Official Review: " The Sword of Gabriel "

Kathryn Price · Post by **Kathryn Price** » 17 May 2018, 17:51

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "" The Sword of Gabriel "" by Tom Holloway.]

3 out of 4 stars

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An epic adventure packed with unbelievable tech and incredible coincidence, The Sword of Gabriel: Ten Days on Earth by Tom Holloway needs a few issues ironed out, but has great potential as a story. Though the reader can get bogged down by excess technical detail and the sheer impregnability of the main character, the plot is truly intriguing and engaging.

Henry Benjamin Johnson started out human, but he’s not completely sure if he is anymore. After dying on the beaches of Normandy during WWII, he was rescued by aliens and given technological implants and upgrades to keep him young and healthy. Now, he works for an intergalactic consortium that sends him all over the galaxy as a kind of peacekeeper. Every ten years, he is allowed to come back to Earth to spend ten days there – but this ten days proves more eventful than he planned. Between meeting a gorgeous actress, doling out justice like candy, and preventing WWIII, this particular trip will change both him and Earth forever.

There were three things I noticed that are not very helpful to the book's flow. The first is that though the technological prowess of the alien cultures is fascinating, there is so much descriptive detail - including exact measurements - that it starts to feel like the author would have felt more at home designing props for the film adaptation instead. Because it happens so often, it breaks the reader’s immersion in the storyline. I found myself skimming over the endless description, wanting to skip to when the story picked up again.

The second major thing I noticed is that, in my opinion, the main character is simply too powerful for the storyline. This isn’t necessarily a drawback (i.e. Superman), but I personally think that characters with few or no limitations are harder to identify with as characters.

And finally, there were several scenes involving nudity, sex, and/or rape which were described in much more detail than I’m personally comfortable with, including the main character describing his love interest’s breasts and his attraction to the rest of her body at least three separate times. This moves the book into the “for mature readers only” category, even though the rest is perfectly acceptable for younger readers.

That being said, I did have fun reading this book. I became involved in the storyline, rooting for characters and being worried for their safety at times. When I first started reading this book, I was immediately reminded of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy regarding the setting. Though neither the writing style nor the story were that similar, that first impression lasted the entire story and affected my interpretation of it. I liked the way the author handled action sequences, as well as the different characters and interactions. It felt very realistic and helped to draw me into the story.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because, though there were some major issues, the book is genuinely enjoyable. Readers who enjoy sci-fi/alien or action books are sure to love reading this book, despite the drawbacks. Though I would not recommend it to kids or sensitive audiences because of the aforementioned scenes, this book is good enough that I, personally would read it again.

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" The Sword of Gabriel "
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Post by **kandscreeley** » 18 May 2018, 08:22

Wow! A gentleman dies in WWII, is captured by aliens and given technological enhancements? That sounds VERY intriguing. But, you lost me with the graphic scenes. I just don't think I could stomach that. Still, thanks for the review.

Samantha Simoneau · Post by **Samantha Simoneau** » 18 May 2018, 09:16

kandscreeley wrote: ↑18 May 2018, 08:22 Wow! A gentleman dies in WWII, is captured by aliens and given technological enhancements? That sounds VERY intriguing. But, you lost me with the graphic scenes. I just don't think I could stomach that. Still, thanks for the review.

My impression exactly. This is a fabulous premise! After reading the first half of your review, I was ready to buy this book. Thank you for the warnings about the nudity, etc., because I am definitely a "sensitive audience." Too bad, though, the main idea sounded fascinating despite all the tech-speak. Thanks for the through review!

Post by **Sanju Lali** » 18 May 2018, 10:04

The review makes me to understand that in this book i may find encounter of aliens with humans with all the technical jargon which could be partially understood by many. i love such science fiction to read

Jackie Holycross · Post by **Jackie Holycross** » 18 May 2018, 11:39

The storyline sounds really interesting but I’m not a fan of graphic sex scenes. Thanks for the great explanation.

maggiechap · Post by **maggiechap** » 18 May 2018, 11:53

Your review is descriptive and well written, great job. I think I will be adding this one to my 'not interested' list. while the concept sounds intriguing, too much description throws me off as a reader and while I often don't consider myself 'sensitive' I think there's a fine line between decent nudity and downright pornish-borderline writing, which is what this sounds like to me. Thanks for your review.

Libs_Books · Post by **Libs_Books** » 18 May 2018, 13:15

Thanks for this review - I agree about the potential of the story, and it does sound like quite a fun read, but this one's not for me, I think.

Ginnamassa19 · Post by **Ginnamassa19** » 19 May 2018, 02:45

This story gives me Dr Who vibes! It seems like a really interesting premise, so it's kind of a shame about the too-detailed descriptions because from what you've said, that seems like the biggest flaw of this book XD Also, I agree with you on overpowered characters--flawless protagonists seem too surreal to be relatable most of the time.

Thank you for your review--I enjoyed reading it and your analysis was very thorough

Kashosi · Post by **Kashosi** » 19 May 2018, 10:07

This review is great Kathryn. i love your honesty and you sound an expert of sci-fi. Personally i like fiction but not much of sci-fi. I like your arguments on what you like and what you dont by giving reasons. It took my attention on a guy who dies during world war and come back after ten years but the rest just sound dull and boring for me to continue reading the book.

gen_g · Post by **gen_g** » 20 May 2018, 00:48

Thank you for the review. It sounds like a great sci-fi book.

kdstrack · Post by **kdstrack** » 20 May 2018, 06:21

So many authors come up with great ideas but then ruin it with endless descriptions and explanations. Thanks for a great and fair review.

NL Hartje · Post by **NL Hartje** » 20 May 2018, 11:18

Kathryn Price wrote: ↑17 May 2018, 17:51 Every ten years, he is allowed to come back to Earth to spend ten days there

Heh, this is very Davy Jones-like inclusion. I like the idea of a fantasy-like break from one's real world. It seems like this character's break is more work than pleasure though. C'est la vie I suppose.

Thanks for this review!

Anne Smith · Post by **Anne Smith** » 22 May 2018, 19:41

Sounds like an enjoyable book. Having only 10 days on Earth yet having so much meaning and concept. I wonder if that is better than having plenty of years on Earth but doing nothing that helps humanity. But on the other note, I'd choose living for plenty of years because of the people I love.

Aliyuoniye · Post by **Aliyuoniye** » 28 May 2018, 12:04

An epic adventure packed with unbelievable tech and incredible coincidence, The Sword of Gabriel. This book is enjoyable while reading it. but recommended mostly for adults.