Download PDF Trying Times The Valens Legacy Book 14 edition by Jan Stryvant Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks

Product details File Size 1334 KB Print Length 247 pages Page Numbers Source ISBN 109198087X Simultaneous Device Usage Unlimited Publication Date March 27, 2019 Sold by  Digital Services LLC Language English ASIN B07Q47HNL2

Trying Times The Valens Legacy Book 14 edition by Jan Stryvant Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks Reviews

• Trying Times starts out a little weak with a villain who is less than two dimensional, but it gains strength as the novel progresses and sets up an intriguing problem that will have to be resolved in later books. First, the two dimensional villain…
  
  Stryvant quite correctly figures out that not all the country is going to be happy to discover that lycans are everywhere and that thousands of military men and women are being converted to fight the war with the demons. So Stryvant shows us this by creating a preacher who goads his followers into attacking Sean and his people. The preacher is every bad stereotype of a protestant minister that you’ve ever seen on TV rolled up into one. He’s a bigot that’s been looking for the “right” group to hate. He takes sexual advantage of every pretty female in his congregation, telling them that God wants them to have sex with him. He’s a coward who justifies his cowardice (like his evil deeds) as God’s work. And he turns on his own flock to “save” them from the lycans when his idiocy gets them in trouble.
  
  I’m not opposed in principal to idiot villains, but I think Stryvant missed the boat here. It isn’t hard to imagine that an honest preacher might fear what is happening in the U.S. and blame the lycans (who are quite visible) instead of the demons (who are not so visible). Had the preacher been more honorable in his fanaticism that would have made for a much more dangerous and insidious villain. But hey, it’s Stryvant story and ultimately these are his decisions. I’m just glad that we quickly moved on to other things because the problem with foreign governments, for reasons both strategic and corrupt, starting to move against Sean is well thought out and far more interesting than the cartoonish preacher’s efforts.
  
  The war is going to have to move to Europe where there are plenty of signs that the demons have made inroads with the magic users and now with key government figures, but how exactly Sean and his crew will handle that is beyond me. I very much look forward to seeing how Stryvant handles it.
  
  I also want to credit Stryvant for killing off one of the better supporting cast characters. This was a shocking and painful loss and I thought he dealt with its aftermath well. The cast is big enough to absorb quite a few of these deaths, but it’s never easy for an author to kill off a beloved character. Stryvant deserves praise for his handling of the situation.
  
  As always, I’m looking forward to the next book.
• Just got on the 710 freeway, wasn't driving though. Anyway just opened Facebook and a new post popped out that this was out. Bought it on th spot. Took all afternoon to read as I had to go places but after reading what I could during the 30 minute commute I kept looking at my phone during any break I could squeeze in during my appointments. As soon as I got home I was able to finish it. It was worth the effort.
  Let me address some issues. These books average a little over 200 pages and the author noted some people complained that the price is kind of high for these few pages. This book is 186 pages one of the shortest. price is 3.99 snd the paperbacks for most are about $15. Worth every cent in either form in my opinion.
  It is not the number of pages but the quality of the story. The story from these 14 volumes are more than worth it, if there was no I would buy the books, although I now prefer the as I can have all my books are readily available.
  This fourteenth addition is. well written. The secondary characters continue to develop showing a wider emotional range as well as weaknesses. The action is great. More political intrigue, international hit squad, other characters are stepping up. There is action, humor, betrayal, plot twists and foreshadowing. There is of course sex. Not to give spoilers but Sean's group suffer a personal tragedy. What Sean does after his initial action was original.
  Highly reccommended as well as the whole series.
• This is urban fantasy with shapeshifters and magic; the MC has a harem of strong women with different skill sets and personalities and we do sometimes follow them into the adults-only section of the story. As others have commented, a lot of supporting characters get some development, which flowed quite nicely into the overall tale.
  
  Good writing, identifiable characters with some great banter here and there. Amidst the war against the demons kicking up a notch, we also get to see a new main character Estrella acclimate to life in the modern world. The comment on how she overdoes coffee -- and how Sean helps her "come down" is funny. If one pays attention, too, there are the occasional references that us older folks get, like when Stewart and Rachel use the alias Steve and Eydie -- as in the singer-duo Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé (which I bet went right by a lot of the younger readers.)
  
  Kicking up the story of the war is the demons change tactics, and America's political and economic rivals through their own spanner into the works, and a supporting character pays the price. Remembering this is an alternate world and the social and political histories are close, yet do have differences is aptly conveyed.
  
  So, yeah, like another reader, I discovered it late last night, bought it and stayed up to read it in one go. Not too many errors; overall it was fun, and several times I chuckled out loud. Like Roxy and Sean seeing Estella and the effect coffee has on her. Or when Sheila describes in a stage whisper the differences between how Roxy and Daelynn keep the junior wives in line. Or that Jo has a huge shoe collection and Cali has a knife collection... See what I mean? Read the book and you will. But if you haven't read books 1 through 13, do that first.
  
  This is book 14, and I'm primed for book 15, Jan Stryvant, aka John Van Stry. Recommended.