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The Drifter: The Essentials, Book 1
The drifter is a man out of time. Plagued by visions of historic events he never could have witnessed, he struggles to understand the strange abilities that seem so natural. Then Death comes for him. With no choice but to run, he must find allies who can protect him until he learns why he is being pursued. The keystone of a terrible plan. A society of demigods buried in the rolls of history. Deadly schemes older than man. Welcome to the world of The Essentials.
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First published July 3, 2013
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About the author
Jason P. Crawford
22 books104 followersJason Patrick Crawford is a 42 year old high school science teacher and father of four children who came into writing at the urging of his family. He discovered a primal joy in the act of creation that he had never experienced before. He has also learned of the amazing community of authors he has joined and is proud to be counted among their ranks.
Jason's first published work, Chains of Prophecy, is available in most e-book formats. He had the idea for this novel several years ago when he was getting his teaching credential, but had no idea at the time how to make it work. His inspiration for his writing practices is the great Stephen King; his memoir On Writing was an amazing resource and really helped jump-start Jason's work.
If you would like to speak to Jason, you can e-mail him at jasonpatrickcrawford@gmail.com or message him on Twitter at @jnewmanwriting. He will be glad to answer as soon as he can!
Jason's first published work, Chains of Prophecy, is available in most e-book formats. He had the idea for this novel several years ago when he was getting his teaching credential, but had no idea at the time how to make it work. His inspiration for his writing practices is the great Stephen King; his memoir On Writing was an amazing resource and really helped jump-start Jason's work.
If you would like to speak to Jason, you can e-mail him at jasonpatrickcrawford@gmail.com or message him on Twitter at @jnewmanwriting. He will be glad to answer as soon as he can!
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 22, 2013
This story will leave your jaw dropping. Incredible feats of magic conferred upon the everyday populace, such that an alternate reality seems to exist within our world. And it's all thanks to the Essentials, demi-gods who can assume human form and practically have any magic power available in the galaxy. They can read people's minds, assume other personalities, and unleash destruction upon anything that stands in their way. The scenes of magic and confrontation are incredible. The villains are extremely wicked and have no second thoughts about seeking what they want.
This author has an amazing imagination. Sparks of creativity fly all over this novel and threaten to burn up the pages, if the novel were a paperback.
I stop short of giving this extraordinary book a full five stars for two main reasons,
1) The actions by the protagonists and antagonists seem to be quite random. Anything can happen, and does. Any one of the Essentials can lose, or win. While it's great to have some excitement and unpredictability, with the magic already knocking our socks off, I think I was seeking more of a calm storyline, explaining how we get from "here" to "there." I felt, for example, the death and eventual resurrection of one central character was too convenient. I mean, if anyone can come back from the dead, what is there worth fighting for? The decisions by the "good" Essentials seemed casual, as if nothing they did would turn out badly. With such strong feelings exhibited by all Essentials in the book, it seemed that the care given to decision making lagged behind.
2) The use of foul language was sparing, but surprisingly intense in this book. I would have preferred that strong language be reduced to just two or three examples, in the best possible scenes that warranted them.
I loved some of the flights of imagination. For example, that character of Nature, who appears as a kindly gardener. I loved how the author set up the reactions of unknown characters as the Essentials approach them, and it turns out that they are Essentials too and are ready to swing into action. That was one random element that I felt fitted this book well. I also thoroughly enjoyed the subplot in the Labyrinth of Despoina.
The battle scenes were quite intense, sometimes I felt they were too intense - after all, if they could fight that nasty and all still survive, then was any effort required? I loved the witty put-downs between the "good" and "bad" Essentials during battle.
Overall, due to its astounding imagination, taking you to a different and complex, rich world, I definitely highly recommend this book. I want to read the next one!
This author has an amazing imagination. Sparks of creativity fly all over this novel and threaten to burn up the pages, if the novel were a paperback.
I stop short of giving this extraordinary book a full five stars for two main reasons,
1) The actions by the protagonists and antagonists seem to be quite random. Anything can happen, and does. Any one of the Essentials can lose, or win. While it's great to have some excitement and unpredictability, with the magic already knocking our socks off, I think I was seeking more of a calm storyline, explaining how we get from "here" to "there." I felt, for example, the death and eventual resurrection of one central character was too convenient. I mean, if anyone can come back from the dead, what is there worth fighting for? The decisions by the "good" Essentials seemed casual, as if nothing they did would turn out badly. With such strong feelings exhibited by all Essentials in the book, it seemed that the care given to decision making lagged behind.
2) The use of foul language was sparing, but surprisingly intense in this book. I would have preferred that strong language be reduced to just two or three examples, in the best possible scenes that warranted them.
I loved some of the flights of imagination. For example, that character of Nature, who appears as a kindly gardener. I loved how the author set up the reactions of unknown characters as the Essentials approach them, and it turns out that they are Essentials too and are ready to swing into action. That was one random element that I felt fitted this book well. I also thoroughly enjoyed the subplot in the Labyrinth of Despoina.
The battle scenes were quite intense, sometimes I felt they were too intense - after all, if they could fight that nasty and all still survive, then was any effort required? I loved the witty put-downs between the "good" and "bad" Essentials during battle.
Overall, due to its astounding imagination, taking you to a different and complex, rich world, I definitely highly recommend this book. I want to read the next one!
February 21, 2015
Thank you to the author, Jason P. Crawford, for gifting me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I think for me this book lacked a bit of clarity. The premise is entirely interesting and so is the book itself... but everything seemed a bit muddy. Like I was looking through that wavy, old-fashioned glass and could only make out figures.
The story was very intriguing and certainly kept me entertained. The one thing I would suggest to help the whole clarity is to provide a more complete explanation of Essentials and what exactly they are and what they can do. That's what was bothering me throughout this entire book.
The characters were superb. I loved how they each had their quirks and different things they could do. The beginning chapters hooked me completely and I simply had to keep reading until I finished. The drifter (AKA Oreth) undergoes a sort of amnesia and we don't find out why until the very end. That in itself kept me interesting because why would someone want themselves to forget? What is so terrible? The reason wasn't anything I was expecting.
I really liked the whole Death thing and how they were talking about forcing something to be mortal so it can die. It was so interesting to think out how true that is. This whole book just made me think which is a whole lot better than those books that you just mindlessly read and then forget immediately. I think I'll remember this book for a long time. It wasn't just about the drifter and his problems. It was about history too and the way Mr Crawford integrated the Essentials into history was fabulous.
The Final Verdict:
A very interesting concept and characters although it did feel a bit unclear and muddy if you will.
3.5 stars
Quotes:
Honestly, I can't believe I forgot to mark quotes for this book... I guess that's what I get for reading it all so quickly... I'll get them up ASAP!
I think for me this book lacked a bit of clarity. The premise is entirely interesting and so is the book itself... but everything seemed a bit muddy. Like I was looking through that wavy, old-fashioned glass and could only make out figures.
The story was very intriguing and certainly kept me entertained. The one thing I would suggest to help the whole clarity is to provide a more complete explanation of Essentials and what exactly they are and what they can do. That's what was bothering me throughout this entire book.
The characters were superb. I loved how they each had their quirks and different things they could do. The beginning chapters hooked me completely and I simply had to keep reading until I finished. The drifter (AKA Oreth) undergoes a sort of amnesia and we don't find out why until the very end. That in itself kept me interesting because why would someone want themselves to forget? What is so terrible? The reason wasn't anything I was expecting.
I really liked the whole Death thing and how they were talking about forcing something to be mortal so it can die. It was so interesting to think out how true that is. This whole book just made me think which is a whole lot better than those books that you just mindlessly read and then forget immediately. I think I'll remember this book for a long time. It wasn't just about the drifter and his problems. It was about history too and the way Mr Crawford integrated the Essentials into history was fabulous.
The Final Verdict:
A very interesting concept and characters although it did feel a bit unclear and muddy if you will.
3.5 stars
Quotes:
Honestly, I can't believe I forgot to mark quotes for this book... I guess that's what I get for reading it all so quickly... I'll get them up ASAP!
October 29, 2013
This is a solid four (almost 4.5) star urban fantasy with some novel characters and an interesting plot.
It took a little bit of time for me to get started with this story as I found the beginning a little hard to get my head around (a style thing I think to do with the mystery about the main character), but once I decided to just read and not analyse, and just let the story wash over me I was soon caught up and all the initial problems I had soon disappeared.
As I mentioned previously, there are some very interesting characters in this book. Ranging all the way from Rob, the rock-and-roll loving bus driver, through to the major villain, who I ended up feeling some sympathy for, once I knew and properly considered his plight. And, funnily enough, the Drifter, does not dominate this story, him being absent for a large part of the books for reasons which I won't go into. But I found that didn't matter because the interaction between his two main support characters and their adventures more than adequately filled in the gap.
One little criticism I have, is that I would have thought that more of the Essentials would have become involved in the story considering what was going on. At one point, it is hinted that there are hundreds of these demigod-like beings on Earth, but from memory we only see seven in total in the story, which I thought a bit odd as it would have been a perfect opportunity for the author to show more of his inventiveness.
Still, as is pointed out in the story, the Earth is a big place and it is pretty easy to stay hidden if one doesn't want to be found. So, I suppose we might have to wait for another book to find out more about the other Essentials.
A good read, especially for those who are interested in grand concepts played out in a contemporary setting.
It took a little bit of time for me to get started with this story as I found the beginning a little hard to get my head around (a style thing I think to do with the mystery about the main character), but once I decided to just read and not analyse, and just let the story wash over me I was soon caught up and all the initial problems I had soon disappeared.
As I mentioned previously, there are some very interesting characters in this book. Ranging all the way from Rob, the rock-and-roll loving bus driver, through to the major villain, who I ended up feeling some sympathy for, once I knew and properly considered his plight. And, funnily enough, the Drifter, does not dominate this story, him being absent for a large part of the books for reasons which I won't go into. But I found that didn't matter because the interaction between his two main support characters and their adventures more than adequately filled in the gap.
One little criticism I have, is that I would have thought that more of the Essentials would have become involved in the story considering what was going on. At one point, it is hinted that there are hundreds of these demigod-like beings on Earth, but from memory we only see seven in total in the story, which I thought a bit odd as it would have been a perfect opportunity for the author to show more of his inventiveness.
Still, as is pointed out in the story, the Earth is a big place and it is pretty easy to stay hidden if one doesn't want to be found. So, I suppose we might have to wait for another book to find out more about the other Essentials.
A good read, especially for those who are interested in grand concepts played out in a contemporary setting.
July 15, 2013
When Oreth the Drifter wakes up on a train he has no idea who he is or where he has been. He has the strange ability to know who people are and all the information in their life but he has no idea of his. He has the confusing ability of being able to travel form one city to another no matter what country. He is hunted by a mysterious dark woman who it transpires was many years ago his wife before he disappeared without a trace.
It is only when he meets up with a friend from his distant past and a women who may or may not have been his mistress, does he realize that he is an essential. A demigod like immortal that has, an intrinsic link to cities and Azrael the essential of death wants his ability.
He has to undertake an epic journey with his friends Edison and Lira who are also essentials to fight Azrael to stop him taking Oreth's power and killing all of humanity.
I really enjoyed this story that interwove modern times with characters form Greek Mythology and the powers they still have to keep humanity safe and alive.
I found myself immersed in the story and their quest to save not only Oreths eternal spirit. But also the way that all the characters have woven themselves into modern society and assumed roles that are considered conventional in modern society.
I found that wen i got to the end that I was disappointed that the story was over. I could happily read the next installment if there is one.
It is only when he meets up with a friend from his distant past and a women who may or may not have been his mistress, does he realize that he is an essential. A demigod like immortal that has, an intrinsic link to cities and Azrael the essential of death wants his ability.
He has to undertake an epic journey with his friends Edison and Lira who are also essentials to fight Azrael to stop him taking Oreth's power and killing all of humanity.
I really enjoyed this story that interwove modern times with characters form Greek Mythology and the powers they still have to keep humanity safe and alive.
I found myself immersed in the story and their quest to save not only Oreths eternal spirit. But also the way that all the characters have woven themselves into modern society and assumed roles that are considered conventional in modern society.
I found that wen i got to the end that I was disappointed that the story was over. I could happily read the next installment if there is one.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews