Robin Parrish

Dear Readers,

I can't believe I didn't write a review for this book before.  I think because I had published Louis' blog about it I kind of forgot to do mine.  When I was doing work for the workshop in Chicago a few weeks ago, I realized I hadn't written my own.  Oops.

I actually almost didn't read Vigilante by Robin Parrish.  I have read all of Robin's other books, and really liked them, until I got to the ends of the books.  That is where they fall flat.  I am happy to report that this book does not have that problem . I really enjoyed reading this book mostly because, for lack of a better term, this is a book about a Christian Batman.

Billboards are popping up around the country. "There is a better way". This phrase doesn't give much to go on.  Media personnel have tried to figure out who is paying for them.  No one has an answer.  That is until the new ones go up.  "I will show you a better way" billboards start appearing with a date in July listed for when it will all be made clear.  That releases a firestorm of excitement in the general public and there is a huge influx of tourists to New York City for that special day.  Who or what could be behind those billboards and what do they mean?

This book was almost like reading a comic book without the panels.  The Hand has all the gadgets which make him almost invinicible.  He also has the talent and training to be able to take down criminals single-handedly.  There is much to this story that you need to let go of for it to be believable.   For instance, two short days after being shot, he is running around saving people.  His outfit is made out of a new and very bullet proof material that would be a great material to have invented.  Of course it does have a draw back if you get tasered. 

One of the threads of the book is the question, can one fight crime and stay above it all.  The Hand finds himself struggling with staying above it all when the Crime Boss brings the fight to his front door.  It was interesting to watch the struggle of doing the right thing even when emotions become involved.  When the Hand was just rescuing unknown people he was able to just judge right and wrong, but once it came into his own life, there is a gray area.  So is it right to fight crime by beating up the criminal? 

All interesting thoughts which of course makes this a very interesting read. 

Happy Reading 

Robin Parrish

Dear Readers,

Today I took advantage of fellow employee Louis McBride's review of a new fiction title.  Louis is our academic buyer and usually I find him with his nose in a book that has little on nothing ot do with fiction.  There are certian types of fiction books he does like and I try to encourage him to write reviews for them.  He doesn't like to review fiction books, but I think he did a great job and it does really help me as I just can't seem to get them all read. :-)  

I did include a link to his website at the end of the review,  that way you can check out Louis' other reviews. 

Happy Reading

 “Vigilante” by Robin Parrish – A Review

28 Jun

I started reading Robin Parrish’s book, Vigilante, to kill some time one day and before you knew it I was hooked. I’ve read some of Parrish’s books in the past and enjoyed them. In particular, I enjoyed his Dominion Trilogy (Relentless, Fearless, and Merciless), now regrettably out of print.

Vigilante is very much a guy’s book. The hero of the book, who the media has dubbed “The Hand,” is like a modern day Batman and Rambo all rolled into one with his custom-made body armor and a conglomerate of great gadgets that every super hero should have. As he nears his debut as a crime fighter he’s plastered the country with bill boards announcing a “I will show you a better way.” He realizes his fight must be fought on two fronts: directly confronting criminal activity and secondly, by inspiring people with hope that there is a better way. “The Hand” will be that symbol of hope. Along the way “The Hand” finds himself not only battling a major crime lord (ironically created and empowered largely due to “The Hand’s” crime fighting efforts) but also the President of the United States who is unsure of our hero’s motives and his questionable methods.

Vigilante is full of intense fight scenes and a couple of graphic images of executions. “The Hand” struggles throughout the book with the issues that are raised by someone who’s attempting to do the impossible: change the world. As a previous POW he carries buried deep within him the pain of that experience and he only allows people in to his world when necessary. While the character development is thin you get to know them well enough that by the end of the book you can genuinely feel for them.

To be perfectly honest the way Parrish has ended his books has sometimes left me less than satisfied. The same cannot be said of Vigilante. I was very happy with the ending. There were a number of twists which kept me guessing and while I wouldn’t describe the ending as a happy one I would say it is raw and real. Reality forces idealism to face its limitations.

http://bbhchurchconnection.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/vigilante-by-robin-parrish-a-review/

Robin Parrish

Dear Readers,

This book made me think of a few of your libraries that had Science fiction readers. I know of several "teenage" boys that will be very interested in this book. Other than that, this is going to be a tough book for just about anyone to read. It you liked Robin Parrish's Relentless/Merciless/Fearless series you may want to read this as the writing style is the same, but that is where the comparison ends.

Offworld is straight Sci-fi. When our first Mars mission lands back on earth everyone is gone. Not just humans, but animals, birds, fish, insects... you get the idea. Chris Burke is the mission leader and he is trying to keep his little group from going completely off the deep end. Their families are missing and something seems to be trying to keep them from figuring out what is going on. Trisha, Terry, and Owen are just as puzzled by this all as Chris is. (by the way "writing" about myself in the third person is very weird:-)

They are able to figure out enough to see that they need to head out and find the source of what is going on. This is one of those books that you need to let the over the top things go. It is completely unbelievable in spots, which overall is what the book is all about...

This is not an easy book to read because of the over the top issues, but it is all explained in the book. I think the Sci-Fi readers will enjoy the concept of this book and the imagination it brings out. What would it be like to come back to that experience? Where is everyone you love? Where are the animals and what could cause this to happen? Like I said, thought provoking, but different stuff than what you normally think of.

Happy Reading
Chris