The Posse. Stealth, Swift and Sure was their motto. Frontier justice was their mission. Secrecy was their modus operandi. They were Three West Point graduates with a single mission, to eliminate corruption and injustice wherever it was found, with the clandestine assistance of their handler back at West Point, General Milton Cavanaugh. Cavanaugh was decorated, respected, and in charge of the most secretive law enforcement body of the time, exacting justice and dispensing punishment without court oversight, using technologies still unknown to the common man, across the entire frontier.
Release date: March 10, 2016
Release date: March 10, 2016
The Guru's Review:
I was asked by author, Giovanni Gelati, to review this short story pre-release for an honest review.
I have read only one steampunk novel previously and this would be my second western novel. Putting these two genres together works well, despite the fact that the former is technology ahead of the time of this western set in the late 1850s, during the American Civil War. Being only 27 pages in length, it succeeds in setting the stage for the first mission in the series, introducing the team of three operatives who make up The Posse, a little about their steampunk aircraft, the Union Flyer, and allowing the reader to experience a little of their first mission.
Having technology that is ahead if its time included in this short, reminds me of how effective and fun this same type of scenario was in the Kel Richards series, Ben Bartholomew Mystery Series
, set in the time of Jesus where there was modern technology such as phones, electricity, computers, taxis and fast food delivery. There are hints of this in this short and hopefully, this will be expanded upon in future volumes/shorts of this series. I loved it in the former series and I love it in this new one.
The authors of this new series have created a team called The Posse who motto is, "Stealth, Swift, and Sure. Eradicating corruption and injustice wherever it is found". And in this first volume, the seeds are set to show that they live up to this motto.
I like some of the infrastructure that the authors have created that underpins this team and how they operate. It is backed by a General at West Point (United States Military Academy) who uses methods that are clandestine, to say the least. This group is a secretive law enforcement team who aim is to exact justice and dispense punishment without court oversight, using technologies (including an advanced communication device and vehicles of the steampunk kind) that are ahead of the current technological age. There is even a secret support group called the Silent Stewards, who,
The Posse team seem to be a very tight-knit and unified team. It appears they know each others strengths and weaknesses and compliment each other as evidenced by their game plan in dealing with the perpetrators of the crimes they are sent to address. This seems to be one of the strengths of this new series. I presume they are Christian but this is not obvious or evident in the narrative but that may be my presumption. I hope that the authors will be including and expanding Christian themes in future volumes and plot lines as this one barely hints of anything, but I do get the impression that this is a Christian story and is therefore in the genre of Christian fiction. It is being promoted on Gelati's blog as paranormal series and that Volume 2 has a strong paranormal/steampunk vibe!
My only criticism is that the ending was just very sudden, in the midst of some action with the perpetrators of their mission. The plot just ended, leaving you hanging. I kept clicking on the next page button on my kindle but it said Book Completed.
For only 27 pages, there is only so much that be included without risking the characters and plot lines becoming weak and disjointed, but the authors have achieved a lot here, with what I have described. I am looking forward to this new series. It does show a lot of promise.
Strongly Recommended. 4/5
I have read only one steampunk novel previously and this would be my second western novel. Putting these two genres together works well, despite the fact that the former is technology ahead of the time of this western set in the late 1850s, during the American Civil War. Being only 27 pages in length, it succeeds in setting the stage for the first mission in the series, introducing the team of three operatives who make up The Posse, a little about their steampunk aircraft, the Union Flyer, and allowing the reader to experience a little of their first mission.
Having technology that is ahead if its time included in this short, reminds me of how effective and fun this same type of scenario was in the Kel Richards series, Ben Bartholomew Mystery Series
, set in the time of Jesus where there was modern technology such as phones, electricity, computers, taxis and fast food delivery. There are hints of this in this short and hopefully, this will be expanded upon in future volumes/shorts of this series. I loved it in the former series and I love it in this new one. 
The authors of this new series have created a team called The Posse who motto is, "Stealth, Swift, and Sure. Eradicating corruption and injustice wherever it is found". And in this first volume, the seeds are set to show that they live up to this motto.I like some of the infrastructure that the authors have created that underpins this team and how they operate. It is backed by a General at West Point (United States Military Academy) who uses methods that are clandestine, to say the least. This group is a secretive law enforcement team who aim is to exact justice and dispense punishment without court oversight, using technologies (including an advanced communication device and vehicles of the steampunk kind) that are ahead of the current technological age. There is even a secret support group called the Silent Stewards, who,
....are everywhere. They tend to appear when we need them the most. We don't necessarily know how or why, just that they exist as part of General Cavanaugh's Special Forces group. Many of them are just regular people who volunteer for the cause of justice. They hid in plain sight, and their anonymity is essential to their survival. No one is who they appear to be.One aspect that stood out to me was the attention to detail of this era, the 1850s, the civil war, New Orleans, the way they spoke and the culture, the civil war sympathies evident, even this latter aspect was part of their mission. I look forward to more of this in subsequent "volumes".
The Posse team seem to be a very tight-knit and unified team. It appears they know each others strengths and weaknesses and compliment each other as evidenced by their game plan in dealing with the perpetrators of the crimes they are sent to address. This seems to be one of the strengths of this new series. I presume they are Christian but this is not obvious or evident in the narrative but that may be my presumption. I hope that the authors will be including and expanding Christian themes in future volumes and plot lines as this one barely hints of anything, but I do get the impression that this is a Christian story and is therefore in the genre of Christian fiction. It is being promoted on Gelati's blog as paranormal series and that Volume 2 has a strong paranormal/steampunk vibe!
My only criticism is that the ending was just very sudden, in the midst of some action with the perpetrators of their mission. The plot just ended, leaving you hanging. I kept clicking on the next page button on my kindle but it said Book Completed.
For only 27 pages, there is only so much that be included without risking the characters and plot lines becoming weak and disjointed, but the authors have achieved a lot here, with what I have described. I am looking forward to this new series. It does show a lot of promise.
Strongly Recommended. 4/5
Thanks Peter. I am an avid Civil War buff and historian. You know I like a good advendure as well, so I will have to check this out.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy then! I did and look forward to the rest of the series! I can see that there will be some interesting plot twists and steampunk technologies. This series shows a lot of promise. Release date is March 10, 2016
ReplyDelete