Unrelenting Nightmare

by Stan Yocum

Stuart Garrison, a brilliant virtual reality software developer, has his company poised on the threshold of industry dominance with the release of his newest virtual reality system-Next World. Among his competitors is Preston McBraid, the cutthroat CEO of a rival company. McBraid realizes that if he does not own Next World, his company is bound to lose its premier position atop the computer industry. Driven by desperation and greed, McBraid hires the notorious Nomed, a highly sought-after assassin who commands millions to kill a target. The FBI learns of the assassination plot and intervenes to protect Stuart. He in turn quickly augments the FBI team, hiring two security specialists as additional a monster of a man, nicknamed Superman-and Alex Nichols, an expert in the field of security. Stuart clings desperately to the hope that he can make it though the onslaught of Nomed's assassination attempts. If he does, his next ingenious virtual reality product-Mind Games-will blow the world away with its originality and staggering mass appeal, and catapult Stuart to the top of the computer industry as its reigning czar, and make him a billionaire many times over. In this gripping suspense thriller, the wannabe czar of the computer industry is unwittingly catapulted into a deadly cat-and-mouse game against the infamous Nomed, and only time will tell who is clever enough to survive.

Genres: Thriller

330 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2013

Reviews

[Aditi · Rating 4 out of 5]

“In darkness there is death.”

----Bob Mayer


Stan Yocum, an American author, has penned a gripping thriller, Unrelenting Nightmare which is about a contract killer hired by high profile personnel for their revenge benefit, and when he is hired by another high profile client to kill off his competitor, things go real wrong for that contract killer, named, Nomed.


Synopsis:

Stuart Garrison, a brilliant virtual reality software developer, has his company poised on the threshold of industry dominance with the release of his newest virtual reality system--Next World. Among his competitors is Preston McBraid, the cutthroat CEO of a rival company. McBraid realizes that if he does not own Next World, his company is bound to lose its premier position atop the computer industry.

Driven by desperation and greed, McBraid hires the notorious Nomed, a highly sought-after assassin who commands millions to kill a target. The FBI learns of the assassination plot and intervenes to protect Stuart. He in turn quickly augments the FBI team, hiring two security specialists as additional defense: a monster of a man, nicknamed Superman--and Alex Nichols, an expert in the field of security. Stuart clings desperately to the hope that he can make it though the onslaught of Nomed's assassination attempts. If he does, his next ingenious virtual reality product--Mind Games--will blow the world away with its originality and staggering mass appeal, and catapult Stuart to the top of the computer industry as its reigning czar, and make him a billionaire many times over.

In this gripping suspense thriller, the wannabe czar of the computer industry is unwittingly catapulted into a deadly cat-and-mouse game against the infamous Nomed, and only time will tell who is clever enough to survive.


Nomed, a.k.a, Cameron Clark, is hired to finish off Preston McBraid's rival, Stuart Garrison, who is a virtual reality software developer and on the wake of his new product-New World, McBraid has made it sure that in no means Garrison becomes the next billionaire. Caught in between Nomed's mission and Garrison's personal security is a young woman named, Alex, who would go to any level to kill that contract hit man, even if she has to risk her own life. Unfortunately, in Nomed's record, he has never missed a shot and whoever comes his way, finds themselves in the same fate as his target.

The writing is very fine and clear and with the simple and easy narrative style, it was easy for me to contemplate and blend into the storyline. Another nice thing was that the author have used a lot of back stories to support each and every one of his characters be it the primary or just the supporting ones.

The fast and articulate prose made it easier for me to remain engaged till the very end. The author have layered his plot with lots of twists and unpredictable turns that made the story yet more edgy and thrilling. Although this is just a cat-and-mouse-chase kind of story but it was interesting to see how some of the supporting characters got dragged into this chase and Nomed left quite a huge number of body count in his mission which went terribly wrong due to private security professional, Alex.

The characters though a lot of back story were provided on their behalf, still couldn't spark up an interest in me. They felt very flat and one-dimensional without much development. With the progress of the story, the plot moved forward, but the characters just stopped developing. Other than that, it's an intriguing thrilled that is surely going to keep anyone glued till the very last page.

Verdict: Read this no-fuss thriller about a contract killer's high profile killing spree which will keep you on your edges.

Courtesy: I received this book in return for an honest review.

[Amy (Lost in a Good Book) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unrelenting Nightmare is a story that grabs your attention from the very first page but then surprises you and shatters your expectations before you have even finished the first chapter. This level of unexpectedness continues through the story but not in so much that it is the main focus and takes away from the story itself. The thrilling nature is there as well as the suspense, but Yocum balances both these elements well, placing the right amount in all the right places and always with a purpose.

Nomed is a character who you can’t help but admire in terms of his creativity and his methods in his jobs. He works hard to make sure he is not caught, but he also has a tendency to add some drama or flair to his work. This need for flair can be his downfall sometimes, his desire to be creative often distract from the task at hand and prolong his jobs when things do not go according to plan. Nomed is ruthless and smart, and what I loved about him was how Yocum sets up his character so that anything really could happen, and does, and even when everything seems clear there is another level of surprise in store.

The clash of character personalities adds a great realism to the story; people are all different, situations can be difficult, and when no one knows how or when Nomed is going to strike there is tension and a lot of waiting. All of Yocum’s characters are wonderfully real and they all bring something to the story to give it a bit more depth, reality, or intrigue. What was good about having a character like Stuart was that it highlights the difficulties Alex and the FBI have in trying to keep him safe and it makes the story quite captivating. He is determined to do what he wants and they must work around him and deal with him being stubborn meaning there are more risks involved than him happily complying to stay locked indoors all day.

The determination and unpredictability of Nomed also makes for an intriguing story because danger is never where you expect it and Yocum’s writing is filled with the unexpected and numerous surprises to keep you on your toes. There really is no way you can ignore how creative and ingenious Yocum has been in developing this story, not just with his depiction of Nomed, but also how everything that happens has a purpose whether you realise it at the time or not. Every element and action fits together wonderfully, making a seemingly simple story more intricate and the skill in which Yocum executes these makes the narrative a lot more compelling and a highly enjoyable read.

A longer version of this review was published on my blog https://lostinagoodbk.wordpress.com/2...

[Ashley Tomlinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received this book for a honest review.*

This book wasn't what I expected it to be, I'm not sure whether that is a good or bad thing. When I heard assassin I immediately thought about Assassin's Creed, I'm sure that's because I'm so young and I have never read anything else about assassins. Cameron Clark was more of a war like assassin, at first and then he became a personal assassin.

He started off being an assassin in the military, not a bad job, at least I would think so. Apparently he wasn't so keen on it because he wanted out. Then when he got out he killed people rich people wanted dead. I guess there's more money that way but less pride.

He grew up in a dysfunctional family, he hated his dad and the feeling was mutual. That brought on his love to kill, he started by killing small animals, then went to killing wild game and now people. He finds enjoyment by killing- psycho.

There was a lot of violence in this book and violence doesn't bother me but there was just something about this book. I don't think I would have chosen this book for myself. It took a really long time for it to get my attention and it failed to hold it for very long. I'm not saying it's a bad book, in fact it was well written. I'm just saying this book wasn't for me.

Synopsis:

Stuart Garrison, a brilliant virtual reality software developer, has his company poised on the threshold of industry dominance with the release of his newest virtual reality system—Next World. Among his competitors is Preston McBraid, the cutthroat CEO of a rival company. McBraid realizes that if he does not own Next World, his company is bound to lose its premier position atop the computer industry.

Driven by desperation and greed, McBraid hires the notorious Nomed, a highly sought-after assassin who commands millions to kill a target. The FBI learns of the assassination plot and intervenes to protect Stuart. He in turn quickly augments the FBI team, hiring two security specialists as additional defense: a monster of a man, nicknamed Superman—and Alex Nichols, an expert in the field of security. Stuart clings desperately to the hope that he can make it though the onslaught of Nomed’s assassination attempts. If he does, his next ingenious virtual reality product—Mind Games—will blow the world away with its originality and staggering mass appeal, and catapult Stuart to the top of the computer industry as its reigning czar, and make him a billionaire many times over.

In this gripping suspense thriller, the wannabe czar of the computer industry is unwittingly catapulted into a deadly cat-and-mouse game against the infamous Nomed, and only time will tell who is clever enough to survive.

There was a lot of violence in this book and violence doesn't bother me but there was just something about this book. I don't think I would have chosen this book for myself. It took a really long time for it to get my attention and it failed to hold it for very long. I'm not saying it's a bad book, in fact it was well written. I'm just saying this book wasn't for me.

[Andy Peloquin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting off with that blurb--it's just not right! The focus of the book is mainly on the assassin (Clark Cameron), with Stuart being the sort of "lesser bad guy". It's an iffy blurb that doesn't tell you the real truth of the book.
The book is really about the assassin, and it paints an intriguing picture of the fellow. Though he is technically the book's antagonist, I found myself rooting for him. Imagine the avarice of Deadpool with the morals of a supervillain and the planning skills of the Punisher--that's Cameron Clark.
I have to say that I heartily enjoyed the book. I read through it fairly quickly, and it was hard to put the thing down. The villain is particularly enjoyable, and I kind of wanted him to win, though it wouldn't have worked for the story.
That being said, there were a lot of weaknesses with the book:
Typos and word misuses. The author used "flack" instead of "flak", "sport hero" instead of "sports hero", "Revelry" instead of "Reveille", "dialect" instead of "accent", "speculation ran rapid" instead of "rampant", "tan" instead of "tanned", and a few others. Then there were expressions that make sense and are commonly used, but which shouldn't be part of a narrative--such as the expression "well fit" or "go stealth".
POV. There was A LOT of head-hopping, and the omnipotent description of it all is a bit amateurish. For example, the narrator tells a character's back story, when it would have been more powerful had the character relived it through memory or dialogue.
Telling. A LOT of telling, rather than showing. That last example of the narration is just one, but there was a lot of "he heard", "he saw", and "he watched". We know it's from the character's POV, but the way he uses these words pulls us out of the action. All in all, the writing was a bit clunky and hamfisted in places, with a lot of passive writing.
Alex Nichols. One of the main characters is a woman who is supposed to be "the best" in her field. She is introduced as such, but the author quickly turns her from a bad-ass security expert at the top of the industry into an almost simpering woman, unable to believe that an assassin would kill an innocent person just to get to her. There's just too much naivete to be real. She's set up to be "the best", but she's fairly inefficient, just waiting for him to come to her instead of being out and trying to find him. For an expert, she doesn't do much.
The climax. VERY anti-climactic. A bit of build-up, but it was all over too quickly.
That being said, despite the weaknesses, there was a lot to love about the book. I certainly enjoyed the story!

[Alyxandria Ang]

** The author was kind enough to provide me with a paperback copy of his book. This, however, has not affected my review**

I feel so much respect and praise towards this book. We really got to see the eyes of the story through the main character. The main character, Cameron Clark, is a sadistic, callous, and highly trained assassin hired by others to kill. The point of view especially appealed to me because we got most of the substance of the story through the villian's point of view. Stan Yocum's Unrelenting Nightmare is a new twist on mystery/thrillers that will leave you on the edge of your seat, wanting more.

As I stated in the above, we have our main character Cameron Clark who is somewhat infatuated with being an assassin. The background information in the book tells us that Clark grew up in a dysfunctional family, and he had bad relations with his father. People come to him asking him for his services to kill people. In the beginning of the story, we see him taking down two victims. The first being a secret mission from someone in the Pentagon and a father's request to kill a famous athlete, getting revenge for his daughter. Stan Yocum has demonstrated one of the most elaborate character developments I've seen in a book so far. In the beginning we have Clark who is a perfectionist and will finish the job with no strings attached. Then we get to the end of the book where we begin to see Clark slip up and become messy in his actions.

The story even starts out as fast-paced! Beware this is somewhat of a violent book. There are some aspects of blood and death. I realized that as I got further into the book, the plot began to thicken and revel in more of its crazy and thrilling aspects. I was on edge the entire time through reading this book. And honestly I've been in quite the reading slump these past several days, but of course, this book was all I needed to wake up and get back on task. The ending is also something I'd like to dwell on... Put your helmets on people because the ending of this book will literally blow you up!! ( And if you've read this book, you know exactly what I mean).

Honestly a marvelous read that will get you our of any reading slump!

[Petula · Rating 4 out of 5]

About SPOILERS: You're safe for the first two paragraphs. After that, there are spoiler warnings so scroll at your own risk. :-)

Once I sat down, relaxed and delved into this book, I was hooked. "Unrelenting Nightmare" is about a serial killer whose current target, a virtual reality software developer, proves difficult to kill. This novel is well thought out and rich with the details that every crime novel junkie adores. I really enjoyed the way the author described the killer's thought process and his reasoning behind loving his chosen profession. I also enjoyed the details that went into preparing for the job and all the "little" things that kept getting in the way of the job and, although they were fairly easy to predict, that in no way took away from the story.

The details were rich in the backstory as well. A lot of crime novels fall short of making sense of why something is happening, but Yocum did a fabulous job of committing to the characters who initiated the contract on the software developer's life. And the characters were very well rounded - they're not merely mentioned. As you learn more about each character you'll definitely get to know and understand them as well as clearly hate or love them. And....

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Speaking of love, a good measure is thrown in between Alex Nichols, the female hired security expert who's job is to protect the software developer, and one of the seriously sensitive and easy to love FBI agents to which she has an interesting past. The introduction of the love story only adds to what is a very well-written book.

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ENDING SPOILER!!!!!!

My only complaint and the reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is the last three paragraphs. They seemed to be thrown on at the end.

"Boom! You're dead. The explosion rocked the house and sent a fireball racing down the hall. ...up in flames." <---- much better ending than ----> "Virtual reality enthusiasts around the world gave a collective moan [except for] Alexandra Nicols."

[Biswanath Banerjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a savage world-where the rule of the jungle thrives.
In this strange world-fierce animals roam on the streets of the modern day world in disguise of human, hiding their sharp teeth, canine jaws and dagger like claws. Here the survival of the fittest is the rule of the day. Here words like friendship, trust, loyalty are only to be found in dictionary and words like corporate ethics have been given a complete go bye! Animal in the form of human can go to any length to achieve their heinous objective!
Welcome to the world of Stan Youcum’s chilling thriller ‘Unrelenting Nightmare.’ before starting with a book I have a bad habit of going through the blurb. I did the same with this book too and immediately jumped to the conclusion that the blurb revealed too much of the story-probably the whole story!
Then I started with the book and found almost immediately what a fool I am. There are unpredictability at every page and the story line getting so diverse after a while, that the blurb seems to have revealed only the tip of the iceberg.
It is the desert. And “time seemed to slow as the sun beat down on the parched land. Nothing moved to make noise; only an erratic silence lingered beyond its welcome. a light breeze moved across the desert landscape, momentarily disrupting the stillness in the air. Leaves on the sparse plants adorning the area moved with its gentle coaxing. a small lizard darted from the shade of the scrub brush and scurried across the sun-bleached ground, taking refuge by an old, discarded trunk tree.”
A picture drawn with words, isn't it?

Read the complete review at
https://jayasreesown.wordpress.com/20...

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the verge of releasing his newest Virtual Reality system, Next World, wealthy and successful software developer Stuart Garrison suddenly finds his life in imminent danger at the hands of a notorious assassin known only by the alias Nomed. Despite the best efforts of the FBI to protect him, Stuart finds it necessary to hire his own team of security specialists, which just so happens to include the alluring yet deadly Alex Nichols, considered a top expert in her field. Determined to survive at any cost, Stuart knows if he can only outlive this deadly game of cat and mouse long enough to release his next Virtual Reality project he will become wealthier than his wildest dreams- and land his company at the top of the computer industry. But with Nomed on his trail, survival is something easier said than done…

Smart, original, and thoroughly gripping, Unrelenting Nightmare is an edge-of-your-seat, high-suspense thriller that you will not be able to put down until you turn the last page. Set in a fast-changing world of computer technology where greed reins supreme, Yocum’s book brings new meaning to the term “cutthroat competition” as he shines a light on the dark side of corporate rivalry. Twisted villains, greedy CEOs, burgeoning computer technology, and a feisty heroine come together in this action-packed read that’s sure to keep you reading well into the night. A top-notch thriller, highly recommended!

Rating: 4 stars

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Monica Fastenau · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read the full review on my blog: http://newberyandbeyond.com/review-co...

Let me start with the good news. This book is well written. The author definitely has a talent for making the story come to life, creating tension and a drive to see what will happen next. As you can see from the Amazon summary above, there’s a lot of tension and excitement to go around.

However, I had several problems with this book. First and foremost, practically all of the characters were male stereotypes, the kinds of guys you’d find in an action movie or a thriller. They were rich businessmen who cheated on their wives, FBI agents who smoked in their offices, assassins who used others to get what they wanted. The only women in the book were characterized by their similarities or contrast to the men—one gave her life and soul to a man she loved, who slept with her and strung her along simply for the benefits she provided him; another kicked butt but was constantly remarked upon because no one thought a woman could do what she does.

*Note: I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Kelly Smith Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some people might have noticed that I love violent novels. Usually that violence is in horror, but in Unrelenting Nightmare, the violence reminds me of reading the Deathstroke comic series by Kyle Higgins. The main character is actually the assassin, Clark Cameron, and its his story we get truly immersed in. Stuart, to me, was a secondary character, just as evil as Cameron but for different reasons.
This is a story with no true hero, and everyone is pretty rotten somehow. You get to see war action, you get deep inside the mind of a hired gun and you see how greed could lead to death. Clark is a better character than Stuart, and I am surprised it ended how it did. I was kind of hoping for something different.
The story did head hop a little with quick and sometimes unnoted POV changes. For 99% of readers, that would have been a problem. For me, however, I like POV changes. It makes me feel as though I am inside the character's heads, knowing their secrets and their worries.
It was a fun read, but definitely not for everyone. Would I read more from this author? Definitely.

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, Unrelenting Nightmare was an easy read, with lots of action to keep your attention. Stan Yocum has created characters that you're either in love with and cheering for or hate and wish they were dead. And the writing had few if any errors in it. It seemed to almost flawlessly go across the page.

There are certain scenes that honestly will make no sense until you get farther into the book. They serve as background information and it definitely makes the characters come to life, even if you think they're a bit disturbed or arrogant.

The virtual reality concepts that were throughout the book actually sounded really interesting and like something that I would certainly love to see in the future!

Overall, Unrelenting Nightmare was a good, strong read.

Find this review and many more at Reading Shy With Aly

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story line, intricate plotting and interesting characters populate this novel. The subject is virtual reality and Stuart Garrison has the dream of creating a game where the players are totally immersed in the virtual world. Competitors want the technology and his company. When Garrison refuses to sell, they will stop at nothing including murder to gain their ends. You will enjoy this story if you aren't put off by some of the items I noticed. Military snipers work with a spotter and don't bother to move within 400 feet of their targets. Four man special ops teams are not lead by Captains. FBI agents have mandatory retirement at age 55. these are small inconsistencies which might bother those familiar with these environments but do not measurably take away from the story line of other readers. I was quite happy to win a free copy of this book as a first reads giveaway from good reads. It was definitely worth the read.

[David Ketelsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book free in exchange for a review.

Stan Yocum, author of Unrelenting Nightmare, has a smooth writing style which goes a long ways toward allowing his violence laden novel to be absorbed easily. In fact, I found the cat and mouse relationship between the caddish tech genius Stuart Garrison and his opponent, professional hitman Nomed to be a very interesting one. The way that Yocum contrasts the character flaws of the two men is genuinely intriguing while the heavy lifting of the novel falls on the shoulders of the FBI agents and professional security personnel, the real heroes of the story.

While the ending is a little silly, this novel really rocks the action as Nomed chases Garrison and his security people from California to the Caribbean and across the US, always seeming to be one step ahead of everyone else and deadly as a rattlesnake. This is a hell of a book.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won Unrelenting Nightmare through a goodreads giveaway and it came with a note from the author talking about the evil nature of one of the characters. As I started, I thought Nomed would be that character. He's bad but there's someone much worse. I couldn't put the book down. Each moment gripped me.

[Sweetpea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from the Goodreads First Reads Program in exchange for an honest review. A well written thriller with lots of action, Unrelenting Nightmare was an enjoyable read that kept me guessing throughout.

[Pat Rosenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent