Conor and The Crossworlds: Book Two: Peril in the Corridors

Conor and The Crossworlds Book Two: Peril in the Corridors
Kevin Gerard

Review by Mary Aycock courtesy of Front Street Reviews

The author, Kevin Gerard, lives in San Diego, CA, with his wife and four children. When he is not busy being a successful professor of sociology and statistics for California State University, San Marcos, you will find him doing fun things with his extended family in and around the San Diego area. The Crossworlds series provided the main impetus for his decision to pursue a professional writing career and may prove to him that he can now concentrate on writing full time, to the exclusion of all other endeavors.

This second quest into the Crossworlds brings us into our main character’s life two years after the first story. The Lady of the Light appears in Conor Jameson’s bedroom and asks him to accompany her back into the Crossworlds to assist with a problem that was actually created when our young hero and his mentor, Purugama, had their first adventures together. Completely by accident, Purugama and Conor unknowingly created a situation whereby the Crossworlds corridors have been weakened and are now in danger of being destroyed by the Circle of Evil. Many horrible and treacherous evildoers had escaped their bonds when the corridors were weakened and could no longer hold them captive. Now they are on a vengeful drive to destroy all forces of good and all means of traveling through the Crossworlds corridors.

Conor decides to accompany the Lady of the Light to the Glade of Champions, where he meets Maya and the other Crossworlds Champions, Eha, Ajur, Surmitang and Therion. All of the Crossworlds Champions are amazing and endearing but GIGANTIC members of the cat family, just as Purugama was. Anyone who is a cat lover, including myself, would give their left arm to be in Conor’s position, meeting and being mentored by a giant Panther and Cheetah and Tiger and Lion, not to mention Maya, who has the outward appearance of a gigantic domestic cat, but is the Lord of the Crossworlds Champions. All are vested with special powers, which Conor gets to feel and enjoy and practice, as he accompanies Maya on several perilous quests to repair the Crossworlds corridors. Maya is the only one of the huge cats who can travel with Conor through the Crossworlds, but the other cats are able to lend Conor their powers and magical abilities to help him fight the many terrifying foes that are trying to prevent the corridor repairs. In order to give Maya the time he needs to work the repairs on the corridors, Conor must battle and defeat a human-dragon mutant, a formless entity and a shape-shifting master of darkness. Oh, the deliciously scary things we come face to face with on this journey!

The action-packed fast pace will have you turning page after page as fast as possible to see what comes next, because this author holds nothing back in his quest to show you every corner of the Crossworlds and all the dangers that lurk within. As Conor battles each wicked foe, your heart beats faster as you try to think past what is happening to all of the possible outcomes, only to be surprised by the turn of events. The battle scenes are huge in dimension and impact as Conor fights for his life, using his wits and the powers of the mighty Crossworlds Champions. What incredible powers he wields as he fights the best (or is that the worst?) that the Circle of Evil can throw at him. Entire worlds are involved; the span of our imagination grows with each battle. As I was reading, I kept envisioning these scenes on a big screen, wondering how the movie world would create the amazing things that come straight from this author’s incredible imagination. This mind-blowing series of battles against the Circle of Evil’s finest team of destroyers would be quite a feat to translate to the big screen, but my goodness, what an awesome thing that would be to see and to hear! Hollywood, are you paying attention here????

I was impressed with the first book of “Conor and the Crossworlds” and was wondering if the second book would be as good as the first or, as sometimes happens, not live up to the promise. Well, let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed after reading the second book in a series that is turning out to be a highly entertaining and enjoyable read. There is so much MORE in this second book for everyone to enjoy, fast paced action, close calls around every bend, tender moments between Conor and the amazing giant cats who are the Crossworld Champions, surprises, treachery, deception, battles to end all battles and foes that will curl your hair! There is a wonderful sense of right fighting against wrong in Conor’s perilous journey and you see him grow stronger and wiser with every confrontation. I truly think that we, as readers, grow with him and learn with him and come away with the sense that we want to change our world for the better, now that we know what can go horribly wrong if we continue as we are. Three cheers to the author, Kevin Gerard, for giving us reality’s lessons disguised as enchanting fiction.

I was carried along on this journey with Conor and Maya and the other Crossworld Champions and they will always be a part of my heart. This book will have to be reread, slowly this time, just so I can savor the relationships and the experiences once more. The author has left me with a deep hunger for the NEXT book in this series and, for all the world, I have NO idea where his imagination is going to take me next time, but I am ready for the ride! Bring it on, Kevin, but please bring it on SOON!

For more information about Kevin Gerard and his virtual tour, check the schedule at http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/10/virtual-book-tour-conor-and-crossworlds.html

Amazon Link for Conor and the Crossworlds http://tinyurl.com/6lqas2

For more information on Kevin Gerard, visit his website http://www.conorandthecrossworlds.com.

Donna Sundblad

Tour Coordinator Promo 101 Virtual Blog Tours

www.theinkslinger.net

Conor and The Crossworlds: Book One Breaking the Barrier

Conor and The Crossworlds Book One: Breaking The Barrier

Kevin Gerard

Review by Mary Aycock courtesy of Front Street Reviews

The author, Kevin Gerard lives in San Diego, CA, with his wife and four sons. A native Californian and a dedicated professor of sociology and statistics for California State University, San Marcos, Kevin spends as much time as possible writing for publication. The Crossworlds series provided the main impetus for his decision to pursue a professional writing career.

Our main character, Conor Jameson, an innocent and unsuspecting boy of 10, loses his favourite Uncle from a heart attack and is trying to deal with the loss and confusion this brings to his young life. The night of the funeral, wrapped in grief, he dozes, thinking of “a special place” his Uncle mentioned. He awakes to find that he has somehow summoned Purugama the winged cougar, defender of the Crossworlds to his side.

At first, Conor has misgivings about this giant Cougar that is almost as large as an elephant. He realizes that it could easily have him for breakfast, but the Cougar puts him at ease by showing him that he is actually an intellectual being that means him no harm.

In an effort to help Conor work his way though his deep grief and to eventual understanding of his Uncle’s untimely death, Purugama asks Conor to come along on an adventure with him.

We have ringside seats as Conor travels from adventure to adventure with Purugama, as he travels through situations, decisions and emotions which parallel events in Conor’s Uncle Jake’s life. Purugama first takes Conor soaring through deep desert canyons and we catch a glimpse of what it would feel like to soar like an eagle and we are eventually led to a village high up on a cliff. Thus comes Conor’s first lesson of a similar crossroads in his Uncle’s life. We learn that sometimes fear paralyzes us and keeps us from helping a friend in a time of great need. We also learn that after your friend has forgiven you, it is equally important for you to forgive yourself and to give up the fear and self-loathing that sometimes comes with extreme feelings of failure.

It must be said here, in the story, we jump back and forth, from Conor’s recollections of his adventures with Purugama, to an ongoing battle, high on a Mesa, between between this Great Winged Cougar, Defender of the Crossworlds and a horrid creature named Drazian, half human and half lizard, who is both big and ugly. Did I mention mean and nasty, too? Drazian is an old foe of Purugama, who has mysteriously escaped his captivity in the Crossworlds and is determined to battle his old Cougar foe to the death, with Conor becoming the prize for the victor!

As the battle rages, we are carried back in Conor’s memory to the second stop in the series of adventures, a dim, dark and odorous room in a nondescript city. Purugama has magically aged Conor to a twenty-something age and tossed him into a filthy, smelly room filled with men and women of this same age. At first, Conor is disgusted by what he sees and smells and by the lack of ambition on the part of the other young people. He is passed a cigarette and expected to take a puff and pass it on, but he lets the cigarette (and several of it’s brother and sister cigarettes) make several rounds of the room without so much as taking a single puff. He also notices that they are inhaling what he takes to be “salt” that they have lined up in neat little rows. Eventually a “contact high” seems to overcome Conor, as he notices how happy everyone is and how he begins to feel a deep kinship with them. He is considering taking a deep puff the next time the cigarette or one of it’s siblings makes the rounds, but at this point, Purugama steps in and creates a tornado in the room, which blows all of the (shall I say it?) drugs out of the windows. At this point, Conor discovers that the happy crowd is no longer happy when they find out that their reason for being together has disappeared. When they become combatant and want to do battle with Conor, Purugama feels that the lesson has been learned and he sweeps Conor away to safety. Again, there is the hint that this is also an event that was somewhat paralleled by Conor’s Uncle Jake, during his lifetime.

The next adventure is the one that makes me HOPE that there will eventually be a series of movies made from Conor and the Crossworlds, because I LOVED the scenes of Purugama and adventure at the swimming pool. You will have to read the book to find out more, because when it comes to this adventure, my lips are sealed!

We are bounced again and again to the battle and we continue to cheer for Purugama, yet dread that things are not going well in that regard, so it is with relief that we are bounced into another adventure. This particular adventure sent echoes through my head, reminding me of something Conor told us of in the beginning of the book. He said Uncle Jake used to “let him sit in his lap and steer his car whenever they drove somewhere together.” When I read these lines in the beginning of the story, they made me smile, thinking of how many people do this with their children, nieces, nephews and grandchildren…but when I read this next adventure, it sent chills down my spine, just thinking of what could have been! Again, we and Conor got to walk through Uncle Jakes adventures, even though the names and places might have been changed to protect the innocent, we still get to experience them with all the warts and bad breath in evidence!

The next adventure takes us to a most unusual place and I can still feel the wind blowing the hair out of my eyes as I search for MY group among the people in the story. I know which group I would select and we also learn which group Uncle Jake chose. This was one of the most cruel parts of the story, for Conor to have to lose his Uncle once more, but with it came another lesson that must be learned. A choice must be made and it stuck me how YOUNG the people in the story were when they made the choices they had to live with for the remainder of their lives. This series is full of wonderful life lessons, disguised as adventures, but with deep thoughts to ponder at the close of each one.

Which brings us one last time to the Mesa where the Great Battle is being fought. I won’t tell you the ending of the story, but I will tell you that Conor learned his lessons well and good and became the Hero we knew he would become.

My only complaint in Book One was that it was way too short, so it is a good thing that it is a Series! Now it is up to you to go find a copy of the FIRST book in a Great Series…Conor and the Crossworlds. Remember that name, because once you actually meet the characters, they are not soon forgotten!

For more information about Kevin Gerard and his virtual tour, check the schedule at http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/10/virtual-book-tour-conor-and-crossworlds.html

Amazon Link for Conor and the Crossworlds http://tinyurl.com/6lqas2

For more information on Kevin Gerard, visit his website http://www.conorandthecrossworlds.com.

Donna Sundblad

Tour Coordinator Promo 101 Virtual Blog Tours

www.theinkslinger.net

Tales of a Warrior Priest

Author: Teel James Glenn
Publisher: ePress-Online
Genre: Fantasy/Sword and Sorcery
ISBN Number: 0977222446
Published May 2006
141 Pages

Tales of a Warrior Priest : Return to the world of Altiva, first visited in the novel Death at Dragonthroat, a world of crystal magic and cruel combat where young Lord Erique Shoutte becomes a master swordsman and a devoted priest of the Kova religion. Follow his adventures in a series of linked short stories as he quests for love, knowledge and martial perfection and fights serpents, dictators, demons and deadly damsels along the way. These tales range from the heroic, to the mysterious to swashbuckling adventure. In the classic tradition of Conan, Zorro and Captain Blood!

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About Author Teel James Glenn

Teel James Glenn is a native of Brooklyn though he has traveled the world for thirty years as a Stuntman/Coordinator/Swordmaster, Jouster, Book Illustrator, Storyteller, Bodyguard and Actor.

His books in the Altiva fantasy series are: Tales of a Warrior Priest, Death at Dragonthroat, The Daemonhold Curse, and Sister Warrior all from ePress-Online as are Knight Errant :Death and Life at the Faire , Them’s Fightin Words :A Writers Guide to Writing Fight Scenes and the forthcoming: The Vision Quest Factor and A Hex of Shadows.

The Exceptionals: #1 Measure of a Man and #2 Across the Wasteland are out from Whiskey Creek Press with #3 due next year.

He has stories published in AfterburnSF, Blazing Adventures, AnotherRealm, Event Horizon, Fantasy Tales, Mad, Black Belt, Alternative Cinema, Classic Pulp Fiction Stories, Weird Stories, Double Danger Tales, Startling Science Stories, Shots Writer’s Village and others.