Customer Reviews

Soul Intent (Soul Identity)

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the first book review I've ever written outside of book reports for school many years ago. So, this review isn't going to be filled with a lot of fluff, terminology or $25 words. This will be a straightforward review written by your average book lover. So here goes.

After reading "Soul Identity" I had high hopes for "Soul Intent." I am happy to say I was not disappointed one bit. The book was well written, captivating, humorous, thought provoking and emotional. The author does an awesome job of giving you just enough facts and history about WWII to place you there but not bog you down with details that detract from the story. You'll find that you seamlessly travel between the past and the present without confusion. Thoughts of "what happens next?" will keep you turning the pages.

The characters are so well developed you will start to feel as if they are people you know and can relate to in real life. Flora is a fireball. She will have you laughing at her sharp tongue one minute then crying for her the next. Her triumphs are great, her sacrifices are greater.

Archie is a driven man with a vision. He's very by the book and uptight. There will be times you'll want to reach into the pages and smack him then the next thing you know you'll want to hug him. He is a very complex character that tries to hold it together at all times.

Let me ask you a few questions.

What would you do if you had to push aside every sense of right and wrong to follow a set of rules you were bound by? If you didn't follow those rules the price could be your life. How strong are your morals and ethics? Are you willing to die for what you believe is right? Could you deceive the person you love for 60 plus years and still look them in the eye every day? Would you help an evil Nazi that killed some of your family to carry on his Soul Line?

Have you ever had "opal fever?" You might after reading this book. Do you know how to kill a vampire so that it will stay dead? Yeah, you will after reading this book.

Most of all I ask you..... What would you leave in your Soul Line Collection? It's the biggest question I've asked myself at the end of both "Soul Identity" and "Soul Intent." As of right now I still do not have an answer for that question. One of these days I just know I'll come up with something so awesome that others will have Soul Line Collection envy. LOL

Bottom line, this is a GREAT book and Dennis Batchelder has gained a reader for life with me. I would give this book 10 stars if Amazon had it as an option. There's a little something for everyone in this book.

So, thank you for reading my review. Now click on out of here and buy both "Soul Identity" and "Soul Intent." With the very low price point of both you have no excuse not to, unless...... you are afraid to do a little "soul searching."

THis is one of those books that I probably would never have found without the Kindle Discussion board - what gems both Soul Identity and Soul Intent have turned out to be.

The story of Soul Identity was a great thriller. This book takes the characters on another journey by spending time in the past uncovering secrets. Without giving anything away, the story fleshes out the back story of the older characters and really makes them come alive. While the first book concetrated on the organization and how it worked this story is able to focus more on the characters involved.

I can't wait for another installment of the Soul Identity family.

I have been looking forward to this sequel since I read Soul Identity and the author did not disappoint.

We meet the original characters again, but see some of them in a different perspective. The moral dilemma posed by Hermann Goering wanting to join Soul Identity is at the heart of this novel. Both Archie and Madame Flora are involved in the original transaction, and the events of 1946 shaped their lives and haunt them to the present day.

I like the way Mr. Batchelder switches back and forth between the past and the present. He not only keeps the story moving, but gives the reader a lot of insight into the both the characters and the events of the present as well as the past.

I enjoyed Soul Identity, which to me was a crime/caper novel, but Soul Intent has more depth and story than the original. At the end, I asked myself which won out; vision or passion. The answer for me is passion.

Highly recommended.

Another awesome book from Mr. Batchelder! Soul Intent picks up right where the last one left off, and gives the reader more insight into some of the characters that have been with the company for a while. The book keeps you guessing the whole way through. It's not a light read at 6696 Kindle locations, but it was so good I found that I finished it in under two days! I could not put it down. The book is clean of formatting issues, and it is well written grammatically with few errors (I think I only saw one, where a he should have been a she.) Can't wait for the next installment!

Dennis what can I say? I absolutely loved this book. It was so nice to get to know your wonderful characters from Soul Identity. I felt as though I knew them from Soul Identity but they really came alive in this new book. I have recommended these books to all of my friends and I am sure they will enjoy them as much as I have. Keep on writting you are a wonderful story teller.

Pam S

Soul Intent is the second book of the series, the first being Soul Identity. The first book introduced all the main characters & flested them out very well. Soul Intent takes place one year later. I'm not going to give any spoilers in this review. It was a little predictable in places & had a few parts drawn out, but overall a very enjoyable read. Suffice it to say that if you liked Soul Identity, you will also like Soul Intent. Looking forward to book 3 of the series as well as anything else Dennis Batchelder writes.

I read the first book in this series, Soul Identity, earlier this year. It was a really good techno-thriller type of book, great premise and interesting. When I heard that there was a sequel, I wasn't sure what to think. I didn't really think that there was room left for a sequel and wasn't sure where they would take it. Ah, but see! That's the point right? To write a complete book. I always complain when authors leave huge gaping holes in the ending so they can write a sequel. It annoys me!

So, I bought it... and I really enjoyed it! The elements of adventure and secrets of this "organization" are all still intact. It's a really great premise and you wonder, do the members think they are reincarnated? Is it random? How is their soul line formed and how/why? At the end of the day, it doesn't matter, people join for different reasons. In this one, a Nazi joins in 1946... and the story goes from there. All of our favorite characters are back.

The ending was maybe a little predictable, but the writing is superb. Read this one, it's a great ride!

Security expert for Soul Identity, Scott Waverly, has been asked by SI's executive overseer, Archie Morgan, to find out who stole the gold bars--once belonging to Nazi General Hermann Goering--from Soul Identity's depositary. Sixty-four years have passed since the gold was first deposited and Scott's job, along with his life partner Val, (who also works for Soul Identity) is to find out how and when the bars were taken.

This is the second book in Dennis Batchelder's intriguing series, and for those who haven't read the first book, Soul Identity is a twenty-six-hundred-year-old secret society that tracks souls from generation to generation through one's eyes. Members can deposit valuables and other things for their soul successors, thereby keeping the line going from generation to generation.

In this story, Batchelder switches time periods from 1946 Nuremberg Germany, days before Goering is due to be executed, to the present time. By doing so, we learn the stories of both Archie and the young gypsy he helped rescue from Germany, Flora Drabarni. Flora, now in her 80's and still associated with Soul Identity, doesn't want the gold to be found. Nazis killed her father and she never believed the gold belonged to Goering in the first place.

The time switches work well in this novel. It was interesting to hear the voices of a young Flora and Archie as they struggle to survive and complete their missions. The ending is thrilling and action-packed, and I heartily recommend this book.

This book was better than Soul Identity but you should read that one first to get to know the characters.

Mr. Batchelder has a knack for coming up with thought provoking ideas in his novels. First, the idea that your eye prints are passed on to another after you die which I find somewhat fascinating. Then, in this novel, he goes back to Nazi Germany where Archie becomes the head of SI by allowing Nazi War Criminal Hermann Goering to join the Soul Identity. This decision and its ramifications follow him the rest of his life. We also learn that Flora, the palm reader from Soul Identity, was also in Germany where her entire family was killed by the Nazis. In order to come to America, she makes a deal with Archie to help get Goering's eye prints, but her hatred of the Nazis controls her emotions and actions.

While this is, on the surface, a fun mystery/adventure, there is a lot in this novel that will leave you thinking about what you would have done under the same circumstances. The recurring theme is doing the right thing for the wrong reasons vs. doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. Just as in life, there are no easy answers in the story.

After reading both of Dennis Batchelder's books, I am waiting for another. He is good and getting better.

Plot/Storyline: 4 1/2 Stars

Mr. Batchelder has accomplished something rare in the world of books: The second book in his series is better than the first. I found the first to be interesting and original. It was also well-written. I hoped for the best, but prepared for the worst (a weak follow-up) when I purchased this book.

However, the second in the series far exceeded my expectations. The storyline is actually a dual story with flashbacks to post-war Nazi Germany. Throughout the first half, the story from the past is far more interesting than the present. The author obviously realizes that and gives the past the most `page time'.

After the first half, the present day events pick up speed and become the focus. The author does not fall into the trap of providing so much foreshadowing that the reader is waiting for a specific event. Instead, he allows just enough information for the reader to later be surprised.

It does get a little MacGyver-ish during a portion at the end. As with many action-type sequences in books, we have a few too many coincidences and some evil-doers who prefer to leave people for dead rather than outright killing them.

I was also rather put off by the coincidence of Scott's previous 'soul bearer.' It was not really discussed here, but from what I remember of the first novel, this soul business is not mystical. So, there is no reason that someone would have anything to do with the life of a previous soul bearer or have anything in common with them.

One question that generally pops up with a sequel: Is this a stand alone book? My answer to this would be "No." There isn't much back story given, just hints of previous events. To receive the full impact of this work, I strongly suggest you read the first book.

Character Development: 4 1/2 Stars

The character development of Scott, one of the main characters, was a bit weak. My impression of Scott has always been that his work was just a job to him. However, along with being a coincidence, he lets the mysticism of it all lead him into danger. I felt it would have been more in character had he just done it for the money.

The depth of Flora makes up for this. She was in the last book, but not developed nearly so well. In this installment, she is shown in much more detail, with her motivations fully explained.

Writing Style: 5 Stars

While the writing style is almost the same from the first book to the second, I was still able to detect a lot of growth in this author. His writing has matured a bit to include better descriptions and clearer action.

Also, his dialogue is excellent.

Editing/Formatting: 5 Stars

Both editing and Kindle formatting are of commercially published quality.

Rating: PG-14 for some Violence and Adult Situations.