As promised, we give you the third and final installment of Xlibris Author Geoffrey Clayson’s blog entry.
Here’s what the captive readers from Authonomy and Amazon have to say about the novel.
Geoff and Chris…I’m at a loss for words. I’ve read through the first seven chapters and know I’ll finish, but had to tell you how powerfully written this body of work is. You didn’t draw me in, I was yanked…and enveloped in a world of days gone by. You paint a visual of a time and place that was real, even if based in fiction. I came to know and ache for the characters you’ve gifted me with, stung by the injustices they endured. And to end now, with an understanding of how the knights of Templar came to carry out their work, am engrossed even more.
Six stars…high praise…and on my watch list.
– Linda
Geoff and Chris…As before, I’m rather at a loss for words. The book I’ve finally completed was one of the best I’ve ever read. Ever. The history..the reality…the fiction that was too real to fit that word…kept me coming back to read even when I should have been in bed..or doing a million other things. The characters were vivid…I could almost hear them breathe. The early church’s sins so blatant…seeping down through the centuries until the buck finally stopped in this modern day setting. When Isabelle was taken and used so horribly, her thoughts flitting back to the way young girls and women were used the same way, hit home. Your skill…your ability to paint this picture for me…it’s simply amazing. To sum it all up…and to do so honestly…I can think of only one word: Movie.
– Linda
Very well written. The story flows well and although i’m no history buff, it all rings true and I think you’ve done a good job of making it sound ‘now’. To be honest I don’t read this sort of thing normally. Anything before WW2 is lost on me. However, as this has a quality about it I’m going to ask you to ‘spam’ my daughter. Put ‘larquette’ into the search bar. I’m sure this is her sort of thing (loves historical books, esp. 16th century onwards), and don’t worry, she is here just as a reader so you won’t have to return any reads. Good luck with this. After 2 and bit chapters, I give you 4 stars.
– David Blackdene
The Apology works on several levels. It is both a historical journal of events happening in England and Europe in the reign of Henry VIII, and a thriller mystery, in the sense of a significant discovery. At 107,446 words, this is a fully formed and well constructed novel which has probably been carefully thought out and even story boarded to produce a baseline on which the characters and plot have been developed. Reading the opening chapters serves to give a feel for the width and breadth of the total content contained in its 50 chapters. Though they are packed with information, I suspect The Apology is a slow burn, each chapter revealing something new about the story and/or the characters without giving away the end conclusion too soon, as so many books posted on Authonomy do on page 1, leaving no mystery to be unraveled by the reader. This is an intended magnum opus and should be treated as such when applying critique. Highly starred and WL’ed.
– Clive Radford
Doghouse Blues
If you want something that’s a bit different to all the books that have been around lately, like ho-hum 50 shades, this is really worthwhile. I didn’t know what to expect because I had never heard of these authors but I enjoyed it from page 1 and had a really hard time putting it down. The thing is it never ceases to amaze me how cruel the Catholic Church was back in the 16th century. Have a look at this book and just be grateful that we didn’t live back then, because this book describes the whole thing perfectly. You know I love it actually. Go for it.
-Eacha
I borrowed this book with my Prime membership because I wasn’t sure if I would like it. It turns out this was a very good book. I stayed up late reading because I couldn’t find a good stopping point. It just never had a slow point or place that was boring. Sometimes historical fiction can be dull and hard to follow. This was not that way at all. The characters are very compelling and I thought the story unfolded well with a good flow to it. It follows the Martinus family on their quest for justice against a corrupt Catholic church through the centuries. If you like Dan Brown or Raymond Khoury I think you would like this book. Also if you like historical fiction this is a good example of how it should be written. There were a couple of grammar errors, but this didn’t detract from the book. For the reviewer who thought the plot wasn’t that believable it is called fiction for a reason. But also there are so many secrets out there involving the Catholic church anything is possible and we are in a sue happy society. People sue for anything nowadays. All in all a good book that wasn’t hard to read. So I am giving it 5 stars because it entertained me and that is what a good book does.
– RaeRaeBear “raeraebear”
Thank you very much, Xlibris author Geoffrey Clayson for sharing your literary insights here on the Xlibris Blog! We wish you and your co-writer Chris Kirby-Ryan all the best in this captivating, imaginative tale.
Read more of Geoffrey Clayson’s blog entries on these links:
Xlibris Author Geoffrey Clayson Pens a Thrilling Novel about His Ancient Roots – Part 1
Xlibris Author Geoffrey Clayson Pens a Thrilling Novel about His Ancient Roots – Part 2
We invite you to visit the Xlibris Indie Authors Roundup to draw inspiration from our growing number of self-published Xlibris authors and the Xlibris Writer’s Workshop for your writing, editing, and book marketing tools.