Anthony Caplan

A father and son stumble into the secret world of the Santos Muertos, a crime cartel bent on global domination. The son must find his father and keep the secret of the Chocomal, the ancient Mayan code underlying the creation of matter in the universe, from falling into the wrong hands. A story of sacrifice and love set in a contemporary, dystopian America.

Sent to me by the author in ebook format in return for a review. As well as his website, he can be found on twitter as @anthonycaplan1. This book will be published in late April 2014.

Following the death of his wife Mary the year previously, Al and his 15 year old son Ricky go on holiday to Guatamala, to do some bonding – their relationship has been strained since Ricky chose not to follow his father’s wishes in continuing with football, preferring to ski.

Part of the holiday is to reconnect with Mary’s memory, going to places she had loved, and finding out more about the Mayan history she was interested in. At the surf shop, Ricky picks up a Mayan artefact called the Chocomal, which leads them into contact with the underbelly of the American continent, with the story traversing from Guatamala northwards into Canada with a trail of death and loss following behind.

For the 15 year old Ricky, he has to track down his father once the latter gets kidnapped, and find the people who can get him to where he needs to be whilst having little to no money. This means he ends up running with thieves, druggies, hippies, hackers and whores.
Meanwhile Al, has been kidnapped and transported to Canada, in order to tempt Ricky, who holds the Chocomal, to break cover. Al is held initially in solitary confinement, and subjected to torture (both physical and psychological). He is broken by his treatment, not knowing when he is – and only sometimes where he is – from one day to the next. He finds out the plans to make use of the Chocomal, that will rip the known world apart. When reunited with Ricky they work together, with some of the others kidnapped by Santos Muertos to stop them.

The formatting of the book is good and easily to get through, despite the lack of quotation marks! I was a little concerned by the way the first chapter was written, in that whilst it is a different and interesting way of writing (the mind of the father as he is disintegrating whilst held captive) it would have been a difficult book to read if it had continued for more than a chapter. However, a brave and interesting start to a book.

During his travel north Ricky – a surfer dude with enough strength to stand up to his father’s bullying techniques over playing football – seems in no hurry to move north, and spends weeks with drunks and dopeheads in the belief they can help him at some time in the future. Ricky leaves many of his friends and acquaintances behind as soon as they lose their usefulness and with nary a look back or regret, even if that person dies.… (más)

A father and son stumble into the secret world of the Santos Muertos, a crime cartel bent on global domination. The son must find his father and keep the secret of the Chocomal, the ancient Mayan code underlying the creation of matter in the universe, from falling into the wrong hands. A story of sacrifice and love set in a contemporary, dystopian America.

Sent to me by the author in ebook format in return for a review. As well as his website, he can be found on twitter as @anthonycaplan1. This book will be published in late April 2014.

Following the death of his wife Mary the year previously, Al and his 15 year old son Ricky go on holiday to Guatamala, to do some bonding – their relationship has been strained since Ricky chose not to follow his father’s wishes in continuing with football, preferring to ski.

Part of the holiday is to reconnect with Mary’s memory, going to places she had loved, and finding out more about the Mayan history she was interested in. At the surf shop, Ricky picks up a Mayan artefact called the Chocomal, which leads them into contact with the underbelly of the American continent, with the story traversing from Guatamala northwards into Canada with a trail of death and loss following behind.

For the 15 year old Ricky, he has to track down his father once the latter gets kidnapped, and find the people who can get him to where he needs to be whilst having little to no money. This means he ends up running with thieves, druggies, hippies, hackers and whores.
Meanwhile Al, has been kidnapped and transported to Canada, in order to tempt Ricky, who holds the Chocomal, to break cover. Al is held initially in solitary confinement, and subjected to torture (both physical and psychological). He is broken by his treatment, not knowing when he is – and only sometimes where he is – from one day to the next. He finds out the plans to make use of the Chocomal, that will rip the known world apart. When reunited with Ricky they work together, with some of the others kidnapped by Santos Muertos to stop them.

The formatting of the book is good and easily to get through, despite the lack of quotation marks! I was a little concerned by the way the first chapter was written, in that whilst it is a different and interesting way of writing (the mind of the father as he is disintegrating whilst held captive) it would have been a difficult book to read if it had continued for more than a chapter. However, a brave and interesting start to a book.

During his travel north Ricky – a surfer dude with enough strength to stand up to his father’s bullying techniques over playing football – seems in no hurry to move north, and spends weeks with drunks and dopeheads in the belief they can help him at some time in the future. Ricky leaves many of his friends and acquaintances behind as soon as they lose their usefulness and with nary a look back or regret, even if that person dies.… (más)

I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Al and Ricky Lyons take a family vacation to Guatemala, a place loved by Ricky's mother before cancer took her away much too soon. What they had planned to be a fun vacation of surfing, sun and sightseeing turns into a race against time and a fight for their lives when Ricky comes across an ancient Mayan tablet. The tablet is wanted by the Santos Meurtos, and they will stop at nothing to get it.

This is a great edge of your seat dystopian novel. I was drawn in immediately and could not put it down. You can easily connect with the characters and the father son relationship is so realistic. My favorite character was Ricky. Even though he had no idea how he was going to save his father, his determination drove him. You could also see him grow as a person during his trek across the country to rescue his dad. This was an wonderful story of faith and courage. Even if you don't read dystopian novels, this book takes you on an amazing cross-country adventure you're sure to enjoy.… (más)

The author did a magnificent job creating a futuristic America split in two countries. Democravia is the country where young people have to go through a procedure called "The Augment". With that procedure, all your emotions (and free will) are controlled and guided, all in benefit of a greater cause. A young girl (Corrag) rebels against having to do the procedure and is sent by her parents to leave in a community outside their controlled region, in the Republican Homeland, with her uncle and aunt. And soon a whole new situation takes place and status quo is challenged.
This is a very action intense book, full of twists and excitement, that will keep you entertained for hours.
Technically the book is the second in the series called "The Jonah Trilogy", the first being "Savior", but you can read it as a complete stand alone book, without losing any connectivity, as this story only mentions a couple of times events that are related to the first story. The main link is that our main character in this book is the granddaughter of Al Lyon, the main character of Savior.
If you have money to buy and time to read, Savior is also an excellent and entertaining reading.The author is a natural storyteller and you will enjoy every turn of page from this wonderful novel.
I received a copy of this book from the author but I was not requested to provide a positive review. Opinion expressed here is my own.… (más)