The Breaking of Ezra Riley

Ezra Riley #1

by John L. Moore, Bill Quay (Illustrator)

Moore, John L.

Genres: Fiction, Westerns

226 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

I was born to woman in 1952 and born into the Kingdom in June of 1973 after years of looking for God in drugs, eastern religions, the occult and martial arts. In 1975 I was Baptized in the Holy Spirit in a profound and powerful way. In 1985 I was healed of a life-threatening liver disease. Since 1982, Debra and I have been involved in home church ministry and training people to hear from God and speak what they hear. We have been blessed to be influenced by some wonderful men and women of God, most of them can be found on our "Links" page.

We are the parents of two wonderful children and their wonderful spouses: Jess, and his wife, Kami; and Andrea, her husband, Rob Ferguson. They've given us five beautiful grandchildren: Creed, Selah Ann, Ryann, David, and Autumn.

My statement of beliefs can be summed up like this: Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Baptism in the Spirit empowers the Believer. Inner Healing and Deliverance is part of every believer's need for sanctification. Hearing from God and moving in the Gifts of the Spirit are vital. God is restoring David's Tabernacle and the Five-Fold Ministries of Ephesians 4:11. Those offices are about functions, not titles. Prophetic ministry is more about forth-telling the heart of God than it is fore-telling the future. If you don't know his heart He won't tell you the future. We could all read the Bible and pray more. Jesus is coming back. I don't know when. I do know He is coming back on a horse, so I don't think He minds if we raise good horses. Until He returns, we are dedicated to doing the work of the Kingdom everywhere, and especially in the marketplace. Happiness is realizing He must increase but we must decrease. Decreasing does not mean a loss of personal identity, instead it is the discovery of one's real identity. Young people can move as powerfully in the Spirit as adults, in fact, in many cases, they do it much better because their mind doesn't get in the way.

That's about it.

Reviews

[Amber Voskuil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ezra Riley, a man with a troubled past returns with his wife and son to his family’s ranch after the death of his father. As he tries to make a go of ranching he faces the fears and insecurities of his childhood.

Very well written. In every chapter it felt like I was right there. The story line itself tended to jump around a lot and i felt a little unsure where it was going. The ending was good though and I think I’ll order the sequel.

Definitely recommend ages 16+
A lot of drinking, adult themes etc.

[Jeff Clausen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not normally attracted to Westerns but somehow this came home from the library book sale. And while the cover art of a horse in the foreground and a couple of cowboys in the background is reminiscent of a Young Adult novel, the story is not. Full of obnoxious, hard-drinking men in a Montana community, the grit and gristle of their lives is quite rough on everyone around them. Following the life of the story’s patriarch, a cowboy with little regard for feelings or niceties, we learn about his son and the life he pursues through adulthood. Be prepared for folks you wouldn’t spend five minutes with, and others you’d love to have known forever.

[Robert A. Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is general note. The distributor of this product destroyed their entire stock of the original white & black cover with the car in background by accident. This and a few other titles where shredded during a warehouse reduction to make room for an indoor soccer group. Therefore is you desire the original cover you will need to find it used.

[Terry Mengle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best contemporary western I have ever read and I have read many. this book was a runner-up for the Western Writers of America "Spur Award". This is gritty yet true to life and has characters you really care about.

The author, John L. Moore, has written several excellent books. I would read his grocery list if it were available-he is that good an author.

[Lynn Schafer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old home week

I read this book because I grew up near the author. I saw his family and others mixed in with fictitious characters, but it was well written, a few typos that might have been passed on in making an eBook, but it made me want to reach for the second in the series. Well done!

[Jim Maass · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story yet, something seemed to be missing. I don't know if it was just me or the authors style of writing. That's why I gave it a four star rating. I am going check out the sequel to this book. With other authors I have come to find out that sometimes their first in a series was not the best but perked up on their second books in a series. I am hoping that will be the case with this writer.

[Mary Sewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book; love the western/ranch life setting. It ended leaving me wondering about a number of things, but there is one more book in the series that I'm sure will answer those questions. Love John Moore's writing.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very easy read.it took me back to my years as a ranch hand in the Missouri Breaks of eastern Montana.

[Sheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Moore book, inspiring me to read more of his works. This has become one of my all-time favorites.