The second episode in a series of four, The R Word is an Earth-based science fiction romance novel with some adult content. The first novel, Splintered Energy, the third, House of Seven, and the final, Under Color are available. #The R word isn't to be spoken. And if any idiotic human thinks otherwise, the reluctant leader of splintered energy fears violence between colorsDay 1: A sunbeam splinters and seven die. Day 2: Malcolm—Blue—suspects only a cosmic man-made error could fracture a photon, killing humans as sentient light is trapped within their bodies.He steals Yellow, an adult female, from a morgue. His computer virus draws another woman, Green, to his side, and he manages enough contact with Red and Orange, male and female who top the FBI’s most wanted list, to give out his location.Day 3: Five colors accounted for, two missing without a trace, and Malcolm’s desperate for the teen, father and child ‘helping’ him to leave. He presumes Red and Orange, most powerful beings on Earth, will break much more than the door when they arrive to demand answers he doesn’t have. Day 4: Debatable who’ll survive to see it dawn.* * *
You don't have to have read book One to understand what's going on in The R-Word but I suggest that you do, because that way, you'll experience the true wonder of the world Ms Webb has created. When dawn literally splinters, seven die and seven colors inhabit the bodies of the hosts with no knowledge of who or what they are. Book One starts them on the journey of discovery and reunites some of the colors, books two continues that process. I couldn't wait to read more about Damon (Red) and Malcolm (Blue) in particular. Damon is the most powerful being in existence, able to crack a steering wheel in his hand and yet so gentle with living creatures they flock to him. His childish innocence makes for great comedy and Ms Webb takes full advantage of that. Mal is the leader, the autistic savant who can't bear to be touched and yet his love for his compatriots and the humans who help them is all-encompassing. He doesn't want to be leader but he steps up to the plate and the others are lost without his guidance. I don't want to tell much of the plot in this because it's too easy to spoil but Ms Webb is a master at choreographing a large cast, at creating tension, at dispelling it with humour and the reader is forced to accompany these alien beings on the roller-coaster journey to enlightenment. There are apparently two more books to come (already written) but book two doesn't leave the reader up in the air. The ending is satisfying and yet leaves me desperate for the release of book three. A great read for anyone who loves the unusual!!
This book picked right up from Splintered Energy and kept me reading more than one evening way into the night. This continuing storyline is so unique, with equally exceptional characters that are layered and complex, I look forward to the next books in this series so I can spend more time with them and see if they can return ‘home.’ Funny thing is, though I really want them to, the thought makes me sad and I’m not quite sure what to hope for. Guess I’d better keep reading as long as Webb’s still writing!
After reading Splintered Energy, I was looking forward to meeting the illustrious colors in Arlene Webb's The R-Word again and loved it. Great fun to see this fabulous cast struggle with their diverse challenges. Witty dialogue, tension, great descriptions, emotional depth, it's all there. A lovely page turner, while sometimes I stopped to reread a particularly beautiful or funny passage.
Another very good read with great characters in a very colorful world. Once again, no semblance of an ending and you need to go straight into the next one.
The sexual elements increase as the story goes on. Although it makes sense in context, it isn't a book I'd recommend to anyone who prefers those elements do not intrude in the story.
Every bit as good, if not better, than the first book in this series!!! Blue, Red, Orange, Green, Yellow!!! They've unwillingly picked up another fragile human on their search for Indigo and Violet. Must dive into book 3 NOW ;-)
Ms. Webb drops the reader right into the moment she leaves off at the end of “Splintered Energy”, alleviating the stress of the previous cliffhanger ending.
Second Volume in the Series: Sci-Fi, Suspense, and Romance
Note: It's the second in the series and it's not a standalone book.
Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet weave the tapestry of life and death. The colors represent power, allegiance, and the end of humanity.
"Reunite color, return to bigoted enlightenment, spare mankind— why was such a simple goal so damn difficult? He had to maneuver the father, child, and a teenager in love with lethal living-color miles from this house before humans were outnumbered by mutated superbeings capable of hearing the sound of a man soaping his skin in the furthest bedroom."
Arlene Webb is the author of the Ancient World Romance series. With the Color series, she continues to explore new frontiers for herself and her readers. The R Word is the second volume in the science fiction/suspense/romance series.