99¢ BOOK OF THE WEEK

The TRIUMVIRATE - Love for Power, Love of Power, the Power of Love.

A story about love and loyalty, politics and power, sacrifice and survival

taken from tomorrow’s headlines.

Till Oct. 6 at https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU

When terrorists kill Shyloh’s mother, he dedicates his life to making a better world. He recruits his childhood friends Aiya and Judith. With their intimate bond, exceptional talents and singular determination they become a formidable team.

He chose them, nurtured them, advised them, and, in no small way, is responsible for who and what they've become.

Judith, the warrior and pragmatist who believes in law and order, is the commander of the new country's military.

Aiya, the theologian and advocate for justice and morality, is leader of the Cascadia's largest faith-based organization.

In the past, when dissension, disagreement, and at times hostility threatened to destroy their triumvirate, Shyloh, the idealist and politician, was able to harness the heat and energy generated from this polarity and craft a consensus, identify a goal, and create a process to get there. Together they’ve been responsible for Cascadia’s survival amid the chaos and carnage that accompanied the collapse of civilization.

But now, negotiating this dichotomy of will and passion is like being between two powerful magnets, crushed when as opposite poles they collide, and at risk of disintegrating when as similar ones they repulse each other.

The unraveling of civilization caused by climate change has brought unique challenges. For  each of them the goal has begun to take on different meaning. In the end, there can only be one better world, but whose will be best?

    ...a GREAT choice for a bookclub to read and discuss.

"This book traces Shyloh's efforts to make a better world of our present social, economic, and environmental crisis through creating a team of three unbiased leaders (The Triumvirate). The problems they address are real and will be known to the reader. They are today's headlines and, being unbiased, these three are revolutionaries in their own time. It is fast paced, a good story, and an easy read.
    - Clark Wilkins, Author of A Compelling Unknown Force

If you enjoy fiction/sci-fi, climate change and politics this could be a book for you.

I enjoyed the futuristic portrayals of Canada because of the connection with the many pressing social issues in our country's politics.

Touches on many divisive social issues of today (immigration, virus, climatechange, federal/provincial strain) and provides a unique perspective. The take on the Canadian confederation was particularly interesting to me because of the current issues in Alberta.

- Tom Urac, Author of Spartan Revolt

    "...unflinchingly stares down some of today's most contentious issues, whether they are of a socioeconomic, environmental, racial, or political nature.

"...sure to spark discussion amongst intellectuals and casual readers alike, ... highly recommend it as a selection for a reading group.
-- Jonathan Walter, Contributing author to THE DEVIL'S DOORBELL, GHOSTLIGHT, and DARK DOSSIER anthologies; and columnist for UXmatters Web magazine

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO TRAILER

https://animoto.com/play/i6nvYHpYQl6oukfFzCfryg

Leah Warner has been in a serious car accident and is in a coma on life-support. Her multiple injuries include broken bones, brain trauma and face lacerations. When the cardiac arrest alarm sounds in the critical care unit two nurses rush to Leah’s room expecting the worst. Instead, they find her sitting on the side of the bed, “illuminated by the harsh shaft of light”. She is conscious, coherent and not experiencing any pain. It appears the patient has had a spontaneous recovery of all her injuries including the deep cuts on her face, but for Leah, a thirty-eight-year-old widow with two young sons what is even more amazing is “Of all the people in the world, God chose me to be a messenger”.

Leah declares she has been with God and the message he wants her to convey to mankind is “… a message of love. God loves us and wants us to love each other in the same way. God wants us to embrace humility and selflessness instead of acquisition and achievement.”

Subsequent medical examinations confirm Leah’s miraculous recovery and though Leah doesn’t believe she has been instilled with any kind of holiness or divinity she is committed to spreading God’s message.

Very quickly sides are drawn up between those who accept and embrace Leah’s message from God as new hope and direction for a troubled world and those who reject her and the message concerned it will spawn religious bigotry and undermine the status quo.

These opposing positions are represented by two powerful and competing organizations. Americans for Social Progress want “an end to discrimination of all kinds; economic parity; religious freedom; cultural freedom; and the protection of personal privacy.” Their concerned Leah’s message “…will be politicized. It will be abused by those who wish to make God, or their perception of God, the supreme leader of the land.” They’ll pay big bucks for her to muzzle God’s message.

Then there are Americans for the Advancement of Faith, an organization devoted to the promotion of faith who “…only wish to promote a faith-based society.” They’ll pay big bucks to help Leah deliver God’s message.

As the stakes increase and the country becomes more divided violence is inevitable.

The Message? A Thinking Thriller About Change and Choice by Avam Hale is a trope on the theme of how someone espousing fundamental tenets of Christianity would be received in modern society but despite being unoriginal it’s well researched, structured, realistically portrayed, and entertaining.

Hale cleverly has the main narrative supported by a parallel plotline of a twice-weekly class on the philosophical arguments for the existence of a monotheistic God and Creator delivered by a Professor of Philosophy. As Leah’s story advances so do the lectures converging with the question of the authenticity of Leah’s message from God.

The biggest problem I had with this book was a growing suspension of disbelief as the story unfolded. I couldn’t believe that God’s generic, unoriginal message, similar to lessons taught in Sunday school would get the push back Hale builds the tension in his story on. I kept waiting for some validation. A reason to believe. It never came.

Wien, Juli 1921. Mitten in einer Hitzewelle werden Emmerich und Winter zu einem Tatort mit 2 Frauenleichen gerufen - 2 Prostituierte wurden ermordet, eine 3. scheint auf der Flucht zu sein. Da Emmerich mal wieder wegen Beleidigung des Bundeskanzlers in Ungnade gefallen ist, muss er just zu diesem Zeitpunkt in eine Disziplinarschulung und Winter mit den Ermittlungen im Rotlichtmilieu alleine lassen. Doch auch sein Seminar stellt sich als bald als komplizierter dar, als es ihm lieb ist.

Dies ist der 4. Roman der Emmerich-Reihe. Wie immer zeichnet Beer ein hochinteressantes Bild der Nachkriegsgesellschaft zwischen bitterer Armut und offen gezeigter Dekadenz, zwischen junger verachteter Demokratie und dem Schwelgen in Monarchie-Erinnerungen und -Fantasien. In diesem Fall wird alles miteinander verwoben, heraus kommt ein spannend zu lesender Roman, wenn gleich auch der letztendliche Rädelsführer zu offensichtlich ist.

Aufgewogen wird dies allerdings durch die persönlichen Seiten, denn sowohl über Winter, der zumindest in Ansätzen diesmal alleine ermitteln darf, als auch über Emmerich erfährt man mehr. Dazu inkludiert Emmerich Winter immer mehr in seine kleine Familie, die irgendwie auch den Schmuggler/Neo-Politiker Kolja mitumfasst. Ich hoffe auch, dass Irina gekommen ist, um zu bleiben.

Beer vermag es spielend, ihren Figuren immer neue Facetten zu geben, aber auch schon bekannte weiter auszuarbeiten. Man lebt mit mit Winter, der sich endlich beweisen will, und Emmerich, der sein Leben als alleinerziehender Vater, Kriminalinspektor, Mentor für Winter und die Suche nach seiner Herkunft irgendwie jonglieren will. Und genau davon leben diese Romane! Natürlich werden auch die Fäden zu Band 5 gelegt, der im Herbst 2021 erscheinen soll - ich freu mich jedenfalls schon drauf.

Der einzige kleine Kritikpunkt betrifft die Edition: Das Taschenbuch umfasst 348 Seiten - aufgrund der verwendeten Schriftgröße und des Zeilenabstands hätte man hier durchaus auch auf 250 Seiten reduzieren können... Es muss ja nicht unbedingt ein größerer Umfang vorgegeben werden, als im Endeffekt da ist. Leider fiel mir das aber auch schon bei anderen Beer-Romanen auf.

Fazit: spannend, mitreißend... die Emmerich-Serie zeigt bislang keine Abnutzungserscheinungen. So soll's sein!

FREE E-BOOK. JUNE 23 -27

The Bird Witch

Book 4 in The Mattie Saunders Series 

DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY AT

https://amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU

Can you love someone whose worldview is different from yours? Who is committed to a cause that excludes you because of your race? Simon is an Indigenous person dedicated to the struggle for justice for First Nations people. Mattie loves him but is love enough?

Birds are dying. At the Saunders Bird Rescue and Sanctuary where rescued parrots abandoned by their owners are rehabilitated and re-homed, a deadly virus has them dying in Mattie's hands. In the midst of this outbreak, she's called to investigate a mortality event where dozens of starlings fly into the pavement as if committing suicide.

Mattie looks to Simon, her rock and refuge, for support, but after spending weeks at a remote protest site, as soon as he returns home he begins working with Wendy Walters, the attractive, ambitious Indigenous politician on her re-election campaign. Mattie's just about had enough.

When Simon proposes a vacation on the Mexican Riviera, Mattie sees it as an opportunity to recover from the death of her beloved birds. She's also hopeful it's an indication Simon's reconsidering his priorities. She didn't realize while on vacation he'd want to attend the Conference of Indigenous Peoples in Chiapas. Mattie's annoyed, but decides to indulge her passion and do some tropical bird watching rather than attend a boring conference.

But Simon's conference turns out to be anything but boring when a deadly firefight erupts between the Mexican Army trying to arrest suspected terrorists and revolutionary Zapatista's. Now Simon is missing, and Mattie is determined to find him, but to do so she must first escape being kidnapped by corrupt Mexican police and avoid abduction by vicious cartel members.

The fourth book in The Mattie Saunders Series, The Bird Witch combines romance and action with environmental themes for an exciting exploration of contemporary culture and issues.

"Fantastic voice! I'm not typically a "series" reader but loved this author's voice. Simon is an Indigenous native who struggles for justice for First Nations people. His character study is VERY interesting writing. Great writing...great discovery!" FIVE STARS

"A very professionally written ecological thriller book." FIVE STARS "

"... a great book. The characters are believable and relatable and continue to evolve as the story progresses. ...I didn't have to read the other three books in order to step into the main character's journey. Although, having read it, it makes me want to go back and read the other three! "...a great job of weaving the complexities of relationship into the story, and I could really feel the push-pull Mattie and Simon experienced between their desire for relationship and a need to pursue their passions."

"Great book. Highly recommend."

"Mattie, despite being severely flawed (on purpose)... her faults do not make it harder to root for her although, at times, it's easy to find yourself annoyed with her. ...it is a joy to read a character that can make you feel so many different things but still enjoy her overall." "Simon, was my absolute favourite character ... sweet and kind and endearing and patient and so well written" "One of the subplots in this book was romance and it was honestly so well done...interesting and refreshing and sweet."

"The writing ...was so nice, witty, and refreshing. I thought it was lovely."- Goodreads review by Industry

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE PROMOTIONAL VIDEO

https://animoto.com/play/1U0ONQVndep1jn2dBgdImQ

FREE E-BOOK

The TRIUMVIRATE 

Love for Power, Love of Power, the Power of Love

June 17-21

Download your copy now at

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU

When terrorists kill Shyloh’s mother, he dedicates his life to making a better world. He recruits his childhood friends Aiya and Judith. With their intimate bond, exceptional talents and singular determination they become a formidable team as they grow to be leaders in their chosen fields of politics, religion and the military.

The unraveling of civilization caused by climate change brings unique challenges, and for each of them the goal begins to take on different meaning.

Whose better world will be best?

"This book traces Shyloh's efforts to make a better world of our present social, economic, and environmental crisis through creating a team of three unbiased leaders (The Triumvirate). The problems they address are real and will be known to the reader. They are today's headlines and, being unbiased, these three are revolutionaries in their own time. It is fast paced, a good story, and an easy read.

    This would be a GREAT choice for a bookclub to read and discuss. How can Shyloh relate to the world but not to his own neighbors? Why is Shyloh so helpless without women? Do the two women love him and, if so, why? Would not the two women have gone on to do the same things without him? And what about their politics? Are they right or wrong?"
    - Clark Wilkins, Author of A Compelling Unknown Force

"If you enjoy fiction/sci-fi, climate change and politics this could be a book for you.

I enjoyed the futuristic portrayals of Canada because of the connection with the many pressingsocial issues in our country's politics.

Touches on many divisive social issues of today (immigration, virus, climatechange, federal/provincial strain) and provides a unique perspective. The take on the Canadian confederation was particularly interesting to me because of the current issues in Alberta."

- Tom Urac, Author of Spartan Revolt

    "...unflinchingly stares down some of today's most contentious issues, whether they are of a socioeconomic, environmental, racial, or political nature.

"...sure to spark discussion amongst intellectuals and casual readers alike, ... highly recommend it as a selection for a reading group."
-- Jonathan Walter, Contributing author to THE DEVIL'S DOORBELL, GHOSTLIGHT, and DARK DOSSIER anthologies; and columnist for UXmatters Web magazine

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE PROMO VIDEO

https://animoto.com/play/i6nvYHpYQl6oukfFzCfryg

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