The Book of Paul - Excerpt, Review & Giveaway!

Details

Title: The Book of Paul
Author: Richard Long
Publisher: Open Eyes

Release Date: June 7th, 2012

Available to order here: Amazon  / Barnes & Noble

Synopsis 

 

“Never alive…and never dead…”

In the rubble-strewn wasteland of Alphabet City, a squalid tenement conceals a treasure “beyond

all imagining”—an immaculately preserved, fifth century codex. The sole repository of

ancient Hermetic lore, it contains the authentic alchemical rituals for transforming thought into

substance, transmuting matter at will…and attaining eternal life.

When a lusty, East Village tattoo artist has a torrid encounter with a battle-hardened loner, they

are overwhelmed by the intensity of their feelings. Rose and Martin soon discover they are

unwitting pawns on opposing sides of a battle that has shaped the course of human history. At

the center of the conflict is Paul, the villainous overlord of an underground feudal society, who

guards the book’s occult secrets in preparation for the fulfillment of an apocalyptic prophecy.

The action is relentless as Martin and Rose fight to escape Paul’s clutches and Martin’s destiny

as the chosen recipient of Paul’s sinister legacy. Science and magic, mythology and technology

converge in a monumental battle where the stakes couldn’t be higher: control of the ultimate

power in the universe—the Maelstrom.

Read the first few sample chapters here >> http://www.thebookofpaul.com/excerpt

About the Author

Richard Long writes to exorcize the demons of his past and manifest the dreams of his future.

He started life in the school of hard knocks and worked to create his own rags to riches story of
troubled kid turned successful advertising executive.

His debut novel, The Book of Paul, is a dark, thrilling, and psychologically rich supernatural
horror/thriller that blends mythology, science and mystery into a page-turning addiction.

Richard is also writing a YA novel, The Dream Palace, primarily so that his children could read
his books.He lives in Manhattan with his wife, two amazing children and their wicked black cat, Merlin.

Connect with Richard on the following links:

Website: http://www.thebookofpaul.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RichardLongNYC

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/RichardLongNYC
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6426921.Richard_Long

An Excerpt 

Monsters

You tell your children not to be afraid. You tell them everything will be

all right. You tell them Mommy and Daddy will always be there. You tell them lies.

Paul looked out the filthy window and watched the little girl playing in the filthier street below.

Hopscotch. He didn’t think kids played hop- scotch anymore. Not in this neighborhood. Hip-

hopscotch, maybe.

“Hhmph! What do you think about that?”

Paul watched the little black girl toss her pebble or cigarette butt or whatever it was to square

number five, then expertly hop, hop, hop her way safely to the square and back. She was dressed in a clean, fresh, red-ging- ham dress with matching red bows in her neatly braided pigtails. She looked so fresh and clean and happy that he wondered what she was doing on this shithole street.

The girl was playing all by herself. Hop, hop, hop. Hop, hop, hop. She was completely absorbed in her hopping and scotching and Paul was equally absorbed watching every skip and shuffle. No one walked by and only a single taxi ruffled the otherworldly calm.

Paul leaned closer, his keen ears straining to pick up the faint sound of her shiny leather shoes

scraping against the grimy concrete. He focused even more intently and heard the even fainter

lilt of her soft voice. Was she singing? He pressed his ear against the glass and listened. Sure

enough, she was singing. Paul smiled and closed his eyes and let the sound pour into his ear like

a rich, fragrant wine.

“One, two, buckle my shoe. Three, four, shut the door…”

He listened with his eyes closed. Her soft sweet voice rose higher and higher until…the singing

suddenly stopped. Paul’s eyes snapped open. The girl was gone. He craned his neck quickly to

the left and saw her being pulled roughly down the street. The puller was a large, light-skinned

black man, tugging on her hand/arm every two seconds like he was dragging a dog by its leash.

At first, he guessed that the man was her father, a commodity as rare in this part of town as

a fresh-scrubbed girl playing hop- scotch. Then he wondered if he wasn’t her father after all.

Maybe he was one of those kinds of men, one of those monsters that would take a sweet, pure

thing to a dark, dirty place and…

And do whatever a monster like that wanted to do.

Paul pressed his face against the glass and caught a last fleeting glance of the big brown man and the tiny red-checkered girl. He watched the way he yanked on her arm, how he shook his finger, how he stooped down to slap her face and finally concluded that he was indeed her one and only Daddy dear. Who else would dare to act that way in public?

“Kids!” Paul huffed. “The kids these days!”

He laughed loud enough to rattle the windows. Then his face hard- ened by degrees as he

pictured the yanking daddy and the formally happy girl. Hmmm, maybe he was one of those

prowling monsters after all. Paul shuddered at the thought of what a man like that would do.

He imagined the scene unfolding step by step, grunting as the vision became more and more

precise. “Hhmph!” he snorted after a particularly gruesome imagining. “What kind of a bug

could get inside your brain and make you do a thing like that?”

“Monsters! Monsters!” he shouted, rambling back into the wasteland of his labyrinthine

apartments, twisting and turning through the maze of lightless hallways as if being led by a

seeing-eye dog. He walked and turned and walked some more, comforted as always by the

darkness. Finally, he came to a halt and pushed hard against a wall.

His hidden sanctuary opened like Ali Baba’s cave, glowing with the treasures it contained.

He stepped inside and saw the figure resting (well, not exactly resting) between the flickering

candles. At the sound of his footsteps, the body on the altar twitched frantically. Paul moved

closer, rubbing a smooth fingertip across the wet, trembling skin and raised it to his lips. It tastedlike fear. He gazed down at the man, his eyes moving slowly from his ashen face to the rusty nails holding him so firmly in place.

The warm, dark blood shining on the wooden altar made him think about the red-gingham bunny again.

“Monsters,” he said, more softly this time, wishing he weren’t so busy. As much as he would

enjoy it, there simply wasn’t enough time to clean up this mess, prepare for his guests and track

her down. Well, not her, precisely. Her angry tugging dad. Not that Paul had any trouble killing

little girls, you understand. It just wasn’t his thing. Given a choice, he would much rather kill her

father.

And make her watch.

 

My Review

"The Book of Paul" by Richard Long is, and I have to admit this to begin with, is not the kind of book that I usually pick up. I'm a HUGE fan of thrillers, so the premise was incredibly intriguing to me - and boy am I glad that I decided to give this book a try! You may have seen me describe many a thriller as being "atmospheric" - well, I love using that adjective because the truth is, I really believe the setting and the atmosphere are KEY, especially in a thriller or mystery. "The Book of Paul" is completely brilliant because although the narrative is absolutely engrossing, the book is thoroughly absorbing in it's ability to creep you out with the build-up of its creepy atmosphere and chilling setting. This book defies any genres, because it is the amalgamation of many genres in one - horror, supernatural, paranormal, romance, thriller, and mystery. And the beauty of it is, it does justice to all of the above, it is all of the above, without focusing too much on one or the other.

In addition to the creepy, dark and foreboding nature of this book - it is also a novel of multi-faceted and multi-dimensional characters. Characters like Martin, who is a truly troubled character, but beneath the surface lies a decent human being marred by the inadequacy of his upbringing. And then there's Rose, whose presence seems to have a positive effect on Martin, is herself a damaged woman with a past - but in the short time that they come to know each other, they tend to understand and connect with each other, and soon become important to one another. Then, there is Paul - and I left him for last because I believe him to be the most complex character of all - he is truly a despicable being, a gross and negligent man who has almost no redeeming qualities. But as flawed as he is, it's absolutely riveting to read about his character and his atrocious deeds! 

The timeline of the narrative is quite short, and comprises of only a few days - but we are able to appreciate the past of the characters via Martin's memories, which he has suppressed, and via journal entries made by the narrator. The narrator is the main character of the book, and the story revolves around him, but all the characters are so absolutely essential to the story that it is absolutely impossible to pin-point any important characters. This book is a roller-coaster ride, with a fireworks to boot - it is crazy, it is zany, it is thoroughly enjoyable, and it will puzzle you...until you get to a little past halfway, and then things fall into place. But here's the unique thing about Richard Long's book - even though the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit, the premise is still so unique, and so crazy, that one cannot help but be completely hypnotized by it. A part of your brain begins to accept it, and the other part is astonished that such events have come to transpire in the course of the narrative. I really want to go ON and ON about it, but I would not want to give too much away.

Believe me, anyone with an inquisitive mind, and a penchant for the weird or scary would love to read this book. But be prepared, some parts of the book are quite disturbing, and include torture and mutilation - if you are not someone who can handle the gore, this may not be the book for you. However, if you are able to stomach such indelicacies, then this is the kind of book that is sure to baffle you in the best way possible!  Let me forewarn you - this book is a conundrum wrapped in a riddle, it is both puzzling and thoroughly riveting to read. This book will send tingles up your spine as you read, and a feeling of dread will permeate your being as you advance through the story, you will probably check the deadbolts and windows of your home twice, if not thrice, and you might even end up having to sleep with a night-light on....but trust me, whatever the case may be, this book is sure to bamboozle you with its awesomeness - I can't wait for the rest of the books in the series!!!

My Rating : 5/5 Stars

 

 

 

The Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book via the publicist for the author of this book. I was not compensated monetarily, or in any other way, for my opinion. The opinions stated in this review are solely mine, and are not representative of views of the author, or publishing company, of this book. 

Wither (The Chemical Garden Trilogy #1) by Lauren DeStefano

Details

Title: Wither (The Chemical Garden Trilogy)
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Release Date : March 22, 2011
Available to order here: Amazon / Book Depository / Barnes & Noble 


Synopsis

Obviously, something went terribly wrong. Genetic mutations have festered, reducing human longevity to twenty-five, even less for most women. To prevent extinction, young girls are kidnapped, mated in polygamous marriages with men eager to procreate. Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery, a recent victim of this breeding farm mentality, has vowed to break loose from its fetters; but finding allies and a safe way out is a challenge she can only hope she will survive. A dystopian fantasy series starter with wings. 

My Review

I rarely ever gush over the beauty of a cover in a review, let alone begin a review with it, one cannot help but be in complete awe of the book cover of "Wither" - which is precisely the reason why I needed to comment on it. One cannot quite decide if it's the beautiful features of the girl in the ravishingly beautiful gown, the contrast of the charming caged bird which tells a story in itself, or the interesting geometrical graphics that adorn the cover - but you cannot help but be drawn into the book, like it has magnetic qualities, from the moment you set your eyes on it. 

But as beautiful as the outside of the book is, the world contained within its pages is as equally dark and disturbing. A world where girls as young as thirteen years of age are kidnapped from their homes to serve as "wives", and later as human incubators for babies that the rich and wealthy so that their progeny is assured to continue and their lineage preserved. Why do these drastic measures have to be taken? Because in this futuristic world, where babies were engineered for perfection - the side effect that ensued from this genetic alteration is that the females of this society die at age twenty, while the males only survive till they're twenty five. The only people safe from this genetic preponderance for death over life are the ones who were born before these genetic experiments took place.

Rhine Elery is part of this dark and difficult future, and traverses it day by day as an orphan with the help of her brother Rowan who she is extremely close to. When sixteen year old Rhine is kidnapped to become the bride of Linden along with two other girls, Cecily and Jenna. Despite being plucked from a world of mediocrity and and thrust into the lavish world of the "Vaughn" household, Rhine finds herself lamenting for her freedom, and her brother.

Upon arrival at the Vaughn household, Rhine is met with Rose who is Linden's dying wife, and strikes up a fast friendship with her. Her sister wives Cecily and Jenna each have their own perspective about their captivity. Young and red-haired Cecily has no qualms about her captivity and is glad to have been rescured from an orphanage and having landed into a world where she wants for nothing. Her naivete, and her constant need for attention, results in her always remaining at a distance from her other two sister wives. Jenna has resigned herself to her world of captivity as the only family she had has met their demise, and her past is a murky shadow that she cannot return to - but she is determined to never let her captor win her over. Rhine's husband Linden is a young and sensitive man, but one who is completely oblivious to the way in which his wives were acquired, and seems to live in a constant haze of ignorance created by his father, Housemaster Vaughn. Housemaster Vaughn has sheltered his son from everything, and treats him like a puppet - all the while intimidating and coercing his wives into submitting to Linden. Also, he has a covert lab facility in the basement that is a constant cause of dread for his daughters-in-law, as well as the staff of the house. Housemaster Vaughn is the real problem and without his consent not a leaf can blow astray in the wind around the household, and the more Rhine interacts with him, the farther away she wants to be from him. And last, but not the least, there is Gabriel. The only person in the "Vaughn" household that Rhine truly feels a connection with - someone who seems to have lived his entire life in captivity, and become comfortable with it, yet seems to be the only person who truly makes Rhine feel free even within the walls of her cage. 

"Wither" was, undoubtedly, one of the best books I've read so far this year. I cannot wait for "Fever" (The Chemical Garden Trilogy #2) to come out. Lauren DeStefano's writing is superb, with many a lilting phrase in the novel to make you truly appreciate the sadness and starkness of Rhine's world. The Dystopian novel is charged with emotional intensity, does a great job at exploring the emotional roller coaster that Rhine experiences. Will she allow herself to love Linden, who seems to genuinely care for her yet is so naive and sheltered? Or will she fall for Gabriel, who is also complacent in his captivity, but who seems to be the only person she can allow herself to feel vulnerable and free with? Will she see Rowan again? Will she ever be free? How will she survive in this Dystopian world? I assure you, "Wither" is a book that is sure to please, and will be a trilogy that is sure to become a huge success. Read it - NOW!

My Rating : 5/5 Stars

Special Announcement: Please return tomorrow for a chance to win an ARC of Wither by Lauren DeStefano. I happen to have been fortunate enough to have received two ARC's of the book - and I wanted to share my fortune with someone. So make sure you return to the blog tomorrow to enter! :)

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book as a prize for a contest won, I was not compensated monetarily, or in any other way, for my opinion. The opinions stated in this review are solely mine, and are not representative of views of the author, or publishing company, of this book.

"The Liar Society" by Lisa & Laura Roecker - Pink Haired Madness

Details

Title: The Liar Society
Author: Lisa and Laura Roecker
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date : February 8th, 2011
Available to order here: Amazon / Book Depository / Barnes & Noble 

Synopsis


Kate Lowry didn't think dead best friends could send e-mails. But when she gets an e-mail from Grace, she’s not so sure.

To: KateLowry@pemberlybrown.edu
Sent: Sun 9/14 11:59 PM
From: GraceLee@pemberlybrown.edu
Subject: (no subject)

Kate,
I'm here…
sort of.
Find Cameron.
He knows.
I shouldn't be writing.
Don't tell.
They'll hurt you.

Now Kate has no choice but to prove once and for all that Grace’s death was more than just a tragic accident. But secrets haunt the halls of her elite private school. Secrets people will do anything to protect. Even if it means getting rid of the girl trying to solve a murder.

My Review

There are many books that begin with a bang, and then by the end, they fizzle out and have merely transformed into a throbbing headache. "The Liar Society" by Lisa and Laura Roecker is NOT such a book. In fact, it is the kind of book that begins with a bang, and ends in a grand finale of amazing fireworks, with a complete bandstand playing in the background. And all of this coming from a reader who is a COMPLETE skeptic when it comes to books like "The Liar Society".

From the very first page, and the very first few lines, "The Liar Society" sucks you right into the whirlpool of secrets and mysteries that are abound within the novel. I love that beneath the humorous narrative, the quirkiness of the characters, and the funny dialogue is a simple story of how far a friend will go for another friend. How secrets can compound and hinder so much of your life. Kate Lowry lost her best friend Grace to a fire on a night that still does not make any sense to her. When she finds an email written to her by Grace, it sends her spiraling into a quest for clues to her friend's death, and to find closure for a wound that never quite healed.

I love the world that Lisa & Laura Roecker have created. Pemberley Brown goes beyond being merely an uppity private school - it happens to be a world within a world. And although we see some stereotypes which are a given among any high school crowd, the authors have made sure that all the characters, even the minor ones, are truly multi-faceted. Just when you think you know all about a character, this book reveals to you a side of them you never thought was possible. This mastery of characterization, the wonderful mystery that kept me hooked until the very end of the novel and left me begging for more, along with the beautiful way in which friendship was portrayed in this book made this book truly an exceptional read. I would recommend it to all YA lovers who also enjoy mystery - just make sure you take a flashlight to bed, I know I did, I just could not put it down! :) 

 

My Rating : 5/5 Stars

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book as a prize for a contest won, I was not compensated monetarily, or in any other way, for my opinion. The opinions stated in this review are solely mine, and are not representative of views of the author, or publishing company, of this book.

"The Map of Time" by Felix J. Palma - A Review

Details

Title: The Map of Time
Author: Felix J. Palma (Translated by: Nick Caistor)
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: June 28th, 2011
Available for Pre-order here: Simon & Schuster / Books-a-Million / Barnes & Noble


My Review

"The Map of Time" by Felix J. Palma is a book that defies being boxed into a single genre. Its a magnificent novel that is part Historical Fiction, part Science Fiction, part Romance, even part Steampunk, and all in all, a great Mystery/Thriller. Even if you are a fan of only one of those genres, but not a fan of the others, I guarantee that you are still going to enjoy this book because it manages to do justice to all the genres it encompasses.

The book begins with a narrator introducing the reader to the story and its various characters. Author Palma has created a narrator with a clear, strong voice and a commanding presence. The narration is fluid, and on various occasions it tends to engage into direct dialogue with the reader, thus drawing the reader right into the novel itself. It has been quite some time since I have enjoyed a book narrated in the third-person, and seldom have I come across a narrator who resonates so well with me.

The story is simple, and the story is good. It involves the manipulation of time, and time travel, and is full of adventures. But it is not just telling an interesting story that this author succeeds in, he has also given birth to characters that are dynamic and multi-dimensional, much like the story itself. Felix J. Palma takes great pains to infuse as much detail as possible into his story, he leaves no stone unturned in order to give great depth to his characters, which in turn gives a lot of substance to this magical tale.

The novel is woven around three main intertwined tales. First, we have Andrew Harrington, the wealthy and heartbroken bachelor residing in Victorian London who lost the love of his life, prostitute Marie Kelly, to the evil and conniving murderer 'Jack the Ripper'. In his destitution, and inability to move on from his tragedy, he is willing to try anything, perhaps something even as implausible as time travel, in order to save Marie Kelly from the hands of the cold-blooded murderer. Then there's Claire Haggerty, a woman who feels stifled by the norms of the Victorian society which dictate her to marry a suitable man from the many suitors that her family finds for her. She feels disconnected from the people and customs of her time, and longs to exist in another world - a world where she is free to follow her desires, and love whomever she pleases. Last, but definitely not the least, there is the young author H.G. Wells, the man whose novel, 'The Time Machine' has motivated many to try their hands at time travel, and his book becomes the root from which the branches of this story sprout forth. Also incorporated into the story are the stories of Dracula, Joseph Merrick (the Elephant Man), and the futuristic Captain Shackleton battling the automatons of the year 2000.

Ultimately, Felix J. Palma has authored a novel that is sublime in all its aspects. Acerbic wit, intellectual commentary, mind boggling twists and turns, combined with unique characters makes for an enchanting, satisfying and deeply mesmerizing novel. In the novel, the author writes about an invention being something that supersedes the being of the man who invents it, and outlasts him to form part of world as it goes into the future - to which I surmise that in this case, "The Map of Time" is Felix J. Palma's greatest invention to date, a novel invention that transports us to another place and another time, and this will surely be a novel talked about for ages to come.

My Rating : 5/5 Stars

Disclaimer: Although I received an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of this book for review, I was not compensated monetarily, or in any other way, for my opinion. The opinions stated in this review are solely mine, and are not representative of views of the author, or publishing company, of this book.