Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Retro Review: Beyond the Night by Joss Ware

Posted June 14, 2017 by Casee in Reviews | 6 Comments

Retro Review: Beyond the Night by Joss WareReviewer: Casee
Beyond the Night by Colleen Gleason
Series: The Heroes of New Vegas #1
Also in this series: Beyond the Night, Abandon the Night, Beyond the Night (The Heroes of New Vegas #1), Embrace the Night
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: January 12th 2010
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 357
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
five-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

A man with no future . . .When Dr. Elliott Drake wakes from a mysterious fifty-year sleep, the world as he knew it is gone. Cities are now desolate, and civilization is controlled by deadly immortals. Stranger still is Elliott's extraordinary new "gift"--he has the power to heal, but it comes with fatal consequences.A woman with a past . . .Jade barely escaped the immortals and is now hell-bent on revenge. She trusts no one . . . until Elliott. His piercing gaze and tempting touch shatter her defenses, but the handsome doctor seems to have dangerous secrets of his own. Is it safe to trust him with her heart?If they are to survive in this dark new world, Jade and Elliott must work together to fight the forces that take them beyond danger.Beyond desire.

*****As part of our 10 year anniversary celebration, we’ll be re-posting old reviews that make us cringe, laugh or sigh all over again.

This review was originally posted on March 2, 2010.


We’re only in the second month (now the third) of 2010 and I’m already sure that this book/series/author will be on at least one of my “Best of” lists. This book was phenomenal. It had shades of the movie I Am Legend, but with a happy (or as happy as it’s possible to be) ending. I’m not a big UF reader so I don’t know if Joss Ware is the first to rewrite the world like this. I do know that you MUST read this book. Even to my paranormal hating friends—you will love it too.

Dr. Elliott Drake went into a Sedona cave in 2010 and came out in 2060. The world as he knew it was gone. There are now zombie like monsters—gangas—that have an affinity for blond haired people. Entire towns seem to appear wiped out. Together with four of his friends, Elliott is trying to find Envy a settlement where they hope to get some answers. Like what the hell happened?

It is beyond culture shock when you are standing on what used to be a Las Vegas street and can see the Pacific Ocean. Elliott and his group have heard few names of survivors of what is called The Change. One of them is in Envy and Elliott is determined to talk to him so he can find out what the hell happened.

Not only is the world different, but Elliott is also different. A doctor in 2010, he now has a new ability that enables him to “scan” a person with his hands and know what their ailment is. Even more recent, he has discovered that he can actually take an injury into himself and transfer it to another person and/or living thing.

When Elliott meets Jade, he is transfixed by her. Born after The Change, Jade has lived a life that no person should have to. From Jade he learns about the Strangers, immortals that appear to have instituted The Change. Jade was held captive by the Strangers for years. She got away and her captor thinks that she died.

I did like the relationship between Jade and Elliott, but I was more into this new world. Joss Ware is an amazing writer. When she would write scenes of Elliott and Jade going through a deserted shopping mall, I felt like I imagined Elliott would. Sort of speechless. Kind of in awe just imagining the possibility. Also horrified to imagine what it would be like to go through something like that.

From the first page to the last, I had a hard time putting this book down. Pick it up…no excuses.

4.75 out of 5.

The Heroes of New Vegas

five-stars


Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Guest Review: Beyond the Night by Joss Ware

Posted February 8, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 4 Comments

Guest Review: Beyond the Night by Joss WareReviewer: Judith
Beyond the Night by Colleen Gleason
Series: The Heroes of New Vegas #1
Also in this series: Beyond the Night, Abandon the Night, Beyond the Night (The Heroes of New Vegas #1), Embrace the Night
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: January 12th 2010
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 357
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
five-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

A man with no future . . .When Dr. Elliott Drake wakes from a mysterious fifty-year sleep, the world as he knew it is gone. Cities are now desolate, and civilization is controlled by deadly immortals. Stranger still is Elliott's extraordinary new "gift"--he has the power to heal, but it comes with fatal consequences.A woman with a past . . .Jade barely escaped the immortals and is now hell-bent on revenge. She trusts no one . . . until Elliott. His piercing gaze and tempting touch shatter her defenses, but the handsome doctor seems to have dangerous secrets of his own. Is it safe to trust him with her heart?If they are to survive in this dark new world, Jade and Elliott must work together to fight the forces that take them beyond danger.Beyond desire.

This story begins with tension and doesn’t let up until the final page. Ware uses powerful language to sketch the horror of a world that has been changed irrevocably to one that knows almost nothing of the technological society of 2010. The need to survive and the valiant efforts of the human population, the efforts to re-establish a society based on law, the constant fear of the night-stalking monsters created by the immortals, are all artfully described as well as the efforts of the Resistance movement undercover within the city that is built on the remains of what used to be Las Vegas. Within this dark and forbidding world scenario, the story of Elliott and Jade’s love is told, first as sexual attraction and ultimately as a love that withstands the tragedies caused by unmitigated evil. It is a powerful story of passion and regard. I really like Elliott, a man of ethics and honor, who takes his medical training and promises seriously, who respects and values Jade as a powerful woman who has survived torture and untold horrors at the hands of the immortals, as a woman who uses intelligence and strategy to find and defeat all who would crush the humans. He is a gentle and kind man, full of life but one who rarely if ever allows his baser instincts to drive his actions, even in a world that doesn’t seem to know much of the society that has formed him. He is not sure he can survive in the world as it now exists and he certainly doesn’t know if he can learn to live with his new “gift.” He glories in the power to heal but he is not sure he can figure out how to make the choices as to who should be healed and who must be allowed to die.

This is the first in this series and it is a powerful first-in-a-series novel. It holds the reader’s attention from start to finish. This story is crafted by an author that demonstrates a complete understanding of the writing task and fulfills the promise of this story line with aplomb. In its own peculiar way, even though this is fiction, it forces the reader to consider what it would be like to live in a world without so many goods and services we now take for granted. A reader who desires a substantive reading experience will not be disappointed in this book.

I give it a rating of 5 out of 5.

The Heroes of New Vegas

five-stars


Tagged: , , , , , , , ,