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January 01, 2009
December 2008 Readers' Poll
Here are the results for the December, 2008, Readers' Poll.
The question was, "At thirteen, what did Algerian terrorist Ali Hammel become?" You all got this one right. Great work! The correct answer was, "A police informant."
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January 2009
NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
THE WAVE
J.G. Sandom's most recent novel, THE WAVE, is finally available @ lulu.com and through most major booksellers and online bookstores.
If you liked GOSPEL TRUTHS or THE HUNTING CLUB, if you enjoyed THE UNRESOLVED or RESURRECTION MEN, check out THE WAVE - A JOHN DECKER THRILLER.
Kirkus said, "Sandom’s strength lies in the verve of his story, with writing that has both muscle ... (and) brains ... Races from improbable to crazywild, all in good fun, with Sandom always one step ahead ... A story with enough manic energy to be worthy of a nuclear explosion."
When Cryptanalyst John Decker of the FBI is assigned to the Joint Terrorist Task Force in New York, he has no idea he is about to be thrust into a deadly plot of eco-terrorism masterminded by El Aqrab, the Scorpion, a diabolical killer recently arrested in Tel Aviv.
Following the theft of 8 kilos of Highly Enriched Uranium, an ultimatum is issued to the West: Release El Aqrab or a nuclear bomb will be detonated. But, at the last moment, El Aqrab escapes...and the authorities never get the bomb.
While Homeland Security is convinced it's headed for New York, only Agent Decker -- assisted by brilliant and beautiful oceanographer Emily Swenson -- believes the bomb’s true destination is La Palma, in the remote Canary Island chain.
Now, Decker and Swenson have less than six hours to prove their theory, defuse the bomb, and prevent a mega-tsunami from annihilating the Eastern Seaboard.
J.G. Sandom's most recent TV interview on "Breezin' with Bierman" is available at YouTube. See the author read from THE WAVE, and chat about his other recent publications.
For an excerpt from THE WAVE, click here.
We'll be adding a new chapter from the book each month until THE GOD MACHINE goes on sale in April, 2009. Enjoy!
The results are in for last month's READERS' POLL. The question was, "At thirteen, what did Algerian terrorist Ali Hammel become?" Every one of you who responded got this one right. Great job! The correct answer was, "A police informant."
For the results of previous polls, click here.
Check out the latest Readers' Poll (in the left margin) and test your knowledge of THE WAVE.
To buy your copy, click here.
THE GOD MACHINE
THE GOD MACHINE, the long-awaited sequel to GOSPEL TRUTHS, is currently with the publisher. The novel is scheduled to be released by Bantam in April 2009. Let me know what you think of the cover by leaving a comment here.
The Church Insisted it didn't exist.They said it was just a Masonic legend.
It wasn't.
A two thousand year old secret...
Revealed.
STEP INTO THE GOD MACHINE!
The coded journal of Benjamin Franklin. A hidden map. A legendary gospel. These are the first pieces to an ancient puzzle so powerful it could destroy the very foundation of Christianity.
Once before, Joseph Koster unearthed one of the Church's most deeply buried secrets...and it almost cost him his life. But some treasures are too hard to resist. And as Koster puts the pieces of Franklin's puzzle together, he discovers something even more startling...and infinitely more deadly.
Now, along with beautiful engineer Savita Sajan, Koster must race to decode Franklin's journal before it falls into the hands of those who would do anything, kill anyone to suppress it. But in a world of secret societies, ancient conspiracies and Masonic puzzles, locating the prize is one thing...staying alive, another.
For as Koster and Sajan are about the learn, the same key that unlocks the doorway to Heaven...could open the portals of Hell.
To pre-order your copy, click here.
IN OTHER NEWS
GOSPEL TRUTHS
Before The Da Vinci Code...before Holy Blood, Holy Grail and Labyrinth...before The Secret -- there was GOSPEL TRUTHS! Re-released after more than a decade, it's time to read the book that started it all.
J.G. Sandom is featured under One to Watch at BookReporter.com. Check out the in-depth author interview.
Booklist called GOSPEL TRUTHS, "a splendid, tautly woven thriller...(and) an intelligent mystery of tremendous spiritual and literary depth." Library Journal said, "A masterful first novel, based on a true incident, which spins a complicated web of corruption, greed and deception." And Mostly Murder characterized it, "A fascinating mystery ... captivating and engrossing."
When City of London Police Inspector Nigel Lyman is assigned to investigate the death of a notorious Italian Banker found hanging under Blackfriars Bridge in London, the inquiry leads him to the Amiens and Chartres cathedrals in France in pursuit of a shadowy arch criminal -- leader of a corrupt Masonic lodge, the I Four -- intent on acquiring an ancient Gnostic Gospel whose discovery would undermine the very foundations of Christianity.
For an excerpt from GOSPEL TRUTHS, click here.
To challenge yourself with a GOSPEL TRUTHS puzzle, click here.
To buy your copy, click here.
RESURRECTION MEN
Check out the latest in-depth author interview at Wordswimmer. See what inspires J.G. Sandom (T.K. Welsh) to write his Young Adult (YA) books, and learn about the author's writing process.
RESURRECTION MEN has been named a Junior Library Guild selection.
Publishers Weekly called RESURRECTION MEN, “A haunting tour of London's underclass during the 1830s...Teens will likely be both captivated by Victor's harrowing story as well as his ability to prevail in the face of harsh injustices." The Thrushmetal Review said, "The action and pace is steady and quick, rarely pausing, and finishes in an unforgettable, movie-quality fight-to-the-death.” BIG A, little a called the novel, “A moody, evocative tale...T.K. Welsh is fast becoming one of my favorite writers. His work transcends genre and audience classification.” VOYA said, "Teen readers will thoroughly enjoy the hair-raising suspense in this historical thriller." TeensReadToo termed it, “an intense, dark work...I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction.”KLIATT said, "Like M.T. Anderson's The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, this look at sinister events in history makes the era come alive and lingers in the memory." Jen Robinson's Book Page called the novel, “Gripping and fast-paced, filled with intriguing historical details...Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction." The Miss Rumphius Effect said, “T.K. Welsh, where have you been? I loved this book!” And School Library Journal said, “Part historical fiction and part adventure story, the novel brings excitement to Victorian England...Readers will be on the edge of their seats.”
Inspired by the 1831 "Italian Boy trial" of body snatchers in London, England, RESURRECTION MEN is a spine-tingling murder mystery that pits a beggar boy named Victor against a nefarious group of Resurrection Men. In this tumultuous dark underworld, where a fresh subject can fetch as much as nine guineas -- the yearly salary of a working man -- Victor must risk his life to uncover the identity of the murderer who is at the heart of London's furtive trade in human corpses.
For a sample chapter of RESURRECTION MEN, click here. If you already own a copy, click here to access a secret section of the site...just for you. [NOTE: Make sure to enter the name Secret (S-e-c-r-e-t) and the correct Password, printed at the rear of the book.] (NOTE: J.G. Sandom writes his young adult novels under the name T.K. Welsh.) To buy your copy, click here. THE UNRESOLVED Ranked one of the Top Ten Children's Books of 2006 by the Washington Post, THE UNRESOLVED was nominated for a Young Adult Library Services Association -- YALSA 2007 Teens' Top Ten, the only book award recommended and awarded solely by teens. The novel was previously named a 2007 Association of Jewish Libraries Notable Book for Teens by the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee, which recognized only six works in Jewish teen literature that year. THE UNRESOLVED was also nominated for the 2006 Cybils literary awards, and for the 2007 Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) by the American Library Association. It's currently featured as one of the Best Teen Books of the Year 2006 at BarnesAndNoble.com. The Washington Post said, "Welsh writes with a precision and delicacy unusual for YA fiction." School Library Journal said, "THE UNRESOLVED tells a remarkable story in a remarkable way." Horn Book Magazine called THE UNRESOLVED, "A decidedly unconventional ghost story ... (and) a tightly wound novel." Kirkus Reviews termed it, "A remarkable account." Romantic Times said, "THE UNRESOLVED is a book you shouldn't pass up." The Edge of the Forest said, "It may be the most beautifully written novel I've read this year." All About the Book said, "THE UNRESOLVED is a great one. Mallory is the most well-developed ghostly character I've seen in a long, long time." Midwest Book Review called THE UNRESOLVED, "a wonderfully different kind of ghost story." And Bookslut.com said, "THE UNRESOLVED scores on several levels, most notably as a drama that blows apart all preconceived notions of how history can be retold." Inspired by the tragic events of 9/11, THE UNRESOLVED reaches back into history to explore what was, until recently, the greatest disaster in New York City history. Based on the sinking of the General Slocum steamship -- which caught fire in the East River, New York, in 1904, resulting in the death of over 1,000 mostly German immigrants on a church outing -- THE UNRESOLVED is at once a ghost story, a courtroom drama, an examination of immigrant life, and a tale of love, redemption and revenge. The novel dramatizes how a single life -- and death -- can have a powerful influence on history. (NOTE: J.G. Sandom writes his young adult novels under the name T.K. Welsh.) For a sample chapter of THE UNRESOLVED, click here! To buy your copy, click here. Kirkus To buy your copy, click here.
John Darroch at Flipkart To buy your copy, click here.
J.S., Librarian @ Pewaukee High School To buy your copy, click here!
THE UNRESOLVED -- Editorial Reviews The Center for Children's Books To buy your copy, click here! THE UNRESOLVED -- Reader Reviews Tom Edwards @ Flipkart.com To buy your copy, click here!
THE UNRESOLVED recently made Horn Book's list of Recommended American Historical Fiction.
"In Sandom's doomdsay thriller, a cryptanalyst and an oceanographer combine forces in an attempt to thwart a terrorist plan to inundate the eastern seabord of the United States...Sandom's strength lies in the verve of his story, with writing that has both muscle, in its pacing and violence, and a measure of brains as it goes about knitting Islamic calligraphy into the action, as well as making skirmishes into cryptography, vulcan stimulation and the higher physics of radiation and isotope decay without force-feeding the dense material to the reader...After a rather stately start...(THE WAVE) races from improbably to crazywild, all in good fun, with Sandom always one step ahead...A story with enough manic energy to be worthy of a nuclear explosion."
A Tsunami of Excitement
"A friend of mine recommended this book at a party and I bought it a few weeks later. I had not read any of J.G. Sandom's work before so I didn't really know what to expect. This novel is FANTASTIC. It builds like a le Care thriller, slowly and methodically, and then takes off like a rocket. John Decker is a great hero, wounded and introspective, and his love interest Swenson is smart and beautiful and equally three-dimensional. But most of all, I loved El Aqrab, the Jihadist villain, who kills his victims with an aesthetic sensibility by quoting lines from the Koran in fire as he sets them ablaze. Truly chilling, especially in light of the recent attacks in Mumbai. If you're looking for something that will challenge and excite you, this eco-thriller won't disappoint. I'm now reading Sandom's religious thriller, Gospel Truths, which is equally well written. And, apparently, he's coming out with a sequel to Gospel Truths called The God Machine in the spring which features an Indian heroine named Savita Sajan. Can't wait."RESURRECTION MEN -- Reader Reviews
"The review said this book was a challenging read, so I picked it up just to read a few pages to see what they considered challenging. I ended up reading the whole book even though I was in the middle of another novel at the time...action packed, but cringe worthy on a number of occasions due to the gruesome topic."
"Fifteen-year-old Mallory may have been one of the 1300 passengers who died when the General Slocum caught fire in 1905, but that doesn’t stop her ghost form from investigating the fire’s origins."
"This book was fantastic. Part ghost story, part historical novel, part love story, it features a young girl in 1904 New York who dies in the first page of the book in a terrible tragedy (the sinking of the General Slocum steamship in the East River, New York, during a church outing) and comes back to make sure that those who are guilty are punished. Highly recommended. Think of it as Lovely Bones meets Titanic."
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