The Overseer

by Conlan Brown

It took two thousand years to bring the Firstborn together.
It will only take a moment...to tear them apart.
The Firstborn--three ancient religious orders gifted with the ability to see past, present and future--have formed a shaky truce for the first time since the death of Christ. But dangerous forces, both human and otherwise, are rising to destroy them.
Torn between the call to rescue three innocent teenage girls abducted into sexual slavery, preventing the racially motivated assassination of a prominent American politician, and dealing with the wild warnings of an elusive and mysterious prophet, all eyes turn to the Overseer and the struggle over who will control the fate of the Firstborn.
Hannah Rice, John Temple, and Devin Bathurst return in this adrenaline-packed sequel to The Firstborn as they are hurled into a dark world of human trafficking, shadowy government agencies, assassination, and a race against time to save everything they believe in.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Suspense

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 4, 2010

About the author

Suffering from severe dyslexia, Conlan Brown finally learned to read and write from his grandmother when he was homeschooled by her his fifth grade year. He has since gone on to accomplish numerous life goals.

After completing his first degree in Mass Media Production Conlan went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a minor in Journalism, then moved directly into graduate school. While earning his MA Conlan worked as a Teaching Associate at the University-level while working on his MA, teaching public speaking to undergraduates. During his education he continued to find skills pertinent to his craft, gaining both a strong understanding of human interaction which has informed his writing and the constant schedule of graduate-level writing.

Conlan lives on Colorado's front range. He enjoys video editing, classic film scores, and developing high octane, thought provoking fiction that turns pages and excites the senses.

Reviews

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

It hasn't been too long after the events of the first book.

John Temple, as Overseer, feels he has failed everyone as the SEC and the IRS are interested in the Firstborn's investments, specifically because the group pulled investments before a big drop - and will anyone really believe insider trading wasn't going on or that people had visions of the drops?

Hannah is following the kidnapping of underage girls for sex trafficking purposes.
Devin has had visions of the assassination of a United States Senator.

A man who is able to see past, present and future warns that if Devin prevents his vision from coming to pass, then the Thresher will be unleashed.
The three protagonists do not appreciate the man's interference.

John loses his position as Overseer, but his replacement oversteps the bounds expected of him by the Patriarch of those who have discernment of the present.

Hannah is able to rescue those who were sold into sex-trafficking. Devin was able to prevent the assassination of the Senator, who was targeted by a white supremacist group. John and Trista got together, but John's trust of the man's prophecy that Trista was in danger drove them apart again.

I appreciated that, again, the focus was not on conversion to Christianity, but rather a continued call to love and mutual respect despite differences, especially standing up to sex trafficking and white supremacy.

[Christy Trever · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Overseer by Conlan Brown is the second book in the Firstborn series. Picking up shortly after the events of the first book, John Temple is the Overseer of the Firstborn. The three groups are finally starting to work together: the Prima who see the past, the Ona who see the present and the Domani who see the future. John's decision as Overseer have put the group in danger, and things get even worse as Hannah tries to track down three girls who were kidnapped by human traffickers and Devin tries to stop the assassination of a United States senator. They are warned by a strange man named Angelo that if they stop the assassination, the Thresher will be released to hunt down and destroy the Firstborn. This knowledge splits the organization in two sides, those who support stopping the assassin and those are are in fear of their lives. Brown does a wonderful job of creating a world in which no one is completely trustworthy, and intentions are never what they seem. Political machinations, fast-paced action, and tortured romance keep the reader hooked from the first page. Brown creates an interesting dilemma in that is the life of one man worth saving if it will cost the lives of countless others. What is a good man compelled to do with the knowledge of another's impending death? It's a thrilling suspense novel with a punch of deeper questions about what it means to be a Christian.

[Wyndy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It held me throughout. I think it is better than the first book in the series The Firstborn but I do think that a reader would benefit greatly from reading the first one before this one. In this one we follow three of the characters from the first book, Hannah, John, and Devin. The emotional and physic damage that happened to Hannah as a result of her kidnapping in the first one leads to a empathy and determination that she find the 3 girls that have just been kidnapped for the sex-trade. Mr. Brown throws in some statistics of the sex trade in America that makes one take a second look at the situation but he does so as a part of the information that Hannah must learn. John's character wasn't developed in a positive manner, in fact I wanted to tell him to grow up and become a man. I do hope that if he is in the third book, he is much stronger. Devin is the same cold calculating machine he has appeared to be in the past but there does seem to be more to his story and a hope that he isn't quite so cold. The new appearance of Angelo helps to establish some more background history on the Firstborn and introduces a wild card into the scene. I characters were real, well written, the story flowed continuously throughout the story. Definitely a good read.

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remember that one time that Johnny was offered the title of Overseer?

Yeah. That was a thing. And this book starts out by telling us straight out that that decision was a bad one. Johnny knows nothing about politics, doesn't like conflict, can't handle business transactions or decisions, and must rely heavily on his advisors. Yeah, this won't last long...why did he take the job in the first place!? *spoiler for those who haven't read The Firstborn*

And what's with the crazy guy Alessandro who is basically a modern day Alessandro D'Angelo, blessed with the gifts of all three factions? I love this twist, but the fact that Conlan Brown stopped writing after this book makes the twist just sort of sit there, misused and left to go nowhere. Stop toying with us, man, and write the end of the series! Please, we're dying here!!

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fascinated, truly. I really fell in love with John's character, which propelled me into the story itself. By the end I was breath taken by the extreme manner of storytelling, even the open ending left me in awe. It was a beautifully brilliant story and it was quite well told. Thrilling, I even fell asleep reading it last night instead of being sensible and putting it away earlier. In all truth and honesty, I really enjoyed it and gleaned quite a bit from it as well. An excellent read. I loved the ending.

Though the idea is but a fantasy, it really put a perspective on my life. The dangers of the unknown, of pride, arrogance, but the strength of hope in following Him, what could have gone terribly wrong can still go right.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An exciting suspense thriller that seamlessly blends the supernatural with the truths of the Christian faith. If you love action and believe that the supernaturally gifted has a place in Christianity this book is for you.