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Gabriel's Return (Evan Gabriel Trilogy #2)

by Steve Umstead (Goodreads Author)

4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 · rating details · 74 ratings · 19 reviews

GABRIEL'S RETURN
Book 2 of the Evan Gabriel Trilogy

***** Voted Reviewer's Choice 2011 by The Kindle Book Review: "A Sci-Fi Rumble in the Jungle" Five Stars

Gabriel has always been haunted by his past. Now he must face his past once again.

On the far-off icebound planet of Poliahu, North American Federation Navy Commander Evan Gabriel suffered the loss of several team member...more

Kindle Edition, 311 pages

Published August 15th 2011 by ReactionMass Media (first published August 14th 2011)

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Nov 17, 2011 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who likes an action-packed sci-fi with political intrigue

Recommended to Tom by: Kindle Book Review

Shelves: scifi-fantasy, top-shelf

A Sci-Fi Rumble in the Jungle

Power up your Oso-11 heavy assault rifle and join Evan Gabriel’s team as they face a new threat on an old battlefield in Steve Umstead’s second novel in the Evan Gabriel Trilogy, ‘Gabriel’s Return’.

Picking up the story six months after the conclusions of the first book, Umstead instills in you a false sense of security and normalcy so that he can leverage his plot and jerk the rug out from under you and his characters. This book is loaded with more than enough hi-tec...more A Sci-Fi Rumble in the Jungle

Power up your Oso-11 heavy assault rifle and join Evan Gabriel’s team as they face a new threat on an old battlefield in Steve Umstead’s second novel in the Evan Gabriel Trilogy, ‘Gabriel’s Return’.

Picking up the story six months after the conclusions of the first book, Umstead instills in you a false sense of security and normalcy so that he can leverage his plot and jerk the rug out from under you and his characters. This book is loaded with more than enough hi-tech action but Umstead finds balance and depth by presenting a more complex plot and delves much deeper into his characters.

Against all odds – a summary

Evan Gabriel and his team of special operations forces have been cleaning up the streets of Mars. Gone are the criminals and the chaos, replaced by the pleasant smiles of pedestrians and laughter of children playing. Things are winding down for Gabriel and his crack unit but political forces are manipulating events around the galaxies that will put it all in jeopardy.

Learning that one of his men from the ill-fated Eden mission is alive but imprisoned, Gabriel takes his team back to where his nightmare began. As they prepare for this latest Eden mission, one team member falls to a traitor’s plot and they quickly realize the only people they can trust are each other. Ill-equipped and undermanned, Gabriel and his crew must fight their way through enemy territory and defeat an army of terrorists in order to eliminate the mysterious ‘Prophet’ and rescue their hostages.

Meanwhile, political machinations begin to play out as an anonymous mastermind, backed by the La Republica de Sudamerica, begins his coup on Mars while Gabriel and his team are light years away battling the terrorists and their own personal demons.

Final Thoughts

While there were no major surprises in the story, there was more than enough action and intrigue to keep me turning page after suspenseful. In fact I enjoyed this book as much, if not more than the first novel for a couple of reasons. First, we get a much better picture about the kind of man Evan Gabriel really is because he’s no longer a one-man show on the run. Second, the mix between action and intrigue was much more balanced and definitely sews enough threads to make me excited about reading Gabriel’s Revenge (Book 3). Add it all together and you have a five-star read in Gabriel’s Return.

Tom Clementson (Kindle Book Review)
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Sep 08, 2011 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars

North American Federation Navy Commander Evan Gabriel knows two things, he was not meant to act like a keeper of the peace on Mars and two, he'll forever be haunted by the men lost on a mission gone horribly wrong on the planet of Eden. When transmission comes in from that forsaken planet containing a plea from a friend he thought he lost there, Gabriel takes his new team back into the dangerous jungles of Eden to save its inhabitants from terrorists while trying to locate and rescue his fallen...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Shay Fabbro rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am a sucker for scifi/fantasy :) I LOVED the first book of the trilogy, Gabriel's Redemption. Gabriel's Return did not disappoint. Full of some of the same characters (those that made it through the adventure in the first book), multiple planets, the coolest military gadgets known (well, actually NOT known) to man, and a kick-ass plot that keeps the reader guessing.

In this installment of the Even Gabriel trilogy, Evan Gabriel comes face to face with a ghost from his past on a deadly, yet beaut...more

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Aug 22, 2011 D. Leask rated it 5 of 5 stars

In a Nutshell:
This is the second book of the Evan Gabriel Series.
After a short time attempting, and somewhat succeeding, to help out people in one of the lawless domes of Mars, Gabriel and his team are summoned to meet with the area's Governor. She sends them on an unofficial assignment to stop terrorists who have kidnapped her son and several others on the planet of Eden, a place that Gabriel knows well, and has a sorted past with.

First Thoughts:
There are some tremendous visuals of both the lan...more In a Nutshell:
This is the second book of the Evan Gabriel Series.
After a short time attempting, and somewhat succeeding, to help out people in one of the lawless domes of Mars, Gabriel and his team are summoned to meet with the area's Governor. She sends them on an unofficial assignment to stop terrorists who have kidnapped her son and several others on the planet of Eden, a place that Gabriel knows well, and has a sorted past with.

First Thoughts:
There are some tremendous visuals of both the landscape on Mars and Eden as well as a really cool sequence where people are "drinking" tea at zero gravity! It's like the author did it and documented it all. Super cool! The story has grown a lot since the last one, and so has the writer! Quick side note, for those of you that aren't familiar with military jargon, you may see the term materiél. It's not a typo, it's the proper military term for materials. See definition

Thoughts Upon Completion:
Wow! I was impressed with the first story and was really looking forward to this one. I was not disappointed. The action was quickly paced and well written, I can't recall a single slow spot in the whole story and the tie-in of Gabriel's back story and the trouble he'd previously had on Eden was really well played out here. I won't give away the ending, but let's say it was very obvious how it was going to end, but only in hindsight! I have nothing negative to say about this sequel. The writer held back a bit on the first with his language which made it a little bit odd, this time around the language was more befitting the military setting on which it's based.

Overall
As I mentioned on my review of Gabriel's Redemption, this is a no question's sci-fi story however it lends itself very well to both those who are avid readers of this genre and those that just want to read a great story! It's never goes over the top with techie jargon and all of the sciencey parts are cleverly explained and based on things that are currently in our popular culture.
This is part II of a trilogy and I think you won't sit idly by waiting for #3!

Thanks for Reading
D. Ryan Leask

Score:
4 + 5 + 10 = ☼☼☼☼☼(less)

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Aug 19, 2011 Glenn Skinner rated it 5 of 5 stars

Author Steve Umstead has spun a masterful sequel in this, the second book of the Evan Gabriel trilogy. Gabriel's Return picks up 6 months from where we last left Gabriel and his team. On the not so distant Mars, Gabriel and his team have been slowly cleaning up the corruption on mars. When the most influential governor on mars learns of her sons capture by terrorists on the far away world of Eden, she enlists the aid of Gabriel and his team to rescue him. Gabriel must deal with the bitter memori...more

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Jan 05, 2012 Daniel Reyes rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the second book in the Evan Gabriel Trilogy. While in the first one I though the characters were a little bland and sketchy, in this one they are much more thought out and detailed (you can see more of who Gabriel is), and this makes it easier to relate with (and to) them. This is still an action novel above all, and as such you'll get firefights, daring deeds and a few deaths thrown in, all to make an interesting read.

I was a little disappointed howev...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Leah Petersen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

Since this is a sequel to Gabriel's Redemption, I already knew Steve was a great writer with imagination and spunk and a killer grip of the tech-geeky-cool stuff that makes sci-fi like this so much fun.

There was no let-down with Gabriel's Return. In fact, it's better in my opinion. Wow, did he deliver pace, plot, and intrigue. One of the best parts is that Return takes us back, not only physically to the planet that started Gabriel's fall into disgrace and haunting nightmares, but it brings it...more

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Sep 11, 2011 R.B. Wood rated it 4 of 5 stars

GABRIEL’S RETURN (Book 2 of the Evan Gabriel Trilogy) by Steve Umstead FOUR out of FIVE STARS

Read my review of book one (GABRIEL’S REDEMPTION)

Six months after the events in book one, Commander Evan Gabriel of the North American Federation and the remainder of his team are on Mars when the son of a high-ranking politician is kidnapped on the distant world of Eden.

Gabriel and his team are asked mount a rescue, but bitter politics and memories of a failed mission 5 years previously complicate the m...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Serge Boivin rated it 3 of 5 stars

The second installment of the Gabriel series disappointed me. The first novel was pleasant enough that I decided to read the second one, but I have to admit that it kind of felt flat to me.
Some of the dialogue seemed very artificial at times, and some of the action was repetitive.
The detail that annoyed me the most, is that perhaps the most important "secret" of the whole story, was completely obvious to me right from the start. To say more would be giving away a spoiler, so I will leave it as...more

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Feb 03, 2012 C.p. Bialois rated it 4 of 5 stars

Six months after reclaiming a life that was lost to him, Evan Gabriel has made a home for himself and his team on Mars. After eliminating the criminal element they're treated like family by the people of Mars. As proves to be the norm in Gabriel's life, he's taken from his earned peace when he and his team are sent to the same planet that almost claimed him five years earlier. Sent to the beautifully dangerous planet Eden to rescue hostages taken by rebels, he's forced to face one more memory fr...more

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Sep 28, 2011 Dannie Hill rated it 5 of 5 stars

I’ve just finished reading Gabriel’s Return by Steve Umstead and found it a great continuation of the Evan Gabriel series. Steve Umstead’s first book, Gabriel’s Redemption, showed me the skill and great storytelling abilities of the author. Gabriel’s Return is no exception.

The story of Evan Gabriel’s return to military action starts a bit slow but the author paints a wonderful descriptive picture of life on Mars and builds to a mission made for Gabriel and his team.

Political elements on Earth pl...more

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Oct 07, 2011 B.C. Young rated it 4 of 5 stars

As with all of my reviews, I'm not going to talk about the plot here. That's for you to enjoy when you curl up with your Kindle (or other eReader) and a cup of tea or coffee. But I will bring out a number of things about the book I enjoyed.

Gabriel's Return starts off fast, forcing you to dive into the story. I really appreciated this. As you might recall, my major complaint with Gabriel's Redemption was that it took a long time, nearly half the book, before I felt like the pace of the story was...more

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Dec 11, 2011 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow, a full action packed book two in the Evan Gabriel trilogy.

This installment follows Gabriel doing routine duty on Mars when one of the Governor’s requests his team to accept a mission to Eden. The planet was given the name because it looks like Eden, perfect, but this planet is anything but! The Governor’s son is kidnapped by a community of Rebels and a whole team of students is taken hostage. Gabriel ready’s his team to embark on a mission that isn’t official. They board their ship and me...more

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Oct 27, 2012 David King rated it 5 of 5 stars

"Gabriel's Revenge" is the sequel to the superb Science Fiction novel, "Gabriel's Redemption". As with all my reviews on sequels, there could be some elements contained here which may spoil the earlier novel so my advice as always would be to read that novel before continuing with this review.

The story picks up several month's after the events of the previous novel with Commander Evan Gabriel and the remainder of his team working to help the government on Mars. However, Gabriel and his team are...more "Gabriel's Revenge" is the sequel to the superb Science Fiction novel, "Gabriel's Redemption". As with all my reviews on sequels, there could be some elements contained here which may spoil the earlier novel so my advice as always would be to read that novel before continuing with this review.

The story picks up several month's after the events of the previous novel with Commander Evan Gabriel and the remainder of his team working to help the government on Mars. However, Gabriel and his team are asked to go on an off-world mission when the son of a high-ranking Mars politician is kidnapped by terrorists on the distant planet of Eden. This is already an incredibly difficult and dangerous mission due to Eden's rather deadly native wildlife and the terrorists themselves, but things are complicated even further by Gabriel's own memories of a failed mission 5 years previously.

Steve Umstead had a difficult job in trying to follow "Gabriel's Redemption" which was a novel I thoroughly enjoyed. However, he hasn't missed a beat here as "Gabriel's Return" has an entertaining storyline that fits in well with the world he has crafted. The story picks up at a high pace due to the reader already being familiar with the basis of the characters and Universe already which enables the action to get underway as quickly as possible.

One of the best elements of this novel in particular though had to be the world of Eden itself. Umstead's descriptions are vivid and detailed which made it easy to visualise what he was describing, and what I saw in my mind was a wonderfully original and varied world. Overall, Eden just came alive as a place which felt real to me and I think this is a sure sign of a well written and believable story.

The characters in the novel continued to impress me as they all came across as being basically human, with the faults and perks that this entails. Yes, the protagonists were noble, dedicated and brave, whilst the antagonists were cruel, dangerous and ruthless but you could still see that every one of them was being driven by their own emotions and fears.

The only minor niggle I would mention is that none of the twists surprised me to be honest and I could see the main one coming from miles away. It wasn't really an issue though because the actions and thrills are more than enough to keep the reader hooked from the beginning to the end.

Overall, I think that Steve Umstead continues to be a shining example of what a self-published author can do and this is a worthy sequel to "Gabriel's Redemption". I really can't help but continue to recommend this well written and entertaining trilogy highly enough. To be honest, if you have read the previous novel then I suspect you will be picking this one up anyway, but just make sure you do it sooner rather than later as you won't be disappointed. (less)

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Aug 17, 2011 David Prosser rated it 5 of 5 stars

Join this travel between the worlds and the saga of Evan Gabriel as he strives to complete his missions. This time we travel back to Eden where his troubles first started and his road to redemption began. This bok has everything for a reader from dangerand intrigue to a guaranteed increase in pulse rate.

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Sep 13, 2011 Mhairi Simpson rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book even more than the first one, if possible. The continuing character arcs and plotlines just drew me in so that I could hardly bear to put the book down! Can't wait for the third and final installment!

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Jul 03, 2012 Mike Gottert rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sf

Book two of the trilogy and the story continues. A new mission for Gabriel and his team returns Gabriel to the scene of the mission that caused him to be cashiered. The bad guys are a little to easily overcome and the big surprise is not really surprising, but an entertaining read.

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Aug 30, 2011 D.W. Davis rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who enjoys sci-fi and military adventure

Carried my Kindle everywhere so I could keep reading every spare moment. Felt like the characters were counting on me to read them through to "mission accomplished." Can hardly stand the wait for Book 3.

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Mar 21, 2013 Peter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Just as you think 1 sub plot has concluded, there's always another surprise just around the corner, but you don't know when it's going to happen until you land on top of it.

Well crafted plot. Characters are realistic, and would translate well as a movie.

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Shelves: scifi

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About Steve Umstead

Steve Umstead has been the owner of a Caribbean & Mexico travel company for the past ten years, but never forgot his lifelong dream of becoming an author. After a successful stab at National Novel Writing Month, he decided to pursue his dream more vigorously…but hasn't given up the traveling.

Steve lives in scenic (tongue-in-cheek) New Jersey with his wife, two kids, and several bookshelves fu...more

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Gabriel's Return (Evan Gabriel Trilogy #2)

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