Defender

Shadows of Sunlight City #4

by Tony Ross

The end has come.Martial law has been declared in Sunlight City. Granter Andrew McKellan has overthrown his fellow leaders and now rules alone. The formerly freewheeling city has been locked down, its promises of unlimited freedom crushed under McKellan’s iron fist, and rebellion will not be tolerated.But McKellan is not satisfied. Not when he has been betrayed by those he once trusted and wounded more deeply than any man can bear. McKellan puts his endgame into motion and hides himself within the walls of the Defender, a towering weapons platform with terrifying firepower. No one will penetrate his armor. Those who try will be met with devastating force. And McKellan has one last card to play to guarantee his survival… or the ultimate destruction of all who oppose him.And five and a half million people in Sunlight City may die.Sunlight City’s only hope lies in Mona Johansen, Tom Collins and several unlikely alliances of wounded, desperate people, hunted by Granter McKellan and thrown together by two common the fight for survival and the liberation of Sunlight City. But any hope of defeating the mad Granter lies in breaking through walls built strong enough to withstand any punishment.Both his walls and their own.Defender, the concluding chapter in a story that began in Victor and continued through Orion and Brimstone, is a story of emotional walls, the wounds people carry and hope for healing. Defender is a thrilling tale of conflict and loss, redemption and sacrifice, and most of all, the power of God’s love.

354 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 26, 2018

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Tony Ross is an author who's not afraid of the dark.

In his first book, "The Ugly Duckling's Revenge," he opens the door to his own past struggles with alcoholism and depression. He shares what God did to pull him out and offers a message of hope to readers: "If God can do it for me, He can do it for you!" "The Ugly Duckling's Revenge" is currently out of print, but Tony is considering updating and reprinting it to share his message with new readers.

Tony's next books, "Victor" and "Orion," are what he defines as "thrillers for thinkers," stories filled with action, adrenalin and deep spiritual meaning, offering tension and drama as well as light and hope. "Victor" won a silver medal for Christian Fiction in the Readers Favorite 2013 International Award Contest. More thrillers follow in "Brimstone" and "Defender," completing the four-book series "Shadows of Sunlight City," which looks at humanity's search for eternal life through the eyes of a variety of flawed and compelling characters.

"Melody's Memory" is a departure from thrillers; it's a novella focusing less on suspense and action and more on the condition of the heart. Tony invites readers to open the long-locked doors of their own hearts, shine the light on what may be hidden there, and allow healing to come.

Tony is now revisiting the world he created in "Victor" and "Orion" in The Black Cat Chronicles, a series of short novellas set before "Victor." Three books have been released, "Omega: The Bitter Pill," "Ares: The Gates of Hell," and "Grendel: Fear of the Dark," with two more projected to follow.

When he's not writing, Tony enjoys country living, backyard campfires, recreational reading and outdoor sports. He has been a member of the ministry team at Calvary Apostolic Church in Clintonville, WI since 2004. Tony is happily married and has five children.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

The previous book, Brimstone, ended with quite the cliffhanger. Thankfully, this book was already out and I didn't have to wait long to find out what happened.

Defender is an awesome action packed book that shows what can happen when an evil power hungry individual has too much power in his hands. In a world of nanobots, government seeing everything you do, and people living godless lives, those doing right are a minority. As with most books like this, you assume the good guys will win, but it was still a suspenseful and great read getting to that point.

Slight spoiler: it looked like something bad happened at the end of the last book, which I figured wasn't going to happen......and I was right, but then the author made me think it did happen towards the end of this book... and again staved off my disappointment by not letting it happen.

I enjoyed this book, and really liked the characters, especially David.

[Terry Conrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the last story about Sunlight City. One granter has taken over and wants all the others dead. Mona and David are fighting to survive. How do you survive when someone chasing you cannot die?
This book is full of action and suspense like the others. I love the creativity authors have in this genre.
I cannot say a lot of what I wish to say because it would give the reader too much information. Not only that but the synopsis tells what needs to be said about the story. In all this action filled fiction is so much more. God's grace and mercy. His forgiveness, redemption and sacrifice. God has given this author a great talent. I loved it.

[Reggi Broach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gets off to a running start and doesn't slow down. It keeps you hanging onto that tiny bit of hope yet resolve to do the right thing no matter the cost.