Review by payal80 -- Spyder Bones by Oliver Phipps
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payal80
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Review by payal80 -- Spyder Bones by Oliver Phipps
[Following is a volunteer review of "Spyder Bones" by Oliver Phipps.]
2 out of 4 stars
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Good vs. Evil: The eternal fight that has been spoken of in all our religious scriptures. This struggle has always been an intriguing fascination, especially as we have all grown up listening to various mythological/historical tales about the triumph of good over evil.
There have been innumerable fictional stories written on this topic making it a very popular genre.
Spyder Bones by Oliver Phipps, a fantasy story set in the 1960s during the Vietnam war is one such story with the basic premise of a perennial struggle between virtue and vice.
The story centers around Aaron Prescott a seasoned soldier who after completing one tour of duty in Vietnam as a cavalryman returns back for a second time as a combat medic. He is known to his friends as Spyder Bones and is shown as a simple man whose life is centered around combat duty, his Vietnamese girlfriend, and a love for music. His life takes an unexpected turn when he gets seriously injured during combat and is subsequently placed in a comatose state for months. Here, the actual story begins. Spyder finds himself in an isolated existence that is present between the physical realm and the spiritual realm. He realizes that he has a unique potential through which he has been able to reach the spiritual realm while still being in a comatose state in the physical world. The story is about how Bones realizes the true intent of his being on this earth and the choices, decisions, and even sacrifices made by him to fulfill his duty as a warrior representing the Supreme being!
This is an interesting story with a plot that is tight and fast-paced. There was never a point in the book where I felt that the story is not moving ahead. I personally enjoyed the descriptions on the different auras that could be felt by Bones on meeting new people. Such a riveting gift to be able to discern the true nature of others through a simple glance. Phipps has been brilliant in keeping the character of Bones real in spite of being an angel warrior. He is shown to be possessive, fearful, in love, and hoping to keep his loved ones safe.
This is my first book by the author and I really liked his method of storytelling. I liked the way Phipps has ended the story leaving no loopholes or unwanted unfinished gaps in the end. I enjoy my stories to have a proper finale and this book made me smile at the end.
However, one thing that I disliked about the story is the character sketch of the side characters. I fond these portraits to be insufficient and not adding to the story much!
The editing of the story has not been up to the mark as I found inconsistency in spellings of certain words and a lot of punctuation errors.
I will rate this book 2 out of 4. I cannot rate this book as a 3 because of sloppy editing and at the same time, the story does not deserve a 1 for the simple reason that Phipps has written a great story that keeps the reader hooked from the first sentence till the very last one.
I would recommend this book to all those book lovers who can ignore the editing errors and enjoy the absorbing story of a spiritual battle between the angels and the demons in the physical world among the mortals who are blissfully ignorant of the constant war between them.
******
Spyder Bones
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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2 out of 4 stars
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Good vs. Evil: The eternal fight that has been spoken of in all our religious scriptures. This struggle has always been an intriguing fascination, especially as we have all grown up listening to various mythological/historical tales about the triumph of good over evil.
There have been innumerable fictional stories written on this topic making it a very popular genre.
Spyder Bones by Oliver Phipps, a fantasy story set in the 1960s during the Vietnam war is one such story with the basic premise of a perennial struggle between virtue and vice.
The story centers around Aaron Prescott a seasoned soldier who after completing one tour of duty in Vietnam as a cavalryman returns back for a second time as a combat medic. He is known to his friends as Spyder Bones and is shown as a simple man whose life is centered around combat duty, his Vietnamese girlfriend, and a love for music. His life takes an unexpected turn when he gets seriously injured during combat and is subsequently placed in a comatose state for months. Here, the actual story begins. Spyder finds himself in an isolated existence that is present between the physical realm and the spiritual realm. He realizes that he has a unique potential through which he has been able to reach the spiritual realm while still being in a comatose state in the physical world. The story is about how Bones realizes the true intent of his being on this earth and the choices, decisions, and even sacrifices made by him to fulfill his duty as a warrior representing the Supreme being!
This is an interesting story with a plot that is tight and fast-paced. There was never a point in the book where I felt that the story is not moving ahead. I personally enjoyed the descriptions on the different auras that could be felt by Bones on meeting new people. Such a riveting gift to be able to discern the true nature of others through a simple glance. Phipps has been brilliant in keeping the character of Bones real in spite of being an angel warrior. He is shown to be possessive, fearful, in love, and hoping to keep his loved ones safe.
This is my first book by the author and I really liked his method of storytelling. I liked the way Phipps has ended the story leaving no loopholes or unwanted unfinished gaps in the end. I enjoy my stories to have a proper finale and this book made me smile at the end.
However, one thing that I disliked about the story is the character sketch of the side characters. I fond these portraits to be insufficient and not adding to the story much!
The editing of the story has not been up to the mark as I found inconsistency in spellings of certain words and a lot of punctuation errors.
I will rate this book 2 out of 4. I cannot rate this book as a 3 because of sloppy editing and at the same time, the story does not deserve a 1 for the simple reason that Phipps has written a great story that keeps the reader hooked from the first sentence till the very last one.
I would recommend this book to all those book lovers who can ignore the editing errors and enjoy the absorbing story of a spiritual battle between the angels and the demons in the physical world among the mortals who are blissfully ignorant of the constant war between them.
******
Spyder Bones
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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Latest Review: Gringo by Dan "Tito" Davis
