Review of The Fourth Kinetic
Posted: 14 Sep 2021, 18:44
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Fourth Kinetic" by Brady Moore.]
Rion Grean has spent his life moving from one place to another, bouncing quickly through schools, as his mother's job sends them around the country. Landing at Tyler high, his sixth school in a short few years, he is simply trying to get through his Senior year being blissfully ignored and left alone. Not that he doesn't really want to make lasting relationships, he just doesn't see the point, why bother when you're going to up and move yet again? What promised to be just another boring existence in another boring school brings about some unexpected changes, like another student insisting on forming a friendship, and practicing his developing secret telekinetic powers. When he must pack up and move, yet again, his life is changed suddenly, drastically, and in unexpected ways.
He must fight for his survival, his family, and new friends while trying to figure out the complex workings of relationships and their importance to who he is as a person. His powers must be tested to their limits in order to protect not just himself, but others as well, and his integrity and morals become defined in this fast paced coming of age story.
Brady Moore writes a well written and fast paced adventure in The Fourth Kinetic that keeps you avidly reading as Rion goes from a stand-offish seventeen year old kid to a young man in a few short weeks. A relatable character, especially for today's youth, the story has the reader engrossed in his personal development and empathizing with his moral quandaries of integrity and line crossing limits. The quick successions of action keep it moving forward like a movie and the descriptive imagery used makes it easy to visualize each scene as it barrels forward.
That being said, because there is such a focus on the action sequences, some development in the other characters of the story are sadly missing and leave a few questions. Why do specific characters latch so hard onto Rion after only a few hours or days of knowing him? Is there something from their past that makes them protective over Rion or feel some sort of almost parental duty towards him? Meanwhile, others seem to hate him with no real reasoning behind it, even with the character being described as “stand-offish” it does not really explain the underlying hostility. However, since it is written from a first person perspective, Rion isn't really privy to their inner thoughts that would shed light on some of these plot holes. It just feels rushed in terms of developing other complex characters that deserve to be given more depth as they play starring roles in the story and in who Rion chooses to become as a person. Additionally, the repetitive usage of the word “gnarl” was often distracting and another synonym use would have been refreshing, but that's a very minor nit pick from the perspective of this reader.
All in all, Brady Moore has written an amazing story that was hard to put down in The Fourth Kinetic, and has a solid 3 out of 4 stars rating. Well written and edited, with minimal but realistic usage of curse words, this was a very enjoyable read and this reader is eager to devour more within the world of the Clairvoyants and hopefully have deeper insights into the other characters. Anyone, teenager to adult, who loves the concept of powers and/or coming of age stories will certainly enjoy this book; especially if they have ever felt like the outsider looking in to the crowd.
******
The Fourth Kinetic
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Rion Grean has spent his life moving from one place to another, bouncing quickly through schools, as his mother's job sends them around the country. Landing at Tyler high, his sixth school in a short few years, he is simply trying to get through his Senior year being blissfully ignored and left alone. Not that he doesn't really want to make lasting relationships, he just doesn't see the point, why bother when you're going to up and move yet again? What promised to be just another boring existence in another boring school brings about some unexpected changes, like another student insisting on forming a friendship, and practicing his developing secret telekinetic powers. When he must pack up and move, yet again, his life is changed suddenly, drastically, and in unexpected ways.
He must fight for his survival, his family, and new friends while trying to figure out the complex workings of relationships and their importance to who he is as a person. His powers must be tested to their limits in order to protect not just himself, but others as well, and his integrity and morals become defined in this fast paced coming of age story.
Brady Moore writes a well written and fast paced adventure in The Fourth Kinetic that keeps you avidly reading as Rion goes from a stand-offish seventeen year old kid to a young man in a few short weeks. A relatable character, especially for today's youth, the story has the reader engrossed in his personal development and empathizing with his moral quandaries of integrity and line crossing limits. The quick successions of action keep it moving forward like a movie and the descriptive imagery used makes it easy to visualize each scene as it barrels forward.
That being said, because there is such a focus on the action sequences, some development in the other characters of the story are sadly missing and leave a few questions. Why do specific characters latch so hard onto Rion after only a few hours or days of knowing him? Is there something from their past that makes them protective over Rion or feel some sort of almost parental duty towards him? Meanwhile, others seem to hate him with no real reasoning behind it, even with the character being described as “stand-offish” it does not really explain the underlying hostility. However, since it is written from a first person perspective, Rion isn't really privy to their inner thoughts that would shed light on some of these plot holes. It just feels rushed in terms of developing other complex characters that deserve to be given more depth as they play starring roles in the story and in who Rion chooses to become as a person. Additionally, the repetitive usage of the word “gnarl” was often distracting and another synonym use would have been refreshing, but that's a very minor nit pick from the perspective of this reader.
All in all, Brady Moore has written an amazing story that was hard to put down in The Fourth Kinetic, and has a solid 3 out of 4 stars rating. Well written and edited, with minimal but realistic usage of curse words, this was a very enjoyable read and this reader is eager to devour more within the world of the Clairvoyants and hopefully have deeper insights into the other characters. Anyone, teenager to adult, who loves the concept of powers and/or coming of age stories will certainly enjoy this book; especially if they have ever felt like the outsider looking in to the crowd.
******
The Fourth Kinetic
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords