“Comes a Horseman” by Robert Liparulo
If you’ve been following my blog, you may have noticed that about once a month for the past half year I’ve taken a blog post to talk about a specific book recently come out in Christian publishing. I’m part of a group blogging together on this, and I don’t get to choose the books, though I’m sure suggestions are welcome. The idea is to create a buzz about these books, make people aware of their existence, and to see if by this venture, we can bump the sales up a little. It may be difficult to tell exactly how much of a book’s sales can be attributed to blog buzz, but it’s fun to try, all the same.
It’s been kind of interesting to see what kinds of books are coming out from Christian publishers these days. It’s exciting to see the variety available; things have really been a’changin’ in the past few years. I’ve had the opportunity to read most of the books that we talk about, though sometimes the books arrive in the wilds of Canada a little too late for me to read them BEFORE we blog about them. And I have to admit, not every title looks like a book I want to read, either.
This months’s book, Comes a Horseman by Robert Liparulo is one such book.
Here are a couple of samples of the kind of praise (found on his website) that Robert is gleaning for his story:
“If you like thrillers that are spine chilling and just won’t let go of the reader, this book is for you. “
— Mysteries Galore
“Robert Liparulo has crafted a diabolical thrill ride of a novel that makes the roller coaster at Magic Mountain seem like a speed bump. Part serial killer procedural, part global techno-thriller, part spiritual suspense epic, Comes a Horseman has enough plot twists and action to decode Da Vinci! Highly recommended!”
–Jay Bonansinga, author of Frozen, The Killer’s Game, and The Sinking of the Eastland
Um, I have to admit that I’ve never yet read a book that matched this description in any way, and I’m trying to decide if I’m going to be brave enough when Comes a Horseman shows up in my mailbox.. How much do I need to do in the name of market research? How much do I need to do in the name of supporting fellow new authors? Can I just let my husband read it?
The jury is still out.
Oh, come on, Val, you can read it! There are a few graphic scenes at the beginning and suspense throughout, but the story has a lot of heart. I think you’ll find yourself liking the characters enough to wade through the more intense scenes. Many women have written me to say they liked it a lot. Colleen Coble, Angela Hunt and Alison Strobel gave me strong endorsements–they are authors who are in touch with what women readers like and they don’t endorse books all that often. (I hope I don’t sound like I’m tooting my own horn, but I do want to say that I think a wider readership would enjoy Comes a Horseman than the cover or the description would indicate.) Then again, it’s not for everyone. I would be interested in knowing what you think after you’ve read it (if you do). Thanks for mentioning it and linking to my site! –Warm regards, Bob
Ouch. I’ve been caught again. 🙂 I…er…guess I’ll be reading this book. How can a person say ‘no’ to the author himself? Enquiring minds want to know…
Gee, Val. The book looks pretty interesting to me.
Hi! I’m part of the alliance. I just received the book and have read a few chapters already. I’m hooked! But I do like reading a bunch of different genres. I am a woman though…so, you might like it!
Teehee! You are sooo caught!
Remember, there is always skim-reading. (Or you could ‘read’ it like you ‘read’ Tolkien’s masterpiece.)
Well, Jean, I’ve seen the synopses for YOUR books, so it doesn’t surprise me that you’d think it looked up your alley. Tell you what, YOU read it and let me know… Hmm. Thanks for the vote of confidence, MC 🙂 And, um, Karen…this may not be the place to mention how much of Tolkein I’ve read.
Well now, I didn’t really say did I? *grin* I’m sure you’ll love it, then make me read it.
Don’t worry, Val. I guarantee you’ve read more Tolkien than I have. Everyone on the planet has read more Tolkien than I have. At this point, I am pleased to retain that status, stubborn as it may be of me.
The more people tell me I *have* to read someone, the more resistant I become.
I do plan to read it. It’s in my Amazon cart and need to add a couple more items. I just placed a couple orders, so the timing wasn’t quite right. I’ll let you know what I think.
And was that a dig at what I write? 🙂 (Yes, I understand it’s not up your alley, and that’s OK. You’ve provided excellent feedback in spite of that, and I appreciate every bit of it.)
Um, Jean? Don’t make any guarantees on how much Tolkein I’ve read, for all that I write fantasy. I’m just as stubborn as you are! And I’m not DIGGING at what you write…precisely! I appreciate your feedback, too. It’s one of the very cool things about FM, actually–that learning to appreciate the process and friendship of other writers whether or not they’re in your specific field of writing. Hugs to you my friend.
So it sounds like we’re tied for reading the same amount of Tolkien. (grin)
Hugs to you, too.