Genre: Thriller
Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words
Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: YES
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Author:
Tommy Garrison is a poet with two self-published poetry collections available, Imagination Celebration and Lover Erotica. This is his first novel. Garrison lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest of the United States. For more on Garrison, visit his website.
Co-author Kristen James is a full time author. Along with ghostwriting for others, James has published several novels and short stories including a Native American historical novel, The River People, and the romance novel, A Cowboy for Christmas. James lives in central Oregon. For more, visit her website.
Description:
Life isn’t fair. Matthew Baker has done everything right. He’s a good person. A great husband and father, yet he’s just been told he has cancer. This brings back memories of when he was a high school student who had it all, including Destiny, his first love. When Matthew wished he could take Destiny’s cancer away from her those many years ago, did it work?
Appraisal:
Suspension of disbelief required if you want to become fully immersed in a story with an unrealistic element. Books in some genres, horror and science fiction for example, are chock full of unrealistic items while many books have none. I’ve found the times I have a hard time suspending disbelief are when everything about the book is true-to-life except for one element that is both unrealistic and unlike any premise I’ve seen in the past. Time travel? No problem. The ability to see the future in photographs? I can handle it.
I had a hard time convincing myself to believe the one unrealistic part of A Miraculous Fate, that someone could take on another person’s cancer. I’m glad I was eventually able to overcome my doubts, because once I accepted that as a hypothetical possibility, the book became, not just an entertaining read, but thought provoking. What would the ethics and obligations be for each person? How might this make the world a better place?
A large portion of A Miraculous Fate is devoted to a thriller type storyline with protagonist Matthew’s wife, Victoria, searching for Destiny, his high school girlfriend, hoping she holds the key to his survival. What makes this story unique from most thrillers is that, while you want Matthew to live, the apparent solution, convincing Destiny to take the cancer back or somehow foisting it upon her, isn’t that great either. That Garrison and James find their way to an ending that is not only satisfying, but leaves you liking all the main characters – an ending that seems unlikely for much of the story – is quite a feat.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues
Rating: **** Four stars
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