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Outriders
The Birthright Project, Book I

by Kathryn Mackel



      Kathryn Mackel's Outriders, book one in a new series about the new Ark, starts slowly as the reader learns terms like gargants, hoornars, and transmogrification, but intensifies with each passing epidose.

Delivered to the Arctic ice in husks by a whale, these outriders' mission is to save what is left of civilization after the Endless Wars. The use of the Ark, reminiscent of the biblical ark, in the plot foreshadows what action and results these pioneers will do and what they will accomplish.

The novel consists of many episodes describing the action of the various groups sent out from the Ark to accomplish their goal. These episodes are varied and entertaining, but at first the reader must work at seeing the relationship of each individual group to the whole.

As each episode unfolds, this relationship becomes clearer and clearer, and the episodes themselves become more suspenseful and entertaining. Even though the action is pure fantasy, the action becomes believable.

This series is targeted to teens and college students, and the Star-Wars-like action and dialogue will appeal to this group, while the idea of starting our civilization over will engage adult readers.

The story, which is essentially about good versus evil, also has conflicts among the outriders themselves, and there are the predictable romantic tensions. A surprise and welcome element of the story is the strong religious tone the story takes on as the novel winds down. The narrator tells us, "Niki believed in God's greatness. How could she not, when she saw the miracle of Creation and what the Creator had done to preserve it?"

Anyone wishing to sample science fiction/fantasy thriller reading would do well to give this book a try.

The Book

Westbow Press (a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers)
November 2005
Paperback
1-5955-4039-3
Science fiction/fantasy
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Excerpt
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The Reviewer

Willie Elliott
Reviewed 2005
NOTE:
© 2005 MyShelf.com