Tour Stop: Review and Five Hits with Jeff Gunhas

Jack Templar, Monster Hunter by Jeff Gunhas
The Templar Chronicles #1
Publication Date: October 17th, 2012
Seven Guns Press
Format: eBook
GOODREADS SUMMARY
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Jack Smith is about to hit the ripe age of fourteen; the age when he starts noticing (more than usual, anyway) the cutest girl in the class and stops saying, ‘ewww girls has cooties’ and such. It’s that age when he notices some physical changes on his body, least of all the changes in his voice signaling the onset of puberty. But Jack Smith is about to hit serious freak stature when, in a span of a day, he realizes he can bench press 90 lbs, run like an Olympian and block punches from a meaty bully. What. The. Heck.

This is the story of Jack Smith and how he came to terms with a family legacy of which, he had no clue of. In a world where monsters (disguised as humans) roam the earth, Jack’s family is apparently the last line of defense against monsters, vampires and things that go bump in the night. On the eve of his fourteenth birthday, he starts to see what the world - his world actually is. As a descendant of a long line of monster hunters, Jack would have no choice but to accept his role. He wasn’t eased into said role little by little; his baptism of fire is a battle between him and a melee of monsters and their head honcho, Ren Lucre, himself. 

I wish I had a boy old enough to read this book. I’m not sure my eleven-year-old girl would enjoy this but I’m going to try and persuade her. On second thought, maybe it’s not such a good idea to pass this book on to her because it did come with a warning. I’m not to pass this on to a friend, most of all a relative. The book apparently has some mojo that attracts monsters. We’ll see.

But man, oh man, this was so much fun! Jack is everything a teenage boy I imagined would sound like. He’s sarcastic and ballsy. Nothing fazes him – not even the principal turning into a massive scary bat right in front of his eyes. I’m not a typical MG reader but this book kicked ass. It had action at every turn, bloodthirsty monsters of different sorts coming at Jack on every angle. I think Jeff sat down one night, enumerated all the stuff nightmares are made of and went with it. But it wasn't convoluted by any means. Trust me, it had direction; it wasn’t just a buffet of monsters told in one dog’s breakfast of a story. Plot twists are cool as well and it will not take too much reading time. It was fast paced but oddly timed aptly to go along with the story theme. 

This book will not let you take a breather; but instead of stressing you out, you’ll find yourself enjoying the ride. Recommended for thrill seekers.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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Five Hits with Jeff Gunhas

Top FIVE Books on My Shelves

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, On Writing by Stephen King, Lord of the Rings (all three books in one edition) JRR Tolkien, The Amulet by Jeff Gunhus(written when I was twelve).

The Last Book I Bought.

The Peculiar by Stephan Bachmann. My son stole it when it arrived in the mail so I haven't started it yet.

I've Read this Multiple Times. 

Dune by Frank Herbert. 

When I'm Writing, these Books are Never Far From my Mind.

There are so many, but since you just asked about books I've read multiple times, I have Dune on my mind. I love Herbert's world building ability and I'm always attracted to stories about characters who find out they are the "One" whether it's Paul in Dune, Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, Neo in the Matrix or, the MG/YA world, Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. These chosen people still must make the right choices, fight temptations and do the heavy lifting to achieve their destiny.  Jack Templar fits right into this profile. Herbert's later books looks at the dark side of Paul being the One and how it destroys him. While Jack Templar won't go quite as dark, Jack will face serious issues in future books. I hope he comes out of them OK!

These Folks Rock My Socks.

I'm all over the map. Tolkien, CS Lewis, Coelho, Twain, Poe, King, Rowling, Collins, Riordian, Chabon, David Brin, Rollins, Enid Blyton, Willard Price....ah, how do you stop a list like this!

Thank you Jeff and Kathy of Inspired Blog Tours. I appreciate your time and for letting me be a part of this wonderful tour! 

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