I'll be offline for a few days, due to the holidays. But before I go, I'd like to wish everyone a delightful and unconventional holiday season, whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa.
My 2010 EPIC Award-nominated science fiction novel, Sunrise Destiny, just received this terrific review from Kathy at Dark Divas Reviews (the bold emphasis is mine):
Rating: 5 Delightful Divas (their highest rating)
I added Mark Terence Chapman to my auto-buy list; and that was just 80-some pages into the book. This is a very long ~ at 450 pages ~ story, but I never got bored, never lost focus and certainly never wanted to rush it to its conclusion. Sunrise Destiny started off in the vein of one of those old-time PI stories, but there were a few things that didn't quite fit… until I remembered that this is also a sci-fi story. I was much taken with the slight dichotomy and, as the story progressed, found myself more and more intrigued.
Sunrise Destiny can almost be split into at least two parts; at first I wasn't sure it would work, but Mr. Chapman is able to move seamlessly between the two worlds and make everything come together very well. Generally, I find most science fiction stories a little harder to adjust to; especially with regard to the speculative nature and otherworld aspects. With Sunrise Destiny, Mark Chapman's narrative was strong and wonderfully detailed, without overdoing it, and I found myself so involved in Donatello's adventures that I was easily able to enjoy the futuristic elements.
There's evil galore, a plot for world domination, aliens and a good old-fashioned adventure. This is also a romance; the hero, a PI, whose reputation flirts with notoriety and a heroine who is a prostitute and Sunrise's sometime lover. Two people, who on the surface, just don't seem to have what it takes. But they do, and in spades. I loved watching the progression of their long-time relationship from now-and-again to full-bodied romance. Very nicely done Mr. Chapman, very nice indeed.
I do feel that a warning should be given: There is some violence and a disturbing scene; while it's there it is by no means graphic. And it goes a very long way to adding impetus for actions taken later in the book. All in all Mark Terence Chapman's Sunrise Destiny was a wonderful surprise and a story that will definitely be a re-read.
To find out more about Sunrise Destiny, including a blurb, a 4,000-word excerpt, and ordering links, please visit my web page.
Mark.
