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Voltage: A Rising Hero Novella
*VOLTAGE is the debut novella from fifteen-year-old Nicholas Park.*Sixteen-year-old Carter Gabriels has nothing. He lost his parents when he was eleven, his city has become a wasteland of crime, and he’s scraping by with a low-paying job and a pretty unhappy life. He simply wants things to get better. He’s trying. But when a new drug hits the streets, Carter gets caught up in a dark world and gains the power to manipulate electricity. A power that could enable him to battle his city’s darkness. Damone Harris’ wife is dying of cancer, and he’s in desperate need of money. He accepts a job from business tycoon Michael Hoffman and takes charge of distributing a drug that claims to elevate all levels of human capacity. When an accident gives Damone beyond-human powers, he finds new strength...but begins to lose his mind. Will he become a puppet to Michael? Or something far worse to mankind?It’s up to Carter to save the city and defeat Damone and Michael. However, he must also deal with his own tormented psyche and the mysterious death of his parents...( This book contains a few uses of strong language.)
66 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 24, 2016
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33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 11, 2017
This book was ridiculous. Full of cliches, and plot points that didn't make any sense. If I wouldn't have read the author's note at the end, I wouldn't have even know that it had been looked through by an editor. I think the author needs to find a better editor because it had all sorts of grammar mistakes. The only reason why I'm giving it two stars is because I did enjoy Blaze.
March 28, 2016
Carter Gabriels is a sixteen-year-old living in a rundown apartment and working a menial job, He lost his parents in an act of violence and is watching his town become overrun with crime.
Damone Harris is watching his wife die of cancer, knowing that time and the money needed to treat her are quickly running out.
Both feel helpless.
When MIchael Hoffman approaches Damone with a job offer that would give him enough money to pay for his wife's treatment and start a new life with her, Damone accepts. It is this job of transporting a dubious drug that brings Carter and Damone together in a chance meeting with very unexpected consequences. Both now possess powers that they could use to save their city. Or destroy it.
Although the author is young and this is his first novella, I had rather high expectations from him. Among his family members are two of my favorite authors. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Not only did Nicholas Park meet my expectations, he exceeded them. The struggle between good and evil, which is seen both within these characters and with the external world, kept me turning the pages. As for the ending, I can only hope that it means we have not seen the last of these characters or the last of Nicholas Park's writing.
Damone Harris is watching his wife die of cancer, knowing that time and the money needed to treat her are quickly running out.
Both feel helpless.
When MIchael Hoffman approaches Damone with a job offer that would give him enough money to pay for his wife's treatment and start a new life with her, Damone accepts. It is this job of transporting a dubious drug that brings Carter and Damone together in a chance meeting with very unexpected consequences. Both now possess powers that they could use to save their city. Or destroy it.
Although the author is young and this is his first novella, I had rather high expectations from him. Among his family members are two of my favorite authors. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Not only did Nicholas Park meet my expectations, he exceeded them. The struggle between good and evil, which is seen both within these characters and with the external world, kept me turning the pages. As for the ending, I can only hope that it means we have not seen the last of these characters or the last of Nicholas Park's writing.
May 22, 2020
Original Review at Jaunts & Haunts
2/5
I gave this novella two stars.
I had high hopes for this novella, I really did.
This book is written by a 15-year old, and I don't think that I've ever read something by someone this young before, but it takes a lot of oomph and dedication to write something, especially at that age. Major kudos there.
However, on a fundamental level I had some issues with this book.
Let's start with the positive.
The main things that I liked were the concept and action. I love the concept of superheroes, and with that usually comes many a great fight scene.
Unfortunately that's about where the good stuff ended for me.
The characters, while intriguing felt two-dimensional at the end. They had decent backstories that made sense, but it didn't go any further than that. I wanted more depth from them.
The plot started off fairly well, but went off the rails a bit for several reasons. For starters, I didn't completely buy Voltage's acquisition of superpowers. It was too random for me.
There was a lack of conflict for me, and Voltage discovers the extent of his powers way too easily. It just wasn't believable that his friend could look up powers on Wikipedia and say 'try this' and everything just works. If this control was discovered over the course of several novellas that would've made more sense.
The action scenes felt too rushed for me, and I wanted to see more grit and have it slowed down a bit so we can really see all the details.
Overall, this novel didn't work for me and I won't be continuing the series, but I think that with time and experience, this author will get better and bring something really great into the world.
Keep reaching for your dreams, Nicholas!
2/5
I gave this novella two stars.
I had high hopes for this novella, I really did.
This book is written by a 15-year old, and I don't think that I've ever read something by someone this young before, but it takes a lot of oomph and dedication to write something, especially at that age. Major kudos there.
However, on a fundamental level I had some issues with this book.
Let's start with the positive.
The main things that I liked were the concept and action. I love the concept of superheroes, and with that usually comes many a great fight scene.
Unfortunately that's about where the good stuff ended for me.
The characters, while intriguing felt two-dimensional at the end. They had decent backstories that made sense, but it didn't go any further than that. I wanted more depth from them.
The plot started off fairly well, but went off the rails a bit for several reasons. For starters, I didn't completely buy Voltage's acquisition of superpowers. It was too random for me.
There was a lack of conflict for me, and Voltage discovers the extent of his powers way too easily. It just wasn't believable that his friend could look up powers on Wikipedia and say 'try this' and everything just works. If this control was discovered over the course of several novellas that would've made more sense.
The action scenes felt too rushed for me, and I wanted to see more grit and have it slowed down a bit so we can really see all the details.
Overall, this novel didn't work for me and I won't be continuing the series, but I think that with time and experience, this author will get better and bring something really great into the world.
Keep reaching for your dreams, Nicholas!
January 26, 2019
I love the promise in this book. This is not a genre I usually read, so I can’t fully appreciate it, but I can appreciate the author’s creative talents. He created some decent superhero/villains with a solid past. They’re believable and also have their history well-explained.
Visually this book was pretty striking, though at times the storyline tended to ramble a bit, it wasn’t often enough to ruin the novella. Without the author’s notes and knowing his mom’s work I wouldn’t have known a teen wrote this.
I look forward to reading this author in the future. I also gifted my own teenager a copy of this book and he said “it was pretty good!” therefore it received high praise.
Visually this book was pretty striking, though at times the storyline tended to ramble a bit, it wasn’t often enough to ruin the novella. Without the author’s notes and knowing his mom’s work I wouldn’t have known a teen wrote this.
I look forward to reading this author in the future. I also gifted my own teenager a copy of this book and he said “it was pretty good!” therefore it received high praise.
May 17, 2017
Great Debut Book
This was a great debut book from a young author. I loved the main characters and the motivation behind their actions. The storyline was great, very entertaining.
This was a great debut book from a young author. I loved the main characters and the motivation behind their actions. The storyline was great, very entertaining.
June 29, 2017
This is a debut novella by a 16 year old (15 when published). It would be great as a graphic novel and will likely attract the attention of other young folks who love comics and superheroes.
April 6, 2016
WOW!!! Had to believe a 14-15 year old wrote this book. Nicholas's writing is so mature that when reading if you know his age you forget it. It was well written. You can tell he really thought a lot of his characters,plot and the whole way his story was going to carry out. If you have a chance to read this novella you really should. Like I said you could not tell it was written by a teenager. The super powers I really liked. The cover is beautifully done. Well done Nicholas!!!
August 19, 2016
Shockingly good
I was expecting a cute little adventure novel in the style of a teen. What I got was a thoughtful, well written novella written with insights you wouldn't expect from someone his age. Good read.
I was expecting a cute little adventure novel in the style of a teen. What I got was a thoughtful, well written novella written with insights you wouldn't expect from someone his age. Good read.
May 1, 2016
I really enjoyed this book and hope the story continues!
September 4, 2016
This is his first novella and it's really great. Good job Nicholas
Review: https://airalsworld.wordpress.com/201...
Review: https://airalsworld.wordpress.com/201...
October 27, 2016
Great debut book with tons of potential. Mr. Park kept my interest. I could see my 5th grader reading this and sparking his own writing abilities.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews