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Struck
When lightning strikes Barry Andrews as he hikes among petroglyphs in Albuquerque, it's more than an accident of nature. It's a calling. The surge of energy awakens abilities he's carried since birth. Earth's fate is now tied to Barry's, and Barry's destiny is linked to the past.
A thousand years ago, the ancestors of the Pueblo Indians built an advanced civilization in Chaco Canyon. Seeking to tame their harsh environment, they used the precise alignment of their pueblos to tap into powers they ultimately couldn't control, and their meddling almost ended life on Earth. The Anasazi abandoned Chaco Canyon to prevent future generations from repeating their mistake.
But the pueblo ruins still hold power, and the desire to control it remains strong. One man, driven by greed, ignores Anasazi warnings and exploits the ancient secrets of Chaco. Now Barry must join forces with a Native American elder, accept his role as warrior, and save the earth.
A thousand years ago, the ancestors of the Pueblo Indians built an advanced civilization in Chaco Canyon. Seeking to tame their harsh environment, they used the precise alignment of their pueblos to tap into powers they ultimately couldn't control, and their meddling almost ended life on Earth. The Anasazi abandoned Chaco Canyon to prevent future generations from repeating their mistake.
But the pueblo ruins still hold power, and the desire to control it remains strong. One man, driven by greed, ignores Anasazi warnings and exploits the ancient secrets of Chaco. Now Barry must join forces with a Native American elder, accept his role as warrior, and save the earth.
- GenresParanormal
292 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
2 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
About the author
Keith Pyeatt
5 books26 followersAs a reader, I've always loved the added urgency and imagination a paranormal element adds to thrillers and suspense novels, so that's what I write. I also love well-developed characters, whether they're likable, despicable, tortured, or those in-between characters you can't decide whether to hate or love.
I've been writing novels since 1995 while living in a rural cabin in northeastern Vermont. I've moved around a lot since then. Now I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I have five published novels available on Amazon, and they slide between genres—psychological thriller, supernatural suspense, paranormal horror, and dark fantasy. My new release, The Sirens of Sayhurn, is a dark fantasy that reimagines the role of sirens, and I'm already planning a sequel.
My website
My Amazon Author Page
I've been writing novels since 1995 while living in a rural cabin in northeastern Vermont. I've moved around a lot since then. Now I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I have five published novels available on Amazon, and they slide between genres—psychological thriller, supernatural suspense, paranormal horror, and dark fantasy. My new release, The Sirens of Sayhurn, is a dark fantasy that reimagines the role of sirens, and I'm already planning a sequel.
My website
My Amazon Author Page
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 7, 2012
Loved this book. The story grabbed me right away. The author's descriptive skills put me in Rincanada Canyon - I could see the mountains and the petroglyphs; smell the rain; feel the electricity in the air, and experience being struck by lightning.
The characters are so well developed that I felt like I knew them. Barry - a very likable, compassionate, adventuresome, young, gay man has his life turned upside down after being struck by lightning. Martin, Barry's over-weight best friend - also likable, compassionate, etc., etc. supports Barry thru the aftermath of the strike. Sebastian and Manuel - loathsome. Thomas - elicits pity and fear. Carlos - a big teddy bear. The depictions of the Native Americans and their close connection to nature and cultural mysticism was fascinating. Good versus evil on a grand scale . . .
Throw all this together with a mystery that offers many twists and turns - a guaranteed Good Read!
The characters are so well developed that I felt like I knew them. Barry - a very likable, compassionate, adventuresome, young, gay man has his life turned upside down after being struck by lightning. Martin, Barry's over-weight best friend - also likable, compassionate, etc., etc. supports Barry thru the aftermath of the strike. Sebastian and Manuel - loathsome. Thomas - elicits pity and fear. Carlos - a big teddy bear. The depictions of the Native Americans and their close connection to nature and cultural mysticism was fascinating. Good versus evil on a grand scale . . .
Throw all this together with a mystery that offers many twists and turns - a guaranteed Good Read!
March 27, 2012
The books I count among my favorites are those whose well-drawn characters linger with me for days, or even weeks. They are the stories that rise above the norm, whose scenes are painted with such skill that I feel a deep sense of place, and suffer a bit of separation anxiety when I approach the last page and realize it's almost over. Struck, Keith Pyeatt's debut paranormal thriller, was such a book.
It's been two weeks since I finished the book, and Barry Andrews, Pyeatt's protagonist, still haunts me. Barry's life was preordained the minute his mother was struck by lightning when he lay curled in her womb. And when lightning finds him again at Albuquerque's Petroglyph National Monument, a series of predestined events are put into motion. The energy now stored within this likeable young man stir powers unimagined.
Against a backdrop of ancient pueblo ruins, slumbering volcanoes that unpredictably awaken, and bizarre disturbances in Chaco Canyon, Pyeatt introduces characters with great depth and a subtle touch of humor.
After being struck, Barry begins to notice bizarre effects. His palm, now marked by a symbol that pulses electric blue on occasion, helps him connect to other souls and carries messages to him about their sadness or fate. He knows when someone is about to die, and can help them peel the layers of pain away so they're free to move on to the next world. Sleep eludes him, and while he stumbles through his job in a daze, strange sensations continue to build within him.
Inexplicably drawn to Native American tribal elder Walter, Barry is invited into his mystical world, from the village of Amitolita where Walter and his wife live, to kivas in the Amitole Pueblo, to ceremonies in a sweat lodge where sage is strewn across the floor and piñon-infused water is boiled to scatter on hot stones to create cleansing steam.
Pyeatt's writing style is easy to swallow, yet innovative with strong poetic influences.
"It only took a moment until he got the sensation of being folded into a deep mixture of past and present that carried him far away from the kiva, far away from his body. He was cocooned somewhere, safe and warm and dark, yet all around him dozens of individual battles raged. Barry only sensed them, but it was enough to recognize their struggles. Life fought death, winter resisted spring, and chaos tugged at order."
The story plunges ahead, and we discover tribal elder Walter spent time training and working with Thomas Maguire, a browbeaten young man raised by a forceful, cruel grandfather. The tribal elder was driven to "prepare" this young man for a yet unnamed climatic event seen only in his spirit-visions, yet doubts have been mounting about the validity of Thomas as the earth's savior. The future holds something monstrous and potent, and Walter realizes he plays an integral role in its outcome.
When a bizarre power transfer ceremony based on Anasazi's ancient history drives supernatural powers into Thomas's being, he gradually turns from a man with a tumultuous and fragile psyche who simply needs to be loved, into a monster. Walter reluctantly recognizes this, and transfers his focus to Barry, the true warrior he's been waiting for all his life. Jealousy pushes Thomas further from his true nature, building inside him with an uncontrollable black force. Destiny calls for a showdown between Barry and Thomas, and the book rockets toward a surprising culmination.
Several of Pyeatt's characters are gay, and the author paints them with professional, loving brush strokes. Barry's sidekick Martin, an overweight waiter at Los Cuates Mexican restaurant, is diagnosed with a life threatening heart condition that leads to a torturous diet. Loveable and real, Martin becomes a clear favorite from the start and plays an important supporting role.
The story and characters are mesmerizing, but it was actually the writing that made me sit up and take notice:
"Pain pierced his lungs, as if the air he breathed had alchemized into something powdery and rough, toxic and thirsty. The agony spread. He couldn't stop it. Every cell in his body pulled at the poison, needing it, expecting it to provide oxygen as before."
See what I mean?
Keith Pyeatt's books are available through all bookstores, including Amazon.com, or purchase autographed copies via his website.
It's been two weeks since I finished the book, and Barry Andrews, Pyeatt's protagonist, still haunts me. Barry's life was preordained the minute his mother was struck by lightning when he lay curled in her womb. And when lightning finds him again at Albuquerque's Petroglyph National Monument, a series of predestined events are put into motion. The energy now stored within this likeable young man stir powers unimagined.
Against a backdrop of ancient pueblo ruins, slumbering volcanoes that unpredictably awaken, and bizarre disturbances in Chaco Canyon, Pyeatt introduces characters with great depth and a subtle touch of humor.
After being struck, Barry begins to notice bizarre effects. His palm, now marked by a symbol that pulses electric blue on occasion, helps him connect to other souls and carries messages to him about their sadness or fate. He knows when someone is about to die, and can help them peel the layers of pain away so they're free to move on to the next world. Sleep eludes him, and while he stumbles through his job in a daze, strange sensations continue to build within him.
Inexplicably drawn to Native American tribal elder Walter, Barry is invited into his mystical world, from the village of Amitolita where Walter and his wife live, to kivas in the Amitole Pueblo, to ceremonies in a sweat lodge where sage is strewn across the floor and piñon-infused water is boiled to scatter on hot stones to create cleansing steam.
Pyeatt's writing style is easy to swallow, yet innovative with strong poetic influences.
"It only took a moment until he got the sensation of being folded into a deep mixture of past and present that carried him far away from the kiva, far away from his body. He was cocooned somewhere, safe and warm and dark, yet all around him dozens of individual battles raged. Barry only sensed them, but it was enough to recognize their struggles. Life fought death, winter resisted spring, and chaos tugged at order."
The story plunges ahead, and we discover tribal elder Walter spent time training and working with Thomas Maguire, a browbeaten young man raised by a forceful, cruel grandfather. The tribal elder was driven to "prepare" this young man for a yet unnamed climatic event seen only in his spirit-visions, yet doubts have been mounting about the validity of Thomas as the earth's savior. The future holds something monstrous and potent, and Walter realizes he plays an integral role in its outcome.
When a bizarre power transfer ceremony based on Anasazi's ancient history drives supernatural powers into Thomas's being, he gradually turns from a man with a tumultuous and fragile psyche who simply needs to be loved, into a monster. Walter reluctantly recognizes this, and transfers his focus to Barry, the true warrior he's been waiting for all his life. Jealousy pushes Thomas further from his true nature, building inside him with an uncontrollable black force. Destiny calls for a showdown between Barry and Thomas, and the book rockets toward a surprising culmination.
Several of Pyeatt's characters are gay, and the author paints them with professional, loving brush strokes. Barry's sidekick Martin, an overweight waiter at Los Cuates Mexican restaurant, is diagnosed with a life threatening heart condition that leads to a torturous diet. Loveable and real, Martin becomes a clear favorite from the start and plays an important supporting role.
The story and characters are mesmerizing, but it was actually the writing that made me sit up and take notice:
"Pain pierced his lungs, as if the air he breathed had alchemized into something powdery and rough, toxic and thirsty. The agony spread. He couldn't stop it. Every cell in his body pulled at the poison, needing it, expecting it to provide oxygen as before."
See what I mean?
Keith Pyeatt's books are available through all bookstores, including Amazon.com, or purchase autographed copies via his website.
July 27, 2009
Keith Pyeatt is a combination of Tony Hillerman, Anne Rice, and Stephen King who intertwines the legends and mysticism of the Southwest with a jolt of energy and thrills.
I highly recommend this book for an exciting read.
I highly recommend this book for an exciting read.
July 19, 2009
Keith Pyeatt's STRUCK is a fascinating and original read. The novel opens with 23-year-old Barry getting struck by lightning while hiking a petrogylphs-filled trail in New Mexico. Doctors tell Barry how fortunate he is to survive the strike, but also warn him after-effects may yet appear. Barry's prepared, therefore, for the tingling in his hands and the chronic insomnia, but he doesn't expect his sudden ability to read people's minds nor his increased capacity to comfort those in need. Trying to understand what's happening to him, Barry returns to the hiking trial, and a Native American elder named Walter tells Barry the spirits have blessed him with a gift--one that comes with great purpose. Although Barry's mother--who also survived a lightning strike when she was pregnant with Barry--always told him his destiny was that of a warrior, Barry has his doubts. The likeable Barry, however, doesn't want to disappoint Walter, who shows such earnest belief in Barry as he mentors him to fully awaken his spiritual powers.
Thomas has also been bestowed powers from the spirit world. But his gift wasn't received naturally. Instead Thomas's grandfather conducted a grisly experiment on him--from knowledge he manipulated a Native American elder into sharing--with intentions of exploiting Thomas's gifts for evil means. While Thomas has no memory of the tribal ritual his grandfather performed, as Thomas becomes aware of his newly-bestowed gifts, the power corrupts him. Not only can Thomas read people's minds, he's able to manipulate people, animals, and nature. Thomas becomes convinced Walter is trying to steal his greater powers to instill in Barry, and Thomas fights to hold onto the powers that have given him the self-esteem he's always lacked, placing Barry--and the world--in grave danger. Despite the growing tension between Barry and Thomas, not even Thomas can deny a bond exists between them. But is Barry's good-hearted nature any kind of match for Thomas's greedy need for power?
Thomas's terrorizing accelarates as he struggles to hold onto his gifts, but glimpes of humanity shine through, making him the quintessential sympathetic villain. Further sympathy is garnered when the author takes us back in time (in chapters cleverly titled "Eight months before the lightning, "Fourteen days before the lightning," etc.) and Barry and Thomas's pasts are explored. While Barry was nurtured, Thomas was not. While Barry's homosexuality was accepted, Thomas's was not. While Barry's always had a sense of belonging, Thomas does not. While Barry's friends are trustworthy, Thomas's are NOT. Secondary characters are also interesting and varied, and the multiple points-of-view are handled quite adeptly.
Complementing the wonderful characterization in STRUCK is Pyeatt's rich and powerful writing style. As his words flow and the action increases he never loses our attention and builds a world that is set in present time, yet the ancient rituals and rich Native American culture act to transform the reader to a different place and time, as much as they do Barry.
While the novel is of normal length, I could have easily read about these characters longer in such an absorbing world.
Superb.
Thomas has also been bestowed powers from the spirit world. But his gift wasn't received naturally. Instead Thomas's grandfather conducted a grisly experiment on him--from knowledge he manipulated a Native American elder into sharing--with intentions of exploiting Thomas's gifts for evil means. While Thomas has no memory of the tribal ritual his grandfather performed, as Thomas becomes aware of his newly-bestowed gifts, the power corrupts him. Not only can Thomas read people's minds, he's able to manipulate people, animals, and nature. Thomas becomes convinced Walter is trying to steal his greater powers to instill in Barry, and Thomas fights to hold onto the powers that have given him the self-esteem he's always lacked, placing Barry--and the world--in grave danger. Despite the growing tension between Barry and Thomas, not even Thomas can deny a bond exists between them. But is Barry's good-hearted nature any kind of match for Thomas's greedy need for power?
Thomas's terrorizing accelarates as he struggles to hold onto his gifts, but glimpes of humanity shine through, making him the quintessential sympathetic villain. Further sympathy is garnered when the author takes us back in time (in chapters cleverly titled "Eight months before the lightning, "Fourteen days before the lightning," etc.) and Barry and Thomas's pasts are explored. While Barry was nurtured, Thomas was not. While Barry's homosexuality was accepted, Thomas's was not. While Barry's always had a sense of belonging, Thomas does not. While Barry's friends are trustworthy, Thomas's are NOT. Secondary characters are also interesting and varied, and the multiple points-of-view are handled quite adeptly.
Complementing the wonderful characterization in STRUCK is Pyeatt's rich and powerful writing style. As his words flow and the action increases he never loses our attention and builds a world that is set in present time, yet the ancient rituals and rich Native American culture act to transform the reader to a different place and time, as much as they do Barry.
While the novel is of normal length, I could have easily read about these characters longer in such an absorbing world.
Superb.
February 15, 2015
Okay, I'm the author, so ignore the 5 stars if you like. But I am proud of this novel, and I hope you enjoy it. It's set in Albuquerque, a fictional pueblo, and the Anasazi ruins in Chaco Canyon. Like the Albuquerque area, STRUCK contains a mix of Native American, Hispanic, and Anglo characters.
STRUCK begins when an easy-going young man named Barry is drawn to a petroglyph of a warrior and gets struck by lightning. The surge of energy awakens powers he's carried since birth. Now Barry must join forces with an elder at a nearby pueblo, become the warrior the spirits need him to be, and save the earth. And all this must be done before the next equinox.
STRUCK begins when an easy-going young man named Barry is drawn to a petroglyph of a warrior and gets struck by lightning. The surge of energy awakens powers he's carried since birth. Now Barry must join forces with an elder at a nearby pueblo, become the warrior the spirits need him to be, and save the earth. And all this must be done before the next equinox.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews