Official Review: Predominance by H. I. Defaz
Posted: 04 Jul 2015, 09:25
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Predominance" by H. I. Defaz.]
4 out of 4 stars
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I very much enjoyed this story. It is set in the future, but not as far future as Hunger Games or Divergent seemed to be. This book is down to earth and captured my interest very quickly. It captures the very essence of the desire to live free of pain, and to be free in life. It dares the reader to search their own inner struggles between good and evil. 'Predominance' by H. I. Defaz is an edge of the seat exploration of inner turmoil. It is well written and thought out. I certainly felt it was time well spent reading this book. The author has created a story unlike any I have read thus far. It could be said that it is similar to other stories, but I found it to be compelling because of the weight that is given to the inner struggle of good vs evil. I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.
Victor was raised by an alcoholic father who taught him to be a kind and loving individual. Victor is highly intelligent. He often runs sequences of possibility through his mind in order to calculate the risks. Victor has a debilitating accident that leaves his best friend dead, Victor with a brain injury, severe head aches, mood swings and a limited time to live. He questions can good and evil coexist? Can there be a choice as to whether you are good or evil? Does there have to be a choice made as to whether a person can be good or evil? Or does one trait automatically dominate over the other? Victor is faced with these questions and more as he embarks on a hopeful cure for his severe head pain and mood swings. He wonders if life is really worth living. His journey is just beginning.
The novel begins with Victor waking in a shack during a storm with no memory of what had preceded the last 24 hours. He does remember his life growing up with his father and his best friend. Victor comes to life with a very likable personality that draws the reader in, enticing them to hope for the best outcome for him. His inner pain is real and touchable. Victor ignites compassion and empathy as he journeys through his memories. He does not remember the girl laying on the floor of the shack. Sarah “with an h” wakes and with little time to explain she cautions Victor to remain calm but run. Victor demands an explanation so Sarah tells him the memory loss in temporary, that he will remember soon. Meanwhile they really need to run.
So ensues present time mixed with Victor’s memories as the chapters flip back and forth as they run from an extreme military force. The chapters are done tastefully in bouts of memory flashes and present situations. Victor remembers that he has agreed to under go an experimental procedure that will ease his headaches and extend his life. Sarah and Victor take turns saving each other through various incidents. Victor remembers that the love of his life, Yvette, is also in the facility of R.C. Labs having the same procedure done. When he realizes the danger she is in, he insists on going back to save her before he leaves to go into hiding with Sarah. Sarah falls in love with Victor as they work together to save Yvette. Her love for him is so deep that she is willing to help him rescue his love instead of trying to take him away for her own. Who doesn’t love a selfless heroine?
They face an evil, crazy Dr. Walker who has began using patients as test subjects much like lab rats. Dr. Walker injects the subjects with serum that enhances the body, brain and sensory receptors. The ultimate plan is to use these enhanced humans for military purposes. There are issues in the experiments that induce the good Dr. to perform unspeakable actions. There were 6 test subjects including Victor. Of the six, three live. Sarah, an assistant to the evil Dr. Walker, sees what is happening to the test subjects and chooses to free Victor when his fate is in question.
When Victor and Sarah return to R.C. Labs after their escape to save Yvette they also save Damien. The four of them go on the run from Dr. Walker and R.C. Labs. Victor fights with the conflict of good and evil that war within himself as he faces the work and harm that Dr. Walker has done. Damien ultimately gives in to the evil side of his enhanced abilities. This causes a conflict between Victor and Damien. Yvette becomes a victim of Dr. Walker and Victor believes her dead. At his loss he loses touch with the good side of his personality. Sarah believes she can help Victor return to his true self. But it is at a high cost to Sarah. Will she succeed?
I really liked Victor and could connected with him in a real way. His struggles were real and human. His doubts and fears would induce anyone to recall their own struggles through difficult times. I loved Sarah. Sarah is sweet, intelligent, compassionate, self sacrificing to a fault, strong and pretty too. I did not connect with Yvette as well as I did with Sarah. Yvette seemed lacking in personality in my opinion. Perhaps I saw her as more of a surface kind of person and Sarah has a deeper, more sincere personality. Damien is a strong believably good guy turned bad. Damien garners some compassion because of his plight. He, as well as Dr. Walker, are types the reader will love to hate. All characters are a strong support to Victor's lead.
I enjoyed reading this novel. I enjoyed the action packed chapters. I liked that the book had a bit of romance but not too much mushiness. I feel that this book is a good read for either gender. I would state here that the last few chapters felt as though they went on forever. I became a bit bored and distracted with the ‘honeymoon’ trip that Victor and Yvette went on. I felt it was a bit drawn out and long. Readers get the idea pretty early in the honeymoon trip how happy they are. I assume the author wanted to make sure the reader understood the depth of Victor’s love for Yvette so he expounded on it at length. The reader needs to plow through this because there is more action coming. I feel it deserves 4 out of 4 stars because it is certainly a book worth reading. I could not fault the story or the writing. A few typos were found here and there, but nothing to write home about. I will read the sequel. I recommend this book to anyone over the age of 15.
******
Predominance
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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4 out of 4 stars
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I very much enjoyed this story. It is set in the future, but not as far future as Hunger Games or Divergent seemed to be. This book is down to earth and captured my interest very quickly. It captures the very essence of the desire to live free of pain, and to be free in life. It dares the reader to search their own inner struggles between good and evil. 'Predominance' by H. I. Defaz is an edge of the seat exploration of inner turmoil. It is well written and thought out. I certainly felt it was time well spent reading this book. The author has created a story unlike any I have read thus far. It could be said that it is similar to other stories, but I found it to be compelling because of the weight that is given to the inner struggle of good vs evil. I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.
Victor was raised by an alcoholic father who taught him to be a kind and loving individual. Victor is highly intelligent. He often runs sequences of possibility through his mind in order to calculate the risks. Victor has a debilitating accident that leaves his best friend dead, Victor with a brain injury, severe head aches, mood swings and a limited time to live. He questions can good and evil coexist? Can there be a choice as to whether you are good or evil? Does there have to be a choice made as to whether a person can be good or evil? Or does one trait automatically dominate over the other? Victor is faced with these questions and more as he embarks on a hopeful cure for his severe head pain and mood swings. He wonders if life is really worth living. His journey is just beginning.
The novel begins with Victor waking in a shack during a storm with no memory of what had preceded the last 24 hours. He does remember his life growing up with his father and his best friend. Victor comes to life with a very likable personality that draws the reader in, enticing them to hope for the best outcome for him. His inner pain is real and touchable. Victor ignites compassion and empathy as he journeys through his memories. He does not remember the girl laying on the floor of the shack. Sarah “with an h” wakes and with little time to explain she cautions Victor to remain calm but run. Victor demands an explanation so Sarah tells him the memory loss in temporary, that he will remember soon. Meanwhile they really need to run.
So ensues present time mixed with Victor’s memories as the chapters flip back and forth as they run from an extreme military force. The chapters are done tastefully in bouts of memory flashes and present situations. Victor remembers that he has agreed to under go an experimental procedure that will ease his headaches and extend his life. Sarah and Victor take turns saving each other through various incidents. Victor remembers that the love of his life, Yvette, is also in the facility of R.C. Labs having the same procedure done. When he realizes the danger she is in, he insists on going back to save her before he leaves to go into hiding with Sarah. Sarah falls in love with Victor as they work together to save Yvette. Her love for him is so deep that she is willing to help him rescue his love instead of trying to take him away for her own. Who doesn’t love a selfless heroine?
They face an evil, crazy Dr. Walker who has began using patients as test subjects much like lab rats. Dr. Walker injects the subjects with serum that enhances the body, brain and sensory receptors. The ultimate plan is to use these enhanced humans for military purposes. There are issues in the experiments that induce the good Dr. to perform unspeakable actions. There were 6 test subjects including Victor. Of the six, three live. Sarah, an assistant to the evil Dr. Walker, sees what is happening to the test subjects and chooses to free Victor when his fate is in question.
When Victor and Sarah return to R.C. Labs after their escape to save Yvette they also save Damien. The four of them go on the run from Dr. Walker and R.C. Labs. Victor fights with the conflict of good and evil that war within himself as he faces the work and harm that Dr. Walker has done. Damien ultimately gives in to the evil side of his enhanced abilities. This causes a conflict between Victor and Damien. Yvette becomes a victim of Dr. Walker and Victor believes her dead. At his loss he loses touch with the good side of his personality. Sarah believes she can help Victor return to his true self. But it is at a high cost to Sarah. Will she succeed?
I really liked Victor and could connected with him in a real way. His struggles were real and human. His doubts and fears would induce anyone to recall their own struggles through difficult times. I loved Sarah. Sarah is sweet, intelligent, compassionate, self sacrificing to a fault, strong and pretty too. I did not connect with Yvette as well as I did with Sarah. Yvette seemed lacking in personality in my opinion. Perhaps I saw her as more of a surface kind of person and Sarah has a deeper, more sincere personality. Damien is a strong believably good guy turned bad. Damien garners some compassion because of his plight. He, as well as Dr. Walker, are types the reader will love to hate. All characters are a strong support to Victor's lead.
I enjoyed reading this novel. I enjoyed the action packed chapters. I liked that the book had a bit of romance but not too much mushiness. I feel that this book is a good read for either gender. I would state here that the last few chapters felt as though they went on forever. I became a bit bored and distracted with the ‘honeymoon’ trip that Victor and Yvette went on. I felt it was a bit drawn out and long. Readers get the idea pretty early in the honeymoon trip how happy they are. I assume the author wanted to make sure the reader understood the depth of Victor’s love for Yvette so he expounded on it at length. The reader needs to plow through this because there is more action coming. I feel it deserves 4 out of 4 stars because it is certainly a book worth reading. I could not fault the story or the writing. A few typos were found here and there, but nothing to write home about. I will read the sequel. I recommend this book to anyone over the age of 15.
******
Predominance
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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