Official Review: Riders On The Storm by Richard Sparacino

Ferdinand_Otieno · Post by **Ferdinand_Otieno** » 09 Mar 2019, 04:48

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Riders On The Storm" by Richard Sparacino.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Riders On The Storm by Richard Sparacino is a crime thriller novel. The book was published in 2016. The book follows the crisis of the protagonist, Anthony Santini, a police detective for the NYPD. The book was written from the perspectives of the protagonist and the antagonist. It highlighted issues like religious beliefs, political instability, crime, terrorism, and global unity.

Detective Anthony Santini has been having a recurring nightmare for the past few months. He's been seeing New York city burning to the ground and destroyed by some unknown force. The nightmares prevent him from sleeping. In his sleep deprived state, he takes another trip to the observatory platform of the Empire State Building. This time however, he encounters a strange force that tries to convince him to jump off the platform to his death. The voice is convincing because it mimics the voice of his father. Santini is able to resist this voice, but he finds himself in a strange situation. He cannot tell his partner, John Salvo, that he heard a voice in his head telling him to jump off the Empire State Building. Meanwhile, a dark alien force named Drakin has arrived in the city. It penetrated Santini's brain and tried to convince him to kill himself. Drakin feeds off negative energy created from fear, pain, death, and chaos. Drakin can plant suggestions in humans to get them to do his will. Santini visits Dr. Kelly Jordan in order to get a prescription for sleeping, but he ends up agreeing to be her patient. Drakin infects Jason Gorman and forces him to kill his parents. When Santini and Salvo get to the crime scene, Santini realizes that he dreamt about the murder two hours before it happened. Santini confides his precognitive dream to Dr. Jordan and tells her about his experience on the Empire State Building.This backfires on him when Dr. Jordan has him suspended. Meanwhile, Drakin has infected Josef Shahid and smuggled a nuclear weapon into the city. Father O'brian, a friend to the pope, has noticed the unusual storm plaguing the city. He has a unique object in his possession that Drakin desperately wants. What does Father O'brian have? What is Drakin's goal in setting off a nuclear device in New York? Will he succeed? Will Santini stop him? Why is Santini dreaming about Drakin? All these questions will be answered in this amazing book.

This was an amazingly well-written book for me. I loved the book from the first page. The author starts the story with an explosion in the Vatican. The explosion, however devastating, is only a distraction for Drakin. This start had me hooked. As a reader, it made my mind fly off the handle with ridiculous theories about what Drakin is. Detective Anthony Santini was a very lovable protagonist. His origin story is that of a small boy who watched his father being shot and decided to stop people who could do this when he grew up. His persistent lack of faith when faced with a threat like Drakin was interesting. The addition of Dr. Kelly Jordan as a romantic interest was an excellent idea. Santini is caught off guard by her appearance. This forces him to see her as another puzzle he must solve. The chemistry between them was electric. It was a nice reprieve from the constant dose of suspense. Father O'brian was written as a religious mentor in this book. From the very first chapter, Drakin has been presented as an ancient threat to humans. He mentions his manipulation of humans for centuries. This led me to picture him as the cause of most of the atrocities committed by humans. He is a very dangerous antagonist because he can infect literally anyone.

The main theme I encountered was conflict. The being named Drakin has been on the planet for centuries causing conflict and death. Another major theme I encountered was crime. The book starts with an explosion in the Vatican. The explosion was used as a distraction for Drakin to steal some artifact. He discovered that the artifact had already been sent to New York. Drakin has managed to smuggle a nuclear device in New York city. This is another example of criminal activities. I encountered themes like friendship, family, loyalty, trust, betrayal, death, religion, action, guilt, hope, faith, and love. The author used these themes masterfully to make the plot memorable.

The plot of the book was captivating and highly addictive. The book starts with action and suspense. These two themes would be recurring for most of this plot. I could not put the book down until I finished it. The characters were developed masterfully, and they were very relatable. I read the book twice, and I only found one error. This led me to believe that the book was professionally edited. The book had a great rhythm. I did not encounter a single thing that I disliked about this book. Due to all these reasons, I decided to rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.

I would recommend this book to crime thriller fans. The book would also appeal to readers who enjoy action, murder-mystery, suspense, historical fiction, and adventure. The book would not appeal to non-fiction fans. The author did an amazing job writing from different perspectives. This kept the reader guessing about who would make the next move. The protagonist and antagonist were written perfectly. I hope I get to read more books from Richard Sparacino.

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Riders On The Storm
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Prisallen · Post by **Prisallen** » 18 Mar 2019, 11:56

This sounds like an interesting crime thriller that even had a supernatural tinge to it. It sounds like something I would like to read. Great review!

spencermack · Post by **spencermack** » 18 Mar 2019, 13:00

This book seems spectacular! thank you for your thorough review. I love the idea of a nightmare of unknown forces, that will entice me to read this.

Crazyreader01 · Post by **Crazyreader01** » 18 Mar 2019, 16:38

Written in both the protagonist's and antagonist's views?! That's really cool. I think I'll look into this. Thanks for the review.

Post by **kandscreeley** » 19 Mar 2019, 07:58

It sounds like the book has quite a few important themes, and Anthony sounds like an interesting protagonist. Thanks for the great review. I'll have to put this one on my list.

chiefsimplex · Post by **chiefsimplex** » 19 Mar 2019, 08:59

I like it when crime gets this confusing .This is essential in the making of an engaging crime story.In this case Drakin constitutes a challenge that lies way beyond the detectives' ways of conducting investigations.Thanks Ferdinand,your review is just superb.

Post by **Radiant3** » 20 Mar 2019, 13:12

A well-written thriller is usually a riveting read. This one seems to have a different take on the usual detective stories. Very thorough review.

bigscarythingy · Post by **bigscarythingy** » 20 Mar 2019, 20:30

This sounds like a really enthralling read. I like that it appears to embrace fantastical elements, whilst keeping its feet planted on the ground. Great review.

Kelyn · Post by **Kelyn** » 20 Mar 2019, 23:19

Sounds as much sci-fi as it is crime thriller, which is right up my alley. I'm intrigued to find out exactly what Drakin is. I already have a couple of hunches but only time will tell!! Thanks for the review. I would never have found this book without it!

Ferdinand_Otieno · Post by **Ferdinand_Otieno** » 29 Mar 2019, 02:09

Kelyn wrote: ↑20 Mar 2019, 23:19 Sounds as much sci-fi as it is crime thriller, which is right up my alley. I'm intrigued to find out exactly what Drakin is. I already have a couple of hunches but only time will tell!! Thanks for the review. I would never have found this book without it!

Your welcome.