Monday, October 3, 2011

Jack Be Nimble: Gargoyle Book One by Ben English

The boy came to her out of water, unexpected. He was smart and strong and goofy, as boys are meant to be, but peculiar - he remembered everything.
In the span of a single summer, she made him fearless.
Now, even as Mercedes Adams is at the height of her career, forbidding changes loom over the world. That night, in the hushed calm of a spring evening, two plain-faced killers watch her home, waiting to make their approach.
A few hundred miles away, a brilliant technologist returns to his childhood town in order to begin a descent into darkness . . . in London, a military game theorist finds himself pursuing kidnappers . . . outside Prague, a hacker and a thief stumble upon plans for a weapon unique to the world . . . an FBI agent faces an unpredictable fugitive in Chicago, while in Germany, a sniper-turned-schoolteacher finds reasons to take up his ancient calling . . . and a sitting United States Senator finds his life and his work invaded to terrifying conclusion. In Paris, a widowed man begins to recognize the hints and patterns of a greater puzzle that will bring them together . . . or kill them all.
Mercedes Adams is about to find herself at the center of a vast, tightening knot of mystery, intrigue, and globe-spanning terror borne of her family's legacy. Rising to her aid is a small group of specially-trained men and women. And at their center?
A man who remembers everything


I was emailed by the author asking for a review in exchange for a free copy of the book. As I mostly review young adult books I centered on the part of the email that indicated that it was "firmly PG13" and would appeal to both adults and young adults.
After only a few chapters in I really could not see an appeal for young adults and thought that it was more of a PG 16 if I were to put an age range on it. But that really has no affect on the fact that I really enjoyed the story. There is an appeal to those young adults that like reading about more adult things like work, family life and advances in technology and science. But on with my thoughts on the actual story. Sorry about the intro.
Characters: My favorite character was Mercedes. As a woman myself I found her more appealing and interesting to me. I found that during some of Jack's parts that I became distracted and my thoughts wandered as I read. Alonzo was very interesting for me as well and almost as interesting as Mercedes. You would think that the most appeal of the book would be Jack as he is the crime-solver and a very popular actor. The contribution of several characters to the story I found was very beneficial for me. If this story were just told from one perspective I feel that it would not have turned out as well as it did.
Story: I thought the story was great, I did not think that it slacked at all as I have read in other reviews. For me I liked the whole idea presented right in the beginning of the novel of being able to inject a person with something and have microscopic technology inside your blood stream to have a higher connection to your feelings and body. I know that I am not going to make sense to people who have not read the story because I am not a writer and cannot express it as well as it's written in the book.
Overall the book had just as much appeal to me as the Dan Brown books I have read. International settings with scientific technology and a mystery to solve. Very interesting combinations of characters and it's a pretty lengthy novel as well. For the $2.99 kindle price it's well worth the money and I would encourage you to give it a try. It's the first in a series so if you like it there's more to come.
Book reviews like this make me wish I were better at expressing things. Sometimes as a reviewer I am at a loss for the right words to help explain such a detailed and well researched story. 
I highly encourage you to read the first 30 pages here 
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3935689.Ben_English

2 comments:

  1. Looks like you are just getting started....welcome to blogging.

    NEW FOLLOWER.

    Stop by my blog if you like to see flying bats under the candy post. :)

    Elizabeth

    http://silversolara.blogspot.com

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  2. Hi Krista,

    Jack Be Nimble: Gargoyle is FREE THROUGH FRIDAY FEB 22. Your followers might want to download this for free. http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Be-Nimble-Gargoyle-ebook/dp/B0058NX038/ref=pd_rhf_ee_p_t_1_QGD4

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