed and opened and closed.  Nostrils flared.  Eyes continued searching while chomping persisted.

Clark inched along faster, less concerned with noise than distance.  His pulse quickened and despite his best efforts, sweat began to gather on his forehead.  His stomach lurched.  Breaths came in shorter, quicker gasps.  The sound of stomping feet eased slightly as did the smell of reptiles and leather.

One final sniff caused the soldier’s eyes to narrow, more determined to locate the foul smell.  He looked over his shoulder to see his comrades moving on without him.  A moment of indecision, and then renewed focus brought the hunter a step closer to Clark.

Small drops of sweat fell to the floor.  No longer attached to his body, a thin trail became visible as he continued backward.  Clark looked at the floor.

Gasp!

The creature followed Clark’s path.  He stepped onto the drops of sweat as he made his way toward the rear door.





AUTHOR Bio and Links:

David Englund is a storyteller (science fiction author) and teaches economics at North Dakota State University.  His first two titles, Upsetting the Tides and UNSEASONAL WAR are available on Amazon.  Camouflaged Encounters is due out in late 2014 and the fourth and fifth books are in progress.

 http://amazon.com/dp/B00F4MHDWM

http://davidjenglund.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/david.englund.104 

 David will be awarding a digital copy of Unseasonal War to a randomly drawn commenter at every stop during the tour so follow his tour and comment often. You can find his schedule at