Just The Beginning

by Dale Rutter

Rock bottom became the foundation on which Samuel rebuilt his life.
Samuel thought getting rid of Francis, the stranger was the end. How wrong he was. It was just the beginning.
After six years of rebuilding and living the happy family life, Samuel had almost forgotten about that world. Almost.
A chance encounter with a Kings Armour soldier–the new Kings defensive unit–reignites the unused abilities within Samuel as well as reigniting something within himself as he disarms the soldier easily.
The chance encounter leads to Samuel being recruited by the king and having to move himself and his family to The Capital. He is thrown into another unknown world, the extravagance of The Capital is nothing like he has ever seen or known.
Without even having time to settle and get to know the plentiful powered humans, Samuel is soon having to use his abilities in order to protect the king in a bitter battle for the throne from his loathsome brother.
Can Samuel and his family cope in a world of powers, opulence and petty sibling rivalry?
He would find out.

222 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 11, 2017

About the author

Biography
Dale Rutter was born in January 1985. Since a very small age, he has always been interested in stories and books. Growing up, he continued his passion and began writing short stories and becoming an avid reader. A few years later, the passion was still there but needed rekindling. His lovely wife helped with that as well as a book he bought from a charity shop known as 'The Da Vinci Code.' He hadn't thought about writing for a while, let alone publishing until after reading that book. Something clicked that day making him want to share his stories with other readers. Still, even then it took a while to collate his stories and re-write them and then re-write them some more. Eventually, he ended up at the Accidental Cannibal. The Accidental Cannibal was concocted when reading about English Kings, the Domesday book and the hardships the people suffered during them times. Now the Accidental Cannibal is out there and available to share, he is currently working on a sequel as well as plenty of other ideas for great stories which he would love to share with avid and passionate readers like himself.

Reviews

[Stjepan Cobets · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating 3.4

The book “Just The Beginning (The Accidental Cannibal)” by Dale Rutter is a mediocre written book, on the cover I was expecting a lot. Honestly, in fantasy books, I expect to embody the world that the books describe but in this book, it is somehow superficial. The story itself has an interesting plot but everything is somewhat implausible, I honestly expected a lot more action, much more use of the power of the main character and other characters who have that power. The story of the moments is happening too easily and there is no tension I would expect in fantasy books. But underneath the surface could be found a real potential, only the writer needs the world and the characters to show a little better and bring us into the world where the action takes place. The readers want to create a world in their minds in the book, but somehow this book didn’t succeed in moments. All in all, this is my opinion; I'm sure some fantasy readers will love this book.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a beta copy of this book first, and then received this again (but finished) in exchange for my honest review.

I was really happy to see that an author really listened to what his readers had to say and actually look at and change different aspects based off of those recommendations. While the changes I mentioned were small, it was still nice to see something different off of it.

Like the first book, this kept me hanging on and turning the pages. It is an incredible fast read, at least it feels like it because you need to find out what happens next lol. I love the characters in this book and I was so happy to see what had become of them since the first book, and see something actually good happen for once.

I wont say too much because it's really hard to say anything without giving something away, but it is definitely a 5 star read. Pick it up for sure guys! I know you will love this author like I do

[William Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m afraid to say this was a hard book to get through. The style was overwritten with lots of needless repetition, not only in general description but dialogue too.

For example, there’s this exchange early on:
“Nothing gets past me.” The king winked as he answered Samuel's previous thought.“Anyway, what I want to know is, what otherabilities do you possess? And are you a cannibal?”
Samuel was bewildered as to how the king knew so much. “What abilities?”
“Don't play dumb. As said, nothing gets past me.”

I’m not sure why Samuel got inhuman abilities from being a cannibal either.
Some good ideas and world building here, but it’s lost amongst the over writing, bizarre plot and general pacing issues.

I must say that I’ve never read a book quite like this one, cannibals with super powers is certainly unique. The front cover is gorgeous too.

I don’t like giving negative reviews and don’t do it usually, but as there wasn’t many postives in the book for me personally, I’ll have to give this 2 stars.

[Kimberly Vanderbloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was thrilled to read the sequel to this series. I was addicted after the first book. I mean it was called The Accidental Cannibal how can you not be intrigued by that title alone. I felt the ebbs and flow with Samuel and felt connected to him on a deeper level. I was excited to find out that I was going to get to enter into his world and find out what my favorite cannibal has been up to since I last saw him. I was not disappointed. It flowed differently than the first book. It focused more on the man that Samuel has become after all the events of the first book. It was entertaining to watch him as a man.

My favorite character will always be Samuel. He is kind and conflicted and overall a complex and lovable guy. My new favorite character is Hardy. I love that big teddy bear. I did really enjoy all the new characters. They added an interesting element to the story and were fun to learn about. I did miss Lizzie so it was good to see her again.

My favorite moment was the end. I don't want to give away too many details but an old friend returns and chaos ensues. It was fast paced and I could easily imagine what was going on.

Overall, I love this series and will be recommending it to my book soulmate who I think finished it before I did. We will be having a book discussion about it later today.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book was highly entertaining. When I heard there was a second book, I was excited to read it. I was not disappointed. Samuel and his wife now have a six year old son. They are still living in their hometown and are happy. Samuel encounters the King who wants him to join him in protecting the crown. Samuel wants to put his powers to good use, so he and his family move. This begins Samuel's journey in the second book.

There are a lot of new characters introduced in the second book. Since the King wants to be protected by the best, most of the characters have powers. It is really interesting to find out all the different powers. In a lot of ways this book is about connections that are made. Some characters are brought back from the first book, but I will not spoil it for you. I really liked Franklin.

I enjoyed the little moments in this book. my favorite is when Samuel and his wife discover their new spot. their excitement and awe at the new location is perfect.

The second book is definitely about the journey, which I love. it is well paced and builds towards the finale. I would highly recommend this book to everyone that read the first one as it is fascinating to continue the story with Samuel.

[Rachel Nicole Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dale,
I enjoyed your sequel to your first book. I think it’s a very nice follow-up to an original story.
Keep up the great writing! I’ll continue to read your work and be a fan!!!! 😊

Xo,
Rach

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samuel was thrust into a new city which gave him and his family things he never dreamed of. New characters brought more fun into the storyline. Yet this story isn't all peaches and cream. Loyalties were definitely tested across several characters with one shocking twist to bring us one step closer to Samuel's next adventure.

[X. Culletto · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found "Just the Beginning" to be slightly less edgy than its predecessor "The Accidental Cannibal", which was actually kind of a relief. "The Accidental Cannibal" is a more tense story, whereas "Just the Beginning" opens to several chapters depicting a loving family. It was nice to see the characters had been enjoying a happy life before getting entangled in the country's political turmoil.

Word has spread about the 'powered' beings, and the king arranges a meeting with Samuel, one of the more skilled 'powered', requesting his help. Excited by the idea of adventure, Samuel packs up the family and heads off to the capital, his devoted wife and child at his side. When they arrive, however, there are a few unexpected revelations, and things become complicated

The writing sets a leisurely but steady pace that matches the tone of the story. Many of the characters are likable and wholesome. The only thing I would nitpick at is that some of the wording a bit awkward. All in all, though, an enjoyable journey with pleasant characters. Looking forward to the next!

[Tia Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just the Beginning is an interesting tale about a man named Samuel who accidentally became a cannibal in the last book and now has superpowers from that and they strengthen even though he no longer eats people. I have to say the premise of this book is original, and one I have never heard of before.

This book has a good plot and the characters are likable, but I would have liked to have seen a lot more action. I felt like there was a lot of wandering around before it got to the meat of the story and even then I was left wanting more action. Samuel is a man who really loves his family and thinks a lot and at times I felt like Samuel was giving up to much information to me that I could have gathered by it playing out.

Besides the characters and plot, I found the chapters about the kings the most interesting. That's where the action really takes place with the scheming of the kings and not knowing if the king only believes he has everyone's best interest or he is really just selfish.

[Christian Nadeau · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just the beginning is the story of a guy who developed super powers because he ate human flesh and for some reason (which we never even have a clue about) continues developing random superpowers even though he doesn’t eat flesh anymore.

The concept might have been interesting, (in fact the most interesting side effect about the use of strange powers is shown through a tertiary character), but the cost of having such powers or maintain them is just not exploited at all (apart from mentioned character, there are no costs. At least, none mentioned or alluded to).

As the tone of what has been written so far implies, I didn’t find much to like in this novel, but for the sake of steering away people with similar tastes (and perhaps attracting some readers as I seem to be in a minority trend regarding what I like and what I don’t) let’s elaborate on why.

First, the editing is horrible. It’s not often I insist on that, I’ve mentioned it sometimes, but here it’s just too much. There are so many instances of two consecutive sentences using the exact same words or meaning the exact same thing I struggled to finish the book.

“Samuel gazed to the sky through a break in the forest canopy and noticed the sky was even murkier. It was beginning to grow into a dark ominous sky.”

“He looked to the cart and then as he neared, he glanced to the space at the back of the cart and it all made sense as he saw the bars on the back. It was a prisoner’s cart.”

And it’s often like that. There are so many examples of the same words being used ad nauseam (like sky or cart, or seeing verbs in the last two excerpts) they feel like the author is trying to club you to death with them. The book is in third omniscient, but then numerous times we get a character think something only to have another express it out loud in the next line/paragraph. Then there are tense discrepancies and sentence structures that just don’t work like:

“Tanner was at his side who only scowled”.

I normally don’t cite that many in a review, but I stopped caring after I had about ten of each (word clubbing and screwed structure/mistakes).

A few time inconsistencies, like the use of “…seem to compute…” and kitchens having sinks amongst other things (notably the main character’s insistence that “this was a good move”… wasn’t aware pyramid climbers use that term in medieval times) wouldn’t have bothered as much if the world had felt fully fleshed out. As it is, we’re plunged in a rather shallow run-of-the-mill medieval world where few people but royalty seem to exist outside the circle of the protagonist’s main contact. There are no special customs, races or outlandish concept, anything that would make the author’s world seem original beyond the cannibalism gets you powers thing. Amongst that, there are examples of stunningly poor research, like a vessel housing several hundred soldiers being near enough a sand beach to lower a drawbridge on it (rowboats perhaps? No way a ship with the draft to sail high seas can get within a few hundred feet of a beach…). Again, anything is possible in fantasy, but if it’s something weird, we need to have some kind of explanation for it.

The pace is just a drag. Nothing, and by nothing I mean unless you count moving one’s family, having supper with the in-laws and being recruited as something that can hook you up, happens before the forty something % mark of the novel. Later, when something threatens to happen, it doesn’t and when we’re led to the climax in which there are no surprises, no twists, nothing to make it exciting, it feels more like a safe, tame landing than fireworks.

There seems to be a lack of relativity to what the characters feel and go through. Samuel and his family have been gone from their little village for not even a day before they cringe with worry on how their parents will cope. Even if being gnawed with sentiments like that even before the sun has set would have been credible, another problem was that except for Samuel’s kid, the author had hammered home that Samuel wasn’t near his father or in-laws at all… Then for some reason there are soldiers who treat a rainstorm out of a blue sky as something life-threatening and who consider it impossible to go on a simple four hours wall to a beach. If that storm had been described as something otherworldly that strips skin from the bone or can lift a man into the sky and send him crashing to his doom, it could have been justified. But no. It was just a violent rainstorm. Damn I wish my military instructors had been a quarter as lenient as the people in charge of that army (not really). And speaking of bizarre military understanding and depiction, there comes a point where someone with absolutely no credentials and no military knowledge is set as an officer on the eve of battle. Apart from being a sure plan to break morale, a single person seems to resent this, and he’s the novel’s sore tooth so all he does is resenting things and being a prick. That qualm aside, once the nomination is made, there aren’t even drills or mock battles or preparations, people just feast and don’t seem to care until it’ time to march, and anything goes! And then, while the soldiers were perfectly willing to go to war under someone with no knowledge of tactics and without preparation, they cower and whine about a friggin’ rainstorm?!?

Now for the story, besides not much happening, the whole villain’s plot is… the most perplexing way to stage a coup I’ve ever read about. The motivations are pretty basic (I’m evil, I’m ambitious, I want this), and any and all suspense of the story dies when the hero develops another “mysterious” power (Deus ex alarm). He does wonder a little about how and why he pops up in an “oh how convenient” moment of his life a new ability, but it’s not really explored.

I bought a Just the beginning digital copy from amazon.ca

[S.D. Reeves · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to Accidental Cannibal. From the title, I naturally assumed there would be dark themes, deep writing. I was disappointed. Don’t be mislead however, AC is not meant for children. The concept, story line, etc. is decidedly adult. However, the writing itself is too simple for this age category.

I do not like giving negative reviews, and I have been debating how to handle this one longer than it took me to read the novel itself. So, I figure I will start with what I like: the cover. The cover art is good.

The problem I have is with the redundancies, a maddening lack of variation on paragraph openings, long-winded sentences that go nowhere, and a heavy lean on outright explaining character emotions and thoughts. I could not connect with Samuel. I did not like the premise. And for the sake of preventing this from becoming a Dr. Seuss parody, I will say I was ambivalent on the world-building.

Simply put, I find Accidental Cannibal unpalatable.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved both of these books, can't wait for the third!

[Jim Neville · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not great. Not bad.

The title can be a bit off-putting (or disappointing if you're looking for cannibalism). I didn't read the first book in The Accidental Cannibal series, but this book works well on it's own. There were only references to previous cannibalism in this book. All in all, I would say this book is just so-so. It's a shame because it could be so much more. The main character, Samuel, has "powers," but doesn't seem to use them much. Others have "powers" also, but they're rarely used (only one character has a reason for restraint).

It was a difficult read. There are many logic flaws in the book, along with subject-verb disagreement and double negatives. (e.g., "We was only around the corner" and "he couldn’t see no sign"). The author also uses "had" much more than necessary (I feel is pain on this one).

SAMPLING OF LOGIC PROBLEMS:

1) It's bigger in the inside: The cabin cart Samuel, Lizzie, and Joseph ride to the Capital is bigger than their house. I can only assume this is a horse drawn carriage created by Dr Who. Either that, or they live in a "coffin home."
2) Utopian Military: Samuel doesn't seem to have a job. He pretty much does whatever he wants - whenever he wants. Not even the Air Force is this laid back.
3) Robert's solo journey: It's 3-4 hours by horseback to reach the beach from the castle. Is Henry trying to give the portly Robert a heart attack? And Robert is supposed to wait till dark to leave the boat. Everyone would be asleep when he arrived. Not a bad plan if Henry wants William dead.
4) Robert suffers from amnesia: He grew up in the palace, but doesn't know anything about it. "As Robert stood there now, he admired the bridge, wondering where each side led ... That has to be the palace."
5) The fire: Everyone in their homes is oblivious. There was no bucket brigade from the citizens. The hundred horses in the stable didn't care either (which is where Lizzie would be if she knew).
6) Robert disappears: Apparently, nobody can track a trail of blood.

[S.K. Wee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story begins several years after the events of The Accidental Cannibal. I haven’t read the first novel but I this one can certainly stand on its own. Samuel, his wife Lizzy, and their son Joseph live near the village of Great Northfields where they both grew up. They lead a simple but happy life but struggle to survive off the land. One day while checking traps for the evening meal, Samuel encounters a soldier wearing the uniform of King’s Armor. They end up in a brawl over the snared rabbit but Samuel wins the battle through the use of his powers. Powers that he had gained in his past as a cannibal, though it was accidental.
King William II learns of Samuel’s powers and recruits him into his army of ‘powered’ soldiers. Making the choice to help his King and country, Samuel leads his family to the capital of Morsovia and a whole new life. The story provides great detail on all their new experiences during the travel and getting acquainted with their new environment. For the most part, I enjoyed getting to know them and the world created by Rutter. The King’s brother is threatening to take the throne from the rightful heir and King William needs his most trusted military for protection. I would have loved to learn more about all the other ‘powered’ as there seemed to be an assortment of people and powers. The first half of the book could easily be trimmed of the unnecessary details of Samuel’s life, but I would have liked more about his new life. I absolutely loved the cover art along with the unique and creative world.

[Natalie Le Roux · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book, and even though I have not read the first installment of the Accidental Cannibal series, this book stands just fine on its own.
Samuel gains his powers by eating flesh and uses them to fight for his King and country. I did expect a bit more action in this story, but it still reads well for me.
The story could do with another, thorough edit, just to iron out some of the mistakes, but all in all, I found it entertaining.
It gets a little slow in the pacing in some parts but then picks up in others. Samuel loves his family very much, and besides the lag in the plot from time to time, I do like how that love is shown in this story.
Overall, I enjoyed this story, and will now be reading the first book, to catch up on everything. Well done, looking forward to more.

[Joyce Hertzoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting

Although I didn't read the first book in the series, this could stand alone. Samuel is recruited by the king to join his soldiers. Soon after he and his family move to the capital, he's made a captain. Eventually he helps the king defeat his brother. The book could use some tightening.