Recently I have teamed up with another author to work on a very intense dramatic novel that will deal with the addictions of life. The book that we are working on has been entitled "Blue Haze" at this time while we work on it. A close friend and fellow author with 6 currently titles published, I wish to introduce John Walker.
This is a very exciting and at times trying project. As we are separated by the Atlantic Ocean and have e-mails going back and forth constantly about ideas, plot lines and conversations. Sometimes these do get a bit frustrating, but we give it a day or two and then we get back down to business.
If you want to learn more about John Walker, you can visit his website:
http://www.sanctuaryinthedarkness.com/
Of course I have read many of John's books and have found them incredibly detailed and intricate. The creativity that he brings to the table is one of the reasons I wanted to work with him on a project. We have such different styles that it is going to be very interesting to see how we blend them and get them to work together.
Below you will see the reviews that I have recently done for some of his books:
Wrath & Remembrance
When I sit down to read a book, I want to be able to read the words in front of me and see what the author is telling me. I want to be looking through a two way mirror into the author’s mind and see it all happen the way they wished it to be seen, hear the words said the way they wished for them to be heard. I don’t want to have to make up pictures for anything in my mind. I want the writer to use such depth that it gives me everything. Reading Wrath and Remembrance by John Walker did just that.
Starting with the title of this book the word “Wrath” means; strong, vengeful, anger and “Remembrance”; the act of recalling to mind. When you put these two words together it explains the entire concept of this book. The lead character Jack Parrish is just that, recalling from mind the vengeful anger of his past. How does he deal with it?
During this book you go through a series of years with Jack, from the age of 9 into his early adulthood. From the start of this book, you begin to see the anger and pain in Jack and how he goes about dealing with it. Each year detailed out by the most pressing events of his life, making it feel like he is sitting in front of you telling you his own personal story. You feel the whirlwind of emotions that Jack does. You will feel the anger, the fear, the pain and the loss, but you will also find yourself smiling and laughing along with the antics that Jack and his best friend Tony get into.
As each year of Jack’s life passes, he will take you on a short history lesson. At first I found this quite odd, but as the story progressed, I quickly found myself looking forward to his year in review as he recounted top news stories from around the world, his favorite movies and the music from that year that had touched him the most. This run down of each year only made me feel closer to Jack as I too remembered those moments, music and movies. This made Jack Parrish move from a 2D character on a piece of paper to a 3D character full of life in my mind.
The writing style of Mr. Walker is relaxed and creative. He has the ability to explain things in detail without over explaining them, giving you just the right amount of information at every turn. I cannot recall a moment in the book when I thought to myself, “wait… you didn’t explain that or I don’t understand”. Although there might have been a word of two from the British language that trumped me as an American reader, I was usually able to figure it out though. Mr. Walker was able to move me smoothly through the story, carrying me along all the way.
I am impressed by Mr. Walker’s style. While I have read dramatic thriller mystery types before, this book seemed to be of a different caliber. Not only did it give you the mystery and action, but it applied a small bit of paranormal fantasy to it that gave it that extra spark of life.
I highly enjoyed Wrath and Remembrance and I look forward to reading Comparing Scars the second book in the Dark Retribution quartet.
Comparing Scars
Comparing Scars is the second book in the “Dark Retribution” quartet by John Walker, and once again I found myself not only immersed in the book but feeling like I was woven into the story as an invisible character that walked along with Jake and Louise.
Jake returns in this book as the main character and you see into his mind the moments of his life that made him what he is today. While Louise and Jake bare their soul to one another, you find yourself watching him through his minds eyes as his past comes to life. The relationship that he once had with Jack Parrish in book one is now seen through his eyes instead of Jacks and you are able to understand how important Jack was to him as a role model.
The storyline of this book jumps from present to past quite often, filling in pieces of life’s information that certain events and places trigger. As with “Wrath and Remembrance”, the first book in the quartet, the author, John Walker gives you all the words you need to paint the perfect picture in your mind of the scene you are seeing, the emotions that are felt and the people who are involved.
Mr. Walker’s ability to give such detail in clarity makes reading his book even more refreshing. You have the ability to sit back and watch the lives and the story unfold in front of you without having to try come up with a picture of the scene. He gives all of it to you in great detail.
This book was very well written and the plot line of the book was deep with an intensity that filled you completely at times. I look forward to reading the next book in the series “Hitting Back”.
Hitting Back
I have just finished John Walker’s third installment in the Dark Retribution Quartet, “Hitting Back”. To say that there were parts in this book that disturbed me would be an understatement, but the way it was all written was what was brilliant.
The good and bad of life, the choices that people have to make in order to follow one path or another are focused on intently in this third book. The character of Lenny Durning is intense and breeds hatred within the reader’s minds. Ironically, it is that hatred that has Lenny lashing out and hitting back at all the people in his life that have wronged him.
You follow Lenny through a span of time as he remembers pieces of his life where he revisits those painful moments and you see how Lenny gave his own retribution to that person. You see how he plans out his attacks against the ones that he felt hurt him most, or even the ones who just happen to cross his path at the wrong time.
You will also follow along on a spiritual journey that Theo tries to introduce to him. The way Theo tries to encourage Lenny through passages. The way Theo can get into Lenny’s head and make Lenny feel paranoid. You will also get a visit from Natas again, the not so nice man that Jack and Tony met with in “Wrath and Remembrance”.
Like all of Mr. Walker’s books, this book has complete attention to every little detail and tiny piece of information. He walks beside you as you travel from street to street. As you walk from room to room and as you travel through time of memories and back again. His ability to write such disturbingly distinct details in this book put me in awe at times. I honestly felt my pulse quicken as the clock ticked down.
While I did figure out some of the plot while I read it, I was spellbound as the details unfolded and basked in the ending of the third installment. Mr. Walker gave a perfect introduction into the final book in the series and I can’t wait to get settled in my chair and fall back into the world he has created.
God's Soldiers
I am currently reading this title
Other titles by John Walker
