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Abandoned
The ancient Tibetan god of death, Yama, reincarnated as a People’s Republic of China General, recruits terrorists to sabotage electrical power transmission grids worldwide. Yama and his eight demon underlings feed on panic and fear, and they intend to devour the entire world and everyone and everything in it.
All hell breaks loose to prevent David Davis, a Chief Warrant Officer in the United States Army who specializes in human intelligence gathering, from foiling a plot to disrupt electronic communications, destroy the electrical grids of civilized nations worldwide, and end life as we know it. Davis and eight reluctant companions—a former Army Ranger turned ruthless hit man for the conspirators, a former Marine named Jon Fish who became an unemployed drunkard after the sudden deaths of his mother and brother, Mike Cleary, an FBI Special Agent and family man, Bill Porter, an electrical engineer, Debra Johnson, an Army Intelligence Analyst, Anamarie Noble, a computer systems analyst, and two Tibetan monks who have mystical powers—join forces to restore order in a world gone mad. Not only is the whole world thrown into chaos and darkness by the lack of power and communication, but Iran has nuked Israel and America cannot respond because strategic weapons systems have been completely disabled by an insidious computer worm embedded in their operating software.
Yan Khawa Garpo, a People’s Republic of China General, is secretly the reincarnation of Yama, an ancient evil who was once worshiped as the god of death in both China and Tibet. Yan mobilizes an army of demons to take over cities and spread fear and panic. Yan and his eight diabolical companions are truly monsters who feed on fear. They feed literally on the hearts and minds of innocent people.
In this epic battle between the most ancient of all adversaries, Dave and his companions must first battle their own greatest fears. Can Davis overcome his life-long fear of fire? Can the Ranger overcome his fear of snakes? Can Deb vanquish her fear of insects? Will Mike overcome the fear of seeing his family beheaded? Can Jon overcome his chemical dependencies? Can Lokesvara overcome the limitations and frailties of age? Can Phut conquer death? And can Bill learn to love?
Abandoned takes place amid the dilapidated and abandoned houses and factories of the once-prosperous Rockford, Illinois, the corrupt seats of power in Washington, D. C. and Beijing, and the majestic Meili Snow Mountains of China and Tibet. Abandoned is much more than a horror story. It is also an action thriller, a contemporary romance, and a modern myth. Many of the characters are derived from world mythologies, and readers may recognize archetypes of some of their favorite heroes and villains.
Abandoned is the first book of Paul Dale Anderson’s Winds-series of supernatural thrillers.
All hell breaks loose to prevent David Davis, a Chief Warrant Officer in the United States Army who specializes in human intelligence gathering, from foiling a plot to disrupt electronic communications, destroy the electrical grids of civilized nations worldwide, and end life as we know it. Davis and eight reluctant companions—a former Army Ranger turned ruthless hit man for the conspirators, a former Marine named Jon Fish who became an unemployed drunkard after the sudden deaths of his mother and brother, Mike Cleary, an FBI Special Agent and family man, Bill Porter, an electrical engineer, Debra Johnson, an Army Intelligence Analyst, Anamarie Noble, a computer systems analyst, and two Tibetan monks who have mystical powers—join forces to restore order in a world gone mad. Not only is the whole world thrown into chaos and darkness by the lack of power and communication, but Iran has nuked Israel and America cannot respond because strategic weapons systems have been completely disabled by an insidious computer worm embedded in their operating software.
Yan Khawa Garpo, a People’s Republic of China General, is secretly the reincarnation of Yama, an ancient evil who was once worshiped as the god of death in both China and Tibet. Yan mobilizes an army of demons to take over cities and spread fear and panic. Yan and his eight diabolical companions are truly monsters who feed on fear. They feed literally on the hearts and minds of innocent people.
In this epic battle between the most ancient of all adversaries, Dave and his companions must first battle their own greatest fears. Can Davis overcome his life-long fear of fire? Can the Ranger overcome his fear of snakes? Can Deb vanquish her fear of insects? Will Mike overcome the fear of seeing his family beheaded? Can Jon overcome his chemical dependencies? Can Lokesvara overcome the limitations and frailties of age? Can Phut conquer death? And can Bill learn to love?
Abandoned takes place amid the dilapidated and abandoned houses and factories of the once-prosperous Rockford, Illinois, the corrupt seats of power in Washington, D. C. and Beijing, and the majestic Meili Snow Mountains of China and Tibet. Abandoned is much more than a horror story. It is also an action thriller, a contemporary romance, and a modern myth. Many of the characters are derived from world mythologies, and readers may recognize archetypes of some of their favorite heroes and villains.
Abandoned is the first book of Paul Dale Anderson’s Winds-series of supernatural thrillers.
610 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2015
About the author
Paul Dale Anderson
35 books29 followersPaul Dale Anderson has written more than 27 novels and hundreds of short stories, mostly in the thriller, mystery, horror, fantasy, and science fiction genres. Paul has also written contemporary romances and westerns. Paul is an Active Member of SFWA and HWA, and he was elected Vice President and Trustee of Horror Writers Association in 1987. He is a current member of International Thriller Writers, Author’s Guild, and an Active Member of MWA and MWA Midwest.
Paul has taught creative writing at the University of Illinois at Chicago and for Writers Digest School. He has appeared on panels at ThrillerfestXI, Chicon4 and Chicon7, X-Con, Windy Con, Madcon, Odyssey Con, Minncon, the World Horror Convention, and the World Fantasy Convention. Paul was a guest of honor at Horror Fest in Estes Park, Colorado, in 1989. He is currently the chair of the 2015 HWA Stoker Awards Long Fiction Jury.
Paul has taught creative writing at the University of Illinois at Chicago and for Writers Digest School. He has appeared on panels at ThrillerfestXI, Chicon4 and Chicon7, X-Con, Windy Con, Madcon, Odyssey Con, Minncon, the World Horror Convention, and the World Fantasy Convention. Paul was a guest of honor at Horror Fest in Estes Park, Colorado, in 1989. He is currently the chair of the 2015 HWA Stoker Awards Long Fiction Jury.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 28, 2015
How to begin? I am already composing the score to the movie that I think must be made of this magnificent book. Uneasy skies that hint blue-grey, the beginnings of the chant Om A Ra PA Cha Na Dhih by Manjusri Bodhisattva in the background…camera pans in. Lush trees, stoplights, billboards, subtly moving to brief shots of abandoned factories and houses; closer still: A Buick snaking along Harrison Avenue in my home town of Rockford, Illinois. Then, suddenly, the music changes as the Buick begins weaving frantically in and out of traffic to lose the metallic blue Ford Focus following. Terror. Menacing music now, cut to a maze of confusion, a frantic man trying to hide in an empty factory with broken windows, and then we’re dropped into the action: horrific manslaughter, after which the two shooters climb back into their Ford Focus and calmly carry out their plot to bring the dead man back to life.
OK. I admit – I do not often read thrillers. I especially shun violence. But just when I get my breath, this book segues elegantly into a bucolic scene in central Cambodia, and I marvel at the seamless introduction of Buddhist monks into this energy. And so continues Abandoned, which draws the reader in many directions, seemingly without effort. Combine the supernatural, and government agents, and terrorists who dismantle electricity and communication worldwide, and imagine a book that takes the reader through these scenes without jarring transitions, without confusing quick cuts, without that perplexing moment we all know and dread: “What? What’s going on here?” This book, while literate and multilayered, is simple to follow. Paul Dale Anderson’s masterful prose, meticulous research, broad scholarship, vast knowledge of distant cultures, easily understood descriptions of military maneuvers, and tender glances of love that run like threads through this tapestry make Abandoned a book that this chick-lit reader was immediately able to read and comprehend and enjoy. I grew with this book. I learned. I held my breath. I cried. I read the book and then I read it again, and the trip was different the second time around. Deeper.
Paul Dale Anderson has, indeed, written the Great American Novel. He has taken the theme of good versus evil and given readers just enough of a glimpse of primal fear to be deeply moved, but compelled to read on because the words move toward a certain climax that is both thrilling and gentle. I am in awe of this writer and I am elated that Abandoned is part of a series. I’ve already started Darkness, and I look forward to reading the rest of his work. Paul Dale Anderson’s brilliant talent promises to bring rich, exhilarating, and cinematic reading for years to come. And all that being said, the sheer humanity and humility that shines through these pages tells me that I am holding the work of a genius.
So you read this review, and you ask me: “What is this book about?” I can only give one answer. Read it. You won’t regret the ride.
OK. I admit – I do not often read thrillers. I especially shun violence. But just when I get my breath, this book segues elegantly into a bucolic scene in central Cambodia, and I marvel at the seamless introduction of Buddhist monks into this energy. And so continues Abandoned, which draws the reader in many directions, seemingly without effort. Combine the supernatural, and government agents, and terrorists who dismantle electricity and communication worldwide, and imagine a book that takes the reader through these scenes without jarring transitions, without confusing quick cuts, without that perplexing moment we all know and dread: “What? What’s going on here?” This book, while literate and multilayered, is simple to follow. Paul Dale Anderson’s masterful prose, meticulous research, broad scholarship, vast knowledge of distant cultures, easily understood descriptions of military maneuvers, and tender glances of love that run like threads through this tapestry make Abandoned a book that this chick-lit reader was immediately able to read and comprehend and enjoy. I grew with this book. I learned. I held my breath. I cried. I read the book and then I read it again, and the trip was different the second time around. Deeper.
Paul Dale Anderson has, indeed, written the Great American Novel. He has taken the theme of good versus evil and given readers just enough of a glimpse of primal fear to be deeply moved, but compelled to read on because the words move toward a certain climax that is both thrilling and gentle. I am in awe of this writer and I am elated that Abandoned is part of a series. I’ve already started Darkness, and I look forward to reading the rest of his work. Paul Dale Anderson’s brilliant talent promises to bring rich, exhilarating, and cinematic reading for years to come. And all that being said, the sheer humanity and humility that shines through these pages tells me that I am holding the work of a genius.
So you read this review, and you ask me: “What is this book about?” I can only give one answer. Read it. You won’t regret the ride.
Displaying 1 of 1 review