The Descent Into the Maelstrom

The Phantom of the Earth #4

by Raeden Zen

In THE DESCENT INTO THE MAELSTROM, newborns Oriana and Pasha Barao are developed in preparation for the Harpoons, while Champion Gwendolyn Horvearth campaigns for Antosha Zereoue's bid to oversee Project Reassortment. Meanwhile, Jeremiah Selendia teaches his youngest son, Connor, more about his heritage and telepathic abilities, and a renewed accord leads the Beimeni Polemon to a city long forgotten. Will Oriana and Pasha earn a bid during the Harpoon Auction? Is Connor ready to confront the Liberation Front's deadliest foe? Can Gwen accept her new role at Antosha's side? The young grow up fast in Beimeni, and this new generation's choices will shape the fate of transhumankind."

Genres: Science Fiction, Collections, Apocalyptic, Dystopia

Kindle Edition

Published December 27, 2015

About the author

Raeden Zen is a speculative and supernatural fiction author. When he isn't writing, you can find him hanging out with his family and friends, reading, eating exotic foods, enjoying movies, swimming, procrastinating with social media, or watching sports. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Joelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Descent into the Maelstrom is Book 4 in the Phantom of the Earth series. The Barao twins, Oriana and Pasha are sent for development which happens at a very accelerated pace to prepare them for the Harpoons which is a combination of tests based on mental and physical capabilities that will allow them to be bid on by the Beimeni citizens in hopes to be placed in the highest capacity. The children have learned very little of their parents, who they were and what they did but discover a few details, their mother is dead and their father is up for his murder trial and sentencing. Antosha is running a campaign and Gwen is overseeing his rise to the top overcoming any obstacle. Connor is reunited with his father, the Liberations leader, and he begins to teach his son about his abilities and heritage. They set off together to confront their enemies in hopes to bring Beimeni society back to what it once stood for. The storyline took a turn here focusing on the children, their schooling and their battle to the top. The acceleration of their growth was unbelievable and appeared added to hurry the story along. It became yet another story about a young female protagonist who tries to prove her worth.

[Bhuwan Chand · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me some time to complete this one, a number of other books kept pulling me away and wasnt able to devote enough time to this one as the Kindle also had some issues. But finally completed this and started #5 this week :-)

Can't wait to finish this series as soon as I can...

[Scott Sammons · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cliffhanger ridden never ending story. Lots of filler. Too expensive for me.

I have been forced to downgrade my rating on this entire series, not because the writing is poor, it is actually very good, but because the author cannot seem to complete a story. After reading four books, that were advertised as being quite large, I find that I seem to be less than half way through. The author claims that she thought long and hard on whether to include a huge amount of appendix information in each book. From my point of view she made the wrong choice. Nearly a third of each book is tied up with this filler. Despite the very good writing, despite the memorable characters, involved plot, and the exquisite world building, I have had enough. I am through with this series, and quite likely through with this author. I have no difficulty sticking with an author through an epic tale, I am a big fan of the"Ender's series", Joseph Lallo's "Delver series" or Maggie Stiefwater's "Raven boys series" are among my favorites. The difference is in the selling. Each of the series that I love tells complete stories, that are connected, not one long continuing story separated by cliffhangers. I feel cheated and robbed. Zen will get not one more red cent d me.

[Vanessa Kings · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Descent into the Maelstrom” is book four on the Phantom of the Earth series, I must say that I never read a science-fiction series longer than 3 books, and I thought I was going to get bored with so many books, especially when I saw this book’s length; it’s significantly longer than the other three.
To my surprise, I finished it on record time; it’s just too full of action to get bored at all. The fourth book of the series is so far my favorite, because it focuses on two young characters and how they grow or develop into adults on such a short amount of time.
I loved the author’s ability to deliver emotions and different moods through words and how the different points of view came together to create a very complex plot that will keep you wondering how will everything get to a happy ending on the fifth and last book.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great continuation of the series. Watching Oriana and Pasha grow into adults and their destinies is fascinating. The interaction of Gwen and Anatosha is very interesting. They all grow up so fast that they don't always have time to grow up emotionally.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please see my review of the Omnibus edition - books 4 - 5.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...