Finished On: 15th of February 2014
Edition Details:
format: e-book
page count: 379(estimated)
First Sentence:
Jackson dealt death as a gentleman should: judiciously,efficiently, and with compassion.
Vienna is a small town in Alabama. It’s a peaceful little town where crime rates are non-existent. A murder of a homeless guy starts a chain of events that has left everyone in the town baffled. What is the cause of these calamities??
Every one in the town believes that an out of towner is responsible for these, every one except Aunt Hattie. In 1929 Aunt Hattie had lost her lover to a lynch mob which was instigated by a false testimony of a preacher named, Leland Graves. The events that happened at that time were eerily similar to the present events and she believes that Leland Graves is behind all this.
Who is Leland graves and what’s his purpose behind all this?? Read the whole book and find out.
The book was an engaging read. i liked the concept of the story. It has mystery, supernatural phenomenon and romance, in short it has all the ingredients of a good story. The only thing that i found lacking was that the world of Leland Graves should have been explained a little more. Apart from that the books was a satisfying read.
Also, i feel that the character of Marlin Tilbury could be a subject of another novel where his journey from being a Vietnam hero to a drunken janitor and finally again rising up to defeat his own demons can be shown. I had a nice time reading the book and i hope you would too. If you like mystery and horror you’d love it.
I would be looking for more work by the author.
Some lines from the book:
To his credit, Jackson killed with increasing regret though conscience never slowed duty.
Moonlight peaked through jagged cloud cover, throwing haphazard patterns across the path. No need to warn the men to avoid the shards of light, war culled the careless.
But evil seeks prey in serenity
For a second or two he contemplates joining his friends in death, rising like a phoenix from destruction to kill as many NVA as he can. He dismisses the thought… and not for lack of courage. Marlin had no weapon.
Cassandra heard Jeremiah say, “Looks like the woman talked him to death.”
Nobody else…alive…half alive…dead but there anyway, moved. The voice’s raw power immobilized everything.
Professionals do not pause to grin at their victims….they finish them.
You can download the book from the following link:
Amazon.in link for The Apostasy
…sorry if you've already seen this. I keep posting because I don't see it reflected here. 🙂
Hi Vikas, Thanks for the time you took and the effort you spent in reviewing my book The Apostasy. I’m honored you found it worthy of your comments, and pleased you enjoyed it. I agree with all that you posted as far as recommendations. The story of Marlin Tilbury is worth further investigation…at least in your opinion and mine. He’s one of my favorite characters and he developed pretty much on his own. It nearly brought me to tears as I realized how far this treasure of a person had fallen. It would also be interesting to delve deeper in the world of Leland Graves. It frightened me a bit to do so when I peaked behind the curtain as I wasn’t sure I could find my way back out of it. His part is heavily influenced by Paradise Lost and the collected works of C.S. Lewis. I took liberties with certain spiritual doctrines, but doesn’t every fictional world possess a few discrete rules?
The original manuscript contained nearly 125 additional pages. I removed most of the extras in editing sessions with a retired Harper-Collins editor. Some of it I salted back in throughout the story, other snippets will always belong only to me. I’ve continued the characters in a partially-completed manuscript I’ve tentatively titled 903 Romar House. A sample is available on Authonomy.
I’ve also experimented with switching voices in a big way in two manuscripts that are the autobiography of a grocery clerk who’s also a 2000 year-old vampire. The sentences are short and punchy, and Gare says out loud a lot of the sarcastic things we tend to keep to ourselves. An early version of the first manuscript, Bones and Bagger is posted on Authonomy under the username Enthalpy.
Again, I thank you for your kind review. It was personally encouraging. All the best to you, Ted Minkinow.
Hi Ted,
I was surprised and happy when i saw your reply. I thought no body reads this. Well, i'll be waiting for your new book. Keep writing such wonderful stories.
Thanks
Vikas
Hi Vikas, You can bet that many of the authors you review here actually do read what you've written. And I'd encourage you to continue. I do a search on The Apostasy from time to time and your review showed up. I know some of my other friends in the community of writers does the same. I tend to look around to clear my mind during long or difficult writing sessions. Like I'm doing now.
I mentioned the second story with Tom, Cassie, and a few of the rest is underway. But it's on hold right now as I'm working on my third manuscript in the Gaius Teutoberg series (a fun distraction for me and, as yet, unpublished except for excerpts on Authonomy.
Since you enjoy literature so much…why don't you write your own story? They don't necessarily come out the way you want them to, but they do come out the way they need to be. Given you've mentioned some of my favorite themes in The Apostasy, I think you'll understand what I mean.
I'll check back to see how you're progressing. Whether you decide to write your own story or you enjoy those of others, I'm interested in what you have to say. You approach literature much the same way that I do.
Take care, Ted.
Hi Ted,
Thanks for your encouraging words. First of all i apologize for replying so late, the work has been too much and i couldn't get the time.
I have always loved a good story and it doesn't matter if i read it,hear it or watch it.
So a prospect of writing a story is really interesting, i would like to at least attempt to write it and then see what form it takes. Meanwhile, i'll keep enjoying the stories that are available. Once again thanks for your kind words and please keep writing engaging stories.
Vikas
बेहतरीन
जी आभार….