Violation

The Mystic Saga #3

by Scott McElhaney

~EDITORIAL "McElhaney's story telling is deft, well-paced, and with an ear for conversation" ~ Beacon Journal Book Review"[McElhaney] slipped in under the radar and firmly established himself as a fresh new voice in science fiction before anyone had a chance to react. By then it was too late and nearly every sci-fi fan who owned a Kindle had already discovered this unknown and was actively searching him out." ~Associated Content Over 175,000 copies of his books have been downloaded worldwide!~BOOK this, the third book of the bestselling Mystic Saga, the Jump Drive-assisted shuttle “Apollo” has made its hasty escape from Legacy and now arrived in our solar system as intended, or so they believe. Their initial scans of the solar system however aren’t very promising.No matter what era they arrived in though, the crew of the Apollo will have to carry out a mission to violate all the laws of causality. They are each equipped with a list of people they need to assassinate in order to prevent the existence of the ASA in the future, thus preventing a war on Legacy. Unfortunately they didn't count on a disgruntled soldier and a Mystic bent on revenge. And yes, this will cause significant problems when it comes to the UN laws regarding causality.The Mystic Saga in order so serial novel published in the tradition of 50's sci-fi pulp brought to you by the Xulon Award winning author of Mommy's Choice, One Crazy Summer, Erinyes, Ghosts of Ophidian, and Dominion. Now Scott McElhaney is making most of his novels available to Kindle readers at the very accessible price of only 99 cents. Books four and five of the Mystic Saga are also available now for only 99 cents! Check out Judgment and Convergence today!

Genres: Science Fiction

94 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 17, 2012

About the author

Scott's first novel, Mommy's Choice, was originally published in paperback under the pseudonym Scott Curtis. In under a year on the bookshelves, that novel won the National Christian Choice Book Award for romantic suspense. When Scott moved to a different publisher and started making his novels available to Kindle readers, he returned to his real name and reduced the prices to the absolute minimum allowed by Amazon.
Scott McElhaney currently resides in Ohio with his wife and two sons. He's a Desert Shield veteran of the US Navy, having served on the USS South Carolina CGN-37. Although his books didn't become available to Kindle readers until December 2011, over 250,000 digital copies have been purchased to date and he still maintains a position in the top 100 worldwide in the "Sci-fi Space Opera" category.

Reviews

[James Groenestein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing from book 2, we follow Braxton and Diana as they discover their world is under threat from the ASA.
The only way to save their whole world is to travel back in time to assassinate certain people to stop the ASA from being created in the first place....will they succeed....??

[Norm Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Violation, book 3 in the Mystic Saga by Scott McElhaney

In this outing Diana and Braxton are still intact from the previous book, Legacy. They are both unplanned for and unexpected crew members aboard a shuttle around the area of the orbit of Mars, ages before anyone had left Earth for space. They were heading for Earth on a mission to change the course of history in order to prevent the slaughters and other nightmares on current time-line on the planet Legacy which was colonized in earlier books and future times in this “Mystic Saga” collection of books.

Confusing? Actually it is easier to understand reading it than in reviewing it while trying not to offer spoilers, but being specific enough that if I come back later and read the review I will remember the book.

Also in this outing we are introduced to a set of people or sentient bipedal humanoids who live underground with their own unique problems, one of which are apparently humans outside the tunnels they live in. Interesting in their plot line are the “scriptures” and prophecies. Well I enjoyed that engaging series of scenes.

It is a 'science' fiction book that plays with the fact of time dilation when approaching or exceeding the speed of light. I was sincerely reading for enjoyment so I didn't actually stop and do the math or thought experiment to 'verify' the science in this work of fiction, but it sounds accurate enough that with some creative liberty, the time related issues flow easily in the story. This book in the Mystic Saga series, the author, Scott McElhaney, deals with the long asked question, “If I go back and time and kill my grandfather before my father is born, what will happen?” He manages to do his story plot lines so the book concludes elegantly with both plot lines and time lines reaching a satisfying conclusion.

It is a short book and a fast read. I appreciate authors who can create a “fast read”. That state of reading where you're turning pages rather quickly and when you hit a speed bump... like in this book he changed the name of a major character twice within a few pages, and you blink and think, I may need to sort this out if there are actually two characters here, and turn the page. The same happens when you try to remember the physics that cause a time dilation at or near light speeds, but you just skip the memory grazing to verify the book's fiction and turn another page.

One thing that has been consistent in this series so far is that wonderful “fast reading” that Scott McElhaney appears to have mastered.

In the first book I rated it at 3.5 and rounded down. In the second book I rated 3 period. In this book I'm thinking 3.5 again, but this time I'm rounding up. Enjoy.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hidden Gem!

I strongly suggest you read the previous books in the series (Indentured and Legacy) prior to reading this installment.

Don’t falter on keeping up with the story or you risk being left behind. This fast pace and non-stop action packed story is a great addition to the series! There are so many twists and turns, that you will be guessing the next move, until the very end.

This series adds a uniqueness to the SciFi genre that you don’t often come across. There is an underlining thrill and excitement of the unknown that accompanies this fun and creative read. The story length is short, however, the greatness of the story felt compressed instead of lacking and did not diminish the quality or the sense of adventure in the least.

I highly recommend this book to fellow SF fans and I look forward to the next title in this fabulous saga, Judgment, due out August 2012.

I also recommend:
A Galaxy Unknown (A Galaxy Unknown series book 1)
Mech 1: The Parent (Imperium Series book 1)
Trippin (Space Trippers series book 1)
Peacekeeper (A Major Ariane Kedros book 1)
Mutineer (Kris Longknife series book 1)

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were multiple issues with this installment in the series. First, and most importantly, the main character, Braxton, changed dramatically from who he was in the previous book--and not in a realistic way. He was anti-violence and humble when challenged--a kid with a big heart. But in this story he picked fights--petty fights even--and was eager to wield his power.

The characters also described themselves like they were authors explaining the subtext. Example: "Now you're just like me, acting on your anger without thinking."

Worst of all, the plan of the team at the end is illogical. If I hadn't already bought books 1-5, I wouldn't continue.

[Nathan Hurst · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting spin on the superhero fallen to Earth. Some good bits but there are some plot failings that just don't stack up, mainly where characters simply seem too removed from any emotional connection to one another, even though the author has spent some considerable time building the relationships.

Judgement next.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, number 3 of the Mystic Saga. The mysteriousness and depth keeps growing with each book in this series. These are pretty short reads, even for me :) And, so, as a result, the story really moves fast, but still well done, again.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read but not as good as the first two. It was still enjoyable and perhaps a good launching point for the next installment.

[Chad Dotson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed opinions on this one. I wonder where the sequel is going to go.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

A darker but still fun and interesting. Scott somehow keeps adding things to surprise me.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.6