“Are you going to give it a rest or do I have to smack you in the balls?”
Had me laughing until……….
Beth and Sebastian were cruising on the largest ship to ever sail. They heard the alarms going off and ran to the balcony, only to watch as the rogue wave washed over them.
Does something have to end for something to begin?
Travis felt so much guilt over leaving Christine and Logan, his wife and son. He, along with the other members of his team – Morgan Ellis, mechanic, Christina Perez, combat trainer (the only woman at the facility), TJ, equipment specialist, and Sean Jeffries, pilot – were sent to Mars. Travis had made the decision for the team, go to Mars instead of receiving a death sentence. Mars wasn’t a prison, but it might as well have been.
Travis was called in for his monthly evaluation with Dr. Hoffman. He was asked about his coworkers and the facility, the normal questions. Travis told him that he missed his family terribly and Hoffman told him he would be allowed to talk with them.
Annie wanted to look her best when she saw Travis today. The only comm link to Mars from Earth was at TransWorld, the company that built the place on Mars. It was a three and a half hour drive from home. On the way, she thought of how life would be, knowing Travis would never be coming home.
Contact with Earth became sporadic, then non-existent, he began to prepare for the worst. Andrews warned his people, the men at the mine were prisoners, no matter what anyone said.
“Men can be like dogs if put in the right situation. Obedient, loyal. But when the chips are down and they feel threatened, you bet your balls they’ll turn on you.”
Annie awoke to the latest news on Earth. The ozone layer was almost gone, high acid levels made the ocean toxic, earthquakes were ripping the ground out from under them and releasing the unthinkable. Would humans be the next animal to become extinct?
I couldn’t take my eyes off this video.
Annie and Logan make it to TransWorld and Annie is able to contact Travis on Mars. As he and his team watch the horrific images on screen, they wonder what would meet them if they manage to return to Earth. Would it be a fate worse than death?
5 STARS – Would Buy It For Them (lol)
If you happen to notice I changed the STARS from 4 to 5, it is because I had a personal emergency and had to publish and run. I found I had hit the wrong button, so I corrected my error. Sorry, Kevin, because this book really deserves the 5 STAR rating.
Kevin J. Howard is an excellent writer with a vivid imagination and otherworldly stories to tell. As soon as I saw the cover, I knew I wanted this book. Beautiful and intriguing. The title, Precipice, evokes the feeling of impending doom. Knowing Kevin’s mind, I knew there was an intriguing adventure waiting between the “pages”.
His descriptions of the end of the world and life on Mars remind me of H. G. Wells and his visions of the future. Kevin describes Travis wearing front loaders, made me think of a scene in Avatar. You will have to read the book to know what he is talking about, but who is to say what tools will be developed in the future.
Water on Mars was recycled urine. Is that a thing of the future? MMMM Something to look forward to?
I loved all the detail, so starting out kind of slow is fine by me. Once it had me drawn and quartered, I found I couldn’t escape its clutches. The action came from all directions. There was so much going on and new storylines kept popping up.
And what will happen after we destroy the Earth, using up all the available resources? Ozone layers about gone, oceans toxic, the ground shaking – vanishing beneath our feet.
“Humanity! The most lethal virus unleashed upon the universe.”
Kevin tells us about Christine seeing a chimp at the Chicago Zoo when she was 15, but now, chimps, polar bears and elephants were only seen as photos in books.
The Mars Project is run by Trans World Incorporated. It is an off world facility, preparing the way for mining and the colonization of Mars. Is it preparation for when the world becomes uninhabitable?
Does any of this have a familiar ring to it?
Ever wonder if it has happened before? Maybe we came here from somewhere else.
I love strong women protagonists and Annie is one.
“Take your goddamn gun out of my son’s face.”
“I said now, before I rip off your fucking balls and beat you with them.”
Oh man, I was so bummed when I reached the end. I wanted so badly to keep on reading. How long until Book II? I’m thinking it will knock my socks off. So, bring it on!!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin J. Howard was born in Mission Viejo, California, moved to Seattle at the age of twenty-one, and now lives in Puyallup. He hand wrote his first novel in the fifth grade and has been writing ever since. His first published novel, Faithful Shadow, is a return to the classic horror novel. Since writing Faithful Shadow he has completed four additional horror novels that will soon be published. In 2012, he won an award in the Las Vegas International Film Festival for his screenplay, Identical Opposites. Kevin’s latest novel, Precipice: The Beginning, is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The sequel, Precipice: The Retrieval, should be released in the summer of 2013.
Kevin J Howard is offering for the Giveaway – a signed paperback of Precipice, Book I and Faithful Shadow bookmarks. International. Easy entry as always, just leave your email address and answer the question:
If you had a chance to help settle a colony off Earth, on, let’s say, Mars, would you go for it?
ALERT: This is a Tag Team Event. For a second chance to win, go tofuonlyknewand enterLaura’s Giveaway.
GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. THE WINNER IS:
Laura Thomas
This was a Tag Team Event with fuonlyknew. To see her winner, goHERE.
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Alex and Emily went to Yellowstone camping, even though there was a major fire going on. Little did they know, it would end so badly for them.
Since his son’s death, Joe was angry at the park and was nipping at the bottle to get through the day. He and Andy responded to a call about vandalism at the cabins at Old Faithful Inn. Blood filled the cabin, but the scene didn’t make any sense. They chalked it up to a bear attacking a bird. (Yeah, right) They left, but both of them were thinking of the missing hikers.
It was tradition for the Foster family to work at the park and Kelly was angry that the fire was happening while she was there. She was from Mobile, Alabama. A true Southern Belle, blonde-haired and blue-eyed with sparkling white teeth. A real Hottie.
A group of the young employees were going to the hot pots to party. They had some marijuana, booze and sleeping bags. Kelly had to stay behind. It was her night to close the ice cream shop.
When Richard came to meet her, she told him about being watched by someone. Of course, he went to check it out and was pulled into the woods. I sat here shouting, don’t go in the woods. It’s one of those things, you know he’s going to do it and the monster is going to get him. lol
But he was just pranking her, a practical joke.
In the morning, at the hot pots, Doug and Rowena were gone. Everyone knew they didn’t like each other and they sure wouldn’t go off together.
Dale was working on the fire at the west line, but he told Cameron they were to go to Old Faithful Inn. When he turned around to find out what was taking Cameron so long, he was just gone, vanished. The crew searched for more than an hour and found no clue.
Dale couldn’t just let it go, so he went back to see if he could find Cameron. He had fallen into a sinkhole. When Dale called to him, he responded. Bob went down to get him. As they pulled Cameron out, Bob looked around. He looked down and saw thousands and thousands of bones, human and animal, large and small. He practically crawled out of the hole on his own. Bob had never been so terrified in his life, wondering what was down there with him. What created all those bones?
Dale watched Bob and Cameron walk away. There was something really odd about Cameron. His coat looked funny, like it wasn’t fitting properly. He had slapped at himself and yelled about the dark. Bob thought Cameron felt very heavy and he had a rotting stench radiating from him. The smell was so rank, he thought he would vomit.
Natasha was cleaning rooms, most of them were empty because of the fire. She came to Cameron’s room. He didn’t look right and when she looked closer, she knew why. She could feel something watching her, but it couldn’t be Cameron. As she looked around, she saw two green eyes peering at her from the closet.
More people are missing. Joe is forced to deal with it. Will his drinking be the death of him and by failing to do his job, others? He knew, whatever it was, wasn’t human. It was all connected. It rode up from the hole – piggybacked on Cameron. Joe is given a purpose. It is his job to protect everyone in the park. He is determined to do it. It is his park and he will deal with the creature. Stew, Richard, Kelly and Sonia were just as determined to help.
How do you kill a shadow? How many would be left standing?
4 STARS – Would Highly Recommend To Others
An awesome cover. I love the colors and the flames, with the eeriness of the water and the mountains in the background. Get a shiver just looking at it, wondering what is to come.
I love that it started being creepy from the get-go. Kept my undivided attention throughout the book. The plot and writing were very entertaining and engrossing. A debut novel that will leave you wanting more.
The characters were well-developed and their personalities made you either like them or not. I felt sorry for Joe and really hoped he would turn himself around and be the hero. Of course, you will have to read it for yourself to find out. lol
Remember the fears of childhood? I remember the monster under my bed. I couldn’t let anything hang over the edge of the bed, because it might get me. I had to stay completely covered. I just knew it was under there, waiting for me to put my feet down.
Amazing how the monster comes back, when you are sitting in the dark, getting creeped out by the critters running rampant in the book you’re reading. Every creak and noise of the house has you looking over your shoulder, wondering…………
I received this book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin J. Howard was born in Mission Viejo, California, moved to Seattle at the age of twenty-one, and now lives in Puyallup. He hand wrote his first novel in the fifth grade and has been writing ever since. His first published novel, Faithful Shadow, is a return to the classic horror novel. Since writing Faithful Shadow he has completed four additional horror novels that will soon be published. In 2012, he won an award in the Las Vegas International Film Festival for his screenplay, Identical Opposites. Kevin looks to release his next horror novel in December of 2012.
Recent Honors:
I was just awarded the title of Scariest Author for 2012 after a month long round of voting via the Outskirts Press Face Book page. I would like to thank everyone that voted for such a warm response.
My favorite time of any giveaway is announcing the winner. So without further ado, the winners of Precipice: The Beginning by Kevin J. Howard is:
5 STARS – Would Buy It For Them (lol)
Kevin J. Howard was born in Mission Viejo, California, moved to Seattle at the age of twenty-one, and now lives in Puyallup. He hand wrote his first novel in the fifth grade and has been writing ever since. His first published novel, Faithful Shadow, is a return to the classic horror novel. Since writing Faithful Shadow he has completed four additional horror novels that will soon be published. In 2012, he won an award in the Las Vegas International Film Festival for his screenplay, Identical Opposites. Kevin’s latest novel, Precipice: The Beginning, is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The sequel, Precipice: The Retrieval, should be released in the summer of 2013.
Kevin J Howard is offering for the Giveaway – a signed paperback of Precipice, Book I and Faithful Shadow bookmarks. International. Easy entry as always, just leave your email address and answer the question:
through the day. He and Andy responded to a call about vandalism at the cabins at 
Cameron they were to go to 
Kevin J. Howard was born in 
