What do you think?
Rate this book
Blood of Kings, Power - Perversity - Redemption
A thrilling story with an underlying humanistic message
In times past, the kings exercised power and dominion over their people. Thus, absolute monarchy controlled the destinies of the world for many centuries. At present, although there are still a few Royal Houses, the real power is exercised by the moguls, owners of the largest transnational companies, whose wealth exceeds any estimate. While the world is increasingly threatened by economic crises, terrorism, war, hunger, unemployment and poverty, they, unofficially, control the governments, because they are owners of almost everything, in all areas of the world economy. In Blood of Kings, Power – Perversity – Redemption, develops a tale of intrigue, suspense, action and adventure. A series of murders in different parts of the world has bewildered the authorities. No one knows what is happening, but someone is murdering magnates-billionaires. This series of crimes has led to a destabilization in the world economy, while the authorities still have no leads, and the murders continue to occur despite the high level of protection of the victims.
John Garrett, the only son of the first tycoon murdered, has in his possession "the key," a high-tech electronic device that must be delivered in Paris, according to instructions that his father gave him before he died. The delivery is frustrated and he reaches an impasse. Motivated by the murder of his father, he decides to launch his own investigation. Who killed him? Why? What is this "key" for? ¿Why is it so important? To find the answers, he will have to go on a long and dangerous journey that will take him to many places in the world: Paris, Roussillon, Rome, New Orleans, Seattle, French Polynesia and Sweden, among others. Along this way, he will get to know Laura Koffmann, a daughter of one of the victims. The two will join forces to get the answers, even at the risk of their own lives. They will find many unexpected things and understand that nothing is what it seems; and that the future of the world will depend on their decisions, as well as the success of their actions.
This novel is profusely illustrated with 1,254 original illustrations in high quality 3D digital art that recreate the settings, characters and events narrated in the story. To show the full-screen images, the book is published in the format of a fixed-layout KF8, with vertical text and horizontal illustrations.
In times past, the kings exercised power and dominion over their people. Thus, absolute monarchy controlled the destinies of the world for many centuries. At present, although there are still a few Royal Houses, the real power is exercised by the moguls, owners of the largest transnational companies, whose wealth exceeds any estimate. While the world is increasingly threatened by economic crises, terrorism, war, hunger, unemployment and poverty, they, unofficially, control the governments, because they are owners of almost everything, in all areas of the world economy. In Blood of Kings, Power – Perversity – Redemption, develops a tale of intrigue, suspense, action and adventure. A series of murders in different parts of the world has bewildered the authorities. No one knows what is happening, but someone is murdering magnates-billionaires. This series of crimes has led to a destabilization in the world economy, while the authorities still have no leads, and the murders continue to occur despite the high level of protection of the victims.
John Garrett, the only son of the first tycoon murdered, has in his possession "the key," a high-tech electronic device that must be delivered in Paris, according to instructions that his father gave him before he died. The delivery is frustrated and he reaches an impasse. Motivated by the murder of his father, he decides to launch his own investigation. Who killed him? Why? What is this "key" for? ¿Why is it so important? To find the answers, he will have to go on a long and dangerous journey that will take him to many places in the world: Paris, Roussillon, Rome, New Orleans, Seattle, French Polynesia and Sweden, among others. Along this way, he will get to know Laura Koffmann, a daughter of one of the victims. The two will join forces to get the answers, even at the risk of their own lives. They will find many unexpected things and understand that nothing is what it seems; and that the future of the world will depend on their decisions, as well as the success of their actions.
This novel is profusely illustrated with 1,254 original illustrations in high quality 3D digital art that recreate the settings, characters and events narrated in the story. To show the full-screen images, the book is published in the format of a fixed-layout KF8, with vertical text and horizontal illustrations.
1900 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 28, 2017
2 people are currently reading
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 21, 2017
An international race against time explodes onto the pages of an original illustrated thriller in author Patrick Norton's book, Blood of Kings, Power - Perversity - Redemption. Here's the official synopsis:
A thrilling story with an underlying humanistic message
In times past, the kings exercised power and dominion over their people. Thus, absolute monarchy controlled the destinies of the world for many centuries. At present, although there are still a few Royal Houses, the real power is exercised by the moguls, owners of the largest transnational companies, whose wealth exceeds any estimate. While the world is increasingly threatened by economic crises, terrorism, war, hunger, unemployment and poverty, they, unofficially, control the governments, because they are owners of almost everything, in all areas of the world economy. In Blood of Kings, Power – Perversity – Redemption, develops a tale of intrigue, suspense, action and adventure. A series of murders in different parts of the world has bewildered the authorities. No one knows what is happening, but someone is murdering magnates-billionaires. This series of crimes has led to a destabilization in the world economy, while the authorities still have no leads, and the murders continue to occur despite the high level of protection of the victims.
John Garrett, the only son of the first tycoon murdered, has in his possession "the key," a high-tech electronic device that must be delivered in Paris, according to instructions that his father gave him before he died. The delivery is frustrated and he reaches an impasse. Motivated by the murder of his father, he decides to launch his own investigation. Who killed him? Why? What is this "key" for? ¿Why is it so important? To find the answers, he will have to go on a long and dangerous journey that will take him to many places in the world: Paris, Roussillon, Rome, New Orleans, Seattle, French Polynesia and Sweden, among others. Along this way, he will get to know Laura Koffmann, a daughter of one of the victims. The two will join forces to get the answers, even at the risk of their own lives. They will find many unexpected things and understand that nothing is what it seems; and that the future of the world will depend on their decisions, as well as the success of their actions.
This novel is profusely illustrated with 1,254 original illustrations in high quality 3D digital art that recreate the settings, characters and events narrated in the story. To show the full-screen images, the book is published in the format of a fixed-layout KF8, with vertical text and horizontal illustrations.
The novel is an incredible action thriller, filled with a unique story about secret organizations, murder and a race against the clock to change the world before it's too late. Filled with action, romance and espionage, this was a fun read. Don't let the page count fool you, the story was fast paced and flowed quickly, and featured an incredibly unique story telling device with the inclusion of original animated illustrations. The story was powerful and truly original to the genre, and a lot of fun to see flow off the pages.
The only small critique I have is the dialogue sometimes doesn't flow organically at certain points, and I'd encourage the author to read through the exchanges between characters and make sure the conversations flow smoothly. Otherwise the story was well written and the international espionage world built by the author was incredibly rich and held vivid imagery that readers will not soon forget.
Overall this was a fun read that fans of the thriller genre will thoroughly enjoy. Filled with fully developed and complex characters, shocking twists and a complicated world where no one can be trusted, this was a great read that I highly recommend readers try out for themselves. If you haven't yet be sure to pick up your copies of Blood of Kings, Power - Perversity - Redemption by Patrick Norton today!
A thrilling story with an underlying humanistic message
In times past, the kings exercised power and dominion over their people. Thus, absolute monarchy controlled the destinies of the world for many centuries. At present, although there are still a few Royal Houses, the real power is exercised by the moguls, owners of the largest transnational companies, whose wealth exceeds any estimate. While the world is increasingly threatened by economic crises, terrorism, war, hunger, unemployment and poverty, they, unofficially, control the governments, because they are owners of almost everything, in all areas of the world economy. In Blood of Kings, Power – Perversity – Redemption, develops a tale of intrigue, suspense, action and adventure. A series of murders in different parts of the world has bewildered the authorities. No one knows what is happening, but someone is murdering magnates-billionaires. This series of crimes has led to a destabilization in the world economy, while the authorities still have no leads, and the murders continue to occur despite the high level of protection of the victims.
John Garrett, the only son of the first tycoon murdered, has in his possession "the key," a high-tech electronic device that must be delivered in Paris, according to instructions that his father gave him before he died. The delivery is frustrated and he reaches an impasse. Motivated by the murder of his father, he decides to launch his own investigation. Who killed him? Why? What is this "key" for? ¿Why is it so important? To find the answers, he will have to go on a long and dangerous journey that will take him to many places in the world: Paris, Roussillon, Rome, New Orleans, Seattle, French Polynesia and Sweden, among others. Along this way, he will get to know Laura Koffmann, a daughter of one of the victims. The two will join forces to get the answers, even at the risk of their own lives. They will find many unexpected things and understand that nothing is what it seems; and that the future of the world will depend on their decisions, as well as the success of their actions.
This novel is profusely illustrated with 1,254 original illustrations in high quality 3D digital art that recreate the settings, characters and events narrated in the story. To show the full-screen images, the book is published in the format of a fixed-layout KF8, with vertical text and horizontal illustrations.
The novel is an incredible action thriller, filled with a unique story about secret organizations, murder and a race against the clock to change the world before it's too late. Filled with action, romance and espionage, this was a fun read. Don't let the page count fool you, the story was fast paced and flowed quickly, and featured an incredibly unique story telling device with the inclusion of original animated illustrations. The story was powerful and truly original to the genre, and a lot of fun to see flow off the pages.
The only small critique I have is the dialogue sometimes doesn't flow organically at certain points, and I'd encourage the author to read through the exchanges between characters and make sure the conversations flow smoothly. Otherwise the story was well written and the international espionage world built by the author was incredibly rich and held vivid imagery that readers will not soon forget.
Overall this was a fun read that fans of the thriller genre will thoroughly enjoy. Filled with fully developed and complex characters, shocking twists and a complicated world where no one can be trusted, this was a great read that I highly recommend readers try out for themselves. If you haven't yet be sure to pick up your copies of Blood of Kings, Power - Perversity - Redemption by Patrick Norton today!
March 26, 2017
When John is asked by his adoptive father (before being murdered later that day) to protect a key that holds crucial secrets about his business venture, he finds himself embarking on a dangerous mission. Riddled with betrayal, drama and insecurity, the pitter-patter of bullets are a constant throughout. What makes this it stand-out are the 1254 digital illustrations that bring the story to life.
I adored the concept of using digital art within the book. Much like a comic book, but with a different style of art, this makes it more appealing to those that are daunted by large sections of text. As a book lover, I really hope that this style will encourage those that find reading tedious or challenging a far simpler task with the aid of pictures. It also clarifies any bits of the story that the reader is still puzzled over, reaffirming the plot. I did find the digital art style reminiscent of game art and thought that the book might be better suited in some ways as a game. I know that there is already a market for murder based games on gadgets like Nintendo where the user can simply click or solve riddles to progress with the story and feel this book would fit that very well. In terms of writing style, it’s basic, but considering the quantity of pictures there’s no need for imagery; you can literally see what’s happening instead.
The plot itself was interesting. Most of the twists were unforeseeable, making it a captivating read in which one is never sure what will occur next! I liked how the author addressed the issue of poverty in the novel, including some rather shocking figures to put emphasis on how fortunate those of us with a roof over our heads, clean water and food truly are. Although I got a bit annoyed with John for buying an emerald and platinum necklace towards the end despite all the efforts to show the reader that other people are in dire need of basic tools to survive whilst we splurge out of luxuries. Aside from that, the ending is incredible. I have never laughed so much – I don’t want to spoil the plot, but there’s a saxophone scene and it’s just the most sweet and random little addition.
The illustrations of the characters were great, but I did yearn for a bit more characterisation at points. The reader learns to sympathise with John and Laura about having lost their parents, particularly John who clearly had a strong bond with his adoptive father. Though he spends very little time pondering about his father’s death, the book being very plot heavy, so whilst it’s made clear that he is sad I felt that there could have been more description about his feelings of devastation. There’s also little time spent in remorse, which I thought the characters would have felt after having killed so many, even if in defence. The dialogue between each character seemed quite similar in dialect, with exemption to the culprit and evil villain who came across as… well… evil.
To conclude, I’d like to praise the book on its originality in artistic style, but did find the characters a little wooden at points. Many readers do prefer plot over description, so I can see how this will appeal to them and wish the author the best of success!
I adored the concept of using digital art within the book. Much like a comic book, but with a different style of art, this makes it more appealing to those that are daunted by large sections of text. As a book lover, I really hope that this style will encourage those that find reading tedious or challenging a far simpler task with the aid of pictures. It also clarifies any bits of the story that the reader is still puzzled over, reaffirming the plot. I did find the digital art style reminiscent of game art and thought that the book might be better suited in some ways as a game. I know that there is already a market for murder based games on gadgets like Nintendo where the user can simply click or solve riddles to progress with the story and feel this book would fit that very well. In terms of writing style, it’s basic, but considering the quantity of pictures there’s no need for imagery; you can literally see what’s happening instead.
The plot itself was interesting. Most of the twists were unforeseeable, making it a captivating read in which one is never sure what will occur next! I liked how the author addressed the issue of poverty in the novel, including some rather shocking figures to put emphasis on how fortunate those of us with a roof over our heads, clean water and food truly are. Although I got a bit annoyed with John for buying an emerald and platinum necklace towards the end despite all the efforts to show the reader that other people are in dire need of basic tools to survive whilst we splurge out of luxuries. Aside from that, the ending is incredible. I have never laughed so much – I don’t want to spoil the plot, but there’s a saxophone scene and it’s just the most sweet and random little addition.
The illustrations of the characters were great, but I did yearn for a bit more characterisation at points. The reader learns to sympathise with John and Laura about having lost their parents, particularly John who clearly had a strong bond with his adoptive father. Though he spends very little time pondering about his father’s death, the book being very plot heavy, so whilst it’s made clear that he is sad I felt that there could have been more description about his feelings of devastation. There’s also little time spent in remorse, which I thought the characters would have felt after having killed so many, even if in defence. The dialogue between each character seemed quite similar in dialect, with exemption to the culprit and evil villain who came across as… well… evil.
To conclude, I’d like to praise the book on its originality in artistic style, but did find the characters a little wooden at points. Many readers do prefer plot over description, so I can see how this will appeal to them and wish the author the best of success!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews