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Sunday, March 2, 2014

Sunday Review: Fire & Ice Book Tour: Gospel for the Damned by Gordon Gravley


TITLE GOSPEL FOR THE DAMNED
AUTHOR Gordon Gravley
PUBLICATION DATE  March 24, 2013
BUY LINKS  Amazon   Createspace  
SOURCE Received from the author for an honest review


BLURB
Set against the backdrop of a city under quarantine, Gospel for the Damned is an episodic and introspective novel that follows young journalist Aaron Garrett on his three day assignment within sequestered San Francisco. His assignment: Interview The Elliots, family of the missing minister suspected of releasing the deadly Omega virus.
What he finds is a fractured community and a myriad of ways of facing hopelessness: clinging to normalcy in banal routines; thrill seeking in dangerous truth-or-dare games; mercy killing and federally sanctioned euthanasia; embracing sorrow through macabre celebrations; and searching for God where faith has been abandoned.
gospel for the damned bannerTogether with The Elliot Family, Aaron embarks on a mission to save someone, anyone, from a doomed existence.
This is Gordon Gravley’s first literary work, and its philosophical leanings may very well provoke questions of your own about the world we live in, and the future we face.
 EXCERPT
It was an opportunity that would make my career or crumble it, and I’d like to say it came to me by way of my diligence and journalistic talent. But truthfully, I was given the assignment for the simple reason that I was the only one on staff at the Sound who tested as resistant to the Omega virus; it was my luck to be in the 2 percent of the nation immune to a disease that, to date, had wiped out a third of the West Coast’s population.
REVIEW

 I’d like to start out by saying that the cover doesn't do this book justice. I wouldn't have picked it up had I judged it solely on that. Another good reason to read the blurb and possibly a page or two before deciding to pass on a book.

Overall this book was very well written and the plot was solid. It wasn't at all what I expected. I like 'end of the world' type books but this had an element to it that made you stop and think about things.

While the blub says, thought provoking, often times I find that misleading. Which was deff not the case in this book.

It took me a while to get into it and I found myself at times pushing through it. I think mainly because I couldn't quite identify with the main characters myself and thus didn't get sucked deep into the book like I normally would have. I don't think that was a fault of the author, I think it was more attributed to my hectic life.

Overall I'd give this a 3.5 stars. It was a great 'first' novel and an enjoyable read.


Profile Picture
After decades of self-doubt and errant life choices, Gordon Gravley finally came to write this, his first novel, and is now diligently working on his next two. He and his wife currently reside in the Northwestern United States.
AUTHOR LINKS
Blog 
One lucky winner will win a signed print copy of Gospel for the Damned. The giveaway will run the length of the tour, USA only please! Click here to enter.

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