What do you think?
Rate this book
Parallax
Only 99 Cents for a Limited Time! Previous problems with formatting and content now fixed!What happens when two professional assassins - one a Mafia hitman and the other a former German terrorist - kill at exactly the same moment in time? For Ernst Stahl and Frank Jolino the result is a psychic bond that slowly blossoms in each man's mind, enabling them to see into the other's world. Frank Jolino doesn't like what he sees, especially when he realizes that Stahl is headed to his home turf of Boston to kill a scientist who may hold the key to solving the world's deadliest diseases. But for Stahl, there's no other option. Virtually bankrupt and with his son in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant, he's got little choice but to take the assignment. Jolino has other ideas. On the run from his crime syndicate for refusing to kill his ex-girlfriend-turned-government-informant, Jolino sets a plan in motion that will bring the two men face-to-face and gun-to-gun...with no guarantees either will survive.This novel + excerpt runs approximately 90,000 words. Praise for Jon F. "Lawson is more like Jason Bourne than Dracula, making this a vampire mystery with broad appeal." --Booklist"A powerful novel by a man who knows the turf already." -NYT Bestselling author Robert. B. Parker"Jon F. Merz's novels move at a break-neck pace, twisting through a landscape of thrills and terror." -- Douglas Clegg, author of The Infinite and The Priest of Blood"...a fine stalking session in vampire-noir land...a series and talented writer I'll be sticking with all the way." -- Mort Castle, author of The Strangers and On Writing HorrorPraise for Jon F. Merz's THE KENSEI (A Lawson vampire Novel #5):"If James Bond, True Blood and Kill Bill created a mutant hybrid of a book, it would be The Kensei. A bullet train slice 'em, dice 'em mixture of action, suspense, and vampire ninjas. Did I mention vampire ninjas?"--Jason Pinter, bestselling author of The Fury and The Darkness"The Kensei is an action novel with real bite. Vampires, Yakuza killers, crooks and animal-monster hyrbids. Jon F. Merz brings his A-game and then ratchets it up to a whole new level of supernatural action. Highly recommended!" --Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of The Dragon Factory and Patient Zero"In The Kensei, Jon F. Merz seamlessly welds gritty detail with myth and legend to create a thrill ride into the shadow-world lurking beneath modern Japan. Lawson's fight against evil has bone-crunching authenticity. Plus, it has vampires, ninjas, and vampire ninjas. What more could anyone ask?"--Christopher Farnsworth, author or Blood OathAbout The F. Merz is a writer with over a dozen published novels, a producer for New Ronin Entertainment and a trained black belt ninja. He has taught defensive tactics to civilian crime watch groups, police, military units, and agencies like the US Department of State, the Department of Justice, and the Bureau of Prisons. In his past, Jon served with the United States Air Force, worked for the US government, and handled executive protection for Fortune 500 clients. He lives with his wife and two sons in suburban Boston.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 24, 2009
3 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Jon F. Merz
115 books486 followersAs a writer, Jon has published over 40 novels with major publishers like Kensington's Pinnacle Books, St. Martin's Press, and many more. He is also the author of eleven installments in the internationally bestselling adventure series Rogue Angel (2006-present) with Harlequin's Gold Eagle line. His short fiction story "Prisoner 392" (appeared alongside Stephen King in FROM THE BORDERLANDS, 2004, Warner Books) earned him an Honorable Mention in 2004's Year's Best Fantasy & Horror edited by Ellen Datlow. Jon has also co-authored two non-fiction books: LEARNING LATER, LIVING GREATER with Nancy Merz Nordstrom (2006, Sentient Publications) and THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO ULTIMATE FIGHTING with Rich "Ace" Franklin (2007, Alpha Books/Penguin/Putnam).
Jon is perhaps most famous for his Lawson Vampire series of supernatural action novels starring the Fixer Lawson, a jaded anti-hero charged with protecting a race of living vampires from exposure. There are currently six novels (The Fixer, The Invoker, The Destructor, The Syndicate, The Kensei, The Enchanter) two novellas (Slave to Love, The Courier) and five short stories (The Price of a Good Drink, Interlude, Red Tide, Rudolf the Red Nosed Rogue, Enemy Mine) in the series with many more adventures yet to come.
Jon's latest novel is the new Shadow Warrior series debuting in September from Baen Books. Book 1, UNDEAD HORDES OF KAN-GUL is due out September 3rd in stores everywhere.
Jon also publishes his backlist independently. You can find his ebooks on Amazon: http://bit.ly/jonfmerz Barnes & Noble's Nook store: http://bit.ly/bnjonfmerz and on Kobo: http://bit.ly/kjonfmerz
As a producer, Jon has formed New Ronin Entertainment with longtime friend Jaime Hassett to create television and feature film projects in the New England area. Their first project is THE FIXER, a new supernatural action series based on Jon's Lawson Vampire novels. Filming of the pilot begins in 2013.
Jon has studied authentic Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu/Ninjutsu for over twenty years under Mark Davis of the Boston Martial Arts Center. He has also trained with senior Bujinkan instructors both in the United States and Japan. During a trip to Japan in February 2003, Jon earned his 5th degree black belt directly from the 34th Grandmaster of Togakure-ryu Ninjutsu, Masaaki Hatsumi. In addition to traditional training, Jon has also taught defensive tactics to a wide range of clients, including civilian crime watch groups, police and EMS first responders, military units, and federal organizations including the US Department of State, the Department of Justice, and the Bureau of Prisons.
In his past, Jon served with the United States Air Force, worked for the US government, and handled executive protection for a variety of Fortune 500 clients.
Jon is perhaps most famous for his Lawson Vampire series of supernatural action novels starring the Fixer Lawson, a jaded anti-hero charged with protecting a race of living vampires from exposure. There are currently six novels (The Fixer, The Invoker, The Destructor, The Syndicate, The Kensei, The Enchanter) two novellas (Slave to Love, The Courier) and five short stories (The Price of a Good Drink, Interlude, Red Tide, Rudolf the Red Nosed Rogue, Enemy Mine) in the series with many more adventures yet to come.
Jon's latest novel is the new Shadow Warrior series debuting in September from Baen Books. Book 1, UNDEAD HORDES OF KAN-GUL is due out September 3rd in stores everywhere.
Jon also publishes his backlist independently. You can find his ebooks on Amazon: http://bit.ly/jonfmerz Barnes & Noble's Nook store: http://bit.ly/bnjonfmerz and on Kobo: http://bit.ly/kjonfmerz
As a producer, Jon has formed New Ronin Entertainment with longtime friend Jaime Hassett to create television and feature film projects in the New England area. Their first project is THE FIXER, a new supernatural action series based on Jon's Lawson Vampire novels. Filming of the pilot begins in 2013.
Jon has studied authentic Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu/Ninjutsu for over twenty years under Mark Davis of the Boston Martial Arts Center. He has also trained with senior Bujinkan instructors both in the United States and Japan. During a trip to Japan in February 2003, Jon earned his 5th degree black belt directly from the 34th Grandmaster of Togakure-ryu Ninjutsu, Masaaki Hatsumi. In addition to traditional training, Jon has also taught defensive tactics to a wide range of clients, including civilian crime watch groups, police and EMS first responders, military units, and federal organizations including the US Department of State, the Department of Justice, and the Bureau of Prisons.
In his past, Jon served with the United States Air Force, worked for the US government, and handled executive protection for a variety of Fortune 500 clients.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 22, 2010
Wow! What an excellent thriller!
Parallax is my second fiction read by Jon F. Merz after I got a taste of his short story and I'm definitely hooked. This was an awesome thriller with lots of twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I love stories that take me off guard and deal with complex characters that don't seem as if they're who they are, only to turn your expectations of them right on the side.
The story deals with Frank Jolino and Ernst "Stahl", two expert assassins living on opposite sides of the globe in different lives until one fateful moment of mental interlinking brings them together. Soon each is allowed to view the other's experience as if they were perched on the other's shoulder. Their lives interconnect from jobs to love lives and betrayal while each have something in the balance. With Stahl, his son's life is at stake on the condition that he kills a scientist connected with the SARS disease. With Frank, he is sent to kill his old girlfriend, the long lost niece of his mafia boss who he still is in love with, on suspicion that she is connected with the feds.
This was one novel that was hard to put down. Merz excels at creating engaging characters wrapped in a fast paced read. One moment I was sympathizing with them and the other felt the complete opposite. Overall, my nose was in the pages all the way to the very satisfying end.
This is a late entry for the best of my 2009 reads and it goes right at the top. I hope Parallax makes it to the big screen like Merz's Fixer series is coming to television. I'd definitely grab a ticket!
Parallax is my second fiction read by Jon F. Merz after I got a taste of his short story and I'm definitely hooked. This was an awesome thriller with lots of twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I love stories that take me off guard and deal with complex characters that don't seem as if they're who they are, only to turn your expectations of them right on the side.
The story deals with Frank Jolino and Ernst "Stahl", two expert assassins living on opposite sides of the globe in different lives until one fateful moment of mental interlinking brings them together. Soon each is allowed to view the other's experience as if they were perched on the other's shoulder. Their lives interconnect from jobs to love lives and betrayal while each have something in the balance. With Stahl, his son's life is at stake on the condition that he kills a scientist connected with the SARS disease. With Frank, he is sent to kill his old girlfriend, the long lost niece of his mafia boss who he still is in love with, on suspicion that she is connected with the feds.
This was one novel that was hard to put down. Merz excels at creating engaging characters wrapped in a fast paced read. One moment I was sympathizing with them and the other felt the complete opposite. Overall, my nose was in the pages all the way to the very satisfying end.
This is a late entry for the best of my 2009 reads and it goes right at the top. I hope Parallax makes it to the big screen like Merz's Fixer series is coming to television. I'd definitely grab a ticket!
May 6, 2009
Great read. Lots of action and good flow to the book. Several twists and turns that kept the story going. I would highly recommend this book if you like gangster stories or stories involving parallel universes!
March 22, 2011
I read this e-book as a download from Barnes & Noble.
Merz tells a good story which is a combination Mafia-style thriller together with some psychological science fiction. I enjoyed the story. Unfortunately, I found several annoying things in that detracted from the story while reading Parallax. I continually felt like I wanted to edit what I saw on the page: words run together, misspellings, minor grammatical errors, etc. I would have rated this higher if a more through job of editing had been done.
Merz tells a good story which is a combination Mafia-style thriller together with some psychological science fiction. I enjoyed the story. Unfortunately, I found several annoying things in that detracted from the story while reading Parallax. I continually felt like I wanted to edit what I saw on the page: words run together, misspellings, minor grammatical errors, etc. I would have rated this higher if a more through job of editing had been done.
June 2, 2012
Hitman Novel Surprises
I've had Parallax by Jon Merz on my Kindle for several weeks. Finally, I found some reading time, and what a treat this mob hitman novel was.
I'll admit from the start that I'm not a big fan of hitman novels, but the character of hitman Frank Jolino was so finely drawn that I was hooked within the first few pages.
I'd love to see Jolino in other books because he was intelligent, articulate, droll, and at ease in his own skin. He also surprised me because he had a moral compass. Add all that to the fact that he was a vintage mystery reader, and you get a guy who is complex, appealing, and likable.
Oh, yeah, he kills people for a living, but they're by no means innocents undeserving of being whacked, but Merz lets the reader draw that conclusion. He doesn't state the obvious and then hammer it home.
Less likable is Ernst Stahl, once an idealist radical and now a jaded assassin, despite constant reminders from Stahl's character that he was completing a job only to save his son. His moral compass is stuck on "anything goes in the name of paternal love."
Not Just Another Mafia Book
When the two end up in some odd paranormal mutual awareness of each other, it's interesting albeit rather unbelievable, but the compelling character of Frank Jolino keeps the reader turning the pages. You probably won't suspend disbelief, but you'll be compelled to keep reading. You'll also be rooting for Frank to figure a way out of the mess and to, somehow, end up with the babe who has some surprises of her own.
Reader Advisory
I downloaded the book in February, and there are numerous "glitches" in the book. I won't call them typos because, since I publish ebooks, I know that they are conversion errors that occur when punctuation marks in a Word manuscript get changed to weird symbols when the manuscript is converted to different file formats like HTML which Kindle uses for their digital publishing. Don't let this deter you from enjoying the book.
Do not read the Product Description of Parallax because it's a spoiler of what are meant to be neat plot twists. Just buy the book. Ignore the glitches, and start reading. Frank Jolino will hook you just as he did me.
I've had Parallax by Jon Merz on my Kindle for several weeks. Finally, I found some reading time, and what a treat this mob hitman novel was.
I'll admit from the start that I'm not a big fan of hitman novels, but the character of hitman Frank Jolino was so finely drawn that I was hooked within the first few pages.
I'd love to see Jolino in other books because he was intelligent, articulate, droll, and at ease in his own skin. He also surprised me because he had a moral compass. Add all that to the fact that he was a vintage mystery reader, and you get a guy who is complex, appealing, and likable.
Oh, yeah, he kills people for a living, but they're by no means innocents undeserving of being whacked, but Merz lets the reader draw that conclusion. He doesn't state the obvious and then hammer it home.
Less likable is Ernst Stahl, once an idealist radical and now a jaded assassin, despite constant reminders from Stahl's character that he was completing a job only to save his son. His moral compass is stuck on "anything goes in the name of paternal love."
Not Just Another Mafia Book
When the two end up in some odd paranormal mutual awareness of each other, it's interesting albeit rather unbelievable, but the compelling character of Frank Jolino keeps the reader turning the pages. You probably won't suspend disbelief, but you'll be compelled to keep reading. You'll also be rooting for Frank to figure a way out of the mess and to, somehow, end up with the babe who has some surprises of her own.
Reader Advisory
I downloaded the book in February, and there are numerous "glitches" in the book. I won't call them typos because, since I publish ebooks, I know that they are conversion errors that occur when punctuation marks in a Word manuscript get changed to weird symbols when the manuscript is converted to different file formats like HTML which Kindle uses for their digital publishing. Don't let this deter you from enjoying the book.
Do not read the Product Description of Parallax because it's a spoiler of what are meant to be neat plot twists. Just buy the book. Ignore the glitches, and start reading. Frank Jolino will hook you just as he did me.
March 1, 2012
The paranormal is an interesting genre for me. As some of you may have guessed, I'm a scientist and skeptic. Basically this means I want evidence of claims, not some beliefs and suppositions. Prove it to me.
When it comes to entertainment, the assumption would be that anything other than realistic fiction is not going to grab me. The key word here is fiction. Just as Lt Shane Shcofield's adventures are as realistic as Abraham Lincoln being a vampire hunter, the paranormal can be just as entertaining to this scientist and skeptic.
This is the second of Jon's books that I have read. Parallax was a very entertaining read that reminded me of some of the earlier paranormal works I read that combined the paranormal with the crime or noir genres. This novel works as a straight crime story, the mental link between the two main protagonists serving as a twist on the formula.
Worth checking out if you like a tale about hitmen having to redeem themselves.
When it comes to entertainment, the assumption would be that anything other than realistic fiction is not going to grab me. The key word here is fiction. Just as Lt Shane Shcofield's adventures are as realistic as Abraham Lincoln being a vampire hunter, the paranormal can be just as entertaining to this scientist and skeptic.
This is the second of Jon's books that I have read. Parallax was a very entertaining read that reminded me of some of the earlier paranormal works I read that combined the paranormal with the crime or noir genres. This novel works as a straight crime story, the mental link between the two main protagonists serving as a twist on the formula.
Worth checking out if you like a tale about hitmen having to redeem themselves.
May 23, 2011
Thought this book was pretty well done for the most part. Maybe could have used some more action and also some more explanation of certain plot elements (why was Karen betraying Stahl again? and for 2 well trained assassins, how were they not aware of Karen's presence at the cafe at all? so the "mind link" has almost nothing to do with anything?), but i really liked the conclusion to the book and the pacing was very solid.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 8, 2011
The plot is a good blend of sci-fi and thriller and zips along quickly, and the writing style stays out of the story's way. On the other hand, some of the dialogue is painfully stilted, and I didn't like Ernst or buy his redemption-through-parenthood backstory at all. Neither Frank nor Ernst is a good man, but at least Frank is an interesting bad one.
June 28, 2011
I downloaded this book as a Free Friday selection on my Nook. This original story quickly drew me in and, even though it comes in at just under 600 pages, I finished it in a week. It's a bit melodramatic at times, but still very enjoyable. Other books by Mr. Merz are very affordable on the Nook and I look forward to reading the first in his Lawson series.
December 24, 2011
This was the first piece I read by Jon Merz that was not part of the Lawson series. It was an excellent choice and will appear on my list of favorite novels read in 2011.
So far it is my favorite novel by Jon.
So far it is my favorite novel by Jon.
June 20, 2011
Interesting crime novel... different plot than many. Not that any are credible... escapist, airplane type of reading.
I have to say that the typos in the edition I read were more than just distracting.
I have to say that the typos in the edition I read were more than just distracting.
April 21, 2012
Too many words! Good god, this story took up a lot of verbiage to tell! But at least it was a good story, except at one point when it took a turn to the ridiculous. Okay, several points. Hmm, so maybe I should say that this story kinda sucked, but I had a good time reading it.
Want to read
September 2, 2009This sounds really cool!
September 29, 2011
Really good book! Quick read and really engaging. It is about two killers but you end up feeling sorry for them. Would definitely recommend!
July 25, 2014
Good premise and well written but it does a nose dive into cheese at the end.
Want to read
February 16, 2010Kindle,1.59
August 23, 2011
Merz's voice is strong and distinctive, the style crisp, yet he paints wonderful word pictures.
September 22, 2012
Didn't quite flow for me. I moved on without finishing it.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews