Flight of Shadows by Sigmund Brouwer

Now that Caitlyn Brown has escaped the bondage of Appalachia, she is running for her life in the wilds of the Outside. Multiple different groups are chasing her for one reason-her DNA is the most valuable in the world. Caitlyn cannot easily hide because on many counts, her wings give her away. She decides to gamble and throws in her lot with Razor, a street illusionist whom she can only half-trust. He helps her to understand many things about the Outside she never knew before, from city-states to the caste system. Caitlyn wants to meet up with her Appalachian friends who helped her escape, Billy and Theo, but she does not know of their whereabouts. The only choice she has is to trust Razor to lead her to one of her father's friends that will hide her until she can escape to the west. She is more valuable alive than dead, so Caitlyn forces herself to take drastic measures.

I said that Broken Angel did not need a sequel, but it probably did, because Sigmund had many ideas bottled up in his mind that he needed to exhaust in this novel. He has many interesting theories about the near future that are highly probable. He has crafted a very intriguing setting with these ideas. However, the under-developed characters from Broken Angel were not developed in Flight of Shadows. They remained the same as they were. Another major aspect that keeps this book off the Elite List is many typical plot elements at the end. Sigmund could have done better than this.

Razor is the best character because he is the only one with a personality at all. All the other characters are imperfect, but not a single one has a personality like Razor does. For all the time spent on Caitlyn, Sigmund only developed a vague idea of a personality for her. This goes for all the other characters as well. I usually like the presence of multiple villains, but Mason Lee from Broken Angel did not need to make a comeback. He is a cheesy serial killer villain who adds nothing to the plot. The other villains are more interesting because they actually have purposes.

The Outside is an interesting world and an extension of Sigmund Brouwer's fascinating mind. This setting is the strongest plot element because it is something that could happen within the next one hundred years. In this way, Flight of Shadows demonstrates the qualities of a good sequel. However, it does not in other ways. Brouwer has always held a fascination for genetics and DNA, a fascination that is repeated through Caitlyn. A winged person was an interesting concept from Broken Angel, yet in Flight of Shadows, Sigmund goes a little too far with her mysterious genetic makeup. Besides this, there is a cheesy showdown between all the main characters and all the villains that ends typically.

Basically, there are some really interesting things about Flight of Shadows and some really typical things about Flight of Shadows. Had Sigmund eliminated Mason Lee and some of Caitlyn's invincibility, this book could have been Elite. Sigmund has been consistently inconsistent in his writing career, and it would be nice for him to settle down on one side of the fence.

3.5 stars

The Leper by Sigmund Brouwer

The Leper is the best novella ever written because of its originality and irony.
It's about a soldier returning home with a horrible secret: he caught leprosy overseas. He hides the fact from his family and disappears to live on his own. However, one thing obstructs his plans: an abandoned baby he finds caught among fishing nets. He takes her to be his own until he can no longer afford to live in the apartment he's renting.
Then he goes to his brother's monastery and asks for a place to stay. His brother pawns him off to a doctor and pawns the baby off to an ugly servant.
The best thing about it is that while Brouwer could have made it longer, he didn't. Making it longer would have ruined it. This plot is largely based on the characters, therefore they are believable.
The book is spectacularly written and has an ironic end. Excellent.
4.5 stars

Out of the Shadows by Sigmund Brouwer

Most people call Out of the Shadows a mystery, and in a sense it is. But it is more a human struggles novel than mystery.
Nick Barrett was exiled from Charleston nearly ten years earlier after annulling his marriage to his girlfriend, which was forced by his dominant former mother-in-law. Now he's back because of a letter he received from the local sheriff containing information about his mother, who left him as a young boy. Now the only people he can trust are the sheriff's daughter and two furniture store owners.
The characters are believable and comedic at the same time. None of the characters are perfect.
The plot is original and holds the reader's attention all the way through. There aren't really any major plot problems I can think of.
Sigmund Brouwer is one of the most entertaining authors on the market, especially in this kind of book: a first person perspective plot with good, believable characters.
4 stars

Fuse of Armageddon by Sigmund Brouwer and Hank Hanegraaf

Upon the backdrop of war-torn Palestine, a prominent American pastor leads a portion of his flock on a tour that is designed to show why Israel is superior to Palestine.
Than gunfire erupts and several people are killed. The pastor is taken hostage by a surprising captor.
A hostage negotiator has been falsely accused of murdering a Middle Eastern man in the United States. He didn't do it this time, but he has had a checkered past. With the help of an FBI woman, he is dragged across the globe to Palestine and gets involved in the crisis.
A ragtag militia is trekking across the desert toward the Dome of the Rock with an unlikely piece of baggage: a red cow that the commander has told his men to protect with their lives.
All three plots are connected, but how?
Once again, Sigmund demonstrates his unique ability to execute a suspenseful plot without coming off as cheesy or overly dramatic. The characters pretty good; not very good when compared to other characters, but this is a plot-driven story.
All in all, this book is full of surprises but falls short of the five star award because it could have had a slightly better end. But it's still worth reading.
4 stars

Double Helix by Sigmund Brouwer

Genetic thrillers are a genre that needs to be mostly discontinued, mainly because people won't end them in an original way. But to end them in the original way wouldn't sell at all.
When a man with a shady past almost runs over three naked triplet boys one night while driving home, he knows not what to do with them but to take them home. The only problem is, they don't understand English. All they speak is what sounds like Latin.
When a woman's husband commits suicide in their bedroom because of the company he works for, she sees this as an opportunity to start over. But then someone from her late husband's company starts following her right in front of her face.
These two characters are inevitably propelled together by forces beyond their control. This is the problem with this kind of plot: the leads have no control of the circumstances around them; they are merely perfect players in a deadly game. Needless to say, this is not Sigmund's best cast of characters ever created.
The plot is pretty easy to figure out, save for a few surprises along the way. I do believe that Sigmund did his best with this book, therefore the score is a little above average.
3 stars

Crown of Thorns by Sigmund Brouwer

After reading Out of the Shadows, Crown of Thorns was kind of a downer.
Upon his return to Charleston, Nick Barrett runs into a little trouble with a spunky teenage girl in a hospital, trying to get her baby sister some care for her fever. Something funny is going on around town. Something by the name of a cult that locks up their females when they disobey the males.
Of course, Nick Barrett, along with Elaine and Glennifer, jumps on the trail of suspicion.
The problem with the version of Nick Barrett in this book is he's perfect now. After all his struggles in the first book, he's achieved a hero personality that can solve any mystery.
The whole mystery is pretty easy to figure out, which means it's not up to Sigmund's usual par of confusing mysteries. His writing style is the same, but the originality was missing in action.
But since this is just one mistake, it can be overlooked.
2.5 stars

Broken Angel by Sigmund Brouwer

Though I can compare Broken Angel to no book, the storyline is highly possible in the near future.
It's about a Christian nation called Appalachia that has set itself up in the heart of America to oppose the Outside government. which is supposedly bad. The lead is Catilyn, a deformed girl with a mysterious secret that everyone wants-dead or alive. She is hiding out in the mountains, trying to escape to the Outside. But she doesn't want to escape without her father.
The book is very original and intruiging, yet very believable. The main aspect that keeps this book from being five stars is the lack of good characters. But the original idea of the plot keeps this book on the Elite List.
Once again, Sigmund Brouwer uses quality over quanity in his writing.
4.5 stars

Blood Ties by Sigmund Brouwer

Blood Ties was probably as good as a killer thriller can be. Though, I do not believe the hostage scene at the end was necessary at all.
There are two parts of the plot: the past and the present. The past shows how a certain FBI agent arrives on assignment to a small town in Montana during a series of strange events: a train derailment, the murder of an Indian woman, and a group of disgruntled ranch hands causing trouble.
The present goes forward, after all this has happened, except it leaves several parts out that matter for the end. The FBI agent has returned to Montana to marry a girl he met their on his first trip. But the same serial killer that killed the Indian woman is still at large-and stalking his wife.
The book is interesting and holds your attention; the end is just slightly predictable. Who the serial killer is is one of Sigmund's usual surprise villains.
Like I said, it's as good as it could be.
3 stars

Tyrone's Story by Sigmund Brouwer

There is no trilogy that has ever been written that as creative as the Degrees of Guilt series. Each of the three books are told from a first person perspective; each one different in each book. The three people are high schoolers are all connected to the death of a teen named Sammy.
Tyrone's Story is told from the perspective of his friend, the local geek. He and Sammy were apparently involved in some slightly illegal activities that were instigated by their English teacher. Also, Tyrone is trying to get Sammy's sister to go with him on a date the whole time. But Kyra's Story is another book.
It's hard to review a book like this because it's so different. The characters in the book are good and the setting realistic: high school. This is the type of setting that Sigmund's writing style thrives in.
It's a very interesting mystery that shows only one side of the story and what Tyrone had to do with Sammy's death. This series definitely warrants a read.
4 stars