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Schism
Very interesting...very cool." Scott Sigler, NYT Bestselling author of NOCTURNAL "Highly recommended!" Jay Bonansinga, New York Times bestselling co-author of THE WALKING DEAD: THE ROAD TO WOODBURY
"Intriguing and exciting as hell! If you don't pick up this novel ASAP, you're missing a terrific bet." No. 1 Kindle bestselling author Shane Gericke, TORN APART
William Adams has always heard the voices. They tell him things he would have no way of knowing and make him help others, but all they've ever done for him is get him committed to a mental institution.
When they tell him he has to protect his ex-fiance, he escapes and finds himself caught between a racist mastermind and a man whose abilities are even more dangerous than his own.
With a police detective as his reluctant ally, William's only chance of saving the woman he loves is to push beyond the boundaries of what the voices tell him, or to die trying.
"Intriguing and exciting as hell! If you don't pick up this novel ASAP, you're missing a terrific bet." No. 1 Kindle bestselling author Shane Gericke, TORN APART
William Adams has always heard the voices. They tell him things he would have no way of knowing and make him help others, but all they've ever done for him is get him committed to a mental institution.
When they tell him he has to protect his ex-fiance, he escapes and finds himself caught between a racist mastermind and a man whose abilities are even more dangerous than his own.
With a police detective as his reluctant ally, William's only chance of saving the woman he loves is to push beyond the boundaries of what the voices tell him, or to die trying.
394 pages, Paperback
First published April 12, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 21, 2021
This is a unique thriller with psychological and paranormal elements; a wild ride with jaw-dropping action and realistic characters. Each element, event and character fits into a cohesive whole as the story unfolds. I envision this as a gritty hero origin movie akin to Split or Joker!
July 12, 2014
Schism is one of those books that I find difficult to review. The writing style is crisp and straight forward, and I'm left with no confusion as to the who, what and why of the characters; they're well fleshed-out. Overall, I like Schism, but I had a few issues with the book. Now, I would like to qualify that statement with another one. I do believe my issues are all subjective, and this book has the potential to be greatly successful with another type of audience.
My personal challenges with Schism are in the quantity of major plot lines and creative concepts. A group of white supremacists are cleansing their city of the black and Hispanic population using fire. A detective is plagued by the death of his family in a fire that took their home. While yet, another man, William, is diagnosed with schizophrenia a and committed by his blind fiance. The two form an unlikely bond.
But wait...there's more! William isn't actually suffering from mental illness, but in fact has a special power, and through the story, finds others that have superhero-type abilities. There are multiple antagonists, some ordinary, some...more than normal.
Because of the amount of information thrown at me, I found it difficult to sit and read Schism for any substantial lengths of time. It's possible that I would have enjoyed the read more if even one or two of the concepts were omitted. Sometimes, adding in more can work against an author. Due to the weight of each piece of the plot, the novel took on a heaviness, and without some lighter bits included to refresh a reader throughout the book, there aren't many moments that give the reader a break. Hence the reason I had to physically step away from the read and revisit it.
Again, though, this is one of those books that I believe is a very niche piece of fiction. While I wasn't able to get sucked in as much as I would have liked, I can admit it would appeal to others. I feel the need to stress that Schism is NOT a bad book, and the author definitely has some great ideas. Hence, making this a hard critique. It's got high marks in nearly every category, but still, it didn't resonate with this reader as much as I had hoped.
I'm not usually one to balk at book prices, but I think the $7.99 price tag is a bit aggressive, and I can only imagine it is significantly narrowing the playing field in terms of readers willing to purchase.
My personal challenges with Schism are in the quantity of major plot lines and creative concepts. A group of white supremacists are cleansing their city of the black and Hispanic population using fire. A detective is plagued by the death of his family in a fire that took their home. While yet, another man, William, is diagnosed with schizophrenia a and committed by his blind fiance. The two form an unlikely bond.
But wait...there's more! William isn't actually suffering from mental illness, but in fact has a special power, and through the story, finds others that have superhero-type abilities. There are multiple antagonists, some ordinary, some...more than normal.
Because of the amount of information thrown at me, I found it difficult to sit and read Schism for any substantial lengths of time. It's possible that I would have enjoyed the read more if even one or two of the concepts were omitted. Sometimes, adding in more can work against an author. Due to the weight of each piece of the plot, the novel took on a heaviness, and without some lighter bits included to refresh a reader throughout the book, there aren't many moments that give the reader a break. Hence the reason I had to physically step away from the read and revisit it.
Again, though, this is one of those books that I believe is a very niche piece of fiction. While I wasn't able to get sucked in as much as I would have liked, I can admit it would appeal to others. I feel the need to stress that Schism is NOT a bad book, and the author definitely has some great ideas. Hence, making this a hard critique. It's got high marks in nearly every category, but still, it didn't resonate with this reader as much as I had hoped.
I'm not usually one to balk at book prices, but I think the $7.99 price tag is a bit aggressive, and I can only imagine it is significantly narrowing the playing field in terms of readers willing to purchase.
May 25, 2014
Bruce Elgin’s innovative thriller pins William, a psychiatric patient who hears voices, against terrifyingly evil forces.
This book defied my expectations. I was looking for a well-written action-packed mystery—it is all of those things, yes, but it is also so much more, blending elements of psychological thriller, crime drama and paranormal fiction. It’s evident that the author has had years of martial arts training from the expertly laid-out, technically precise, and utterly entertaining fight scenes. The voices, which guide William while he’s fighting, add another layer of intrigue and originality to these scenes.
Elgin’s book was an amazing and exciting read. As a librarian, I have the privilege of enthusiastically recommending it to my local community. And so here, I recommend it with pleasure to the Goodreads community. You won’t be disappointed!
This book defied my expectations. I was looking for a well-written action-packed mystery—it is all of those things, yes, but it is also so much more, blending elements of psychological thriller, crime drama and paranormal fiction. It’s evident that the author has had years of martial arts training from the expertly laid-out, technically precise, and utterly entertaining fight scenes. The voices, which guide William while he’s fighting, add another layer of intrigue and originality to these scenes.
Elgin’s book was an amazing and exciting read. As a librarian, I have the privilege of enthusiastically recommending it to my local community. And so here, I recommend it with pleasure to the Goodreads community. You won’t be disappointed!
November 16, 2015
A very cool book that brings together a world where people might be developing superpowers and where racists are trying to ethnically cleanse an American city. Great fight scenes, a developing premise, and a cool superhero with a cool superpower. Great fun, and I think it would make an amazing comic book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews