Zhena [Paperback]

Michael Pennington (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 2009

Susan was content with her ordinary life. As ordinary as it can be when you're married to an officer in the submarine force. For the past twenty years she has wanted nothing more than to help her husband Bill succeed in his career and raise her children. Then one day the phone rang. After this mysterious call, nothing was the same. Suddenly, she is able to analyze situations and people more rapidly than she thought humanly possible. Anything or anyone that is out of place is immediately noted and its threat level determined. She has fighting and weapons skills, despite having never even held a gun. And most concerning and disconcerting is the strange voice in her head telling her what to do in any given situation, as though her life is one big mission - a mission she knows nothing about.

Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (April 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1442155256
• ISBN-13: 978-1442155251
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,214,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hello, My name is Michael Pennington. I am an active duty officer in the United States Navy. I have also recently begun writing novels. How did I begin? I travel a lot for work and had a lot of free time on my hands on the road. I've had a few ideas for different stories over the years and decided to finally start putting them on paper. I finished my first novel in the fall of 2008, Zhena. Like most authors, once I was finished I experienced the gamut of being turned down by agent after agent. Luckily, I read an article on the recent rise of e-books and started doing some research. That eventually lead me to Hearts on Fire Books. They graciously decided to publish my novel and it should go on sale on the 15th of April, 2009. I am currently working on the sequel but do not have a title for it yet. The Prologue along with the back cover blurb is below. Zhena is a spy thriller which combines aspects of the cold war with the modern political landscape. If you think you might enjoy it, you will find it at hearts on fire books or the Amazon Kindle store.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 3/4 Stars with 5 Star Potential, July 22, 2009

By 

Lynn ODell "Red Adept Reviews - A Blog" (Carolinas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Zhena (Kindle Edition)

Liked:

This book had the potential to be a 5 star publication.

The plot was incredible and extremely well executed. It was a "page-turner" in every sense of the phrase.

The characters were amazingly realistic. I found myself truly identifying with the main character.

There was not a "deux ex machina" to be found in this book. Every move the main character made was what you would expect of someone in her position. The danger and escapes were never contrived.

Disliked:

The book was simply filled with errors in text. It was hard to say where it was Kindle formatting or editing that created the problems.

As far as formatting, the biggest issue was the fact that there were no page or line breaks between switches in scene or point of view. Many times, the switch would occur without even showing a new paragraph. One sentence is from the main character's point of view, and the next sentence is from another character in a completely different location.

The actual writing, while showing plenty of talent, still was amateurish in places. There were repetitions within paragraphs such as, 'and then' or 'also'.

Overall:

If you can ignore the errors and formatting and read for just the plot and storyline, get this book. It is well worth the money. If this author could get this book 'cleaned up', it would be a bestseller to give Tom Clancy a run for his money.

Length: Full Novel

Rating: PG-13 for violence

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing and Scary Premise, June 4, 2009

By 

Joshua DeWald "avid reader" (Woodland Hills,CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zhena (Paperback)

I really enjoyed the way this book jumped right into the action and never really stopped moving. The character of Susan is a great tough female character willing to do anything to protect herself and her family and at no point is she presented as being at all disadvantaged physically because she is a female. Her innate (in multiple senses) intelligence let's her always stay a step ahead of her antagonists.

The main premise (very deep "sleepers") actually seems somewhat plausible (perhaps not now, but in the future perhaps) and in addition to being frightening it creates a realistic reason for the main character being able to do what she can do.

My only complaint would be that occasionally the dialog doesn't always feel natural and the exposition seems somewhat forced at times. But in the end it doesn't detract from the book being a fun read.

A good summer read (entertaining, page-turner). I could actually see this book working well as a movie.

4.0 out of 5 stars Buckle your seatbelt for a suspenseful ride!, March 24, 2010

By 

blondie (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Zhena (Kindle Edition)

Zhena is a thrilling page turner about a Navy wife, Susan who receives a strange phone call and suddenly her world is turned upside down. Suddenly she has martial arts experience, the ability to analyze every little detail of a given situation, and the capability to speak Russian. There is also a voice in her head gearing her towards the "Mission."

Michael Pennington is a talented author and proves it with Zhena. I was utterly engrossed from page one. I stayed up way too late trying to finish this book. I liked the main character, Susan. She is incredibly capable and intelligent without seeming to have super powers or the ability to suddenly overcome a situation no other human could. The book is fast paced with twists and turns. If you enjoy spy thrillers or suspense novels, I think you will enjoy this book.

My main criticism: I will agree with another reviewer that mentioned the formatting or editing. It desperately needs an editor or proof-reader or someone to go through and make some corrections. If you can get past this, read the book. If you can't, hold off because it might decrease your enjoyment of an otherwise spectacular book.

I did feel that Susan's story ended a tad abruptly but all loose ends were tied up so I'm not upset by this. I thoroughly enjoyed the last chapter. I didn't fully see the ending coming - it was a subtle twist. I will definitely read more from this author when he writes another one. No doubt about that.