Logan Rutherford

I received this E-book for review from the Author. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way for them.

Review:

Charlie Freeman is your typical teenager, he goes to school, plays video games and sometimes he even gets in trouble for breaking the rules. All of that changes the day a space ship shows up in the skies above Washington D.C. If that wasn't strange enough just as soon as they came The Visitors vanished. While people around the world rejoiced, Charlie was just happy show more things could return to normal. Unfortunately for Charlie things were about to get much worse, and with Billions of people suddenly vanishing and strange humanoid peoples wanting to rip them apart at every turn, the only people Charlie and his visiting cousin Alex can rely on are themselves.

I am just going to say it, I LOVED this book. The best way I can describe The Intruders is The Walking Dead meets Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, it really was the perfect blend of both. The characters in this book were richly developed and I instantly felt connected to the plight of Charlie and his cousin Alex.

One thing I was surprised to learn after reading this book was that the Author is only a teenager. I never would of thought that based on how sharp, witty and detail orientated the writing was. I know I'm gushing but I honestly cannot praise this book enough everything about it was spot on and it really helped reignite my love for the Sci-Fi genre.

If your a fan of Sci-Fi or just looking for something new to read then pick up this book! I know personally that I am really looking to more from this Author and especially the next book in this series. I will be rating The Intruders by Logan Rutherford ★★★★. show less

Set in the smallish town of Eben, Indiana, Kane Andrews and his friends volunteer at the local high school in assisting with the refugees – fetching supplies, preparing large cafeteria-style meals, etc. Many large East Coast cities have been evacuated because the world’s first superhuman, Richter, runs amok, tearing down buildings and throwing cars around. But things are about to change for Kane and the small town of Eben.

This book was a mixed bag for me. It held to a pretty basic good show more versus chaotic evil + coming of age storyline. Kane will become the second superhuman and the only one capable of fighting Richter and ending his rampages. However, we have to go through the process with him and that was rather humdrum. Kane wants to keep his identity as a superhuman hush hush, which is smart of him, and yet his first appearance in public is at the high school without a costume of any kind. Granted, it was an emergency situation and there was no time to plan, but the author carries on as if no one had an inkling that Kane was the young man who saved Macy. So, that was a little hard to believe.

The entire story is told through Kane’s eyes, and he’s a teen just coming into adulthood. He needs time to hang out with his friends and drink beer and maybe go on a date. I was OK with all that, as a starting point. But Kane stays pretty simplistic throughout the tale and after a while, that felt rather strained, especially towards the end.

Then we have the ladies. The story opens up with Leopold wishing to interview old lady Mrs. Andrews in the year 2078 (I think I have that right) about young Kane and how he became the second super. She’s neither here nor there. Then back in the main timeline, we have Kane’s mom who is supportive but also turns into useless tears when crap starts flying. Then there’s Macy who faints! Argh! OK. I know humans faint. But can we please balance out the fainting love interest with some realist female characters? Or maybe a man who faints or needs a good therapist? We do get a hard-nosed female FBI Agent, but she has perhaps 10 lines in the book. Then there’s Macy’s sister (who has maybe 3 lines) and a mystery female towards the end of the book that we know next to nothing about by the end of the tale. So, yeah, we could have used some gender balance since this is set in modern days.

The first fight scene was pretty decent and poor Kane loses. That made sense and also meant that Kane had to use his brains more than his fists. The rest of the fight scenes were only OK because they felt rather repetitive. In between these fight scenes, we learn a little bit about Richter and what probably drove him a little mad. That was a good tidbit to have tossed into the story. Kane eventually gets a costume and the media dub him the Tempest. I tend to associate the word ‘tempest’ with water-based storms like hurricanes. But I don’t recall Kane doing any flashy waterworks in his fights with Richter. So the name didn’t feel like a good fit to me.

As a side note, the story refers to past nuclear testing that was done in Arizona. I did a quick Google search and then dug up an expert in radiation safety and between the two, couldn’t find any past nuclear testing in AZ. However, fall out from above ground testing in nearby Nevada did affect AZ. It’s a small incorrect point in the story but one that stood out to me, being a lifelong resident of the desert Southwest.

The ending was OK. We have a big glorious fight scene and then clean up. The final ending takes us back to where we started with Leopold conducting his interview. The author has definitely set things up for a sequel. There’s plenty of questions left about Kane and the mystery woman at the end of his section of the story. All told, this book was a bit meh for me.

I won a copy of this book from the Lazy Day Library Facebook group (via The Audio Book Reviewer) with no strings attached.

Narration: Kirby Heyborne was a good fit for Kane. He sounds like a polite young man in his late teens. The narrator is able to be a bit more serious and sound a little gruff when needed for other characters. His female voices are believable. show less

This series just keeps getting better and better. Just when you think things will start to wrap up, a whole new aspect pops up leading to another adventure. The twists and turns are well crafted and so fun to read. Keep them coming!

I got an ARC for an honest review.

Another great work from Mr. Rutherford. If you have not read any of his books, you need to start. They are so engaging, well paced and just good fun to read. Empire continues this tradition with a fascinating new story line.