Synopsis
There is absolutely nothing unique about the Resuoh family. A father, a mother, and three children who love each other and try to live a normal life in rural Nebraska. When a well-meaning scientist attempts to thwart a scheme of world-changing proportions by an elusive employer, he inadvertently throws the Resuohs into an epic adventure that will change them all forever.
As they work to pick up the pieces, they find that the nefarious corporation, ExTek Labs, is developing a slew of new technology that is altering mankind. Unwillingly affected, the tech begins to alter one of the children into something superhuman, but with lethal consequences. His parents are forced to accept the help of a mysterious hooded man to save the life of their son. Does he have their best interests at heart, or is he working toward his own veiled agenda?
Join the Resuohs in their attempt to find their way back to normalcy as they watch destruction rain down upon their small town. Will they succeed or will the future of the world be forever changed?
Stats
- 3.5 very enthusiastic stars out of 5
- Paperback
- 111 pages
- Independently Published
- ISBN1731220669 (ISBN13: 9781731220660)
- Edition Language English
My Thoughts
“I Stood at the window in the living room, watching as the storm outside continued to worsen. Rain streaked past me flying nearly horizontal, like angry, little wet bugs feeling for their lives. The clouds moved quickly and made my fear continue to grow, but I could’t look away. It didn’t look like storms I had seen in the past. There was a beautiful yet terrifying display of light as bolts of lightning danced from cloud to cloud. The mesmerizing show only eased my growing tension slightly; dad and Lijah were still not home.”
Forged in the Storm by RE Houser
RE Houser wrote a charming story in Forged in the Storm. The Resouh (Russo? Not sure how to pronounce this name) family is cute and unremarkable. Completely ordinary white picket fence Nebraska family regular. I have a feeling that some of these characters were written from life, Houser seems very comfortable in them. The family consists of the parents, Rus and Nichole. The kids: James, Elijah, and Jade. All of various ages. Each of the chapters in this too short story is written from the perspective of whomever that section is talking about. This type of writing can be a challenging task, and for the most part Houser does well with it. One of the fallbacks of doing this sort of narrative, and I think he runs into trouble with this, is that if you give so much “screen” time to so many characters, you end up with no lead. With no lead, the reader can feel unattached to the characters and thus cannot empathize with them. It can feel scattered.
The plot involves the Rusouh Family, a tech company creating far-reaching Earth Shaking technology, and portaling from place to place around the world. It is a little Star Trek, a little Leave it to Beaver and a little James Bond. Crazy mix but fun. I wish that Houser had fleshed out the story more instead of doing short novella like bursts. It is hard to keep a solid narrative going in this format when the book is novella length. Had it been one main character, I think it would have been a more cohesive plot. I ended up feeling unsatisfied because I wanted more of both character, dialog, and story. I needed each chapter to explain more and show more than it did.
I know it sounds like I am complaining about this, I am not. It is a cute idea and a fun story, it just needs some editing and reformatting. The love the family feels for each other is infectious and sweet. They are thrown in some insane predicaments in short succession. The science fiction elements are fun, a little cloudy at this point, but still very enjoyable — all in all a decent read hence the 3.5 stars. I say very enthusiastic stars because this story has promise. It isn’t perfect, but it is fun and it made me happy to read. I am curious as to where the story is going to go and if Houser is going to flesh out things a bit more. I will read the next installment and see where the story takes us.
Procurement
I received a copy of this from the author in exchange for my open and honest review. Thank you!
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About the Author
What to say about me? I am a family man, devoted and true. The beautiful woman whom first you noticed in the profile picture (yes, I know you saw her first) is my partner, editor, and wife. We have 3 beautiful children, and they are my life.
Writing has been a passion of mine since I was just a pup, but was not something I decided to actually pursue until Summer of 2018. I love my stories, and the characters within, and I just hope that there are some out there that enjoy them as well. Please, sign up for my newsletter and follow my blog. I love to hear feed back, good or bad!
