Thursday, May 9, 2013

First Chapter Review: Revelation the return of Mr. Breeze by Morrie Richfield


Morrie Richfield is on a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book to promote the second book in his inspirational fantasy series, Revelation the return of Mr. Breeze.

BLURB:  Mr. Breeze is back; so is Michael Ryan and Rover, the magical dog.

MR. BREEZE fans can rejoice. REVELATION, Morrie Richfield’s much-anticipated sequel to his novel MR. BREEZE, has arrived. Readers new to the strange but inspiring tale of a super being and his attempt to set mankind on a straight and moral path for its very survival can immerse themselves in what critics and readers alike are calling an “inspirational fantasy” with important lessons for all of us.

In MR. BREEZE, published in 2011, Richfield introduced readers to Zackary, aka Zack, aka Mr. Breeze, an ancient being who claimed to be mankind’s creator and who still exerts a powerful force on the human race and its very existence. Zack appeared on earth as a powerful man who did miraculous deeds. He chose journalist Michael Ryan to tell his story in a book that, he hoped, would show mankind how to stop its self-destructive ways and bring paradise on earth. With man’s fate hanging in the balance, Zack disappeared, leaving humans to their fate and Michael wondering what his role really is.

REVELATION moves the action two years into the future. The situation looks bleak. Mankind has slipped back into its old, destructive ways and Michael has become a dissolute recluse. There are people who view Michael as a savior and others who see him as a threat to be eliminated.

Along this strange trip, Michael meets new friends and reunites with old companions, the most significant of which is Rover, an abused dog whom Zack endowed with superpowers. Rover becomes Zack’s messenger to Michael, as Michael tries to get Zack’s original message out to the world: If mankind doesn’t straighten out, he will destroy the human race.

Richfield plays down the description of REVELATION as an “inspirational fantasy.” He calls it a “self-help book, a textbook, a reality series on paper. It is what we see when we look in the mirror.”

If MR. BREEZE focused on Zack and his message, REVELATION focuses on Michael, following his struggle to understand his role in Zack’s master plan and to find his soul, Richfield says. “Michael’s final revelation is that we just don’t learn. Without the threat of destruction, we go back to our old ways. Our time is almost up and we need to do something. We need to show Mr. Breeze the human race deserves a chance to continue to exist.”

COVER: It's neat. You get a glimpse of the back of Mr. Breeze's head with his trusty German Shepherd, Rover, glancing back at him. He appears to be looking out on a crowd of people with the Washington Monument in the background. It's got a lot going on, but it's not overly busy. Nicely done.

FIRST CHAPTER: Michael Ryan narrates this story that starts in May 2012. He brings the readers up to date on what has transpired in the two years since he first met Zackary Breeze and Rover.

KEEP READING: It's hard to say, but I plan to stick with it for now. The entire first chapter is backstory, which is not typical. Ryan briefly shares what transpired in the first novel and then goes through the fall out: his rise to fame, his crashing and burning, how the events played out locally and for him personally. It's appealing because the narrator immediately engages the reader with his conversational style. He's been through a lot; and by the end of the first chapter, you're not sure he can get much lower than he is. The author smartly ends with a cliffhanger so the reader knows change is coming to Ryan's life. What that change will be isn't known. Is he going to sink lower or is he going to pull himself up by his boot straps?

Overall, I wish this backstory had been woven in more gently and spread out in more chapters. Why not start the book with Ryan in his Maryland apartment, high and ogling his female neighbor? Then drop details of how he got to where he is. It's like the first chapter is a mini-synopsis of the first book in the series. Now, this might make sense to do, but since I haven't read the first book, I'm not positive.

That said, I'm still curious enough to continue for a while to see how things develop. Both Mr. Breeze and its sequel have received good reviews, so I'm willing to stick it out.

Paperback: 184 pages
Publisher: Morrie Richfield (January 26, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0615736467
ISBN-13: 978-0615736464


AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE




Morrie Richfield lives in Pennsylvania with his two sons, his dogs and his cat. He is working on his next novel, and he still dreams that someday the world will be a better place for all of us to live.

Visit his website at www.mrbreezethenovel.com.

I downloaded the first chapter of this novel to my Kindle from Amazon. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.



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