Hidden within the deep woods of rural Alabama, along the forgotten southern course of the Tombigbee River, lies an unseen world feared for centuries by the residents of the tiny town of Carlsdale. Only one person has ever survived a visit to this place long enough to tell about it. His name is Jack Kenney. Thirteen years old at the time of the event, Jack and his family were forced to flee Carlsdale and head north to the larger city of Tuscaloosa. The menace from their former home left them in peace for nearly eight years. But after the brutal murder of a noted archaeologist and teacher at the University of Alabama, everything changed. Jack and his older brother, Jeremy, attend the University and are close friends of the late professor. Within days of his death, they are abducted by the FBI, held against their will in a secret holding facility near Manassas, Virginia. Frustrated by the brothers' seeming refusal to cooperate, the agency's interrogations become increasingly violent, until Jack gains a welcome reprieve when Special Agent Peter McNamee arrives from the FBI's Richmond office. He befriends Jack and gains his trust, drawing upon a similar supernatural event from his own youth. Willing, finally, to talk after so many years spent in sworn silence, Jack leads Peter on an extraordinary roller-coaster ride involving a mystical and deadly realm located in America's Deep South...
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Once you begin reading, you will be unable to stop.,
By Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Golden Talisman (Paperback)
Wow! Warning! Once you begin reading The Golden Talisman, Book I of The Talisman Chronicles, you will not want to put it down. Not only is J. Stefan Jackson a storyteller par excellence, but his material for this story is riveting.
The Golden Talisman, Book I of The Talisman Chronicles, centers on a mysterious section of woods near Tombigbee River where the residents of the town of Carlsdale, Alabama all share a common fear. They know not to enter those enigmatic woods because those who have made that foolhardy mistake never lived to tell about it and were never seen again. Jack Kenney, at the age of thirteen, was the only exception and the things he experienced and later told about his encounters in those woods was the stuff of nightmares. After his escape and his initial report to the local sheriff's department, Jack's family immediately moved Jack and his older brother, Jeremy, away from Carlsdale and Jack didn't talk anymore about it until he met with Special Agent Peter McNamee, who shared some common experiences with those dark woods. This meeting with Peter followed the bewildering abduction by the FBI of Jack and his older brother, Jeremy, some eight years later. They were taken away for interrogation, supposedly about the brutal murder of University archaeology professor Dr. Menesch. It was only after Peter told Jack about his similar experiences with his own younger brother's disappearance that Jack decided to tell his harrowing story - complete, for the first time. As this story unfolds, the reader is awestruck by descriptions of the beasts that live in those deep woods. A giant seventy-foot lizard that looked like a mix between a dragon and a Tyrannosaurus Rex was one such description. This particular beast was covered in scales and Special Agent Peter McNamee happened to have one of those scales, which he placed in front of Jack during his interrogation of him. Of course, Jack recognized it immediately. Peter also had a picture of this giant's footprint that was the size of a John Deere tractor. We also learn about strange lights emanating from those woods at night (lights that glow as brightly as the sun) and golden mists that engulf a young boy and spirit him away. Can these things be real? Is there something supernatural going on here? In addition, just what is that huge sphere resting near the woods in Jack's back yard? ***** I knew this novel was going to hold my attention from the minute I picked it up. It is a fast moving thriller with so many twists and turns and mysteries that the reader is hard pressed to keep up. Mr. Jackson's book, The Golden Talisman, Book I of The Talisman Chronicles, mesmerized me from beginning to end! I simply can't wait for Book II. ***** Reviewed by Ruth Wilson of Huntress Reviews.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Give Us More,
By Amy N. "Amy N." (Nashville, TN.) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Golden Talisman (Paperback)
I was really impressed with the stuff that the author thought of writing. I thought that it was an extremely creative adventure w\ twists that I never anticipated. Although it was a fantasy more or less, I also enjoyed the sense of reality the story possesses due to using real locations and map points as well as factual historical references. Great stuff Mr. Jackson, everything from the raw passion of Jack & Genovene to the action and realism of the covert government agents.
I give the book a thumbs up as far as the composition, creativity, everything. It was truly one of the most enjoyable novels I have read in some time. I think the last novel that I enjoyed this much was a Tom Clancy book. I will be anxiously waiting for the release of the second installment; and can't wait to start it. Scott Madden
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A dark thriller,
This review is from: The Golden Talisman (Paperback)
The residents of Carlsdale, Alabama know the areas to avoid if they want to live. Sections of the dark woods near Tombigbee River lives evil; for centuries those foolish enough to enter never come out. That is no one until thirteen years old Jack Kenney who somehow survived the ordeal. Not willing to risk the life of their son or his older brother Jeremy, the Kenneys immediately move away to the big city Tuscaloosa.
Eight serene years later, Jeremy and Jack attend the University of Alabama. However, the horror returns when a friend of the siblings, University archaeology professor Dr. Menesch, is brutally killed. The FBI abducts Jeremy and Jack without a warrant under some arcane antiterrorism ploy. Agents Reynolds, Iverson and Casey frustrated with the smiles and silence they receive especially from Jack viciously interrogate the brothers seeking to know what Jack met in the woods near Carlsdale. Though battered, he says nothing until Special Agent Peter McNamee arrives with a similar story about a horror from his past that he was fortunate to survive. Jack sees a kindred soul in Peter and begins to tell his story of the terror he fled in the summer of 99 that apparently is spreading its dark realm beyond the banks of the Tombigbee River. The hook to this excellent suspense thriller is the twists that will keep readers wondering what is going on as nothing is quite what it seems. Adding to the excitement is that the audience will wonder whether the terror is an evil supernatural creature or an amoral human even while following the J brothers, mostly Jack, relate their story. J. Stefan Jackson provides a dark thriller that grips fans from the opening FBI abduction and never frees the reader until the final understanding of the loss of innocence of a thirteen years old adolescent. Harriet Klausner
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