I received a copy of this book
for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I was attracted to this book
because of the cover art and the blurb. It appeared to be something I might
enjoy, and indeed I did, with a reservation.
The Lazarus Men is a good,
solid story with numerous twists and turns. It opens with some good action, and
after a lull in the middle, it closes with some fast-paced battle scenes. Among
the author's strengths are the characters. I found myself invested in the
principal character from the start and he held my interest for the entire
novel. I hoped he would make it to the end, and it never appeared certain he
would. Along with the principal, there were several other characters, all well-defined
and made to seem real. The world building was adequate for the story, and I
enjoyed the descriptions of the settings.
The story was clearly written
mostly, but there is one area I found disturbing, and it tended to take me out
of the flow of the text. More on that later.
It was just another shift on
the job for Gerald LaPlant, that is, until his employer called him in and
promoted him for his prior service. And that was the last good thing that
happened to him for quite some time. Unfortunately, he witnessed a murder and
lost his wallet. Those who perpetrated the murder began stalking him and even
came close to taking him out. See, the murdered man placed an object in his
pocket before he died. An object of some importance to two of the most powerful
people in the galaxy.
To save his own life, he fled
to Mars, where he was followed.
Next thing Gerald knows is he
cannot shake those after him. And what's worse, nearly everyone he encounters
is after the object. His friends aren't really his friends, his enemies aren't
necessarily his enemies, and poor Gerald does not know who he can trust, other
than himself.
What is this object and why is
it so important?
Principal character, Gerald
LaPlant is an ordinary guy. He works and goes home. When he gets caught up in a
world of intrigue, he is forced to go on the run. Confused and scared, he runs
into a lot of other characters. Those he meets all have an ulterior motive
because he has a key to a treasure beyond imagination. He came by the key when
he witnessed a murder when it was placed in his possession without his
knowledge. On his travels to other worlds, he meets an attractive
archaeologist, a man he thought was his friend, and more than a few ruthless
killers, as well as the masterminds who want to get their hands on the vast
treasure to be found on the planet Cestus III. He is just a good guy who was in
the wrong place at the wrong time, and if he is not very careful, he will lose
his life.
My favorite point of plot in
The Lazarus Men is how the principal character seems unable to find allies in
this story until he does find two. The ones he finds are the most unlikely
people to be his friends. I loved this twist and the nature of the two people
who help him because they are enemies and in competition until they decide to
cooperate. Great irony there.
My takeaway from this tale is
that when one holds the key to hidden wealth, one cannot trust anyone. Not
everyone who is nice to you is your friend, and not everyone who is a threat to
you are your enemies. Be careful how you choose your friends and keep your
enemies close.
I found The Lazarus Men a great
story full of twists and turns and is a fine sci-fi adventure one can get into.
As I mentioned before, there is one thing that needs to be fixed in the book's
text, and that is all the typos that appear through the whole thing.
I read enough that in nearly
every book, I tend to find one or two typographical errors along the way, and
mostly, I ignore them. It happens. If I know the author, I usually let them
know I found them. Unfortunately, there are many in The Lazarus Men that
interrupted the flow of the reading, and I had to stop and try to understand
what the author meant to say. For this reason, I find I must give it a lower
rating than it would otherwise deserve. With the copy I received being the
third edition, I am a little disappointed the mistakes haven't been corrected
at by now.
It is a great story that needs
to be looked at by a copy editor.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
His first published book
(Hammers in the Wind) has been the #1 free book on Kindle 4 times and he holds
a fancy certificate from the L Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. Ok,
so it was for 4th place in one quarter, but it's still recognition from the
largest fiction writing contest in the world. And no, he's not a scientologist.
Passionate about history, he
combines his knowledge of the past with modern military tactics to create an
engaging, quasi-realistic world for the readers. He graduated from Campbell
University with a degree in history and a Master of Arts degree in Digital
Communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He currently lives outside of
Raleigh, N.C. and devotes his time to writing, his family, and their two
Bernese Mountain Dogs. If you drive by you might just find him on the porch
with a cigar in one hand and a pen in the other. You can find out more about
his work by following him on social media.
Well, there it is...
Qapla!
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