The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for The High Sign
Because The High Sign was Book of the Day, some of our most trusted members have carefully looked over the cover, the description, and other aspects of this book as a part of purchase-intent focus group. We then asked each participant in the focus group if they planned to buy and read the book, and why they planned to buy and read the book or not. Their answer to that question and reasons are displayed below. We call this awesome feature The First Ten Focus Group.
Keep in mind, the responses from the members are not reviews. This is purchase-intent focus group which means the participants are people who have NOT yet bought or read your book. A purchase-intent focus group is an important and extremely useful marketing tool for any product, not just books. For other products, you might walk on the street and show people an item in a package and poll them about whether they would buy if or $X or not. These kind of focus groups are one of the ways big marketing companies find the ideal price points for products and test the effectiveness of different packaging. The focus group can help you identify your market so you how to target ads of your book, and it can (but may not) provide you new useful info about your "packaging" (e.g. your book cover, your book synopsis on Amazon, etc.). The point of the focus group comments is to give you information from people who have not bought or read your book about why they plan to buy your book which will help you in marketing the book. These are not reviews or critiques of your book because they are not from people have read the book. This is a marketing tool, not reviews. The trick of book marketing and book advertising is that you have to convince people who have not read your book yet that your book is worth buying and reading. For marketing, it doesn't matter much if people love your book after reading it if you cannot convince potential buyers before they read it that they will love it.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable. This is because we only poll about 20 or so readers, and all readers have to say "no" to almost all books. Over a million books are published each year. Even a very active reader cannot come close to even reading 1% of books out there.
This is also why publishing books is such a tough industry.
Dolor
I wouldn't have chosen to read this book without The First Ten program because I might not agree on some of the theological topics in this book. Kodus to the author for the awesome cover. The title is thought-provoking. The first ten pages talked about The Great Flood of Noah. There were a lot of topics I don't agree on. One of which is this statement: "We shall conclude with three chapters giving evidence that He also will use a comet as the celestial sign heralding the Second Coming of His Son (Mat. 24:30)." Matthew 24:30 does not mention any comet. Here are the errors I noticed:
*grammar error*
I enjoy puzzles of all kinds, but especially crosswords, jigsaws and Sudoku.
*lacking necessary (,)*
Usually there is a picture of a jigsaw puzzle solution on the cover of its box.
The comet’s gases would dissipate and its ice layer would be broken up.
I don't want to debate, so I will bypass reading this book even if it has a compelling official OBC review. The High Sign by David S. Heeren is a #NonFiction book that provides evidences that God will use a comet as a herald of Christ's Second Coming. Let's read to find out how the author refutes the contradiction in the scriptures which state, "No one can predict the day of His coming."
#Christian #BibleStudy #Reference #FreebieFriday
First Ten review added on May 12, 2019, at 4:46 am by Dolor.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Chelsy Scherba
I’m really enjoying this book. I love any revelation about prophecy and the Bible, so learning the sign of Jesus’s return may be a comet is interesting and logical. I’m intrigued to see where in scripture the author discovered a comet before Noah’s flood and other big biblical events. I love the title and the cover design. The book appears to be exceptionally edited as I discovered no errors. The author’s voice is clear and easy to follow. I will absolutely read more because the review was positive and gave enough details to encourage me to check out the book.
First Ten review added on May 12, 2019, at 4:38 am by Chelsy Scherba.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Vickie Noel
By default, I don't read religious books, their titles or cover arts notwithstanding. This book came close to being the exception, but nothing's changed. I find the notion of a comet being seen as the sign of Jesus' second coming as ridiculous. While reading the sample, I was drawn in by the author's use of the movie excerpt in searching for The Big W to explain his feelings on the comet sign. But more significantly, the way he dissected the Great Flood of Noah's day by first interpreting who the sons of God were, the ones who came and married women, in addition to his analysis of the different interpretations people spouted concerning the 40-day torrential rainfall had me intensely following his thought patterns because he was right, and the explanation not only provided food for thought, but also awe for God's powers. I respected him the most when he said, "The first two options are out, for we dare not corrupt the inspired Word of God." I honestly thought we were on the same page only for me to read on and discover that he'd only dispelled those theories in order to propagate his own thus, "We suggest that this force was a comet." Key word being "suggest." I expected that he would direct the force behind the rainfall to God's almighty will/strength and not try to attribute his personal opinion as to the method with which he carried it out. If God wanted us to know the exact metrics behind the occurrence, he'd have made the information available in his Word. Besides, in Genesis 6:17, he said, "As for me, I am going to bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy...all flesh..." If God simply said "Let there be light" and there was light, what stops him from saying "Let there be 40 days rainfall?" You don't see anyone trying to figure out a scientific process how man was made from dust, do you? Trying to expound,as the only reasonable explanation, the theory that a comet is the intrusive force with which the Flood occured is not only absurd but presumptuous. In addition, as I mentioned in the OBC review I read, this so-called "evangelizing tool" is a deterrent to God's work. Jesus admonished that we go out and preach; that was his main work while on earth. If everyone relaxes and waits for the "sign of the comet" before they go and evangelize (Christians) or before they believe the gospel (nonbelievers), then God's purpose of getting honest-hearted, unconditionally loyal worshippers will be defeated, and this can never happen. Granted, there are signs that prove that we are living in the last days, as outlined in 2Timothy 3:1-5, but there's no metaphysical sign to indicate Christ's second coming, which is why the Bible says it'll come as a thief. I saw no grammatical errors while reading, so at least, it was professionally edited. Needless to say, my reading journey with this book ends here.
First Ten review added on May 12, 2019, at 3:26 am by Vickie Noel.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Alice Heritage
I very rarely read books about the Bible or Jesus of Nazareth, so I wouldn't have sampled this one without the programme. I also will not read the rest of it because I have no interest in reading about literal interpretations of the Bible. The book does appear professionally edited as I did not notice any errors. I liked the reference to fallen angels as I enjoy fiction about those and demons. Perhaps this could be improved by the addition of diagrams as there was a lot of "scientific" information. I didn't know that it was proven that the earth's core is made of iron/nickel, but I'm not an expert. In general, I don't agree with attempts to find facts on the assumption that the scriptures must be fully accurate, but perhaps others would not consider that this needed improvement. The OBC review confirmed that this is not the kind of thing I'd want to read.
First Ten review added on May 12, 2019, at 2:54 am by Alice Heritage.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Fu Zaila
The cover looks like a sci-fi book's. The writing is professionally edited. The blurb and reviews weren't appealing to me. The author's claim in the preface about how a comet would be the sign of Jesus's Second Coming is a huge one, and his story of how he came to the conclusion seems like a good foundation to start, but it made me skeptical already. I liked how he compared the steps of his understanding process to that of a jigsaw. But I didn't like how he is highly convinced of his own conviction, like that woman he describes from the movie. Because, he doesn't even encourage the possibility of it being wrong. Through his book, the readers should be able to judge whether whatever he says is true or not. Constantly declaring it to be true would only make the readers skeptical, even with supporting verses from the bible. Either way, I'm not going to read further since I'm not interested in any kinds of Bible interpretations.
First Ten review added on May 12, 2019, at 2:41 am by Fu Zaila.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Catherine Hsu
If I had not read the sample, I would not have read the book as I was not that interested in the blurb, but I do like the cover. After reading the sample, I have not changed my mind. I usually do not read religious books anyways, and the book was much more religious than I expected. Although I appreciated how the book started with something very general and relatable as I also like doing puzzles, overall the book was too religious for me and I am not too interested. The book was professionally edited. I did not read the official review but that did not affect my decision.
First Ten review added on May 12, 2019, at 12:51 am by Catherine Hsu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Mercelle
Judging by the cover, I wasn't going to read this book, and the OBC review discouraged me when it mentioned that the author dissects the signs of the second coming of Christ, among them a comet. When I read the first ten pages, I like that the author interpreted a Bible verse to mean that God was unhappy with Angels who descended upon earth and married mortals. Since I noticed no errors, I will conclude that the text underwent professional editing, but I won't read the rest o the book because it doesn't appeal to me. As it is, there's nothing I would change about the bit I read.
First Ten review added on May 12, 2019, at 12:23 am by Mercelle.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CataclysmicKnight
The cover of this book made me assume it would be a sci-fi novel. As someone who loves sci-fi, it definitely grabbed my attention, but you can imagine my surprise when I found out it was a nonfiction book about interpreting Biblical events and looking for the sign of Jesus' second coming.
So far the book has been terrific. I expected a long, vague introduction to start the book, but what I received was short, concise, and insightful. The first chapter has been very detailed so far, but in a way that didn't feel drawn out or dull. David explained how a comet could've helped cause the great flood that Noah survived, and it was very scientific.
I didn't see any errors so far, and I don't have anything negative to report at all. I probably wouldn't have bought it, but since the book was temporarily free I definitely want to finish it.
First Ten review added on May 12, 2019, at 12:00 am by CataclysmicKnight.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
va2016
The title and the cover is not indicative of the theme of the book. There are only 2 Amazon customer reviews. The Amazon summary is quite descriptive of the theme of the book. Based on what I read in Amazon summary, I would have skipped sampling the book if not for the First Ten program, as I am not interested in religious books. As I sampled through the book, I found the narration describing how the Earth will be submerged in water because of a torrential rain that would last 40 days. As the book quoted several verses from the Bible, I am not going to read this book in full as I am not interested in religious books.
I found that the book has not been professionally edited. In several places, commas have been left out. For example, in the preface, in the sentence that ends "By the time I had finished reading the book of Isaiah this thought was in my mind" should be "By the time I had finished reading the book of Isaiah, this thought was in my mind". What I liked about the book are author's thoughts about what would cause the torrential rain. I don't have any suggestions for improvement in the book. Although I found one OBC review on the book, my decision to not to read the book in full is based on my own sampling.
First Ten review added on May 11, 2019, at 10:45 pm by va2016.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Annelore Trujillo
I would not have sampled this book based on the genre, blurb, OBC review, cover, and title. Non-fiction books aren’t my thing, especially when they involve religion. After reading the first ten pages, I won’t be finishing this book. I liked the comparison to putting together a puzzle, and I liked that the author cited all of the Bible quotes that were used. However, I really just am not interested in learning about how the 4th appearance of the comet will tell us when Jesus will have his second coming. The book did seem to be professionally edited.
First Ten review added on May 11, 2019, at 8:57 pm by Annelore Trujillo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Heidi M Simone
Without this program, I would not have sampled this read. Biblical studies aren't for me. Therefore, the genre, blurb, and title would not have piqued my interest. Also, the cover gives off a science-based feeling, which is a subject I'm not very interested in. Therefore, the cover would be off-putting for me, too. The positive OBC and customer ratings do not affect my opinion of the book. I didn't see any glaring errors while I read. It seems the author has given much thought about how comets will be the sign for Jesus' Second Coming. It was interesting to read that there has been scientific research on how Mercury could have caused the Flood, from the well-known story of Noah's Ark. However, the persistent talk about the Flood and trying to provide evidence of its existence and the evidence surrounding its greatness is a bit tedious to read. Perhaps it is because this isn't a subject matter that I am interested in reading about or it is because I don't do well with reading text that compiles a lot of evidence. In either case, as I am not interested in the subject matter and biblical studies aren't for me, I do not plan on reading the rest of the book.
First Ten review added on May 11, 2019, at 7:47 pm by Heidi M Simone.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
AA1495
Had I not sampled the book, I would not have read it. I usually read pure romance books. However, the cover (with the black background and the picture of planet earth) caught my attention. Having read the sample, I thought that the introductory pages were rather short. I would have liked a proper introduction to the author and some positive reviews of the book. However, I thought that it was obvious that the author has put in a lot of effort into this book. Further, I found the book easy to read and follow. I found no major grammatical errors in the book but would have liked more spacing between paragraphs. Since I do not read the genre usually, I will not be reading the rest of the book.
First Ten review added on May 11, 2019, at 7:09 pm by AA1495.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
flaming_quills
Had I not read the first ten pages I would have chosen to read this book because it's presented in such a way that the reader is fascinated by the novel premise. I will not read the rest of the book because the first few pages read like a lecture more than anything else and I'm not really into non-fiction.
I must say, however, that this book seemed professionally edited. I found no typos or grammatical errors. What the author can improve is the tone of the book, he can try to make the book a bit more engaging. Perhaps the fact that I did not see an official OnlineBookClub review for this is the reason why I am hesitant to continue reading it.
First Ten review added on May 11, 2019, at 3:59 pm by flaming_quills.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Scerakor
From the cover, blurb, and review of this book, I wouldn’t have read it. I'm not a religious person and I don't read books based on scripture. After reading the first ten pages I didn’t change my mind and therefore will not be buying and reading the rest of this book. I loved the passion that this author had about his topic. In the first chapters he tells us how he has been working on this concept of his for over 13 years, already published one book, and now has over 54 "cometic" images to use. That being said, I have no interest in reading about predictions on the second coming of Jesus. I didn’t see anything specific that I would have wanted to change within the sample that I read, but it did seem well written and edited. The official review did not affect my decision at all.
First Ten review added on May 11, 2019, at 8:08 am by Scerakor.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Emy Katherine
David S. Heeren thinks that Christian believers should be prepared to identify the sign of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. According to him, that sign will be a comet. I do not enjoy reading non-fiction books, so I would not have chosen to read the book based on the genre. Unfortunately, I did not change my mind after reading the first ten pages and the OBC review. Even though I liked the author's writing style, which was clear and easy to understand, I found that the first ten pages contained too much information to process. However, I liked both the beautiful cover and the well-written blurb. Also, the book seemed to be professionally edited as I did not notice any typos or grammatical errors. Undoubtedly, this thought-provoking read will appeal to those who enjoy reading Christian non-fiction books.
First Ten review added on May 11, 2019, at 6:27 am by Emy Katherine.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CrescentMoon
After reading the blurb, I wouldn't pick this book up because I don't really have much of an interest in religion and theology. After reading the first ten pages, I didn't see any spelling or grammar errors. I thought it was really well-written and I liked the analogy of starting a jigsaw puzzle to interpreting the High Sign and what it could mean for saving lives and redemption. I thought it was clever. However, after that I was lost. I really am just not interested in this subject matter and I actually don't know a lot about this subject. I don't really understand the meaning of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the Flood of Noah and all these events, I'm not really well-versed in this subject and I really am just not interested in reading more about it. For that reason, I'm not the target audience for this book so I won't be reading the rest.
First Ten review added on May 11, 2019, at 12:09 am by CrescentMoon.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Nisha Ward
I like science and, despite my own questionable faith, deep dives into the Bible are something I have some interest in. As such, I love that this book combined the two in the bit that I read. The cover initially attracted me to it and the review helped me to decide that I'd keep it on my to read list. It's very good, very well edited from what I've seen and definitely something to look forward to.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 11:18 pm by Nisha Ward.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
srividyag1
The cover image and the title seem like that of a sci-fi novel. Then I read the review and understood that this book is about various phenomenon indicating the second coming of Jesus. Upon reading the first ten pages, I found that the author mentions that the sign indicating the second coming of Jesus will be a comet. The author says there are 54 images supporting this theory. Some of these include the great Flood of Noah, destruction of the Tower of Babel, annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah, the plagues of Exodus, the Red Sea crossing, the Long Day of Joshua and four events associated with Jesus. Then the author goes on to describe the fascination with puzzles and how the interpretation based on 54 images was in itself a puzzle. Then, various verses from the Bible are quoted and described comprehensively, to support this. The book seems like a thoroughly researched one - research by re-reading of the Bible numerous times. The text seems well-edited. Since I'm not a fan of religious books, I'm not going to read this one.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 10:46 pm by srividyag1.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
LV2R
I like the book cover and title, but I did not know what the book would be about before reading the Amazon Blurb and sample. The Amazon Blurb described the book as the author able to recognize the sign of Jesus’ Second Coming that will bring a great revival. The first ten pages reveal that a comet will be the sign of Jesus’ Second Coming. I best liked that the comet has visited Earth three times and the fourth time will “herald the Second Coming of Jesus.” I think it is interesting how God has used signs in the skies throughout history. I want to read this book to find out the other events that comets were used and how the author came up with an understanding of a comet that will show up before Jesus returns to Earth. The book seems to be edited well, as I did not notice any errors. The OBC review mentioned that the book was well organized and easy to understand.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 9:40 pm by LV2R.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
CinWin
"The High Sign" by David S. Heeren begins with the author telling us how he discovered the clues that Jesus will return. He studied the Book of Isaiah and Matthew and started to see hints of what the signs of Jesus's return will be. He has studied the verses for 13 years, and this book is the result. The author has come up with 54 objects to signify a comet, and this will mean his return. The first ten pages are easy to understand. The author used straightforward language. I won't be finishing it because it does not adhere to my belief system and books about Bible passages are not my usual read. I discovered no typos, and there is an onlinebookclub review. I did not realize that it was a religious book by its cover, and I would not have picked it had I known. I can make no recommendations to improve the book, as I am sure many people enjoy this type of reading.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 9:18 pm by CinWin.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sarah_Khan
I would not have picked this up because I am not a fan of religious books. I do like the cover and title. The first ten pages seem professionally edited. I liked the author's way of writing. His analogy to It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World in the preface and the analogy of the jigsaw puzzle were actually interesting. The signs of the end of time will always be intriguing even to non-religious people. But, personally, it is not my cup of tea. Therefore, I will have to pass on reading the rest. I did not read any OBC review.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 6:13 pm by Sarah_Khan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
danielleamy
I love the front cover. The Earth and comet images together are eye-catching, so I would most likely pick this up in a shop. However, after reading the blurb I would be likely to put it back on the shelf as I am not interested in reading a book based on religion or Bible study. Therefore, it's unlikely that I would have found this without the First Ten program as it is not something I would typically read. The Offical Online Book Club Review also confirmed that it is not really a book I would be interested in.
I found some issues with apostrophes when used for possessive nouns such as "Jesus's Second Coming", or "Josephus's account of the flood". Which should be "Jesus'" and "Josephus'". These were only minor errors, the rest of the sample was very well edited otherwise. I like that the author uses analogies to help explain his reasoning. This can put things into perspective for a reader. I also can see that the author has tried to back up each of his points with scientific evidence and Biblical scripture quotes. However, despite this seeming well-written, it just is not a genre I am interested in reading. Therefore I will not be reading the whole book.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 5:56 pm by danielleamy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
cpru68
This author has studied the Bible, mainly focusing on the book of Isaiah and has come to a conclusion that a comet will announce the second coming of Christ. And this will be a great evangelical tool to use to help people accept Christ as their Savior.
I liked that the opening pages revealed the secret right away so that like a lawyer, he can lay out his case. I didn’t find any errors in punctuation, spelling or grammar so it would seem that this was professionally edited. I am going to be finishing this one as it grabbed my attention, and the review was great! I appreciate the opportunity to have read the sample pages of this through the online book club, and I probably wouldn’t have found this one on my own search because there are so many titles out there under this genre. I will send it out on my social media for others to enjoy as well.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 5:33 pm by cpru68.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Mbrooks2518
I was intrigued by the cover and title, but then I read the synopsis and the official review. I am not interested in books that analyze the Bible, so I won't be finishing this book.
From what I read, the book is well written, and I found no editing mistakes. The book had an easy to read tone, and I liked the puzzle analogy the author uses at the beginning of the first chapter. This seems like a great read for those that are interested in these types of books.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 5:09 pm by Mbrooks2518.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Jsovermyer
The cover art and title,The High Sign, are both interesting, but I thought this was a science-fiction book until I read the official review. There have been many books written about the Second Coming of Christ and the End of Days. This book has a new idea about a comet heralding the End Times. The first chapter, about a comet being the cause of the Great Flood during the time of Noah, was not believable to me. I didn't feel that there was much evidence to support the author's claim. The official review rated this book highly, but I am a skeptic do not believe what this book presents. I didn't find any spelling or grammatical errors and think that this book has been professionally edited. This book will be interesting to many people. However, it is not for me. I will not be finishing this one.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 4:55 pm by Jsovermyer.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
sarahmarlowe randomeducator
The cover is beautifully done, and it goes well with the author's proposal that a comet will signal the end of times. I probably would have picked it up to see what it is about. After reading the sample, I am not going to continue reading the book. I am not interested in the topic. The book was well-edited, and I found no errors. The author uses a good amount of scripture to support his theory that a comet will fly through the heavens before the return of Jesus. He has done a great amount of research and includes theories that comets appeared prior to other big events, such as Noah's flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. I have not read an OBC review of this book.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 4:50 pm by sarahmarlowe randomeducator.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kajori Sheryl Paul
'The High Sign' is a book written by David S. Heeren. The title, blurb, and cover did a good job at convincing me to give this book a try.
The first ten pages leads me to believe that it is a non-fiction. Here, the author predicts that a comet will be the sign of Jesus’ Second Coming. He proves it by discussing various verses and events of the Bible. I liked the analogies used. I found some errors. The author has written, “images in Day of the Lord Scriptures..” instead of “..In the Day of the Lord..” Hence, I do not consider it to be professionally edited. I will give this book a skip as I am not in the mind-frame to read a book of this genre.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 4:20 pm by Kajori Sheryl Paul.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Juliana_Isabella
I wouldn't have chosen this book because I don't usually read religious theories, but the review was positive enough for me to try. Although I didn't find any grammatical errors, I did find issues with the author's reasoning. I appreciate the author's attempts to support his ideas with biblical evidence, but I think he assumes too much about what the passages mean, so I won't be finishing the book.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 3:46 pm by Juliana_Isabella.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Cristina Chifane
Although I like the cover and the title, I wouldn't have sampled this book without the first ten program since I wasn't looking for a religious book. The author seems to have solely focused on Jesus's Second Coming, thus restricting his target audience to those interested in this topic. I liked the conversational tone the author uses, but I'm rather skeptical about the signs and prophetic images he identifies in the Bible and associates with Jesus's Second Coming. I didn't notice any editing errors in the pages I've read. There is a 4-star official OBC review, but I'll pass on this book because I don't have the patience to read about all the religious references associating a comet with Jesus's Second Coming.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 3:27 pm by Cristina Chifane.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
HRichards
I normally wouldn't have picked up this book as the genre doesn't really interest me. Having read the sample I won't be continuing on with the book as the subject is a little weird. The sample deals with the author discussing theories about why the Biblical great flood happened. He relates a theory that perhaps Mercury is the culprit on causing the flooding. He also points to a comet being the cause. The writing is pretty good and I didn't notice any grammar errors. Those who like Biblical research might like this book. I'm not really interested in the topic. I have not read any other reviews of this book.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 3:00 pm by HRichards.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Laura Ungureanu
I wouldn't have checked up this book by myself because I am not religious. The review only strengthened my belief that I shouldn't be reading this. This book seems to be for those who have some significant knowledge of the Bible. The author talks about how he came to the idea that a comet is the sign to predict the Second Coming while studying Isaiah. He then noticed patterns. Comets seemed to be present at a lot at big events, starting with Noah's flood. I didn't find any grammar errors. I won't continue reading this book because I am not interested in the subject.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 2:41 pm by Laura Ungureanu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sonya Nicolaidis
At first glance, I thought this might be a fantasy/fiction novel. Skeptics might argue that’s just what it is, but it is clear that this author has done his research and has come up with some interesting assertions. The cover is serious and eye-catching, and the choice of title bold, if a little ambiguous. Perhaps a subtitle would clarify the genre of this book a little better. Nevertheless, the reviews were complimentary about the methodical approach that the author has taken, and even though I remain cynical about his ideas, they are just as likely as any others I’ve heard. I’d definitely pick this book up for a closer look. The first ten is clearly arranged and interesting, the language is very simple and clean, which makes a nice change, as these books can sometimes get a little wordy. I appreciated the humble approach this author has; I am more inclined to reading his point of view because of it. There is nothing I didn’t like about the sample, but if I were to suggest anything, it might be to hold out a little while longer, beyond the first ten, before disclosing the significance of comets in his belief. This might encourage the reader to progress a little further into it before deciding if the book is worth continuing with. I saw no grammatical mistakes in the sample. However, I am not going to read this book as I am not overly religious, nor do I believe anyone can predict with any accuracy the second coming of Christ.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 1:27 pm by Sonya Nicolaidis.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Mai Tran
This sounds like a well-researched Bible study guide from the official review. I don’t concern myself with end-of-the-world theories, so normally I'd have passed. The author reasons that since many important events in the Bible can be associated with the appearance of comets, a comet will surely be the sign of Christ’s Second Coming. From what I’ve read in the first chapter, the book seems well-edited. Heeren’s theory of a relationship among the Ice Age, the Great Flood, and a comet is thought-provoking. Unfortunately, I’m positive this isn’t the book for me due to the heavily religious context. I won’t continue to read this book.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 1:08 pm by Mai Tran.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
ritah
Based on the title and genre, I wouldn't have sampled the book because I don't usually go for books in this genre and category. I read the official review and sampled The High Sign. I liked that the author referenced bible verses he believes supports his ideas, and the various interpretations of a verse he mentioned; I feel this would be highly appreciated by the target audience of this book. I did not find any errors in the pages I read. I won't be reading this book because the content is not for me in terms of my interests.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 1:01 pm by ritah.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kristin Ransome
This book is not one I would normally have picked up due to its biblical subject matter. After reading the first 10 pages, it was unable to interest me enough to continue reading. Having found no errors, I'd say this book was professionally edited. My favourite part was the author's jigsaw puzzle reference as an explanation of how he is going to present his ideas. My least favourite part was the amount of references to the bible that the author has in the text. Being someone who is not familiar with this work, I felt it took away from the reading experience; however, this is not something that would hinder an interested reader.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 12:49 pm by Kristin Ransome.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
lisalynn
When I first saw the cover of "The High Sign" I was excited because it looks like a great sci-fi book. The blurb dashes those hopes and explains this is a book about the Second Coming. In the opening, the author declares, "I know what the sign of Jesus's return will be." That is one confident statement. Personally, I don't believe any human knows or can know anything about God's intentions in this department. But Heeren sets out to explain how various Biblical occurrences are marked by the appearance of a celestial comet. His only reference is the Bible itself, using translations, not the original source material. However specious his conclusions are, the book is well written and the first ten were interesting to read. Religious books are not my thing, though, so I won't be reading the rest. I didn't see any errors. No OnlineBookClub review influenced me.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 11:51 am by lisalynn.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
gen_g
I have not come across reviews of this book; it is also professionally edited. I appreciate that the author has taken the time to back up his points with evidence from other sources (news and research); for example, when he claims that the Great Flood could have been caused by a comet, as well as the planet Mercury (the comet being Heeren's hypothesis and the latter from theorist Donald Patten's book), Heeren takes the time to back up his claim by giving the reader the title of the book. I also appreciated Heeren's inclusion of scientific evidence to back up his claims, as seen when he calculates things like water levels of the floods by giving actual mathematical figures. I currently have no suggestions for improvement. However, I will not be reading the rest of the book because texts on religion is not something that I am interested in currently.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 11:21 am by gen_g.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
lavellan
I would not have read the first ten pages of The High Sign if it had not been a part of The First Ten program. While the Book of the Day review was positive, I'm not very religious so a book concerning the Second Coming is not of interest to me. I did not notice any errors while reading. I enjoyed the author's jigsaw analogy which he used to describe his comet theory. I did not enjoy how much speculation was in the book. I don't think there's enough evidence to say that a comet caused the flood described in the Bible. I will not be reading the rest of the book because I am not a part of the author's target Christian audience.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 10:47 am by lavellan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
gali
I wouldn't have sampled the book on my own, as I don't read theological books. The cover and blurb failed to appeal to me, and so did the sample. The book attempts to predict the Second Coming of Christ based on celestial signs, and it associates certain cosmetic activities with biblical events. Using the cosmetic activity to predicate Jesus's Second Coming sounds rather ambitious. I raised an eyebrow by the author's assurance about such an event. While I liked the author's jigsaw puzzle analogy, I disliked his assertions concerning faith and non-believers. My interest waded out soon after the claim that nonbelievers will need to repent to be saved. All those bible quotes and asterisks were another turn-off. I just found a couple of missing commas such as in the following sentence: "I enjoy puzzles of all kinds, but especially crosswords, jigsaws and Sudoku". I won't read the book, as I'm not interested in the subject matter. The official review didn't sway my decision.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 10:15 am by gali.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Theresa Moffitt
I like the cover of this book. It’s interesting and drew my attention. It’s difficult to tell what the book is about based on the cover alone. The title doesn’t indicate what the book is about, but I would have picked this book up based on the cover alone because I like the cover art. I haven’t read a review of this book yet. The book seems to be professionally edited because I didn’t see any errors in the first ten pages. The book is about the second coming of Jesus. I would not have guessed that from the cover alone. It seems like the author has done a considerable amount of research to determine signs and develop a position on when the second coming will be. I think the topic is interesting, but the author cited the Bible too much in the first ten pages which provided for a choppy read. I think the author had an interesting writing style in the preface, but once I started chapter one he was focused too much on the quotes and it wasn’t as smooth reading it. I would like to read a review of this book to see if this changes later in the book. I am not interested in just reading bible quotes, but if there is more indepth analysis and discussion later in the book, it would be more interesting to me. Based on the first ten pages, I will not finish reading this book.
First Ten review added on May 10, 2019, at 10:09 am by Theresa Moffitt.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Total ~ 13%
The High Sign earned a score of 13%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 13% plan to read the whole book.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable.
Over a million books are published each year. Any given person could not even read .0001% of the books out there. This means readers have to be very selective. Even taking the time to look over reviews and blurbs, let alone read samples, is more time than most readers can afford for most books. The First Ten is a powerful focus group that addresses those issues. It creates a helpful tool for authors, publishers, and other readers.
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