Book Review of Legend of the Firewalker

Book Review of Legend of the Firewalker

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Title: The Legend of the Firewalker

Author: Steve Bevil

Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy / Action Adventure

Blurb: 

A black hooded figure suddenly appeared behind her. She gasped and her brown eyes grew wide. Nathan watched helplessly as a small trickle of blood fell from her mouth. 

Other hooded figures appeared; their silver swords clutched upright against their chests. Nathan held tight to her lifeless body while trying to fight back the tears that swelled in his eyes. “No,” he cried. “No!”

Nineteen-year-old Nathan Urye is supposed to be having a relaxing summer as a camp counselor but ever since he started having nightmares about a beautiful girl being hunted by flesh-clawing monsters, his life has been anything but normal. 

Soon, Nathan discovers that the sleepy college town of Cahokia Falls is far from ordinary when two unexplained deaths rock the town and campus. Who or what is behind the murders? Does it have anything to do with the newly-discovered cave symbol? And what about the spine-chilling campfire stories about ancient tribal beliefs and mystical legends? 

For Nathan Urye, things just keep getting creepier and creepier, and now it appears that everyone at camp is in danger…

What the reviewers are saying…

"Starting with chapter one this book held my attention. The legends in the book told around the campfire gave me goose bumps and the supernatural creatures; Necrocritters, dark hooded guards with swords and red hooded priests added a lot of layers to this story. Not to mention the Fallen Ones!

At times I wasn’t sure how things would play out because there were so many challenges facing Nathan and his friends. I really enjoyed the climax of the book and could easily see this book adapted as a movie. I can’t wait to see what's in store for Nathan and his friends...but you have to read the book to see if they all make it out" ~Reviewer

"It’s terrific! I love your wise-cracking hero, who finds himself thrust into these bizarre circumstances with no real guide. And I love the set up of the supernatural world and these well-defined characters. The supernatural conflict and the relationships that took root here will be able to take you through book after book. That eerie, spirit realm where everything is gray except for the people – sound doesn't behave as it should – and objects are frozen in place, is really imaginative and creepy. It’s got a strong cinematic feel and it creates tremendous atmosphere. In short, you’ve done some terrific world building here that’s highly imaginative and peopled with appealing, interesting characters we can care about." ~Reviewer

Author Bio

Steve Bevil, the author of The Legend of the Firewalker series, recalls vividly as a child running to the library to check-out and read the latest The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books. He started writing short stories at a young age, but never took writing seriously, and as an adult, would only write to jot down the many storylines and mystical characters he would often fantasize in his head.

It wasn't until he was inspired by the story of author Stephanie Meyer, a stay-at-home mother of three and Christopher Paolini, the author of the Inheritance Cycle, that he entertained the idea of writing a book. Steve recalls sitting at his computer one day, after reading promotional emails announcing the latest books, daydreaming a dialogue between two people.

"It was just so Harry Potter-esque as far as the classic story of good versus evil. I just kept getting more and more detail; it was like the story wanted to be written, there were so many layers to it. I had first and last names, character back history, and everything. Immediately, I started writing."

After months and months of developing the plot and writing, the end result was his first book in the series, The Legend of the Firewalker. The daydream, a dialogue between two of the main characters; Nathan Urye and Stephen Malick, ended up appearing in Chapters 11 and 16.

Steve Bevil graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a Master's degree in Communication. He is a native of Chicago, Illinois and when he isn't writing, enjoys music, watching movies, fitness, and walks with his little Westie, Wyatt.

Links: 

To learn more you can follow him on Twitter - http://twitter.com/steve_bevil
or visit his blog - http://stevebevil.blogspot.com/
or find out news at his Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/stevebevilwriting

Book Excerpt

Chapter Eight – The Fallen Ones

Nathan raised his eyebrows and shrugged. He wasn’t even sure if he knew the story let alone anyone else. “Probably,” he replied, slowly.

Suddenly, Jonathan perked up; his tired blue eyes getting some life to them. “Nathan here has Cahokia ancestry,” he smiled and with a nod. “His mother’s tribe was a descendant of the Cahokia American Indians.”

Jonathan paused as if he was waiting for Nathan to say something. Nathan looked embarrassed as Samantha, Christina, and Eva Marie stared at him. Over the flames of the fire Nathan could see that Malick was looking at him too but Nathan wasn’t sure if he had heard what Jonathan had said. Most of the people around the fire, including Lafonda, were still having their own separate conversations.

Christina threw back her long brown hair and leaned in towards Nathan. “Is it true?” she asked.

Nathan answered slowly. He wasn’t too thrilled about the sudden attention. “Yes,” he said.

Both Christina and Eva Marie grinned at each other and then beamed at him. “That’s awesome,” they giggled in unison. 

“Indeed, it is awesome,” added Jonathan, excitedly. “See, years ago, when they started excavating the caves and mounds in this area they found that almost every wall had the same symbols written on them. When the symbols were finally deciphered and the walls translated, they all included some aspect of the story about The Fallen Ones.”

He paused to reposition his glasses again. “Most scholars agree that the Legend of the Fallen Ones is a part of Cahokia mythology on how the world began; you know – their creation story.”

“This is exciting!” shrieked Eva Marie. “Tell us the story – or legend.”

“Does it involve any cute guys?” asked Christina enthusiastically.

Samantha, Christina, and Eva Marie looked at each other and laughed.

“Cute guys?” shouted Angela over the fire. “I have to hear this story. I’m in.”

Jonathan smiled as everyone around the fire including Lafonda, Erin, Alan, and Malick listened closely. “There really isn’t a Cahokia symbol for cute,” said Jonathan. “But the symbols tell a story about five angels that were created out of the heavens in the beginning and shared in the power with the creator of the heavens as givers of light.”

“Cute male angels,” said Angela. “I love it!”

He laughed. “Well, I don’t know how cute you will find them by the end of the story,” he grinned. “See, according to legend and the hieroglyphs found in the mounds and on cave walls, one of the five Angels of Light, as they are sometimes referred to, had a thirst for power and wanted dominance over all of the heavens.” He held up a page in his black and green spiral notebook. “The Cahokia Indians used this symbol quite frequently when talking about this angel.”

Nathan squinted and cocked his head a little. He was trying to make out the sketch in Jonathan’s notebook. After a few moments, he could see that he was staring at a drawing of a broken wing that was engulfed in flames and constricted by a serpent…

Review: 

Ever feel like you are going crazy?  Hear voices, see things that aren’t there (and no not schizophrenia), well the characters in this book do.  But maybe they aren’t the crazy ones. 

This story is told from the point of view of two characters, jumping from one story to another until they crash into one another in style.  Imagine dreaming of someone and then finding out it was all real. 

This is a great story about magic, Indian folklore, and power.  I give this story 3.5 out of 5 clouds.

This product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.