"The brisk wind puts a chill through the bicyclist as the mob slowly gains. The sweat slowly pours from underneath his helmet and his thoughts race as he fears the upcoming events."
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Heavenander by Randy Pierce Trafford Publishing
book review by Omar Figueras
Randy Pierce's Heavenander is an action packed story which starts in media res as the protagonist, also named Randy, is chased by a mob, attacked, and kidnapped into split dimension, which turns out to be inside his video game. There he meets his best friend and other allies which help him fight monsters while they attempt to escape the game and find their way back home. From the moment it starts, Heavenander is a phantasmagoric rush of otherworldly images that are enjoyable to read.
In his book, Pierce has created a rich and vibrant world filled with fantastic, yet deadly creatures, armed hooded figures which roam the countryside in search of a fight, magic spells that cure injuries and ward off evil, and dual realities of which no escape is provided. Not solely confined to wild chase scenes or hand-to-hand combat, the story’s conflict takes a reflective, psychological turn when the main character is split into two separate yet equal entities—Body Randy and Soul Randy—and the two battle each other for physical and mental control of Randy's entire being.
Although the imagery is rich and the action is quick-paced and constant throughout the book, outside of the adventure aspect of Pierce's story there is little substance. The landscape the author paints is vivid and exciting, and the characters that populate his world are a wonder to behold, but the vast number of grammatical and punctuation errors overshadow the thick plot and the book loses its forward momentum. Although amused and intrigued by Randy's journey, a reader might find himself as lost and bewildered as the author's protagonist in his imaginary world.