They were asleep for 572 years... Shard Mountain is an epic science-fiction fantasy novel set in a distant post-apocalypse future America. Three young men involved in a highway accident are surprised to wake up not in a hospital, but in a dark underground tomb, five-hundred years in the future. They emerge to discover a world completely unlike anything they knew, where bizarre mutations are common among people, and scraps of futuristic technology are dug from the ground like ancient buried treasure. They will have to learn to survive in this dangerous new world, and to unravel the mystery of what happened while they slept, to discover why they would be categorized as something other than human beings.
Shard Mountain
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More About the Author
Joseph Mitchell, author of Shard Mountain, is a lifelong fan of science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories, both books and movies. A long-time computer geek and tabletop role-playing gamer, his hobbies include computer animation and first-person-shooter level design. A reclusive hermit who lives a boring life, existing almost entirely in cyberspace. Currently, he lives in northeastern Pennsylvania with his wife, two cats, and a dog, spending most of his free time in front of a computer working on various projects. Shard Mountain is his first novel.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Joseph Mitchell has crafted a wonderful piece of work with Shard Mountain. Reading this book is like watching a master juggler at work. He keeps dozens of creative balls, artistic daggers and literary chainsaws in the air simultaneously. And drops nary a one.
The story centers around two petty criminals, Charles and Jake, who meet on their bus ride to prison. One is a geek with too many unpaid tickets; the other, a stoner who jaywalked at the absolute worst time. The bus is in an accident with a military convoy and the pair, along with one of their guards, wakes up 571 years later. Mutants, mind reading, and mayhem ensue.
In telling this tale, Mitchell requires his readers to engage all seven senses (and then some) as he describes his version of Earth in the year 2581. The post apocalyptic world that he creates is vivid, lush and full of imaginative wonders. Similar to the world of Dune that Frank Herbert created more than forty years ago, this version of earth is as much a character in this book as any named protagonist.
As for flaws, there weren't many. There were a few typos, but they were easily steamrolled by the tale. Also, this book is longer than most. Not a negative by itself, but there are one or two areas that could be trimmed without hurting the story. Other than those minor items, this book was darn near perfect. One of the best books I have read in a long time. Which is why I am giving it a very solid 5 stars!
The story centers around two petty criminals, Charles and Jake, who meet on their bus ride to prison. One is a geek with too many unpaid tickets; the other, a stoner who jaywalked at the absolute worst time. The bus is in an accident with a military convoy and the pair, along with one of their guards, wakes up 571 years later. Mutants, mind reading, and mayhem ensue.
In telling this tale, Mitchell requires his readers to engage all seven senses (and then some) as he describes his version of Earth in the year 2581. The post apocalyptic world that he creates is vivid, lush and full of imaginative wonders. Similar to the world of Dune that Frank Herbert created more than forty years ago, this version of earth is as much a character in this book as any named protagonist.
As for flaws, there weren't many. There were a few typos, but they were easily steamrolled by the tale. Also, this book is longer than most. Not a negative by itself, but there are one or two areas that could be trimmed without hurting the story. Other than those minor items, this book was darn near perfect. One of the best books I have read in a long time. Which is why I am giving it a very solid 5 stars!
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Well, I can't say I didn't tear through this book; because I did. Mitchell sets up some interesting characters and plot lines and then takes the reader tearing along with him. However, even a moderate edit would have made that a more enjoyable ride.
Initially the three main characters are relatively believable. But only one of them, Charles, seemed to grow in any appreciable way, though his passage from indolent loser to altruistic hero strains credulity more than surviving 500 years in cryogenic stasis.
Jake the stoner seems lifted from the Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure handbook. Actually, the author himself couldn't help himself presenting Jake as a Keanu Reeves character synthesis; right down to the author's slightly breathless description of his good looks and hot body. In the beginning I was getting a slight vibe that the Jake might be black, which would have made for a refreshing change in the all-white (except for green, of course) world of science fiction, but in fact I was relieved that that wasn't supported as Jake turned into stoner Keanu Reeves instead.
The prison guard, Parker, seemed to me the character with the most interesting potential for development , but his character collapsed into utter flatness about halfway through and was never resuscitated.
And the lesser characters. Come on! The sexy older lady is named Giz? Giz? For reals? Brother Kevin's relentless goodness is not explained by his past. Trying to be good, yes, but being so bloody selfless all the time, no.
I found myself believing in the bonding and friendships throughout. Who couldn't survive an attack by sabre toothed bunnies and not feel closer to his mates? But mates, it turns out, can only be so close. Mitchell's frequent references to male nudity followed by "no-homo" protestations are just tiresome. He should either come to terms with his own sexual issues or just leave out the dudes' junk references altogether. Or even better, have the nerve to include a gay character line.
I found his description of the burgeoning love between Charles and Penny rather endearing. The aura business made it a bit of work, but it was sweet and innocent without being saccharine. The possibility of literally joining minds with one's beloved is very attractive and fraught and I liked that he touched on that without going all philosophical on us.
Mitchell clearly has an axe to grind regarding American drug laws, but must he grind it with such a heavy hand and so frequently? It's just boring and I found myself wondering if the wandering storyline arose from the author's being stoned at the keyboard. As they say on the internets: "Just sayin'."
This is not what any publisher would call a YA book, though I'm guessing it would be appreciated by teenaged boys more than most.
I get it, the book is all about comparing the present day to some post-apocalyptic future, but there were times when the the anachronisms were just too thick. Flint locks? Really? And the Jimi Hendrix passage was too tiresome, but since Tina Turner seems to be in retirement I guess Thunderdome needed new management.
In the end it was a good, bouncy read. More careful editing would have made it a kick-ass book.
Initially the three main characters are relatively believable. But only one of them, Charles, seemed to grow in any appreciable way, though his passage from indolent loser to altruistic hero strains credulity more than surviving 500 years in cryogenic stasis.
Jake the stoner seems lifted from the Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure handbook. Actually, the author himself couldn't help himself presenting Jake as a Keanu Reeves character synthesis; right down to the author's slightly breathless description of his good looks and hot body. In the beginning I was getting a slight vibe that the Jake might be black, which would have made for a refreshing change in the all-white (except for green, of course) world of science fiction, but in fact I was relieved that that wasn't supported as Jake turned into stoner Keanu Reeves instead.
The prison guard, Parker, seemed to me the character with the most interesting potential for development , but his character collapsed into utter flatness about halfway through and was never resuscitated.
And the lesser characters. Come on! The sexy older lady is named Giz? Giz? For reals? Brother Kevin's relentless goodness is not explained by his past. Trying to be good, yes, but being so bloody selfless all the time, no.
I found myself believing in the bonding and friendships throughout. Who couldn't survive an attack by sabre toothed bunnies and not feel closer to his mates? But mates, it turns out, can only be so close. Mitchell's frequent references to male nudity followed by "no-homo" protestations are just tiresome. He should either come to terms with his own sexual issues or just leave out the dudes' junk references altogether. Or even better, have the nerve to include a gay character line.
I found his description of the burgeoning love between Charles and Penny rather endearing. The aura business made it a bit of work, but it was sweet and innocent without being saccharine. The possibility of literally joining minds with one's beloved is very attractive and fraught and I liked that he touched on that without going all philosophical on us.
Mitchell clearly has an axe to grind regarding American drug laws, but must he grind it with such a heavy hand and so frequently? It's just boring and I found myself wondering if the wandering storyline arose from the author's being stoned at the keyboard. As they say on the internets: "Just sayin'."
This is not what any publisher would call a YA book, though I'm guessing it would be appreciated by teenaged boys more than most.
I get it, the book is all about comparing the present day to some post-apocalyptic future, but there were times when the the anachronisms were just too thick. Flint locks? Really? And the Jimi Hendrix passage was too tiresome, but since Tina Turner seems to be in retirement I guess Thunderdome needed new management.
In the end it was a good, bouncy read. More careful editing would have made it a kick-ass book.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book suffers an identity crisis. Does it want to be post apocalyptic drama? A futuristic western? A romance, a man vs. Machine type of book? It has all this and it's a bit scattered and goes off on tangents that we don't need to go on. About half way through I started fast forwarding. It gets really good as soon as they get to Shard Mountain but it takes much too long to go there and we have to go through scene after scene of townspeople taking about how great these Cryotes and how much they like to drink and party and...
That's great and everything but the story stalls during these scenes. It doesn't add anything to the adventure.
I think it would have been a better book if cut in half and if had been more focused.
That's great and everything but the story stalls during these scenes. It doesn't add anything to the adventure.
I think it would have been a better book if cut in half and if had been more focused.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
This was a great book
This was a long book, but it was the type that you could sit down with on a nice afternoon and read until going to bed. Read more
Published 7 months ago by teresa
A good read, but some weirdness
I really enjoyed this book. A couple of things keeping it from five starts. First, come on, enough with the drugs! Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mike Bryant
A good Fun Read
I really enjoyed the book and I am looking forward to the next edition.
I found many of his ideas extremely creative and the world he built to have a great deal of depth.
I found many of his ideas extremely creative and the world he built to have a great deal of depth.
Published 11 months ago by Dennis Buller
A little too repetitive and slightly aimless at times
I don't want to be too harsh, because this is the author's first effort. It took me a while to finally commit to reading it -- I don't remember if it was free or just reduced or... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mel B.
Read like a teenager wrote it
Not very good at all. At first I thought it was written after a video game. It reads like a 90's game in which you pick up weapons and skills when battling monsters. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Joseph K. Ziegler
Interesting premise but not what I was expecting
Hello, I'm about halfway through reading this book and several points stand out. First, the author's writing style clearly shows a lack of development. Read more
Published 14 months ago by CAH
Well written with lots of twists
Article first published as Book Review:Shard Mountain by Joseph Mitchell on Blogcritics.
On his way to prison for a crime as simple as excess parking tickets created a... Read more
On his way to prison for a crime as simple as excess parking tickets created a... Read more
Published 14 months ago by TicToc
Creativity!
I greatly enjoyed the the book's universe and the characters who populated it. The plot is anything but formulaic and doesn't drag out tired, cliche archetypes to bore readers into... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Jake
Pleasantly surprised after the first third of the book
As others observed, this novel seems as if it were written for the younger set. Other than some profanity and drug use, the book would be just fine for a precocious... Read more
Published 15 months ago by reeses
Not For Adults
This needed to be edited to fit the Young Adult genre. The writing style was too unsophisticated for older dudes.
Published 15 months ago by Linda Crane
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