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Sark Brothers #1
Crosswind
AEROPLANES AND INTRIGUE - It's been almost five hundred years since the collapse of the Great Commonwealth. The plagues left folk few and far between. City-states rule the continent of Galderica. There's coin to be had in trade-whether you take your wares by aeroplane or ride them over the rails. Winchell Sark has a fine life as a reporter for the Perch Advocate newspaper, a good family at home and a faith that seems downright peculiar to most everyone else. So when he is called out to investigate a biplane crash at the foot of Perch, the finest center of aviation in the Sawtooth Mountains, he doesn't think much of it. But there are dark powers at work-powers that have their eye on Perch. Powers that mankind long thought consigned to the trash heap of mythology. 'Cept they were wrong. It's up to Winch and his brother, Copernicus, a hotshot pilot, to save their people-and it ain't going to be easy.
* STEVE RZASA is a librarian in Wyoming who fills his head with Scripture, history, graphic novels, and TV shows like Castle and Big Bang Theory, ideally in that order. Steve has had three science-fiction books published by Marcher Lord Press: The Word Reclaimed (2009), its sequel, The Word Unleashed (2010), and Broken Sight (2011), which won the 2012 Carol Award for Speculative Fiction from the American Christi an Fiction Writers.
* STEVE RZASA is a librarian in Wyoming who fills his head with Scripture, history, graphic novels, and TV shows like Castle and Big Bang Theory, ideally in that order. Steve has had three science-fiction books published by Marcher Lord Press: The Word Reclaimed (2009), its sequel, The Word Unleashed (2010), and Broken Sight (2011), which won the 2012 Carol Award for Speculative Fiction from the American Christi an Fiction Writers.
504 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2012
7 people are currently reading
233 people want to read
About the author
Steve Rzasa
98 books104 followersSteve Rzasa was born and raised in South Jersey, and fell in love with books—especially science fiction novels and historical volumes—at an early age. He earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston University’s College of Communications in 2000, and then spent seven years as a reporter and assistant editor at weekly newspapers in Maine. Steve moved to Wyoming in 2007 to become the editor of a weekly newspaper there, and now works at the local library. He and his wife Carrie have two boys and live in Buffalo, Wyoming.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 20, 2012
Of course, this is the only rating I can give my own book. It was by far the most fun to write to date!
April 15, 2013
Dogfights in biplanes and triplanes, battles with steampunk rifles and handguns, friction between city states, spies, intrigue, spiritual forces, and main characters a news reporter and an ace pilot.
Such is Crosswind by Steve Rzasa. This five-hundred-page book took me over half a year to read, but it says nothing of Rzasa's writing. From the inciting incident at the beginning to the showdown to the denouement, this book is an exciting read. Steampunk fights in aeroplanes, on foot, and on branterback provide enough action, to say nothing of the spies, mystery, and intrigue.
But don't start thinking this is just a shallow action story; Crosswind has lessons and a solid theme--but I won't tell you what they are. You'll have to read the book for that, just as you will for the dogfights and the spies.
The characters seemed very realistic and relatable to me, inspite of Winch's marriage (myself being presently single, this was at times awkward). Winch and Cope have a nice brotherly relationship; they squabble and crack jokes at the other's expense, but they truly care for each other and share a bond of brotherly comradeship. Other, secondary characters also have a satisfactory depth to them.
Rzasa, apparently not satisfied to add only a couple important spiritual elements to the story, added a whole religious layer to the world. There are at least two religions besides the dark cythraul worship, and, if no others were mentioned, I have the impression that various people in Galderica may have various beliefs. I admire this depth of religion, similar to the diversity of beliefs we find in the real world, and hope to add some depth of this sort to my own writing.
Now for the parts I found unfavorable, because of which sadly means I probably will not be giving a general recommendation to people without first explaining these reasons, which follow:
I only give this book four stars out of five, despite how much I love it. The first point, although rather a minor one, is that there are various spelling errors and typos and such things throughout the book, which may, I would imagine, call for a second edition released someday with these errors amended. The primary reason for the lower rating, however, is some romance between Winchell and his wife Lysanne: kissing, hugging, holding, etc. Romance between a husband a wife? Yes. They were not immoral things which Winch and Lysanne did, but they were not the sort of thing which I think should be put into a book for the reader to imagine. I personally would recommend skipping page 126 entirely (and the last line of 125 wouldn't hurt) due to aforementioned romance and the lack of necessity to read that page.
Mature topics are mentioned. Mainly I think of a risque hotel where a good number of immoral acts are implied, though never quite stated.
All in all, this book is a great read and I'm quite glad to have read it. I enjoyed the depth and the action, the lessons amid the dogfights and spies. While there are faults and so far as I could tell this novel was written for adults (or at least the high teens), in my opinion the benefits outweigh those faults. With a tactful mindset, I think if you liked the story description above you will find great enjoyment from this exciting steampunk book by Steve Rzasa.
Such is Crosswind by Steve Rzasa. This five-hundred-page book took me over half a year to read, but it says nothing of Rzasa's writing. From the inciting incident at the beginning to the showdown to the denouement, this book is an exciting read. Steampunk fights in aeroplanes, on foot, and on branterback provide enough action, to say nothing of the spies, mystery, and intrigue.
But don't start thinking this is just a shallow action story; Crosswind has lessons and a solid theme--but I won't tell you what they are. You'll have to read the book for that, just as you will for the dogfights and the spies.
The characters seemed very realistic and relatable to me, inspite of Winch's marriage (myself being presently single, this was at times awkward). Winch and Cope have a nice brotherly relationship; they squabble and crack jokes at the other's expense, but they truly care for each other and share a bond of brotherly comradeship. Other, secondary characters also have a satisfactory depth to them.
Rzasa, apparently not satisfied to add only a couple important spiritual elements to the story, added a whole religious layer to the world. There are at least two religions besides the dark cythraul worship, and, if no others were mentioned, I have the impression that various people in Galderica may have various beliefs. I admire this depth of religion, similar to the diversity of beliefs we find in the real world, and hope to add some depth of this sort to my own writing.
Now for the parts I found unfavorable, because of which sadly means I probably will not be giving a general recommendation to people without first explaining these reasons, which follow:
I only give this book four stars out of five, despite how much I love it. The first point, although rather a minor one, is that there are various spelling errors and typos and such things throughout the book, which may, I would imagine, call for a second edition released someday with these errors amended. The primary reason for the lower rating, however, is some romance between Winchell and his wife Lysanne: kissing, hugging, holding, etc. Romance between a husband a wife? Yes. They were not immoral things which Winch and Lysanne did, but they were not the sort of thing which I think should be put into a book for the reader to imagine. I personally would recommend skipping page 126 entirely (and the last line of 125 wouldn't hurt) due to aforementioned romance and the lack of necessity to read that page.
Mature topics are mentioned. Mainly I think of a risque hotel where a good number of immoral acts are implied, though never quite stated.
All in all, this book is a great read and I'm quite glad to have read it. I enjoyed the depth and the action, the lessons amid the dogfights and spies. While there are faults and so far as I could tell this novel was written for adults (or at least the high teens), in my opinion the benefits outweigh those faults. With a tactful mindset, I think if you liked the story description above you will find great enjoyment from this exciting steampunk book by Steve Rzasa.
July 12, 2015
Should Have Been Better
While several ideas in this book were not bad it dragged quite a few times and got bogged down. There could have been a lot more development of the characters and a lot less time spent on this thinly veiled propaganda of religious concepts. This was billed as a Steampunk action adventure but mostly talked about Christianity by replacing all the terms with slightly different words. A shame really because this could have been a good book.
While several ideas in this book were not bad it dragged quite a few times and got bogged down. There could have been a lot more development of the characters and a lot less time spent on this thinly veiled propaganda of religious concepts. This was billed as a Steampunk action adventure but mostly talked about Christianity by replacing all the terms with slightly different words. A shame really because this could have been a good book.
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August 8, 2015Confusion?
That is what this book was for me. Is it supposed to sound like someone desired to take religion and make it seem like an action movie. The overt preaching takes away from a good story line.
Thank goodness this book was free, I would not have paid even the $.99 cent special.
That is what this book was for me. Is it supposed to sound like someone desired to take religion and make it seem like an action movie. The overt preaching takes away from a good story line.
Thank goodness this book was free, I would not have paid even the $.99 cent special.
December 9, 2012
A really fun Christian steampunk book by the award winning Steve Rzasa. I really enjoyed the deep world that Steve created. And the Sark brothers are really awesome to boot.
May 18, 2017
Wasn't sure I was going to like it, but I am glad I read it. It's not as good as I had hoped though.
June 24, 2016
I really enjoyed this book!
Great pace. Lots of surprises. Good description of characters, events, places. Great storyline. I won't getting the next installment in the series.
Great pace. Lots of surprises. Good description of characters, events, places. Great storyline. I won't getting the next installment in the series.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews