Campanelli: Sentinel

Campanelli #2

by Frederick H. Crook

It is 2110 and migration to the colony planet, Alethea, has depleted Earth of billions of people. As a result, migration has been declared illegal by all world governments. Human trafficking becomes highly profitable for organized crime and their influence reaches beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. Many starships returning from Alethea are diverted from the scrapping process and secretly refurbished, allowing the population to shrink further. Frank Campanelli is a blind Chicago Police detective who depends on his fully functional bio-electronic implants to see and do his job. After assisting on a botched infiltration of a top human trafficking network, he and his partner, Marcus Williams, are transferred into the CPD’s Organized Crime Division to head the newly formed Sentinel group and bring down the Ignatola family business.

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2014

About the author

Born in Chicago, Frederick lives with his wife, Rae and their dachshunds, Moxie, Luke, and Parker. He writes dystopian sci-fi, but has written a ghost story and recently a thriller.

Reviews

[Y. Correa · Rating 5 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER:
I was given this book in ARC form from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Following you will find my candid thoughts on Campanelli: Sentinel.

****

The year is 2110 and LOTS of things have changed on earth.

In the year 2031 there was another world found that was like earth but better—it was a type of Eden. The name of the planet is Alethea, meaning 'Truth' in Greek. Earthlings are now taking voyage among the stars to populate that planet, leaving earth behind like a wasteland, along with those whom cannot afford the trip, as all of the earths resources have been depleted.
A century later leaving earth has become outlawed; in comes Frank Campanelli, a police officer who is blind, but strong, and while he may not agree with the law he makes it his priority to follow and defend it.

This book can be classified as a Sci-Fi due to the futuristic aspects, and the implementation of futuristic technologies, but at its core it's more of a Crime Thriller.

Here you will find many characters that will come to life and stand out in your mind. Some of my personal favorites were Luke McKay and his dog Old Bill, as well as Tam (Tamara Billingsley), Franks girlfriend.

The book is well written and a great read. Following I will list the things I liked the most about it. However, I will make mention of one thing, that while not necessarily a con, can be a bit awkward. That is:

1) The book has not been written in chapters, but is divided into 3 segments (Parts 1-3) and during each part, separate scenes are divided with asterisk. Now, this can be a bit of a challenge for a person like me because I'm the type that reads from chapter to chapter. So, when you have a segment that can be up to 70+ in length, even though it's divided with asterisk you will still consider it a run on chapter and try to reach the end.
That can be quite a fete.

But if that doesn't bother you, than you should be fine.

Now for the Pros:

1) The story is very well written, syntax is on point and the author has a way with words. There were many a sentence that I fell in love with. Here are a couple of examples.

"A dream unmemorable faded and he opened his eyes routinely, revealing only more blackness."

There is something so attractive about that verbiage. Love it! And...

"With the sliding patio door opened, the breeze, which now bordered on a stout wind, cascaded through his living space, cooling it in nature's indelible efficiency."

That right there...? Total "heck yeah" moment for us book worms' who love when an author romances his/her words.

2) Every single character came to life, EVEN the dog. I could really, truly feel as though I knew each character.

3) Frank was amazing, and while blind he made it a point of not letting it stop him. Yes, he has his (what I'm going to call) fake-computer-eyes which he used out of pure necessity, but he was still awesome. A definite 'take the bull by the horns' type with a rough exterior, but a big heart.

4) I was actually surprised to see who was in cahoots with the bad guy (Jimmy Antony).

All in all, I would say that this is a great story, fabulously written and incredibly entertaining. Any reader that enjoys Sci-Fi and Crime Thrillers will love Campanelli: Sentinel. Truth be told, my favorite thing about the book was that while it is Sci-Fi, it IS NOT inundated with technobabble making it easy to follow. Most of all, the author made sure that every word was absolutely necessary, moreover they were written in such a lovely manner that you get absorbed.

Highly recommended read.
5 Stars

[Frank Scozzari]

CAMPANELLI: SENTINEL is the second Frederick H. Crook book I've read and I'm rapidly becoming a big fan. I love science fiction and futurist cop novels, and this one has a real Blade-Runner-like feel to it.

It is said that the loss of eyesight makes the other sensory perceptions stronger, and when you add bio-electronic implants you essentially get a detective with beyond-earthly abilities. Frank Campanelli, a blind Chicago Police detective re-fitted with technology-enhanced eyeballs, must use all he has, and all his partner has, Marcus Williams, to bring down the most notorious crime family Chicago has yet to know, and to stop a massive exodus (the future has the opposite of an immigration problem—people don't want to migrate into the USA, they want to migrate out!) A specialized crime unit is formed specifically for the purpose—the Sentinel group.

The author paints a vivid picture of 2110 Chicago, where human trafficking and organized crime rule. If you think Chicago has problems now… well. What remains on earth is mostly riffraff—all the smart folks have already headed to Alethea, the Super-Earth where life is grand. Life has become a tenuous existence for those who have stayed behind.

A hugely imaginative storyline with plenty of twists and suspense to keep the pages turning all night, this is one of the better novels I've read in this genre for some time. Great job!

[Amie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. It's a fast paced cop vs bad guy story, set in Chicago in the year 2010. I liked that the author resisted making the future completely different and instead kept some things familiar and other things new (such as the different gadgets police have, which-unfortunately-the criminals also have). For me, this added a note of realism that helped me believe in the story. Some authors might have had difficulty managing the balancing act of creating this altered world while still telling an easily understood crime story, but Frederick Crook has done a fine job. Readers may also appreciate the fact that the story is set in a familiar American city and that in this book the city of Chicago almost becomes a character in itself. (I didn't grow up in Chicago but while reading this story, I almost felt like I had). If you like well-crafted crime dramas, you'll have a great time reading Campanelli: Sentinel

[Steven Witt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Campanelli: Sentinel by Frederick H. Crook. Prior to this there is a short story, Campanelli: The Ping Tom Affair which I really liked. Reading that made me want to start the full length novel, Campanelli: Sentinel right after. Both are excellent, fast paced reads with wonderful characters. The stories are continuations of Frederick's book The Dregs of Exodus, with stories of different characters after the mass exodus from Earth. Campanelli is a unique Chicago cop with some interesting future technology. He is a great character, and the book is filled with excellent characters and fun action. Campanelli is one of my favorite characters from Frederick's stories. I hope to hear more from Frank in the future. These would make a great series of cable!

[Laurie Kazmierczak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting futuristic setting...Chicagoland's police force has been challenged with keeping the populace from going off planet in an attempt to keep humanity stationed on planet earth. Campanelli is a hard-boiled cop trying to do his duty as he deals with a murder and local crime syndicates who are in the human smuggling business. The book's techie advances were reasonable. I did have to backtrack somewhat to keep the principal characters straight, but it was pretty straightforward and fast paced. I enjoyed the read, plus it featured an area of which I am familiar-the author lives in Chicagoland.

[Trixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for the audiobook


In this book, Campanelli a police detective who is trying to solve the murder of the son of a Chinese crime family. The setting makes the story more interesting and creates twists and suspense that will keep you listening. Good performance of the narrator.

[Ciccio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Straightforward conversion of a criminal organization novel of the '50 in Chicago into sci-fi-ish.