Book Review - Heaven's Fate

Thame Elliot's one objective in life is to avenge his father's death and he is consumed in his quest for the truth. But his life is not that simple. His aunt is the new Empress of Eoida and is always meddling in his life. Being connected with her also brings him enough fame to make his quest problematic and as if this is not enough, soon he will know that sometimes things are not always as they seem.

Can he find his father's killer?

Heaven's Fate is the classic fantasy story of a boy whose father was killed and claimed a traitor. Now he is determined to clear his name and also avenge his death. The first thing that struck me about the book was the whole planning and conception of Thame's world. The author has meticulously planned each detail of his fantasy world and it shows.

The story changes pace as per the demand of the story which is a good thing. Fantasy book lovers will love this book. I am not that a big fan of fantasy books but was still pulled into the action. I did though feel a bit crammed which so many new things in the book.

All in all, a very promising book and very admirably executed by Andre Alan. I give Heaven's Fate a 4 out of 5 and recommend that you read it. A book with loads of action which will thrill you and excite you. I look forward to reading more of Andre's work.  :)

I was provided the book by the author for my review of it and I am very thankful to him. The above review is my honest and unbiased opinion and in no way influenced.

Post originally appeared on NjKinny's World of Books - http://njkinny.blogspot.in/2013/12/bookreview-heavens-fate-by-andre-alan.html

Heaven's Fate - Book Review

http://www.amazon.com/Heavens-Fate-Andre-Alan-ebook/dp/B00AUGS9M0/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1385136935&sr=8-10&keywords=heaven%27s+fate

Rating:  3 stars

I received a copy of Heaven's Fate from the author for an honest review.  The first thing that grabbed me, on the Kindle copy, was the formatting issue.  I know, being an author myself, that there can be some difficulties in converting a paper copy to kindle format.  That being said, though, the format made it a little difficult to read.  I tend not to give descriptions of my books on an amazon review; you know the description, which is why you're reading it, right?  The writing style itself was a little disjointed and strange, and I felt the story was rushed.  Instead of trying to do so much in the first book, I think the author could have done much more justice by putting more into the backstory and focusing more on the conflict between his father's killer and himself.  As it was, I felt I knew the characters less at the end of the novel than I did at the beginning.

As the story unfolded, I became intrigued with the story created with Thame, his "aunt", and the other characters that began to make their appearance.  They were well-rounded, all with their own flaws and circumstantial strengths and weaknesses.  For that, I commend the author.  It made for a much more enjoyable read.  The storyline was an interesting one, and the blending of two genres that are related, but traditionally separate from each other, made this book a unique one to read.

The fusion between fantasy and sci-fi for me, though, began to pull away from the story.  In my own mind, and as a fantasy writer and avid reader, to blend the two genres is a taboo, and a risky thing to try unless it's done right.  I thought that the fusion took away from the story; the las-pistols mixed with the magical incantations, the technology vs the prophecy and magical swords, all twisted into a confusing blend.  I think the story would have been much more fantastic if the author had stuck to one genre, either placing the novel entirely into the realm of fantasy or entirely into the realm of science fiction.

Overall, I think that Andre did very well on this novel.  It is a read I would probably pick up again, and I am looking forward to seeing his next book, to see what mischief Thame can get up to, and to hopefully get to know more about the characters and the drama that is unfolding within.


Review by Ashley Teixeira
Originally posted on her blog: http://allcrazyherebooks.blogspot.com/2013/11/heavens-fate.html 

Character Profile – Thame, Heaven’s Fate

Taken from the glossary of the sequel to Heaven’s Fate, the highly anticipated second book in the Heaven Trilogy: Winter’s Legacy; the definition of Thame Elliot aka Snow:

His mother died giving birth. His father, Alex Elliot was murdered when he was twelve. He was raised by his father’s childhood classmate, Autumn Augustus. After learning who murdered his father, Thame carried out a savage revenge. In his wake, an evil twin emerged that now threatens to cover the world in darkness. Thame will do whatever it takes to track down Miles Xavier and bring him to justice.

The second novel is due to be released in the fall of 2013. When I first came up with the idea for Heaven’s Fate I was a sophomore in college. Back then I was convinced this title would turn into a comic book or maybe a cartoon; since at the time I drew heavy influences from the anime Dragon Ball Z. As the idea for the story continued to develop and the characters were fleshed out, it took almost a decade for all of the pieces to fall together properly in order to form the 90k word debut fantasy epic that is currently available. Not to mention the countless amount of time spent learning how to construct a proper novel, the hours upon hours spent reading and re-reading the finished product, only to send it off to my editor and go through the process all over.

Ideas go through several stages before the finished product reaches the customer. I don’t think readers realize how much actually goes on behind the scenes to put a work of fiction entertainment together; hell, I did not even know all of the work and strenuous hours that would be required of me before undertaking this process. I never really understood the mantra of being a ‘starving artist’ until I actually became a starving artist (and let me tell you, after nights on end of eating ramen noodles I have the high blood pressure to show that I have earned that title) because when you are younger, (and growing up I was always an artist, drawing this or that and doodling in class) you think that you are a starving artist and you think that it is so cool to be out in the world and pursuing your dreams. Those cold and lonely nights when you only have your ideas to keep you warm and fuel you to keep going, the term sinks in and has more weight to it. It means a lot more when you are actually going through it. But I guess that is with anything right, in order to understand something fully you have to go out and actually experience it, participate in the things that were wispy yet grand ideas in the days of your childhood.

With that being said, I hope you enjoy the book.

For those of you who missed your chance to win a free, signed copy of Heaven's Fate you just might be in luck. Be sure to check in with Indie Author News (http://www.indieauthornews.com/) on March 4, 2013 for my new exclusive interview and your chance to get a copy of Heaven's Fate which will be the Book of the Day and stop by for your chance to win.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X review

After reading the ‘Autobiography of Malcolm X’ many of you may think that I have converted to the nation of Islam, or become a ‘Black Muslim’ or have simply just become a black man that hates white people. Let me say now that that is far from the truth. I am a Christian, who still believes in Jesus Christ (who of course was a black man) and I am devout in my faith…, no book could change that except for the Bible.

Although, I must say that the autobiography of brother Malcolm has forever changed my point of view on not only America but on the world.

I will be the first afro-american to say that I honestly do love America. This is the land where I was born, where I grew up, this is all I know…, but at the same time I am fully well aware of the struggle that every child with dark complexioned skin is born with. It does not matter if you are black, brown, red, or yellow; if you are not white then the deck is stacked against you, especially if you reside within the United States of America; the land where the native american’s were destroyed, the land where Asian immigrants where exploited, the land where people with white skin were welcomed openly ‘Give us your sick, your tired, your poor…, blah, blah, blah…, this is the land where dreams come true.

But do not get me wrong; although I respect the brother Malcolm and wish I could have gotten a chance to sit down and meet this strong black man, I am not against white people or for black separatism. I am for the unity of the human race. The bible teaches that we are all brothers and sisters, regardless of race, creed, color or religious belief. So even though a person may be a different religion from myself, that does not mean that people who worship different religions do not have something that they can learn from one another. Just because a person is different from you on the outside, does not mean that you do not share common traits on the inside.

One of my major take-aways from this book was the sad fact that the brother Malcolm was so fully entrenched within the Nation of Islam to the point of being a puppet; after reading about this mans journey through life, from a small town in Michigan to the Big Apple then to prison and lastly rising to the heights of international sensation. There are major forces in this world that are both good and evil. We as human beings need to open our eyes and think critically before it is too late. 

By Andre Alan