War World by Rod C. Spence - Book Review
Synopsis
Jeremy Austin never
asked to save a planet—it's bad enough being a "B" average student as
the son of a world-famous geneticist for crying out loud! He didn't ask
to be attacked by Gnome assassins, didn't choose to become food for a
prehistoric monster, would never have thought consorting with wizards a
wise concept, and he definitely would never, ever sign up to do sword
combat against the bloodthirsty Gnome King.
Note to self: say NO to portals and wormholes.
His father's expedition to a planet 2.4 million light years from Earth has gone missing. Jeremy and five high school friends embark on a rescue mission. Surrounded by an army of mercenaries, they travel through a high-tech portal and discover a nightmare planet on the other side—a violent world of alien races and man-eating monsters—a world in despair; anxiously awaiting the arrival of a savior who will defeat the evil Shadow Lord.
For Jeremy, the search for his father becomes lost in a struggle for survival… and escape from those who would put the mantel of planet savior on his shoulders.
Note to self: say NO to portals and wormholes.
His father's expedition to a planet 2.4 million light years from Earth has gone missing. Jeremy and five high school friends embark on a rescue mission. Surrounded by an army of mercenaries, they travel through a high-tech portal and discover a nightmare planet on the other side—a violent world of alien races and man-eating monsters—a world in despair; anxiously awaiting the arrival of a savior who will defeat the evil Shadow Lord.
For Jeremy, the search for his father becomes lost in a struggle for survival… and escape from those who would put the mantel of planet savior on his shoulders.
Buy Link
My Review
**I would like to thank the author and publisher for sending me an ARC to read and review**
War World is an interesting book, that's for sure. The cover and synopsis drew me in when I first received the review request, and likening it to Jurassic Park meets Lord of the Rings pretty much sold me. I knew I needed to read this book.
War World starts off with a crazy encounter with an alien creature in the lab Jeremy's father works at. Fast forward a year later, and everything has been covered up. Jeremy, however, won't ever forget what he saw.
Now Jeremy and his friends, who are normal high-school kids, are just trying to deal with being, well, normal. Unfortunately, their parents, who all work at TerraGen doing science-y stuff and researching cures, go missing on an expedition. You'd think there would be some sort of investigation within the company, maybe the cops get involved, something like that. But no. You see, their parents are missing on a planet in another galaxy. Yep.
So Jeremy and his friends decide they're going to sneak into the lab, use the portal that will send them through a wormhole, and they'll come out on said planet and save their parents. Huzzah! Easy peasy, right? Wrong.
There's corrupt, evil government guys to deal with, and so, so many secrets. In fact, it kind of makes your head spin with all the hullabaloo going on in this book.
So, I don't want to give too much away, although readers can glean from the synopsis that Jeremy and his friends do end up on this alien planet. However, it's not like anything they could have ever imagine or expected. And when the government people leave the kids hanging after an alien attack, it's up to the kids to try and save not only their parents, but themselves too.
War World definitely packs a punch. There's a lot more violence than I expected, although I'm not sure why that comes as a surprise to me. I mean, I guess it's because some of it happens in spots I wasn't expecting it to, so there's that.
The characters, I think, are pretty well written. I saw another review state that the characters seem stereotypical, but to be fair, most teenagers nowadays fit those stereotypes. I mean, they're eating laundry soap, for Pete's sake, so...
Anyway, I really enjoyed War World for what it was. The writing was solid, the characters were developed, and the world building was actually really amazing. I felt like I was there with Jeremy and his friends on Genesis hiding from alien creatures and trying to survive.
The story is full of action, suspense, and drama. There's some violence and language, so if that bothers you, you may not want to read War World. However, if crazy alien sci-fi stuff appeals to you, you'll definitely want to read it.
I'm giving War World 4.5 stars, mostly because that ending. Ugh. I seriously cannot wait for the sequel!
War World is an interesting book, that's for sure. The cover and synopsis drew me in when I first received the review request, and likening it to Jurassic Park meets Lord of the Rings pretty much sold me. I knew I needed to read this book.
War World starts off with a crazy encounter with an alien creature in the lab Jeremy's father works at. Fast forward a year later, and everything has been covered up. Jeremy, however, won't ever forget what he saw.
Now Jeremy and his friends, who are normal high-school kids, are just trying to deal with being, well, normal. Unfortunately, their parents, who all work at TerraGen doing science-y stuff and researching cures, go missing on an expedition. You'd think there would be some sort of investigation within the company, maybe the cops get involved, something like that. But no. You see, their parents are missing on a planet in another galaxy. Yep.
So Jeremy and his friends decide they're going to sneak into the lab, use the portal that will send them through a wormhole, and they'll come out on said planet and save their parents. Huzzah! Easy peasy, right? Wrong.
There's corrupt, evil government guys to deal with, and so, so many secrets. In fact, it kind of makes your head spin with all the hullabaloo going on in this book.
So, I don't want to give too much away, although readers can glean from the synopsis that Jeremy and his friends do end up on this alien planet. However, it's not like anything they could have ever imagine or expected. And when the government people leave the kids hanging after an alien attack, it's up to the kids to try and save not only their parents, but themselves too.
War World definitely packs a punch. There's a lot more violence than I expected, although I'm not sure why that comes as a surprise to me. I mean, I guess it's because some of it happens in spots I wasn't expecting it to, so there's that.
The characters, I think, are pretty well written. I saw another review state that the characters seem stereotypical, but to be fair, most teenagers nowadays fit those stereotypes. I mean, they're eating laundry soap, for Pete's sake, so...
Anyway, I really enjoyed War World for what it was. The writing was solid, the characters were developed, and the world building was actually really amazing. I felt like I was there with Jeremy and his friends on Genesis hiding from alien creatures and trying to survive.
The story is full of action, suspense, and drama. There's some violence and language, so if that bothers you, you may not want to read War World. However, if crazy alien sci-fi stuff appeals to you, you'll definitely want to read it.
I'm giving War World 4.5 stars, mostly because that ending. Ugh. I seriously cannot wait for the sequel!
Author Bio
Rod C. Spence is an Emmy nominated television and film
editor, producer, screenwriter and director. Spence’s debut novel, War
World, is the first in a techno-fantasy series birthed from his love of
science fiction thrillers by Michael Crichton and the fantasy novels of J.R.R.
Tolkein and Terry Brooks. Check out the book trailer here.
Spence
was the Executive Producer, Creator and Showrunner of the reality series, Extreme Expeditions: Model Behavior (New
Line Television) and one of the top editors in reality television, having been
nominated for an Emmy in 2003, 2002 and 2001 for his work on CBS’s hit show, Survivor, and a body of work that
includes The Apprentice, Criminal
Confessions, American Chopper, Dogs in the City, Jersey Shore, The Pauly D
Project, Ice Cold Gold, The Demon Files, True Nightmares, Combat Missions,
the Grammy Awards and the Country Music Awards. Rod C. Spence made his feature film
directorial debut with the suspense thriller The Man Next Door in 1998, and has written or co-written a
collection of screenplays that span many genres.
For more information visit www.rodcspence.com, www.warworldseries.com
Twitter:
rod@rodcspence.com
Facebook:
rod@rodcspence.com
Goodreads:
Rod C. Spence
Snapchat:
Rod C. Spence
Instagram:
Rod C. Spence
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