Richard Paul Evans's "Michael Vey: Fall Of Hades"...A Book Review

*

It's been a while since I posted a book review--it's been a while since I finished a book, audiobook, ebook, or hard copy. That happens when you're focusing on other projects, like books of your own. I've heard more than once very successful authors say that to be a good, or better writer, you can't stop reading. I would love to return to the days when I could finish at least one book each week, and maybe one day I will.

But today, I finished the sixth installment of the Michael Vey saga, Richard Paul Evans's Michael Vey: The Fall of Hades. Evans continues to provide a story driven by good vs. evil, incredible odds stacked against the protagonists, and perhaps, more importantly, imagination.

Michael and his Electroclan--a group of people with special powers--are once again trying to stop the Evil Hatch before he stops them. The series has always had themes of working together as a team as well as recruiting former enemies to join their ranks in the battle of good and bad. This installment continues that thread. Former enemies become allies and the fight goes on. And, like the novels that came before, no one of the characters are safe--people die.

What I've enjoyed in the previous books is found in the pages of The Fall of Hades. Evans allows the characters to better understand their powers and abilities the same we we, the readers, do. Just like in life, our lives are not stagnant. New discoveries are made within the group and among the members of the Electroclan individually. Michael tries to understand himself as his powers increase, culminating in the exciting climax, and since the last book of the series has been announced, the cliffhanger is (for me...) not "will Michael return," but how. Even if I hadn't known of the final book's release, the ending is powerful (pardon the pun...)and full of possibilities.

Since I haven't been going through books like I have before, I didn't know the book had been out as long as it has. I would have liked to have read it sooner, but later is better than not at all. And, it's less time between now and when I get my hands on the final chapter. Well done, Rich!

* Photo used without permission from: https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/27158739-fall-of-hades

Richard Paul Evans's "Walking On Water"...Finishing The Journey

*

Reading Richard Paul Evans's The Walk series reminded me of how we watch television shows nowadays. We binge watch. And we can experience an entire season of emotions in a relatively short period of time. I felt this the same way after finishing Book Five in The Walk series, Walking on Water. It was exhausting!

Walking on Water concludes the fictional walk across the country by Alan Christoffersen, a man tormented by his pasts. Since leaving Seattle after the death of his wife and the lose of his business, the man faced death (several times...), love, betrayal, and heartache. And the strange thing about these books is, I felt like I faced them, too. That's the sign of a good literary work and a talented author. If you've read the books, you know what I'm talking about.

What I've found most interesting is a reaction I get when I mention to others The Walk series. A big smile crosses their faces and they say how much they loved the series. At the end of Alan's story, the author gives us a look into how this fictional journey, and the author's real cross country journey while researching the book, affected his life. He made the trek with his daughter and you can tell from his words and the emotion with which he speaks, that journey will be something he cherishes, something he'll remember the rest of his life.

The Walk series is unlike anything I've ever read before. Many have written epic tales using millions of words. The scope of their stories is only eclipsed by the universes in which they're set. But what I loved about this series was its simplicity. It's something I could do, or most of us could do. The story many times reminds us that a lot of people have thought about or even wanted to do it. I suppose it's the Ernest Hemingway gene that some act upon and others ignore. But Evans did it (albeit in a car...) and Alan Christoffersen did it. And because a man dedicated his time and talents to writing this story down, we can experience the journeys of these two men, one real, the other fiction. Both have come away better men.

* Photo used without permission from: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18144105-walking-on-water?ac=1&from_search=true

Richard Paul Evan's "The Walk"...A Book Review

Several weeks ago I listened to an audiobook written and narrated by Richard Paul Evans. It was The Road to Grace. I blogged about this book after I finished it. When I downloaded it I didn't know it was the third book in the series. Even without knowing that, I enjoyed it very much. It was an engaging story on its own.

Yesterday I started listening to the first book in the series, The Walk.

It's a great little read.

In fact, it reminded me of a 1970s TV show, The Incredible Hulk. But more on that later.

The Walk explains how Alan Christoffersen became a solitary figure, a broken man walking from one end of the continent to the other. The third book lets us know about the trials Alan has faced; the first book tells us about those trails in detail. We experience the heartache of loss, the pain of betrayal, the feeling that all is lost. Because, to Alan, all is lost. It takes a long walk for him to discover otherwise.

The book can be seen as an anthology, similar to what Kevin J. Anderson and Neil Peart did in their excellent book, Clockwork Lives. We learn of other's life stories as they interact with Alan. They trust a man who wanders from city to city, small town to hamlet.

Which brings me to The Incredible Hulk. For those of you remember the Bill Bixby production, a lonely man--a man who had lost everything--wanders from episode to episode fixing other's problems and using his own demons to do it. Does Alan Christoffersen turn into a massive green monster? No, but he does help others and used his own pain to do so.

It's a great little read.

Richard Paul Evans's "The Road To Grace"...A Book Review

*

A lot of the audiobooks I read/listen to come from my local library. The books are free, but you must have patience to get works written by popular authors. So when I saw a Richard Paul Evans book come available, I checked it out, downloaded it and listened to the whole thing in one afternoon. I didn't realize that the book, The Road to Grace, was number three in a series until after I had finished it. I knew nothing about this book or the series.

Truthfully, it didn't matter. It was a great little book which I enjoyed a lot, even though I had not read the first two books.

The Road to Grace continues the story of Alan Christoffersen, a recent widower who, after the death of his wife and the loss of his business, decides to walk from Seattle, Washington, to Key West, Florida. This book picks up his story as he's walking in South Dakota. It's a first-person perspective, told by the man who has experienced so much loss. I think it makes the story much more impactful than if it were a told from a third-person perspective.

In South Dakota Alan comes in contact with his mother-in-law. Alan does not like her. As the story unfolds, we find out why. I can only imagine more about their relationship was detailed in the previous books, but if not, Evans does a great job in creating tension between these two people. He also beautifully writes how their relationship evolves. 

Alan continues walking and he runs (or walks...) into trouble several times. Along the way he meets wonderfully developed characters, people we would love to meet or have in our lives.

Like I said, I enjoyed the story without knowing there were other books previous to this one. If I had known there were two other books, it might have not enjoyed this one as much. I might have kept thinking that I should have read the other books first. 

I have put the books on hold (like I said, you have to wait for the popular authors...) and even though I know what happens in The Road to Grace, I'm sure I'll enjoy them as well.

* Photo used without permission from: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12275907-the-road-to-grace?from_search=true&search_version=service

A Few Thoughts About "Michael Vey" And His Creator...

Usually when I finish a book, I write a blog post with some of my thoughts. Last week I finished Richard Paul Evans's Michael Vey: Rise of the Elgen and immediately began the third book in the series, Michael Vey: Battle of the Ampere which I'll finish tomorrow.

*

These are great books! I know they're targeted for young adult readers and I know that many adults also enjoy the books. And because the audiobooks are only between four and five hours (listening to audiobooks at 2X speed...) I can get through a book in a couple of days. 

*

There's another reason I wanted to read these books and it has to do with the Comic Cons I've attended in the past couple of years. Because I've been fortunate enough to be a panelist at these events many times I've found myself in the greenroom with bestselling authors. Last year I ran into Richard Paul Evans and had him hold a picture of my son (who is serving a LDS mission...) so I could snap a picture. He was nice enough to do it. And now if I happen to run into him again (and if I'm fortunate enough to be invited back...) I'll see if I can talk to him about his Michael Vey books.

*

The next book is already available for me to download so I'll begin that tomorrow and hopefully have it finished by the weekend. I'd love to see if the author will chat about the series with me. Hopefully, we'll find out in a few months.

* Photos used without permission from: https://www.goodreads.com/series/65809-michael-vey

Photos With Celebrities...Never Been My Thing

For the past year (and maybe a couple of years before...), I've had the opportunity to be in the same building with some pretty famous people. And earlier this year and this weekend, I was in the same room with some of those people.

And yet, I've turned down the opportunity to have my picture taken with them.

At these large conventions a huge draw for many patrons are the stars. And the Salt Lake Comic Cons have drawn some of the biggest names there are. Many of the celebrities will allow us commoners to have our pictures taken with them, but for a price. Much of the money they raise for signatures and photos goes to charity, which I think is pretty cool.

So, I can always use the excuse that I can't really swing the steep price to have my picture taken with them. But, because of my association with the cons, I've been lucky enough to get close to some of these stars.

Still, I resist asking. It's just not my thing.

Until today. I carried with me a picture of my son who is currently serving a LDS mission. I approached two celebrities (celebrities that he would know...) and asked them a simple question. "Can I get a picture of you and my son?" They agreed, then looked around for the little tyke. That's when I pulled my son's picture out of my breast pocket and told him what I was doing. Both Richard Paul Evans and Jon Heder seemed to like the idea.

I'm going to send him the pictures the next time I send my son a letter. I hope he enjoys the pictures. Funny, I guess we'll do some things for our kids we won't do for ourselves.