Clairvoyants: The Fifth Strain -- A Review

Fans of  X-men, Avengers,  or Teen Titans are going to love Clairvoyants: The Fifth Strain.

Summary: 

Clairvoyants: The Fifth Strain is book two in the series Clairvoyants by Brady Moore.  We follow the story of Rion Greane, a kinetic, which is the type of clairvoyant who can move things with his mind. Clairvoyants are people with special abilities.  The four known types of clairvoyants are kinetics like Rion,  readers who can read minds, aurals who can transfer their consciousness into other bodies, and prophets who get visions of the past, present or future. There is a rumor of a fifth type, but no one seems to know who or what that is just yet.

 A government agency called Psyriin wants to eradicate clairvoyants. Psyriin is using other calirvoyants to hunt them down. The group of clairvoyants has been split up with some are in hiding while others are missing. Rion hopes to find his mother, and the other missing clairvoyants with out being caught by Psyriin.

Thoughts:

This was a well paced book, and even though I didn't read the first one the author did a brilliant job on filling me in without the dreaded info dump. He carefully laced in bits and details so I was able to follow the story...however, I wish I had read the first novel and suggest you grab it if you're able. There was a great story there, and I do feel the second book would have made my connection with the characters deeper.  

Rion and the other clairvoyants have formed a close-knit family group.  They often showed how deeply they loved each other as a family, and our author is not afraid to express these emotions in his characters.  Rion even remarked early on that losing one of their group was like losing a limb. It was obvious to me that many of these relationships began in the first book and must have continued in their depth in this book. This was a tight group of people who would sacrifice themselves for the group with out pause. As the story unfolds they learn how to work together with their individual powers to keep each other safe from Psyriin.  

It was easy for me to get caught up in this book just after the halfway point, and it became one of those "just one more chapter, just one more chapter" until I reached the end.  There was fighting, and action, and narrow escapes.  Rion stopping a spray of bullets with his mind like a badass? Yes, please..

There were a few metaphors I scratched my head at early on...like an ocean of sweat, or a geyser of saliva. Those moments were far and few between though, and overall the book well was written and easy to read. The characters were relatable and lovable, specially when you can see how much they care for each other. If you're a fan of the Avengers, X-men or Teen Titans you will love this book. 

**Warning** The book ends on a cliffhanger that sets us all up for the next book.

 Clairvoyants the Fifth Strain is available now for pre-order and will be released May 5, 2022.

You can follow Brady Moore on Facebook here or on Instagram here.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced e-copy of this book free for review.  This however does not affect my opinions, as I do not leave a review for each book I receive. There are links to Amazon, clicking these links won't cost you anything but any purchase helps support this blog.  Thanks!

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A Review: The Brighter the Stars

This week I dipped my toes into some sci-fi, and I stumbled across an audio book The Brighter the Stars by Bryan Prosek. I don't usually listen to audiobooks, but I may try to add them to my reading more. It's pretty nice the things you're able to accomplish while also listening to a book!

Summary: This story follows Jake, a young Legion soldier who is motivated by revenge after witnessing the brutal murder of his uncle when he was a teen. Jake gets caught up in a bigger political issues of Earth and it's relationship with other planets.  He manages to locate a lost crystal that was stolen, but all the while has to decide whether to follow through with his revenge plans, save the love of his life, or clear his now tarnished name.

Thoughts: This book was well planned, well structured, with clear world building and characters that I could relate to. There's a clear moral conflict that Jake is having to work through all laid out in an exciting well paced book.  Having said that...I don't feel that I was the targeted audience for this book and that's ok! This is the kind of book I was looking for when my oldest son was a young pre-teen and would inhale books so much that he left our librarians scrambling. I didn't really start paying attention until I was about  halfway through, but I don't even think there were any bad words in it.  It's a clean book, suitable pre-teens as well as teens, and more than likely the target audience this book was intended for.

Bryan Prosek also has published A Measure of Serenity which is also labeled YA which focuses on a young girl named Serenity Ashdown. Be sure to check it out!

Disclaimer: I received an advanced e-copy of this book free for review.  This however does not affect my opinions, as I do not leave a review for each book I receive. There are links to Amazon, clicking these links won't cost you anything but any purchase helps support this blog.  Thanks!

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