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Catalyst: Guardian Rising
In a post-apocalyptic future, the fate of the rebuilding world hangs in the balance. An unknown power seeks the forbidden knowledge needed to unleash total devastation once more upon a fragile Earth. It falls to one woman to safeguard the future of the Five Kingdoms.
Princess of the West, Vivienne has been plagued by nightmare visions of past and future since the moment of her birth. Now, to save all she loves from destruction, she must rise above the crippling self-doubts that have assailed her since childhood to become the prophesied Guardian—because the enemy is moving, and the world will soon plunge into a war of sword and sorcery.
But who is the enemy? And who is a friend? Can Vivienne trust anyone apart from her sworn protector, Devon?
The answers lurk in the past—but should the past be destroyed to protect the future?
Princess of the West, Vivienne has been plagued by nightmare visions of past and future since the moment of her birth. Now, to save all she loves from destruction, she must rise above the crippling self-doubts that have assailed her since childhood to become the prophesied Guardian—because the enemy is moving, and the world will soon plunge into a war of sword and sorcery.
But who is the enemy? And who is a friend? Can Vivienne trust anyone apart from her sworn protector, Devon?
The answers lurk in the past—but should the past be destroyed to protect the future?
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 25, 2012
3 people want to read
About the author
Nancy S. Reece
4 books37 followersBorn in Pennsylvania, but raised in the South, I attended Wesleyan College in Macon, GA, where I studied Psychology. Eventually figuring out I didn't want to spend the rest of my life listening to other people's problems I switched to Information Systems. For more than ten years I worked for software companies. In 1995 i joined my husband in his special event business, where I have been ever since. Nurturing a love of reading since childhood, being an author was always a dream, one which I have now decided to pursue in earnest. We live north of Atlanta with our two children, two dogs, one cat, and a lot of horses, most of whom are rescued from starvation and/or abuse situations. I enjoy science fiction, fantasy and a good action novel!
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 26, 2013
Original review here: http://offbeatvagabond.blogspot.com/2013/01/indie-book-review-catalyst-guardian.html
Catalyst is a story about a girl named Vivienne. Vivienne is special to say the least. She is the Princess of the West Kingdom and she powers. Her powers make her standout from the rest and she is considered a freak even though everyone has a power. After a great war that has pretty much obliterated everything and everyone, the survivors left have evolved and have special abilities. They only get one power, but Vivienne happens to have a combination of abilities. Her abilities she must keep secret because there are those that will do anything to stop her. Since the world died, all the knowledge of the past has been lost. That knowledge is what caused the world of man to destroy itself. But someone wants to find that knowledge for themselves to conquer all the Kingdoms. It is up to Vivienne to find the culprit. But the culprit may not be the foe she believes it to be.
Wow, what a wonderful read. This is the Fantasy read I have been dying for. I loved this story because Reece has written it in such an interesting way. When she requested me to review the book, it said post-apocalyptic. But it doesn't read that way. Well for the most part anyway. It reads like back in the medieval times or something. There is magic, sorcery, druids, swords and more. I thought for sure this was an Epic Fantasy. But we get little things that tell us this is more set in the future, like Vivienne brushing her teeth or something and, of course, talks of the past. I really enjoyed that mixture of past and present rolled into one, it made the book even more interesting.
I really liked Vivienne. She just turned nineteen, but most of the book is told from her past leading up to the now. We see how difficult things were for her from the moment she took her first breath, She can see the past and saw how her mother died giving birth to her and the war that took place the day of her birth. Even worse, she saw the man responsible for the war because he helped deliver her. From the beginning you instantly connect with her because it seems everyone is using her for something. Then you have what some would say, strange relationship, with her protector, Devon. He was there the moment Vivienne was born, but he is sixteen years older than her. But they both share a connection and I do have a problem with this sometimes in books, but I loved them together. I love how this is actually brought up a lot in the book as well. People like them together, but some don't agree due to the age difference. I like that it was brought up and not just looked over. Devon may be older than her, but he was never creepy or pulled a pedo move. I would have quit the book if it got uncomfortable, trust me. But Reece knew what she was doing and for that, I am happy.
I love how much character development we get in this book and the story. With the way it is told, we get a chance to see Vivienne's life growing up and all that has lead her to where she is now. We see the older she gets, the more challenging she becomes. She is growing into her own and listens to her gut (along with ghosts, but I won't say more on that). Vivienne makes acquaintances, but you are never sure who to trust. And I love that Vivienne is smart and listens to her gut. The things she learns about the future and the past are paramount. I love what we learn about the things that happened in the past and how it plays in the story. Vivienne's role in this book was amazing. The things she does to protect those around her are just so much for a nineteen year old. But she is very ballsy.
This is a great book. I loved the ending. It left me with my mouth wide open and it promises much more. I can't wait for the next one. This was such an epic read. It has great characters, it was dark and had lots of magic and adventure. Not to mention a wonderful love story. Catalyst was a great read and one I highly recommend.
Catalyst is a story about a girl named Vivienne. Vivienne is special to say the least. She is the Princess of the West Kingdom and she powers. Her powers make her standout from the rest and she is considered a freak even though everyone has a power. After a great war that has pretty much obliterated everything and everyone, the survivors left have evolved and have special abilities. They only get one power, but Vivienne happens to have a combination of abilities. Her abilities she must keep secret because there are those that will do anything to stop her. Since the world died, all the knowledge of the past has been lost. That knowledge is what caused the world of man to destroy itself. But someone wants to find that knowledge for themselves to conquer all the Kingdoms. It is up to Vivienne to find the culprit. But the culprit may not be the foe she believes it to be.
Wow, what a wonderful read. This is the Fantasy read I have been dying for. I loved this story because Reece has written it in such an interesting way. When she requested me to review the book, it said post-apocalyptic. But it doesn't read that way. Well for the most part anyway. It reads like back in the medieval times or something. There is magic, sorcery, druids, swords and more. I thought for sure this was an Epic Fantasy. But we get little things that tell us this is more set in the future, like Vivienne brushing her teeth or something and, of course, talks of the past. I really enjoyed that mixture of past and present rolled into one, it made the book even more interesting.
I really liked Vivienne. She just turned nineteen, but most of the book is told from her past leading up to the now. We see how difficult things were for her from the moment she took her first breath, She can see the past and saw how her mother died giving birth to her and the war that took place the day of her birth. Even worse, she saw the man responsible for the war because he helped deliver her. From the beginning you instantly connect with her because it seems everyone is using her for something. Then you have what some would say, strange relationship, with her protector, Devon. He was there the moment Vivienne was born, but he is sixteen years older than her. But they both share a connection and I do have a problem with this sometimes in books, but I loved them together. I love how this is actually brought up a lot in the book as well. People like them together, but some don't agree due to the age difference. I like that it was brought up and not just looked over. Devon may be older than her, but he was never creepy or pulled a pedo move. I would have quit the book if it got uncomfortable, trust me. But Reece knew what she was doing and for that, I am happy.
I love how much character development we get in this book and the story. With the way it is told, we get a chance to see Vivienne's life growing up and all that has lead her to where she is now. We see the older she gets, the more challenging she becomes. She is growing into her own and listens to her gut (along with ghosts, but I won't say more on that). Vivienne makes acquaintances, but you are never sure who to trust. And I love that Vivienne is smart and listens to her gut. The things she learns about the future and the past are paramount. I love what we learn about the things that happened in the past and how it plays in the story. Vivienne's role in this book was amazing. The things she does to protect those around her are just so much for a nineteen year old. But she is very ballsy.
This is a great book. I loved the ending. It left me with my mouth wide open and it promises much more. I can't wait for the next one. This was such an epic read. It has great characters, it was dark and had lots of magic and adventure. Not to mention a wonderful love story. Catalyst was a great read and one I highly recommend.
May 27, 2014
When I first read this book I was expecting a something quite different. Though Sci-fi/post apocalyptic books aren't normally the types of books I read I gave this one a chance because of the description. This book is amazing. It has romance, albeit not your typical kind, magic and adventure. It is set 5000 or so years after the end of the world. Mankind has developed 1 of three different types of powers. It has a bit of historical feel to it and also a fantasy feel to it.
The prologue and first couple of chapters were hard to get into as it was a bit of a slow start with a lot of back ground story. It is set in first person, which probably made it harder for me to get into and start to follow since I don't normally read first person books.
Vivienne is a princess who has always felt alone because of the dreams she encounters and the fact that her eyes aren't the just one color but change from purple to grey. The one person she feels closest to is Devon who is her princess guard. They are bound to each other due to a curse/spell put on them at the time of Vivi's birth. They have difficulty being separated but have to accept that it is to be because Vivi has to attend training for seven years in order to fulfill her duties to become queen.
The real meat of the story doesn't begin until the middle of the book because of the background that has to be filled in. Though after about the second chapter you start to be enthralled by the story Nancy is spinning. You want to know what is going to happen next.
The writing style is really good and the character development and plot move along nicely but not to slowly or too fast as some authors are want to do, You want to keep turning the page to see what they say or do next and why things are the way they are and have to be. You are left with questions at the end of each chapter that make you want to read the next one.
The book ends on a cliffhanger so you will want to get the next one. I will be reading the next one in the series as I believe I have found my next epic style novel series.
This book has a little something of everything making it an ideal book for readers of all kinds.
The prologue and first couple of chapters were hard to get into as it was a bit of a slow start with a lot of back ground story. It is set in first person, which probably made it harder for me to get into and start to follow since I don't normally read first person books.
Vivienne is a princess who has always felt alone because of the dreams she encounters and the fact that her eyes aren't the just one color but change from purple to grey. The one person she feels closest to is Devon who is her princess guard. They are bound to each other due to a curse/spell put on them at the time of Vivi's birth. They have difficulty being separated but have to accept that it is to be because Vivi has to attend training for seven years in order to fulfill her duties to become queen.
The real meat of the story doesn't begin until the middle of the book because of the background that has to be filled in. Though after about the second chapter you start to be enthralled by the story Nancy is spinning. You want to know what is going to happen next.
The writing style is really good and the character development and plot move along nicely but not to slowly or too fast as some authors are want to do, You want to keep turning the page to see what they say or do next and why things are the way they are and have to be. You are left with questions at the end of each chapter that make you want to read the next one.
The book ends on a cliffhanger so you will want to get the next one. I will be reading the next one in the series as I believe I have found my next epic style novel series.
This book has a little something of everything making it an ideal book for readers of all kinds.
May 26, 2014
It honestly took me a little while to get into the book, which for me is unusual. I kept wanting to put it down but then changing my mind I’d pick it up and start reading a bit more until I found that I was at the end of the story. While at times it was slow and I felt the words were there just to fill space, there were times when the Author delved deep into the character to increase the plot of the story and let the reader learn a bit more about the character development. There are few plot twists that I was not expecting, and with a happy little smile I was anxious to learn more of what was going on. All in all this is a decent book, one geared towards every type of reader out there.
Merged review:
It honestly took me a little while to get into the book, which for me is unusual. I kept wanting to put it down but then changing my mind I’d pick it up and start reading a bit more until I found that I was at the end of the story. While at times it was slow and I felt the words were there just to fill space, there were times when the Author delved deep into the character to increase the plot of the story and let the reader learn a bit more about the character development. There are few plot twists that I was not expecting, and with a happy little smile I was anxious to learn more of what was going on. All in all this is a decent book, one geared towards every type of reader out there.
Merged review:
It honestly took me a little while to get into the book, which for me is unusual. I kept wanting to put it down but then changing my mind I’d pick it up and start reading a bit more until I found that I was at the end of the story. While at times it was slow and I felt the words were there just to fill space, there were times when the Author delved deep into the character to increase the plot of the story and let the reader learn a bit more about the character development. There are few plot twists that I was not expecting, and with a happy little smile I was anxious to learn more of what was going on. All in all this is a decent book, one geared towards every type of reader out there.
May 24, 2014
I was at a lost for the first 25 pages or so, but then I was all in, hook, line and sinker. I could not put this book down. I was up til the wee hours of the morning, just to find out the next thing.
It's fantasy and romance and futuristic and all things good in a book. The story as it told in dreams of the past makes the future seem certain, and the small twists and turns that come along are more than enough to keep a reader entranced in this future earth. Watching a young girl grow into the young woman that she becomes because of all that has happened and will happen makes this a must read. The love (while at times seemed a little over the top because of the age difference) was magical and timeless.
I highly recommend this fantasy novel to anyone who loves a romance or loves to read about the end of the world or just likes a great fantasy! Can't wait til book 2!
Given to me to read for honest review.
It's fantasy and romance and futuristic and all things good in a book. The story as it told in dreams of the past makes the future seem certain, and the small twists and turns that come along are more than enough to keep a reader entranced in this future earth. Watching a young girl grow into the young woman that she becomes because of all that has happened and will happen makes this a must read. The love (while at times seemed a little over the top because of the age difference) was magical and timeless.
I highly recommend this fantasy novel to anyone who loves a romance or loves to read about the end of the world or just likes a great fantasy! Can't wait til book 2!
Given to me to read for honest review.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews