Review: Calling all fantasy or super hero fans!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 30, 2013
Like Fantasy? Like superheroes? Then I recommend you take a lot into this book!It starts off with a group of young adults finding a burned boat, with what appears to be a body, in the middle of the desert. Th body turns out to just be a statue wearing pants, with a hole in its chest, or so it seems. A few hours later said statue is found drinking their water supply and appeared as flesh and blood as anyone else with no wound. The group quickly learns this mad is bullet proof and super strong and most take off. Josie and Jimmy stick around and learn that the man's name is Mark remembers dying in 1962. Josie decides to keep him around, to help him out and learn what happened. Meanwhile agents are hot on their trail, desperate to bring Mark in.This story covers Medusa, dragons, shapeshifters, etc with superheroes. Normally I would not like the combination but C.E. Martin really pulls it off well. A great blend of the two. Mark's character is more in depth than what he shares with Josie and Jimmy and I believe, deeper that what we got to see thus far in this first book. Jimmy is a great character whom I wish I was able to get a better feel of. I wanted more from him.One discrepancy I noticed was how Mark uses money. Now, this is going off the fact that Mark has no memory from 1962 to today 2013 (the year they say the story takes place). When the find Mark he has about $4000 in his pocket dated 2000-something, which is how they know there must be a memory lapse. Yet when one of the boys gets hurt he gives enough money to cover a basic doctor visit based on current cost. When they stop for food and gas he pulls out several $20s. Now, how does he know how much to pull. $4000 should have seemed like a WHOLE lot of money to him from the early 1960's. $20 should have easily covered food and gas. How does he know cost and why doesn't Josie comment or notice that he has some memory? Just a question that I came across.One quote seen I like is a flashback scene to 1962 where some men are trapped and Mark is telling his wife that the building is in lock-down for safety reasons and they have to hope the men make it until morning, he tells her it is protocol. Being a odd situation she asks how can there be protocol for it. His answer: "It's the Army. We have protocols for everything." I could not help but laugh because it happens all the time, especially in movies. No matter how outrageous the situation, the military will put order to it without hesitating and they make it appear like they expected it.Bottom line, this was a fun book. Relatively short, lacking some detail in areas I would have liked to see more, but still good. I will definitely be hunting down the others in the series over time.*I won this book in a raffle.  This is my fair, honest review, done of my own free will and choosing.