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DEMIGODS
When Supernaturals are implicated in terrorism the world is conditioned to look the other way, except for one dying little boy with nothing to lose.
In a world where reclusive Supernaturals are in touch with Dark Matter, the humans have spread out and claimed the earth. But with the ascendancy of Dragomir as Interim President of the Council of Power, everything is about to change.
Steven Arkin was human, but now he is the world’s only human-turned-Supernatural. Discovered in a car wreck by a radical physicist, Steve Arkin became the greatest “Lab Rat” our species has produced.
D’Andre Walker, ten-years-old, spends his last days watching TV in the Bronx Children’s Hospital. But, when a rare incident appears on screen, he becomes involved. The collateral damage–a murdered baby–appears to implicate Supernaturals. Are they bad guys or heroes?
When D’Andre is randomly selected to meet Supernatural Steve Arkin through the Wish to Dream Foundation, he speaks out about the baby in front of the world’s media, throwing Dragomir’s entire Supernatural New World Order into disarray.
The fate of the earth will be entirely up to Supernatural Steven Arkin.
In a world where reclusive Supernaturals are in touch with Dark Matter, the humans have spread out and claimed the earth. But with the ascendancy of Dragomir as Interim President of the Council of Power, everything is about to change.
Steven Arkin was human, but now he is the world’s only human-turned-Supernatural. Discovered in a car wreck by a radical physicist, Steve Arkin became the greatest “Lab Rat” our species has produced.
D’Andre Walker, ten-years-old, spends his last days watching TV in the Bronx Children’s Hospital. But, when a rare incident appears on screen, he becomes involved. The collateral damage–a murdered baby–appears to implicate Supernaturals. Are they bad guys or heroes?
When D’Andre is randomly selected to meet Supernatural Steve Arkin through the Wish to Dream Foundation, he speaks out about the baby in front of the world’s media, throwing Dragomir’s entire Supernatural New World Order into disarray.
The fate of the earth will be entirely up to Supernatural Steven Arkin.
264 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 26, 2019
About the author
J. Giambrone
5 books82 followersDEMIGODS
When Supernaturals are implicated in terrorism the world is conditioned to look the other way, except for one dying little boy with nothing to lose.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TSRQMQR
TRANSFIXION: Early one morning society ended, and Kaylee Colton found herself at the center of a war no one understood.
https://amzn.to/2HzFdka
WRECKING BALLS: recounts the legendary feud between stand-up comedians Charleston Cranston and Gary Giordano.
https://amzn.to/2HdYCZu
HELL OF A DEAL: A Supernatural Satire.
https://amzn.to/2Hq3uKk
Upcoming:
THE SCOUSERS is a family history set during World War Two.
When Supernaturals are implicated in terrorism the world is conditioned to look the other way, except for one dying little boy with nothing to lose.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TSRQMQR
TRANSFIXION: Early one morning society ended, and Kaylee Colton found herself at the center of a war no one understood.
https://amzn.to/2HzFdka
WRECKING BALLS: recounts the legendary feud between stand-up comedians Charleston Cranston and Gary Giordano.
https://amzn.to/2HdYCZu
HELL OF A DEAL: A Supernatural Satire.
https://amzn.to/2Hq3uKk
Upcoming:
THE SCOUSERS is a family history set during World War Two.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 14, 2019
Think you are too old for comic book heroes? J. Giambrone has the answer in DEMIGODS-all words, no pictures and a good-hearted, All-American "result of dark matter experimentation," Supernatural Steve Arkin. Able to fly into space, with supernatural strength and healing, Steve Arkin is a human supernatural in a world where gods and demigods exist for all over the galaxy. He also has a heart of gold when it comes to sick or dying children and the integrity to never let them down. When he discovers the demigods have gone over to the dark side, threatening to take over our planet, it is up to Steve to save the day with the help of a dying young boy.
Let go of reality and enjoy this superhero tale as Joe Giambrone creates all the excitement of comic books with a lot more substance. A quick read with nasty villains, lots of deceit and only one man who has any hope of saving the planet, because one little boy believes in him.
Have fun with this one, it’s a keeper for all ages to enjoy, because we all need a hero to look up to!
I received a complimentary copy from J. Giambrone. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Publisher: Indies United Publishing House, LLC. (September 26, 2019)
Publication Date: September 26, 2019
Genre: YA (?) Fantasy
Print Length: 243 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com
Let go of reality and enjoy this superhero tale as Joe Giambrone creates all the excitement of comic books with a lot more substance. A quick read with nasty villains, lots of deceit and only one man who has any hope of saving the planet, because one little boy believes in him.
Have fun with this one, it’s a keeper for all ages to enjoy, because we all need a hero to look up to!
I received a complimentary copy from J. Giambrone. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Publisher: Indies United Publishing House, LLC. (September 26, 2019)
Publication Date: September 26, 2019
Genre: YA (?) Fantasy
Print Length: 243 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com
February 2, 2022
I love a great supernatural story!
What a wonderful story in DEMIGODS by Joe Giambrone. I am a big fan of this author! As I am a big superhero fan, I know what dark matter is, and because I am a fan of supernatural stories, I just dove right into this book. Demigods, yes, a mythic (maybe) or legend of part God and part Human. This is a story I read cover to cover. The plot was a mix of survival, terrorism, and experimentation, creating something from a human, that is no longer human. This is where the word "super" in "supernatural" comes into play. Not everything is cut and dry, and there are a lot of twists, which brought this reader on a grand adventure, in a world where anything is probable. This author brings the story to life. I love it when a Legacy author sends me more of their work! The thrills and intrigue is written clearly. Action-packed and it takes the reader on a superb adventure. This read is so engrossing that it brings you right in the middle of the story. This read is more than just words on a page. Definitely an unpredictable story, my favorite kind! DEMIGODS is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I look forward to reading many more titles by this author.
What a wonderful story in DEMIGODS by Joe Giambrone. I am a big fan of this author! As I am a big superhero fan, I know what dark matter is, and because I am a fan of supernatural stories, I just dove right into this book. Demigods, yes, a mythic (maybe) or legend of part God and part Human. This is a story I read cover to cover. The plot was a mix of survival, terrorism, and experimentation, creating something from a human, that is no longer human. This is where the word "super" in "supernatural" comes into play. Not everything is cut and dry, and there are a lot of twists, which brought this reader on a grand adventure, in a world where anything is probable. This author brings the story to life. I love it when a Legacy author sends me more of their work! The thrills and intrigue is written clearly. Action-packed and it takes the reader on a superb adventure. This read is so engrossing that it brings you right in the middle of the story. This read is more than just words on a page. Definitely an unpredictable story, my favorite kind! DEMIGODS is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I look forward to reading many more titles by this author.
June 7, 2021
This was an interesting read and a difficult review to write. This story had the action, had the good versus bad and the naivety of the reluctant hero. A perfectly laid out villainous plan that magically fails in the end and even a sick child to empathise with. It honestly should’ve been amazing. However, with all that going for it It didn’t quite deliver.
This book hits that old adage of show don’t tell in a way that created good well-written scenes but not much connection for me. There was a lot of show mostly in the form of flashbacks. The whole back story of how Steve the human became a supernatural took up a few chapters. I don’t even remember the scientist’s name involved in them. I was so focused on what happened in the chapter before these scenes and where they would lead I skimmed them to get back to the main plot.
He’s a super, someone made him this way, great. What about now? The same with flashbacks to Steve’s past. He lost his family in a crash. I’m there, I get it. He has memories of them alive, totally get it. But what about now? How does this affect his newfound possible immortality? How does it affect the way he connects with D’Andre, a dying child older than his own son was in the crash. All this information from the past must be affecting his decisions somehow. I couldn’t really connect to this because I had all the show but no reaction. I could make assumptions about how all the flashbacks affect him but this is not a short story. It’s more of a novella at about 160 pages so there is plenty of page time to delve into Steve’s e mind and how his past is directly related to the task at hand. Especially so with how he deals with D’Andre but only really if some of the focus is diverted from showing the backstory into the effects of the backstory in the present.
This sums up my opinion really of all the flashbacks except for Dragomir. All of his backstories clearly related to his present-day action and without any guesswork or assumptions. Just as it should be.
It wasn’t just Steve. D’Andre, who had a much smaller role than I expected given the blurb, I couldn’t connect with either. Plot spoiler, I think, but he loses his parents, in a plane crash. He finds this out watching TV with his grandpa only hours after they dropped him off and the next time we see him it’s just business as usual. Story continues. This kid is dying, he’s lost his parents, his grandfather has just lost a child and… nothing? That’s some heavy emotional stuff and it never gets talked about except for the one time D’Andre says to Steve my parents are dead and the second time when he says my mom died in a plane crash. It’s a big missed opportunity to get me into the head of the character. Glossed over for the ever-important fact that he’s the next child in the Wish To Dream Foundation to fly with Super Steve so he can then drop the bomb mentioned in the blurb about the supers being caught exiting a crime scene on video upon meeting Steve. This was not the only time jump after something important would happen just to go to the next scene.
It felt like a lot of time that could be spent making the reader connect with the two main characters was used for backstory, or to jump to another plot scene. ‘This video has to be seen because later in the plot’… ‘this thing has to be said because next there’s.’.. and so on and so forth. But all of the reactions and in-between 'plot setup' stuff are left out so it’s just one scene jump to the next. Sometimes the transitions worked and other times it was like… How did we get here? Flips back a few pages to try to connect the present scene directly to the last which sometimes was before a flashback so more than a few pages had to be turned to find the connecting scene to even figure out if they did indeed connect.
After all this back and forth the second half of the book was amazing. It flowed well I didn’t skim much and I was in it. Like really in it. The pace was perfect. Even with the predictable and roll-eyes inducing new hero stuff that almost seemed unnecessary, I could still enjoy it. Even the oh too easy end and cliche ‘I don’t want to be the hero stuff after it’ still didn’t take away from the reasonably good flow and heightened action. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough dive into the emotional state of the characters for me to feel what I should’ve felt when the end finally came. Was it still good, that’s a hard yes, but it left me feeling meh because good was all it was.
I had high hopes for this book even though I knew where it was going within the first few chapters. Other than some awkward or non-existent transitions, this was a well-written book with clearly defined plot points and interesting villains. Miss Melt was my favourite, but even she did two things to annoy me. She got angry about the same thing twice Something that someone who had lived for thousands of years would’ve known wasn’t going to be as easy as she expected it to be. She came off as way smarter than that. Even still I expected this story to leap based on chapter one. It didn’t fail but didn’t live up either.
As far as villains go there are henchmen, an evil villain hell-bent on revenge, a number two who seems like they should be number one but is happy with their role, minus the one Miss Melt flashback, the villain storyline was great. I got them. Like really got them. I even laughed a bit. It’s safe to say I probably loved them all. Villains get to have the most fun so I’m glad I loved these guys, especially Miss Melt. I could’ve used more of her. She got my biggest laughs. Evil villain genius writing she was.
This story was good, not great but good. If you’re into show and not tell it’s better than good. It’s probably amazing. Almost every scene besides the flashbacks is plot moving. Without the flashbacks, the pace is good, especially in the second half, or third act depending on your perception, when the book really gets going. It’s your feel-good, naive reluctant superhero gets a reality check and saves the day with the bad guys being defeated but not destroyed, (seriously they should’ve been locked up or killed but meh. That’s how these hero stories are.) type of story. If all of that is what you’re looking for, this story delivers tenfold, read it. But if you’re trying to connect on a deeper level with the two lead characters this might not be your flave. Not to say you won’t enjoy it. Cause I certainly did once I got through the beginning, but this is definitely a superhero adventure and claims that boldly and successfully without dipping into any more developed territory.
Review Written for www.readingismydrug.com
This book hits that old adage of show don’t tell in a way that created good well-written scenes but not much connection for me. There was a lot of show mostly in the form of flashbacks. The whole back story of how Steve the human became a supernatural took up a few chapters. I don’t even remember the scientist’s name involved in them. I was so focused on what happened in the chapter before these scenes and where they would lead I skimmed them to get back to the main plot.
He’s a super, someone made him this way, great. What about now? The same with flashbacks to Steve’s past. He lost his family in a crash. I’m there, I get it. He has memories of them alive, totally get it. But what about now? How does this affect his newfound possible immortality? How does it affect the way he connects with D’Andre, a dying child older than his own son was in the crash. All this information from the past must be affecting his decisions somehow. I couldn’t really connect to this because I had all the show but no reaction. I could make assumptions about how all the flashbacks affect him but this is not a short story. It’s more of a novella at about 160 pages so there is plenty of page time to delve into Steve’s e mind and how his past is directly related to the task at hand. Especially so with how he deals with D’Andre but only really if some of the focus is diverted from showing the backstory into the effects of the backstory in the present.
This sums up my opinion really of all the flashbacks except for Dragomir. All of his backstories clearly related to his present-day action and without any guesswork or assumptions. Just as it should be.
It wasn’t just Steve. D’Andre, who had a much smaller role than I expected given the blurb, I couldn’t connect with either. Plot spoiler, I think, but he loses his parents, in a plane crash. He finds this out watching TV with his grandpa only hours after they dropped him off and the next time we see him it’s just business as usual. Story continues. This kid is dying, he’s lost his parents, his grandfather has just lost a child and… nothing? That’s some heavy emotional stuff and it never gets talked about except for the one time D’Andre says to Steve my parents are dead and the second time when he says my mom died in a plane crash. It’s a big missed opportunity to get me into the head of the character. Glossed over for the ever-important fact that he’s the next child in the Wish To Dream Foundation to fly with Super Steve so he can then drop the bomb mentioned in the blurb about the supers being caught exiting a crime scene on video upon meeting Steve. This was not the only time jump after something important would happen just to go to the next scene.
It felt like a lot of time that could be spent making the reader connect with the two main characters was used for backstory, or to jump to another plot scene. ‘This video has to be seen because later in the plot’… ‘this thing has to be said because next there’s.’.. and so on and so forth. But all of the reactions and in-between 'plot setup' stuff are left out so it’s just one scene jump to the next. Sometimes the transitions worked and other times it was like… How did we get here? Flips back a few pages to try to connect the present scene directly to the last which sometimes was before a flashback so more than a few pages had to be turned to find the connecting scene to even figure out if they did indeed connect.
After all this back and forth the second half of the book was amazing. It flowed well I didn’t skim much and I was in it. Like really in it. The pace was perfect. Even with the predictable and roll-eyes inducing new hero stuff that almost seemed unnecessary, I could still enjoy it. Even the oh too easy end and cliche ‘I don’t want to be the hero stuff after it’ still didn’t take away from the reasonably good flow and heightened action. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough dive into the emotional state of the characters for me to feel what I should’ve felt when the end finally came. Was it still good, that’s a hard yes, but it left me feeling meh because good was all it was.
I had high hopes for this book even though I knew where it was going within the first few chapters. Other than some awkward or non-existent transitions, this was a well-written book with clearly defined plot points and interesting villains. Miss Melt was my favourite, but even she did two things to annoy me. She got angry about the same thing twice Something that someone who had lived for thousands of years would’ve known wasn’t going to be as easy as she expected it to be. She came off as way smarter than that. Even still I expected this story to leap based on chapter one. It didn’t fail but didn’t live up either.
As far as villains go there are henchmen, an evil villain hell-bent on revenge, a number two who seems like they should be number one but is happy with their role, minus the one Miss Melt flashback, the villain storyline was great. I got them. Like really got them. I even laughed a bit. It’s safe to say I probably loved them all. Villains get to have the most fun so I’m glad I loved these guys, especially Miss Melt. I could’ve used more of her. She got my biggest laughs. Evil villain genius writing she was.
This story was good, not great but good. If you’re into show and not tell it’s better than good. It’s probably amazing. Almost every scene besides the flashbacks is plot moving. Without the flashbacks, the pace is good, especially in the second half, or third act depending on your perception, when the book really gets going. It’s your feel-good, naive reluctant superhero gets a reality check and saves the day with the bad guys being defeated but not destroyed, (seriously they should’ve been locked up or killed but meh. That’s how these hero stories are.) type of story. If all of that is what you’re looking for, this story delivers tenfold, read it. But if you’re trying to connect on a deeper level with the two lead characters this might not be your flave. Not to say you won’t enjoy it. Cause I certainly did once I got through the beginning, but this is definitely a superhero adventure and claims that boldly and successfully without dipping into any more developed territory.
Review Written for www.readingismydrug.com
September 28, 2019
This was a fun read, it had a good storyline and interesting characters populated the book. I liked the idea of gods having to suffer humanity and how they interacted with each other and individual humans. This book goes to show, that even gods can make mistakes, and it can lead to unexpected results.
November 24, 2019
I thought this was a really great story. I'd love to see it as a comic book or graphic novel.
February 24, 2020
I never expected to find a book that was so Avengers Civil War as this book is. The author has crafted a work that will not only resonate with Marvel and DC Universe Fans but one that deserves feature film treatment. Without a shadow of a doubt, Steve Arkin could become the next beloved Superhero around the globe.
The storyline is gripping and edge of the seat stuff. The reader is forced to try to reason with why things happen and is left guessing what will come next.
Beyond the rich majesty of a superhero book, this book is truly much more. There are a couple of underlining themes. One is the difficult path people face with dealing with extreme grief. The second is the scourge that is the world's worst evil superhero - childhood critical illness. That the author is able to tell the story of Steve in a way that shows will can overcome grief is incredible.
Wouldn't be a dream of every parent of a critically ill child to be able to transform them from near death to Supernatural in ability?
The way that Steve's life mission seems to ease the suffering of the innocent is so very touching and really may be the most important lesson in the book. The great superhero that these ill children need is a miracle cure that can give them back life.
My Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Mr. N
This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/si...
The storyline is gripping and edge of the seat stuff. The reader is forced to try to reason with why things happen and is left guessing what will come next.
Beyond the rich majesty of a superhero book, this book is truly much more. There are a couple of underlining themes. One is the difficult path people face with dealing with extreme grief. The second is the scourge that is the world's worst evil superhero - childhood critical illness. That the author is able to tell the story of Steve in a way that shows will can overcome grief is incredible.
Wouldn't be a dream of every parent of a critically ill child to be able to transform them from near death to Supernatural in ability?
The way that Steve's life mission seems to ease the suffering of the innocent is so very touching and really may be the most important lesson in the book. The great superhero that these ill children need is a miracle cure that can give them back life.
My Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Mr. N
This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/si...
November 3, 2019
Demigods is an amazingly crafted book that will awaken the comic book lover in all of us
Setting the stage in a world under duress, the excitement comes when pairing it with some unlikely heroes. It will have you turning page after page waiting on bated breath for the next advancement. I guarantee you will fall in love with the concepts that it provides, the depth of the characters- and watching them grow in different situations.
Many questions to be answered within its pages. Many stories to be told with a plethora of characters, all boasting different, sometimes conflicting personalities. It has something for everyone. From romance, to action, to the page gripping intensity of a thriller.
Joe did an incredible job with this piece- you can almost feel the emotions as they jump from the page.
In a world in peril, in need of a literature hero, he provides us with this wonderful novel and does not disappoint!
Setting the stage in a world under duress, the excitement comes when pairing it with some unlikely heroes. It will have you turning page after page waiting on bated breath for the next advancement. I guarantee you will fall in love with the concepts that it provides, the depth of the characters- and watching them grow in different situations.
Many questions to be answered within its pages. Many stories to be told with a plethora of characters, all boasting different, sometimes conflicting personalities. It has something for everyone. From romance, to action, to the page gripping intensity of a thriller.
Joe did an incredible job with this piece- you can almost feel the emotions as they jump from the page.
In a world in peril, in need of a literature hero, he provides us with this wonderful novel and does not disappoint!
September 27, 2019
Good book for kids! Well written!
Although I am probably a little old for the target audience of this book, I found it a good read. The story flowed well, the characters were well written, and the overall quality of the book made it a good Young-adult or middle-school book. If you have kids, this would be a great book to get them.
Although I am probably a little old for the target audience of this book, I found it a good read. The story flowed well, the characters were well written, and the overall quality of the book made it a good Young-adult or middle-school book. If you have kids, this would be a great book to get them.
Want to Read
November 11, 2019Thank you for the opportunity to review this book as a giveaway recipient. I am excited to read it and will update my thoughts on this book soon!
January 12, 2020
This was a decent book though I had a bit of trouble really getting into it. It would have benefited from a bit more world building I think. It would be a fun YA read
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews