Customer Reviews

The Birth of the Peacekeepers.

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Mr. Sides has, so far, written seven books in his Peacekeeper series of which this is the first. I have read all seven. I can tell you that this first book starts out slow and the writing style is a little stilted and hesitant. It seems that Mr. Sides is really searching for his way in the first few chapters. If he was searching for his way in the first portion of this book, he finds it about half way through and the writing style smoothes out and the story line moves ahead briskly and logically.

I have enjoyed the Peacekeepers story through all of the books in this series. The story is aided along by earthquakes that are abnormally selective in what they damage and there is an improbable technology that plays a key role in the success of the Peacekeepers. On top of that the Peacekeepers are also almost too good to be true when it comes to their ability to overcome obstacles and defeat their enemies. This seems to even become obvious to Mr. Sides because he introduces a series of supernatural or least very unusual dreams and occurrences that allow the key characters to escape the consequences of life and combat, at least most of the time.

For all of the little nits I can pick over some of the storyline, Mr. Sides has written a pretty good action story with good characters and believable situations based on the world that he creates. I recommend that you be patient with him as he works you though the first few chapters of this first book. By the time you reach the end of this book, you'll want the second book standing by for an immediate start, and then the third. The best thing I can tell you about this series is that book seven ends with the door wide open for book eight. I don't know where Mr. Sides is going with this series, but I intend to go there with him.

The storyline was simple enough that most readers should be able to keep up, and it was believable enough to be realistic. The only thing I'd complain about is that the situation would be considerably worse than the author portrayed, if this happened in real life. Every time society breaks down, and there is no law and order, violent crime runs rampant. The rapes and murder depicted would indeed occur just as the author depicted in the novel, however, they would be much more numerous than he depicted.



The characters were believable and likeable. I especially liked the character Pete because he was depicted as an older and wiser man than most of the other characters. The character Lina was good as well. I liked the way the author portrayed her as semi-prepared to face the reality of the country under those circumstances.



I think that this is a good attempt by an author since this is his first published novel.



I live in the south myself, so reading a book that references the highways, and cities, some of which I'm familiar with, is of interest to me.



Being a martial artist with decades of experience in the martial arts I know that the author's martial art scenes are interesting and well depicted.

For a first novel, I found this a pretty good read. There are 3 story lines that are well done and come together at the end. There is also a traitor in the midst of things, which keeps the suspense up.

I really only found a few minor typos, so I did not find any of these distracting.

Now, the women DO get pretty badly abused, except for one feisty gal. But, if you ever watch what happens in some of the lawless countries in Africa, or from some of the abuses women take in some Arab countries, it was totally believable.

I did find the language a bit more 'formal' than I was used to, but I attributed that to this being by an author from the South. (We aren't nearly so polite here in the NorthEast!). It reminded me a bit of the style of the old western novels.

I enjoyed reading the book, and found it more realistic than most of the self-published novels I've found so far.

In my mind I see a buunch zit faced 10th graders comparing notes on how totally cool it would be to live in a world like the one described by the author.

Here's a guy who's a master of everything and jack of none.

He goes around saving damsels in distress and sexing them up because it's good therapy.

Wherever this guy goes he finds food, fuel, ammo and guns but everyone else is dying because they can't find anything.

Thank God this book was free because if not I'd feel just as violated as some of the characters in this book.

I need to send a bill for the burned brain cells and time forever lost.

I probably shouldn't have even read the reviews of this book (and neither should you - ahh too late) because it planted a mostly negative peer mentality in my head. However I did read book one,then book two,then book three and I am about to start book four. Yes there are many, many, many cringe moments throughout BUT you will become addicted to the storyline and witness a progressive and dramatic improvemnt in the writers craft as you journy through the series.
I am a 2-3 book a week reader, and have been since childhood (I'm now 40). As a consequence I have read books with infinately intricate plots, to ones that would be termed 'easy reads'. A true reader can enjoy both easy and difficult books and I think by necessity MUST.
If you have no interest in post appocalyptic/collapse/end times stories then NO don't read this series. If you do have an interest in this genera, then I highly recommend the books.
Ricky Sides will certainly not win any literary awards, but his heart is definately in the right place and I personally give him a hearty pat on the back.
I am looking forward to continuing my journey as a passenger aboard the peacekeeper as an honarary peacekeeper.

I was hooked on this book after reading a free Kindle sample. It only got better. The three story lines were all gripping, they stood well alone and intertwined well at the same time. I found myself looking forward to re-joining Jim as he drove around in his big-rig looking for his brother. The story line with Pete was exciting and I found I read faster & faster as the excitement built. Some people would say this was a "guy" book but this girl really enjoyed it (enough to buy the rest of the series). I can't wait to get to the 2nd book.

This was the first of Mr. Sides books i had read. His style of writing and attention to detail are superb. I greatly enjoyed it and have purchased the rest of the series based on this one book. If the Peacekeeper makes its way through south Alabama I for one would be honored to join.

I gave it a five because once I got into the book I couldn't stop. It is campy, but still realistic about what could happen if the world was devastated by natural disasters. Some things are solved too easy for my taste, but overall this just made me like the book more. The easiest way to summarize the story is that natural disasters destroy the world and a group of Americans pull together and in the void created by the lost of the government and the military they create a military-like force to keep the peace,hence "the peacekeepers" are born. In the book the good guys usually win and the bad guys lose, and for me this was a welcome relief from everyday life. I didn't think I'd get hooked but I did.

this title was hurt by bad editing, but the story itself is strong. i say give it a shot. i'm pumped to read the rest of the series, as they all got higher ratings than the first book.

I just finished reading all 7 of the Peacekeeper books over the last 2 weeks, and I must say...please don't stop after the first book!!! The world building over all 7 books is so fantastic and amazingly plotted out, the first book really doesn't begin to give you a glimpse of what's to come.

Yes, the dialog is a bit odd in the first book, but the author really gets a smooth flow going in the following novels and the step by step actions fades into a much more normal style.

Again, I can't stress enough that the later books in the series are fantastic reads. I would actually recommend that someone start on book 2 or 3, and then go back to book 1 and read it as a prequel.