Guardians

by Anthony Cupitt

Boys, cars, listening to the right music and trying to fit in. These are Danielle's main concerns in life ... apart from protecting her sister from her wicked stepfather. Then her school is invaded by demons and Danielle is dragged kicking and screaming into the eternal struggle between bad and not-so-bad.

She joins Longinus, the 2500 year old Roman soldier who used to be her history teacher. He tells her she is a Guardian, an immortal offshoot of humanity, charged with guiding the progress of civilisation and fighting the demons who threaten to bring forth another Dark Age of ignorance and superstition.

They are joined by Vlad the Impaler, who may or may not be a vampire, Joan of Arc, who may or may not be Longinus' girlfriend, and a demon named Stanley, who may or may not be Satan.

The Guardians are the stuff of legend, but this is Danielle's story. She will learn to use her newfound powers, she will learn to fight, and finally she will decide where she stands in this struggle.

Genres: Fantasy

512 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2013

About the author

Anthony Cupitt is a philosopher, English teacher and writer. He has plans both for world domination and for surviving a zombie apocalypse, although the two are not necessarily related.

Reviews

[Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guardians is an edge-of-your-seat ride through the crazed mind of a history teacher. :) With a cast of thousands of historical figures re-imagined, you can't help but get hooked in the adventures of Danielle and her new family of Guardians in the race to save humankind from demons. The first chapter will hook you in and the stories of Longinus, Vlad, Jean and Stanley will make you want more. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of Guardians.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guardians is an Urban Fantasy aimed at young adults but that won’t stop an adult from enjoying the story. The story starts off in a school auditorium and the action starts off right away in a confrontation of good versus evil to set the scene the main characters of Peter Fraser and a demon named Stanley. The premise of the book is made simple to find out what sparked this confrontation and what will be done to bring the ensuing battle to a satisfying end. The character of fifteen year old Danielle, who is an up and coming Guardian central to the plot is just a simple teen caught up in a situation beyond her control. She adapts well to her new role in life and accepts her fate yet wants to ensure those she leaves behind are going to be cared for and dealt with appropriately.
I really enjoyed the characterizations of Danielle who is totally on the side of good and Peter who has some qualities that might have him in a grey area. Stanley is a demon who at first seems evil and self-serving but will definitely surprise the reader throughout the book. I love the humor through the book as it gives it lightness even when dealing with a heavy topic of good vs. evil. The relationship between Peter and Danielle develops as he is both protective and tough at the same time but she is an obedient student yet shows some moxie throughout. Vlad is another great foil for Danielle who gives back as good as she gets. I love a strong female character in a story and both Danielle and the Guardian named Jean fit that category
The story takes on trips through various major events in history to explain who Peter really is and we are introduced to other Guardians and nefarious characters who may have a large role in the final outcome. The story has its humorous points as well as relationships are built between Danielle and the other characters as well as touching and sad moments. The author has used history well throughout the book to put the guardians in key places. If you are a real history buff as I am you should enjoy these little journeys through time. The role of the Guardians is explained well and accurately. While some of the actions of the guardians might be construed as questionable or as Peter puts it bad and well not so bad the reader has a firm idea as to who the villains are and they are painted as totally reprehensible.
The grammar and writing style was well done even if I found a few typographical errors throughout the book. They were just minor and it didn’t affect the telling of the story. The cover art was a simple shield which represented the story well. The book cover wasn’t overdone. If I were to give guardians a rating I could easily give it four stars as no book is ever perfect but I will recommend this to lovers of fantasy and history.

[Cristina Lacrimioara Dima · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great story, history and myth are completing very nice together. The guardians have lived for centuries protecting the humans from demons. Several hundred years ago, after a big war with important loses at each side, a pact was made between the demons and the guardians and the demons have left humans alone. But now the pact has been broken.
The main character of the story is Danielle, a young teenager who's life has been ruff since her mother died leaving her and her half sister in the care of her abusive stepfather. After the attack of the demons at her school, she find out that she's a guardiand and have to leave her old life but not before knowing her sister is going to be good. Danielle must learn how to be a guardian, she starts out as a mean and overly sarcastic teenager and transforms into a strong young women who learns to push her fear behind her to the best of her ability.
She start her training with Longinus, the 2500 years old roman solder who is the leader of guardians after Michael left them in the battle. Being the leader, Longinus have to leave to find the other guardians and make plans to discover the guardian traitor so he have to let Danielle continuing her preparation with Vlad the Impaler, the Romanian Prince known for the huge popularity of the vampires. The story have touching and sad moments, the one that i loved was the confesion of capture of Vlad trying to make Danielle to understand that someone can really understand her nightmares.
The safe house where Danielle was training with Vlad is attacked by humans and even they did fight good they was surounded, Vlad killed and need time to heal from the bullet wounds and Danielle was shoot in head. But before the attackers kidnaping them, Stanley (Satan) appear and put others on run and stay there to protect the bodies of Vlad and Danielle. Longinus heard about the attack and he get back with Jean (Jean D'arc - who also is a guardian and the grand grand grand mother of Danielle and Longinus big lover). That is time when Danielle Become a guardian at full. Stanley make a truce with the 3 guardians to fight with them in order to catch the guardian traitor, Yury who was responsible for the demons kidnaped and guardians as well.
In the final battle, Yuri kill Jean, Danielle with Longinus kill Yury and Vlad and Stanley kill "The Brute" - a monster made with demons and guardians DNA.
CANT WAIT FOR THE SECOND BOOK!!!

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guardians by Anthony Cupitt is a YA paranormal book about guardians who protect our world from demons. These guardians have lived for centuries protecting us. Several hundred years ago, a pact was made between the demons and the guardians and the demons have left humans alone. But now the pact has been broken. Danielle finds out about demons when they show up at her school...and she finds out that she's a guardian from her former teacher. Danielle must learn how to be a guardian and fight while her mentor finds the other guardians and develops a plan to fight the demons.
When I first saw the cover of this book, I was interested because of the templar cross. I enjoy books about the templars so the shield caught my eye. But after reading the book, I don't think the cover really does it justice. The story is so intricate and the cover doesn't reflect that.
I really enjoyed this story and the unique ideas on demons and guardians. The author took famous people throughout history and showed them as guardians. He also used his version of the guardian's history to explain religious ideas and cultural norms. I loved how he showed Vlad the Impaler as a guardian and made Vlad responsible for the huge
popularity of vampire books and movies.
The characters in the story were well-developed and realistic. Each character had flaws to make them more real. I absolutely loved the character of Vlad and also the character of Stanley (Satan). They both had so much personality and I laughed out loud at some of the things they said.
The story was well-written and did not have a lot of spelling or grammatical errors. The author could have benefited from an editor cutting out some of the extraneous details. At times, all the extra details slowed the flow of the story down for me. I also felt like some of the flashbacks to past interactions between guardians were unnecessary.
Overall, this was an enjoyable book with a unique take on good vs. evil and guardians (angels) vs. demons. Fans of YA paranormal books will enjoy it.

[Tracey Tupper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book cover, simple but striking!. The red lettering and Templar Cross stand out, drawing your eyes to them.

There were quite a few editing errors which I found surprising given the quality of the writing.

Brilliant storyline. A fresh take on good and evil, angels and demons, heroes and saints; the past, the present and the future. A new batch of superheroes taken from the pages of history and fable; woven from the past into the present and facing the future...I'm ready for the next installment!

I loved all the characters, both good and bad! In fact I developed an affection for some personalities that I never would have dreamed possible! And what a great cast of characters! As many were “plucked” from the past, I felt I already knew them...and I really enjoyed the way in which they were further molded and developed!

In a time when it seems as if every possible plot has been worked and reworked to bits...in my opinion...this was a new, and unexplored, vision...a concept that asked me to reevaluate my ideas of good and evil. It stirred memories, broadened my vision and stretched my imagination...

Anthony Cupitt tells his story really well, and as my eyes read the words... my mind watched the movie!
Entertaining, exciting, page turner! I love a good battle! And in the style of Bernard Cornwell's, “Sharp” series...Anthony Cupitt can hold his own! I appreciated his vivid depiction and attention to detail. Capturing the essence of foreign lands and people; and conveying that energy that is unique in it's heritage...this book is a technicolor, panoramic epic in the making...

I enjoyed having historical events and myths brought together giving new possibilities to the world we live in and a new hope for the future...

History, theology, philosophy, conspiracy and fantasy; joined together to create this, action-packed thriller...”Guardians”, was a really good read!

[Justin Melter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guardians is a really odd mix of fantasy, historical fiction, religion all rolled into one to make a great thriller. The author was able to craft his characters with the aid of some of my own personal favourite parts of history. Joan of Arc, The Archangel Michael, Satan (Called Stanley, I thought that was hilarious), Vlad the Impaler and many other historical figures are all here. Sometimes their views on the modern world or ways they influenced it made for some good laughs.

Guardians grabbed me right from the start and held my attention the entire way through. I really enjoyed how the plot wasn't solely focused on just one main character and really added some depth, via fun historical "flashbacks", to every protagonist. The author managed to take some really interesting parts of history and work them uniquely into his story line. Who knew Napolean and Hitler were the same person?

Near the end I couldn't figure out if I was disappointed in the fact that it was a continuation or overcome with joy that there would be another book. I just really got into the story and waiting didn't sit well with me. There were some sentence structure issues, spelling and grammatical errors throughout but not blatant or repetitive enough to tick me off as most simple mistakes do. I was very pleased with the book, it's characters, story and uniqueness. I do suggest giving this one a shot as you won't be disappointed.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Judging a book by its' cover could be a good thing or a bad thing. In this case, looking at the cover for Guardians, I was reminded of the Crusades. Thinking that this would be a historical story based on the Crusades, I was not sure what I was expecting to read. I was instantly pulled into the story as our lead character is struck with a monster sized headache. Danielle is not your average teenage girl. Longing to fit in, she has taken on the role as mother and protector to her younger sister from her abusive step-father. She is at school when demons invade and the only one stepping up to stop them is... her teacher??? She joins her teacher, Peter, after he promises to take care of the step-father situation and guarantees her sisters' safety. She is introduced to the world of Guardians which unbeknownst to her, she is a part of. At times, the story drifted away from the actual story and I felt that parts of the book were too detailed.The story picked back up for me towards the end where all of the action was. The story is well written in general with little errors. Overall, Guardians is a good read.

[Brae Wyckoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is definitely a story that this author has for the world. I fell in love with the characters just on the back of the book synopsis alone. The book blurb actually is what caused me to buy this. How can you go wrong with satan being called Stanley? That’s funny.

This indie author does have some improvements to make even with a 4 star rating. My biggest complaint would be there was not enough dialogue throughout the book. There was too much description that could have used another round of editing. There was a lot of telling me and not showing me. There were minor grammatical errors laced throughout such as missing commas after the end of dialogue.

I think the book cover is fine, not amazing but not bad either…keeping it simple and clean is the most effective book covers.

Overall, it is definitely worth a few dollars and your time to read and I look forward to more work coming from this author as he will only get better and better.

[Amanda Orick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guardians by Anthony Cupitt is a paranormal action adventure story. It is a classic good vs. evil theme. I really liked how it began in part one but felt that by chapter two it became slow and hard to get through the rest of part one. With that said however, Part two really grabbed and kept my attention throughout it. I really wish that there had been more to the ending. I felt like it was almost a cliff hanger for a second book and if so I would love to read it as well. I did note a few spelling errors here and there but nothing that really took away from the story. I also wish they had done something more with the cover. It isn’t as eye catching with just the shield. I wish they had used something else in the story for it. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes this genre. It is a good read.

[Beverley Albright · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book I won from the goodreads giveaway. I always look forward to reading my 'free' books and this was no exception.
I liked this book as it pulled you into a modern story based on ancient myths and legends. I really enjoyed how the author made the Guardians people of lore and mystery...of people that we had heard about for centuries. I loved how they could have been one person in history, and perhaps even more than one.
The actions scenes were really good. The characters were fully realized and believable. If I have one criticism at all....it was a bit tedious on some of the 'historical' retellings. Some were a bit drawn out. But not enough to ruin the story. Good job!

[Sean McDouble · Rating 5 out of 5]

i seriously thought that surely somebody with a phd in philosophy would know better than to use ai to write their book for them. unless this is a social experiment i am greatly disappointed to see.

Back in my day, if you wanted to write a book, you sat down with a pen and paper—or, if you were lucky, a clunky old typewriter—and you worked. You poured your soul into every single word, bled over every sentence, rewrote entire chapters because they weren’t good enough. You didn’t just type a few lazy prompts into a machine and let it spit out a half-baked novel for you. No, sir. Writing was an art, a craft that took years to master.

But now? This generation wants everything done in five seconds. You’ve got people publishing entire books they barely even touched. They brag about writing a novel in a week because some AI strung the words together for them. What happened to struggle? To sweat and frustration? To crumpled-up pages and long nights staring at a blinking cursor, wondering if you’ll ever get the words right? That’s what made a writer. That’s what made a story worth reading.

Now, anyone with a Wi-Fi connection thinks they’re an author. No heart. No grit. Just shortcuts and instant gratification. And you wonder why books today feel hollow. It’s because they are.


This has been a Sean McDouble review, and I approve of this message👍🏿.

[LAWonder10 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story mysteriously begins in a way it is somewhat difficult to follow at first. After several pages, it finally begins to makes sense and the reader begins to follow the story line.
At times it felt as though different parts of a series were being thrown together. The tale reflected the characters past thoughts of events. It did not jump back and forth smoothly. It sometimes caused the reader to stop and figure out what it was talking about and was it past or present.
This was a very imaginative story and could have been a lot better if it wasn’t so negative towards religious values and so sadistic. It did bring out some good points in not being judgmental and in being tolerant of others though they are very different.
The characters are well defined. One could get a feel for the various emotions. The descriptive background is good as well. However, the book cover didn’t depict the story and I could not see how it really related to the story. It was very vague and unappealing.
This was written with the YA audience in mind. I would never recommend this for YA. It tries to destroy any religious values. It teaches against the concepts of good and evil, right and wrong. The concept is presented that killing a mass is OK if it is for the betterment of another individual more worthy or for a more worthy group. We already have too many psychologically confused and defiant youth.
This was sent to me by the publisher for an honest review, of which I have given