Book Review: House of the Rising Sun
HOUSE OF
THE RISING SUN
by
Richard Cox
Category: Techno Thriller / Science Fiction / Adventure
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Date of Publication: July 27, 2020
Number of Pages: 408 pages
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Both a frightening apocalyptic story set in the southern United States and a character-focused, deeply moving literary thriller.
What would happen if technology all over the world suddenly stopped working?
When a strange new star appears in the sky, human life instantly grinds to a halt. Across the world, anything and everything electronic stops working completely.
At first, the event seems like a bizarre miracle to Seth Black--it interrupts his suicide attempt and erases gambling debt that threatened to destroy his family. But when Seth and his wife, Natalie, realize the electricity isn't coming back on, that their food supplies won't last, they begin to wonder how they and their two sons will survive.
Meanwhile, screenwriter Thomas Phillips--an old friend of Natalie's--has just picked up Skylar Stover, star of his new movie, at the airport when his phone goes dead and planes begin to fall from the sky.
Thomas has just completed a script about a similar electromagnetic event that ended the world. Now, he's one of the few who recognizes what's happening and where it will lead.
When Thomas and Skylar decide to rescue Natalie and Seth, the unwilling group must attempt to survive together as the world falls apart. They try to hide in Thomas's home and avoid desperate neighbors, but fear they'll soon be roaming the streets with starving refugees and angry vigilantes intent on forming new governments. It's all they can do to hold on to each other and their humanity.
Yet all the while, unbeknownst to them, Aiden Christopher--a bitter and malignant man leveraging a crumbling society to live out his darkest, most amoral fantasies--is fighting to survive as well. And he's on a collision course with Thomas, Skylar, and the Black family...
This leads me into my second point of this book. There are three different groups of people that you meet in this book, the movie star and the scriptwriter, the average family, and a pretty insane civilian. With all three groups, we get to catch a glimpse of how all three different groups handle the apocalypse. The author does this in the way that one chapter is seen through the eyes of one character in one group, and the next chapter is kept going from another character in a different group. It's a great mix of perspectives and even though there are quite a few viewpoints, the story never feels like it's getting complicated or confusing.
House of the Rising Sun was a great delight to read. From the very beginning, you are hooked into this alternative life. I honestly do not think there was ever a boring moment in this story. I found myself reading until I had to call it quits for the night.
Overall, a very well done book. The story felt like it's own and it was entertaining from the first chapter to the last. Characters held up well on their own and the handful of characters made sense and helped the story flow. If you are looking for something new to read, I definitely recommend! 5 out of 5 stars!
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Richard Cox was born in Odessa, Texas and now lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His newest novel is House of the Rising Sun. Richard has also published The Boys of Summer, Thomas World, The God Particle, and Rift. He’s written for This Land Press, Oklahoma Magazine, and TheNervousBreakdown.com.
When he’s not writing or reading, Richard loves spending time with his wife and two girls. And hitting bombs.
He also wrote this bio in third person as if writing about someone else. George likes his chicken spicy!
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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
THREE WINNERS
1st: Signed copies of House of the Rising Sun & The Boys of Summer;
2nd: Signed copy of House of the Rising Sun;
3rd: eBook copy of House of the Rising Sun.
Giveaway ends Midnight, CST, January 15, 2021
(US only)
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Thank you for this review! I'm glad you enjoyed it and that you saw how it was different than others in the space.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great review, and I love that you also did a video review. Thanks for the post!
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