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Brandon Marlowe and the Spirit Snatcher
It's hard enough being a teenage boy, let alone a teenage boy with supernatural powers derived from Gods. In ancient times, the Gods warred with the Titans. The Titans fell, but the Gods' need for power never ceased. Soon, they channeled their powers into humans, known as "Demigods," who could fight their fights for them. Brandon Marlowe is among the cherished few, but life is no easier for him than other boys. He attends school in Tartarus, where a hidden training center exists to cater to these special children. There, Brandon is surrounded by other kids, who are raised and trained to fight the remaining evil Gods and their Demon minions. In Brandon's world, threats are always emerging, and he must be prepared. Soon, he will be ready-sent to battle, like so many before him, in a war to save the human race. However, Brandon's troubles are much closer to home. His older brother has died, and no one knows why. As Brandon prepares to enter the massive battle of God versus man, it becomes his mission to discover the cause of his brother's death and to punish the guilty. But will his quest for vengeance get in the way of his divine battle? And will his world collapse beneath the weight of the truth?
216 pages, Paperback
First published February 11, 2011
2 people want to read
About the author
Eric Livingston
8 books3 followersEric Livingston is a University of Tulsa graduate, with a degree in biochemistry. He married his college sweetheart, an English major who encouraged him to pursue his writing career. They currently reside in Houston, Texas, where Livingston was born.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 21, 2011
Tartarus - not generally a place you think about when going through your options for school. But Tartarus has changed. No longer is it a prison, NO SIREE!! It now houses a school that teaches the tools needed to defeat demons and rescue other humans who may have powers that can be honed in this school.
In comes Brandon. He is a first year student and younger brother to incredibly talented Kevin Marlowe. In Tartarus they rank their top ten students in the school, and everyone is clamoring to get the #1 ranked spot. Kevin had that spot, but that was before Brandon started school, before Kevin mysteriously died.
There are squads that form in the school to be sent out on missions to kill meddlesome demons, save other powerful humans and perform various other missions. Whose squad you are on will say a lot about who you are as a student, so you must pick the best one to be a part of. When an unknown demon starts making things difficult for the students, these squads will be very important to saving the human realms.
As this book started, I had extremely high hopes for it. I love stories that center around the Greek gods, and there aren't many who do it in this type of writing. You usually get the old myths, and not too many fiction books that bring the gods in as major players. The synopsis of the book also lead me to believe there would be some great action going on concerning his mysteriously dead brother, Kevin. I have had this book on my to-read list for quite some time now, and I was dying to dive into it.
This book fell way short of my expectations as I passed the halfway point. There was so much that was just 'there'. So much that was never told, so much that seemed worthless and unnecessary. Unfortunately, at this point, the whole death of his brother seems to be a pointless side part to the story. The author dedicates quite a bit to the story of Kevin, but it never goes ANYWHERE. We learn he dies...we never know who killed him or why. The real purpose of the squads were never quite impressive enough for me, nor were the missions that big of a deal. There was never any real danger in the missions - outside of one mysterious guy and the demon at the end. I thought maybe the aforementioned mysterious guy would turn into something quite amazing. Yet again, I was disappointed.
This book was FULL of great starts, brilliant ideas, and dead ends. The ending of the book led to me to believe there would be a sequel, and I will read it in hopes that this author will deliver better in the second volume, but unless he starts making things really come alive, make meanings for the operations, classes, involvement of everything around, this series will fall as flat as my flapjacks. I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn't. There was too much that was simply left out, and there is a big gaping whole right where the guts of the book should have been.
I really hope book two packs a bigger punch than this book did.
In comes Brandon. He is a first year student and younger brother to incredibly talented Kevin Marlowe. In Tartarus they rank their top ten students in the school, and everyone is clamoring to get the #1 ranked spot. Kevin had that spot, but that was before Brandon started school, before Kevin mysteriously died.
There are squads that form in the school to be sent out on missions to kill meddlesome demons, save other powerful humans and perform various other missions. Whose squad you are on will say a lot about who you are as a student, so you must pick the best one to be a part of. When an unknown demon starts making things difficult for the students, these squads will be very important to saving the human realms.
As this book started, I had extremely high hopes for it. I love stories that center around the Greek gods, and there aren't many who do it in this type of writing. You usually get the old myths, and not too many fiction books that bring the gods in as major players. The synopsis of the book also lead me to believe there would be some great action going on concerning his mysteriously dead brother, Kevin. I have had this book on my to-read list for quite some time now, and I was dying to dive into it.
This book fell way short of my expectations as I passed the halfway point. There was so much that was just 'there'. So much that was never told, so much that seemed worthless and unnecessary. Unfortunately, at this point, the whole death of his brother seems to be a pointless side part to the story. The author dedicates quite a bit to the story of Kevin, but it never goes ANYWHERE. We learn he dies...we never know who killed him or why. The real purpose of the squads were never quite impressive enough for me, nor were the missions that big of a deal. There was never any real danger in the missions - outside of one mysterious guy and the demon at the end. I thought maybe the aforementioned mysterious guy would turn into something quite amazing. Yet again, I was disappointed.
This book was FULL of great starts, brilliant ideas, and dead ends. The ending of the book led to me to believe there would be a sequel, and I will read it in hopes that this author will deliver better in the second volume, but unless he starts making things really come alive, make meanings for the operations, classes, involvement of everything around, this series will fall as flat as my flapjacks. I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn't. There was too much that was simply left out, and there is a big gaping whole right where the guts of the book should have been.
I really hope book two packs a bigger punch than this book did.
July 14, 2011
When I first read the book description, I thought this was going to be a Percy Jackson clone. However, it was much different. Brandon Marlowe is an elemental titan, and he has power over the wind. He attends a school in Tartarus where he is learning to fight. When we first meet Brandon, he is starting a new school year where he is sorted into a class. When Brandon joins a "squad" with two other students, his adventure really begins.
I enjoyed this book very much. Brandon is very sure of himself and his abilities, and this makes for a lot of action. Brandon, his friends, and his squad are great fun. Scene changes could seem a bit abrupt at times, but they certainly kept the action going at a quick pace. There were a few mysteries that were never quite answered, and I desperately want to know the answers to them. This book had some very interesting concepts that felt original and fun. I hope the author keeps writing, because I definitely want to see what happens next!
Copy of book won in online contest.
I enjoyed this book very much. Brandon is very sure of himself and his abilities, and this makes for a lot of action. Brandon, his friends, and his squad are great fun. Scene changes could seem a bit abrupt at times, but they certainly kept the action going at a quick pace. There were a few mysteries that were never quite answered, and I desperately want to know the answers to them. This book had some very interesting concepts that felt original and fun. I hope the author keeps writing, because I definitely want to see what happens next!
Copy of book won in online contest.
April 21, 2011
The idea behind this book is a good one. Not a terribly original one, but a solid one that could have been built into a fun series, which I’m sure is what the author has in mind to do. The problem is that the execution, the writing itself is not up to par.
The main character, Brandon, is very plain, a bit cardboard-y, a talented kid who seems to solve everything without too much trouble. That’s the problem when you give your characters magical powers, if they can do EVERYTHING, then there is no tension to the storyline, no conflict he or she can’t resolve. It makes for a dull book.
My biggest issue was with the dialogue. Every line of it had a sentence reaffirming what the speaker just said, which made it redundant and annoying. I don’t know if the author was worried about the reader not understanding who was speaking at the time and so had to punctuate every line with an action, but it was not fun to read like that.
The book could have used with more pages. We did not get enough world-building, we got no clear sense of what Tartarus was like or what the school was truly about. It seemed like half a book instead of a whole one. I was disappointed, especially since the idea had lots of potential.
Let’s hope the next books in the series turn out better.
The main character, Brandon, is very plain, a bit cardboard-y, a talented kid who seems to solve everything without too much trouble. That’s the problem when you give your characters magical powers, if they can do EVERYTHING, then there is no tension to the storyline, no conflict he or she can’t resolve. It makes for a dull book.
My biggest issue was with the dialogue. Every line of it had a sentence reaffirming what the speaker just said, which made it redundant and annoying. I don’t know if the author was worried about the reader not understanding who was speaking at the time and so had to punctuate every line with an action, but it was not fun to read like that.
The book could have used with more pages. We did not get enough world-building, we got no clear sense of what Tartarus was like or what the school was truly about. It seemed like half a book instead of a whole one. I was disappointed, especially since the idea had lots of potential.
Let’s hope the next books in the series turn out better.
April 16, 2011
I enjoyed the book. at first glance it reminded me of percey jackson books, but it was not. It had a school for kids with powers to fight the Gods and demons to protect the freedom of humans. Brandon on his second year or training was picked to join a team of three. Also saw him learn somethings quite fast. He was loyal to his team and friends. It was adventures and entertaining book. I look forward to more books with these characters. Thier is plenty of space to grow for more books. I was given the book from library thing in exchange for a review.
April 21, 2011
I liked it and will do a longer review soon. thanks
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews