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Bleeding Shadows
"In our hearts and in our dreams, the sun will shine until shadows bleed. The light will shine where it's the darkest so it can grow no more."
Ron Shotz has been haunted since he was twelve years old by family tragedy. Living in a small town where anyone’s business is everyone’s business, the tragedy lingers over Ron’s identity into his adulthood. Things never go right for Ron Shotz. But his life is about to change. Currently residing in a red, white, and blue trailer on blocks while relying on booze and cigarettes to quell his pain, Ron hits the road to redemption.
The story takes place in small town Pennsylvania.
Ron Shotz has been haunted since he was twelve years old by family tragedy. Living in a small town where anyone’s business is everyone’s business, the tragedy lingers over Ron’s identity into his adulthood. Things never go right for Ron Shotz. But his life is about to change. Currently residing in a red, white, and blue trailer on blocks while relying on booze and cigarettes to quell his pain, Ron hits the road to redemption.
The story takes place in small town Pennsylvania.
282 pages, Paperback
First published April 4, 2014
1 person is currently reading
174 people want to read
About the author
Eazra Shrantz
1 book3 followersI'm here for now. I come and I go. And Just to warn you, to give you that itch of the unexpected crawling in your veins tapping at the underside of your skin like nano razor-blades looking for the light, the next time I arrive, I'll probably climb the wall in the midst of darkness very quietly with an extension cord and an electric chainsaw looking for the nearest power outlet and unlocked door.
Anyways, I'm Eazra Shrantz. I recently completed my first novel, Bleeding Shadows, independently published and utterly unique; a dark satire, experimental in genres horror, suspense, humor, and whatever else anyone who reads it may label it as.
I'm not into jumping on the bandwagon, I'd rather be the conductor of the damn wagon. What's already been done, has been done. I'm not looking to recreate the past or to use world renowned formulas for success. I'm here to dig deeper and deeper into the unconscious of the collective human mind and pull out original thrills that need a shine to light em.
That being said. Hello All, I'm Eazra Shrantz
Over the past few years Eazra has been roaming the earth, camping in places such as Cordova Alaska, Northern California, Southern Utah, and visiting Chicago to surf couches. Also based out of Cordova, he worked for PSWAC, on their non-profit, remote salmon hatcheries in the Prince William Sound. His hobo soul has come to a relaxing revelation. He sits now in back country, Pennsylvania observing the creative earth of mind, digging deeper into its layers on the search for lost skeletons in need of form, flesh, personality.
Anyways, I'm Eazra Shrantz. I recently completed my first novel, Bleeding Shadows, independently published and utterly unique; a dark satire, experimental in genres horror, suspense, humor, and whatever else anyone who reads it may label it as.
I'm not into jumping on the bandwagon, I'd rather be the conductor of the damn wagon. What's already been done, has been done. I'm not looking to recreate the past or to use world renowned formulas for success. I'm here to dig deeper and deeper into the unconscious of the collective human mind and pull out original thrills that need a shine to light em.
That being said. Hello All, I'm Eazra Shrantz
Over the past few years Eazra has been roaming the earth, camping in places such as Cordova Alaska, Northern California, Southern Utah, and visiting Chicago to surf couches. Also based out of Cordova, he worked for PSWAC, on their non-profit, remote salmon hatcheries in the Prince William Sound. His hobo soul has come to a relaxing revelation. He sits now in back country, Pennsylvania observing the creative earth of mind, digging deeper into its layers on the search for lost skeletons in need of form, flesh, personality.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 10, 2014
Review also on www.jolasbookshelf.wordpress.com
It was a really good debut novel. It's thriller, horror and an action novel all in one, so there isn't a single moment when the reader might get bored. The story keeps you entertained through the whole story, the writing is good, so I definitely recommend this book to the fans of action and suspense filled books!
Thanks to Eazra Shrantz for sending me a book in exchange for an honest review!
It was a really good debut novel. It's thriller, horror and an action novel all in one, so there isn't a single moment when the reader might get bored. The story keeps you entertained through the whole story, the writing is good, so I definitely recommend this book to the fans of action and suspense filled books!
Thanks to Eazra Shrantz for sending me a book in exchange for an honest review!
May 28, 2019
Described as a hybrid of genres, Bleeding Shadows was a really interesting read that kept my mind engaged and and my eyes transfixed on the story. Not what I would call a simplistic book to read, the author has enjoyed creative liberty in the writing of this book and the result is indeed somewhat of a mish-mash of things. Let me explain..
Ron Shotz has been haunted since he was twelve years old by a ghastly murder suicide. His mother, a devoted religious woman, cracked mad. She killed Ron's little brother, Billy, a special needs child, then pulled both triggers of an Ithaca double barrel exploding her brains right in front of Ron's fear frozen eyes.
Living in a small town where anyone's business is everyone's business, the tale of Crazy Mary still swims through all open ears and lingers as Ron's eternal identity. Things just never go right for Ron Shotz. But his life is about to change. When a fellow employee at the local electric company named Billy is swept up in an Islamist Extremist revenge plot, Ron may be the only one who can save the day, giving him a much needed shot at redemption.
The book shifts points of view between characters, we meet Ron early on in the novel. Ron is plagued by nightmares and waking dreams of the horror that he suffered as a child seeing his mother kill his brother who had Downs Syndrome and then having to see his mother kill herself afterwards, caught up in a religious zeal and fantasy. He also is suffering from PTSD from time in the armed forces. He's a damaged man essentially, living in a town where he is labelled by his past and the alcohol he consumes frequently to numb the pain and make the dreams go away.
When a fellow worker stumbles upon seeing a kidnapping and torture scene in a local house led by Islamist extremists, Billy (the work mate) takes a photo and sends it to Ron, the only contact he has in his phone. That's all Ron needs to get his zeal back and become a one man band of rescue and special ops mission to help his friend and deal with the "rag-heads" once and for all.
Some of the book I found very enjoyable and easy to read, others I found lost me a bit in being too much in Ron's head and us seeing a lot of streams of consciousness talk going on. The ramblings in Ron's head include him talking to his shotgun and truck, those of which he has fond names for, essentially his only friends from his point of view. I did wonder what on earth happened to his girlfriend and daughter that were present in the start of the book, not sure if missed something but no mention of them again pops up later on, after they go to a family members house on Ron's directive.
The Islamist terrorists take hold of a family and the scenes around this are very fast paced and well written, you can taste the terror of the family and children, you can sense the extreme evil in the men who have no mercy and intend to use this family to send a strong message to the American people, this is terrorism going on in small town USA. The scenes are brutal and at times graphic with violence and torture, humiliation and degradation. It's not easy reading, but it's powerful reading, it stirred up a lot in me. It does get quite violent in parts.
Whilst the American Government swings into action against these Islamist terrorists, Ron figures this is his show and he swings into action to save Billy, because Billy was nice to him on his first day at work and that's enough for Ron to feel determined to rescue him. He becomes an American Marine again in his mind, he has a single focus. Take out the rag-heads (his words) and rescue Billy and the family. Does he succeed?
There is a lot of action and past about 30% I was rapidly reading this book. I have to say I did find the pages of Ron's internal ramblings and conversations with himself got a bit much and broke up the flow of the book a bit from my perspective, I kind of got the point early on. But I kept going as these are the ramblings of a drunk, unstable man so not going to be terribly lucid anyway.
The action gets really good with some scenes where I was cheering and then some scenes where I was devastated, yelling at the book "no! no", and as for the ending? Not what I expected OR hoped for. Bang, that one hit me in the guts big time.
A very interesting book and something unique from the pen of Eazra Shrantz. The book is satirical at times, and really demands that you pull in close and take in every word. It was an unusual book, but I did overall enjoy reading it, despite being stuck in Ron's head too many times for my liking. Does Ron save the day and redeem his reputation to become an American hero? Is Billy saved and the family rescued? Is America safe from these Islamist terrorists who are determined to extinguish the infidels they see on American soil?
It's a book that challenges us to think of war in itself, the nature of it, the purpose of it. It is a timely book for us to consider the threat of terrorism that we are fighting in our world everywhere, the rise of Islamist extremists is very real, and very scary. This book may stir a lot in the reader, it certainly did in me and made me think.
3.5 stars from me for this book, there are some spelling errors and grammar errors in the novel (I read a printed version of the book), such as the word "heel" as in heel on the foot being written as "heal" and the like here and there. Needs a touch of proof reading again.
You will either like this book or not, I don't think there is a middle ground, but if read with an open mind, I think the reader can take some real gems from this book and certainly give cause for some deep thought.
My thanks to Eazra Shrantz who kindly send me an autographed copy of his book in exchange for an honest and fair review. Much appreciated.
Ron Shotz has been haunted since he was twelve years old by a ghastly murder suicide. His mother, a devoted religious woman, cracked mad. She killed Ron's little brother, Billy, a special needs child, then pulled both triggers of an Ithaca double barrel exploding her brains right in front of Ron's fear frozen eyes.
Living in a small town where anyone's business is everyone's business, the tale of Crazy Mary still swims through all open ears and lingers as Ron's eternal identity. Things just never go right for Ron Shotz. But his life is about to change. When a fellow employee at the local electric company named Billy is swept up in an Islamist Extremist revenge plot, Ron may be the only one who can save the day, giving him a much needed shot at redemption.
The book shifts points of view between characters, we meet Ron early on in the novel. Ron is plagued by nightmares and waking dreams of the horror that he suffered as a child seeing his mother kill his brother who had Downs Syndrome and then having to see his mother kill herself afterwards, caught up in a religious zeal and fantasy. He also is suffering from PTSD from time in the armed forces. He's a damaged man essentially, living in a town where he is labelled by his past and the alcohol he consumes frequently to numb the pain and make the dreams go away.
When a fellow worker stumbles upon seeing a kidnapping and torture scene in a local house led by Islamist extremists, Billy (the work mate) takes a photo and sends it to Ron, the only contact he has in his phone. That's all Ron needs to get his zeal back and become a one man band of rescue and special ops mission to help his friend and deal with the "rag-heads" once and for all.
Some of the book I found very enjoyable and easy to read, others I found lost me a bit in being too much in Ron's head and us seeing a lot of streams of consciousness talk going on. The ramblings in Ron's head include him talking to his shotgun and truck, those of which he has fond names for, essentially his only friends from his point of view. I did wonder what on earth happened to his girlfriend and daughter that were present in the start of the book, not sure if missed something but no mention of them again pops up later on, after they go to a family members house on Ron's directive.
The Islamist terrorists take hold of a family and the scenes around this are very fast paced and well written, you can taste the terror of the family and children, you can sense the extreme evil in the men who have no mercy and intend to use this family to send a strong message to the American people, this is terrorism going on in small town USA. The scenes are brutal and at times graphic with violence and torture, humiliation and degradation. It's not easy reading, but it's powerful reading, it stirred up a lot in me. It does get quite violent in parts.
Whilst the American Government swings into action against these Islamist terrorists, Ron figures this is his show and he swings into action to save Billy, because Billy was nice to him on his first day at work and that's enough for Ron to feel determined to rescue him. He becomes an American Marine again in his mind, he has a single focus. Take out the rag-heads (his words) and rescue Billy and the family. Does he succeed?
There is a lot of action and past about 30% I was rapidly reading this book. I have to say I did find the pages of Ron's internal ramblings and conversations with himself got a bit much and broke up the flow of the book a bit from my perspective, I kind of got the point early on. But I kept going as these are the ramblings of a drunk, unstable man so not going to be terribly lucid anyway.
The action gets really good with some scenes where I was cheering and then some scenes where I was devastated, yelling at the book "no! no", and as for the ending? Not what I expected OR hoped for. Bang, that one hit me in the guts big time.
A very interesting book and something unique from the pen of Eazra Shrantz. The book is satirical at times, and really demands that you pull in close and take in every word. It was an unusual book, but I did overall enjoy reading it, despite being stuck in Ron's head too many times for my liking. Does Ron save the day and redeem his reputation to become an American hero? Is Billy saved and the family rescued? Is America safe from these Islamist terrorists who are determined to extinguish the infidels they see on American soil?
It's a book that challenges us to think of war in itself, the nature of it, the purpose of it. It is a timely book for us to consider the threat of terrorism that we are fighting in our world everywhere, the rise of Islamist extremists is very real, and very scary. This book may stir a lot in the reader, it certainly did in me and made me think.
3.5 stars from me for this book, there are some spelling errors and grammar errors in the novel (I read a printed version of the book), such as the word "heel" as in heel on the foot being written as "heal" and the like here and there. Needs a touch of proof reading again.
You will either like this book or not, I don't think there is a middle ground, but if read with an open mind, I think the reader can take some real gems from this book and certainly give cause for some deep thought.
My thanks to Eazra Shrantz who kindly send me an autographed copy of his book in exchange for an honest and fair review. Much appreciated.
August 13, 2016
He may be a first time published author, but it is obvious he has been writing for a long time. The book was very well written and the ending was completely different than what I thought it was going to be. I really liked this book and I am excited to see other works from this author in the future!
April 8, 2014
this book is a great first novel by Eazra. There is never a dull moment and i couldn't help but wonder what happens next. The ending makes the whole thing come together. Loved it!!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews