Epic Fantasy Review: Faith of the Forsaken by Jonathan-David Jackson

Faith of the Forsaken
by Jonathan-David Jackson

Description:
Angels and demons walk among us. Nathan Miller, an assistant pastor in a quiet town, doesn’t believe in them. His life is thrown into chaos when terrorism strikes his town and a reactionary religious militia rises against it, and a surprise encounter with a demon-possessed young woman forces him to face the truth.

The archangel Uriel knows Nathan is heir to supernatural powers and could be the key to victory. While he guards Nathan he must also protect humanity from a terrible secret that could destroy them all. In this blood-soaked epic they are about to learn that evil cannot be bargained with, but is it too late to stop the Apocalypse?

My Review:
I found Faith of the Forsaken intriguing on many levels. The angels and demons roaming around, influencing humans, and battling each other. The humans dealing with their daily lives, finding themselves acting out of character, thinking the terrible things they’re doing were their own idea.

The story was deeper than I’d expected based on having read the other books by this author, whose works tend towards the absurd, but always seem to wrangle up a point and always amuse me in some way or the other.

In Faith of the Forsaken, faith itself is a central theme. Those who have it are bound by it, rely on it, and in the case of the demons, are restrained by it. Those who’ve lost it are devastated, having to find their own reasons to be and do, and sometimes failing to find those reasons.

Despite the heavy nature of some of the things going on, there was still enough of the ironic and the absurd to result in a few chuckles. The demon romance, the slow loris (google it), and the ultimate being reminding folks just why he’s ultimate in quite an ultimate way are just a few.

The characters and the plot are well developed and interesting on both sides of good and evil. The story progresses in a believable way within the confines of the Christian faith assuming one had a window into the unseen. The arguments, the predictions, and the biblical references come across as believable as well. The story doesn’t take itself too seriously, but there’s an attention to detail that I think folks will appreciate.

Overall, I loved this book. Fans of angels and demons, fantasy, and battles between good and evil will very likely enjoy this story. It’s deep and light at the same time. Plenty of action, battles, and build up, as well.

I received the review copy of this book from the author.


About the Author:

Jonathan-David Jackson was born in Gastonia, North Carolina, at 3 in the morning on May 14, 1987. At first, he could not walk, talk, or indeed use the toilet. After a year of intensive training in NC, he moved his family to Kingsport, Tennessee, where he finally overcame those early disabilities. Soon, he was walking and talking as good as anyone, and perhaps better. Walking and talking wasn't good enough, though, so he also learned to write.

He wrote and wrote, and with gentle encouragement from his wife, he finally wrote a book. Then he wrote this biography. Then he wrote other books. Perhaps he'll do more things; that would certainly be exciting.

Amazon  |  Goodreads  |  Website

Release Day Review: Not Quite the End of the World by Jonathan-David Jackson

Not Quite the End of the World 
by Jonathan-David Jackson

Description:
Charles has his life organized just the way he wants it. But when a freak accident plunges his city into anarchy, Charles and his boss, Janet, must journey to a distant town where things are simpler. Along the way they encounter a particularly hot sun, possibly dirty water, cans that can't be opened, impolite cannibals and sore feet. But in a world where the only trail mix has no chocolate chips, can things ever go back to the way they were?


My review:
Humorous, post-apocalyptic spoof, poking fun at all the things we (some more than others) take for granted or call important (that really aren’t). Pairing up with his boss and other unlikely allies, Charles reluctantly leaves everything he knows behind on a quest to find an acceptable alternative to being burned alive in his house after the apocalypse hits.

This book’s a lot of fun, and I especially enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek logic the character’s use throughout. There were several times I laughed out loud, and there were a lot of spots where I was sorely tempted to highlight a phrase for later, particularly those that began to make a rather surprising degree of sense after a little thought. Despite the humorous intent, I picked up on some interesting ideas and views sprinkled in here and there, particularly about right and wrong and how those can change during hard times.

On the other hand, I sometimes had trouble distinguishing between the voices of the various characters. The story is third person, but that person switches out. Sometimes it’s a very clear transition, but others I had to pick up on context. Additionally, some ambiguous pronoun usage led to occasional confusion, though, again, context usually helped me figure it out.

So, overall, I really liked this book for its irreverent, mature humor and its unique take on the end of the world. Folks who enjoy absurd stories that are still logically sound would like this story; I know it sounds like an oxymoron, but the author pulls it off.

I received the review copy of this book from the author as an ARC.


About the Author:

Jonathan-David Jackson was born in Gastonia, North Carolina, at 3 in the morning on May 14, 1987. At first, he could not walk, talk, or indeed use the toilet. After a year of intensive training in NC, he moved his family to Kingsport, Tennessee, where he finally overcame those early disabilities. Soon, he was walking and talking as good as anyone, and perhaps better. Walking and talking wasn't good enough, though, so he also learned to write.

He wrote and wrote, and with gentle encouragement from his wife, he finally wrote a book. Then he wrote this biography. Then he wrote other books. Perhaps he'll do more things; that would certainly be exciting.

Amazon  |  Goodreads  |  Website

The Quest for Nothing in Particular by Jonathan-David Jackson

The Quest for Nothing in Particular 
by Jonathan-David Jackson

Description:
Oscar isn't looking for anything, since he has just about everything he could want. A wife. A house. A hedgehog that isn't trying to gnaw his face off. But their life of comfort lived under martial law is disrupted when the Red Fist Army suddenly disbands and a nuclear weapon goes missing, leaving it up to Oscar and his wife Penelope to save their town.

My Review:
Ron is still out there, causing mayhem, lurking and watching, stealing orange juice. Oscar knows it. Has always known it, even before the Red Fist tightened its grip on his small town. Even before all the madness that ensued after that fateful day when the mysterious man behind the cooler stole that bottle of Sunshine Juice right out from Oscar’s grasp. The day everything changed. The Quest for Nothing in Particular is the third and final volume of the Paranoia trilogy, and it’s just as eccentric, quirky and humorous as the first two.

The characters are memorable and unique, faulty and broken to an almost superhuman degree. In particular, I love how we really get into Oscar’s head. He’s exceedingly paranoid and knows it, but not everything is in his head. Even as Oscar struggles to separate reality from paranoid delusion, very real things continue to happen around him. Some so odd they are humorous, some quite disturbing. The mix is something I’ve enjoyed from the first book and has remained true through the end of this one.

The animal characters get their own spotlight in this one, and it’s quite fun. No, they aren’t talking animals, but they are just as charismatic and flawed as their human masters/friends are. Mr. Hodge will always be my favorite, but William the rat also steals the show in a surprising way.
And of course the mysterious villain, Ron, is he real? And, if so, what’s his beef with Oscar? These are questions this book finally answers and in a satisfyingly epic conclusion to one of the oddest quests I’ve ever read about.

Besides the characters, one more feature of this book must be mentioned: the footnotes. Yes, there are footnotes. But they aren’t the kind you write for college papers or the kind you see in non-fiction. They are a delightful distraction, tossed in wherever they happened to land in the story. A slow part, an epic battle, a romantic scene, no matter, there’s likely a footnote to lure you away to some odd, factual or even nonsensical tidbit. I make it a point to read them exactly when I come across them for best effect.

Overall, I loved this book as much as I did the first two. I’d definitely recommend it to people who like a humorous, quirky story with a bit of danger and a lot of fun. There’s some adult content, and while it pokes fun at some serious things, the underlying theme is one of accepting people, even when they are flawed.

I received the review copy of this book from the author in return for an honest, non-reciprocal review.


About the Author:

Jonathan-David Jackson was born in Gastonia, North Carolina, at 3 in the morning on May 14, 1987. At first, he could not walk, talk, or indeed use the toilet. After a year of intensive training in NC, he moved his family to Kingsport, Tennessee, where he finally overcame those early disabilities. Soon, he was walking and talking as good as anyone, and perhaps better. Walking and talking wasn't good enough, though, so he also learned to write.

He wrote and wrote, and with gentle encouragement from his wife, he finally wrote a book. Then he wrote this biography. Then he wrote other books. Perhaps he'll do more things; that would certainly be exciting.

Amazon  |  Goodreads  |  Website

ARC Review: The Quest for Truth (Paranoia) by Jonathan-David Jackson

The Quest for Truth 
by Jonathan-David Jackson

Description:
Oscar's orderly paranoid world has been turned upside down by the Red Fist Army and he now lives in exile. With the help of Penelope, Jim, and Mr. Hodge the hedgehog, he must free their hostage town, take on the Red Fist, and discover the truth about Dr. Boggs.

However, when things go wrong and Oscar loses his closest friends, he has to rely on an unlikely group of refugees with surprising mental abilities. As he continues on his journey to freeing the town and himself, he finds out more of his own truths than he ever imagined, and absolutely nobody shoots lasers out of their eyes.


My Review:
Gives a totally new meaning to the term egging...

The Quest for Truth is book two in the Paranoia trilogy by Jonathan-David Jackson. Oscar Well, having narrowly survived the hostile Red Fist takeover of his town and state through shear luck and paranoid overreaction, is hiding out with his new best friend, Hodge, and his new girlfriend, Penelope. But they cannot hide forever. Red Fist is searching for them. In fact, they could be watching right now.

When I read the first in this series, I wasn't sure which direction a sequel might take. The Quest for Juice went from the ramblings of a paranoid man trying to track down the mysterious man named Ron, who stole his favorite orange juice off the shelves, to a surreal conspiracy proving to Oscar that his paranoia may not be all that far off. Now that I've read number two, I'm happy to report that it did in fact take a direction, and that direction was just as twisty, unpredictable, and absurd (in a good way) as the first.

Before getting into my favorite characters or my opinions about the plot, I'd like to mention the footnotes, which I realize I left out of my review of the first book. These spice an already humorous book with off-hand comments and asides that make these stories hazardous to read in public (if you value your reputation as a sane person). I found myself giggling uncontrollably before getting more than a few pages in, and I even had my son read those initial pages so he'd know his mother wasn't, in fact, losing her mind. My advice is to follow those links as soon as you come to them in the story, don't even finish the paragraph, just follow.

As for characters, I must say I'm pleased that Mr. Hodge plays such a big role in this story. Mr. Hodge is a hedgehog (the cover promises more hedgehog, and it delivers). He's also Oscar's conscience. I'm not certain if this was intended, but it's definitely how it plays out. I love how Mr. Hodge enforces his advice, though I'm pretty sure Oscar doesn't. It's also fantastic that there's another charismatic critter in this one. I'll leave it at that, so as not to spoil the surprise.

I think another cool thing about this book is that it pits people that are different, in particular the mentally ill, against superior forces that want nothing less than their complete and ultimate destruction. In the story, some of these disorders take on superhuman proportions (my favorite is the one that makes enemies feel minty fresh), though others are more mundane disorders like cleptomania and many are downright silly.

But, the underlying plot is that these people are being targeted by Red Fist specifically because they are different. They are being captured, experimented upon, and killed, all with the goal of ultimately purifying the human race of the genes that caused their conditions. There are some parallels that can be drawn to certain real-life events, making this story chilling in places. Sure, the humorous approach makes this an entertaining read, but the underlying plot is sinister and all the more scary because it could and has happened before (if not targeting this particular element of humanity).

So, overall, The Quest for Truth is a hilarious yet frightening book. Adult humor, gore, and mental instability color everything in this story. So, in short, this is not a book for kids. However, adults who enjoy books that embrace the absurd, who like hedgehogs, and who like a good bit of action will likely enjoy this story and its predecessor, The Quest for Juice. I eagerly await book three, The Quest for Nothing in Particular.

I received a copy of this book as an ARC from the author.


About the Author:

Jonathan-David Jackson was born in Gastonia, North Carolina, at 3 in the morning on May 14, 1987. At first, he could not walk, talk, or indeed use the toilet. After a year of intensive training in NC, he moved his family to Kingsport, Tennessee, where he finally overcame those early disabilities. Soon, he was walking and talking as good as anyone, and perhaps better. Walking and talking wasn't good enough, though, so he also learned to write.

He wrote and wrote, and with gentle encouragement from his wife, he finally wrote a book. Then he wrote this biography. Then he wrote other books. Perhaps he'll do more things; that would certainly be exciting.

Amazon  |  Goodreads  |  Website

New Release March 14: The Quest for Truth (Paranoia #2) by Jonathan-David Jackson

Today, I am happy to announce the release of a sequel I've been looking forward to for some time.  I don't usually get the inside scoop for releases like this, other than for David Estes books, so I'm excited to be one of the first to tell you about it.  I think those of you who like humorous, quirky books will like this one and its predecessor The Quest for Juice.  

Oscar's orderly paranoid world has been turned upside down by the Red Fist Army and he now lives in exile. With the help of Penelope, Jim, and Mr. Hodge the hedgehog, he must free their hostage town, take on the Red Fist, and discover the truth about Dr. Boggs.

However, when things go wrong and Oscar loses his closest friends, he has to rely on an unlikely group of refugees with surprising mental abilities. As he continues on his journey to freeing the town and himself, he finds out more of his own truths than he ever imagined, and absolutely nobody shoots lasers out of their eyes. 

I first discovered this series on the CreateSpace message boards before The Quest for Juice was quite finished, read a preview of the work in progress, and was immediately hooked. After that, I kept an eye out on the message board that had first pointed me towards the preview, looking for the typical excited post that authors tend to leave when their hard work is done and their books are going live. When I finally saw it, I snatched up a copy of the book immediately (kindle version) and devoured it, leaving what I think just may have been the first review for it.

Since then, I've been waiting for book two, because the first story ended with a promise of more, a prospect I looked forward to. Imagine my surprise when the author contacted me on Goodreads to offer an ARC copy and a heads up that his book was going live on the 14th.  Of course, I jumped at the opportunity.  

Check back in next week for my review of The Quest for Truth, but in the meantime, here's my original review for The Quest for Juice.  

*****

The Quest for Juice by Jonathan-David Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Quirky, dark and funny.

Oscar Wells suspects 'they' are up to no good in his town. All of his extensive research, documented meticulously on a wall in his house, points towards a dark conspiracy. First, it's little things, like his key not quite fitting and having to jiggle it to open his door. But when his favorite Sunshine Juice is replaced by Sunlight OJ, "now with 50% more real orange pulp," they've gone too far. From there Oscar spirals into a paranoid breakdown that lands him first in jail and later in a mental ward, and then it gets really interesting.

Oscar is a mess. The book is told from his perspective and he freely walks you through every connection, suspicion and thought that lead him to his often tenuous conclusions and decidedly odd outlook on life. I found myself laughing aloud many a time.

On the other hand, the unlikely outcome requires quite a leap of faith, even through the eyes of the delusional main character. Entertaining, yes; believable, no. I'm not certain I would read the next one in the series when it comes out, because I'm not sure what's left to tell based on where the story left off.*

Overall, The Quest for Juice is an enjoyable read with a ton of humorous, though at times dark, insanity sprinkled in. I highly recommend it to people who like stories where reality and perception clash in interesting ways. This story kept me guessing and second guessing, and I loved that about it.

View all my reviews


*Having started the sequel at this point, I can say there is plenty left to tell, and so far it's on par with the first one. I think at the time I originally wrote this review, I was having trouble picturing a sequel. The story is completely unpredictable (rare in most books), which probably led me to that conclusion. How could I predict the unpredictable? So far, the author seems to be proving me wrong, and that's a good thing.

Review: The Quest for Juice by Jonathan-David Jackson

The Quest for Juice 
by Jonathan-David Jackson

Description:
Oscar has always lived a life of quiet paranoia, but now everything is changing. Suddenly, the bus is frequently late, his housekeys won't fit in the lock, and someone has taken his juice, which was the one thing holding his life together. He strikes back against the people behind it all, but when he strikes too hard an innocent man ends up dead, and Oscar ends up in jail, diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and facing life in a mental institution. On his journey to mental health and the truth, he has to make hard decisions about medication, trusting his own mind, dating a nurse, and whether that hedgehog can actually talk.


My Review:
Quirky, dark and funny.

Oscar Wells suspects 'they' are up to no good in his town. All of his extensive research, documented meticulously on a wall in his house, points towards a dark conspiracy. First, it's little things, like his key not quite fitting and having to jiggle it to open his door. But when his favorite Sunshine Juice is replaced by Sunlight OJ, "now with 50% more real orange pulp," they've gone too far. From there Oscar spirals into a paranoid breakdown that lands him first in jail and later in a mental ward, and then it gets really interesting.

Oscar is a mess. The book is told from his perspective and he freely walks you through every connection, suspicion and thought that lead him to his often tenuous conclusions and decidedly odd outlook on life. I found myself laughing aloud many a time.

On the other hand, the unlikely outcome requires quite a leap of faith, even through the eyes of the delusional main character. Entertaining, yes; believable, no. I'm not certain I would read the next one in the series when it comes out, because I'm not sure what's left to tell based on where the story left off.

Overall, The Quest for Juice is an enjoyable read with a ton of humorous, though at times dark, insanity sprinkled in. I highly recommend it to people who like stories where reality and perception clash in interesting ways. This story kept me guessing and second guessing, and I loved that about it.


About the Author:

Jonathan-David Jackson was born in Gastonia, North Carolina, at 3 in the morning on May 14, 1987. At first, he could not walk, talk, or indeed use the toilet. After a year of intensive training in NC, he moved his family to Kingsport, Tennessee, where he finally overcame those early disabilities. Soon, he was walking and talking as good as anyone, and perhaps better. Walking and talking wasn't good enough, though, so he also learned to write.

He wrote and wrote, and with gentle encouragement from his wife, he finally wrote a book. Then he wrote this biography. Then he wrote other books. Perhaps he'll do more things; that would certainly be exciting.

Amazon  |  Goodreads  |  Website