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Matt Rowley #2
Black Tide
Matt Rowley – super human strength, unnaturally fast reflexes, enhanced senses – augmentation is something that he will have to learn to live with, for the rest of his life.
As cults spring up in worship of the demonic beings freed by the last of the nephilim, the United States calls on Matt Rowley to meet the threat. His unnatural powers returning with every passing day, Matt becomes the only weapon able to withstand eldritch forces older than time and darker than the blackest sea.
When his wife and infant son are taken in a violent attack on his hometown, Matt falls into a vast conspiracy that could destroy his family and his very soul.
They want Matt Rowley’s powers and will kill everyone to get them.
As cults spring up in worship of the demonic beings freed by the last of the nephilim, the United States calls on Matt Rowley to meet the threat. His unnatural powers returning with every passing day, Matt becomes the only weapon able to withstand eldritch forces older than time and darker than the blackest sea.
When his wife and infant son are taken in a violent attack on his hometown, Matt falls into a vast conspiracy that could destroy his family and his very soul.
They want Matt Rowley’s powers and will kill everyone to get them.
262 pages, Paperback
First published April 17, 2015
3 people are currently reading
564 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Freivald
41 books74 followersPlease visit me on my website, http://patrick.freivald.com
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 19, 2015
4.5 Stars Rounded up to 5 Review copy
Three years ago I started reading an up-and-coming horror writer by the name of Patrick Freivald. An interesting guy who happens to be a High School teacher, a robotics coach, and a bee-keeper, yet still finds the time to write compelling fiction.
Patrick's first two novels were YA zombie books about Ani Romero, a normal sixteen-year-old girl with a secret. She's a zombie. Twice Shy and Special Dead are still two of my favorite zombie books. It's a world I'd love to see Patrick get back to, someday. (Hint, hint).
I can see why it might be difficult to get back to Ani's story since Patrick's muse has taken him into the world of Matt Rowley a character who hasn't been human for years. A commando for ICAP, the International Council and Augmented Phenomena, he hunts down superhuman monsters the military can't handle. Book 1, Jade Sky, was published last Spring, and Black Tide is it's sequel.
Black Tide, is very close to a perfect novel. A compelling story with a flawed hero, surrounded by richly crafted characters who are just as imperfect as Matt.
Chapter 1 would have made a fitting climax in any SF adventure novel, but in Black Tide, it was just the beginning.
There are significant changes for book 2 in the Matt Rawley series. "Matt found himself without rank, command, or superiors. His reassignment to the Department of Homeland Security's newly created Special Threats Bureau came with no mission and no directives, but a shiny new ID badge that might get him out of speeding tickets. As the only Aug left in the world, the UN, NATO, and the United States never ran out of things 'only he' could do."
There is plenty of violence and some pretty horrific stuff goes down, but when Matt takes vengeance on the bad guys and girls, it feels so good.
There are some genuine, "Oh, wow!" moments here and the end is the perfect setup for the next book in the series, which can't come soon enough.
My favorite quote from Black Tide, comes from Matt Rawley. "I kill to protect my family, my town, my country. I kill bad people when they need killing."
Black Tide is available now in a variety of ebook formats and paperback from JournalStone through their website. Book 1 in the Matt Rawley series is recommended reading, but not required.
I can highly recommend this series and anything written by its author.
Three years ago I started reading an up-and-coming horror writer by the name of Patrick Freivald. An interesting guy who happens to be a High School teacher, a robotics coach, and a bee-keeper, yet still finds the time to write compelling fiction.
Patrick's first two novels were YA zombie books about Ani Romero, a normal sixteen-year-old girl with a secret. She's a zombie. Twice Shy and Special Dead are still two of my favorite zombie books. It's a world I'd love to see Patrick get back to, someday. (Hint, hint).
I can see why it might be difficult to get back to Ani's story since Patrick's muse has taken him into the world of Matt Rowley a character who hasn't been human for years. A commando for ICAP, the International Council and Augmented Phenomena, he hunts down superhuman monsters the military can't handle. Book 1, Jade Sky, was published last Spring, and Black Tide is it's sequel.
Black Tide, is very close to a perfect novel. A compelling story with a flawed hero, surrounded by richly crafted characters who are just as imperfect as Matt.
Chapter 1 would have made a fitting climax in any SF adventure novel, but in Black Tide, it was just the beginning.
There are significant changes for book 2 in the Matt Rawley series. "Matt found himself without rank, command, or superiors. His reassignment to the Department of Homeland Security's newly created Special Threats Bureau came with no mission and no directives, but a shiny new ID badge that might get him out of speeding tickets. As the only Aug left in the world, the UN, NATO, and the United States never ran out of things 'only he' could do."
There is plenty of violence and some pretty horrific stuff goes down, but when Matt takes vengeance on the bad guys and girls, it feels so good.
There are some genuine, "Oh, wow!" moments here and the end is the perfect setup for the next book in the series, which can't come soon enough.
My favorite quote from Black Tide, comes from Matt Rawley. "I kill to protect my family, my town, my country. I kill bad people when they need killing."
Black Tide is available now in a variety of ebook formats and paperback from JournalStone through their website. Book 1 in the Matt Rawley series is recommended reading, but not required.
I can highly recommend this series and anything written by its author.
April 24, 2015
I really Liked this Book, a bit on the "dark" side but it was good. The Story is well thought out and never really gets bogged down or boring, Patrick keeps a good pace in the book and keeps you wanting to read the book. I would recommend it especially for people who like Supernatural (The TV Series)
December 24, 2014
Matt Rowley – super human strength, unnaturally fast reflexes, enhanced senses – augmentation is something that he will have to learn to live with, for the rest of his life.
As cults spring up in worship of the demonic beings freed by the last of the nephilim, the United States calls on Matt Rowley to meet the threat. His unnatural powers returning with every passing day, Matt becomes the only weapon able to withstand eldritch forces older than time and darker than the blackest sea.
When his wife and infant son are taken in a violent attack on his hometown, Matt falls into a vast conspiracy that could destroy his family and his very soul.
They want Matt Rowley’s powers and will kill everyone to get them.
As cults spring up in worship of the demonic beings freed by the last of the nephilim, the United States calls on Matt Rowley to meet the threat. His unnatural powers returning with every passing day, Matt becomes the only weapon able to withstand eldritch forces older than time and darker than the blackest sea.
When his wife and infant son are taken in a violent attack on his hometown, Matt falls into a vast conspiracy that could destroy his family and his very soul.
They want Matt Rowley’s powers and will kill everyone to get them.
June 5, 2015
4.5 stars, so five for the rating.
This series just keeps getting better and better.
Freivald is a writer to keep a very close eye on if you like military/sci-fi/horror/thrillers.
This series just keeps getting better and better.
Freivald is a writer to keep a very close eye on if you like military/sci-fi/horror/thrillers.
June 29, 2016
***Won in a LibraryThing Early Reviewers giveaway***
The thing with this one is simple: good story, but the presumption that the reader must have read book #1 (Jade Sky) limited the enjoyment. Events from the first book were mentioned willy-nilly and therefore caused confusion on what exactly was going on and why characters felt certain ways towards each other, towards the world, towards everything.
The writing style is very fast and direct. Often chapters or paragraphs begin without the transition expected to let the reader know the characters traveled somewhere. This is a little jarring when spending pages in one city in a firefight and then all of a sudden being in a different city hanging around. Along the same lines, the ability to heal supernaturally caused some confusion as well. The author went through painstaking detail to describe wounds and depict the blood and gore etc, but due to fast regen the wounds are never described as healing or in what process they are. Sometimes this is false but for example: an arm is chopped off and then its back on and functioning some indiscriminate amount of time later. Hard to wrap a head around that.
Having said all that, the action sequences were fun and exciting, the story was a bit confusing but I think I got the gist of it. The ending was a sort of cliffhanger but not really, but definitively set up another book. I am not sure I am going to read the 3rd in the series or the 1st for that matter, but this was an interesting story all things considered.
The thing with this one is simple: good story, but the presumption that the reader must have read book #1 (Jade Sky) limited the enjoyment. Events from the first book were mentioned willy-nilly and therefore caused confusion on what exactly was going on and why characters felt certain ways towards each other, towards the world, towards everything.
The writing style is very fast and direct. Often chapters or paragraphs begin without the transition expected to let the reader know the characters traveled somewhere. This is a little jarring when spending pages in one city in a firefight and then all of a sudden being in a different city hanging around. Along the same lines, the ability to heal supernaturally caused some confusion as well. The author went through painstaking detail to describe wounds and depict the blood and gore etc, but due to fast regen the wounds are never described as healing or in what process they are. Sometimes this is false but for example: an arm is chopped off and then its back on and functioning some indiscriminate amount of time later. Hard to wrap a head around that.
Having said all that, the action sequences were fun and exciting, the story was a bit confusing but I think I got the gist of it. The ending was a sort of cliffhanger but not really, but definitively set up another book. I am not sure I am going to read the 3rd in the series or the 1st for that matter, but this was an interesting story all things considered.
June 13, 2015
As I understand it, Patrick Freivald is (among other things) a High School teacher. How fun it would be if one were a student skilled in diverting his attentions away from mundane classroom reality to frequently sail away into Mr. Freivald's imagination. Being a big fan of Science Fiction, herculean monsters, struggling governments and the believability of imperfection, the not-quite-human Matt Rowley would have been a favorite hero of mine as well as the entire class, I am sure.
Matt has the distinction of being the only Aug left on this planet whether he likes it or not and with his many attributes growing daily he is in demand often, in many ways and on all fronts. This book offers up a fast clip of military action, violence, horror, retribution, conspiracy and the dark forces that collide into a genuine excitement carrying the reader along throughout... *pant, pant* ...the result of which is a lack of unimportant words that I have always found an aggravating source of unintended midday naps.
I have not read the first book in this series, Jade Sky, yet I am not leaping very far in faith when I say that I look forward to doing so.
Thank you Goodreads for this opportunity to enjoy.
Matt has the distinction of being the only Aug left on this planet whether he likes it or not and with his many attributes growing daily he is in demand often, in many ways and on all fronts. This book offers up a fast clip of military action, violence, horror, retribution, conspiracy and the dark forces that collide into a genuine excitement carrying the reader along throughout... *pant, pant* ...the result of which is a lack of unimportant words that I have always found an aggravating source of unintended midday naps.
I have not read the first book in this series, Jade Sky, yet I am not leaping very far in faith when I say that I look forward to doing so.
Thank you Goodreads for this opportunity to enjoy.
March 22, 2016
BLACK TIDE is Book 2 in the Matt Rowley series. I read it in one night. As much as I enjoyed Book 1, Book 2 is twice as entertaining.
Matt Rowley is back, and the danger (from Book 1), lingers. No. Intensifies. After the destruction of the nephilim, the augmented people have been saved, returning to "normal." Except Matt. His regenerative abilities, and superhuman strength returns. As do the whispers. Cults spring up all over the globe. Matt Rowley may be the only one who can battle the gathering forces. As usual, Matt Rowley depends on his wife, is inspired by his son (and family), and realizes it is dangerous trusting anyone!
In almost first-person shooter video game style, this military/thriller is (like the first book) packed-full of action. There is not a dull chapter in the book. Freivald incorporates unique and exotic locales. The contemporaneous story lines keep the tension taut. Grow your fingernails. My guess? You'll be chewing away at them page after page.
I most definitely recommend reading JADE SKY first. But, have BLACK TIDE handy because once you start the series, I'm not sure you'll be able to stop!
Phillip Tomasso
Author of Severed Empire: Wizard's Rise and Damn the Dead
Matt Rowley is back, and the danger (from Book 1), lingers. No. Intensifies. After the destruction of the nephilim, the augmented people have been saved, returning to "normal." Except Matt. His regenerative abilities, and superhuman strength returns. As do the whispers. Cults spring up all over the globe. Matt Rowley may be the only one who can battle the gathering forces. As usual, Matt Rowley depends on his wife, is inspired by his son (and family), and realizes it is dangerous trusting anyone!
In almost first-person shooter video game style, this military/thriller is (like the first book) packed-full of action. There is not a dull chapter in the book. Freivald incorporates unique and exotic locales. The contemporaneous story lines keep the tension taut. Grow your fingernails. My guess? You'll be chewing away at them page after page.
I most definitely recommend reading JADE SKY first. But, have BLACK TIDE handy because once you start the series, I'm not sure you'll be able to stop!
Phillip Tomasso
Author of Severed Empire: Wizard's Rise and Damn the Dead
May 23, 2015
I’ve always enjoyed Freivald’s work. As an HWA member, I’ve been in the fortunate position to receive work from some of the other members, and I was first introduced to this Patrick when he sent me a couple of his short stories. His prose style is boiled down and terse, stripped of any and all excess words, and this efficiency plays well to the kinds of stories he writes. In particular, his Matt Rowley series, of which Black Tide is part two, is a fast-paced military sci-fi/horror that operates under the strict assumption that the reader is not only intelligent, but is paying full attention at all times. Rowley first hit the pages in the novel Jade Sky, and is about as no-nonsense as his creator’s writing style.
I won’t say too much about the plot so as to avoid inadvertent spoilers for book 1 in this series, but if you enjoyed Jade Sky you’ll love Black Tide. This is a violent and brutal tale with some graphic imagery and I enjoyed every page of it.
I won’t say too much about the plot so as to avoid inadvertent spoilers for book 1 in this series, but if you enjoyed Jade Sky you’ll love Black Tide. This is a violent and brutal tale with some graphic imagery and I enjoyed every page of it.
July 30, 2015
I mowed through this pretty quickly. I thoroughly enjoyed JADE SKY, but this one ups the ante. Not as druggy or angel-ly as the first Matt Rowley book, but just as action-packed thrill ride as that one. Matt's organization has been dissolved and he is the only Aug left on the planet. So now he is being over-utilized. It is exhausting to read, since the reader easily puts him/herself into the action. Excellent fight scenes, great action across the board. I feel for Matt's family since he is on the road all the time and his wife and baby son are left to fend for themselves from the evil that uses them to get to Matt. No wilting violets there, they can handle what comes close.
Once again it's "buckle up buttercup". DH asked to read them, a first.
Definite recommend.
Once again it's "buckle up buttercup". DH asked to read them, a first.
Definite recommend.
May 17, 2015
Black Tide is a little bit of a genre crunch, but a very enjoyable one. It blends quasi military sci-fi with organized crime and a certain spirituality along with occult practices. As much as it may seem an unlikely mix, the author Patrick Freivald pulls it off well.
There is quite a bit of violence, but not so graphic as to be detrimental to the story. There were a few truly mind-blowing passages that will surely stay with me a good while, for both their weirdness and their beauty. The family the story revolves around is very loving, but not without its flaws and the main protagonist, Matt Rowley, never forgets his purpose, regardless of what is required.
There is quite a bit of violence, but not so graphic as to be detrimental to the story. There were a few truly mind-blowing passages that will surely stay with me a good while, for both their weirdness and their beauty. The family the story revolves around is very loving, but not without its flaws and the main protagonist, Matt Rowley, never forgets his purpose, regardless of what is required.
May 26, 2015
This was a GoodReads giveaway win.
And the sequel to Jade Sky. Unfortunately, I missed a lot by not reading Jade Sky first. And there are enough references in the sequel to that book, that it would seem to spoil the fun. Thee is plenty of action and dying throughout the book. A bit of overload for me. Kind of like the modern action movie, with a lot of action and less plot line. There is still character development as we learn about our heroes and their families. I mostly felt I came into the middle of the movie, and I hate that. If you like action, there is plenty of it here.
Have a GoodReads.
And the sequel to Jade Sky. Unfortunately, I missed a lot by not reading Jade Sky first. And there are enough references in the sequel to that book, that it would seem to spoil the fun. Thee is plenty of action and dying throughout the book. A bit of overload for me. Kind of like the modern action movie, with a lot of action and less plot line. There is still character development as we learn about our heroes and their families. I mostly felt I came into the middle of the movie, and I hate that. If you like action, there is plenty of it here.
Have a GoodReads.
May 27, 2016
Freivald continues his series of action-packed, super-powered thriller with horror elements in Black Tide.
The writing is concise and sharp like a razor. The author is a master when it comes to removing non-essential elements until only story remains. Characters are vivid and well-developed with complex and rich relationships.
The plot is twisting and mysterious, pulling the reader along. Combat scenes are graphic, desperate and well-depicted. Double and triple crosses abound and as the reader progresses in the story so too, does a sense of growing dread.
Simply a well-written book. So good, in fact, I've pre-ordered the third book in the series and look forward to its arrival in June.
The writing is concise and sharp like a razor. The author is a master when it comes to removing non-essential elements until only story remains. Characters are vivid and well-developed with complex and rich relationships.
The plot is twisting and mysterious, pulling the reader along. Combat scenes are graphic, desperate and well-depicted. Double and triple crosses abound and as the reader progresses in the story so too, does a sense of growing dread.
Simply a well-written book. So good, in fact, I've pre-ordered the third book in the series and look forward to its arrival in June.
June 16, 2015
Matt Rowley has superhuman powers perhaps the last aug. When evil forces arise thay call upon Matt.
When they take his wife and young son Matt calls upon his powers to rescue them.
I had a hard time putting the book down once I got started. I recomenddd this book to those who love a good story.
I look forward to reading the other books in this series.
When they take his wife and young son Matt calls upon his powers to rescue them.
I had a hard time putting the book down once I got started. I recomenddd this book to those who love a good story.
I look forward to reading the other books in this series.
March 24, 2016
Matt Rowley is the only augmented soldier left and is called into action as new cults spring up in worship of demonic beings. With his wife and son again pulled into danger, Matt tries to bring down the cults while protecting them. A good book, violent in places but moves along at a nice pace. Rowley is a good character, who is fighting his inner demons, while trying to do the right thing.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews