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Angel Stones #1
Stone of Gabriel
Reaching for a curiously shaped stone in a southern California riverbed, Kurt, a motherless 13-year-old out on a father-son bonding camp trip, feels a pulsing tremor of energy. Confused, he shares this oddly colored rock with his two friends, both who touch it briefly and throw it away in cries of pain. Unsure what to do, the three boys agree to keep this strange phenomenon a secret.
After bringing the stone back home, he senses he's being followed, possibly by a lone detective. To add to his unease, the city of San Diego is besieged by what seems like a disturbing and violent serial killer, one who leaves distinctive clues, as if he (or it) is itching to get caught.
When he finally makes contact with Steve Bailey, an unflinching detective with a disturbing past, Kurt uncovers his own startling heritage of power, danger and, ultimately, justice.
In this unnerving urban thriller, the creators have reunited with their demons, and humans with inherited, but unwieldy gifts, may be the only barrier between survival and celestial destruction.
After bringing the stone back home, he senses he's being followed, possibly by a lone detective. To add to his unease, the city of San Diego is besieged by what seems like a disturbing and violent serial killer, one who leaves distinctive clues, as if he (or it) is itching to get caught.
When he finally makes contact with Steve Bailey, an unflinching detective with a disturbing past, Kurt uncovers his own startling heritage of power, danger and, ultimately, justice.
In this unnerving urban thriller, the creators have reunited with their demons, and humans with inherited, but unwieldy gifts, may be the only barrier between survival and celestial destruction.
228 pages, Hardcover
Published April 20, 2020
About the author
Gary A. Pattillo
4 books31 followersGary Pattillo is a thriller newcomer with a B.A. in Criminal Justice Administration from San Diego State University. A self-described late bloomer, Gary’s eclectic career path has included roles as a convenience store manager, beer market specialist, and insurance broker—each offering unexpected insights that now fuel his crime fiction. His true passion, however, lies in storytelling, particularly within the urban fantasy thriller genre. In addition to writing, Gary is also an artist who enjoys working with pencil and charcoal. A Southern California native, he was admitted into Mensa at age 37—one of many personal milestones he credits entirely to God, to whom he attributes everything he has, everything he is, and everything he does.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 8, 2020
CW: Death of an animal, child abuse
I received this book for free via a Goodreads giveaway, but all opinions are my own.
First and foremost, I would like to say that this is Christian fiction. If you're actually comprehensive at reading, like I apparently am not, then you can probably figure it out from the title. But if you're someone like me and just thought this was going to be a more standard, generic YA urban fantasy with possible angelic elements - this isn't that. So, live and learn, I guess, but if I had actually been paying attention, I probably wouldn't have entered, because I generally try to avoid Christian fiction. That isn't a negative or positive mark on the book, just a statement.
I was pretty confused as to what the target audience for this book was supposed to be. Since the main character, Kurt, is only 13 and there is a significant lack of "real" swearing and gratuitous use of "fake" swearing (ie: dang, shoot) I thought this was intended for younger YA audiences, but then there was a gruesome nightclub murder plot point and I was like "...Okay, cool, who is this book for, then?"
Kurt doesn't really act like a 13-year-old, IMO; I felt like he was both way too mature and way too rational. The very frank, open conversation he has with his father about 3/4 into the book was really interesting to me because, on one hand, wow, what a great and healthy moment between father and son! But on the other - wow, that went a little too smoothly. It can be hard to portray such grounded, good people as your main characters because it really takes much of the tension and drama out of a novel. They're too level-headed to make mistakes!
It was extremely frustrating to read about Kurt belittling cyber bullying and then 20 pages later turn around and complain about a kid bullying him in person. Cyber bullying is just as difficult to avoid as the kind that happens in the physical school building, and with the way technology is becoming ever more present in people's lives, especially children's, the effect is just as - if not, at times more so, when it occurs in that child's "safe" space online - detrimental as in-person bullying.
I found the lore quite interesting. There's definitely room for the magic system to grow and expand, and that part shows a lot of promise. By the ending, there's a lot of it spelled out, but with the clear implication that there's room for the characters to discover more about their stones, leaving a comfortable cushion for a sequel or two. The idea of a sequel felt pretty natural.
I also thought the pacing was generally quite good. Except for a couple of scenes, I think it flowed well. The ending felt a tiny bit rushed and I could have taken even five more pages spent on the pre-conclusion fight scenes.
The editing really could have used some sprucing up. I found numerous mistakes, from paragraph cuts to mistakenly italicized action and thought tags to, my own personal pet peeve, incorrect em dashes. However, although there were some clunky, and a few grammatically questionable sentences, there were no big spelling errors or anything unreadable.
What pulled me out of the story the most was the way the press acted. They didn't present news in very professional manners, throwing lots of personal details in about people who have yet to be charged or convicted of crimes. There was one instance where an officer refuses to comment on a piece of an ongoing investigation and the reporter basically says, "Because he didn't deny it, then it's definitely Satanism!"
I don't often comment on covers in my reviews, but shout out to the artist for this one. They did a really, really good job on it.
Overall, an interesting read, but definitely not what I was expecting when I came into it. I think having such a young child as the main/one of the main characters is definitely liable to throw some readers off. It could use a little more careful proofreading, but the actual bones of the story seemed fine to me.
I received this book for free via a Goodreads giveaway, but all opinions are my own.
First and foremost, I would like to say that this is Christian fiction. If you're actually comprehensive at reading, like I apparently am not, then you can probably figure it out from the title. But if you're someone like me and just thought this was going to be a more standard, generic YA urban fantasy with possible angelic elements - this isn't that. So, live and learn, I guess, but if I had actually been paying attention, I probably wouldn't have entered, because I generally try to avoid Christian fiction. That isn't a negative or positive mark on the book, just a statement.
I was pretty confused as to what the target audience for this book was supposed to be. Since the main character, Kurt, is only 13 and there is a significant lack of "real" swearing and gratuitous use of "fake" swearing (ie: dang, shoot) I thought this was intended for younger YA audiences, but then there was a gruesome nightclub murder plot point and I was like "...Okay, cool, who is this book for, then?"
Kurt doesn't really act like a 13-year-old, IMO; I felt like he was both way too mature and way too rational. The very frank, open conversation he has with his father about 3/4 into the book was really interesting to me because, on one hand, wow, what a great and healthy moment between father and son! But on the other - wow, that went a little too smoothly. It can be hard to portray such grounded, good people as your main characters because it really takes much of the tension and drama out of a novel. They're too level-headed to make mistakes!
It was extremely frustrating to read about Kurt belittling cyber bullying and then 20 pages later turn around and complain about a kid bullying him in person. Cyber bullying is just as difficult to avoid as the kind that happens in the physical school building, and with the way technology is becoming ever more present in people's lives, especially children's, the effect is just as - if not, at times more so, when it occurs in that child's "safe" space online - detrimental as in-person bullying.
I found the lore quite interesting. There's definitely room for the magic system to grow and expand, and that part shows a lot of promise. By the ending, there's a lot of it spelled out, but with the clear implication that there's room for the characters to discover more about their stones, leaving a comfortable cushion for a sequel or two. The idea of a sequel felt pretty natural.
I also thought the pacing was generally quite good. Except for a couple of scenes, I think it flowed well. The ending felt a tiny bit rushed and I could have taken even five more pages spent on the pre-conclusion fight scenes.
The editing really could have used some sprucing up. I found numerous mistakes, from paragraph cuts to mistakenly italicized action and thought tags to, my own personal pet peeve, incorrect em dashes. However, although there were some clunky, and a few grammatically questionable sentences, there were no big spelling errors or anything unreadable.
What pulled me out of the story the most was the way the press acted. They didn't present news in very professional manners, throwing lots of personal details in about people who have yet to be charged or convicted of crimes. There was one instance where an officer refuses to comment on a piece of an ongoing investigation and the reporter basically says, "Because he didn't deny it, then it's definitely Satanism!"
I don't often comment on covers in my reviews, but shout out to the artist for this one. They did a really, really good job on it.
Overall, an interesting read, but definitely not what I was expecting when I came into it. I think having such a young child as the main/one of the main characters is definitely liable to throw some readers off. It could use a little more careful proofreading, but the actual bones of the story seemed fine to me.
Displaying 1 of 1 review