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Since man has been man, those called wise in every generation and culture have declared that true love never dies. There must be a reason they keep saying this. A merciless, agonizing memory can sometimes break a person and render them incapable of facing even the commonplace without being unnerved. Then sometimes it will forge a person into something more than human, a figure of near super human ability who can take action in even the most savage of circumstances. Victoria Custer remembered how she and the one to whom she vowed her eternal love were buried by mountains and swallowed by the sea. That painful, frightening memory from a thousand generations past has forged her into something more than she was and has emboldened her with unrelenting purpose. Now, as Vic Challenger, she will confront even the grimmest peril and will venture into situations so horrible they make the bravest of men cower and weep for their mother. Vic has embarked against all odds on an epic quest that may last a lifetime and on any day could bring violent death. She has learned from her mysterious avatar Nat-ul, even when you face the gravest of threats, you need not be brave, you just need to do what needs done, for no matter how dire the circumstances, “It’s not hard. It’s just living.” Nothing short of death will stop Vic. And even death itself seems to have failed at least once. It’s the Fall of 1920 and Vic Challenger and her friend Lin Li have gone to Mongolia. They thought they were prepared for anything but doom begins to hound them, in the form of Hung-hu-tzes, White Russians, and hellish creatures that stalk them from underground. This is Lin's first trip with Vic but will it also be her last? They both have to wonder how this trip will end
I have written/edited/published for years but it was non-fiction, especially directories. The government decided to do some things that impacted my products, and spent years postponing proposed changes. My customer base was pretty much decimated. Oh well...life.
Wake up! When I was 10 or 12, I read The Eternal Savage by Burroughs (in two parts, 1914 and 1917). I immediately went looking for a sequel. There never was one. I re-read the book a few times and in 2013 decided I'd do the sequel myself. I re-wrote the beginning, sequel (#2), then #3, #4 as of February 2015. It will require 4-5 more at least to use the scenes already in my head.
Why Vic instead of a Victor? I have four fantastic hanai neices. Women have it better now than once upon a time but still people don't give them deserved credit. I wanted to create a character that wasn't a vampire or super hero, just the girl next door but with a goal and unwilling to let anything stop her. Vic remembers when life was stupendously savage, when actions we might today equate with extreme bravery were just daily life. Vic's motto: You don't need to be brave, you just need to do what needs done.
Obviously a great influence is Edgar Rice Burroughs. I liked all his work but especially his less celebrated books. I read most Tarzan books but preferred stories like Eternal Savage, Pellucidar novels, the Moon Trilogy, Beyond Thirty, Land of Hidden Men, The Oakdale Affair, Time Forgot books, and so on.
ERB was not my only influence, though, I remember trying to read a Hardy Boys book and never finished one. Tried Nancy Drew and loved it. One part of the formula for Nancy books is inclusion of real facts. For example I recently re-read Moss Covered Mansion and it had a fantastic description of visiting the Kennedy Space Center before a launch in the 60's. I try to include real facts without making it a travelogue. And although there is a sci-fi component to the books (and will continue to be) I want Vic to always do things that are possible. Often they are far from easy, and definitely not recommended as many of her actions are very dangerous - but always possible. On the website under references I give all the places where I dug up info for the books.
Nancy Drew and ERB had influential helpers. All those writers who contributed as Kenneth Robeson to Doc Savage and The Avenger were great influences, also. I read all of both series.I figure if my writing can bring readers even a tiny fraction of the pleasure I was given by those writers of yesteryear, it's worth anything I put into it.
Lots of information about Vic and the books are on the website http://www.vicplanet.com. References are listed, non-English vocabulary used in the books, discussion questions for book clubs, reviews, excerpts, trailers and more.
Each novel has it's own board on Pinterest. Just go to https://www.pinterest.com/glbwandvic/ You can follow me and Vic on Twitter if interested @vicaction I spend about an hour per day on Twitter. Twice I read through the most recent 100 tweets. I usually retweet several on many topics. It's not just Vic stuff. I follow back 99% of the time. I send thank you tweets to new followers. I send about 5-10 tweets myself. Some are quotes from Vic or others. Some are about coming books. Some are review quotes. Some are none of the above.
A fan set up a Vic fan group on FaceBook. It would be great if you joined. No cost, no work. If you ever want to talk about a Vic book or rellated you have a place to go. I have nothing to do with the group (I think it would be tacky to join a group for my own character) but I will try to always give advance notice of next book and such, discounts and that sort of thing. Nothing to lose, maybe something to gain. https://www.facebook.com/groups/14744...
Finally, a request to share. I'm told reviews help. Amazon uses them to determine what customers see when they search. When you read a Vic novel, please write a review
Jerry Gill has done it again! Vic: Mongol, the second book in this awesome series, does not disappoint. Victoria Custer aka Vic is now a 1920s travel writer. This adventurous young woman is bound for Mongolia with her high school buddy, Lin Li in tow. They confront murder and face danger at every turn. If you love to read about strong heroines who fight to the death, this is the book for you.
Gill’s first novel in The Incredible Adventures of Vic Challenger series, Vic: Time Doesn’t Matter was taken from The Eternal Savage and Lover Primeval by Edgar Rice Burroughs of Tarzan fame. Gill continues his homage to Burroughs with Vic: Mongol. Readers are again treated to the love story of Vic’s 100,000-year-old former self (Nat-ul) and Nu. Her search for her eternal love is what drives her through perilous obstacles to find him. She is guided along the way by the avatar of Nat-ul. Vic’s embedded, cave-dwelling old spirit comes through as she wields any weapon within reach.
You will find yourself cheering for Vic and Lin as they brave the Far East. The author puts you right in the middle of China as he brings the area to life with spectacular text and imagery. The violence is plentiful, but the language is tame. This is a thrilling ride for teens and adults to embark upon.
This is another novel about Victoria Custer, your average citizen of the early 20th century who really is not so average.
On the outside, Victoria, who now calls herself Vic Challenger, likes to wear pink and has a big interest in cloches (women's hats). On the inside, she has an avatar that is a part of her. It's name is Nat-ul, a female cave dweller who lived about 100,000 years ago. Because of her presence, Vic has acquired a desire, or a wish, to go to places that even the most experienced male adventurers would hesitate to visit. She is searching for the modern incarnation of Nu, her lover from all those centuries ago.
In this book, Vic, and her friend, Lin Li, travel to Mongolia. On the boat ride across the Pacific, they assist in a murder investigation. Upon reaching China, they meet up with Chu, whose family lives in an isolated bit of Mongolia. These are tough times for Mongolia, with the Chinese on one side and the Russians on the other, and criminals from either side ready to attack at any time.
The trio narrowly escape being eaten by giant worms that live under the sand. If the mouths full of sharp teeth (like a lamprey) don't get you, then the liquid they spew, that can dissolve flesh and bone in seconds, will. Later, they come under attack by a band of Russian pirates. They get some unexpected help from more of the giant worms. Chu shows them the entrance to a buried city that really is full of treasure. Almost too late, they learn that the city is not deserted. Does Vic find the modern incarnation of Nu, her lover?
This is a very good page-turner. It's exciting, and it will really keep the reader's interest. It has just enough weird stuff in it, and it shows the power of real love between two people.
I read the first book in the Vic Challenger series a few days ago and fell in love with the world that this author can so skillfully weave through his words. The second book, Mongol didn't disappoint either! This time Vic embarks on a journey to Mongolia, without Barney- but with a new friend Lin, in her search to find Nu son of Nu. Before Vic and Lin can even arrive in Mongolia to begin their work as travel writers, they run into a whodunnit kind of murder mystery in San Francisco- that leads to even more adventure once they board the ship with the six suspects and a new private detective friend that they begin to assist. This book isn't just awesome fiction, it is also a vivid look into Mongolia in the 1900's. It is quite obvious that a lot of research was done. At one point I stopped reading and had to Google death worms because I was pretty sure the author was making it up- He wasn't, and even though they are said to be a legend (not proved or disproved either way), the description the author used was spot on with what I read online. The more I read the more I like the character Victoria- this book is well written, well researched, and really sucks you into another time/ culture. The description is amazingly detailed right down to the clothes, and food, transportation, and political skirmishes going on at the time. I liked the way the author gave Vic a new scar on her left cheek (pretty much exactly like Nat-ul's scar from the cave bear). And I loved how when her mother exclaimed over the fact that she would have trouble finding a man who would want a woman with a scar on her cheek- Vic told her, there was one man who does! (because Nu already loved Nat-ul scar and all) It was a very awwww moment to read. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
Vic Challenger is back for another exciting adventure. Set in the 1920's, a time when women were expected to only yearn for marriage and babies, Victoria Custer breaks the mold and sets her own standards. A courageous sharp shot who is just at home hunting a wolf and skinning it herself as she is playing with her guide's cute little twin girls.
Granted Victoria is still searching through time for Nu the son of Nu, the soul mate from her past life, author Jerry Gill gives us so much more than your run of the mill romance.
This time Vic is headed for the far east, and finds murder and intrigue before she even leaves the states. That small mystery was just to warm her up for the dangers she will find in Mongolia. White Russians, revolutionizing mercenaries, and creatures that had only been considered urban legend since no one had ever survived an encounter with them to relay information about their existence are only a few of the perils that Vic and her traveling companion Lin Li will face.
This book is an incredibly fast paced page turner that will keep you on the edge of your seat right up until you read the last page. I definitely recommend it.
Writing a book isn't easy, neither is writing a review about it. Sometimes you just don't know what to think about something you've read. For me that's the case with this book "Vic Mongol". I didn't know what to expect after reading the text on the cover. I also was a little scared because it's the second book about this main character, Vic, and I haven't read the first one. Always dangerous... I read the book nevertheless and now I'm sitting here and I don't know what to write about it.
The main thing that confuses me is the fact there seem to be many little unimportant stories in this book. We have a main character who's on a sort of quest in her life. We see her leaving for a trip to the other side of the world, hoping to find the person she's looking for. The one who can make her life complete. The curiosity is that this quest always seems to be put in the second place. Vic always gets in big trouble and instead of dealing with those things as quickly as possible, she always ends up putting these trouble central in her life. Where has her quest gone? Why doesn't she put more effort in finding that important person? Her whole life is dedicated to that mysterious person, but it seems to be easy to forget about him and end up looking for the murderer of an old lady she doesn't know of getting involved in political matters in Mongolia. Most of the time this just didn't make sense to me.
Who is this "Vic"? Victoria Custer, a.k.a. Vic Challenger, is a young reporter. She loves to travel around the world, take pictures of the amazing things around her and write controversial articles about them. Vic looks like a normal girl, a girly girl even, but she's everything but that. Vic has some sort of alter ego, Nat-ul. In her dreams Vic can communicate with this girl who lived more than a thousand years ago. Everything makes her believe she once was that person and is now reincarnated in a new human being. Nat-ul was in love with Nu, the son of Nu. A great warrior who returned her love and killed the biggest wild cat in the world to show her his love. Sadly Nu was killed after a giant earthquake. The cave he hid in, collapsed and he died. Nat-ul didn't survive this earthquake either but her soul keeps on searching her lover. Her soul which lives on in Vic Challenger.
Apart from Vic we also have some other characters in the book, but we don't get to know them very well. This is one of the things I didn't like about this story. Sometimes all of our characters and the crazy situations they were in, just became a big blur. Also the frequent hunting on animals, the unbelieveable situations and the supernatural creatures made me sigh more than once. Further there were a lot of indistinct descriptions of crazy situations.
All these things set apart, this could be a good book for people who like this writing style, this genre and this kind of stories.
How can one not fall in love with Victoria aka Vic, the protagonist of this second book of a series created by Jerry Gill and built on Edgar Rice Boroughs original works. Vic loves to wear pink, but she also has no problem eating grilled rat in China what she aptly calls “street squirrel.”
This is another wonderful read by Jerry Gil that takes the reader on a journey with Vic and her friends, Lin Li and Chu, board a boat in San Francisco bound for China. The fun and gripping adventure begins right in SF where a murder has occurred and several of the suspects are on board their ship. But that is the least of Vic and her friends worries because the adventure is just beginning. The trio face Russian pirates, giant worms and a myriad of dangers on their trip abroad to Mongolia.
Gill is a true wordsmith, describing characters and locations that seem to put the reader right among them. Anyone that is into a mixture of fantasy, drama, and action/adventure will find “Vic: Mongol” a very enjoyable read.
I grew up watching Indiana Jones films and reading Sherlock Holmes with my father, and Vic Challenger is a wonderful blend of both. Her exploration and investigative spirit is intoxicating! The book hits the ground running and is one of those titles I could NOT put down once I started reading it. Plus, I appreciated the historical and cultural attention to detail. The author goes out of his way to thank individuals from libraries who helped him conduct what must have been extensive research and the quality of the effort put into this book shows! If you want a thrilling historical adventure featuring a lady Indiana Jones, start the Vic Challenger series!
So this had so many elements that I like in a book. It had a heroine that was pretty kick butt and a best friend side kick that also was pretty hard core! They travel and solve ancient mysteries. I was somewhat confused in some parts because there were little side stories but it wasn't too bad because I read it like a traveler's journal but I am really mad about the ending! WHAT?! I don't get to know if she ever finds her true love?! Okay I'll accept that for now.
Lots of action. Female hero, sort of girl next door except she isn't afraid of anything. One problem solved, another arises. Lots of neat historical facts (1920). No bad language, drugs, sex. But quite a bit of violence. What do you get when you cross an old Doc Savage novel with a Nancy Drew novel? A touch of sci-fi, mostly action/adventure. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1889...