Monday, November 11, 2013

The Force: Review and Giveaway

The plan in my life was to be getting my review of The Force, by Alexandra and Joyce Swann posted today.  Early this morning, in fact.  You know, as part of this whole giveaway event. 

And I guess that since I'm already going to have to get this posted later than I am supposed to, I may as well get the review done too.

Alexandra and Joyce Swann, a mother-daughter team, have just released the second book in a series.  The first one, The Fourth Kingdom, is really the best place to start.  I'll be honest though, and tell you that it was a little slow going.  There were definitely twists and turns to the plot, but most were ones that I saw coming and didn't think I ought to have.  There were certainly still some surprises, and I finished reading the book with a strong desire to pick up The Force and figure out what happens next.

The Force had me hooked from at least the first chapter.  It introduces some new characters and the events are nowhere near as easy to anticipate.  When a plot twist was predictable, it felt different too... like the authors were intentionally giving me the information I needed so that I could be one step ahead of the characters and have the fun of watching them figure it out.  I'm not quite sure how to explain that, except that the writing seemed more mature, more polished.

Okay, that doesn't help you at all, though.  What is this book and why would you want to read it?  From the publisher's blurb:
A dark force is rising. Someone is murdering the world’s most beautiful women—over and over and over. When Jarrod and Joshua Sinclair are called in to consult with the FBI about the Hollywood Starlet murders, they immediately suspect their old nemesis, Josef Helmick, of creating clones of famous women for a visiting Saudi prince. Wasting no time, they hire retired detective Fred Kowalski and send him to Dubai to uncover Josef’s base of operations and build a case against him for the murders. But Fred soon discovers that Helmick is harboring a secret much darker than human trafficking. Fred must stop Josef before he resurrects an ancient, diabolical Force in order to bring the entire human race under his control.
Jarrod and Joshua Sinclair return from the previous book, and the primary villain (he is a villain, not merely an antagonist), Josef Helmick, was also a key figure in The Fourth Kingdom.  This book is in the Christian Thriller category, and there is a fair amount of violence, but nothing that is ever glorified.  There is also a fair amount of the occult, which is clearly presented as evil.

One thing I always watch for in Christian fiction is how the Christianity is presented.  In these books, it comes up in conversations between characters, and is mostly pretty realistic.  I particularly liked the portrayals of Christians in Dubai.

This story certainly brings out themes of good vs. evil, in the various plots and subplots.  It was a pretty quick read, and I had a hard time putting it down.


We are excited to help Frontier 2000 Media celebrate the release of The Force by Alexandra and Joyce Swann with a super cool giveaway for book lovers! Two prizes will be awarded, one containing 11 awesome books and the other with five books. Total value of this giveaway is $185! Woohoo!

We would like to thank the following authors for their generous donations to these giveaways! Be sure to stop by their websites to say thank you!

William Struse

Tricia Goyer

Sarah Sundin 

Eisley Jacobs

Gwen Toliver

Carey Jane Clark


To enter the giveaway, use the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post. Two winners will be selected and announced by noon ET on November 25, 2013. U.S. residents age 18 and older only please. Other Terms and Conditions can be found in the Rafflecopter.

Book Lover's Giveaway #1 ($120 value)
The Force by Alexandra and Joyce Swann
The Fourth Kingdom by Alexandra and Joyce Swann
The 13th Enumeration by William Struse
The 13th Prime by William Struse
On Distant Shores by Sarah Sundin
Dragons of the Deep by Eisley Jacobs
Blink of a Dragon by Eisley Jacobs
Born to be a Dragon by Eisley Jacobs
Seed Sowers by Gwen Toliver
After the Snow Falls by Carey Jane Clark 


Book Lover's Giveaway #2 ($65 value)
The Force by Alexandra and Joyce Swann
The Fourth Kingdom by Alexandra and Joyce Swann
The 13th Enumeration by William Struse
The 13th Prime by William Struse


a Rafflecopter giveaway







1 comment:

Ardamus said...

Wow..
Great giveaway / contest.
I hope I can have similar giveaway like this too.
Hope everyone enjoy it. Good luck.