Author. Engineer. Officer. Overachiever.
PLOT SYNOPSIS
When Navy Seal, Jacob Carter is assigned to an experimental mission, he’ll protect the crew at all costs. But nothing could have prepared him for the effect of the ship’s cloaking device, or his disintegration into the spiritual side of our world. Stripped of the finite, and plunged into a terrifying existence, can he survive the enemies determined to kill him?
While his body lays unconscious, his nurse, Sage, fights to keep the dark intentions of the DARPA scientists at bay. Is the strange type of radiation affecting them both what’s allowing Jacob to travel between realities? Can they escape the ship and the hatred of the other super soldiers the program has created?
When parallel worlds collide, can his faith change the future?
Series: Three Worlds Trilogy
Book: 1
Age Recommendation: 15+
Content Notice: Mildly disturbing imagery, violence, overt religious content, thematic elements
Faith Based: Yes
ISBN: 979-8218250072
Overall
Characters
Story/Plot
Writing
Setting
Consistency
THE BOTTOM LINE
A creative premise, good story, relatable characters, and an engaging writing style carry this religious allegory
THOUGHTS…
Let’s get this out of the way: Plunged is a story with overt religious themes, a fact which may turn off some people. If, however, you are fascinated by the idea of spiritual allegory and quantum physics combined with medical mystery, action, and escape thriller vibes, all set against a backdrop of military experimentation, this is the book for you. The setting blends quantum physics with the spiritual world in an exciting, visceral fight for survival. The plot is a bit disjointed, mostly due to competing storylines, one in the physical world and one in the spiritual. While they are broadly connected in terms of themes, the specifics of each makes them feel less like a unified plot and more like two somewhat separate plots progressing concurrently at different paces. Connection between the storylines aside, I found the intrigue, cat-and-mouse games, and action to be absorbing, even when it is slowed down with religious content. This is an allegory of sorts, so the religious content, light at the onset, becomes heavy and dense pretty quickly. In general, the spiritual aspects of this novel are pretty good, but they do suffer a little from the fact that this story is not a strict allegory. Instead, it seeks to meld the physical and spiritual worlds, leading to a few inconsistencies as it relates to the relationship between what is spiritual and what is physical. Nevertheless, consistency across the novel is generally very good. The writing itself is not without mistakes, small things no doubt missed in the editing process, but these are not enough to detract from the experience. The style is unique and captures the attention. Verbiage is sometimes flowery but never feels out of place or unnecessary. My only real gripes are stylistic preferences: there are a lot of semicolons, and the book is written in first person present tense, my least favorite point of view. As to the point of view, it is worth noting that the chapters flip back and forth between two characters, something which can make it very confusing to remember who the narrator of each chapter is. In this case, however, the situation, character traits, and internal voices of the protagonists are distinct enough that I never experienced this difficulty. Characters are one of the standout aspects of the book. Jacob and Sage are distinct characters, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. Creed expertly weaves a story where both are the proverbial damsel in distress and knight in shining armor at different times. They must rely on each other to navigate the tumultuous events of the book successfully. Their character traits and backstories are also realistic, relatable, and relate to the past, present, and future of the story. It is important to note the religious overtones in this novel, but if that doesn’t turn you off, Plunged is a great book worth putting on your reading list.
RANTS AND RAMBLES
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