Gee Evars wandered into Rosebud Falls on Independence Day just in time to rescue a toddler from the rushing torrent of the Rose River. And to lose his memory. In an attempt to make Rosebud Falls his home, Gee becomes a local hero and inadvertently leads a revolt that changes the balance of power in the town. But will he ever know who he really is? A novel in 13 chapters by Nathan Everett.
Size: 598 KB (114,071 words)
Genre: Fiction
Sex Contents: No Sex
Tags: Fiction
Review by ausie-import [other reviews by ausie-import]
Reviewed:
It's too short! :-)
I was really getting into the story and it stopped. I guess this means that I'll be hanging out for the sequel.
Now, what I really think. It's a complex story set in an alternate reality that's mostly ours, but with the addition of the rose hickory and the characteristics of the forest.
Both Gee and Karen are people who are easy to like and care about, and the supporting characters around them often are "real" characters in their own right. For a book to draw me in, it needs well drawn characters, whether good or evil, who act out of believable motivations. We arrive on the scene well after some major events that shaped the town of Rosebud Falls and are driving the present activities.
Gee is clearly more than he seems at first glance. He's a nice guy who acts from good motives, but there's something more that is still unclear at the end of the book. (Part of the reason I jokingly commented that it was too short.) I want to get to the bottom of this.
Karen starts out as a typical inquisitive reporter, but gradually reveals a much more complicated person. There will be a lot more about her in the sequel, I am sure.
And part of the reason that I wrote this is that I read the blog post that talked about criticism of the "pastor" and "deacon" characters. Here in Australia we've just finished a multi-year Royal Commission that examined institutions and abuse of children. Some of what was presented in evidence was appalling. And a lot of it happened in the context of religion. It's not fair to say that all persons of religion are abusers, but it is equally unfair to say than none are. It is easy to see how a con-man could see the potential for abuse of trust and set himself up as "pastor" of a small church. So I cannot agree with the other reviewer. These characters are necessary and drive much of the conflict that makes the book interesting.
I liked the book well enough that I downloaded the epub version so that I can read it again, and possibly catch some of the hints and clues that I'm betting are there and that I missed in my first reading.
Review by Safe_Bet [other reviews by Safe_Bet]
Reviewed:
Wow... just wow.
A story with intrigue, romance, suspense, titillating erotica and "magic". What more could anyone want? This story hit about every one of my hot buttons, in a good way, and if you don't enjoy reading it then you need new glasses!
Plot: WOOF! If the author plotted out the plot line of this story it must have been 2 miles long, so let me simply say that it has more twists then a car load of Red Vines and leave it at that.
Technical: This was a very well written and edited story. Out of 13 satisfactorily long chapters I only found a very few "oopsies".
Appeal: LOVED IT!
