It's Okay to be Broken

I've just concluded reading Children of the Fifth Sun, by Dr. Gareth Worthington.  It was my first experience reviewing a work as an ARC Reader. I'm honored and humbled for the opportunity.

And let me tell you, I am so much better for the experience.

Today, this man, a fellow author, a peer waited patiently in a sweltering sauna of a hotel room in Budapest in the middle of the night whilst I worked through some emotions. Because his work was brilliant, beautiful. It raised my perception, my consciousness.

The novel has everything; the old cliché, something for everyone. Yep. But it doesn't end there. The action never stops. Hooks within hooks, and blind curves at unpredictable places with an ending I didn't at all expect.

The story has settings all around the world, with cultural diversity and high-level research amassed over countless years to yield the end result you would expect from a book of this caliber.

What I couldn't foresee were the feelings I had, how I was pulled in again and again, like being sucked into some vortex that defied all laws of reason.

It hit me, hard, on a pure emotional level. Raw. Truthful. Real.

The main protagonist, Kelly Graham, is flawed. He's broken. Not remarkable, because most people are whether they care to admit it or not. But there's a purity about him. His intent is well-meaning. He grows on you like a fungus. Just trying to get through life without hurting himself or anybody else. Trying to escape the pain as best as he can. Because he knows what pain is.

Now I'm crying again. And it's okay, because the sun always shines through after a storm.

See Gareth's latest blog post here.

You can get an advance copy of the first nine chapters of Children of the Fifth Sun by clicking here and the novel is available for pre-order here.

Dr. Worthington is represented by Gandolfo, Helin & Fountain Literary Management.