Ray Dacolias

I have received a free copy of this book via LibraryThing in return for an honest review.

The state of public education in the United States is deplorable. The performance ratings of schools and teachers are based on standardized test scores; therefore, teachers are encouraged to teach to the test and find a way to get poorly performing students excluded. Every classroom needs to be wired and on camera. What is effectively martial law is in effect as soon as a student steps on school show more property.

The outcome of all this technology is lackluster at best. The news shows us school administrators who 'fix' test scores, the tests are under fire for bias, and all the rules and security technology in the world have not stopped school violence.

This book is fiction set in this kind of academic environment. Principal Carbuncle's iron fist controls the teachers at Amethyst Elementary. The students are non-entities. Sycophants whose classes produce outstanding test scores are lauded and all other teachers are reviled and they live in fear that Carbuncle's camera-monitoring will catch them attempting to teach material that is not within the strict "to the test" curriculum. The teachers are depressed and their personal lives are suffering.

So a resistance movement forms. They find ways to meet surreptitiously off-camera and out of earshot of the sycophants. Ways are found to teach interesting material. Personal calm is maintained through meditation. That's all good.

Then the book takes a very dark turn straight into the (non-Disneyfied) Brothers Grimm. Unspeakable violence is meted out upon Carbuncle and even death is not demeaning enough. The line of acceptable civil disobedience is not only crossed, but completely obliterated. I have read only one other book (a CIA exposé) that even comes close to being this hateful. If a student wrote something like this, that student would likely be arrested for making death threats against a school administrator.

Resorting to violence in order to make a point that the educational system is broken makes this reader question exactly who is the thug. I cannot in good conscience recommend this book to _anyone_. This book is not even worth 1/2 star, but zero stars will not register as a rating in this system. show less

"Author and Finisher Volume I" by Ray Dacolias is an ambitious family saga set against the serene yet unforgiving backdrop of the American Southwest. At its heart lies the Means family, a close-knit household of parents raising four children with the dual goals of survival and moral fortitude in a changing world. Dacolias weaves themes of faith, resilience, and personal growth into a narrative that feels both intimate and expansive.

The novel's strength lies in its rich character development show more and vivid descriptions of the lush countryside, which serve as more than mere setting—they mirror the characters' inner struggles and triumphs. Readers will appreciate the authentic dialogue and the subtle exploration of how ordinary lives intersect with profound questions of purpose and legacy. The title, evoking biblical undertones ("author and finisher of our faith"), hints at deeper spiritual layers that unfold gradually without feeling preachy.

This is a heartfelt novel in what promises to be a compelling series for fans of character-driven literary fiction with a moral core. show less

"I received this book for free from a friend who received it in exchange for a review. Despite that kindness I give my candid opinion below. Having read it, would I have paid for it? No way.

This book is a collection of short stories which range in setting from World War II all the way to interstellar space where mysterious creatures ride about on asteroids. To say that the book is "all over the map" is far underplaying its variety.

On the positive side, the author does have some unique show more stories to tell and there resides in the book the seed of several good somethings.

To the negative side, the actual writing of those stories is as tangled as a set of Christmas lights straight out of the box. This can be best illustrated through an example. I quote from the book:

"He was stumbling, tumbling, moving in a lopsided manner; he was lurching low, crawling, urging his body to go forward; he could barely see because of the blood, he could barely function because of the tremendous loss of blood, he could barely think because of the holes about his person through which his thick, cold blood spewed so precipitously."

This is exactly the sort of thing that goes on for 170 pages and after about 20 it begins to wear my soul out a bit." show less

I found this book interesting and easy to get into. It gives a calm but slightly tense feeling as the story builds. I liked how the family and their way of life are described. It feels thoughtful and a bit mysterious. It made me curious about what might happen next without giving too much away.