Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Jade Gods: A Matt Rowley Novel - by Patrick Freivald

4 of 5 Stars     Review copy

The world is falling apart.  It's unraveling at the seams.

Matt Rowley works in the Office of Special Threats.   ICAP (the International Council on Augmented Phenomena) no longer exists.  Matt is one of only a couple of Augs still walking about. There is another, but...

"Seven months. Seven months and eleven unrelated missions since Shane Keene — a supposed FBI agent with perfect credentials but who didn't exist — had kidnapped Sakura "Blossum" Isuji from the smoking ground of Centralia, Pennsylvania, the only place in the world that smelled worse than this van."

From this uncertain beginning Jade Gods warps into a non-stop series of near cataclysmic events, any one of which could spell the end for Matt and Sakura, not to mention mankind. OK, that might be laying it on a bit thick, but it's pretty damn close.

Add to the mix, Matt's wife, Monica, and their young son, Adam.  At the end of Black Tide, book two in the Matt Rowley series, Adam miraculously saves his Mother's life and is now viewed, by some, as an emissary of God and is the reason a new mega-church is being built across from their home.

While all of this may sound like a lot of fun, make no mistake, Jade Gods is the darkest book thus far in the series.  It is ultra violent, bloody, and at one point it seems to take a bit of a Lovecraftian twist.

Although total fiction and fiction of the most outlandish nature, there are certain parallels to be drawn between the story and the crazy times we live in.

So far, there are three novels in the Matt Rowley series.  Jade Sky, the aforementioned Black Tide, and now, Jade Gods.  There is at least one short story set in the same world, Bonked, which is included as a bonus in this book.

Patrick Freivald has a new publisher for his Matt Rowley series, Cohesion Press seems like a good match and I think we can expect more of these tales.  There better be at least one more since Jade Gods ends with the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers.

Although I can easily recommend Jade Gods and it can be read as a stand alone book and enjoyed, I think any reader would get more out of the experience by reading the series from the beginning.

Jade Gods is currently available in e-book only.  If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you can read this book at no additional charge and if you are an Amazon Prime member you can read it for FREE through the Kindle Owners Lending Library.

Patrick Freivald is an author, a beekeeper, and a teacher.  I've been reading Patrick's work for several years now.  I loved his teenage zombie books, Twice Shy & Special Dead.  And this new series featuring Matt Rowley just keeps growing and growing.

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