Kenneth G. BennettReseñas

This review originally appeared on GnomeReviews.ca.

The gnomes received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

Exodus 2022 is a mash up of science fiction and environmental thriller. In the year 2022, Joe Stanton has a breakdown over the death of his young daughter, Lorna Gwin. This would be an understandable reaction if Joe had a daughter, but he doesn’t.

Other men have had similar breakdowns, all mourning the loss of their nonexistent daughter, Lorna Gwin. All of them died shortly after their breakdowns, which means that Joe doesn’t have much time left.

For reasons that weren’t entirely clear, this situation catches the attention of a wealthy weapons contractor, Sheldon Beck. Joe needs to find out what’s happening to him before Beck does, because Beck is a bad guy who wants to do bad guy stuff.

The first third of the book is a gripping page turner, but the middle of the book drags (the gnomes stopped reading at Chapter 60). Once Joe discovers the source of his hallucinations, the story becomes weird and unbelievable (and not in a good way). The focus of the book shifts from science fiction to environmentalism; the gnomes share the author’s views on the matter but don’t enjoy being beaten on the head with themes.

The dragging plot and clumsy theme aren’t the only issues with this book. The characters are one-dimensional: Beck is 100% evil, Joe is 100% good, and Joe’s girlfriend is 100% just a pretty face.

Despite these problems, the gnomes thoroughly enjoyed the first third of this book and would read future books by this author.

Rating: 3 Gnomes out of 5

What a surprisingly intriguing book, and well worth the read! A young priest suffering from bizarre hallucinations becomes entangled in a strange situation, which will take him on an incredible, mysterious and frightening journey. The book is very well paced, with clues being given at regular intervals, and making the story even more compulsive. I don't want to give away the plot so I won't say too much about it. The book deals with whales, and other sea creatures and land animals, and their communications, disrupted by human sonar mapping of the sea bed. It is a book that I could not put down! The ending leaves you stunned and breathless, wondering about this phenomenon and wanting to know more. Certainly gets you thinking. If you enjoy sci fi, this is a must read!

Good book. Well written. I'd recommend it.

This book is a blend of thriller and science fiction with a dash of environmentalism thrown in. lol I really enjoyed it. The story kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through. It is a sad, sometimes dark story, but still manages to be hopeful. I don't like to give out the plot in reviews, but lets just say it was a very unique story and well worth the read.
I received a copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early reviewer program in exchange for an unbiased review.

Exodus 2022 by Kenneth Bennett is more what I'd call science fantasy rather than science fiction. The writing is solid, but the characters are more stereotypes than actual real people. The political bias is obvious and annoying. For me that ruined what could have been a really good book. I had the ending pegged very early on in the book, and that took a lot of the suspense out of it. In fact I was just a few pages from the climax and got too sleepy to finish the thing. It's readable, but not really memorable.½

Really enjoyed this intriguing eco, sci-fi thriller. The premise is original and contemporary. Lost a touch of its tension during the latter part of the book but, overall, a page-turner. Lots of twists and turns, a great cast of characters, and well plotted. Even if you are not into sci-fi, give this one a go...

Overall, wonderful story! I am a sucker for Washington area settings, so that was fun. The story was fast paced, interesting, and kept me turning pages and the characters were enjoyable. I agree with the other reviews I see here that the ending seemed a bit abrupt, but I hope that just means that the sequel is where we actually get more information about the other world. What a treat that would be!

Updated July 17th, 2014:
This past weekend, I was traveling to Port Angeles and went on two ferries - each time imaging someone getting beaten up on the car deck and having to do out to search for them. The story got in my mind and won't let go! Love it! What a great story and intriguing message!

This was a quirky fast moving scifi yarn, I enjoyed the relationship between the main 2 human characters. The approach of animal human interaction was one I have not seen in a book before like this. The scifi was not too heavy so would appeal even to people who are not that keen on scifi. The main baddy character was surprisingly real to life, depressingly, and I felt the author was keenly making a point about the role of the defence industry in society. The book contained quite short chapters good for reading small chunks in a spare moment.½

Well, finally! A good book! I'm a writer myself and run a large local writer's group where our main focus is critique and making our stories better, so I tend to be more critical than an average reader. I've just started reading ebooks. I held off so long because I like paperbacks and I was also concerned about the quality of self published ebooks.

I've read a few now and Exodus 2022 is the first ebook that shows me that there are good, well-written stories out there.

Pros:
► The story was fast-paced with distinct, interesting characters.
► Punctuation was very good (I only noticed one small error) and I was incredibly happy to see proper paragraph indents and writing structure (which I haven't seen in the other ebooks I've read).
► There was plenty of suspense/mystery to keep me interested.

Cons:
► I felt the ending was a bit weak. It felt slow compared to the rest of the story.

Overall:
I will be on the watch for more of his stories. This one was enjoyable.

This is a science-fiction/fantasy/eco-thriller with a great plot. I don't wish to tell more since it would mean spoilers.

The story is fast-paced, the characters are really well described. Just by reading it, I could imagine the various sceneries in the water and on land! I could also imagine the sounds, so important for the plot!

The vision exposed in the story is on one side dark and scary, on the other full of hope, and I got more and more anxious until the ending. An open ending but for me not frustrating since it allowed me to imagine the future.
Though... a sequel would be great!

I recommend this book if you are a daydreamer like me, an idealist. You won't be happy if you like rational stories, with an explanation for everything.

Joe woke up, looked around and his daughter is gone from hotel room. He somehow thinks she was murder. He goes out and screams for help. After police arrives, he discovers that he never had a daughter. For some odd reason he had memories of her and somehow she was murdered, but no other memories. He and his girlfriend went to hospital, and they told them it was poisoning from food. Joe and Emma didn't know it, but Joe was implanted with brain scanner and tracker. Brain scanner read a whole lot of information including strange sea location.

Well it was somewhat enjoyable read, but not really best of books out there. Conclusion was fast too.

Others have commented that the "science" is improbably or inaccurate - SO WHAT??? It's a GOOD story, which kept me enthralled for a few extended sittings. The characters are engaging and the environmental warnings are, alas, not so far-fetched.

The only thing that kept me from a higher rating was the fact that I found the conclusion to be a bit abrupt. An epilogue could have contained a more satisfying ending.

Totally improbable "science fiction" should be labeled fantasy.

This implausible story opens with a strange ailment—Men who have been in the ocean are imagining that nonexistent daughters, each named Lorna Gwin, have been murdered—then the men die within 10-12 days. The thuggish least-successful son in a dysfunctional family, more powerful than the US government, a professional soldier with his own private army, has a machine that can read minds in great detail. This shows that the murdered-daughter hallucination is just the top of the iceberg. There are images of mysterious sea-creatures planted beneath, a whale-fall with a mysterious living tunnel in it leading—Where? Thee are also assorted murders done for petty reasons. One of the men doomed to die is pounded to a pulp, pepper-sprayed, falls overboard, about to drown, when a strange voice in his head declares that he must not, cannot die. Sound good yet? The villainous villain does/orders plenty more villainous things. Besides murders, he plants a chip in the unfortunate yet-alive man that spies on his thoughts, continually transmitting! Might that prove awkward after the man dies and is autopsied? No! "The device is bioreactive…It'll dissolve once cellular processes cease." The 4th man continues to hear a Voice, Lorna Gwin's mother, Mia, which comes from…wait for it…a whale! An orca whale (technically a dolphin) that was conveniently able to use sonar to cook the transmitter in his head. Then he and his girlfriend discover that they can communicate through telepathy! Just like with Mia. The real message she's been trying to transmit has nothing to do with HER dead daughter Lorna Gwin—that was incidental. Classified Navy sonar has been interfering with critical cetacean communication, and needs to be turned off for a particular 12 hours coming up soon. Mia has transmitted a tingle from herself, to #4, to an admiral who can perhaps get the sonar stopped. Can Mia escape this polluted world with her entire pod by going through the mysterious tunnel? Can #4 survive unlike #s 1-3? Do you care? Then read this book.

I'm giving two stars instead of one because it is not as unreadable as SOME books I've been asked to review. I was given an e-copy of this book through the LibraryThings Early Reviewer program in exchange for an unbiased review.

Well, the other reviewers have pretty well revealed the plot of the book, so if you are reading this review for that, skip this one. I feel that I should reveal my bias, I like science fiction, and a good story that is not too easily anticipated, and finally if the tale provides food for thought all the better. This book makes the grade, I enjoyed it a great deal and will be recommending it to my book groups. I suppose that it would be fair to say that you will end up wanting to know if there will be sequel as there are several possibilities available following the conclusion. My thanks to the author, publisher and Librarything for making thie story available for me to read.

EXODUS 2022 is the latest offering by Kenneth G. Bennett, the author of the lauded young adult series, THE GAIA WARS. An ecological, paranormal Sci-fi Thriller set in the year 2022, opens with 28 year old Joe Stanton waking up in a motel room on San Juan Island in Washington State, hysterical to find his lost daughter. Odd thing is, he doesn’t have a daughter. The police and ER doctor believe his delusions are drug-related but what they don’t know is that poor Joe isn’t the only one to have experienced these same hallucinations. Divers and fisherman from the Bering Sea to the Puget Sound, experienced almost this exact episode –resulting in their imminent death.

“A jolt of adrenaline traveled the length of his body, like a blast of electric current. His limbs twitched and his heart thumped in his chest. Ella felt Joe’s body quiver and tense. Heard him cry out: ‘No!’ She dropped her book. Spun around. Caressed his face. ‘Joe. Sweetie? Joe? You okay?’
He couldn’t hear her. He was deep underwater now, zooming toward a huge drifting shape. A shape he somehow recognized. Click! Skeleton. Brain. Lungs. Internal organs. Heart. Heart? The heart’s not beating. The heart is still. ‘No!’ Joe twisted and writhed, twitched and moaned. His face paled and a slick glaze of sweat coated his forehead. ‘She’s dead!’ he cried, his voice a guttural, strangled gurgle. A sound Ella barely recognized.
She gripped him by his shoulders. Shook him. ‘Joe! It’s me! You’re having a bad dream. Wake up.’ Joe stirred, and suddenly people up and down the beach were yelling. For a moment, Ella thought they’d heard her worried cries and were yelling at her. But everyone was staring at the water. Pointing and smiling and cheering. ‘Whales!’ someone shouted.” pp.44-45.

As Joe & his girlfriend, Ella, discern the images during these spells and who the voice is in his head, a very powerful and dangerous weapons contractor tries to identify the link with these occurrences and how his coterie might profit. But not all is as it seems as Joe comes face to face with a sentient being who needs his aid. And if he does help, at what cost?

Although sci-fi thrillers are not my typical cuppa tea, I must admit EXODUS 2022 is a provocative, unprecedented, spine-tingling novel; and coupled with the very germane “Blackfish” documentary & images from Taiji, Kenneth G. Bennett’s eco-thriller has stayed with me long after the last page. This is a thinking person's book that will surely instigate much discussion. I was given an early copy to read in exchange for my honest review. I can absolutely see this as a feature film. And the ending warrants a sequel! Add EXODUS2022 to your to-be-read list—sooner than later.

NOTE: I received the book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

I hadn't even heard of Kenneth before I read EXODUS 2022. Nor did I know what to expect of the book. I do love science fiction, and thrillers are usually blood-boiling, so I thought "Why not?"

There were scenes that had me laughing. By the end it had me teary eyed and somewhere in the middle I was pointing at the evil dude, saying "That's what you deserve, mister!"

Writing style:
Clean, well structured, and professional. The action flowed from one scene to the next without any stumbling. It was definitely a page turner.
Also, I can't say how much I loved the paragraph length. SHORT!

Story line:
I think I can count on my one hand the novels that kept me guessing until the very end. EXODUS 2022 was one of them. I had no idea what was going to happen until, literally, the very last page.
So, what's the story?
A young man by the name of Joe Stanton is struck by hallucinations. Of the daughter he never had. After a video of him going out of it is uploaded in the global web, he is noticed by a genius scientist and a weapons baron who are suddenly interested in solving the mystery of several Pacific coast victims. Things get tense and complicated along the way ans the mystery gets unraveled.

Themes:
-The power of money and how it can corrupt people;
-The human influence over anything seems to be mostly destructive;
-There are other sentient beings living on this planet. We'll do well to remember that.

Characters:
Joe Stanton was a quiet, peaceful young man. He had his life ahead of him, a life he was hopeful to share with his girlfriend Ella. He had an open attitude, a huge heart and a mind set in the right place. For someone placed in his situation, Joe was doing admirably. He knew what was waiting for him in a week's time, but he never lost sight of what he thought was important. He was a strong man, even when perceived as week, for strength is not always found in the physical body.

Ella was not a girl, who would run at the first sight of trouble. In fact, I thought that was going to be how events would unfurl, but I was proved wrong. Ella stood by Joe's side until the very end. She suffered a lot - seeing him fall apart, seeing him struggle to remain with his mind, feeling helpless beside him, being kidnapped, harassed and everything else... Despite all that, Ella remained strong and brave.

Beck... well, he was the antagonist. Not entirely, but to a certain extent, he made known that he was the force to be reckoned. And while the forces within him were the main evil, he was still one sick, egotistical man. He cared about nothing but himself. I despised him way before he became evil personified. He wasn't an admirable character to begin with - he was a murderer without a conscience. But he degraded even further as the story progressed. What I liked about him was that he wasn't a flat character. There was depth to him, layers upon layers and not even one of them was the the spectrum of goodness.
So yeah, lots of times I find myself rooting for the villain in a novel, but... dude, not this time.

In conclusion, I'd like to say that EXODUS 2022 was a journey I never expected to take, but am glad I took it.

I won this book and it's companion Battle for Cascadia through Goodreads First Reads giveaway in order to give an honest review.

The main character, Warren and his friends maybe 13 but that doesn't mean this series is just for kids. I thoroughly enjoyed these books and highly recommend this series to everyone from tweens to adults of all ages.

In The Gaia Wars we're introduced into Warren's world. Warren is an exploring, hard working, nature-loving young man living in a cabin with his uncle. He's caring and smart but in typical teenage fashion he doesn't think everything through, including his prank plans. He realizes too late what could happen if it goes wrong and it goes in fact go awry. It could have been worse but it's still not what Warren expected. This prank sets in motion events no one could have predicted.

There's the build up stuff like getting to know our cast a bit better, getting used to their day to day lives and getting a breath taking tour of the Cascade mountain wilderness. There's event dominoes falling to keep us moving for over half the book. Then we're thrown into non-stop action leaving destruction in our wake and questioning the very nature of our being. Then it ends.

That's where Battle for Cascadia begins. I can't say much about the second book without spoilers. It picks up right where The Gaia Wars leaves off. It's full of action and details over a course of a few days. It's a smooth transition without time wasted on doing a summary or dragging feet. We get the answers to most of our questions from the first book though there's so much more to explore. It's everything great from the first book and builds on it with some wonderful additions like character progression. It hold up and there's no need to worry about starting a series that fails in the second book.

I was hooked in by The Gaia Wars quickly. I'm extremely grateful I won both books to continue them straight through. I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment and can't wait to read it.

This is a mash up of genres with fantasy/sci-fi/adventure/action elements with suspense, true friendship, bullies, coming of age and a first crush. The mix isn't sluggish or choppy, it flows naturally encompassing everyone and everything in its path. The suspense in the first book is trying to figure out who is who and who to trust while in the second book it's all about wondering what is going to happen next. Sure, there's things that can be easily guessed at and expected but really while reading I was completely caught up in the story. It doesn't matter to me if others found the plot to be formulaic or unsurprising. The reason why such tracts become popular and standard is because when done well it's a great ride. That's exactly what we have here. The combination of Gaia hypothesis, Native American myths, and the alien contact is certainly different than anything I've read, even if it doesn't turn genres on its head completely. It is just done so very well and I was thoroughly entertained.

Sure, some things seem just so convenient but it didn't push my willingness to suspend belief to a breaking point. In Warren's world it's easy for me to just put it down as fate. The two times Warren acted Un-Warren-like seemed to be due to outside forces, which is why I put it down as fate since it's not explained yet. Honestly, with everything else going on in the story I barely noticed.

I loved the writing and the style. I could easily imagine everything and really become fully immersed in the book. The descriptions of nature alone are awe inspiring. The covers and title fronts are beautiful and it really gets across the feel of the book. It's tightly wound around the characters, the setting, the few days, these events take place going into detail and doesn't wander off course. It's an easy, quick read that just doesn't let you put it down til the last page.

But what about the characters? Todd Jr. is a bully and Warren makes fun of fat people. Todd Jr. was raised to value power and dominance while Warren was raised to value nature and being fit to survive in the wild. Sean is much like Warren though he disagrees with some of Warren's choices. Phil is simply the girl scout Warren crushes on. Ina is the suspicious hard-ass who has a problem with Warren. Peeples is the sweet old man trying to look out for Warren.

This all may or may not true but one thing is for sure, you won't feel the same way about any of them at the end of this book or the second.

If you have problems with the characters at first, I wouldn't despair or become too harsh because they do change. The first book is all about the set up for the action and in the second book during all the action characters do progress. I hate characters becoming static and that's not an issue here at all. I really like the specific changes several characters under went. The characters feels solid like everything else in the book. They are compelling and realistic. The character do have flaws and don't always make the right decisions. For the good guys it's due to intentions gone awry, lack of knowledge and the interference of the forces of evil. The antagonist is just an evil intergalactic tyrant. We get brief insight into his heart of hearts and it's not a pleasant sight.

Sure, it's black and white good vs. evil story. There's no grey area to feel sympathetic for the bad guy here but I think that works. I don't think it's a drawback. It's nice to just dive into an adventure where you know who to fight against with no questions or hesitation.

So I've rambled on about how great The Gaia Wars and Battle for Cascadia are, the big question in reviews is what's the flaw in these books?

Two Words : Cliff hangers.

*dun dunn DUNNN*

To Be Continued!

Wait, WTF?!?

It's like being attacked by Jaws with your friends and right before Jaws bites your best friend's head off and * Poof *

You're stranded on a desert island.

You're safe but worried about your friends and don't know if they lived or died.

Great.

Both the first and the second book stop on massive end of the world cliff hangers. So I recommend getting both books together because it will drive you batty to be left hanging. The first book's cliff hanger is really in the middle of everything, in the middle of a fight;there's still so much hanging with so many possibilities. The good news is that the second book picks right up where it leaves off. It's a smooth transition. The second book's cliff hanging is annoying as well but at least it's not the "running in mid stride when suddenly the ground disappears" cliff hanger. Oh, wait...never mind. You will wonder, fret and it will nag you to not know what happens but at least there's more answers, information and growth. It felt more like a natural break for the second book's ending. This is really the only thing that bugs me about the series, which is admittedly standard fair in a trilogy. It's done really well and the cliff hanger is effective; I just hate not knowing. I was sitting here saying "no no no nonono so not fair!" throwing a tantrum like a child because the third book isn't out yet.

* sigh * There isn't even a date or a title for it yet. =(
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****SPOILERS*******
Minor Things:
---Todd Jr. being just so fat yet is able to keep up with the boys then out run them. I mean this kid is described as hardly going outside yet he jet skies every morning. He hates being outside yet has a water bottle and day pack ready to go by the door. Being out of shape and inexperienced you'd think he'd be all loud and obvious trailing the boys as well. Yet the only explanation is that Warren is distracted but what about Sean?

---Why was Ina so mean to Warren when they first met? Everyone knew everyone else in this struggle except Warren so why not be nice and cozy up to him? This isn't explained or brought up at all. I guess we are just suppose to assume she acted that way so Peeples wouldn't suspect they were getting close and talking but if she hadn't been so irritable maybe Peeples accusations wouldn't have hurt her so much. It officially doesn't matter anymore and it just might be Ina having an abrasive personality but I was still asking myself this question while reading. What happens between Ina and Peeople at Ridgecrest is left a big gaping mystery hole.

---I think Warren's voice was came off well. I have this minor spot where it felt off though. When I was 13, neither myself nor my friends differentiated between old and middle aged. Older was 18-21 like older sibling for us. Everyone else was just old or ancient. We certainly didn't call a 35 year old young, after all they were more than twice our age and usually our parents. So Warren's use of such terms and descriptions for the middle aged people in the old folks home felt...disingenuous. Of course it might just be Warren is an unusually perceptive kid and due to his interest in science, history and nature has a better grasp of time. It might be a lack of ways to properly describe it. It's really only mentioned briefly on a couple of pages and I doubt I would have remembered this if I didn't use sticky tags. Otherwise, I have no real qualms on how these young teenagers spoke, thought or were portrayed.

Questions:
Why didn't the person/people who made the Fabrinel make it so once the poison is hit by them to eject the piece of their bodies before the poison destroys them? I'd be working to make that possible if I were them. It may not work a lot of the time but I could see that at least being handy occasionally. It would certainly make it harder. Of course, Fabrinels are giant mystery anyways so maybe there's a reason why something like this hasn't been implemented.

Why did it take Uhlgoth centuries to return to Earth to capture Onagatoh? The answer might be as simple as that's how space travel works but if so, I think spelling this out would be helpful. Especially for young kids who aren't into sci-fi already. It just seems weird that the explanation is simply Ina shrugging and mumbling something about Uhlgoth being badly injured. Warren doesn't even buy it.

I won this book and the first book, The Gaia Wars in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway in order to give an honest review.

In general for the series:

The main character, Warren and his friends maybe 13 but that doesn't mean this series is just for kids. I thoroughly enjoyed these books and highly recommend this series to everyone from tweens to adults of all ages.

This is a mash up of genres with fantasy/sci-fi/adventure/action elements with suspense, true friendship, bullies, coming of age and a first crush. The mix isn't sluggish or choppy, it flows naturally encompassing everyone and everything in its path. The suspense in the first book is trying to figure out who is who and who to trust while in the second book it's all about wondering what is going to happen next. Sure, there's things that can be easily guessed at and expected but really while reading I was completely caught up in the story. It doesn't matter to me if others found the plot to be formulaic or unsurprising. The reason why such tracts become popular and standard is because when done well it's a great ride. That's exactly what we have here. The combination of Gaia hypothesis, Native American myths, and the alien contact is certainly different than anything I've read, even if it doesn't turn genres on its head completely. It is just done so very well and I was thoroughly entertained.

I loved the writing and the style. I could easily imagine everything and really become fully immersed in the book. The descriptions of nature alone are awe inspiring. The covers and title fronts are beautiful and it really gets across the feel of the book. It's tightly wound around the characters, the setting, the few days, these events take place going into detail and doesn't wander off course. It's an easy, quick read that just doesn't let you put it down til the last page.
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To review Battle for Cascadia by itself is tricky. It has all the great elements from the first book with a few new tantalizing toppings. It's hard since there's not much to say about this book that wouldn't be a spoiler of some sort. It picks right up from the end of The Gaia Wars and just keeps the break-neck pace up through to the end. It's all action. It answers a few of the questions from book one and heaps more to pile as well.

If you've been hooked in by The Gaia Wars then reviews won't make a difference since you're going to need to find out how the story continues regardless. Just get a copy and read it! You won't be disappointed.

If you hadn't been hooked in by The Gaia Wars and are wondering if you should give this book a shot....well, I don't know what to say. I can't imagine that happening personally. This book is definitely the twin of its predecessor. Both books could be combined into one and it would work flawlessly. The main differences are things like character progression and answers to questions, which is given just due to the passage of pages. Todd Jr.'s position is explored, he grows as a person and it has a stunning conclusion. Warren grows as well, though on a different track. We get to know Ina, Achak and Thaddus better to really connect with them, which will cause some extreme emotions as the tale unfolds. There's even a surprise addition to the gang and a twist that causes another cliff hanger ending. It's written in the same detailed descriptions that capture people, nature and fights so well. It has the same atmosphere and feel as the first book while exploring the layers to get more depth. It's better than the first book because it stays true to the original elements and builds upon it. I don't have any instances of questions or minor nit-picks like I did with the first book, which means there weren't any or I was so involved that I didn't notice The only irritating thing about this book is the same with the first : cliff hanger endings. It's well done and is standard in a trilogy but damn is it annoying to be left hanging on the precipice of great happenings. There isn't even a title or date for the third book that I could find anywhere, which makes me grumpy and sad.

If you're looking into Battle for Cascadia because you don't want to start The Gaia Wars without knowing if the series is worth it, then you're in luck! I covered that in my review for The Gaia Wars. It really is worth it.

Release date: August 25, 2011
Publisher: CreateSpace
Format: Ebook
Age Group: young adults (although its good for all ages, in my opinion)
Pages: 286 (not counting the title/cover page, excerpt, etc, 269 pages)
Source for Synopsis: from Goodreads
Challenge: (personal) 2011 Reading Challenge

“Deadly secrets have been buried in the Cascade mountain wilderness for centuries. Hidden. Out of sight and out of mind.
Until today…
Warren Wilkes, age 13, doesn’t like what a greedy housing developer has done to his peaceful mountain community, so he vandalizes the developer’s property, flees into the wild, and stumbles upon an ancient human skeleton revealed by torrential rain. More than old bones have been exposed, however, and the curious artifact Warren finds makes him question his own identity, and his connection to an ancient terror. A terror destined to rise again and annihilate all that Warren loves. He must fight or see his whole world destroyed.”

Review

This book is the first book of Kenneth G. Bennett’s “The Gaia Wars” series. I read this book in less than 3 days (I would have finished it faster if I didn’t have final projects to work on, which were all due this week). I know I say this a lot, but this one is especially hard to say without spoilers, since the story is filled with secrets.

It was interesting reading a book from a boy’s point of view after long time (not counting mangas), at first I wasn’t sure if I was going to like the main character Warren, but as the story progressed, I found myself sympathizing with him and his losses, and the author also made him believable as well.

After I started reading this book, it was hard to put it down, I got so absorbed into the Gaia Wars world, that I always lost track of time, for ex: I was reading this book a week ago on Saturday night and when I checked time afte a few hours, it was past 3:30am (I usually don’t stay up past 3).

The main character, Warren is a 13 year old boy, who loves adventure and the forest, his favourite hobbies are running, hiking in the forest, etc. He lives with his uncle because his parents are dead, and he has a best friend named Sean.

This story kind of reminded me of Harry Potter: His neighbours (the Finleys) are like the Dursleys, only they have no blood relation with the main character; Todd Jr, like Dudley, bullys the protagonist whenever he gets the chance and his dad is the same too; both Harry and Warren are orphans; both have a loyal best friend; both of them are in a deadly battle with many secrets. See the similarities? I think there are more too, but I don’t remember them right now.

The story had a great concept, I never thought of that scientific theory like this, that’s so creative. The story was fast-paced, the characters were likeable and easy to understand, the author’s version of the Gaia theory is an interesting idea too. I started reading the second one right after I finished this book, but I had to take a break from reading for a while, so I’m still reading it. I enjoyed this book from the beginning to end, I’ll probably read this again, after I finish the books or at least finish most of the books in TBR pile, which is really big right now.

People who like adventure, stories like Narnia, Harry Potter, and other stories like that, you’ll love “The Gaia Wars”.

This time, there are no spoilers (unlike with my other reviews).

In total there are 2 novels in this series so far, the second one is called “Battle for Cascadia”
If you want to read more reviews about this book, go to Goodreads and read the reviews in the comment section or go to other websites.

To read/view the full review, go to my book blog here http://nazish0151.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/the-gaia-wars-book-1-by-kenneth-g-ben...

Ever since he can remember, Warren Wilkes has felt an affinity to the wilderness around him. The air, the soil, even the animals living within the Cascade mountains - they call to him, inciting the urge to explore the secrets the mountains hold. The sheer beauty that surrounds him is breathtaking and the mere thought of that beauty being marred by housing developments sits ill with him. So much so that he decides to take matters into his own hands. Yet never once has he given thought to the consequences of his actions.

Vandalizing a neighbor's property in retaliation, Warren's only option is to run into the wild for safety. He knows he's done something wrong, yet he justifies it with the fact that he was paying the developers back for the ruin of his beloved wilderness. Trying to stay one step ahead of those he's angered, he stumbles upon a 500-year-old skeleton dislodged from within the soil's grasp because of the rainy weather as well as an ancient, and quite magical, artifact.

Unwilling to part with his treasure, he's determined to keep it at all costs. Sent to do community service as a result of what he's done, Warren knows that it's a matter of time before his nemesis takes his revenge for his little prank. It's not long before Todd J.R. discovers his secret, lusting after the treasure himself.

Inadvertently unleashing an ancient evil intent on recovering what it feels rightfully belongs to it, Warren sets into motion a series of events that leave him questioning his entire existence. He soon understands that it's up to him to set all wrongs to right, while trying to come to terms with the secrets he's now privy to. Secrets that were kept from him in order to keep him safe. Secrets that threaten life as he knows it.

This was such a delightful read. Kenneth has a way of pulling the reader in from the very first sentence that it's hard to put the book down. I also found myself so intrigued with the history that he painstakingly put together. I confess I tried researching to see if the Denelai really existed. The history was that well-developed!

It's such a fascinating story. I truly recommend reading it and look forward to reading Battle For Cascadia, the next book in the series, soon.

Description:

Continuing from where The Gaia Wars left off, Battle for Cascadia chronicles the lengths Warren and his allies must go to in order to stop the ancient, evil Uhlgoth and his horde from capturing and enslaving the spirit of planet Earth.

Review:

As if the first book wasn't awesome enough, the second book in The Gaia Wars series, Battle for Cascadia, came along and assaulted my imagination with a whole new level of discovery. In line with the first book, the characters were just as dynamic, if not more so; Warren has definitely grown, and with that comes a whole new dimension of his character. Another character that I enjoyed reading about was Thaddeus, but I was really held captive by Kenneth G. Bennett's depiction of Uhlgoth and his otherworldly army. I wasn't expecting to be that unsettled by a set of characters, but I definitely felt their imposing effects. Also, just like in the first book, the descriptions of the Cascade region were breathtaking, and the details were artfully captured on each page. Even as I was reading about the battle, I was marveling at the pictures being painted in my mind. The story-line was even more intricate than the first book, but it was in no way difficult to understand or enjoy, although, I was shocked by some of the plot twists. Battle for Cascadia is a fast-paced page turner that took my emotions and imagination on one heck of a ride. As for the ending, I will eagerly be awaiting the last book in the trilogy because I hate not knowing what's going to happen next, especially since... (sorry, no spoilers)! Still waiting for word on a film version...

Rating: Clean Getaway (5/5)

*** I received these eBooks from Novel Publicity and the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Description:

13 year-old Warren Wilkes has messed up - big time, and now he's running through the Cascade mountains dodging the roar of oncoming dogs and ATVs. Until, that is, he sees the long-lost skeleton of a Native American poking out of the eroded soil, and his child-like curiosity gets the best of him. Here he finds an ancient spear point as well as a mysterious gold medallion which holds a circle of obsidian. Unfortunately, his pursuers are unrelenting, so he grabs the medallion and continues his escapist trek. Little does he know, that the strange artifact he's discovered is about to awaken, not only a hidden side of himself, but an ancient and unearthly evil that threatens to destroy everything he holds dear.

Review:

Wow! I definitely didn't expect this book to be so amazing! I have always been a fan of young adult and teen fiction, especially those books that transport the reader into another plain of imagination, and boy, is this one of them; Hello Harry Potter, Twilight, and Lord Of The Rings, meet The Gaia Wars, the next epic teen adventure.Where do I begin? Well, the title, The Gaia Wars, which I thought was catchy, and made me want to jump into some serious science fiction. But it wasn't just science fiction, and it wasn't on some otherworldly planet, but here - on planet Earth; and what a spectacular Earth Kenneth G. Bennett describes. Besides the story, the imagery and detail were one of my favorite aspects of the book. I could see the vastness of the Cascades, the people who once called them home, and the incredible power and fury of our planet - the one that does exist. The fact that there were extraterrestrial beings didn't take anything away from the beautiful reality I absorbed from each page. Those are some landscapes I'd love to see, even though they are now well-toured in my mind. The characters were well-developed and very realistic. Even though Warren was a teenage boy, I found myself relating to him, and I didn't feel like I was reading a book designed just for young adults, but for every age group. From page one I was hooked, like Todd was to the pier. The chapters were the perfect length, the dialogue and the story-line flowed easily, and the pace was quick and full of action and surprise. Without a doubt, this book is going on my top ten list for 2011, and may just be one of my new favorite teen reads. Can't wait for the sequel, Battle for Cascadia, and I am kind of hoping that a possible film version may be in the not-to-distant Earth future!

Rating: Clean Getaway (5/5)

*** I received this eBook from Novel Publicity and the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

This is a quick-paced adventure that keeps to such. Warren is a character who starts off looking like a troublemaker, but my viewpoint of him didn't take long to change on seeing just what he was making trouble against. When he stumbles on an artifact, his problems have only started when it hints to some mysterious, ancient clues and powers that are of a much bigger picture.

This is a great book for tweens and up, proven by the tween who stole it from me to read. An adventure with lots of tension and the stakes are set high between all the characters. I liked how the science fiction elements were blended into the story to make them important, but not the sole thing holding the story together, as it came down to Warren and his allies' actions and experience foremost.

My only complaint with this book is that I don't have the second! It ended with me looking for more to what happens next, particularly as things reached an extreme high with Warren and his fight against the evil set loose on the world. I look forward to the continuation.