Powers: A Novel [Paperback]

John B. Olson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2009

“Bury me standing. I must be buried standing.”

Powers, the follow-up to John Olson’s Shade (“a must-read for those who enjoy Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti” —Publishers Weekly), introduces a sheltered Gypsy girl named Mariutza. Her grandfather utters a mysterious last request before dying in her arms after being shot by ten cloaked men.

Those same men die before her eyes, but strange powers continue to pursue Mari through the swamps of southern Louisiana where she has always hidden from “the Badness.”

The whole world seems to join in the chase—helicopters, soldiers, government agents, and the police are all trying to kill her. Mari’s only hope of survival is to find Jaazaniah the Prophet, the mythical hero of her grandfather’s bedtime stories. But she has never been outside the swamp or known other humans besides her grandfather and one teacher. How can this lone girl survive the bewildering world of men long enough to find a prophet who might not even exist?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Olson, a biochemist turned novelist of the paranormal, introduces a new character—a young gypsy girl from the swamps of Louisiana—to a return cast from his previous thriller, Shade. A mysterious inheritance letter leads Jazz, a musician who can see the future, on a treasure hunt, chased by dark forces and an FBI agent who believes he's a terrorist. Olson's writing has the power to levitate the reader to another dimension and suspend disbelief as cons, tricks of the mind, prayers, ancient codes and spiritual forces coalesce into a fascinating yet sluggish story with good dialogue that's difficult to follow because of sparse attribution. Readers who enjoy books about vampires, gypsies and prophecy will gravitate toward Olson's rich descriptions of imaginative creatures drawn from biblical stories—the Badness, the Standing. With this man vs. mysterious powers story, the author continues making his mark in futuristic and paranormal fiction in the CBA market. (Dec.)
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About the Author

John B. Olson holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin but left his job as a director and principal scientist at a major scientific software company after eight years to pursue full-time writing and speaking. He has since received several honors for his books including the Christy Award in Futuristic Fiction for the novel Oxygen. Olson lives with his wife and two children in San Leandro, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: B&H Books; Original edition (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805447350
• ISBN-13: 978-0805447354
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,504,807 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John is a novelist and speaker who lives with his wife Amy and two kids in the San Francisco Bay Area. John earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and did postdoctoral research at the University of California at San Francisco. His novels have won several awards including a Christy Award, a Christy finalist, a Silver Angel award, and placement on the New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Christian fantasy-horror-thriller not what I expected, November 15, 2009

By 

April Follies "bibliovore" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Powers: A Novel (Paperback)

A press release for this book led me to expect a modern fantasy/horror novel when I picked this up. In fact, that was very misleading. Powers is something of a blend of urban fantasy (voodoo priestesses and Gypsy magic in a modern setting) and Christian storytelling, with elements of mystery and thriller mixed in for good measure.

In brief, the story follows the heroine, Mariutza, raised by a Gypsy grandfather (and local prophet) in traditions that include Biblical studies, how to escape or fight off trained soldiers, and Louisiana bayou life. When the grandfather is killed by an attack of the "walking dead", Mari must follow the instructions he left for just such an eventuality, including escaping the walking dead, and inexplicably hostile military and police forces. Her orders include finding the hero-prophet "Jaazaniah", who is currently playing jazz in New Orleans, unaware of his ordained destiny. Destiny comes calling in the form of highly inconvenient waking visions, which are followed by attacks from - guess what - the walking dead, and inexplicably hostile military and police forces. The rest of the story involves Mari finding Jazz, both of them finding allies, and Jazz finding God and the solution to all their problems, more or less in that order.

The combination of elements is pretty intriguing in the beginning, as it departs from the usual cliches of the urban fantasy genre. As we go along, though, that seems mostly because it mixes in cliches from the conspiracy-thriller genre and the christian inspirational genre. This could make up a tasty Louisiana gumbo, and is in fact not a bad start, but it would need to go several steps further to achieve true originality. The hero Jazz is believably flawed, but it's a bit disappointing (to me, at least) to find that his Hero's Journey turns mostly into an ongoing come-to-Jesus message. Mari already has God in her life, which is disappointingly expressed as her being a self-doubting, childish figure with killer kung-fu moves. Other characters tend toward the two-dimensional; Jazz is repeatedly helped by a woman who wants excitement in her life, only to be abandoned by her when it gets too exciting. An FBI agent who has mixed feelings about being involved in the inexplicably hostile pursuit is a stock character from, e.g., "The Fugitive". The Dark Forces have no apparent goal or motivation other than to be evil, and therefore provide the threat against which the heroes must hurl themselves. The resolution is, by the end, pretty predictable and something of a deus ex magica.

After all that negativity, let me come back to say that the book does have some entertaining and promising elements. The author made some effort to culturally flavor the aforementioned gumbo, with research into Gypsy parlance and bayou life, among other things. The characters show flashes of depth from time to time, as they refer to their various backgrounds. The plot is actually rather neatly twisted around the concept of prophecy, and the writing style is colorful and flows naturally enough to hold the reader's interest. I suspect, though, that those just looking for a good fantasy read may be startled to encounter the Christian inspirational elements. However, if you're looking for a modern-world Christian fantasy/conspiracy novel, this might just be your cup of tea, or bowl of gumbo.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An original, edge of your seat thriller, November 18, 2009

By 

Ellz Readz "Ellz Readz" (Eastern US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Powers: A Novel (Paperback)

My thoughts...This is book two in the series. I have not read the first book, so initially I was really confused as to what was going on. You begin by reading the POV of several characters. They are all experiencing intense situations such as being chased, attacked and feeling intense pain. The beginning of the book left me dizzy, but I was still intrigued enough to keep reading. About 100 pages or so into the story, the characters come together and the plot begins to make more sense. Mari is an odd heroine. She was raised in the swamplands by an old man she believed to be her Grandfather. He is murdered and she goes on a mission to find the prophet she has been learning of her whole life. Jazz, the prophet, is a musician who has not clue that he has been the object of legends and fairy tales. Mari is a child of God, she has strong belief. Jazz however, has none. The pair, along with some new acquaintances are being chased by the FBI, the police, and something purely evil.

Powers provides non-stop action. It is very easy to get swept into this world of mysterious cloaked figures, cops and robbers, and fairy tale romance. It was very hard for me to put down. The story contained a subtle religious undertone, but I did not feel like a was reading a Christian novel. The end wrapped up nicely, but left room for another adventure. Overall, I think it was a very unique storyline that would entice readers from a variety of genres. I enjoyed this book and I would read other books in this series.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and action-packed., November 24, 2009

By 

Novel Teen (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Powers: A Novel (Paperback)

Gypsy girl, Mariutza, was raised in the Louisiana swamps away from all modern conveniences. When "the Badness" kills her grandfather, Mariutza must go into the city and find the prophet, Jaazaniah, but Mari feels completely out of her element. She's never even ridden in a car or tasted Sprite. Still, it's what she trained all her life to do. Find Jaazaniah, the prophet.

Jaazaniah is a musician in a bar. He has a seizure of some kind and is convinced that someone spiked his drink. He goes home to find his apartment ransacked, and strange cloaked men start chasing him. Then he meets Mariutza, a beautiful girl whose religious ideas are a bit far-fetched. She claims he is some prophet and clearly has a few screws loose from growing up in the swamp. Still, she knows things about him that she can't possibly know, and Jaazaniah is drawn to working with her to figure out what is going on.

I loved John B. Olson's Shade, so I couldn't wait to read Powers. At first, I was disappointed to find all new characters. When I really want to read a sequel, it's because of the characters in the first book. Still, I kept at it. Olson's non-stop action gripped me and kept me turning the pages. His characters, Mari and Jaaz, were totally intriguing. Then some old characters popped up and things started to come together in a bizarre and exciting way. And then it was over, leaving quite a few questions hanging. Where Shade reads as a creepy vampire/monster novel, Powers reads as supernatural suspense. "The Badness" is always at the characters' heels, but I never really knew why or saw much of it until the end. So...a really fun read. Entertaining and action-packed. But the ending left me wondering. Is there a book three? I hope so.