Bernard Jan's Blog - Posts Tagged "suspense"

Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It was love at the first read. It started with Watchers twenty-three years ago and lasted more than seventy books up to this date.

Dean Koontz, like very few authors, managed to keep me expectant, eager, thrilled and enthusiastic about his books. His latest novel Ashley Bell is no exception either. What's more and to be honest, despite being an author myself, I am now lacking words to describe how I really feel about Ashley Bell.

Ashley Bell is a complex novel of more than 700 pages about a remarkable young woman Bibi Blair who is determined to do the impossible and: 1) fight, beat, outsmart and escape death, and 2) find and save someone named Ashley Bell. Both seems rather impossible and destined to failure. But not for Dean Koontz and not for Bibi Blair.

Ashley Bell is a poetic, dark, psychological thriller in which the master of suspense and mystery creates a parallel world with the ease of The Maker. Koontz daringly plays the literary God and takes us into parallel worlds created by his incredible imagination, convincing us to believe and live the impossible. Dean Koontz has already taught as that nothing in his books is impossible, that “impossible” universes, creatures and situations are possible, we only have to imagine them.

His prose is a kaleidoscope of the most vivid colors and darkest shadows. It is a playground sanded with rarely seen scenes of violence and murders, chilled-to-the-bones moments and sentences poetically beautiful as sunsets. Our task is to imagine and bring them into life.

“If we were imagined into existence with a universe of wonders, then the power to form the future with our imagination must be in our bloodline.” – Dean Koontz, Ashley Bell

BJ
www.bernardjan.com



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Father Figure by James J. Cudney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I can understand but cannot fully grasp the intensity of need, desire and obsession to find the identity of biological parents because I was lucky enough to have them both. I guess it is something primal, something that runs in our blood and doesn’t leave us at peace until we know.

That restless need, disturbance in our consciousness and ability to identify ourselves are beautifully described in the novel Father Figure by James J. Cudney. A story of two young women living twenty years apart, one desperately trying to hide and forget her past, the other one eager to find the answers to her origins and sexuality.

Father Figure is a modern story of love, hatred, romance, monstrosity, family issues, sexual challenges, doubts, failures, sadness, redemption, forgiveness, acceptance and coming to peace with ourselves. The story I thought would read in a straight line of logical events surprised me with an unexpected number of twists and turns and smartly delivered booby traps-cliffhangers. Marvelous is how the author made me loath one protagonist in the story!

I am always happy when I discover a new book or author worthy of my time, attention and love. James J. Cudney and his Father Figure are among them, the latest additions to my private hall of fame and darlings.

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

Bernard Jan



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The Last Migration by Michael Evans

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Highly action-packed third instalment of the Conspiracy Chronicles puts Sam in front of many new challenges. The biggest challenge is saving millions of people before they perish in the vats of acid of his father’s company Chimera, but it’s not the last one. As the truth of The Last Migration plan leaks to the public, Sam is propelled into a series of events that will grind his emotions and body with a turbulent force of new discoveries with devastating consequences.

Speeding from one dangerous situation to another, a young author of The Last Migration twists and turns his characters to the limit. With a brilliant narrative he proves his excellence as a storyteller and skillfulness in creating and destroying worlds. Michael Evans is a talent yet to be discovered and recognized by many. I am honored and happy to enjoy and hungrily devour his books at such an early stage of his career.

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

My review of Deadwave and Blood Brothers.

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Bernard Jan



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I am thrilled and grateful to Maia for accepting my YA cross-genre novel Cruel Summer for the Silver Dagger book tour and giveaway! Cruel Summer starts the tour today, on May 28, and will tour until June 28 on 40 stops.

Please check and follow all the stops on the tour and share them with your friends and followers. Let's have some fun time together. Thanks, and let the tour begins!

Click here to continue reading,

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

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Bernard Jan