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Five Seconds Til Dark
In Five Seconds Til Dark, the reader is taken on a journey through the eyes of Marcello Scott. Scott appears to be a normal mischievous teenager until a tragic accident claims the life of his best friend. As life seems to do ever-so-often, the tragedy took something from Scott, but it also blessed him with a gift that would take him some time to grasp. Scott realizes that he has the ability to freeze time around him for five seconds – leaving him to wander about freely while everything around him is paused.
Scott’s father is a special forces veteran and CIA operative who has conditioned him to survive by any means necessary. Scott is taught from an early age, a theory of protecting the weak and oppressed. He has a sense of patriotism and heroism after being inspired by his father who is his lone parent. When Scott’s father mysteriously dies in the field, Scott spirals and ends up in jail where he’s thrust into a survival of the fittest environment and taps into his supernatural power to live.
Scott survives prison and is reintroduced into the world, alone and equipped with a new mindset of judge, jury and executioner. Feeling bitter about his father’s passing, and his newfound enlightenment of the evils of man, he embarks on a life of hunting the wolves of the world and exacting retribution in a manner that he sees fit. Scott soon realizes that each time he uses his superpower, his health declines. With each bout of sickness increasing in intensity, Scott comes to the realization that playing God is slowly killing him.
Scott begins to question all that makes sense in his world as things don’t seem to add up anymore. Paranoia sets in when trusted people around him start acting strange. The story if filled with twists around every corner and is an absolute page-turner.
Scott’s father is a special forces veteran and CIA operative who has conditioned him to survive by any means necessary. Scott is taught from an early age, a theory of protecting the weak and oppressed. He has a sense of patriotism and heroism after being inspired by his father who is his lone parent. When Scott’s father mysteriously dies in the field, Scott spirals and ends up in jail where he’s thrust into a survival of the fittest environment and taps into his supernatural power to live.
Scott survives prison and is reintroduced into the world, alone and equipped with a new mindset of judge, jury and executioner. Feeling bitter about his father’s passing, and his newfound enlightenment of the evils of man, he embarks on a life of hunting the wolves of the world and exacting retribution in a manner that he sees fit. Scott soon realizes that each time he uses his superpower, his health declines. With each bout of sickness increasing in intensity, Scott comes to the realization that playing God is slowly killing him.
Scott begins to question all that makes sense in his world as things don’t seem to add up anymore. Paranoia sets in when trusted people around him start acting strange. The story if filled with twists around every corner and is an absolute page-turner.
132 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 17, 2019
5 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 15, 2020
Excellent Action-Adventure With A Different Twist
Marcello Scott can crack his neck and stop time for 5 seconds, but every time he does it, he is one step closer to death. It is not a free gift of nature.
Where: Southern Louisiana- takes place in a small town, New Orleans, and deep in the swamp.
What happens: Marcello, a bartender, dishes out vigilante justice. Other areas in the story are prostitution, the mob, greed, murder, sex, love, and the CIA.
What’s unique: The hero has the ability to snap his neck and stop time for 5 seconds. When I read this as one of the premises of the book, I really wondered what you could do in 5 seconds. The answer is enough to save lives in the right situation.
Overall: Marcello has been taught by his father that it is the responsibility of the strong to protect the weak (the sheep). Marcello (a sheepdog) feels obligated to protect the weak-children, old people and women from the bad people (wolves) in the world.
The story starts in a bar with great details and takes off from there with a lot of twists and turns. It has a good ending. There is a small detail in the ending that is endearing, and you’ll probably never forget.
You can tell the author, Chris Galvez, is a cop. It comes through in the realism and details of the story. Keep the stories coming and “Let’s be careful out there.”
Strongly recommend.
Review by Mike Slavin author of award-winning Kill Crime (action-packed thriller on Amazon to buy or KU)
Marcello Scott can crack his neck and stop time for 5 seconds, but every time he does it, he is one step closer to death. It is not a free gift of nature.
Where: Southern Louisiana- takes place in a small town, New Orleans, and deep in the swamp.
What happens: Marcello, a bartender, dishes out vigilante justice. Other areas in the story are prostitution, the mob, greed, murder, sex, love, and the CIA.
What’s unique: The hero has the ability to snap his neck and stop time for 5 seconds. When I read this as one of the premises of the book, I really wondered what you could do in 5 seconds. The answer is enough to save lives in the right situation.
Overall: Marcello has been taught by his father that it is the responsibility of the strong to protect the weak (the sheep). Marcello (a sheepdog) feels obligated to protect the weak-children, old people and women from the bad people (wolves) in the world.
The story starts in a bar with great details and takes off from there with a lot of twists and turns. It has a good ending. There is a small detail in the ending that is endearing, and you’ll probably never forget.
You can tell the author, Chris Galvez, is a cop. It comes through in the realism and details of the story. Keep the stories coming and “Let’s be careful out there.”
Strongly recommend.
Review by Mike Slavin author of award-winning Kill Crime (action-packed thriller on Amazon to buy or KU)
Want to read
February 3, 2020Recommended by A Robert Allen and Michael.
December 26, 2019
I received this book via Library Thing Member Giveaways
"If you had a gift or an unexplainable power that make you super or elite, what would you do with it?"
When he was a teenager, Marcello and two of his friends were in a car accident. His friend Chris was pronounced dead at the scene. Jason, the driver, was ok. Marcello was out for a matter of seconds, long enough for him to have an out of body experience, and then snapped back into his body (and reality). His neck was strained and he had to wear a soft neckbrace but nothing was broken.
Later, Marcello discovered that he had somehow "activated" a "superpower" or a gift, if you will. If he popped his neck, time stopped for 5 seconds. Within that 5 seconds, he could change the course of events. He could choose to save someone, exact revenge, etc. This set a series of things in motion. In the beginning of the book the question is asked, if you had this "gift" what would you do? For what would you use it? Good or bad? Selfless or selfish?
I loved this book. I was "on the edge of my seat" throughout the entire book. It grabbed me at page one and held me hostage until page 163. I read it from beginning to end in a matter of a couple of hours.
The character development was perfect. The relationships within the story were well thought out. Each person and their relationship to the other characters is described so that there is no confusion. The characteristics of each person is also described so that you can picture the person, you know the person, and feel as if you are there in the story with them.
The plot is original. It wasn't something that has been played out like so many others that we read today. Mr. Galvez had obviously done his homework when writing in regards to government agencies and some of their capabilities. This, and his experiences as a police officer (which were used as well) made the book more believable. All in all, I was completely satisfied with Five Seconds Til Dark and thankful that I was lucky enough to have won it.
Until the Library Thing Members Giveaway, I had never heard of this book nor had I heard of the author. If I had seen it in a store, library, etc. I more than likely would not have picked this book up. I entered the giveaway on a whim and am very glad that I did. The summary does not do this book justice. Read it. You will not be disappointed!
This is the first book that
"If you had a gift or an unexplainable power that make you super or elite, what would you do with it?"
When he was a teenager, Marcello and two of his friends were in a car accident. His friend Chris was pronounced dead at the scene. Jason, the driver, was ok. Marcello was out for a matter of seconds, long enough for him to have an out of body experience, and then snapped back into his body (and reality). His neck was strained and he had to wear a soft neckbrace but nothing was broken.
Later, Marcello discovered that he had somehow "activated" a "superpower" or a gift, if you will. If he popped his neck, time stopped for 5 seconds. Within that 5 seconds, he could change the course of events. He could choose to save someone, exact revenge, etc. This set a series of things in motion. In the beginning of the book the question is asked, if you had this "gift" what would you do? For what would you use it? Good or bad? Selfless or selfish?
I loved this book. I was "on the edge of my seat" throughout the entire book. It grabbed me at page one and held me hostage until page 163. I read it from beginning to end in a matter of a couple of hours.
The character development was perfect. The relationships within the story were well thought out. Each person and their relationship to the other characters is described so that there is no confusion. The characteristics of each person is also described so that you can picture the person, you know the person, and feel as if you are there in the story with them.
The plot is original. It wasn't something that has been played out like so many others that we read today. Mr. Galvez had obviously done his homework when writing in regards to government agencies and some of their capabilities. This, and his experiences as a police officer (which were used as well) made the book more believable. All in all, I was completely satisfied with Five Seconds Til Dark and thankful that I was lucky enough to have won it.
Until the Library Thing Members Giveaway, I had never heard of this book nor had I heard of the author. If I had seen it in a store, library, etc. I more than likely would not have picked this book up. I entered the giveaway on a whim and am very glad that I did. The summary does not do this book justice. Read it. You will not be disappointed!
This is the first book that
February 14, 2021
This book was recommended to me by friend and author Mike Slavin, and I genuinely appreciate the suggestion. This book moves very, very fast – so 150 pages is doable in one sitting. This is a great book about vigilante-justice, with a sci-fi, paranormal twist. The “hero” Marcello can crack his neck and stop time for five seconds. Although not immediately apparent to Marcello, whenever he stops time, he himself is physically drained and one step closer to the death that awaits us all. Marcello was taught by his father that it is the duty of the strong to protect the weak, just as the sheepdog protects the flock of sheep from predatory wolves. (Suggest everyone read essay by LTC Ret David Grossman – available online from many sites, “On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs” from Grossman’s book ON COMBAT.) The “bad guys” who earn the vigilante justice are truly despicable, - mobsters, murderers, rapists, and child abductors, human traffickers. And Marcello has some truly ingenious ideas about how to provide justice in truly imaginative ways. The author’s life experience as a New Orleans police officer I suspect is largely responsible for the realistic portrayal of the despicable elements of society who attract the attention of Marcello. This book is truly action-packed. Agree with another reviewer’s comment that this author writes in short sentences. For me not a problem…. Seems like bullets out of a gun. Agree with comparison to the PUNISHER
November 9, 2019
Christopher Galvez is a great storyteller. This book is gripping, sexy, and full of twists and turns. I can't wait to read more of his books. Magical realism at its finest.
February 14, 2021
This book was recommended to me by friend and author Mike Slavin, and I genuinely appreciate the suggestion. This book moves very, very fast – so 150 pages is doable in one sitting. This is a great book about vigilante-justice, with a sci-fi, paranormal twist. The “hero” Marcello can crack his neck and stop time for five seconds. Although not immediately apparent to Marcello, whenever he stops time, he himself is physically drained and one step closer to the death that awaits us all. Marcello was taught by his father that it is the duty of the strong to protect the weak, just as the sheepdog protects the flock of sheep from predatory wolves. (Suggest everyone read essay by LTC Ret David Grossman – available online from many sites, “On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs” from Grossman’s book ON COMBAT.) The “bad guys” who earn the vigilante justice are truly despicable, - mobsters, murderers, rapists, and child abductors, human traffickers. And Marcello has some truly ingenious ideas about how to provide justice in truly imaginative ways. The author’s life experience as a New Orleans police officer I suspect is largely responsible for the realistic portrayal of the despicable elements of society who attract the attention of Marcello. This book is truly action-packed. Agree with another reviewer’s comment that this author writes in short sentences. For me not a problem…. Seems like bullets out of a gun. Agree with comparison to the PUNISHER
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews