Monday, October 29, 2012

Relentless (the Dominion Trilogy #1)

By: Robin Parrish

Grant Borrows’ life has just taken a drastic left turn. There’s another man in the world wearing his face and living his life. What’s more, the man he sees in the mirror is a stranger.
Somehow, he’s been Shifted —his whole life fundamentally altered, in the space of a single breath. But the changes don’t stop at skin-level. Inexplicably, he’s able to affect objects around him by simply thinking about them. And as he soon learns, he’s become the central figure in a vast web of intrigue that stretches from an underground global conspiracy to a prophecy dating back over seven thousand years, that tells of his coming. Enemies and allies find him at every turn, but one thing they all learn very quickly is that you don’t want to push Grant Borrows too far…
Can destiny be undone?
The players are ready. The game is in motion. And the pace is Relentless.

I downloaded this book quite some time ago - far enough back that I have no idea what drew me to the book, other than the price (free). I had put off reading it because I didn't want to get caught up in a trilogy and my experience has taught me tat very few trilogies have individual books that can stand on their own. I finally decided to bite the bullet and dive into Relentless about a week ago.
Wow. Just- wow. . .

Starting at chapter one, this book was hard to put down. Once I got into the flow and the characters, it became downright impossible. My number one complaint about really good books is that they end too quickly - not so with Relentless. It could have ended several times before the final word was placed, but the momentum was too great, and the story too compelling to be cut short. This was a book that demanded to be given the proper attention, from the author as well as the audience, and I'm so glad that Parrish delivered!

Grant Borrows has a problem, but he isn't aware of it yet. In fact, he's not even aware that his name is Grant Borrows. He becomes aware of his problems on his way to work one day when he sees a man that is identical to himself in every way - right down to the brass bracelet that his grandfather made in World War II. Suddenly, grant is thrust into a world where he doesn't know who to trust, including the face in the mirror. What do you do when your world is violently torn away from you and given to someone else? You find out why. That is what Grant does and he takes us along for the ride of a lifetime!

Parrish laid a solid foundation in the first chapter, and then constructed a nearly perfect building by developing his characters succinctly, thoroughly, and completely. He explored almost every area that I was curious about, and the places that he wasn't as thorough weren't that important to the story - I am just insatiably curious.
The writing in this book is about the most solid I have ever seen, third only to DekKer and Peretti. I was sucked into a world that I never saw coming, and the whirlwind it created was astonishing.

I HIGHLY recommend this book! Anyone who likes to read can find something to draw them in with Relentless. I am now on the lookout for more of Parrish's work. If Relentless is this good, there has to be more out there!