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Invasion
From New Mexico, the land of enchantment, and its history of mighty men comes a modern tale of conflict
Deborah “Stones” Jackson at the ripe, old age of 31 had thought she was done with the covert life. The gut shot during the op in Eastern Afghanistan, compounded by the care of the Jalalabad hospital, had nearly killed her. Ralph, her boss at Black Sail in Maryland, had finally gotten her to Germany for emergency care. Then he sent her back to New Mexico to recover. She wasn’t sure she’d be going back.
But a calling rarely lets up, and Stones was meant for combat. The new foe was devious, coming up from Chihuahua, with support in surprising places. She’d never been faced with traitorous Americans, amazing wealth, and the sheer nastiness of an oppressed people demanding freedom.
Cut off from the East with no resources, Deborah discovers that God has a plan for her which she never could have dreamed—far beyond her wildest imaginations. She’d have to deal with her mother, who was a legendary assassin?!
Deborah “Stones” Jackson at the ripe, old age of 31 had thought she was done with the covert life. The gut shot during the op in Eastern Afghanistan, compounded by the care of the Jalalabad hospital, had nearly killed her. Ralph, her boss at Black Sail in Maryland, had finally gotten her to Germany for emergency care. Then he sent her back to New Mexico to recover. She wasn’t sure she’d be going back.
But a calling rarely lets up, and Stones was meant for combat. The new foe was devious, coming up from Chihuahua, with support in surprising places. She’d never been faced with traitorous Americans, amazing wealth, and the sheer nastiness of an oppressed people demanding freedom.
Cut off from the East with no resources, Deborah discovers that God has a plan for her which she never could have dreamed—far beyond her wildest imaginations. She’d have to deal with her mother, who was a legendary assassin?!
220 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 18, 2017
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
David Bergsland
126 books49 followersI've been a compulsive reader since I was eight years old. It's not uncommon for me to read a book or more a day. I became a fine artist during my hippie days from 1967-71. After graduation from U of Minn, I almost immediately got into publishing, first as an illustrator, then as a graphic designer, then a typographer, art director, instructor, program director, author, font designer, online teacher, self-publisher. All the while I did some art, wrote a lot, and kept myself busy.
My main blog and Website is The Skilled Workman which covers resources for publishing books and ebooks with InDesign, plus training for designing fonts.
These days it's primarily a solid food believers site.
The spiritual blog is
Reality Calling which covers my Christian writing and books, plus the books of authors I represent and/or design for.
I sell my fonts at MyFonts.com for the most part, but also at fonts.com
My main blog and Website is The Skilled Workman which covers resources for publishing books and ebooks with InDesign, plus training for designing fonts.
These days it's primarily a solid food believers site.
The spiritual blog is
Reality Calling which covers my Christian writing and books, plus the books of authors I represent and/or design for.
I sell my fonts at MyFonts.com for the most part, but also at fonts.com
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 8, 2018
I received this book to review as part of a Christian Speculative Fiction review group. My assumption, therefore, was that it was a work of speculative fiction. But in fact I find it hard to identify much that's 'speculative' about it: it reads to me like a modern military thriller. There's a lot of sophisticated weaponry and military vehicles; but it didn't seem like these were in any way futuristic or beyond current production capabilities. It does, however, have a strong Christian element; so one could say its inclusion in this review group was half-justified!
That aside, the story has a strong, believable premise that caught my interest from the start: and that is the build-up of a popular independence movement among the Hispanic/Aztecan peoples in the southwestern and western US states. This leads to a long-prepared and well-executed invasion by Mexican crack troops trained and equipped by the Chinese in Chihuahua state, also with the co-operation of the Chinese triads in California—resulting in the almost unopposed establishment of the independent nation of Aztlan, which swallows up most of the western USA. When the story gets moving (see my comments below), it becomes a gripping tale of opposition to this break-up of the Union by a die-hard few who refuse to accept Washington's weak appeasement policy.
Other good points are the strong characters, the well worked-out plot, and the wealth of circumstantial detail that lends validity to each scene. From the Christian perspective I also appreciated how the author smoothly introduces Christian beliefs and practices in a subtle, understated way. These are mentioned only when needed, and there's no preaching or tub-thumping. I especially liked the way a crucial discussion, towards the end, is interrupted for prayer, despite the presence of non- (or nominal) Christians. The outcome is clear guidance in a different direction from what had been assumed up to that point. A good example of practical submission to the will of God.
There were, however, some downsides for me. The first was the fact that, despite this being the first volume in Bergsland's Tales of Mighty Men series, the whole of the opening felt as though it was carrying on from some previous story. I couldn’t find anything in the book itself to confirm this; but I can only think there must have been a previous series this was continuing from. Many things were taken for granted that the reader couldn’t possibly know at that stage. The heroine's nickname, "Stones", for instance, was just thrown in without explanation: several times in the opening chapters I marked this as an error for her surname, "Stoner"! Only after many uses of it, well on into the second chapter, was it mentioned that this was a nickname.
Likewise the character Ralph enters the story without any introduction in some kind of mentoring role to 'Stones'. At first I thought this was her stepfather, but then discovered his name was Jakob. Only much later did it become clear that Ralph headed a division of 'Black Sail'—another name that's just taken for granted in the beginning.
The second downside for me was the amount of description and extraneous information that's constantly thrown in. Yes, as I said earlier, circumstantial detail is good to 'ground' and validate a scene; but in my view Bergsland goes way over the top with this. Early on, after 'Stones' has been involved in a violent incident, we get the brief beginning of a conversation with her stepfather, which is then interrupted by nine pages (on my iPad) of description and incidental information before the conversation finally resumes. First a detailed description of Stones herself; then of her stepfather's office; then of the view through the window; then of her stepfather! A digression can be used to build tension; but for me this built boredom. I skimmed most of the descriptive paras.
The same was repeated continually (the author obviously loves home decorating and styles of architecture!), and only reduced slightly when the action became serious. But that didn't happen until 42% through the book: which was my third major downside. It just took far too long for the real story to take off.
Once that happened, though, it was gripping. There was some pretty graphic violence: but that's par for the course in a modern thriller. I enjoyed the plot turns and the gradual build-up to the climax, though the ending was perhaps a little abrupt.
The author has maps in the text, which I thoroughly approve of, and which certainly helped to clarify the events in the story. However, he also had a couple of footnotes; and there I draw the line. Others may disagree, but I feel footnotes are inappropriate in the text of a work of fiction—and they don't work well in Kindle format. The footnotes should rather have been added at the end in an Author's Note or appendix.
Having said all that, it's a great story with a solid Christian basis, and I can thoroughly recommend it to lovers of realistic Christian fiction. I'm now looking forward to reading the second book in the series…
That aside, the story has a strong, believable premise that caught my interest from the start: and that is the build-up of a popular independence movement among the Hispanic/Aztecan peoples in the southwestern and western US states. This leads to a long-prepared and well-executed invasion by Mexican crack troops trained and equipped by the Chinese in Chihuahua state, also with the co-operation of the Chinese triads in California—resulting in the almost unopposed establishment of the independent nation of Aztlan, which swallows up most of the western USA. When the story gets moving (see my comments below), it becomes a gripping tale of opposition to this break-up of the Union by a die-hard few who refuse to accept Washington's weak appeasement policy.
Other good points are the strong characters, the well worked-out plot, and the wealth of circumstantial detail that lends validity to each scene. From the Christian perspective I also appreciated how the author smoothly introduces Christian beliefs and practices in a subtle, understated way. These are mentioned only when needed, and there's no preaching or tub-thumping. I especially liked the way a crucial discussion, towards the end, is interrupted for prayer, despite the presence of non- (or nominal) Christians. The outcome is clear guidance in a different direction from what had been assumed up to that point. A good example of practical submission to the will of God.
There were, however, some downsides for me. The first was the fact that, despite this being the first volume in Bergsland's Tales of Mighty Men series, the whole of the opening felt as though it was carrying on from some previous story. I couldn’t find anything in the book itself to confirm this; but I can only think there must have been a previous series this was continuing from. Many things were taken for granted that the reader couldn’t possibly know at that stage. The heroine's nickname, "Stones", for instance, was just thrown in without explanation: several times in the opening chapters I marked this as an error for her surname, "Stoner"! Only after many uses of it, well on into the second chapter, was it mentioned that this was a nickname.
Likewise the character Ralph enters the story without any introduction in some kind of mentoring role to 'Stones'. At first I thought this was her stepfather, but then discovered his name was Jakob. Only much later did it become clear that Ralph headed a division of 'Black Sail'—another name that's just taken for granted in the beginning.
The second downside for me was the amount of description and extraneous information that's constantly thrown in. Yes, as I said earlier, circumstantial detail is good to 'ground' and validate a scene; but in my view Bergsland goes way over the top with this. Early on, after 'Stones' has been involved in a violent incident, we get the brief beginning of a conversation with her stepfather, which is then interrupted by nine pages (on my iPad) of description and incidental information before the conversation finally resumes. First a detailed description of Stones herself; then of her stepfather's office; then of the view through the window; then of her stepfather! A digression can be used to build tension; but for me this built boredom. I skimmed most of the descriptive paras.
The same was repeated continually (the author obviously loves home decorating and styles of architecture!), and only reduced slightly when the action became serious. But that didn't happen until 42% through the book: which was my third major downside. It just took far too long for the real story to take off.
Once that happened, though, it was gripping. There was some pretty graphic violence: but that's par for the course in a modern thriller. I enjoyed the plot turns and the gradual build-up to the climax, though the ending was perhaps a little abrupt.
The author has maps in the text, which I thoroughly approve of, and which certainly helped to clarify the events in the story. However, he also had a couple of footnotes; and there I draw the line. Others may disagree, but I feel footnotes are inappropriate in the text of a work of fiction—and they don't work well in Kindle format. The footnotes should rather have been added at the end in an Author's Note or appendix.
Having said all that, it's a great story with a solid Christian basis, and I can thoroughly recommend it to lovers of realistic Christian fiction. I'm now looking forward to reading the second book in the series…
April 18, 2018
For purposes of transparency, I need to state that I came upon this book when I was assigned it on Goodreads as part of a thread on Christian speculative fiction. The authors and readers there agreed to review each other’s books for the purpose of promoting and helping fellow authors grow.
Invasion is not your typical Christian novel. As I read it, it struck me as a cross between a military sci-fi story and a Christian story, with it leaning heavily toward the former. I was even a bit concerned about the Christian element going into the story, considering several factors that I will mention in a minute, but the author throws in a strong dash of spirituality toward the end that helped me reconsider. But let’s take a look at it a little more systematically.
Theme. The story has a strong military/espionage/conspiracy theme, and the author shows his strength here. He is skilled in bringing in detail and knowledge of military background and weaponry, which helps take you into the story. And the theme of the United States being invaded is one that typically gets me interested. Unfortunately, the concept that Hispanics as a whole are here to turn the Southwest United States into their own country is not only preposterous but offensive. I realize this is only a novel, but fiction has been used in the past to influence people’s attitudes many times. And considering what is going on in politics, it’s something to consider.
Setting. The author does an excellent job with setting, knowing south central New Mexico very well, and being able to take the reader there also. And he uses that knowledge constructively in the story. I was impressed.
Characters. Here is where the cliché military writing appears again. All the men are big and muscular; all the women are curvaceous and gorgeous. In fact, considering this is categorized as a Christian book, I was surprised how often women were referred to by their figure, their beauty or their sexiness, including and especially the female pastor (who also happens to be a CIA assassin). And there are several incidents where women are there merely as objects of desire. One sees that one-dimensional type of characterizing of women in military books quite often, but if the author wants readers other than teenage boys, he needs to reconsider this.
Overall, the book had a relatively interesting story, albeit with a strong demand for suspension of disbelief. As far as military stories go, it was fairly readable. And as I mentioned before, the missing spiritual element appeared later in the story.
But the racial overtones that come with the theme, as well as the obvious ties to current national immigration policy, turned me off from the story pretty early on. If you’re a reader who supports the current administration and believes that immigration is a clear and present danger, there’s a good possibility you might enjoy this book. For me, it was a no vote.
Invasion is not your typical Christian novel. As I read it, it struck me as a cross between a military sci-fi story and a Christian story, with it leaning heavily toward the former. I was even a bit concerned about the Christian element going into the story, considering several factors that I will mention in a minute, but the author throws in a strong dash of spirituality toward the end that helped me reconsider. But let’s take a look at it a little more systematically.
Theme. The story has a strong military/espionage/conspiracy theme, and the author shows his strength here. He is skilled in bringing in detail and knowledge of military background and weaponry, which helps take you into the story. And the theme of the United States being invaded is one that typically gets me interested. Unfortunately, the concept that Hispanics as a whole are here to turn the Southwest United States into their own country is not only preposterous but offensive. I realize this is only a novel, but fiction has been used in the past to influence people’s attitudes many times. And considering what is going on in politics, it’s something to consider.
Setting. The author does an excellent job with setting, knowing south central New Mexico very well, and being able to take the reader there also. And he uses that knowledge constructively in the story. I was impressed.
Characters. Here is where the cliché military writing appears again. All the men are big and muscular; all the women are curvaceous and gorgeous. In fact, considering this is categorized as a Christian book, I was surprised how often women were referred to by their figure, their beauty or their sexiness, including and especially the female pastor (who also happens to be a CIA assassin). And there are several incidents where women are there merely as objects of desire. One sees that one-dimensional type of characterizing of women in military books quite often, but if the author wants readers other than teenage boys, he needs to reconsider this.
Overall, the book had a relatively interesting story, albeit with a strong demand for suspension of disbelief. As far as military stories go, it was fairly readable. And as I mentioned before, the missing spiritual element appeared later in the story.
But the racial overtones that come with the theme, as well as the obvious ties to current national immigration policy, turned me off from the story pretty early on. If you’re a reader who supports the current administration and believes that immigration is a clear and present danger, there’s a good possibility you might enjoy this book. For me, it was a no vote.
June 9, 2018
The details were vivid, and specific. It was a real page turner. My favorite character was Deb "Stones" Jackson. The author did a great job on the differing points of view, the transitions were clear and the characters were each different and well rounded. I received this book free with the intention to review.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews