Review Tour: Falling Sky by James Patrick Riser

Today I'd like to welcome James Patrick Riser to my blog.  As the first guest on my blog in my partnership with Goddess Fish Promotions, I had the pleasure o reading Mr. Riser's book, Falling Sky. So please be sure to check at the end of the post to read my review of this book.  Also I would be remiss if I forgot to mention that Mr. Riser is also going to draw a random winner from the tour, so be sure to comment and follow the tour at the rest of the stops. (click on the tour graphic on the right for list of rest of stops)  He's offering a $10 gift certificate to Wild Publishing as a prize. 

Buy at Publisher    Buy at Amazon

Blurb:

Following a devastating world war, the surface of the planet has been covered in a substance called Dust, a weapon that can break down the physical make up of entire cities, reducing them to rubble and preventing citizens from rebuilding their lost metropolises for several years. In order to survive, humanity has taken refuge in crowded, underground cities.

Ian Blum is a 15 year old boy living in one such city. His crippling social anxiety confines him to a solitary life at home, while his parents are away at their jobs. The person he interacts with the most is his home school professor, Michael Wasley. One night, Ian is visited by a mysterious figure in a dream. The man warns Ian of a great earthquake that will destroy the cities, killing all of the inhabitants. The man charges Ian with the task of getting everyone out.

Soon after, Ian finds out that he isn't the only one who has had this dream and reluctantly joins a group of rebels who has made it their mission to drive everyone from the cities for their own safety, however, no one believes in the stranger's prophecy. Ian and the rebels must find a way to get the people to safety at any cost.

Excerpt:

By the time the war shook society to its very core, it appeared that everyone had forgotten why the nations were so intent on ripping the planet apart. People knew the reasons of course; there were many of them, but most seemed convoluted to Michael. Reports of impending doom, as civilization began to collapse, drowned out his sixteenth birthday. The fallout from the war would eventually make it impossible for humans to live in the cities for much longer. Emigration to space was the most attractive solution to most; it was a persistent pipe dream ever since writers and filmmakers had presented it to the world as a possibility. A small group of politicians even pushed for the move to space without thinking about the constraints: The United States government completely dissolved the space program several years before to free up more funds that could be spent toward winning the war, and the limited number of people who could actually travel into space. The majority of the population would be left in the radioactive dust while the elite (which included the politicians that pushed for the move) would be among the stars, safe, but with nowhere to go.

Michael learned all of this over the course of several weeks from news programs and televised, one-sided debates. The Six Year War had effectively ended and every nation had lost to a dark cloud of bloodlust. During the first week of the new crisis, Michael wrote a journal to record the experience.

 AUTHOR Bio: 

James Patrick Riser is the author of Syndrome and Falling Sky, two novellas published by Wild Child Publishing. His short fiction has appeared in the, now defunct, online horror fiction magazine, Necrotic Tissue, and his poetry has appeared in the online poetry journals, Pif magazine, Dead Beats and Four and Twenty Poetry. He lives in Colton, California.

 Author Website   Twitter

Becki's Review: 
I totally enjoyed Falling Sky by James Patrick Riser. He created a very believable set of characters in his story. I could totally relate to Ian, his main character, but also entirely enjoyed both the complex and multifaceted Mr. Wasley and enigmatic Prophet. I even enjoyed Katsuni. Mr. Riser created a very complex world that should satisfy the inner geek in all of us.. I love the creativity of the futuristic setting while still keeping true to some of our modern day conveniences. But what really struck me was the emotional struggle as Ian tried to figure out his place with the rebels while overcoming his own demons. In the end Falling Sky is a book I think any reader who enjoys an adventurous tale with a post apocalyptic setting. I give it 4 Playful Monkeys and look forward to reading more of Mr. Riser's work.

©Becki Gylberte All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.