The War-Bringer

by J.D. Martin

Helena Schwann is a waitress trying to make ends meet when her entire life is ripped apart in a single day. After losing her job and her boyfriend, a group of masked warriors attempt to abduct her. A mysterious man named Archer comes to her aid with weapons and abilities she has never imagined. Soon after her rescue, she is whisked away from her Kansas City home to discover she is now part of a struggle to prevent a war among factions known only from ancient mythology.

The Greek Gods of old are real, and they have dedicated their lives to protecting humanity from the shadows, but a prophecy has threatened to bring them all into the light. A tyrannical warlord has found a way to cheat death and continue his crusade to enslave the planet. Helena must now help her new friends discover her role in the prophecy to stop the rise of the War-Bringer.

383 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2017

About the author

J.D. Martin has lived in Kansas City for the majority of his life, and has loved exploring the city as well as the world. As a lifelong storyteller, he has made himself known among family and friends as someone with an ever-expanding imagination, and a true appreciation for the written word. He now shares this passion of storytelling with his son and wife.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads]

"A flash of blue shot past him like lightening that caused the hill ahead of him to explode."

Helena Schwann, a Kansas waitress, is about to go on a whirlwind adventure.

In a single day, she loses her job and finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her - which conveniently coincides with her being kidnapped by elite ancient warriors.

"Silver steel flashed in brilliant arcs as they sought their targets. One such swing missed him by a breath, and that was all she wrote."

Helena is thrust into a new world - both ancient and advanced - full of Greek Gods, Atlantean worlds and incredibly advanced technology.

There's a prophecy (of course there's a prophecy) of things-to-come.

"I am Pythia, the oracle of Delphi. My words are that to come. On this, the seventh day, take heed of what you hear. We are the past that brings the now to come."

And soon she is off, with a new friend (Archer) beside her, as they race to undo whatever evil comes their way.

So.

Sooooooo.

Soooooooooooooo....

This is my third J.D. Martin novel. And while I enjoyed his first two novels, this one fell a little flat to me.

Don't get me wrong, there were rather good elements to it - I loved the setting, the concept and the action.

In particular, the plot was creative and entertaining...but I just couldn't get into this one - probably due to the characters, the writing and the sex.

The Characters

In Martin's other series, we follow the life of a serial killer and the personality Martin writes - cool, detached, aloof - really matches well with the story.

And while that style worked really well for a serial killer, it didn't quite fit for a waitress from Kansas...

Helena didn't seem to feel many emotions. Meaning, she and the other characters would rage, cry, scream, bellow (etc) but they never felt real.

"...she froze under Helena's hellacious glare."

And I think that really caused me to disconnect from the novel. The characters needed to be far more developed in order to make the story real for me.

The Writing

There was a general theme of repitition in this novel, which again worked well when the author was writing a obsessive serial killer... not so much now.

Take the oracle quote from earlier in the review, the sentence basically wraps around itself - we know she's an oracle, so then why emphasize it over and over that she's going to predict the future?

So much of the dialogue circled:

"I've run all the tests I can on your injury. I have no idea how to fix it."
"Wait, say that again?"
"Your injuries are beyond my capacity."
"You mean you can't heal me?"
"No, I'm sorry."
"So, wait, I'm going to die?" Helenda's eyes turned to glass as her voice shook.

When everything is said multiple times, the novel begins to feel very, very long.

"With one hand against the tree for balance, he vomited on the dirt. Pain had become his world, and the stench of the regurgitated bile was like incense for the burning."

And besides the repeititon, there were several turns of phrases that really just didn't work for me. Either they were overly descriptive:

"Piercing the fleshy curtains, the darkness was forced away, replaced by an orange glow."

Or they used far too many synonyms:

"I guess pork product [aka bacon] helps a girl put things in perspective..."

The Sex

And the last thing that threw me out was...the sex. It didn't do anything for me, and it really felt shoehorned in.

I think it needed to really be finessed in order for it to fit better with the plot...

For example, there's one scene where we follow the evil guy after he's "trained" (aka killed much of his warriors in a rage)...and he's covered in...well...the aftereffects of slaughtering men.

"Gorgo placed her hands on his bare back, the mixture of sweat and blood were slick against her fingertips. Wrapping her arms around him, she embraced this man..."

which is followed by a marathon sexathon...

"The typical female could never handle the powerful release he'd shared with his wife, and would most likely have been disgusted by having sex while covered in a man's blood."

It just...it's like, why? Now all I can think of is that the "Big Bad" of this book series has serious hygiene issues.

Overall

The book had good bones - the way Martin combined the ancient world, the present and the future was uniquely satisfying.

The plot was fast-paced and exciting - I really think that this series has potential.

There were a just a few aspects that ended up dominating the book and sullying my experience of it.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review

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[Joel]

I received my copy of this book via Goodreads giveaway which has no bearing on my review.

Oof.

That was tough.

2% in and I can already tell this is not a book for me. Have already reported several editing issues (plurals/possessives used interchangeably) and noticed multiple others (a disturbing lack of commas where necessary and copious usage of hyphens where not necessary). The first chapter ended in a completely unbelievable way.

I'm not masochistic enough to continue.

DNF at 2%.

[Benjamin Bookman · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I was rating simply the ideas, background, and vision of the book, it would have gotten 4 or 5 stars. Excellent use of mythology and science, technology and history, with some very cool concepts and threads. However, there are very clear editing gaps and a significant lack of consistency that unfortunately bring down the readability by quite a bit. The world is only 80% believable, not because of any lack of imagination, but simply because of jumps and holes in the story. Sometimes less is more and some works are very successful being succinct. But that isn't quite the case here. Several key scenes are either cut short or are missing entirely, and sections/chapters often felt like they were placeholders for what were meant to be fully fleshed out stories. The point of view also jumps inexplicably from one character to another and back in a way that is disconcerting/confusing. Descriptions are somewhat two dimensional in places. And there are outright conflicts in the storyline (example - how can Helena both need rides because she doesn't have a car AND walk to the garage to get her car?). I do truly respect the effort, intention, and creativity behind the story. It reminded me of Artemis Fowl (in a good way), and I enjoyed the mini-puzzle of identifying the mythological originals of the characters. But I just wish it hadn't been so clearly in need of revisions and editing. It is a wonderful early draft, but not quite ready to be the finished product in my mind.

[Angeline Burton · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing concept of who the Greek Gods truly are and their dynamics among each other. I was disappointed that he did not introduce me to his version of my favorite gods, Artemis and Athena, however, the ending of the book makes it obvious that this is intended to be a series and we will eventually meet all of the Olympians.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a kindle copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the characters were fantastic and I can't wait to read the sequel. I enjoy reading retellings but always find myself wanting in one way or another. This book isn't a retelling so to speak it just uses characters (Greek Gods) that we've heard countless stories about. I thought this was a really interesting approach to what ancient gods would be like in our world and how an ordinary woman would handle learning the news that she's at the center of a prophecy.

I did think there were a few too many pop culture references that I really wouldn't have missed if they weren't included. They pulled me out of the story more often than not.

This was a great book, well written, good character development. I'd recommend it if you like retellings, stories about Gods living among us, and everyday people learning about extraordinary worlds hiding in plain sight.

[Kyle P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first few chapters were a bit slow for my taste, but after getting into the story I thoroughly enjoyed the book. With the mythology combining with the new era references it made it become more relatable to the reader. I loved that there were a good portion of quips, but I wish there was a little bit more of a back story on what happened to all of the gods. I look forward to reading book 2 when it comes out.