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DISC-OVERY
Jeff leaves behind both a scandal-plagued venture capitalist career along with his estranged wife as he sets out to find out more about his deceased brother.
He discovers more than he bargained for as he digs deep into his brother’s secret life as a mercenary and his involvement in a secret government flying saucer program at a mysterious lab in Pasadena…which just so happens to be a distance driver’s throw to a disc golf course where a sultry Swedish hustler rules the holes.
Retracing his brother’s footsteps leads him into the debauchery of boozing disc golfers, mystical vortexes, and weird mysticism of the park whose many secrets extend far beyond the 18 holes of the course.
Jeff travels through space and time, ventures to underground bases and battles government agents in his quest to find the truth about his brother. Along the way, he also manages to get in a lot of disc golf while disc-overing himself and what real friendship is.
He discovers more than he bargained for as he digs deep into his brother’s secret life as a mercenary and his involvement in a secret government flying saucer program at a mysterious lab in Pasadena…which just so happens to be a distance driver’s throw to a disc golf course where a sultry Swedish hustler rules the holes.
Retracing his brother’s footsteps leads him into the debauchery of boozing disc golfers, mystical vortexes, and weird mysticism of the park whose many secrets extend far beyond the 18 holes of the course.
Jeff travels through space and time, ventures to underground bases and battles government agents in his quest to find the truth about his brother. Along the way, he also manages to get in a lot of disc golf while disc-overing himself and what real friendship is.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 9, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 1, 2024
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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DISC-OVERY is the debut novel from Jed Rowen. I had initially heard about this book from the publisher Encyclopocalypse Publishing, offering an intriguing story that bring together conspiracy theories, UAP, and government cover-ups, blended together with Disc-golf and enough controlled substances to put one in rehab. I couldn't help but laugh as I read this story, because while i was reading Rowen's book, I was also working through a collection of poems by Charles Bukowski.
DISC-OVERY is a man's story, this isn't meant to be derogatory statement, or a jab against female presenting folk. I say this as a man who has done is own inner work, and engaged with other men in group work, for healing and growth. It is from this perspective that I approached the story of jeff.
Rowen very effectively shows the struggle of a man whose life as it was very quickly crumbles around him. You feel for him as a wrestles to process grief and loss, even as his entire world view is flipped on its head. As someone who has had a near life long interest in subjects like UAP, black projects, occult and fringe concepts, this book offered an intriguing promise to present these themes.
Jeffs growing love of Disc-Golf matches the bond he builds with his fellows players. No one in this story is perfect, everyone has baggage, a history, which gives a sense of realism to them. I was bothered by the inconsistent degree to which key characters were fleshed out. As stated before I recognize that this is a man's story, and the great majority of characters are men. However that doesn't excuse the largest female presenting character being portrayed as an near male fantasy stereotype. I feel am able to grasp what the author wanted to present, and hint at, with this character, but the end result feels like a borderline male fantasy figure.
Rowen has a background as a working actor in Hollywood, this comes across in his book as the unfolding story has a very cinematic quality. The narrative moves along at a pace befitting a film. For the most part, the alternating narrative currents, of trauma/healing, unraveling a strange mystery and disc golf are woven together smoothly. That said, periodically the narrative seemed to wander off into the weeds. This lead to an ending to that felt rushed. This lead me back to me observation that this story as a whole would do well expanded and into a series of novellas, giving the plot threads and characters room to bring and the author room to show what all can be done with these characters.
In a final examination of DISC-OVERY, I can honestly say that I enjoyed the book. Rowen presented some surprising twists in the story, but by stories end the reader is left expecting more. Perhaps readers will get that in an expanded novel, or a sequel. Most importantly, I do indeed feel inspired to try my hand as disc golf again (after almost 20 years).
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DISC-OVERY is the debut novel from Jed Rowen. I had initially heard about this book from the publisher Encyclopocalypse Publishing, offering an intriguing story that bring together conspiracy theories, UAP, and government cover-ups, blended together with Disc-golf and enough controlled substances to put one in rehab. I couldn't help but laugh as I read this story, because while i was reading Rowen's book, I was also working through a collection of poems by Charles Bukowski.
DISC-OVERY is a man's story, this isn't meant to be derogatory statement, or a jab against female presenting folk. I say this as a man who has done is own inner work, and engaged with other men in group work, for healing and growth. It is from this perspective that I approached the story of jeff.
Rowen very effectively shows the struggle of a man whose life as it was very quickly crumbles around him. You feel for him as a wrestles to process grief and loss, even as his entire world view is flipped on its head. As someone who has had a near life long interest in subjects like UAP, black projects, occult and fringe concepts, this book offered an intriguing promise to present these themes.
Jeffs growing love of Disc-Golf matches the bond he builds with his fellows players. No one in this story is perfect, everyone has baggage, a history, which gives a sense of realism to them. I was bothered by the inconsistent degree to which key characters were fleshed out. As stated before I recognize that this is a man's story, and the great majority of characters are men. However that doesn't excuse the largest female presenting character being portrayed as an near male fantasy stereotype. I feel am able to grasp what the author wanted to present, and hint at, with this character, but the end result feels like a borderline male fantasy figure.
Rowen has a background as a working actor in Hollywood, this comes across in his book as the unfolding story has a very cinematic quality. The narrative moves along at a pace befitting a film. For the most part, the alternating narrative currents, of trauma/healing, unraveling a strange mystery and disc golf are woven together smoothly. That said, periodically the narrative seemed to wander off into the weeds. This lead to an ending to that felt rushed. This lead me back to me observation that this story as a whole would do well expanded and into a series of novellas, giving the plot threads and characters room to bring and the author room to show what all can be done with these characters.
In a final examination of DISC-OVERY, I can honestly say that I enjoyed the book. Rowen presented some surprising twists in the story, but by stories end the reader is left expecting more. Perhaps readers will get that in an expanded novel, or a sequel. Most importantly, I do indeed feel inspired to try my hand as disc golf again (after almost 20 years).
June 16, 2024
I really enjoyed this book, it was fast paced and had me guessing where it was going..definitely recommended!
May 20, 2024
I really enjoyed the scifi and alien elements to this book, it had everything that was promised in the description. The characters were interesting and I thought Jeff was a great main character to follow. I wanted him to get better and loved the idea of disc golf. It had that element and story that I was hoping for and thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Jed Rowen has a great writing style for scifi and can't wait for more.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 17, 2024
Trigger warning for alcohol and drug use, alcoholism, drug addiction, paranoia, character death (unwitnessed).
Disc-overy claims to be the world's first disc golf novel. And it's most certainly that. I've never read about disc golf before and never realised that it was a sport. If you're not familiar with the sport, it may be wise to keep Google handy in order to look up various terms, phrases, scoring etc (although the author does do a good job of trying to explain it in layman's terms for those of us who err on the uneducated end).
BUT! This isn't just a novel about disc golf. I picked it up because I'm a fan of all things extraterrestrial to the point that my own company is named after a little town in New Mexico. And Disc-overy does a cracking job of combining a sport which is relatively niche outside of the US and everything UFO related. Pretty much every conspiracy theory you can think of has been crammed in there and the author did a great job of knitting everything together in order to tell a cohesive and fast-paced story. There's also bonus points for mentioning my favourite band (Megadeth). Cheers, Jed!
There's been a severe lack of decent UFO novels being released in recent years. Most were released at the height of the original UFO flaps in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. So to come across a novel which resembles those that I've dredged out of archives is fantastic! And resemble them it does. I don't want to give too much away but if you're a fan of books such as Fire in the Sky then you're going to enjoy this one.
Couple of gripes, although nothing major. The writing does get a little repetitive in places, especially when you're talking about a sport that can take several hours to complete. A little research would be great when it comes to travel. At one point the main character finds himself in a European country which doesn't use Euros (although you can pay in that currency) and has the character pay in 1 Euro notes. Single Euros come in the form of coins with notes starting at the 5 Euro point.
Recommended for fans of the X-Files, Mars Attacks, B-Movies, and pulp novels. Enjoy!
(I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)
Disc-overy claims to be the world's first disc golf novel. And it's most certainly that. I've never read about disc golf before and never realised that it was a sport. If you're not familiar with the sport, it may be wise to keep Google handy in order to look up various terms, phrases, scoring etc (although the author does do a good job of trying to explain it in layman's terms for those of us who err on the uneducated end).
BUT! This isn't just a novel about disc golf. I picked it up because I'm a fan of all things extraterrestrial to the point that my own company is named after a little town in New Mexico. And Disc-overy does a cracking job of combining a sport which is relatively niche outside of the US and everything UFO related. Pretty much every conspiracy theory you can think of has been crammed in there and the author did a great job of knitting everything together in order to tell a cohesive and fast-paced story. There's also bonus points for mentioning my favourite band (Megadeth). Cheers, Jed!
There's been a severe lack of decent UFO novels being released in recent years. Most were released at the height of the original UFO flaps in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. So to come across a novel which resembles those that I've dredged out of archives is fantastic! And resemble them it does. I don't want to give too much away but if you're a fan of books such as Fire in the Sky then you're going to enjoy this one.
Couple of gripes, although nothing major. The writing does get a little repetitive in places, especially when you're talking about a sport that can take several hours to complete. A little research would be great when it comes to travel. At one point the main character finds himself in a European country which doesn't use Euros (although you can pay in that currency) and has the character pay in 1 Euro notes. Single Euros come in the form of coins with notes starting at the 5 Euro point.
Recommended for fans of the X-Files, Mars Attacks, B-Movies, and pulp novels. Enjoy!
(I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)
May 28, 2024
I finished this story, and I wondered what about it made me want to read it in the first place. I found out why in this part of the book’s description: “Retracing his brother's footsteps leads him into the debauchery of boozing disc golfers, mystical vortexes, and weird mysticism of the park whose many secrets extend far beyond the 18 holes of the course.
Jeff travels through space and time, ventures to underground bases and battles government agents in his quest to find the truth about his brother. Along the way, he also manages to get in a lot of disc golf while disc-overing himself and what real friendship is.” The genres that it was listed as being a part of included: Humorous Science Fiction; Science Fiction Comedy; and First Contact Science Fiction. I thought this could be at least a mildly entertaining read.
After reading, my summary would be: first quarter - drinking and disc golf; second and third quarters - drinking, disc golf and conspiracy theories; a blink and you’ll miss it moment - science fiction; last quarter - sporadic drinking and paranoid running.
I struggled to find science fiction, humor or first contact. The main character may have found friendship and the ability to play disc golf, but I couldn’t find any reason to want to develop any connection to the character or situation. Perhaps if the story had been presented as a conspiracy theory story, or as a quest to fulfill a brother’s quest, it may have been more accurate to the content. Because my expectations were set differently, I failed to enjoy much about this, other than it was mercifully short.
I received an advanced copy through BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Jeff travels through space and time, ventures to underground bases and battles government agents in his quest to find the truth about his brother. Along the way, he also manages to get in a lot of disc golf while disc-overing himself and what real friendship is.” The genres that it was listed as being a part of included: Humorous Science Fiction; Science Fiction Comedy; and First Contact Science Fiction. I thought this could be at least a mildly entertaining read.
After reading, my summary would be: first quarter - drinking and disc golf; second and third quarters - drinking, disc golf and conspiracy theories; a blink and you’ll miss it moment - science fiction; last quarter - sporadic drinking and paranoid running.
I struggled to find science fiction, humor or first contact. The main character may have found friendship and the ability to play disc golf, but I couldn’t find any reason to want to develop any connection to the character or situation. Perhaps if the story had been presented as a conspiracy theory story, or as a quest to fulfill a brother’s quest, it may have been more accurate to the content. Because my expectations were set differently, I failed to enjoy much about this, other than it was mercifully short.
I received an advanced copy through BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
August 5, 2024
Finding his way through disc golf
This story had a good plot potential, but it spent most of its time on the disc golf course with a bunch of middle aged guys, all who were functioning alcoholics that needed to drink and smoke pot to cope with life. I really kept expecting it to take off, there was a great opportunity to do so, but it just hung out on the golf course most of the time. The writing was well done and flowed well, I just would have liked more of the adventure than just reading about a bunch of guys drinking and tossing their discs. I received this book for free and voluntarily reviewed.
This story had a good plot potential, but it spent most of its time on the disc golf course with a bunch of middle aged guys, all who were functioning alcoholics that needed to drink and smoke pot to cope with life. I really kept expecting it to take off, there was a great opportunity to do so, but it just hung out on the golf course most of the time. The writing was well done and flowed well, I just would have liked more of the adventure than just reading about a bunch of guys drinking and tossing their discs. I received this book for free and voluntarily reviewed.
June 16, 2024
This was a fun read about a guy who wants to honor his dead brother by finishing what he started. It's too bad that the main character is written as someone who thinks it's cool to drive buzzed and throw your litter wherever you want. My annoyance took me out of the story frequently when these things happened. The author should have addressed this as not socially acceptable behavior.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 29, 2024
Entertaining! Very original story. Never knew anything about disc golf but now feel like I have basic knowledge all sneakily tutored while I was enjoying a feel good ending story. Aliens! Conspiracies! Drinking! A story about redemption and friendship. What else do you need?
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews